Chess playing skills appear to reach a plateau around 35 years, peak at age 40: Study

While a person’s muscle mass, strength and function start to deteriorate in the 30s, their ability to play the game of chess peaks during the same period, new research published in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) revealed. The conclusion was made following an analysis of data collected over a period of 125 years.

For the purpose, 1.6 million chess moves were analyzed using computerized chess engine which ascertained the most optimal move. The analysis was done over 24,000 games which were played by 1890 to 2014 by 4,000 players, including 20 world champions in the game of chess.

Using the data collected, the researchers made graphs that took into account the age of the player with their share of the optimal move and showed the peak performance age of the players.

“Before a player's early 20s, performance on the chessboard appears to increase rapidly. The skill then appears to reach a plateau around 35 years of age, peak at age 40, and begin to steadily decline after age 45,” the researchers explained.

Maintained for a decade

In addition, graphs published by the researchers also established that after hitting their peak in chess somewhere in their 30s, the players maintained it for around a decade, after which the performance started to decline.

Similar to the aforementioned, a parallel graph plotted by the researchers also bell-shaped curve for the experience. The researchers concluded that experience could alter the age at which someone hits their peak performance. “Ths could explain why over the past century, chess players have been hitting their peak earlier and earlier, as the below graph shows, “ the researchers added.

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