Can your ability to play chess be so deeply wired into your brain that surgeons have to map it like a minefield? In an incredible real-world case published in Cortex, neurosurgeons in France did just that they performed an awake craniotomy on a 1950-rated chess player and carefully monitored his brain to avoid damaging the regions critical to his ability to play the game.
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| Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay |
The result? Despite some memory and language issues, his chess skill was largely intact. This remarkable story isn’t just about a patient—it’s a reminder of how complex and localized cognitive functions like chess really are.
The Case Study in Cortex
The 2024 publication in the journal Cortex described a middle-aged chess player diagnosed with a slow-growing brain tumor (low-grade glioma) located in the left temporal lobe which is an area critical for language, memory, and possibly pattern recognition and calculation used in chess.
Rather than risk his high-level cognitive function, the neurosurgical team employed an awake brain surgery protocol. This meant the patient was conscious during key parts of the operation, allowing real-time feedback as surgeons stimulated different brain regions.
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| Photo : Science Direct |
What made this unique?
Instead of simply testing speech or counting, the surgical team worked with chess experts and neuropsychologists to build custom cognitive chess tasks, like:
- Recognizing famous chess positions
- Replaying sequences of moves
- Calculating mate-in-two puzzles
- Naming squares and piece relationships
Each of these tasks was used to identify critical chess-specific neural pathways. If a brain area, when stimulated, disrupted performance, it was marked as essential and carefully avoided during tumor removal.
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| Photo : bellvitgehospital.cat |
The Outcome
After surgery, the patient experienced expected deficits in language fluency and short-term memory—common when the left temporal lobe is involved.
But when it came to chess?
“He retained his rating-level ability,” the researchers noted.
In post-surgical interviews and tests, the patient could still:
- Calculate multiple moves ahead
- Play full games at his pre-surgery level
- Identify positions and tactics from famous games
- Enjoy and analyze the game just as he did before
This preservation of chess skill despite partial cognitive impairment gives us new insight into how the brain compartmentalizes complex abilities, such as logic, pattern recognition, and strategic thinking.
What Does This Teach Us About Chess and the Brain?
This case contributes to a growing body of research exploring the neurocognitive footprint of chess. Prior studies show that chess activates multiple regions:
- Frontal lobes for planning and working memory
- Parietal lobes for spatial orientation and board visualization
- Temporal lobes for recognition of patterns and tactical motifs
- Occipital lobe for visual perception of the board
Chess is not just one skill, it’s a symphony of brain functions. The ability to protect this during surgery shows just how precisely medicine and cognitive science can now work together.
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| Photo : bellvitgehospital.cat |
Final Thoughts
In a time when machines like AlphaZero dominate online boards and apps teach us chess in seconds, this story is a powerful reminder:
Chess is deeply human. It's a skill written not just in memory, but in the very circuits of our minds.
Thanks to science, this patient can still enjoy the 64 squares that make up his passion even after the most delicate operation imaginable.
Would you let doctors test your chess skill while your skull is open just to preserve your rating? Let us know in the comments below.