Chess Develops The Mind

Chess Develops The Mind
Written by Dr. Joseph A. Bailey 
From book on American Crime From A Black American's perspective, Blue saw the big picture of USA society; where he was  in it; what he was up against; and the requirement for surviving and thriving was by developing his intelligence.
He said he was so stimulated as to start planning chess programs for youth. 
Chess calls for disciplined Attention and sustained Concentration. Furthermore, chess is above luck and chance. Instead it improves memory, sound thinking and critical judgment. 
To show its scope, it is considered as an art, a science, and an intellectual game. 
To play chess well requires skill, patience, and the perfection of foresight and forethought so as to plan moves. It consists of a set of figurines (chessmen) on a checkered board of 64 squares before.
  From orthopedic surgical practice, I was impressed with how weak some men were compared to those of my boyhood days. And this applied to members of the European "I" (Individualism) society and those of the "WE" societies in different parts of the world. 
A common thread was that these individuals never learned to think deeply about mental, societal, or personal predicaments. Instead, they sought help, or turned "tough stuff" over to others (and who usually took advantage of them), or "gave up." 
Weak men feel compelled to defend their position rather than admit they are wrong. They put on a bad attitude to hide their fear of the unknown or fear of not being able handle thoughtful problems that might suddenly arise. To compensate for feeling bad, about looking bad, about not knowing, most develop a superiority complex to hide their low self-esteem. This shows by them talking loud, long, and wrong in a bully manner.

Chess teaches fearful males to "step outside the box" of how things are normally done and discover alternatives to the "fight or flight" mentality that encages their minds.
This involves resorting to imagination and creativity to devise varied mental combinations of attack and defense. 
Then to arrive at an evaluation of each possibility, one must engage in the probing penetration needed for defense and the attack. 
Hence, ones mind must force itself into and pierce with a drilling action that which sharpens Discrimination (pointing out true differences for comparisons) and Discernments (quickness, keenness, and accuracy of seeing into qualities, actions, and character) for purposes of Evaluation. 
During the chess game one is immediately rewarded for good thought and penalized for a lack of concentration. 
In the process of becoming skilled in chess one is constructing a bigger picture that includes learning to focus on each different plane of existence-a focus that opens mental doors to principles and to the truth. Synthesis is done so as to connect and unify events as well as things that may differ widely in form and external appearance. All of these aspects improve independent Critical, Creative, and Rational Thinking.