Analysing 125 years of expert chess games and tracking individual performances over lifetimes, scientists plotted a hump-shaped curve, a tiny little speed bump that stays true across various different generations of chess players.
Peak performance age pattern among chess players from 1890 to 2014.
While peak brain performance probably differs somewhat from task to task, the results tend to match other estimates for peak cognitive skills, even those specifically for chess. .
Analysing more than 1.6 million individual moves in 24,000 chess games, scientists assessed the skill of over 4,000 players, 20 of whom were world champions between 1890 and 2014. A computerised chess engine was used to determine which moves were most optimal. .
The recent rise in chess skill among young people suggests peak cognitive performance can be reached early with the right tools and experience, and the long tail of the curve suggests we can hold on to those skills decades into the future