if so, do you think chess skills translate into good programming skills?
Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
1–10 of 64 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#2I do play.
No, I don't think chess skills translate into anything - the only "real" skill I've learned is how to practice efficiently. It's a fun game and I play it for what it is.
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#3from the first google result for "chess programming skills", this article (http://sam-koblenski.blogspot.com/2013/12/what-can-chess-tea...) gives a few thoughts on why chess skills can translate into good programming skills.
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#4Why would you think that chess skills should translate into good programming skills?
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#5I play Chess and Go. I also write programs to play.
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#6I enjoy chess (though I haven't played much recently). I definitely see similar skills in both cases (lining up multiple steps to achieve my desired goal). But it's hard to tell whether or not playing chess makes me a better programmer.
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#7Yup, I love playing chess, I play most weeks against a friend.
I guess chess involves visualising moves and developing tactics to force checkmate.
I'm not sure how much cross-over there is with programming skills though.
I once tried to write a simple chess bot, which was enjoyable, despite not getting very far, learning how to represent the board as a sequence of bits etc.
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#8I do, but I don't think chess translates into programming.
I recently found lichess.org, which I heartily endorse because it's free software:
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#9I play chess. Bet that's a shocker when you look at my user name...
I don't think that chess skills transfer to programming skills - I wouldn't recommend someone play chess as a way to get better at programming or vice versa.
Do I think being good at one indicates possible proficiency at the other? Maybe, but probably not. They can be approached the same way, at least below the grand master level - you can see each one as a series of small tactical problems to be solved.
However, some of the best programmers I've known weren't good at chess and the best chess player I've personally known was a mediocre programmer. So, anecdotal evidence is that the two don't correlate.
Re: Ask HN: Do you play Chess?
#10I like the idea of playing chess a lot more than the reality of it. I usually go through a period with games where I don't understand them, find them bewildering, spend a short time on my own to learn the rules, then I'm good to go and can quite enjoy the game. Even with watching pro sports, if I at least know the rules, I can follow the progression of play and know when good plays happen. With chess, I've tried to read about it and learn how to play more than just the basics of moving pieces and still, I still don't "see" the game.
I guess it's the memorization needed for the opening and end games. I memorize by exercise. The things I can rattle of the top of my head are usually facts and figures and formulas I've had to use frequently. With chess, it seems to require a significant amount of pre-memorization, the broader, the better. I have always resisted such memorization tasks, even as a little kid. I prefer understanding core principles and reasoning my way to the details on the fly.
Most people who know my work think of me as an excellent programmer, so if chess has an impact on programmer skill, it's at the very least not required.