Developing and Enhancing Creativity and Empathy through Chess

Film producer Jon Aubrey Divens earned his BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he made the Dean’s List and received an outstanding student award. The co-producer of two films of the successful Blade trilogy, he has worked with acclaimed celebrities including Wesley Snipes, Matt Damon, Cameron Diaz, and Jennifer Lopez. Outside of work, Jon A. Divens enjoys various pursuits, including playing chess.

A sport that is over 1,500 years old, chess has many benefits. Among them is it develops and enhances creativity. Researchers in India trained one group of students in playing chess, while the other group did not receive training. The students who played chess scored higher in a structured test, which led the researchers to conclude that the students who played chess had increased their ability to perform creative and divergent thinking.

One key element in playing chess is learning to anticipate the subsequent moves of an opponent. The ability to see things from another individual’s perspective is referred to by behavioral experts as the theory of mind. Possessing this ability is integral in developing healthy social relationships and empathy, and playing chess is known to develop this ability among those who study and pursue the game.