The rehabilitative effect of chess on the visually impaired

Abstract

Playing chess is a difficult mental activity that requires extraordinary problem-solving skills. Just like professional chess players, visually impaired players use their memorizing and tactical skills, as well as their problem-solving and predicting skills. The aim of this study is to understand how chess affects the lives of the visually impaired and to show the rehabilitative effects of chess more clearly.The compatibility of the encodings was discussed, and a code list was created by reaching a common decision. It has been clarified that people with visual impairments pursue happiness, aim to lead a good life, and gain benefits in terms of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills by playing chess. Different types of activities might also have rehabilitative qualities, therefore different applications to different activities can also be used.