Dr. Gregory Ward, a physician in Baton Rouge, works daily to restore and enhance the functional abilities of individuals who have experienced brain injuries. His work involves various treatments, diagnosis and management of different conditions like brain and muscle injuries, neurological disorders and chronic pain to help patients improve their quality of life.
On April 24, Ward was invited by the NFL Players Association and the NFL Commissioner to discuss an innovative approach to brain recovery and rehabilitation. During the session, Ward explained how chess analysis can play a pivotal role in aiding athletes’ recovery journeys — especially in the brain.
Dr. Gregory Ward is a physician in Baton Rouge focusing on neuro-rehabilitation and brain injuries.
“It’s a totally different approach that we came up with. I thought chess would be a very nonboring but educational way to enhance recovery of brain injury,” Ward said. “That’s how I came up with the concept.”
The benefits of chess — its power to enhance strategic thinking and boost memory — could potentially help athletes better understand and manage brain injuries, paving the way for improved recovery outcomes.
The recent surge in the game of chess inspired Ward to step into filmmaking, with Dr. Ken Mask of Ken Mask Studios, to create several projects highlighting its impact. Ward collaborated on a film, “Scandalous Moves,” about chess prodigy Paul Morphy. It was followed by two documentaries: “Building Minds with Chess” and “Chess: Networking Over Boards.” Both documentaries were featured at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and 2024.
Ward continues to explore the game-changing approach further in an upcoming lecture titled “Checkmating Brain Injury: Harnessing Chess for Neuro-Recovery and Rehabilitation” in August at the next NFL Players Association in Washington D.C.
“Together, let’s champion the future of brain health in sports!” Ward said.
Tell me about how you found chess, how you fell in love with it.
I was a brain injury kid. I had a bad accident when I was around 5-years-old. I remember going to my first day of class. I was little agitated, but I will always remember my mom kept me focused on certain things.
For the first eight years in my schooling, I never studied spelling. When I heard a word, I just knew how to spell it. It was so funky. The brain is so fascinating.
I started playing chess around the age of 10. My uncle, he was a chess player, and I was self taught. Initially, when my mom bought me the chess set, I learned the moves by reading books.
My uncle transformed that book knowledge into actual use. He taught me different moves and the strategy of chess and how the pieces move across the board.
The remarkable benefits of chess, according to Dr. Gregory Ward, could potentially help athletes better understand and manage brain injuries, paving the way for improved recovery outcomes.
Chess requires not only cognitive processing, but also spatial reasoning and concentration. It helps you anticipate the next move, or help anticipate what the other person’s next move might be. That’s almost like having two attorneys going after each other, and they’re trying to figure out who’s got the best argument.
Some people say you learn a lot about a person playing golf, but I think you learn just as much about a person with chess. I consider chess like mental golf.
I still play chess, but I slowed down once I went to college. It helped me with attention, concentration and memory, which was helpful when I was in medical school.
How can chess impact brain health in athletes?
Chess could potentially help us better understand how to manage brain injuries, from improving recovery to also improving recovery outcomes. It could also increase confidence and enthusiasm when a patient is recovering and learning to trust the mind.
The science behind it has a lot to do with what I would call quantitative biology — that involves the use of mathematical tools to study biological systems. Understanding quantitative biology can provide insights on understanding brain injuries and recovery processes.
When you combine the strategic thinking and memory-enhancing benefits of chess and the analytical power of quantitative biology, individuals can have a more personalized and more effective brain injury recovery program.
Chess Grandmaster Pontus Carlson of Sweden (left) playing a game of chess with children at a park.
The use of chess for health is evolving. I don’t think anybody right now, at any rehab center across the country, has involved chess for patients at this scope. My quest is to include chess in brain injury programs.
Here’s how chess can impact the brain:
- Number one, playing chess can have a positive feedback on concussions. Athletes in contact sports like football, rugby, hockey, they’re at a higher risk for these brain injuries. When you implement a brain recovery program that includes chess, it can help with spatial training. Chess is a tactile game — it requires players to think and anticipate moves, but also physically pick up the pieces.
- Number two, when there’s cognitive training, individuals, especially for athletes like sports and golf and gymnastics, rely heavily on cognitive skills, decision-making and focus and memory. Chess can hone in on these skills and can enhance their abilities on the field (or on the mat).
- Number three, team sports involves quick decisions and coordination among different teammates. Training the brain with chess with players on the board, can help athletes in soccer, basketball, volleyball, football and more. If you start training athletes, for example a football player after a head injury looking at X’s and O’s, they can’t tell the difference between an X and an O. But if you put chess in their brain rehab program, putting chess pieces together that can only enhance their ability to recover and understand different plays and strategies.
How can chess help mental health?
We also talk about mental health as a major component in chess. Chess is good to reduce stress. The pressure of competition can take a toll on athletes. I think can help them manage stress effectively, and not only that, but also become better losers.
Chess is known to be humbling. You learn to concede very early in the world of chess, and it’s a very formal loss. You shake hands and you walk away. It’s not like when you get into a rumble in football, you want to beat up on the next guy.
We can all develop formalities from chess that you can incorporate in all different types of sports. We’re lacking a lot of class in our world today. We could use some formality, and grace and patience.