Chess and Acupuncture?

Gerhard Litscher ^*

1. President of the International Society for Medical Laser Applications (ISLA transcontinental; since 2012), German Vice President of the German-Chinese Research Foundation (DCFG) for TCM (since 2014), Honorary Chairman of the European Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies (since 2022), Graz / Austria / Europe

* Correspondence: Gerhard Litscher

Collection: Trends in Acupuncture and Laser Research and Education

Received: April 18, 2023 | Accepted: April 19, 2023 | Published: April 19, 2023

OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine 2023, Volume 8, Issue 2, doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2302020

Recommended citation: Litscher G. Chess and Acupuncture?. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine 2023; 8(2): 020; doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2302020.

© 2023 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is correctly cited.

1. Introduction

Chess and acupuncture have very different concepts but can be linked in specific situations to improve physical and mental well-being.

Chess is a strategic board game that has been played for centuries. Success requires a great deal of focus, planning and patience. Players must keep track of their own and opponent's moves and react quickly to changes. Chess players must also be able to flex their thinking in order to create new strategies and tactics to defeat their opponents [1].

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese healing technique that uses thin needles to be inserted into specific points on the body to regulate the flow of blood and energy and restore balance to the body. The needles dissolve blockages, stimulate the immune system and promote relaxation [2].

Both chess and acupuncture can look back on centuries-old traditions. Chess has a long history dating back to the 6^th century, while acupuncture plays a central role in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and has been practiced for centuries [1,2,3].

2. Methods

Although chess and acupuncture do not seem to have much in common at first glance, they can help improve cognitive skills and well-being. Studies have shown that chess players exhibit greater mental flexibility and creativity than non-players [4]. They also have a better memory and can make decisions faster.

Acupuncture has proven to effectively treat pain, depression, anxiety, and other disorders. The needles relieve tension and relieve stress, leading to an overall improvement in well-being (Figure 1) [2].

Figure 1 Chess and ancient acupuncture needles (© G. Litscher).

3. Possible Results and Discussion

The acupoint Yintang (EX-HN 3) is between the eyebrows [5,6,7]. It is known to have a mentally stabilizing effect in TCM [8,9]. In a systematic review of the effects of acupressure on anxiety, acupuncture and acupressure showed promising results for anxiety relief. EX-HN 3 was one of the most commonly used acupoints [8,9]. Yintang is used to improve mental clarity, concentration and cognitive function, soothe emotions and relieve stress, anxiety and agitation [5,6,7,8,9].

When combined, chess and acupuncture may have a synergistic effect that yields even better results (Figure 1). Players who regularly play chess and receive acupuncture treatments can improve their focus and cognitive flexibility while lowering their stress levels. This maybe can result in better overall chess performance and an improvement in overall well-being. However, scientific studies on this topic are still missing.

4. Conclusions

Chess and acupuncture can be used as tools to improve physical and mental well-being. By combining their strengths, they can help achieve higher levels of focus, creativity, and relaxation, resulting in a healthier lifestyle.

Acknowledgments

This editorial was concepted with the help of artificial intelligence (Generative Pre-trained Transformer; ChatGPT) by OpenAI, San Francisco, USA.

Author Contributions

The author did all the research work of this study.

Competing Interests

The author hereby declares that no conflict of interests exists in connection with the publication of this article.