playing chess is mental exersise?

Yes,playing chess does increase and change your thinking ability! I finally learned how to play chess, the last five years, and I have noticed that some of the strategies that you use in chess, can actually be used in your daily life, and it has helped me considerably! And this knowledge actually gives me a lot of confidence in my decisions, and strageties, that I use every day, I thought that chess was just a game, but it is an educational experience! I has taught me to think ahead, way ahead! I has taught me to think in six different directions at the same time, and it has taught me to think boldly when necessary, and carefully when needed to! I think everyone should learn to play chess! I love it!

Like all thinking games, chess increases your ability to absorb knowledge because it challenges the brain. There are thousands of different 'gambits' as stratagies are called, each one for a different situation, and based on famous games by famous chess masters of the past. It is also a very social game because it is so international. To play chess with another it is not necessary to understand one word of each others language to still have an enjoyable game together.