The Benefits Of Brain Games (NAPSA)—‘Useyour head” could be smarter advice than you might think. Experts now say that keeping your brain sharp could be a simple matter of exercising it with the occasional mental gymnastic. Level For instance, something as simple—and fun—as playing a game of chess could help your brain stay on top of its game. America’s Foundation for Chess says chess enhances self-discipline, memory, analytical skills and a host of additional qualities in players. And many schools now offer chess to students. Creating a Mental Workout So how can you get involved with chess? You could try joining a community chess club, but if you’d rather exercise your brain at home, you may want to check out video games that can teach you to play chess or let you compete against other remote players. For example, “Chessmaster: The Art of Learning” for the Nintendo DS™ system and “Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition” for PC feature chess lessons and tutorials from Josh Waitzkin, International Master and eight-time National Chess Champion. Players can practice their newly learned skills in singleplayer mode orflex their mental muscles by challenging friends in multiplayer mode on PC via LAN or Internet and on the Nintendo DS through wireless play. Plus, because the Nintendo DS is a handheld system, people can play chess on the go—atthe airport, in the park or wherever else they happento be. New Twists To help keep your workout interesting, the video games also Brain Exercise—Chess and similar games can be fun ways to keep your mind sharp. include new features such as chess-related minigames packed with music, soundeffects, a highscore record and 20 levels of gameplay. One of the games, called Minefield, uses chess pieces to locate mines hidden in the board, while Fork MyFruit uses chess pieces to fork fruit of the same kind. Ubisoft, the maker of the Chess- master series, has even collabo- rated with the Hip-Hop Chess Federation to present an all-star chess tournament pitting some of America’s top rappers, DJs and martial artists in a head-to-head battle of the brains. The idea is to keep the game new and exciting for players—andtheir minds. For more information, visit www.chessmaster.com.
