When do we reach our peak brain power?

In addition, for decades we have had exhaustive records of chess tournaments and players, which is very useful for psychologists and neuroscientists.

A 2006 study (also using historical chess tournament records) found that the competitive state of chess players declines at a much slower rate than other physical activities such as swimming.

This new study also used this wealth of information to figure out when we might reach our cognitive peak.

In total, scientists referenced 24,000 games, examined the merits of over 1.6 million of these moves, and assessed the level of more than 4,000 chess players, 20 of whom were world champions between 1890 and 2014.

The study was published in PNAS.