CHESS, DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMERS .

I am,for various reasons,very interested in that scourge of modern life, Dementia and Alzheimers. I have written about this illness previously advocating that we as individuals do all we can to understand and help others so afflicted.
Because of my interest I was quite taken by an article I read in THE SCOTSMAN newspaper. In John B.Hendersons chess column he wrote that there is a growing body of evidence that playing board games such as chess to keep the mind sharp is an effective way of reducing the risk of Dementia, Alzheimer and other mental illnesses .
 Mr Henderson quotes a new study published in the' New England Journal of  Medicine in America', that shows that people over 75 who engaged in leisure activities such as chess are two and a half times less likely to have the debilitating illness. The studies main author, Dr. Robert Freidland, claims  people who don't exercise their grey matter stand a chance of losing cognitive power .While solving crossword and sudoko puzzles are beneficial, they appear less effective than chess.
Speaking personally I am terrible at playing chess, even worse at sudoko and I have yet to finish any of  ' THE SCOTSMAN' crosswords, but I shall keep on trying.