Mind Sports have been popular for thousands of years in every culture in the world. Mind Sports involve mentally challenging board and card games of skill and intellectual ability in strategy, tactics, calculation, game theory, psychology, probability, memory, as well as old fashioned luck. There are national and world championships in each category which offer winners high-stakes cash prizes.
Mind Sports are becoming more popular among parents and educators for child mental development. A study by MIT has shown that mind sports, like chess, improve brain functioning, memory, complex reasoning, problem solving, concentration, and neural plasticity. The MIT study named four areas that improve brain functioning the most – chess, golf, playing a musical instrument, and dancing.
In the U.S., popular competitive championship mind sports are played by millions and involve primarily: Chess, Contract Bridge, Checkers, Backgammon, Poker, and Dominoes. A few additional popular mind and strategic games include: Sequence, Scrabble, Monopoly, Risk, Hire, Asul, Skat, Tafl, Soduko, Cribbage, and others. Popular Asian mind sports include: Go, Mahjong, Xiangqi, Makruck, Shogi, and others.
Chess
Chess is one of the world’s most popular abstract strategy games. The game requires strategy and tactics. It is a board game played between two players on a checkered board with light and dark pieces. Players alternate turns to take opponent pieces off the board. The objective is to checkmate (block) the king with no way to move.
The World Chess Federation holds World Chess Championships. The 2025 Men’s World Champion is Gukesh Dommaraju of Singapore. The 2025 Women’s World Champion is Ju Wenjun from China who won the championship in 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2025. The 2026 World Championships will be held March 28 to April a6, 2026 in Cyprus.
Contract Bridge
Contract bridge is a trick-taking card game that involves four players in two two-person competing partnerships. The game requires skills in tactics, memory, and probability. The objective is to score the highest number of tricks taken (card points). Players must play a card of the same suit of the led card. The highest card takes the trick in each hand.
The World Bridge Federation holds World Bridge Championships. The Bermuda Bowl Open for men’s national teams 2025 winners were: United States-Gold (1), Denmark-Silver (2), and Sweden-Bronze (3). The Venice Bowl for women’s national teams 2025 winners were Netherlands-Gold (1), China-Silver (2), and Poland-Bronze (3). The 2026 World Bridge Series will take place August 20 to September 3, 2026 in Katonice, Poland.
Go
Go is an abstract strategy board game similar to chess and very popular in Asia. The game is played by two players who move stones (pieces) to surround more territory than the opponent. The board is a 19×19 line grid with points to place a stone.
The International Go Federation holds Ing Cup World Championship tournaments every four years. Ryo Ichiriki of Japan is the current 2024 world champion.
Checkers
Checkers, also known as draughts, is a strategy board game for two players which involves diagonal moves on an 8×8 checkered board. Players alternate moves and capture opponent pieces. The objective is to capture all the opponent’s pieces or prevent them from being able to move.
The World Checkers/Draughts Federation holds World Checkers Championships every two years. Tournaments are held in two versions: 3-Move Checkers where players begin three moves into the game; and GAYP (Go As You Please) where play begins on the first move.
Men’s 2024 winners were: GAYP – Matteo Bernini of Italy; 3-Move– Sergio Scarpetta of Italy. Women’s 2024 winners were: GAYP– Nadiya Chyzhevska of Ukraine; 3 -Move– Tetiana Zaitseva of Ukraine. The 2026 World Championship tournaments will be held November 9 to 14, 2026 in Italy.
Backgammon
Backgammon is a board game involving strategy and luck. It is played by two people who move pieces to the roll of the dice. The objective is to be the first player to remove all their pieces around the board.
World Champions in 2025 were: Men’s Timo Vaatainen of Finland and Women’s Miranda Moulton of the UK. The 2026 championships will be held July 27 to August 2, 2026 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Mahjong
Mahjong is an abstract strategy tile-based game similar to rummy card games. It requires strategy, tactics, and luck. It is popular in Pacific Rim Asian countries and around the world. Mahjong is played by four players who collect and discard tiles. To win a round, a player must have three faan (sets) points to lay down the hand. Other players must pay the winner for the round.
The World Mahjong Organization holds world championships. Current individual champions from 2024 are: Gold- Gao Erfei of Canada, Silver- Dagwar Fischer of Germany, and Bronze- Lin Hai of Canada. Team champions are: Gold- Canada, Silver- Germany, Bronze- France. The 2026 World Championship will be held October 16 to 18, 2026 in Las Vegas.
Poker
Poker is a card game that requires strategy, psychology, probability, memory, and game theory. Players wager/bet over the best hand, bluffing is part of the game. Poker variations include 5-card draw, 5-card stud, 7-card stud, and other variations. Players follow pre-determined amounts to ante up chips in the pot and bet on each hand. The best hand wins the pot.
The World Series of Poker determines the World Champion, held annually in Las Vegas. The 2025 champion is Michael Mizrachi of the U.S.
Xianggi
Xianggi is an abstract strategy board game very popular in the Pacific Rim of Asia. The game is played by two players on a 9×10 grid board. The objective is to checkmate the opponent’s king.
The World Xianggi Federation holds world competitions. The current men’s champion is Laily Huynh of Vietnam and the women’s champion is Tang Dan of China.
Dominoes
Dominoes is a tile-based game connecting rectangular tiles with marked dots on a table top. The objective is to block opponents and to empty one’s hand.
Winners of the 2025 World Dominoes Championship were Jason Beron in Singles; and in Doubles Timothy Baker and Tobie Dunlap. The 2026 World Championship will be held in December, 2026 in Alabama.
