Importance of chess to children
Chess‘s history dates back to thousands of years ago. It has been a matter of curiosity for many people for some 1,600 years. It is a game which stimulates the analytical reasoning of a person as well as his creativity in spite of its ancient origins. Though in the past chess was only played by the nobles, today it is played by everyone who is of sound mind. It combines both relaxation and stimulation of the mind. It is indeed a fascinating game that is fun and free of charge.
There are numerous benefits that children can derive from playing chess. Children that play chess definitely improve in their analytical abilities that enable them to handle difficult subjects like mathematics and Physics. Research has shown that when a child plays chess often their concentration in class increases and their logical thinking is enhanced. Their aggressive and competitiveness is also enhanced as chess builds in the child the resolve to succeed despite the hurdles that the child may face. This is a fact in both the playing of chess and in life.
There are numerous people who are interested in learning chess but they don’t know the steps to follow in order to reach their goal. Some will try to self learn but their attempts will be futile.
Teaching of chess to others can prove a herculean task as even professional players may not have the requisite skills to teach children. One normally requires to send their children to experienced chess coaches who have the necessary skills.
Many parents and guardians find that hiring chess coaches is quite expensive and they try to teach their children with the help of books or articles. There are many chess books available but some of them do not include the modern methods of playing chess. The articles were written long ago and so they simply do not reflect the modern concepts.
When teaching chess to a child, it is important to subdivide the training into several levels that climb upwards from beginner all the way to the expert level. To progress from one level to the next a child will need to equip himself with the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge before proceeding. Of course the amount of knowledge needed will be affected by his level. If too much knowledge is pumped to a child at a particular level it could end up doing more harm than good and this could discourage the child from continuing with the chess lessons. For too many children they spend a vast amount of time and energy learning non-essential materials and they become quite discouraged when the results are not forthcoming.
Therefore at each level a child should study chess that corresponds to that level .This is to ensure a smooth transition of ideas and an effective learning environment. In summary, chess is a beautiful game that should be encouraged among children and adults alike as it greatly helps them to increase their intellectual capabilities. It also increases their creativity and their logical thinking skills. It is sad that too many children would rather play video games than engage in chess.
Internet Chess Advantages
With the uncontrollable development and popularity of the internet for the past two decades, it is relatively easy to expect that one can be able to accomplish almost all forms of operations they need in the incredible virtual space. Aside from business purposes that are increasing dramatically over the internet, many interactive games and sports created virtually are very most likely to be the most searched activities online. Some classical games such as chess, cards, poker, and many more are presently enjoying amazing online feature designs that can be easily access by a wider users’ range. Thus, the internet chess, for example, is much more enjoyed and appreciated than the common traditional chess game. Internet chess and the classical chess differ greatly; not in the game rules but in the nature of the display and general appearance.
One of the great advantages of the chess game online is that it presents chess enthusiasts to be more motivated to play chess games because of its great graphics in the virtual space. Instead of the usual and boring black and white chess pieces, the online chess provides colorful and animated troops that can do a lot of expressions and movements (make faces, or cry, or laugh) during the battle. The chessboards as well, have been changed in the online chess; although its pattern is just the same, the internet has created a wider range of chessboard choices. Some of the internet websites also offer such possibilities to switch sides and look over from the different angles of the chess board in an advanced point of view of the chess players.
Furthermore, in the online chess games, useful tips and suggestions for developing effective game strategies are provided. You can play against another human opponent anywhere in the world who is a registered member of the chess website you chose. You can also play against a computer opponent if you prefer to challenge the computer program available on the chess website you have chosen. Whoever you chose to play against with, you will definitely hone and develop your chess skills.
Chess enhances one’s thought process
One of the very ancient games that is still in existence and enjoying more popularity among the people is Chess. What is the reason for such popularity for this game, which has withstood the travails of time and technology so far?
Well – the answer for this question lies in the diversity of this game or the challenges the game poses to the people playing it. The game of chess cannot be considered as a mere pastime sport or as a game played by the elderly people who have no other work than to kill the time or kill the boredom.
Technology has helped chess in one very important way. Gone were the days where two players need to assemble at a common point and spend time across the chessboard to play the game of chess, which is not so feasible in this fast-paced world. Now, online chess has come to the rescue of the willing players. Without any problem of searching for partners, one can instantly start playing chess through online using the World Wide Web. Using the Internet, one can always play chess online, which will not only help him relax but also improve his thought process to a great extent.
Chess is a fair game in its entirety and there is no question of luck or chance prevailing upon one player over the opponent. Only a mistake from the opponent can be deemed as a chance of luck for the player to claim victory over the opponent. In other words, you, as a player, decide the fate of the game.
Yet another possible reason for the popularity of the game is its relation to the life in many ways. No two games in chess will yield the same result when played by different set of players at one time or by the same set of players at different times. This is the interesting aspect of chess.
The game of chess teaches many interesting lessons to the players that will go a long way in enhancing one’s character as well as his approach to the life as a whole.
One of the pre-requisites for a person to play chess and enhance his skills in the game is the capability to think, analyze, assess, plan, and execute a series of moves aimed at cornering the opponent’s King and saying checkmate. For a successful plan to materialize and culminate in the victory, these steps need to be carried out. But, the real challenge comes in when the opponent nullifies the attempts by skilful defense or counter-attack. In such an event, one has to regroup his ideas, defend his King successfully and look for other alternative strategies.
So, one has to understand the pieces, the positional factors, calculate the possible moves and countermoves, plan out the strategy taking in to account the opponent’s response, so on and so forth before launching a series of moves on the opponent’s King. This activity in the mind before making any move in the game helps one train his mind to plan and organize his thought process in a methodical way. The process also helps in viewing the situation from different angles, and might lead to an optimum decision.
Benefits of Chess for Kids
Chess as School Curriculum: What do Kids Get from It?
Many schools across Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States have been educating chess inside the classrooms. They are not particularly labeling chess as an extracurricular activity but rather as an educational subject. Since 20th century the Russians have conquered the world of chess. Why is it so? Perhaps, it’s for the reason that chess has been treated as an academic subject in majority of the schools in Russian for almost 50 years now.
There have been extensive anecdotal proofs that chess encourages intellectual growth in children. In 1991 and 1996, a famous educational psychiatrist Stuart Margulies, conducted researches on the possible effects of chess on a child’s reading skill. The studies proved that children, who joined in schools’ chess program, enhanced their scores on regular tests. The progress was even better for children whose first scores were low.
In 1990, a study confirmed in Texas that elementary pupils who joined in the chess club showed much improvement in mathematics and reading as they start to reach the third grade. Students who are also participating in the program are observed to improve a lot on standardized examination.
Why is chess very beneficial to many particularly to children? Chess has showed to develop or increase:
Math solving problems
Reading skills
Confidence
Tolerance
Sense of judgment
Critical thinking
Ability to recognize patterns
Concentration
Analytical skills
Actually the lists above are only some that you can expect to acquire from playing chess.
Majority of the schools and teachers of different countries, especially in the United States, are receiving the message and have started to introduce chess in the classrooms. Different schools’ chess clubs are also initiated primarily today that chess is considered one of the important academic subjects in schools.
Schools in the city of New York have been mainly helpful in establishing chess to different classroom. The effort has been organized and led by an academic, non-revenue organization named Chess in the Schools. The main aim of this organization is to enhance academic performance and develop self-confidence among the city public schools.
In 1986 the organization has been active in educating chess to more than students in the entire New York City. In the recent research of teachers who are involved in the programs 86% documented that chess has direct and constructive influences on their students.
In March of 2008, a newspaper had reported that the States of Idaho will be considered the first state of the U.S. to give a chess curriculum in the entire state. The curriculum will be given to all second and third grade pupils. In addition, Idaho is reported to have 40,000 second and third graders and the program is expected to allocate about $200,000. Just imagine how important chess must be to be allocated with such big amount.
Furthermore, many U.S. states have endorsed legislation which approves the establishment of chess in school curriculum. Specifically, New Jersey had conceded a bill allowing different educational boards to give chess lecture starting to the second graders. The bill said that:
- 1.Chess enhances strategic thinking abilities and promotes creative activity.
- 2.Chess can also enhance the ability of a child to recognize intricate patterns and thus excel both in Science and Math.
If politicians can only appreciate the significance of playing chess for kids, perhaps every child in every school in the entire country is already benefiting from playing chess.
Chess openings – Basic principles that need to be kept in mind
In an earlier article – The need for chess openings in a chess game – we found that a white player who normally makes the first move in the game, is left with as many as 20 alternatives to choose which of the pieces should he move first. Similarly, the black player responding to the white’s initial move has equally 20 alternatives to choose from for making a move. Can you recall what those 20 alternatives are?
You might know that the pawn in its first move can jump two squares if it wants to. But there is no compulsion or rule that it should move only two squares in the first instance. The pawn at a2 can move either to a3 or to a4 in its first move. Subsequently it has to move only square forward. So, every white pawn in the second rank and every black pawn in the seventh rank has two choices. There are eight pawns per player and so the alternatives turn out to be sixteen. Each player is provided with two knights, one at the king side and the other at the queenside. Knight is the only piece that can hop over another square even if the latter is occupied by a piece. The white knights can move to either a3 or c3 and f3 or h3. So the total alternatives to choose from totals twenty.
Let us get back to basic aspects of the game once again. The chessboard comprising 64 squares has eight rows and eight columns. The rows are called as the ranks and are given the numbers 1 to 8. The columns are referred to as files and are denoted by alphabets “a” to “h”. The ranks 1 to 4 become one-half of the board and the other four ranks – 5 to 8 become another half of the board. Technically the ranks 1 to 4 in which the first two ranks are occupied by the White pieces is referred to “White territory” and the ranks 5 to 8 in which the black pieces occupy the seventh and the eighth ranks are said to be “black’s territory”.
The opening moves should be planned such that the territory is well guarded and at the same time, opportunities for looking at and exploiting the weakness of the opponent’s territory are explored.
With this point in mind, one should approach the chess openings. Controlling the squares in one’s own territory effectively and also trying to gain control over opponent’s squares should be one of the guiding principles in chess openings.
Some important aspects that need to be kept in mind, especially in chess openings, include:
1.Making effective use of the pawns – Pawns are the only pieces that have the capability of getting promotions – in other words pawn moves should be minimum.
2.Bringing the major pieces in to active play – especially the bishops that can take control over the diagonals and the Knights having unique way of moving around
3.Effective control over the central squares – The most important aspect in the game of chess is to have effective control over the central squares – especially the squares of e4, e5, d4 and d5.
4.Resort to castling to make the rook more active
5.Same piece should not be moved more than once in the early stages.
It is for this point that most of the openings revolve around the e4 square and the d4 square on the part of white and the e5 square and the d5 square on the part of black pieces.
