Step your game up: Brushing up on your chess skills
With the evolution of chess there are many websites on the internet today that offer users the opportunity to not only play online chess but to also download free chess games. Playing these online chess or downloaded chess games are great ways to help improve your game and sharpen your strategies.
The beginning of the match.
The start of your match is very important and some people don’t give it as much thought and consideration as they should. If you fail to start your match strategically enough then you may not be in a very good position when it comes to having to put up a fight in midgame. There are many opening strategies for chess and a quick search of some online chess tutorials should provide you with a nice variety to choose from. It’s best to just start off with one and stick with that one until you become more advanced at the game and feel that you can remember and handle more than one opening strategy.
Stuck in the middle.
Once your online chess game or downloaded game has helped you master your opening game strategy it’s time to work on your middle game. Once again it’s time to do some research to find the best combinations to use for this part of the match. There is a variety of combinations that you can use for this part of the match utilising various pieces. All aspects of your game will be greatly improved by learning these different combinations.
In the end.
Playing online chess also gives you the ability to study and practice end game strategies. The end section of your match is almost as vital as the opening of your game. It’s a really good idea to thoroughly study end game strategies making sure that you study strategies and moves which are suitable for your level of expertise and confidence in the game. It’s not going to help you at all if you are an amateur trying to play against professionals because you have watched tutorials.
A whole new world.
Playing online chess can open up a world of opportunities for you. Every single professional chess player, no matter how old they are or how long they have played for, started out as a beginner with no knowledge or experience in the game, everyone has to start somewhere. Online chess websites can teach users many different combinations which can be used throughout the match and they also offer users the opportunity to improve their game by practicing these moves against a computer player.
Studying the game of chess by playing online chess is a great way to improve your ability to play a good game. When you are just a beginner at chess it’s a useful tool to learn the rules, the movement permissions and to find the combinations and strategies that work best for you. For those who are more experienced with the game these online chess websites can offer you with some worthy opponents and some new experiences that you may not have come across before which will help your game. Whether you are a new player or an avid one, online chess websites can surely offer you something enticing for your game.
Will playing chess expand your brain or mind?
Chess is a thinking game. It will expand your mind but will not expand your brain. It only creates a bigger memory area in your mind.
Chess expands your mind but does not expand your brain. Does this statement sound contradictory to you? Think again. Brain and mind and two different ingredients of a single entity. Without one the other cannot function and vice versa. For example, when you say computer, you will immediately think of two things that go into the computer, the hardware and the software – is it not?
If the head that includes the skull is the computer, then brain is the hardware and the mind is the software. Hope this example will help you realize the subtle difference between the brain and the mind.
As scientists have found and established, the brain comes fully grown at the time of birth itself. The only part that never grows physically since birth is the brain. The brain contains billions of neurons or brain cells. These individual brain cells or neurons establish connections between themselves over the first six years of child. Then, these connections, if not used by the person, will fade out and start shedding from the age of 15. The old adage – “If you do not use it, you lose it” applies to the brain perfectly. If a person does not use his brain or in other words, does not make use of the connections created by the neurons, then these connections fade out after a period and will fall down. May be inadequate use of the brain and their innumerable connections between neurons effectively is the cause for diseases like dementia, Alzheimer and such other diseases at the old age.
The brain, as stated earlier, does not grow and as such there is no room for further expansion of the brain. However, the trillions of connections that the neurons create among themselves get activated when put to use by the activities. The connections activated by the brain reflect the memory area of the brain. As such, by playing chess, a person activates a higher number of connections and strengthens them. These connections occupy a bigger area of the memory created in the brain. In other words, the memory area of the brain gets expanded and not the brain that gets expanded.
Mind, we said, is equal to the software in a computer. In other words, mind refers to the application of the memory area of the brain. As the memory area of the brain gets expanded, the mind is also said to expand and incorporate new ideas and thinking skills. Thus the mind expands its horizon and includes important traits such as critical thinking, out of the box thinking, lateral thinking, decision-making, analyzing, visualizing and such other things associated with the game of chess.
Playing chess regularly also helps in keeping you alert at all times, have a sharp mind and improve intelligence. Intelligence is not knowledge. It is the intelligence that matters the most than the knowledge. That is why, we give more importance to the Intelligence Quotient or the IQ of a person and not the Knowledge Quotient or KQ. In fact, there is nothing like KQ but IQ is there and has a special value.
Intelligence refers to the instant reaction to events or problems not experienced in life earlier. Knowledge is nothing but a reproduction of what we have learnt and experienced in life.
In the game of chess, one applies serious thinking and also shows signs of creativity and imagination with out-of-the-box ideas and lateral thinking, as part of his objective to capture the opponent’s King and say checkmate.
Now, with the advent of technology, anybody having interest in the game and a little bit of understanding can play chess whenever he wants to play and learn the tricks of the game by playing chess online. All he needs is a personal computer and internet connection.
So, why wait for expanding your memory and improving your level of intelligence. Visit the online chess site and start playing the game.
How to regulate one’s attention – play chess online
One of the fascinating board games that challenges the brain and stimulates the mind through the process of deep thinking is none other than the game of CHESS.
It is the one game that exercises your brain and helps it stay fit and healthy for a longer period. You might have noticed that many old-aged people possess exceptional memory power and mental alertness defying their old age. Chances are more that they have maintained their brain in a healthy manner by exercising it occasionally by challenging their mind with exercises such as reading, writing, solving crossword puzzles and such other things in their early ages.
Now, with the development of technology, many of our activities have changed. It is not a lament but absolute truth that the habit of reading and writing in legible handwriting is slowly but steadily fading out from the younger generation in this modern world. Increasing number of people rely on the computers, laptops, compact discs, pen drives and such other gadgets in this new world. Solving crossword puzzles, Sudoku and such stimulating activities are also not finding more favor with the people of this generation. In other words, the brain is not put to exercise at all nowadays, thanks to the advancement of technology.
The wonderful contribution of technology and the Internet to this noble game of chess is none other than online chess. Any person, aspiring to learn the game of chess and improve his skill in this game, can sit in front of his laptop or computer and learn the game in a simple and easy way. He need not go in search of a partner, but play chess online with the computer or choose a partner in the virtual chess room and start playing the game, have fun, relax and at the same time, exercise his brain and keep it healthy.
One of the primary requirements for the game of chess is the ability to think, and think deeply with logic and reasoning. Because chess is a cruel game that punishes you when you make a wrong move. In other words, the fate of the game is in the hands of the players only.
How to concentrate on the game with undistracted attention for a longer period? This is one major dilemma facing the chess players, and an iota of lapse in concentration or attention is all that is required for a mistake to be committed.
A chess player need not concentrate on all the 32 pieces and the sixty-four squares in the chessboard at the same time. It is imperative that he regulates the attention to certain pieces or certain specific regions in the board where the action requires the most attention. By switching the attention between the various parts of the board, one at a time, an overall idea about the board and the positioning of the relevant pieces are built into the memory.
Yet another important advantage of regulating the attention to a particular section of the board or the pieces involved in that move with high level of concentration, one can acquire invaluable knowledge about the capability of the pieces, the positional factors and the various alternative options that can be tried in the given situation. This knowledge can be effectively used not only for this game but for subsequent games when faced with similar positions. You can take meaningful decisions at a relatively quicker time by comparing the similarity between the two games and recalling the right moves you made in the previous game.
Do you want your kids to be smart? – teach chess
It is the aspiration of every parent to have his son or daughter be smart enough and win laurels in the school, learn good things, and become a responsible citizen.
School is the ideal place where the teachers groom these young kids and teach them the knowledge that is required for them to lead their life in a successful way. The mind and the body will be sharp enough to grasp and understand all new things that are taught to the children at the tender age. It is this age where children enjoy playing more and give little attention to their studies. The onus lies on the teachers and the parents to teach the lessons to the children in a playful way, make them understand the things easily with attention and concentration, such that they learn things much easily and perform well in their academics.
Research has proved beyond doubt that little children, who were taught the game of chess and encouraged to play chess regularly, have performed well in their academic career and learnt important lessons for life.
How learning and playing chess can help a child perform better in studies?
Chess is a fun game, played on a square board comprising of eight rows and eight columns. In total, there will be 64 squares. Every alternate square will be filled with alternate colors. The two colors used will be white and black. Each player will be provided with 16 pieces. The pieces include a King, a Queen, a pair of rooks, a pair of bishops, a pair of knights and eight pawns.
The chief piece in the game is the King and capturing the King or making him immovable is the objective of the game. The major pieces are the Queen and the rooks. The minor pieces are the Bishops and the Knights. In addition, each player will have eight pawns. Each piece is assigned a value. The least valued piece is the pawns. Children will be learning the different types of movements and the capabilities of the individual pieces. Moving the pieces around the table will be a fun, especially the movement of the knight, which moves in the shape of “L”.
By encouraging children to play chess, teaching them about the pieces, the values of the pieces and their movements, these kids will learn the fundamentals in a playful way – the importance of values, the nature of moves and such other things. They will be trained to follow the rules of the game.
The children will be trained to focus on the board and make the correct moves. The game of chess is very cruel in that it punishes wrong moves immediately. The children are taught to make the correct moves, advised not to act in haste and try to think and then act. This focusing skill is very essential for the child, as this skill will help him concentrate and focus his attention on the subject, especially mathematics, which require focus and attention the most.
The concept of punishment for doing something wrong will get firmly rooted in the child’s mind and he will always strive not to make mistakes – be it in chess or in academics.
The trait of following the rules, focusing on the work and concentration, developed while playing chess will help him perform well in the academic career.
Focusing and concentration are the important traits that children learn while playing chess. Chess teaches many invaluable traits to the children and make them act in a smart way.
The reason why the game of chess is still very popular among the people across the world even after 1500 years is this unique feature of teaching invaluable things to lead a successful and qualitative life.
Now, technology has made it much easier for teaching the game of chess to the children. Visual and Audio modes with graphics and animation make the learning part of chess very enjoyable and children, while loving the game for its fun, unknowingly develop important traits such as concentration, planning, decision-making, owning responsibility for mistakes, patience and so many such invaluable traits.
Encourage children to learn chess online and play online chess with his friends and others separated by distance, sitting at his home in front of the desktop computer. This would be an ideal gift for your child to learn important values in a playful and funny way.
Playing Chess helps expand the process of thinking
Chess is referred to as the King of Games or as the Game of the Kings. It is called as the King of Games because of the entertainment and challenge it poses to the players, which no other board game provides. It is also true that it the Game of the Kings as the primary objective of the game is to corner the opponent’s King by the forces of a player’s King. Chess is also referred to as a royal game, because the game came into existence way back in the 6th Century only as a learning tool for the royal princes to rule the kingdom and win over other Kingdoms.
The game of chess offers many benefits to the players and plays an important part in the quality of their life. It has been proven beyond doubt that children encouraged to learn and play chess at their early age performed well at their academic career and outperformed other children. Chess teaches various good traits of concentration, patience, visualization, decision-making, and execution of tactics and strategies.
In what way chess helps in the process of thinking? Let us explore this concept in this piece.
The game of chess involves two players sitting across a chessboard that has sixty four squares in it painted in alternate colors, preferably black and white. The sixty four squares are arranged in a square board having eight rows and eight columns. Each player is provided with 16 pieces, comprising of the chieftain King, the Queen, a pair of rooks, a pair of knights, a pair of bishops and eight pawns. The pieces are arranged in the board such that the King cannot be cornered in a single move by a player. There is no room for luck or chance, such as in dice or any other game, in the game of chess.
Thus, a player has to play a series of moves, take strategic positions, capture vital pieces of the opponent, control the board and then corner the opponent’s King. Both the players would be vying to do the same. A game of chess between two players of equal skill set will be a treat and excitement not just for the players but also the onlookers.
Now, the problem of finding a partner and allocating specific time for a game of chess with that partner can be done away with and any person, having interest in the game and anxious to play a game, can use his personal computer, browse for a website that offers online chess, find and select a partner who matches your skill set, and just start playing chess online. All this is possible thanks to the advancement of the technology and the World Wide Web.
Now, coming back to the question of thinking, the player needs to make the appropriate moves that will not only help in cornering the opponent, but also safeguard his own pieces. He has to have a plan and a series of tactics to achieve an objective – something like occupying the central e5 square or controlling the center of the board. The plan or his tactic might by nullified by a defensive move or a counter attacking move of the opponent. Then, the plan becomes void and another plan needs to be formulated.
As such, the game calls for serious thinking and deep concentration, visualizing the board in front, anticipating the counter moves from the opponent and strategy to tackle the response. All these for at least the next three moves are desirable to have better control over the game and understanding.
The game of chess is cruel in that it not only offers any chance but also punishes you harshly when you make a mistake. Therefore, the game and its result rest only on you as a player. That makes it more interesting and calls for deep thinking to get it right. This thinking process and deep concentration not only stimulates and trains your mind, but cultivates the habit of creative and critical thinking and weighing all available options before deciding to make a move. This not helps you win the game but also gain in your life.
