Tag Archives: chess benefits

Role of chess in improving your character

7
Posted by ChessTeacher on December 10, 2009 – 1:47 pm
Filed under General Chess
Tagged as chess, chess benefits, chess lifestyle, game of chess

Chess is a board game played between two people. The requirements for the game is none other than a square board containing 64 squares of alternate colors, and 32 pieces split into two equal sets and distributed equally to the players. The objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s chief piece – the King – and say “checkmate”, following some simple rules of setting up the pieces on the board and using the specified movement of the pieces. Now, the need for a partner is also done away with and anyone who likes to learn the game or play the game can do so by using the computer and the Internet and play online chess with a virtual partner in any online chess site.

This is all about the game of chess, in its simplest terms, for any layman to know about the game.

What is there in this game that helps a player improve his or her lifestyle?

Before answering this question, please consider the following aspects about this ancient game.

The game, according to history, is claimed to have been played since the 6th century AD, that is for more than 1400 years upto now.

Since the second half of the 15th century, the game spread to almost all the parts of the world and there has been no change in the way the game should be played since then – that is for more than 500 years, there is no change in the rules of the game and people follow the same since then.

From the beginning of the 20th century, the game has been recognized as a Professional Sport and World Championships and a host of other tournaments of prestige are conducted across the world.

If chess is a mere game played for relaxation or to kill boredom, why is the game still surviving in this world and attracting people all over the world, especially in this age of technological advancements where innumerable games are available in the market place and the Internet for providing relaxation, fantasy and excitement.

Chess is basically a game that requires serious thinking and deep concentration. You are called upon to take decisions at every move aimed at achieving the goal of saying “checkmate” to the opponent. The victory in the game is not in your own hands but in the hands of the opponent. You can win only and only when your opponent makes a mistake and you capitalize on that mistake. Similarly you can lose the game only and only when you make a mistake and get punished by the opponent who ceases the opportunity.

Simulate the situation in the game to that of your life and you will find the similarities between the two things – the chess and the life.

In life, the opponent is the world at large. You are called upon to take decisions at every point of your life – be it studying a course, taking up a job, buying a car, loving a girl, marrying a lady, so on and so forth. A wrong decision will make you ruin later while a wise decision will make your life a better one.

Learning the game of chess and gaining experience in this fascinating game will help a person cultivate many of the following capabilities: make informed and balanced decisions; develop analytical skills; logical and concise thought process; deep concentration; responsibility; and planning ahead. These invaluable skills will naturally help a person improve his character and approach to the life.

Playing chess helps children excel in maths

16
Posted by ChessTeacher on October 11, 2009 – 2:52 pm
Filed under General Chess
Tagged as benefits of playing chess, chess benefits, chess online, online chess, play chess, play chess online, why play chess

Chess is a thinking game. It is a fair game in that the player is responsible for the fate of the game and there is no other thing intervention in the game either in the form of luck or in the form of chance. One thing that can be said to be a chance or luck is nothing but the mistake of the opponent. In general, the player needs to think, analyze, visualize, plan, decide and execute a series of moves applying tactics and strategies to say “checkmate” to the opponent.

If children were taught this noble game at their tender age and encouraged to play the game, they will perform better in their academic career and outshine others – this is a finding of a research study. Many countries have introduced the game of chess as part of their school curriculum and have made it a subject or game that each child should learn and play regularly.

How the game of chess will help children perform well in mathematics? Read on….

One of the important subjects that a child is taught in his schooling days is the subject of mathematics. This is a very important subject and one needs to master it to have a better score in the examinations and also to pursue higher studies.

The importance of the subject of mathematics is that it cannot be learned by memorizing it by heart. If you are learning a subject like history or literature, then it is easy to memorize the lessons, reproduce the things memorized in the examination hall, get enough marks to promote to the next grade. You can safely forget about that subject, because history is not going to help you lead a life unless you want to choose to become a historian or an archeologist.

But that is not case with maths. You cannot just memorize the formulas of algebra, reproduce it in examination and get away. The basics of mathematics such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division needs to be understood thoroughly and will be of use during your lifetime. Memorizing the nuances of mathematics and making use of the same at times of necessity is next to impossible. One needs to understand the concept thoroughly and apply thinking to solve the problems of mathematics.

Thinking, concentration, problem-solving and analytical abilities are the pre-requisites for the game of chess as well. And the good thing is that these good skills are taught in a fun way. Children enjoy the game and as part of their play, they learn these good skills.

Understanding the concepts, applying concentration, attention and analyzing the various types of problems is what is required in mathematics.

Playing chess will not only help children perform better in mathematics, but also teach very important and invaluable lessons to the children. According to research, it has been found that playing chess helps children to develop and enhance their:

  • visual memory
  • attention span
  • spatial reasoning skills
  • capacity to anticipate events
  • capacity to predict events
  • ability to use analytical skills to make decisions, and
  • ability to evaluate alternatives.

Most of these things are used to learn and excel in the subject of mathematics and also to face the problems with confidence and lead a successful life.

Now, teaching children the game of chess and encouraging them to play the game with fun has become much easier, thanks to the advancement of technology and the increased use of the Internet. Online chess helps children learn the game in a playful way with innumerable puzzles and tutorials.

It is true that children would live to play a lot in their young age. Involving in physical exercises, games, and sports activities make their body stronger and healthier. If the game of chess is also taught to the children, their brain would also be exercised and the children will become a healthy one – both physically and mentally, filled with confidence.

Online chess helps improve the skills quickly

7
Posted by ChessTeacher on September 27, 2009 – 4:22 pm
Filed under General Chess, Offtopic
Tagged as chess, chess benefits, chess game online, free chess online, online chess, play chess, play chess online, play online chess

The game of chess is a thinking game. More than providing just fun and entertainment, the game stimulates the mind and trains the mind in such a way that a person can face the life with more confidence, take wise decisions and have a better quality life.

Now with the advent of technology and the spread of Internet at a faster pace across the world, the number of people taking advantage of online chess is on the rise. Online chess has many advantages. There is no need to go in search for a partner as was the case earlier before the advent of Internet.

One more disadvantage in chess in earlier days was that a chess player, in his novice stage, would not get more opportunities to play with other novices and invariably there would be a mismatch between the two players playing in academic and amateur tournaments or games. Lack of encouragement at the early stages of the learning process also diminishes one’s appetite for the game and many people lose out in early stages due to this recurring problem.

It is in this context that online chess comes to the assistance of the chess player. He can find partners across the net at any point of time. He need not worry or go about searching for a partner to play the game. The skill set of the partner can also be decided in advance and such partner who is at par with your skill or slightly better than you can be chosen from the Internet. In this way, you can have a better experience and excitement playing with a player of equal skill than a game involving a mismatch of skill sets.

With online chess, a player can find the right partner to compete with and this helps in a long way in mastering the skills and improvising on the same at a relatively quicker time.

As there is no room for chance, luck or other outside influence in this game, the player will be ultimately responsible for all that he does in the game of chess. If he makes a wrong move or overlooks a threat to one of its pieces, then he is bound to lose that piece and ultimately the game itself.

The onus lies on the player to think, concentrate, calculate, analyze and then make an appropriate move aimed at cornering the opponent’s King. This practice of thinking before acting and taking wise decisions helps a player not only win the game, but also take important and wise decisions at real life. The more one practices the game of chess, the more matured and intelligent he will become in his approach towards the game, and towards the life in general.

Online chess has other advantages as well. The internet is storage for vast number of games played by grandmasters and others and some millions of games are available in the Internet.

A person aspiring to excel in the game of chess, can exploit this vast storage of data in the Internet to look at the great games played by grandmasters since the 1900s when the first professional championship tournaments began up to the latest tournament. Looking at those games, playing out those moves, analyzing the moves and their ultimate objectives will go a long way in helping a player gain the much-needed insight about the game. This will help in understanding the game to its core and help in improving the skills.