Did you know what the Scientific American thinks of Chess as a game? Read this direct quote -
“A pernicious excitement to learn and play chess has spread all over the country, and numerous clubs for practicing this game have been formed in cities and villages. Why should we regret this? It may be asked. We answer, chess is a mere amusement of a very inferior character, which robs the mind of valuable time that might be devoted to nobler acquirements, while it affords no benefit whatever to the body. Chess has acquired a high reputation as being a means to discipline the mind, but persons engaged in sedentary occupations should never practice this cheerless game; they require out-door exercises—not this sort of mental gladiatorship.”
Of course this was way back in the year 1859 before many Americans even made an impact on this great game. Just imagine what they would have thought of computers and computer games back then!!
The computer is just too good to play against. Witness World Champion Vladimir Kramnik’s drawn 8-game match against Deep Fritz the multiprocessor version of Fritz 7. The pre-match hype was incredible. Fritz was described as “the most lethal chess computer ever created” by Nigel Farndale in the Daily Telegraph. Author
Monty Newborn, whose book Deep Blue: An Artificial Intelligence Milestone was published in October, said that today’s computer programs “are playing at least as good as Deep Blue”, the IBM supercomputer that defeated Kasparov in 1997.
Kramnik himself asserted that Fritz was stronger than Deep Blue and that it was “the strongest chess software ever written.” He added “there are not many humans left who would have a chance in such a match.”
Chess is a game of strategy and tactics. Each player commands an army of 16 chess pawns and other pieces (the king, queen, bishops, knights, and rooks). A well played game has three stages. In the opening, the players bring out their forces in preparation for combat. The middlegamebegins as the players maneuver for position and carry out attacks and counterattacks. The final stage is the endgamewhere, with fewer pawns and pieces left on the board, it is safe for the king to come out and join the battle. As play proceeds, each player will capture some of the opponent’s men; often, the capturing pieces are immediately recaptured.
Why is it that Nakamura manages these amazing games even in an age where Chess engines almost prohibit creativity?
Is it that he is imagining ideas that no one does? Is he plain bluffing!? Does he manage to shake his opponents psychologically?
Well, probably all of the above and more. If you observe his games closely, you will notice that he throws the game off balance much more often than the other "principled" top Chess players. Which means that even if Nakamura is making an objectively slightly inferior move, he is constantly forcing his opponents into areas where they are not in the comfort zone. They expect Move A and then bang comes Move P, expect Move B and there comes Move J. Mind you, the supposedly inferior moves cannot be measured in the usual Fritzy way. The value of the move is the accuracy he is giving up vs the complexity he is throwing up! And it is sometimes a good plus, even if it is minus per the engines.
Now, the problem for the bunny GM is that Naka is no pushover, Naka probably knows the "principled move" himself in almost all positions. And he knows how to take advantage of the GM who cannot adjust to the maverick moves constantly and gives Naka an opportunity. So, the trick is to not make moves that are clearly lost at Super GM levels but to shake the opposing GM's brains dry until he capitulates.
What do you think makes Nakamura tick? We'd love to hear from you.
The most common question among chess players while starting out is, ‘How to Win At Chess?’
The answer is
Education – Read as many chess books as possible. I know most of the chess players are reluctant to agree that chess knowledge winds more games than talent alone, but this is a fact. A case in point being the recent emergence of the current world number one - GM Magnus Carlsen.
Everyone in the chess playing world agreed that Carlsen was a prodigy at chess. That he had it in him to be World champion. However after many years in the chess circuit he wasn’t able to defeat the top ranked chess players on a consistent basis. Only after he started to work on his repertoire with the Great Gary Kasparov have we seen him emerge as a consistent player at the highest level of chess.
Practice- Playing a lot of games gives you experience of being in the situation before. From here you can think of the variations played before and then experiment your way forwards towards the best possible outcome.
In the recently concluded world chess championship GM Boris Gelfand won the title against all odds. At the beginning of the tournament hardly a few chess aficionados would have given him a chance to win the title, let alone call him a favourite. After all this was a gruelling schedule for the 40 year old, a game every day for almost 45 days , with some days having as many as 4-5 blitz and rapid games in between. With the average age of the competing players being in the mid-20’s , to have won the championship shows the amount of practice and experience that makes a champion. Attitude - Your goal in chess must be to always keep learning, playing interesting chess games and to understand chess rather than to humiliate your opponent. Express your personality through the game rather than through words. Two very good examples of this are the Current world champion GM Vishwanathan Anand and GM Vassily Ivanchuk. GM Anand always has a good word about his opponent, never indulging in controversial statements and plays only on the chess board. GM Ivanchuk on the other hand keeps an element of impish delight in his games, plays chess as though he were still in his teens and often is the sole entertainer in the tournaments.
Always keep at heart the foundations of theses great teachers.
Be a good sport - If you care only about winning, then you will just play mechanically and will not create interesting options. Also you will not be able to expand your repertoire. At the same time you should be uninhibited in your games, have a tactical drive. But most of all be a good sport. Winning and losing are part of the game. Do not unnecessarily spoil the atmosphere by charging your opponent or giving rash statements. This will make you an outcast and you might not be invited to many tournaments.
The brain game of chess is receiving a fillip among residents of the tiny tourist state of Goa,especially,among the young school kids who are all admirers of local champion- Ivana Furtado. Across Goa in schools there are chess clubs coming up, with Parents, teachers and participants all gung-ho about the game, that they feel has a great potential. Chess as a sport has come up smartly over the last three years. The successes of local players like Ivana Furtado and Vidula Dempo has only spurred the interest.
Corporate sponsorships have been emerging in the last two years perhaps due to series of successes by local players. At present, there are about five Goan business houses that are major supporters of the game. However as in other states across the country, Government support is lacking. There is no proper infrastructure provide by the state , for training young talents or for organising various tournaments. Mostly chess tournaments are held in wedding halls or school premises where the facilities are all very basic.
The government should definitely come forward and recognise chess as a sport. There is a lot of enthusiasm for it and we need to capitalise on it to bring recognition to the state.
Scientific evidence has shown proved that there is a genetic basis for genius, but, at the same time the child requires a proper environment so that talent does not dissipate. Hence genetics as well as environment play a mutually inclusive role in the development of a child prodigy.
The problem with most parents is that they wish to fulfil their unfulfilled desires through their children. The child is brought up in a so called ' Hot house' environment, in which, he achieves the task of being a huge success in his field , but is unable to cope up with the social aspects of success. This leads to a falling of ways and the child may become a lost cause.
Western countries have special classes for children with higher IQ levels. However, in India just as there is no specific training capsule for slow learners, there is no such concept in place for precocious children.
Spectacular achievements by peers could mount pressure on non-prodigious children but parents need to understand the limitations of their children as each home can’t have a prodigy. Each child is different if not special and ought to be treated so. Mozart was a child prodigy, Bach wasn’t but he wasn’t any the lesser for it.
In Cricket mad India, other sports are almost completely sidelined and are given only a few paragraph in almost all the major News papers. One of the games which has been receiving some amount of coverage of late is the ultimate mind game - Chess. This has more to do with India producing the first truly individual world champion in any sport in the world. But for Anand, this game of the common man would never have received the following it commands in India.
The game of chess is often misunderstood by people who do not follow the game keenly, terming it just another past time or hobby. Regular followers of the game however love it to no end. Why does this happen? Why isn't Chess considered a sport by one and all?
Is it because it is a game played almost without any emotion? Is it because it takes almost 4 to 5 hours for a standard game to be completed at the highest level? Or is it because it is difficult to predict the result , unlike in field games?
One other misunderstanding among non-chess people is that it is a game for older folk who just like to sit around doing nothing. Far from it, most of the present day as well as past generation players are known to exercise strenuously for 2-3 hours so as to keep the mind from tiring.
So why doesn't chess command a following like other field games? This is question which requires a good debate! Any takers?....
Did you know what the Scientific American thinks of Chess as a game? Read this direct quote -
match against Deep Fritz the multiprocessor version of Fritz 7. The pre-match hype was incredible. Fritz was described as “the most lethal chess computer ever created” by Nigel Farndale in the Daily Telegraph. Author
was published in October, said that today’s computer programs “are playing at least as good as Deep Blue”, the IBM supercomputer that defeated Kasparov in 1997.
Chess is a game of strategy and tactics. Each player commands an army of 16 chess pawns and other pieces (the king, queen, bishops, knights, and rooks). A well played game has three stages. In the 
, the players bring out their forces in preparation for combat. The 
begins as the players maneuver for position and carry out attacks and counterattacks. The final stage is the 
where, with fewer pawns and pieces left on the board, it is safe for the king to come out and join the battle. As play proceeds, each player will capture some of the opponent’s men; often, the capturing pieces are immediately recaptured. 
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