So Why Chess? Chess is fun (no, really!) You'll meet new friends. Win or lose, you get to make the decisions! (No waterlogged pitches or dubious refereeing decisions here!) Chess teaches independence (and teamwork, too, if you play for a Club) It requires concentration and problem-solving It improves your memory - good mental health is important. Chess rewards hard work, study, creativity ... It's a game for players of all ages, cultures, backgrounds and abilities ... Play socially or competitively ... It can be enjoyed in many places and in all weathers. A computer can help, but is not essential. As for the cost, it's surprisingly little. You don't need to be a corporate leader to enjoy it ... Some of the more complimentary things that have been said about Chess ... It has the power to make people happy (Lasker) A game for everyone (Polgar) Is art, science and sport (Karpov) Is the gymnasium of the mind (Pascal) A cure for a headaches (Keynes) Note from webmaster - 'not sure about that one!' Requires a lot of mental stamina (Anand) A natural cerebral high (Browne) A matter of delicate judgement, knowing when to punch and when to duck (Fischer) Not for the timid (Chernev) A test of wills (Keres) More than a game (Capablanca) Ludicrously difficult (Stephen Fry) A fairy tale of 1001 blunders! (Tartakover) One mark of a scheming mind, Watson! (Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes) Improves strategic thinking, attention span, patience, camaraderie and sportsmanship ... (Wynton Marsalis) Benjamin Franklin ... It promotes 'several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life
In Chess, even the impossible is sometimes possible, which reminds one of life. (A P Kazantsev) Maurice Ashley ... There's so many lessons I get from chess ... the biggest thing for me has always been is that losing is learning. Humour ... Comparing motherhood to playing chess, Judit Polgár said that a chess tournament "now feels like a vacation!" Eric Sykes (on having lunch with a chess Master) ... "I knew he was a chess champion, it took him 20 minutes to pass the salt!" Woody Allen ... "I failed to make the chess team because of my height!" Chess doesn’t drive people mad, it keeps mad people sane (William Hartston) History ... An ingenious game ... (where) chance seems to have no place, and a person never loses but by his own fault.' (Universal Dictionary of arts and Sciences, 1727) 'In China, young maids are taught it as part of their education.' R Lambe (1764) 'It has been said that Chess would have perished long ago, were it not destined to live forever.' H E Bird (1893) Media ... From 'The Shawshank Redemption' ... "Chess, now there's a game for kings, civilised, strategic." - Andy "And a total mystery, I hate it!" - Red From 'Kingdom of Heaven' “A king may move a man. A father may claim a son. That man can also move himself, and only then does that man truly begin his own game.” From 'Black Hawk Down' "I can mate you in three whatever you do." "I'd keep my eye on that queen before counseling others." "Well, she's just lying in wait ..." What the World Champions said 'The path of Chess is a life with ups and downs' (Steinitz) ' ... the finest of mental exercises. It develops concentration and logical reasoning ...' “Every boy of intelligence ought to take up the game (of chess) ..." "to me, far more than a game, it's an art.” "Nothing is so healthy as a thrashing at the proper time, and from few won games have I learned as much as I have from most of my defeats.” (Capablanca) By Chess I formed my character (Alekhine) The game is a battle ... a struggle (Euwe) There remains much in it that is secret and unexplored ... (Smyslov) For strong people with strong character (Botvinnik) It remains a game but there's nothing accidental about it ... (Petrosian) You must search for victory ... (Bobby Fischer, on games drawn without a struggle) ... Chess and Commerce James Warren in the New York Times: 'there is no shortage of hedge fund managers and corporate leaders who are chess players, some of whom link the habits of mind learned at chess with their success.' Enjoy Chess anywhere ... At at 'simul' A serious study ... ... Or for fun ... Anywhere ... Amongst beginners ... At a tournament ... On the street ... Between professionals ... In the grounds of your hotel ... At home ... In the park ... Over a beer ... Waiting for the boat ... Amongst friends wherever possible (we don't get on all the time, but we try!) Easy to learn ... Boy, is it difficult to master! |