Chess: Only a Game or More?

Chess is a game of strategy and planning. It is a game that requires the player to consider options and to contemplate the consequences of actions taken. Chess is a game of patience and contemplation that is not for the fleet of action. However, chess is a game that is not reserved for the elite but it is a game for the intellectual, the thinker. Chess is a game for any age player; there is no limit. Chess is a game where old and young can play and enjoy together. During my two summers in Russia, it was not uncommon for me to see two children - sometimes very young children - playing a game of chess on the front steps of a building while waiting for school to begin.

From the opening gambit each player is forced to consider each of his moves several plays ahead while considering the counter moves for each play possible by his opponent. Over the years successful players have designed sets of moves to counter an opponents play each carrying the name of its originator. Avid chess players read volumes on these various gambits requiring the user to memorize and remember any number of gambits and moves within those gambits. Scientific studies have proven that an active mind is one of the best ways to deter Alzheimer's disease. Chess players must use make use of several aspect of their brains.

Military leaders who demonstrated the ability to lead troops to successful campaigns also played chess. From playing the game these men learned strategy and the art of move counter-move. As a result, these military leaders understood the advantage of planning and consequences. Every night the newscasts are full of stories about people who for one reason or another failed to consider the consequences of their actions. Whether it be from a lack of understanding due to not being taught or failure by the person to contemplate such actions a failure to consider the consequence of an action results in further failure.

People who proclaim chess as a waste of time are the same people who lack the patience to sit for the hours it takes to complete a game (unless one player is vastly inferior to the other in which case a game can go very quickly) and the ability to contemplate and consider consequences of actions several moves in advance.

Chess is a game of kings and paupers. It is a game of thought and contemplation. Chess is not a game for fools or the foolish.