chess

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Let's change the definition of ‘cool’- this summer, learn to code your robot!

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Let's change the definition of ‘cool’- this summer, learn to code your robot!

Designing a fully functioning robot may look challenging for a kid, however, under our guidance it can be both, educational and fun. Kids of this generation are smart, they are much more aware of the local and global scenes. They are privileged to have access to information that is available on their fingertips. Having said that, they have a diverse field of options to choose their passion. We are way past the time when ‘cool’ was restricted to just being popular amongst batch mates or part of a happening club in school. An inventive and smart child, who knows a new thing or two about building creative objects is cool. Spreading awareness about climate change, mental health awareness and even fighting against bullying is super cool. All these are real life initiatives which prove - kids can make a difference too.

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This summer, let your kids explore

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This summer, let your kids explore

The society or community we live in, the people we interact with and the behaviour we imbibe from them are all inter-linked. They create a long-lasting impression on the nature of kids. Their convictions are all based on the apprehensions that they make early in their life and later abide by these inculcated ideas. These days, parenting can be both difficult and tiring. You as a parent need to be equally cautious and patient. You need to be aware of the facts, situations and surroundings relating to your kid, at the same time be all understanding and composed to the issues that are evident. Your child can be an enigma to you, but you as a parent need to figure out what’s best for your child.

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The Esteemed Women Chess Players of India

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The Esteemed Women Chess Players of India

Women are contributing their best in each field. It is a pleasure to watch these women working hard, breaking barriers, and achieving their dreams. These are the same women who are mothers, sisters, aunts or the next door girl, whom with will and dedication have turned their life's around with this game.

History indicates chess as a leisure activity, but these days it is a highly competitive game that many men and women have perfected and made it their profession. It’s amazing to watch these women play the 'game of thrones'. Let us meet the queens of the game.

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Chess Trivia

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Chess Trivia

Bizarre winning strategies:

Ruy Lopez the famous priest and chess player of the 16th century advised chess players to make sure their opponents sit facing the sun. To quote him “Sit your opponent with the sun in his eyes.” Another popular bizarre winning strategy by Lucena, a famous chess player of that time is, if you want to beat your opponent, always play when they have their stomach filled with food and drinks. To quote him “ “Try to play after your opponent has eaten or drunk freely.”

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Rejuvenating the Zest of life with a slight Sprinkle of Water

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Rejuvenating the Zest of life with a slight Sprinkle of Water

Water is known as the essence of life. What’s surprising is, a substance that is colourless, odourless and tasteless could actually be the poet of the never-ending narrative called life. As a wise old man, water has always been the saviour for plants, animals, human life, and the initiation of entire civilizations. Maybe that’s why the sight of a looming dark cloud over a drought prone area, brings relief not just to the earthly beings but also the parched, scorching face of the earth.

If we consider photosynthesis, water plays a crucial part in photosynthesis. Without water, the plant can’t absorb Carbon Dioxide from the environment.

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The beaming sunlight beckons the plant to sprout

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The beaming sunlight beckons the plant to sprout

Since the ‘Big Bang’, sunlight has been known as the optimal source of energy, light and positivity. Every morning the innocent game of hide-and-seek ends with first streaks of light breaking through dawn, ending the darkness prevailing all over the earth. Sunrise is really a beautiful sight for the beholder, and it wakes the entire planet up from its long deep sleep. It does the same to a plant.

The rays of the morning sun shakes a plant up from its night cradle, energises it and reminds it to do its daily ritual. Day by day, It grows under the shelter of its mentor, the sun. What was a feeble sapling once, grows out to be a big strong tree. The sun nurtures a sapling, helps in photosynthesis and helps in growth.

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A strong and sturdy plant speaks of the soil beneath

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A strong and sturdy plant speaks of the soil beneath

A strong and sturdy plant speaks of the soil beneath; A soil that is well-ploughed, and watered; which breathes, replenishes and lets grow. The right soil does not merely give birth. It nourishes and sustains. Children are those saplings we plant with much hope and dreams. For them to nourish and grow into healthy minds, there needs to be a lot of digging around; a whole lot of watering and manuring, with patience and diligence.

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How photosynthesis is not just essential for plants, but also for kids.

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How photosynthesis is not just essential for plants, but also for kids.

Turn the pages of your 3rd Grade Environmental Science textbook and you would realise how early in your academics, you were introduced to the lessons of life. Though the origin of plants on earth, was traced back to around 3.5 billion years ago, they are still the reason for human life on earth. If we refer to our textbooks then, photosynthesis is a process through which plants take in Sunlight, Carbon Dioxide and Water and convert it into Oxygen. The growth of the plant depends on the intake of these three basic needs.

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The Dark Knight vs The Real Knight

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The Dark Knight vs The Real Knight

We won’t enter the much debatable topic about who's the best, DC or Marvel? Even though your favourite is either one of them, there are certain characters that speaks for themselves . It might be a superhero, villain or even a sidekick. Their character stands out and appeals to the audience. One such character could be our Batman. You might be a Marvel fan, but there must be a point of time when you just associated yourself with our very dear superhero.

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The 2nd Youngest Grandmaster of India - Gukesh

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The 2nd Youngest Grandmaster of India - Gukesh

You find twelve year old kids, beaming with energy, always on a go, dreaming to be their favourite idol. They build their own world around themselves, filled with imagination and aspirations. This is the age when they are about to reach their teenage, there is always an adrenaline rush that stimulates all their senses.  

While every student was busy building their own world, D Gukesh, a twelve year old kid based in Chennai built his name as the World’s 2nd youngest Grandmaster. He achieved his final GM norm while he was participating in the 17th Delhi International Chess Grandmaster open against IM Dinesh K Sharma. He achieved such great heights in chess at the age of Twelve years, seven months and seventeen days. Though he missed the World Record of Sergey Karjakin, a Russian chess player by a whisker of just 17 days, he still aims high and continues to be focused on other tournaments and championships.

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Chess is the gymnasium of the Mind- Blaise Pascal

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Chess is the gymnasium of the Mind- Blaise Pascal

We know Blaise Pascal as the inventor of Pascaline, the first mechanical calculator and we believe there is a story to every invention or discovery. The story behind the invention of the first mechanical calculator is quite simple. Pascal’s father was working as a tax collector in the French city of Rouen in the year 1642, and in order to help his father with the calculations, pascal developed the world’s first mechanical calculator.

A noble cause that left the windows of opportunity open for others, to take inspiration from the raw format of a mechanical calculator and advance its functions. That’s life, you need inspiration, and you can find them anywhere. From people, things or just words. One such quote by Blaise Pascal is ‘chess is the gymnasium of the mind’.

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“No one ever won a game by resigning” – Savielly Tartakower

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“No one ever won a game by resigning” – Savielly Tartakower

Savielly Tartakower is a French Grandmaster, a leading chess journalist and a successful author in the 1920's and 1930's. Even though he was a strong player he is mostly remembered for his wit, maverick and aphorism also known as Tartakoverisms. He grew out to be one of the most notable chess players of his time even with his impactful quotations and statements. In his quote, "No one ever won a game by resigning" he wanted to state that unless and until you continue to play the game till the very end, you would never know that you ultimately won or lost. Chess is a game that you play with skilful tactics and proper strategic planning. You decide your action before making a move with scanning and browsing over the situation in and around your position.

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Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess (Explained) Part - 4

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Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess (Explained) Part - 4

Benjamin Franklin's essay, the morals of chess, is still celebrated among the chess lovers. All the four virtues are abided by people to succeed in chess and in life. There is a strong notion that exists among players ‘There are times when a well-placed pawn is more powerful than the king.' So, the placement of the pawn is crucially important to overpower the game. Very similar to life, where trivial circumstances or situations lead you to define the course of your life. In this blog, we would discuss, Benjamin Franklin's fourth and final virtue of chess.

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Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess (Explained) Part-3

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Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess (Explained) Part-3

Indeed true, the upheavals in one's life fly away swiftly leaving a clear sky, and then life goes on. But for some people, a storm is a dramatic magnificent dance of nature that needs to be enjoyed. True to its saying, Benjamin Frankin was different, he was one that fell in love with the storm. His deep love for oceans and storms stimulated him to discover the modern understanding of the Gulf stream. Among his numerous voyages that took him to places, he encountered violent storms in the ocean. During his frequent sailing between Europe and North America, he started to notice a pattern to these storms and concluded the understanding of Gulf stream, an ocean current that effects weather on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess (explained) Part -2

Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess (explained) Part -2

A person's outlook towards life interprets a great deal about him/her. While people chase over materialistic things to make life easy, Benjamin Frankin was one such curious soul who was dedicated to make life simpler for others, through his inventions and discoveries. The Pennsylvania Stover and the Lightning Rod are examples of him being a naturally inquisitive individual who spreads happiness among people by transforming nature from being destructive to constructive. His eagerness to know things introduced him to the world of chess and its virtues. So, we would discuss, what is the second virtue of chess according to Benjamin Franklin's 'The Morals of Chess'?

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Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess (explained) Part -1

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Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess (explained) Part -1

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing" The American Superhero, Benjamin Franklin was a prominent figure of the early American history. What's incredible about his personality, he wasn't restricted to any particular profession. He played contrasting roles in different phases of his life, he was a leading author, civic activist, political theorist, diplomat and even a postmaster. He believed in an uninterrupted flow of life, just like a river.

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Explore the creativity of your child through robotics and coding

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Explore the creativity of your child through robotics and coding

Kids are known to be inquisitive. They would constantly have thousands of questions bubbling in their mind and they love to find the answers to them. The Sci-fi movies today even blow an adult's minds away. Back in the days, when we as kids used to be awestruck by watching movies like Jurassic Park or Star Wars, imagine the level of excitement for kids who belong to the present generation!

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How Chess Can Prove to be Great for Family Bonding

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How Chess Can Prove to be Great for Family Bonding

We say that 'no matter how far we go, we would always find our way back home'. For an individual, home symbolises family, warmth, love and the sense of togetherness and a child is no exception to that. Though the formation of nuclear families have shrunk the amount of time that a child spends with his/her entire family. The hectic schedule of parents and distance from grandparents have reduced their world to themselves.

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The Pursuit of a Better Brain

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The Pursuit of a Better Brain

In the critically acclaimed Hollywood movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness” – a biopic on Chris Gardener, the famous investor, inspirational speaker and author - there is a scene where the protagonist solves the Rubik’s Cube during a cab ride.

While sharing a ride with an enterprising stockbroker from a prestigious firm, Chris Gardener (played by veteran actor Will Smith) notices the man struggling with a Rubik’s Cube and offers to solve it. Apparently, Gardener solves the Cube before they reach the destination, impresses the man, lands a position as a trainee in the company and goes on to create history!

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Chess for kids - A game at leisure and a medium to surge grades at school.

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Chess for kids - A game at leisure and a medium to surge grades at school.

For most parents, the arrival of a child is a vow to work towards the well being of their bundle of joy. As the child grows, their expectations and aspirations from the child increases gradually. What remains constant, is their wish to mould their child into a good human being, imbibing the basic humanitarian qualities and moral virtues.

Gift your child a new skill.