Amidst the Covid-19 gloom that halted the regular chess championships, Indian chess proved its mettle, coming victorious in the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad on Sunday August 30th. Though a joint victory with the Russian team - owing to server malfunctions - the glory of winning the first ever online Olympiad is sweet incense for the team, for Indian Chess and to the nation’s dampened spirits.
Keen followers of Chess tournaments and championship games must be familiar with the name Baku thanks to the much-talked-about Baku Chess Olympiad of 2016. The capital city of Azerbaijan received its fair share of the spotlight when it hosted the 42nd World Chess Olympiad for the first time.
What comes to your mind whenever you think of Chess? Probably a few geeky minds and a game that has got to do with intelligent and strategic moves. Well you are almost right, since about 80% of Chess players relate the game like you do, but people generally have a misconception on how this essential cognitive skill is taught.
Every century has witnessed its legendary grandmaster born, and triumphant in the war rooms of chess, and glorified in the pamphlets of history.
From the first World Championship in 1886, that gave birth to the World’s first-ever chess champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, to the rise of the reigning grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, the list has been overwhelming in its diversity and excellence.
Here’s a brief chronological journey through the rise and rule of some of the greatest chess masters of the bygone era.
On February 10, 1996, the history of chess took a sharp turn, when for the first time a computer beat a grandmaster, the then chess champion at his own game.
IBM’s prodigy-computer Deep Blue beat the legendary Garry Kasparov in the first game of a six-game match. It was a moment when machine intelligence wallowed in its glory!
Those of you chess players who have sat through an entire game, however amateurish it was, would know the sequence of emotions that arise within you at every change in the game. Though the ancient board game could give off a “monk-in-meditation” vibe for the less enlightened mortals, it sure affects your adrenalin as any other sport does.
Chess surely requires wise tactics to win. But what if tactics were loaded with superstitions and craziness?
Today the game holds the throne as one of the most dignified and intellectual games in the world. But the Gentleman’s Game wasn’t exactly so in the early centuries of its evolution. The history of Chess is amusingly dotted with, and at times scarred by, weird antics, foul play and vengeance.
The Chessmasters in the early centuries came up with strange methods laced with superstitions and cheap tricks to ensure their victory. From cigars and cats to sunlight and amulets, many went overboard with berserk attempts to distract and defeat their opponents.
As COVID-19 grounded us for months, one of the games that thrived and beat the odds would be chess! Chess enthusiasts happily teleported to the web enjoying the game online. Parents too gratefully let the restless kids explore the net and encouraged online chess coaching. If children need to play online, what better game than chess? Their mind, brain, and body would stay engaged for a few hours; that too, in a disciplined way. Online chess is a good bargain.
How about an interesting trip to the behind-the-scenes fun facts of Chess, the ancient “game of thrones”?
Of all the games, Chess has that intriguing aura about it that makes the players the proud participants, the audience awe-struck, and the “illiterates”, well, embarrassed (?). The medieval game that is rooted in our “very own” rich soil has the world in its brainy fist today.
The outbreak of a pandemic has given us a generous scoop of home-based e-learning. Thanks to the ever-evolving technologies and access to high-speed internet, online learning is flourishing and could soon be a substitute to traditional classroom teaching. But does e-learning facilitate the overall progress of a child?
With the restricted interaction and physical activity of e-platforms, how far can they modulate cognitive skills in children? Can brain stimulators like mind games that develop cognitive capabilities in children be taught effectively online?
Chess is a sport that dates back to the 14th century. When the world’s first light bulb wasn’t even invented, chess captured the minds of people who took the sport with utmost seriousness. The sport became prominent for a long time and grandmasters have been revered across generations. Since then multiple training centres, chess coaching circles and schools have been formed to train and mould the next generation of grandmasters who compete in grand, fierce and glorious tournaments. As the sport enters a new decade — lets’ take a look at the Top 10 chess tournaments that ever happened in history.
As the pandemic resulted in a pause to classrooms for over 1.2 billion children globally it gave birth to the rise of e-learning and online classes on digital platforms. Within the span of a few months the Covid -19 has changed the education system and acted as a catalyst for educational institutions worldwide to find innovative solutions to keep the learning steady.
Two months in this lockdown and we are already disturbed, stressed and anxious. The unprecedented circumstances have only made this a turmoil for all. The children are the worst hit as their physical and mental state is compromised. For physical exercise, an adult can take up aerobics and yoga, and even talk to close ones about one’s state of mind.
Have you ever heard of brain training? Maybe as an abstract concept. But Harvard Medical School has proven theories about how you could train your brain to learn more and do strenuous tasks by putting it to regular practice. We know very little about the Brain, the most complex part of our body, but the present research and experiments make it look like we are getting somewhere.
When the world is on a break and industries seem to have shut down for aeons, what could probably prosper? Entertainment seems to be the only segment that has crawled out of the casualties with very few scratches. As the world takes refuge on the internet and makes it home, thanks to the lock-out, games that are versatile online seem to shine through the darkness. Chess, for one, has experienced little to no change in spreading a lot more than just enlightenment.
We are dealing with a young generation that is hooked to the internet. Social media defines and determines their lives. Apps and chats keep them breathing! And as the world is in the grip of a virus, they are enjoying their ‘viral’ fevers on whatsapp, facebook and more! You must have spent a significant amount of time convincing your kids to reduce their screen time, and in vain!
The crisis consuming the world is a talk of every household. The worried confused faces peeping through balconies and windows is tragic to see and the theories floating in the air is only adding to the miseries of all. Amongst this, the little spare moments of fun and laughter are life saviours. Recreational activities like chess, robotics etc, are proving to be an oasis in a desert, making people feel fulfilled and engaging them rationally. Though played for leisure, what about those who are learning these games? Is discontinuation the answer to this?
