In an era where cricket has got a lot of tempo and space advantage, chess obviously needs to cement clarity and awareness among the people to attain equality in terms of considering it a game. I consider 8cross8 as one of the platforms or a medium through which I can make an attempt to spread chess waves!
The basic chess moves are easy to learn, provided you spend some time with a manual or a friend who could teach you the workings of every chess piece. Chess needs spectators, it needs you and your friends. Let us go further and try to answer the question: Why Chess?
- It helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The brain works like a muscle, it needs exercise like any bicep or quad to be healthy and ward off injury. A recent study featured in The New England Journal of Medicine found that people over 75 who engage in brain-stretching activities like chess are less likely to develop dementia than their non-board-game-playing peers. Just like an un-exercised muscle loses strength, Dr. Robert Freidland, the study’s author, found that unused brain tissue leads to a loss of brain power. So that’s all the more reason to play chess before you turn 75.
- It grows dendrites. Dendrites are like antennas. You can think of them as signals from other brain cells. The more antennas youhave and bigger they are, the more signals you will pick up.
- Chess forges friendships. Chess enables you to meet many interesting people. You will make life-long friendships with people you meet through chess.
- It is a powerful tool that enables you to improve your focus. The game in itself is a wonderful guide to the seeker.
- Chess teaches Life.Learn the game, because it imitates life. A lot of giants have included this game into their pot of winning habits: Richard Branson, Anil Kumble,and Aamir Khan to name a few.
Chess improves you. It teaches you the importance of:
- Unity
- Discipline
- Patience
- Time
The game helps in developing cognitive skills as well:
- Memory
- Concentration
- Skills in decision making
- Problem Solving Ability
- Planning and Creativity
In a chess circle, a wise man once remarked,
“Show me your moves and I’ll tell you who you are.”
Our moves determine who we are. Chess is one game that helps us improve our personality.
Now that we are sufficiently stuffed with the answers to the basic question, let’s move further to the chess scenario in India at the moment.
Indian Chess Scenario
Chess will continue to grow in India. There is one name that is glued to Indian chess and the bonding will remain forever. His progress has reflected the popularity of chess in India to a great extent. The entire fraternity owes ‘Vishy Anand’ a lot. His voluminous results speak for themselves.
Youngsters on the rise: There is no gainsaying in the fact that Vishy Anand has inspired the youngsters of this country to take up the game seriously and hope to plant their career in the game of Chess.
There are a lot of tournaments organized in India throughout the year, thanks to the efforts of the All India Chess Federation. Here are a few points that will shed light on the present chess scenario in India:
- Chess is made compulsory in schools. CIS (Chess in Schools Program) has been implemented by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Maharashtra.
- Sports Oriented Universities like Velammal, (Chennai) are helping chess players by giving them laptops, cash awards, and free education inclusive of tuition fees.
- Companies like Indian Oil, ONGC, (Oil and Natural gas corporation), Oil India, LIC (Life Insurance Corporation), AAI (Airports Authority of India), AIR India, and railways are recruiting chess players on the basis of their achievements. They are also providing scholarship to deserving candidates.
Here is what International Grandmaster and Chess Trainer, Igor Stohl from Slovakia, has to say about Indian Chess:
’’ Well, to put it shortly, when I started playing chess shortly after the Rejkjavik 1972 World Championship, India was a white spot on the chess map. The only distinction was that Manuel Aaron (India’s first International master) topped any alphabetical list :). Almost 40 years later, they are a chess superpower with enormous potential. Naturally, Vishy played a crucial role in this development, but nowadays, Indian chess is not only Anand – there are literally hundreds of talented boys and girls, willing to emulate their big hero…’’
India has a lot of talent. I call it the ‘Rocket’. The chess rocket in India needs to be propelled. Chess is our game and it needs all that it deserves. The rocket is capable of reaching magnificent heights. Do your bit and help launch the rocket. Learn the game! Promote it! Encourage it! Let chess prevail!
I will be back with another article next week. Do let me know why you love chess. What does chess mean to you? Post your answer in comments!
Cheers
