The Game of Kings

Chess is probably the most proliferative game in the world. Probably having originated in the ancient far east, it is played in every country by millions of people. A game with such history and longevity undoubtedly has much to teach us, both about the game and about ourselves. This blog has already addressed part of that aspect of chess, but naturally, we have not come close to covering it all. Recently, I came upon this article, written by a man, R. M. Moore, who uses chess as a tool when he is asked to teach children.

Mr. Moore claims that chess is "the only game where luck is never a factor." While I am not in total agreement with that (I make my exception with other simple classics like Go and Checkers), I do agree that, more so than any other game, one is forced to out think one's opponent. (And check out his paragraph on video games! He is by no means putting them down, but I myself draw from it a sense that this is why video games just don't have the same value that board games can have). Therefore, studying chess certainly makes you a better thinker. Secondly, and just as importantly, studying the way a person plays chess is a great way to analyze how that person thinks. That's where Moore comes in.

Moore says that any time he's asked to mentor a child, he begins by teaching the child to play chess. He plays them, not to win, but to teach, and gives two good examples of this in his article. It's worth a read, and I won't spoil it for you, but it's obvious that Moore knows what he's doing, and that, properly used, chess is an invaluable tool for helping kids to improve themselves - to learn lifelong lessons at a young age.

Read that article, and also check out this linked website on the history of chess (it's where I took that graphic from). It's totally worth a read, and not just for that sweet background before the content loads!