A chess game can be a form of art. Winning generally takes precedence over aesthetic considerations; however, artistic positions can be strived for during the contest. The stronger a player’s ability the more likely he/she will notice aesthetic elements. Oftentimes, master level players will see several accurate possibilities and make a decision based on aestheticsContinue reading “Chess as an Art-Form”
Category Archives: chess philosopohy
Get Inspired to Play Better Chess!
Napoleon Hill famously stated “To be inspired is great, to inspire is incredible!” This is especially true in terms of chess. Most days I spend quality time searching through chess databases for sources of inspiration. Some days produce less than stellar results while on rare occasions I discover real hidden gems in the form ofContinue reading “Get Inspired to Play Better Chess!”
Better Notate Your Chess Games
Because, once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same box. The queen, and the bishops who serve her, will experience the same fate. Don’t worry about the horses, they’re going away too. Even the castles will disappear. Better notate your game. So when your own time at theContinue reading “Better Notate Your Chess Games”
How to Help Young Chess Players Bounce Back from a Tough Loss
Losing is part of the game of chess and an important part of a young chess player’s growth. As a chess coach or chess parent, one of our most important roles is helping a child deal with a difficult loss at a chess tournament. Step 1 After every round, examine the chess game together inContinue reading “How to Help Young Chess Players Bounce Back from a Tough Loss”
Facilitative Ball Sharing in Chess
Basketball fans throw around terms like “ball hogs” and “facilitators”. A poor point guard, for example, will “hog the ball” attempting to be the star to the detriment of the team. A good point guard is a facilitator for the entire team setting the plays and passing the ball to a teammate with the bestContinue reading “Facilitative Ball Sharing in Chess”
Emotional Weakness in Chess
As compared to emotionless computers, human chess is inconsistent. Computers may lose at chess but they don’t have “bad days” where their performance is inexplicably poor. Emotional thinking, therefore, appears to present a weakness for decision making in humans. Obviously, we are biological creatures and emotions have by and large served the human race wellContinue reading “Emotional Weakness in Chess”
All Chess Masters Are Stoic
Not all stoics are chess players, but all chess masters are stoic. Knights who sacrifice themselves, contemplating truth, baring their brains among the scholars of war. Burning neurons like Tal’s cigarettes. Quiet! Listen to the whispering eyes in the room evaluate them. Their positions busting along with their hearts. Watch them! Staring with disillusion atContinue reading “All Chess Masters Are Stoic”
Learning to Laugh at your Worst Chess Mistakes
Chess is a demanding game. For many of us, the game represents a never-ending sequence of challenges. We grow fixated on losses, obsessing over every imperfection in our play, agonizing about the missed opportunities and how we destroyed our rating. In this way, we hold ourselves to unrealistic, if not humanly impossible, expectations. Give yourselfContinue reading “Learning to Laugh at your Worst Chess Mistakes”
The Importance of Setting Lofty Goals in Chess
One of my most successful coaching techniques is encouraging my chess students to set lofty goals for themselves. Together we break these goals into attainable steps and utilize achievement markers to show progress. Of course, certain levels of chess expertise are not achievable for everyone and if they were, chess would be obsolete. For instance,Continue reading “The Importance of Setting Lofty Goals in Chess”
Basic Chess Strategy
Question: What are some common chess strategies? Answer: Below is a list of chess strategies known as Reuben Fine’s “Thirty Rules of Chess”. Chess is a complicated game and there will always be exceptions to any rule. However, it is a good exercise to understand why each item below is generally recognized as good chessContinue reading “Basic Chess Strategy”
Luck in Chess
Question: What do you think of the saying “There in no luck in chess”? Answer: It depends on how we define luck and whether we separate the game of chess from its human combatants. If you characterizes luck simply as pure chance then there is no luck in the game of chess, for deep analysisContinue reading “Luck in Chess”
My Quora Answer to: Which chess player’s games have you found the most instructive?
José Raúl Capablanca‘s chess delivered and still creates an irresistable masterful impact. In his games an inclination towards straightforwardness prevailed, and in his seemingly effortlessness brilliance there was a one of a kind delight of veritable simplicity. Indeed, his style, one of the most perfect, most completely clear in the whole history of chess, stillContinue reading “My Quora Answer to: Which chess player’s games have you found the most instructive?”
Chess teaches inmates a different way of thinking
Chess teaches inmates a different way of thinking — Read on http://www.google.com/amp/s/www.inquirer.com/life/jail-inmates-chess-tournament-upside-20191103.html?outputType=amp “They always compare chess to the game of life,” he said. “If you make good decisions, it’s ultimately going to lead to a good outcome. You make bad decisions, it’s going to lead to bad position, and you’re going to lose the game.”
UCLA football hopes chess will help to checkmate opponents – Los Angeles Times
UCLA football hopes chess will help to checkmate opponents – Los Angeles Times “Everyone is super physically gifted,” Makowsky told the news service, “but what begins to separate the elite top performers is how they process things, their mind-set, their mentality, how they can recognize patterns, how they can almost see five moves ahead.” Makowsky,Continue reading “UCLA football hopes chess will help to checkmate opponents – Los Angeles Times”
Fremont Summer Chess Camp: Week 3
The Torres Chess and Music Academy is constantly at work making sure the events we offer your children are the very best in California. Below are some images from week 3 of the 2014 Fremont Summer Chess Camp. There is still one more week left in our chess camp at Mission San Jose Elementary SchoolContinue reading “Fremont Summer Chess Camp: Week 3”
Fremont Summer Chess Camp: Week 1
The first week of the Torres Chess and Music Academy’s Fremont Summer Camp was a smashing success. One parent even asked me why our camp was so much better than the other chess classes in the Bay Area. I answered, “The real secret is in enthusiasm. It is the magic we use to transform challengesContinue reading “Fremont Summer Chess Camp: Week 1”
How important are chess ratings for children?
A chess rating is just a number used in chess to estimate the strength of a player based on his/her past performance. For years, I have been advising chess coaches, parents and kids to avoid becoming preoccupied with ratings as doing so creates unnecessary problems for children. Some common problems I see regularly from overContinue reading “How important are chess ratings for children?”
The Tenth Rank
The Top Ten Chess (CC) Players in the United States for May 2014. Source: United States Chess Federation 1 Menke, John R IL USA 2489 2 Buss, Michael IN USA 2430 3 Brandhorst, Wesley FL USA 2416 4 Ingersol, Harry Walter IA USA 2415 5 Tracz, James G OH USA 2405 6 Tseng, Wilbur ILContinue reading “The Tenth Rank”
Oops She Did It Again!
To most fans of college athletics, a coach fails unless he/she wins it all every time. To Susan Polgar, the head coach of Webster University’s Chess Team, success and failure are connected like cause and effect. Still, her unique philosophy on coaching chess has allowed her to set a record that even the harshestContinue reading “Oops She Did It Again!”
Susan Polgar Explains Her Coaching Philosophy
Susan Polgar is, in my humble opinion, the best chess coach in the United States. Her achievement of coaching two different division 1 colleges to National Chess Championships on several occasions speaks volumes as to her abilities. I believe Susan’s coaching philosophy should prove useful for coaches of any discipline. Obtained from http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-coaching-philo<a href="http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-coaching-philosophy.html?m=1 ManyContinue reading “Susan Polgar Explains Her Coaching Philosophy”