The beauty of a complex game
A NON-chess-playing friend of mine expounded his view of chess and chess players. It went something like this. It’s an unnecessarily complicated game designed to help retired male academics while away their declining years. This is a fairly typical ploy of his to generate a lively discussion. I could have ignored it. Or I could have countered with an attack on his favourite pastime of watching cricket, but that would have been a hollow argument, as I love watching good cricket too. So I took up the challenge.
All good games and sports have a lot of rules, to ensure fairness, to create interest, to provide a challenge. Chess has its fair share of rules but they are logical and consistent and therefore relatively easy to learn – especially if they are explained face to face rather than read. (Reason 1 for going to a chess club to learn to play.)
A game needs a bit of complexity to provide a challenge. The variety of possibilities in it generate the interest. And having a challenging interest is good for the brain. (Reason 2.)
The majority of chess players are not retired. Large numbers of children and people at work play. It’s true that the majority of chess players are male, but the number of female players is increasing, and this is a good trend. (Reason 3.)
Academic is a word with a variety of meanings, one negative one being ‘hypothetical or impractical.’ My preferred option is a willingness to study, to recognise problems and seek solutions. Chess epitomises this definition of academic. The game is all about creating good outcomes from challenging situations. (Reason 4 – developing powers of analysis and identifying good options that work must be a worthy pursuit.).
‘While away’ has a feel of ‘wasting away’ when referring to time. Anything that promotes brain activity, creates positive social interactions and maintains and develops concentration, good conversation and the opportunities to meet new people must be good. (Reason 5.)
I don’t like the expression ‘declining years.’ Yes, in some ways it must be true. It is impossible to resist the march of time. But it smacks of sitting back and waiting for the inevitable. Try telling that to the Tyneside Ramblers, which includes numerous members in their 70s and 80s who are out on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays walking over the hills. They are full of energy and have a refreshingly positive attitude and enthusiasm for what they do, which carries over into the rest of their lives. Tell it to the seniors involved in theatre groups or music or dancing. Tell it to the active, elderly members of the North East chess community, who are enthusiastic, vibrant, and still see themselves as capable and successful – and still have the will to do good things, including leaving a positive legacy for the younger members in the organisation. (Reason 6 – there are plenty of positive things about chess)
If you are not a member of a chess club and would like to visit one you can find all of the details on the Northumbria Chess website.