For a child to answer these questions of safety for his pieces without moving the pieces means that he must build a picture in his mind. That picture is of the board where he has made the move. He needs to focus and be still. He stops fidgeting and thinks only of what is on the board. He is learning to concentrate. The visuals are coming in his head. Based on his analysis, as simple as it may be, he decides to consider playing another move or proceed with the one he has chosen. The power to visualise is developing. Initially it starts with very simple concepts. As the child develops in his play and goes from a beginner to intermediate his power to visualise also improves.

When he is given a problem outside chess, he had try and work it out in his mind, just as he would on the chessboard. When he is given some arithmetic, he works it out in his head, just as he would do on the chessboard. When the child says when I grow up, I want to be a doctor, he is visualising only this time several years ahead if not decades. He imagines himself just like his mother with her stethoscope around the neck, treating patients.

This is the starting position in the game of chess.

Now let me see where some very basic Mathematics can come in.  Let’s play around with some numbers in chess.  Lets start with MULTIPLICATION The board has 64 squares, each side with 8 squares. 8 multiplied by 8 = 64.

ADDITION – Each side has 16 pieces made up as follows: 8 pawns, 2 rooks, 2 Knights, 2 bishops, 1 Queen and 1 King.  16 = 8 + 2 + 2 + 2 +1 + 1.   From the time the game starts each player will keep track of the material he wins. It will add up.

DIVISION – In total there are 64 pieces, made up of 2 sets of 32. 64 divided by 2 gives us 32.

SUBTRACTION – From the 64 pieces we have if we take away 32 pieces for white, we are left with 32 pieces for black. 64 pieces – 32 white pieces = 32 32 black pieces

The Knight, which is the second piece from the right (or left) and looks like a horse, moves in an L shape. The L shape is always made up of 5 squares, which includes the starting square and landing square. The possible moves that white can make are shown below.

Can you guess how many possible first moves white can make at the beginning of the game? Let’s count. The pawns have 16 possible moves (they can each move one or two squares). Each of the knights has 2 possible moves it can make. So in total there are (16 + 2+2) 20 moves. The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces as shown above.

FOR GEEKS AND NERDS?? – One of the big challenges with chess is the way it is portrayed in popular culture. Chess is seen as a past time for nerds and geeks.  Thanks to this portrayal,  very few people want to be seen or associated with chess. Sadly we are losing out on this dynamic game of tactics and strategy. I think chess is a game that can be enjoyed by the masses but before that can happen, we must make the game accessible to everyone.

NOT SO HARD – I have been amazed by the number of people who say chess is difficult.  After a few lessons we both realise that chess is not that difficult. Most there is a another reason why someone thinks chess is so hard. It could be the way the person was introduced to the game,  lack of practice and the person who is teaching the game. This is not a hard game to learn but there are a few rules and basics to remember, as is the case with most things in life.

THE IDEA –  In Africa grades in Maths and Sciences could do with some improvement. We could introduce chess in schools as early as possible following models that have been used successfully in other countries. If the model does not work for us, we could modify it or abandon completely.  I have seen many kids playing chess and can honestly say there is a lot of potential.

EAST EUROPE TREND – A number of Eastern European countries which had a very strong chess culture have had several prominent scientists over the centuries. Is this a mere coincidence?  Several mathematicians have been fairly decent chess players.  Without any specifics my argument is not strong at all. However, I do think there is a great deal in common between chess and maths. In future articles I will give specific examples.

CHEAP – Compared to most sports and activities, chess is quite cheap.  A chess set can be a basic vinyl set of pieces and a roll up artificial leather board.  Clocks are quite expensive but beginners can do without one. Once you have invested in chess pieces, you are not likely to need one for many years. Chess could be rolled out to schools in rural and urban schools.

Clyde is the 1985 South African Closed Chess Champion, and also the 2009 South African Open (WBA) Backgammon Champion. He is a regular chouette player and backgammon coach, offering one-on-one coaching over Skype (clydewolpe)

Doing endgame studies with Sean

Last week Lenny  told me about his son who was very enthusiastic about  the game of chess. The big problem was that Lenny did not have anyone to play with at school and in his neighbourhood. Lenny, who sometimes played with his son could not cope with his son’s appetite and interest for chess.

I was very keen to establish Lenny’s level in playing chess so I suggested  a game of blitz chess with Sean. Within a few minutes I had some insight into Sean’s style and level of chess.

LOVE and ENTHUSIASM – Sean is only 10 but his enthusiasm for the game is incredible. During the game Sean’s brothers were trying to disturb him but he was so focussed. This kid loves the game.

IMPATIENCE – Sean is so keen to play his moves that even before I have played my moves, he is almost touching his own pieces, too anxious and patient to play. This is something we will need to work on.

POST MORTEM – I won the quick game we played and managed to learn a things about Sean and make some conclusions. We did a post motem of the game. We actually replayed some of the moves from the game and I tried to establish what Sean had in mind when he played his moves.

REASONING ABILITY – I asked Sean each step of the way why he had played a particular move. While I did not agree with his moves, his reasoning made great sense. During our game, Sean playing black, was playing pawns on the flanks, a5 (on the queenside) and h5 (on the kingside).  The reason why he never played any in the centre was he did not know the idea or concept of the centre.

CHECKMATES – We did a number of positions on checkmates and Sean generally fared well in these positions except the positions featuring the Knight. The Knight is a peculiar piece. It moves in an L- shape, four squares in total and is the only piece that can jump or skip over other pieces.

POTENTIAL – I have no doubt that Sean has incredible potential. I presented him with his very own copy of the book ” How to play winning chess”  by John Saunders. I made him promise to read the book and I have no doubt that he will. I asked his dad to play chess as often as possible with him. During our future sessions, I will be able to see if there is any improvement. His dad was concerned about Sean’s grades in maths and his lack of concentration. I think that as Sean improves as a chess player he will be able to concentrate better. As for his grades in maths, I hope we can also tackle a few problems in maths and see where the problem might be.

After an hour or so of coaching Sean had become very restless. I decided that it was time to call an end to the lesson. One of the challenges of coaching kids not just chess but anything else is holding their interest.  We need to teach them young, when their brains can still absorb and learn so much. – The Chess Coach

Karpov is bidding to become the first World Chess Champion to become Fide President since Max Euwe in 1978. Max Euwe presided over FIDE from 1970 to 1978. It was during the same period that the great Bobby Fischer won his match against Borris Spassky in 1972 and abandoned his title soon after despite Euwe’s efforts to facilitate a match with the challenger Anatoly Karpov. Karpov is seeking to unseat the incumbent president of Fide, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov who has indicated that he will contest the elections to be held at the 39th Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk in September this year.

PLAYING STYLES – For starters their playing styles, during their active days were very different. Kasparov was an attacking and aggressive chess player. His repertoire of openings was really for the attacking player, Sicilian Defence (he mainly played the Najdorf which is probably the sharpest line, possibly together with the Dragon, the King Indian Defence. Karpov on the other hand was renowned for his positional play. His choice of openings such as the Queen’s Indian, Queen’s Gambit, English Opening reflected this. He was predominantly a Queen’s Pawn opening player. Given a choice he preferred simple plans to complex ones. In this respect Karpov’s play was reminiscent of the great Capablanca who generally chose the simplest way to win. When Kasparov and Karpov played the same openings such as the Ruy Lopez their treatment of it was very different.

PERSONALITY – Nigel Short once described Karpov as cold and calculating. On the board Karpov was restrained, showing very little emotion over the board. On the other hand Kasparov had a reputation for intimidating opponents with his conduct at the board. Sometimes he would huff and puff like a dragon, indeed a restless character on the board. Their mannerisms over the board in a way seemed to mirror the nature of the game. The confrontational and direct approach from Kasparov against the patient and positional approach from Karpov. Off the board Kasparov was an outgoing character who was in the media a great deal. He played several matches against computers including Deep Thought, Deep Blue, Fritz and Deep Junior. I am not aware of any matches computer match by Karpov during his tenure as World Champion.

ORIGINS – Both are Russians but the similarities seem to end there. Karpov hails the Urals region of the former Soviet Union while Kasparov was born in in Baku, Azerbaijan , Soviet Union; now Azerbaijan, to an Armenian mother and Jewish father.Kasparov has considered himself to be also Armenian, Jewish and Azerbaijani. Both players passed through the hands of Mikhail Botvinnik at his chess school.

CLARITY and COMPLEXITY – It would appear that Karpov sought positions and play that offered the most clarity even thought it presented the least winning chances. Kasparov on other hand would readily plunge a game into complexity even though that could compromise his chances of winning.

THE FAVOURITE and HATED ONE – When Anatoly was world champion he enjoyed the support of the state, then Soviet Union. Kasparov however, was viewed with suspicion and had the odds stacked against him in his quest to become world champion. During the aborted 1984 – 85 World Championship between Karpov and Kasparov, the World Championship Match was stopped without explanation by the late Florence Campomanes. At the time Karpov was leading the match but the momentum had swung in Kasparov’s favour.

POLITICAL VIEWS – Kasparov and Karpov have had very different political views. Karpov was a staunch supporter of the ruling party, the Kremlin in his country. Kasparov, typical of the risks he took on the chess board, took on the president Vladimir Putin. He formed the United Civil Front movement, and joined as a member of The Other Russia, a coalition opposing the administration of Vladimir Putin. It remains to be seen whether the Kasparov – Karpov partnership will be a long lasting one or like most alliances in politics change as the situations and circumstances change. Will they remain on the same side? Only time will tell.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoly_Karpov

The tournament fielded at least 2 grandmasters GM Luis Galego of Portugal and GM Oleg Korneev of Russia, 5 International Masters (IM) and 3 FIDE Masters (FM). It was played in Sede Social da FAX, Luanda, capital City of Angola from 13 to 19 May 2010. Given the strong field Robert Gwaze’s performance is all the more impressive. Watu Kobese turned back the years to give a vintage performance. A strong positional player, Watu beat Peter Leko and Judit Polgar several years ago. At the time the two grandmasters were among the very top grandmasters in the world.

Robert Gwaze, who is Zimbabwe’s greatest hope of a Grandmaster has been very active on the chess scene lately. Crisscrossing national boundaries he has recently won tournaments in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa and is mowing the opposition. He won the Gold medal at 2002 Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia winning all his 9 games with an incredible 2690 performance. To interpret his performance in that tournament Gwaze played like a super grandmaster.

It has been several years since the Bled performance but Gwaze is showing that he is still the player to beat. Will Robert Gwaze follow in the footsteps of his namesake, the great American Robert James Fischer and make it all the way to the Grandmaster title? Bobby Fischer came from a period of chess inactivity (Fischer was on semi- retirement in the mid 1960s when he skipped a number of tournaments) to trounce top grandmasters in the candidates matches in the form of Tigran Petrosian, Bent Larsen and Mark Taimov in the early 1970s on his way to becoming chess king in 1972 after beating Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland.

There seems to be a sense of urgency in the way Gwaze is going about his business. If Gwaze continues like this there is no doubt that he will achieve his dream and fulfill the hopes of an expectant nation and continent. Despite the challenges he faces such as lack of sponsorship and few strong tournaments in the Region, there is no doubt that Robert Gwaze still has a great deal to offer chess. BTM

THE SIMILARITIES

WORK
Chess is like many other pursuits and sports in a number of aspects. It can be considered a work of art or science. It is the result of mental, psychological exertion. There are professionals in chess who seek to make a living solely from chess. They work 9 to 5 like any other profession. In fact I would argue that chess spend more time on their pursuit than other professionals.

ENTERTAIN
Chess players have the ability to entertain by their play – the product of their exertions , as well as their personality and character. In this respect I would regard all the great masters from Steinitz to Carlsen as entertainers par excellence. They are entertainers who performances at Wijk aan Zee, Linares, Dos Hermanos, Melody Amber, the Chess Olympiads to mention but a few tournaments we very much look forward to. We even mark the days in our diaries and make sure we do not miss the great tournaments. We derive value, utility and satisfaction from seeing the protagonists at work over the 64 squares. We have our own expectations of how the games will turn out. We have our own favourites in chess, the players we admire most, who styles we find most appealing. There is real entertainment in chess.

HOW COME??
How come despite the work and entertainment aspect of this game chess players are much poorer in general compared to their counterparts (singers, athletes, accountants) yet probably no less talented. The games from Paul Morphy, played as far back as 1850s still continue to entertain us yet Morphy probably died in poverty. The history, origin and evolution of the game has impacted greatly on the status of chess players in society.

THE BIG DIFFERENCE
The big difference I can see between chess and other fields, professions, pursuits is that chess is one of the very few where the product, the game played by the master, is actually for FREE. Can you imagine popular artists releasing very good songs and providing them for free all the time? Can you imagine an accountant spending many hours every day to provide financial reports or accounts that are totally free. The costs and expenses incurred have to be recovered at a margin, at a profit. Should chess be any different?

THE FREE GAME PROBLEM
Why are chess games free? There is no copyright in chess. Thus far no chess player has had any control over his creation (the chess game). Unfortunately it is not possible to play every chess game in a completely unique way and so copyrighting is impossible. After all there are only so many ways of starting a game. It is not possible to start the game with a move that has never been played before. (Copyright is the set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. These rights can be licensed, transferred and/or assigned. – Wikipedia)

THE CHARGE
As I see it chess players need to start charging for their games.

BREAK THE PRECEDENT – For a long time chess has been accepted and remains a social game where the players only receive remuneration in the form of appearance fees, prizes or income from coaching and selling chess material. If a game were sold for just 5c, this would have made a massive difference to the lives of chess players including several masters of years gone by.

PAY JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE
The business model has to change. The current one has to be turned on its head if chess players are to be the beneficiaries. The audience in chess are really consumers at the end of the day. The only difference from other consumers is that with chess they do not pay. I do not see why they should not pay like anyone else.

MARKET
The big question is, IS THE MARKET BIG ENOUGH? While the chess players could be seen as a niche or specialized market, I believe it is big enough. The idea behind selling games would be that it is a volume driven business with low profits or margins. The money earned from selling games could then the distributed among the players.

THE PRACTICALITIES
So if people actually agreed to pay for games, how would it work? Well for starters this is something that would have to be done across the board, from the very top to the bottom. This thing would have to start at Fide level. Every website that provides chess games from tournaments would have not buy into this. Let’s give an example with the Anand – Topalov World Chess Championship. For starters the games would not be freely available on the internet and anyone who wanted or play through a game would have to pay for it, whether it is 5cents or some other currency. The DGT Project would have to work closely with FIDE and other stakeholders. In this world of technology. It could be ensure that there is no free transmission of games from the venue quite easily.

NOT EVERY GAME!
Perhaps the charging of chess games could be limited to FIDE rated games. However, one thing for sure is that the chess world would have to be united in the new business model. The idea would fall flat on its face if the same games that are charged for are also available for free elsewhere on the internet.

In conclusion maybe chess players might not become rich but I do believe that we can improve our prospects and chances of earning a decent living. BTM

Below in an excerpt from the presentation.

Chess is a board game played between two players. It is played on a
chessboard, the battlefield, which is a square-checkered board with 64 squares
arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It’s a game of strategy requiring long term
and short term planning.  BTM