CHESS is just great, let's face it and here's why:

Why play chess and what's so great about it all?
Chess is the King of games & the game of Kings.
This royal game has captivated & challenged people for centuries and centuries.

"OK, but What EXACTLY makes chess so great?

OH, let me count the ways..."

NUMEROUS REASONS:
Chess is great because of four year old champions. Judit Polgar won the worlds women under 11 championship WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 4 YEARS YOUNG!

Chess is great because perfect supercomputers lose to mere mortal human players.

Chess is great because no two games are ever alike. Eight different checkmates (game is won) in only two moves! Chess is simple to learn, complex to master and very fun to play!

Chess is great because because of the personalities of the pieces. Each piece moves completely differently from the others. For each player there are 8 pawns, 2 knights, two rooks, two bishops a King and a Queen.

Chess is great because it's like artwork when they 'mix it up' and have a go at each other. The many tactical combinations are just so enjoyable to watch. My favorite piece I must say is the so called 'lowly' pawn. You've simply got to love those determined little underdogs.

Chess is great because the games always have such totally different endings. You can never tell beforehand, if it will be a very quick 15 move checkmate or a torturous 75 move end grind of pawns versus pawns. Every single game is so totally different.
Chess is great because there are a possible 72,084 different positions after only two moves for white & two for black. There are 8,355 different checkmates in three moves. It has been estimated that there are over 16 billion different possible endings, in a modest 30 move game

Here's another funny thing, There are 8 ways to checkmate in ONLY 2 moves ~ THAT`S GAME OVER AFTER MOVING TWO PIECES~ Fool's Mate 8 different ways:

SHORTEST GAME POSSIBLE (2 moves)

(1) 1.f4 e5 2.g4 Qh4 Checkmate!

That's it, done & over! (that was one complete game) What follows, are 7 more different games.

(2) 1.f4 e6 2.g4 Qh4 Checkmate!

(3) 1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4 Checkmate!

(4) 1.g4 e6 2.f4 Qh4 Checkmate!

(5) 1.g4 e6 2.f3 Qh4 Checkmate!

(6) 1.g4 e5 2.f3 Qh4 Checkmate!

(7) 1.g4 e5 2.f4 Qh4 Checkmate!

(8) 1.f3 e6 2.g4 Qh4 Checkmate!

Chess is also great because of the amazing quirkiness of it. Intuition versus logic. Puzzle after puzzle of innovative cleverness unfolding on the fly. Teenagers with world records, knee high grasshoppers with masters ratings! Robert James Fischer was the youngest ever international grandmaster at the innocent age of fourteen + 6 months. Judit Polgar beat this impossibility by 2 months. To this very day (Kaspy vs. Deep Thought 2003-12-18) nuances are still unfolding!

Chess is great because there's so much depth to it. A player rated 1300 has only a one in 20 chance of beating someone rated only 200 points higher. It is considered impossible, for an adult, to increase their rating by more than 200 points a year. I can't believe how good the players are at the upper levels. A beginner usually ranks as 900-1000. World champs are an unbeatable 2800. AND THERE ARE SO MANY tough tough tough levels in between! The great chess champs go up against supercomputers & win! Against a machine? A perfect database, which has technically, the ability to store every game ever played, every tactic & strategy & opening known. How can a mortal, a fallible & frail human being win against an opponent without any weaknesses? An iron clad tribute to the human mind.
Chess is great because it supernaturally endures its' place as the worlds' oldest & most intriguing 'game'. The royal game of Kings, the King of games. Chess is simple & complex, chess is both magic & science, chess is intuition & logic. All these facets & more create the ultimate game. Chess is a board game played with 32 pieces or 'chessmen' on a square board with 64 smaller dark & light squares. It is a perfect 8 square by 8 square surface with alternately colored squares. Players alternate turns, moving their own pieces and create strategic & tactical threats on the opponents' pieces & territory. Players attack & try to 'Kill the other King' while trying to keep their own King safe from the opposing pieces.

Chess is so great EVERYBODY has heard of chess or knows something about it. This is because the presence of chess has permeated so many aspects of real life with history, analogy and pertinence. Take for example the pieces & terminologies, Queens & Kings, horsemen & bishops, castle and infantry or peasants(pawns). Right away the names of the pieces themselves conjure up vivid ideas: Society & struggle, Man & woman, kingdoms & religion, animals & battlegrounds. These meanings relate something to everybody. Chess has massive worldwide appeal.

Chess is great because playing it exercises & trains the mind. It enhances problem solving skills. In every game logic, patience, concentration, innovation, cleverness, preparation, circumspection, strategy, & sportsmanship can be taught & learned. Besides being endless hours of high quality fun, or because of it, it has also taken its' place in history for centuries & centuries. More different books have been written about chess than any other subject. It is considered the national sport in multiple countries. Everybody 'knows' something about chess. Even those who have never played or even seen a pawn, still know something about what a pawn is. Chess is life, chess is art.

So, who plays chess? Some believe it is a game for only the smart or studious. UNTRUE! Whenever & wherever I put the boards out all sorts of folks always mob around. It has the widest appeal of any game or sport, vividly evidenced by the number of fans who swarm to each board I put out. Arthur Drake won the world senior cup for 14 consecutive years and is now aged 84!

Chess is great because there are no restrictions of gender, age, physical ability, strength. Anyone can play anywhere and chess players do! . Boyfriends play their girlfriends, grandfathers teach their granddaughters, brothers vs. sisters. Social barriers are shattered by chess. Theodore Kluska was the United Nations chess champion from 1977 thru 1983. He was a mailroom clerk & he slaughtered ambassadors, foreign dignitaries & members of powerful consulates. Chess play is without boundaries. Young or old, plumbers, lawyers, doctors, athletes, computer programmers, mailroom clerks, politicians or couch potatoes EVERY ONE PLAYS CHESS or knows a chess player. Do you get the point?

I never liked backgammon or any of those many different dice games, they always seemed to be just 50% luck & 50% skill or even all luck. I suppose it's a good time killer, but nothing comes close to the fascination of chess. In chess there's the never never ending adventure to become better. The infinite challenge of its' endless depth. The thrill of defeat which leads to just one more game...........

LOCAL CHESS NEWS FOR ANNAPOLIS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

YOU WILL SEE an increase in your Elo chess ratings very soon if you just keep playing and taking notes. Just don't ever get discouraged. If you are a sore loser, then.....
GO PLAY A SPORT WHERE NOBODY EVER LOSES! lol ; )

Chess is sport, Chess is art, Chess is FUN!
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