Chess For Dummies>®, 4th Edition
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016945527
ISBN 978-1-119-28001-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-28003-3 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-119-28002-6 (ePDF)
Some chess players hate to hear someone call chess a game. They think that doing so trivializes what is actually a profound intellectual activity. Try as they may, however, chess enthusiasts seem incapable of convincingly placing chess solely in the context of art, science, or sport. Uncannily, chess contains elements of all three – and yet chess remains a game.
Actually, I prefer to think of chess as a game – the best game ever invented. Chess is a game loved by engineers and free-verse poets alike. It imposes a set of rules and has finite limits, but just as you start to think that you’re finally solving its mysteries, it thwarts you. As a result, sometimes the game is frustrating, but far more often chess proves to be both surprising and delightful. The deeper you dig into chess, the more of its secrets you unearth – but interestingly enough, the game has never been tapped out. Even today’s monster computers are far from playing the theoretically perfect chess game.
To master chess, you must combine a kind of discipline normally associated with the hard sciences and a creative freedom akin to the inspiration of artists. Few people develop both aspects equally well, and few activities can help you do so. Chess, however, is one such activity. The methodical scientist is forced to tap into his creative energies to play well. The fanciful artist must, in turn, conform to certain specific principles or face the harsh reality of a lost game. Not only is chess an excellent educational tool that helps strengthen both sides of your brain, but the game is also an endless source of pleasure.
After most people discover that I play chess, they usually say, “You must be very smart.” They should instead say, “You must have a lot of spare time.” Chess has been played throughout history by people with above-average leisure time, not necessarily by people with far-above-average intelligence – so if you don’t consider yourself in the “I-aced-the-MCAT” crowd, fear no more.
As a matter of fact, chess tutors can teach preschoolers the rules of the game. (So maybe they can’t get the tots to stop chewing on the pieces, but they can teach the youngsters how to play.) In fact, anyone can learn how to play chess with a bit of spare time. And you don’t even need too much of that to learn the rules.
