Chess. What a game. Most every one I know has played it at some time or another yet people do not really seem to stick with it. At least that is the way it is around the circle of people I hang out with.
I have always liked playing chess. I remember staying up till the wee hours of the morning playing Chessmaster on my Commodore VIC-20 in the early eighties.
Chess is believed to have originated in Eastern India, in the Gupta Empire c. 280 – 550 CE, where its early form in the 6th century was known as chaturaṅga, literally four divisions [of the military] – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry, which were represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. Around 1200, the rules started to be modified in southern Europe, and around 1475, several major changes made the game essentially as it is known today.
In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, chess was a part of noble culture; it was used to teach war strategy and was dubbed the “King’s Game” and chess was often used as a basis of sermons on morality.
During the Age of Enlightenment, chess was viewed as a means of self-improvement. Benjamin Franklin, in his article “The Morals of Chess” (1750), wrote:
“The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn:
I. Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action […]
II. Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: – the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations […]
III. Caution, not to make our moves too hastily […]”
One of my favorite things about chess, other than the fact that it is a sort of thinking game, is the different variations and styles of chess sets available on the market. More than chess itself, it is the cool chess sets that make me smile. Throughout this post I have offered several examples of cool chess sets. There are all sorts of styles ranging from whimsical to gothic or fantasy to Hello Kitty or The Simpsons. I have seen folks playing in the park with pieces the size of a small child. Whatever you want you can probably find.
If I am playing chess, especially on a cool looking chessboard, you know I am all smiles.
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