Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Blog Post #105 - Chess Strategy game and my article which got published in Austin South Asian(in its entirety)




I am officially a published ('famous?') writer - my article about chess got published at Austin south Asian

Page 19

Here it the article - 
Chess- Strategy Board Game
Siva Manikanteswaran rrchess@outlook.com  

Welcome to game of Kings, Queens and the royal army.
With 64 squares 32 dark and 32 white 32 pieces and 32 spaces,16 white and 16 black pieces the Magic is inside the board and inside the chess player’s brains.  
Chess is often cited by psychologists as an effective way to improve memory function.  Also allowing the mind to solve complex problems and work through ideas, it is no wonder that chess is recommended in the fight against Alzheimer’s. According to research, Test scores improved by 17.3% for students regularly engaged in chess classes, compared with only 4.6% for children participating in other forms of enriched activities.
Universal Game
Chess originated in India as Shatranj and become popular in Persia (Iran) and from Arabs it spread to Europe. The word "Checkmate" in Chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means “the King is dead." While Bobby Fischer(USA) , Viswanathan Anand (India)  and Magnus Carlson (Norway) make the sport appear as a global sport for the past few decades this game has been dominated by Russians. The first chess game played between space and earth was on June 9, 1970 by the Soyez-9 Russian crew. The game ended in a draw.  
Women Rock chess
While Women in chess is a rarity the Polgar Sisters are a classic example of how gender has nothing to do with this game . Susan Polgar was women's world champion , Sofia Polgar an International Master and Judith Polgar a Grand Master – all 3 sisters earning their place in history of chess.

How to get your kids started in playing tournaments
1.      You need to visit USCF(US Chess Federation) website and get a USCF ID for your child/yourself.
2.      Buy a tournament chess set
3.      Buy a tournament approved clock
4.      Algebric Notation book

Positional vs. Tactical power
Tactical play as knowing what to do when there's something to be done and positional play as knowing what to do when there's nothing to be done. Tactics require deep calculations while position requires deep understanding Tactics flow from good position and good positions rely on tactics.


 Setup your chess board and solve this




Algebraic notation (1. Rf8+ Qg8 2. Qxg8#) is how chess games are recorded and replayed. It is simple to learn and it is required ‘language’ to explore the games and books of chess.

Books
“Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess“ is considered a good book for beginners while “My 60 Memorable Games” by Bobby Fischer is considered a good book for really advanced players.

Online
Chess.com is a great website which allows you learn, practice and chess. Chesskid.com is safe for kids and allows kids to play against other kids for fun.

Where can my kid practice chess in Austin area?

Other than school chess clubs there are three popular places where your kids can safely practice chess - Spicewood library (Saturday afternoons), Cedar park library (Sundays afternoon) and George Town library (Wednesday evening).

Keep playing chess
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

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