Chess-THE BRAIN GAME

-DEBANJAN DATTA

India is a land of intellect. Our country is flourished by science,technology,medicines,culture, literature and of course SPORTS. Legends like Aryabhattya,Har Gobind Khurana,B.C Roy, R.N Tagore,C.V.Raman Pillai has made our land rich in many sectors. Probably there is one sector that is very significant- The field of CHESS. It was originated as a military game. The ancient Indian chess- The “Chaturanga”- imitated the combat of four fighting arms “Chatur”- means four, “Anga”- means military unit.Chaturanga, which translates as "four divisions [of the military]": infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. The basic military rules are applied on the chess field.




The precursors of chess originated in India during the Gupta empire , and later on progression in this field was made by super advanced chess brains of this country.




The recent notable development in the Indian chess scenario is the growing number of super chess players and ELO Rated players. Grand master and world chess champion Viswanathan Anand is the man who redeemed the lost glory of the Indian supremacy in chess. He is an Indian icon and gentleman champion. He displayed a class, not seen in the chess history. Other players like GM Divyendu Barua, GM Sashi kiran, GM S S Ganguly, GM Pravin Thipsey,GM Koneru Humpy has made our country proud by flying the Tricolor in the western soil. Hundreds of Indian players are getting ELO rating every year. Chess activity in our country as well as in abroad has increased manifold during the past few years and there is more awareness for chess now than ever before. Chess has entered in the regular curriculum in many schools . Once upon a time it was believed that playing cards and chess destroys personal and family life and turns a man into gambler. Today concept is changed. It is now acceptance for chess turns a gambler into normal individual. Russians play chess in a different manner- BLINDFOLD. Which means playing chess without chess board and chessman by uttering chess notations to each other.

PhD is provided to people for brightest and extraordinary contribution in this field. Govt, semi-govt and pvt organizations/institutions are offering jobs for special contribution in this field.




All India Chess Federation (AICF) and FIDE(World Chess Federation) is also doing a lot for the growth and development and advancements for chess. Its being increasingly realized and recognized by people that chess is for strengthening controlling,and meditating mind.Playing chess makes a man intelligent and enables him/her to be patient,to think,to control,to persevere,,to study the mind,and to excel in their personal and professional life.It provides an inner strength to blossom from within.Playing chess makes a man academically brilliant and professionally excellent.

The Venezuela experiment, Learning to Think Project, tested whether chess can be used to develop intelligence of children as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.

Both males and females showed an increase of intelligence quotient (IQ) after less than a year of studying chess in the systematic way adopted. Most students showed a significant gain after a minimum of 4.5 months. The general conclusion is that chess methodologically taught is an incentive system sufficient to accelerate the increase of IQ in elementary age children of both sexes at all socio-economic levels. It appears that this study also includes very interesting results regarding transfer of chess thinking to other areas of study. (FIDE Report, 1984, p. 74).

The first serious psychological study of the game of chess was conducted by Alfred Binet, in 1894. Binet, who was best known for his early intelligence tests, observed blindfold chess players as a subset of his investigations into memory. To the average person, playing a game of chess without sight of the board represents an extremely difficult, if not impossible challenge for the memory. Binet's experiment consisted of a survey which was taken by players of all skill levels, from novice to master. He came to the conclusion that blindfold chess players need knowledge and experience, imagination, and memory. The masters who took part in the survey gave introspective accounts that had some similarities and yet several differences concerning their blindfold play. A common thread among their responses was the fact that they did not use tactile imagery to represent the board. In addition, they were generally able to remember all the moves played in a sequence of blindfold games. One master, Goetz, was able to quickly recall all 336 moves that he made over 10 blindfold games played simultaneously. Binet concluded that verbal memory was an integral part of blindfold play. Finally the subjects reported the need to be aware of a general plan of action for each game, although this would seem to be a necessity for both blindfold and regular chess play. For increasing the efficiency of a player one needs to practice a lot with the help of different books and softwares.

Dr. Stefurak, a cognitive neuropsychologist, stated that ``chess instruction informs the mind and the emotions in such a way as to structure an emergent mental circuit where motivation and ability multiply to produce achievement in chess and school and life.''

John Artise in Chess and Education states: “Visual stimuli tend to improve memory more than any other stimuli; . . . chess is definitely an excellent memory exerciser the effects of which are transferable to other subjects where memory is necessary.

In a 1973-74 Zaire study conducted by Dr. Albert Frank, employing 92 students, age 16-18, the chess-playing experimental group showed a significant advancement in spatial, numerical and administrative-directional abilities, along with verbal aptitudes, compared to the control group. The improvements held true regardless of the final chess skill level attained

Dr. Gerard Dullea maintains: “. . . we have scientific support for what we have known all along--chess makes kids smarter!” (Chess Life, November, p. 16)
Dr. Fred Loveland, superintendent of the Panama City schools, voiced his opinion: ``Chess has taught my students more than any other subject.''
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Terrell Bell encouraged knowledge of chess as a way to develop a preschooler's intellect and academic readiness.
The State of New Jersey passed a bill legitimizing chess as a unit of instruction within the elementary school curriculum. On December 17, 1992, New Jersey Governor Jim Florio signed into law a bill to establish chess instruction in public schools. A quote from the bill states ``In countries where chess is offered widely in schools, students exhibit excellence in the ability to recognize complex patterns and consequently excel in math and science.
``Chess is one of the most meaningful things I've ever seen enter this school system.'' Dee Estelle Alpert (Guardian)
Chess program in the troubled East Harlem district, New York, also rescues kids from drugs and gangs.
Still lots of fundamental improvements are lacking in our country.More n more awareness,acceptance and popularity are awaited.Private and govt sectors should come forward to provide a single chess board to a single family.Chess association should organize free coaching camps to make people feel and experience the magical brain storming power of chess.It should be kept in mind that outdoor as well as indoor games – both are needed for a persons whole personality development.Merely entertainment oriented outdoor games attachments does not develop personality as a whole.Unlike other indoor games chess improves intellect,calculative capability,,makes a man humble and enables him to tackle every odd situations.It's the only game which helps in building sixth-sense.

So chess is,according to me, the basic fundamental right of which no Indian citizen should be deprived.

Bengalees are well known for their brains.They are more intelligent than any other.So every parents should take a initative to guide their child to play chess.
-Thank You