“…….Our children have insatiable appetites for fast-paced, action-packed entertainment, and it often feels as though we are watching powerlessly as their patience and critical-thinking skills suffer. These are complicated issues, but I believe we should look to an ancient cure: the two-tone chessboard and its 32 pieces. Several studies indicate a positive correlation between being introduced to chess in childhood and performing better in subjects like math and science, as well as showing an enhanced capacity for problem-solving, memory and language skills,” ……..Read On…
www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2019/01/31/magnus-carlsen-chess/
*Magnus Carlsen On The Ancient Appeal Of Chess And The Opportunities Of A More Modern Game*
SportsMoney I cover the business of sports. (By Chris Smith Forbes Staff)
On November 28, I won my fourth straight World Chess Championship, a hard-fought victory to defend my position as the leading chess player in the world. At the top level, chess is both rewarding and quite demanding. Always having a chess position running in the back of my mind is the only way I know how to continue to learn and improve. Still, even that is not enough. In competitions, you have to find the right balance between analytical thought and inspired creativity to perform at your best. When it works, it feels natural, and I can’t even imagine losing.
Over the last few years, I’ve continued to learn more chess, but the struggle to perform to the standards of the world’s increased chess understanding can be quite frustrating. Too often I’ve had the painful experience of making a move after several minutes of deliberation only to discover immediately after releasing the piece from my fingers why the plan was flawed. This process cannot easily be corrected. You cannot second-guess your intuition before every move.
Self-confidence, and communicating that confidence to your opponent, is paramount to performing at the highest level. Although I have spent most of my life playing chess and consider it my calling, when I was first introduced to the game at the age of 5, I felt only a passing interest. It was certainly not love at first sight. In fact, what initially led me to pursue chess was an almost comically common childhood motivation: sibling rivalry. I wanted to beat my older sister, who at the time was a better player. My relationship to the game has evolved dramatically, but I have always benefited from the incredible effects of chess on my learning and development skills.
From a young age, chess refined my concentration and problem-solving skills. It forced me to sit still, to think deliberately, to be diligent and to analyze moves over a long period of time without resorting to an easy distraction or a Google search. I learned how to labor through frustration, form a strategy, see a challenging problem through to completion and even face down defeat. But the educational benefits of chess aren’t just for the game’s grandmasters. I believe that chess can combat many challenges we face today: fractured attention, indecisiveness and a shortage of grit and discipline brought on by too much screen time.
Technology has forever changed the way we live, learn and play. Our children have insatiable appetites for fast-paced, action-packed entertainment, and it often feels as though we are watching powerlessly as their patience and critical-thinking skills suffer. These are complicated issues, but I believe we should look to an ancient cure: the two-tone chessboard and its 32 pieces.
Several studies indicate a positive correlation between being introduced to chess in childhood and performing better in subjects like math and science, as well as showing an enhanced capacity for problem-solving, memory and language skills, all of which are valuable, and increasingly rare, assets in the job market. In one study, conducted in primary schools in Aarhus, Denmark, in 2013, weekly math lessons were replaced with chess-inspired lessons. The students actually ended up performing better in math.
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www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2019/01/31/magnus-carlsen-chess/