Slashdot Mirror
In the Age of the Internet, Why Has Interest in Chess Remained So Robust, and Even Risen Sharply? (bloomberg.com)
How and why a 1,500-year-old game has conquered the internet. From a report: Two years ago, the world chess championship match drew about 10 million online viewers, while this year's competition between Magnus Carlsen and Fabio Caruana, currently underway in London, is expected to draw more attention yet. Worldwide, chess claims about 600 million fans, which makes it one of the most popular games or sports.
It is noteworthy that China, one of the two most important countries in the world, has decided to invest heavily in chess. This year Chinese teams won both the men's and women's divisions at the Chess Olympiad, a first. That would not have happened without the active support of the Chinese Communist Party. The U.S. is stepping up too, with the aid of chess patron Rex Sinquefield. In recent times America has placed three players in the world's top 10, including Caruana, currently No. 2.
It turns out that chess is oddly well-suited for a high-tech world. Chess does not make for gripping television, but the option of live viewing online, supplemented by computer analysis or personal commentary, has driven a renaissance of the game. For one thing, computer evaluations have made watching more intelligible. Even if you barely understand chess, you can quickly get a sense of the state of play with the frequently changing numerical evaluations ("+ 2.00," for instance, means white has a decisive advantage, whereas "0.00" signals an even position). You also can see, with each move, whether the player will choose what the computer finds best.
It is noteworthy that China, one of the two most important countries in the world, has decided to invest heavily in chess. This year Chinese teams won both the men's and women's divisions at the Chess Olympiad, a first. That would not have happened without the active support of the Chinese Communist Party. The U.S. is stepping up too, with the aid of chess patron Rex Sinquefield. In recent times America has placed three players in the world's top 10, including Caruana, currently No. 2.
It turns out that chess is oddly well-suited for a high-tech world. Chess does not make for gripping television, but the option of live viewing online, supplemented by computer analysis or personal commentary, has driven a renaissance of the game. For one thing, computer evaluations have made watching more intelligible. Even if you barely understand chess, you can quickly get a sense of the state of play with the frequently changing numerical evaluations ("+ 2.00," for instance, means white has a decisive advantage, whereas "0.00" signals an even position). You also can see, with each move, whether the player will choose what the computer finds best.
Recently got back into chess now that my son is interested. Started playing Really Bad Chess on my phone http://reallybadchess.com/ to kill time and hone some skills.
I find it relaxes me and helps me concentrate on other things like tough logic puzzles...keeps me thinking a few steps ahead. Great for work and play.
I seem to recall reading that basically Rex Sinquefield threw a bunch of money at 2 of the current USA's top 3 players to get them to change country allegiances to the USA. I think one of the 3 did actually move to the US as a child though. I don't remember his name, but I think it's the guy who was born in Japan.
What just puzzles me, and I have no explanation for it other than the usual "Commies like to win medals in world competitions" explanation, is why China cares so much about chess. They have their own variant, xiang qi, which is extremely popular. Honestly, it's considered a harder game to solve in terms of computational power vs. chess. Because xiang qi is considered a harder game, you could make an argument that China spending so many resources to win chess championships is kind of a case of them slumming and trying to win an "easier" game. Xiang qi strategy is very different from chess strategy and I believe the Chinese did successfully convert one of their best female xiang qi players into a women's chess star, in general I would not expect skills at one to translate well into skills in the other. I suspect once they identify promising chess players, they get them to stop playing xiang qi. To give readers a rough idea of the differences in the games, it's quite common in xiang qi for a knight (they call it "horse") to be moved to the side of the board early in the game whereas in chess that would usually be a bad move and it would be much better placed to be first moved towards the middle.
The rules of chess are relatively straight forward, yet the opportunity for strategy and necessity to think ahead make the game engaging and fun. It also feels like a true clash on intellects, as opposed to many games that involve rolls of the dice or better understanding of the rules.
Chess also seems to have an infectious quality. I've seen chess tournaments spontaneously erupt at summer camps and fraternities. People who you never thought would play chess can get the bug; and maybe this makes it more fun.
It's compact. Low cost compared to other sports and hobbies.
It has set rules that a smart person can understand. That a really, really smart person can study and master.
Books exist on the topic. Web sites exist on the topic. The skill set is not kept hidden.
The ability to win at a city, state and national level with something fun thats almost free.
Winning is clear and not based on the artistic feeling of a set of judges.
Its not weather and climate related like some sports.
For nations that still study math its an easy tool to offer.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Just about every culture and civilisation have their own board games. Egyptians played "Dogs and Jackals", Vikings played "Hnefatafl". Back in the 1980's "Space Lines" was popular , a 3D tic-tac-toe. Every 8-bit computer system had a chess playing game system with some AI. It is one of those games with unlimited number of moves.
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads