Misconceptions About Chess

from my new website, ChessUp.org. (www.chessup.org/) 

Some people have some crazy ideas in their heads about chess. Maybe even you have had some of these thoughts before. Here, I go over some of the most common misconceptions about chess, and talk a little about them.

1. Chess is for men

Chess is as much for women and it is for men. Some people say that men are better at chess then woman, but I think it’s just because woman have better things to do! :) Just kidding! Chess can be for all, and should be enjoyed by all people.

2. Great chess players are born with natural playing talent

Who told you that!? Well, it may be true that great chess masters have some talents that others of us don’t, but basically, they had to make there way to the top of the chess ladder, little-by-little. No one is born a brilliant chess player; it takes real passion, and a strong desire to really get good at chess. You need to stick with it, and keep moving forward!

3. Chess is boring

Chess may seem boring to the outsider, but it is really like a work-out for your brain. If you take a little closer look at chess, you may see that it has beautiful complexity that can fill all of us with wonder. Chess players are the people that have been lucky enough to have the chance to observe that chess is really a deep game that just amazes over and over again! After that, how can anyone say that chess is boring?

4. It’s okay to trade a knight for a pawn

All the pieces have a pawn value. For example, a rook is worth 5, which is the same as five pawns. The pawns, obviously are worth 1, the knights and bishops are worth 3, the rooks, 5, queen 9, and the king: Priceless! So obviously, you would not want to trade a knight for a pawn, unless you have a very good reason for doing so.

5. Chess is the oldest game in the world

Even Bruce Pandolfini falls into this trap! On the cover of his book, “Treasure Chess” he claims this very thing. The modern day chess came about somewhere in the 1400’s and we all know, there where games before that. If you know the oldest game in the world, let me know.

6. Chess is for old people

Try telling this to all the kids in my chess club! Chess is definitely a game kids can enjoy too. In fact, in a recent survey on Chess.com, a very large percentage of the online players where teenagers and younger. There are more and more young players everywhere you go.

7. “I’m not smart enough to play chess”

Like I said above, everyone has to work their way up. You may think you’re not “smart” enough to play chess, but that’s a bunch of hogwash! Anyone can learn to play chess, and you can too, no matter how fast you can recite the Dewey Decimal System.

8. “Chess makes me a dork”

Well, you can say that if you want to, but take a look at some of the famous people that play or played chess: Bill Gates, John Lennon, Will Smith, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Kobe Bryant, Queen Elizabeth II, John Paul II, Al Capone, Karl Marx, and many more, but I don’t have time to sit here and write them all down. I don’t know if that changes your opinion, but really chess isn’t for dorks. It can’t be! Or else that would make me a dork! Ahhh!

10. Younger students shouldn’t or can’t play in clubs or tournaments with adults.

A really good way to get better at chess, is to play people better than you. Any good chess player will tell you that. Kids can really learn a lot from adults, but just because they are older, that doesn’t make them better chess players. If you’re a young person, go and play someone better than you, and if you’re and older person, play someone young. You may find they have more to teach you than you ever expected.

for more, visit www.chessup.org.