First learned chess as a boy from my father on a hand painted wooden chess board, that folded into a container for the small pieces, which we meticulously counted at the conclusion of every game. I was clearly not destined for chess greatness, although I looked forward to chess night, when my father would devote an evening to playing with me. My mind is definitely slower at decision making in my middle years. Although I am beginning to enjoy the 15/10 time control that is so popular.

I began teaching my own son when he was four years old, with the aid of John Marble, an online coach. At that time his great skill was the ability to deliver checkmate. Now a teenager he enjoys beating me while playing blindfolded OTB.

My son benefits from the exceptionally intuitive touch interfaces for chess which have become a reality only in the last decade. It makes me wonder if the playing of chess, as we know it today, will survive to be passed on to our grandchildren. Already, variants, that dispense with the need to study openings, like Chess960, are becoming mainstream.

When chess finally yields to technology, becoming a deterministic game, as checkers has become, I hope people will still find their ability to reason about games as large as chess worthy of exercising, and that the tradition of playing chess be passed on to future generations in whatever form allows for the experience of playing a worthy opponent seeking victory on a checkered 8x8 board, whatever it is made of and wherever it may be played.

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