Chess, The Quintessential Game

For over a thousand years, the game of chess has served as a model battlefield for players to grapple with one another in the ultimate contest of strategy, wit and cunning. Chess is as brilliant in design as it is simple. A chess board of 64 squares separates 2 players, each having an army of 16 chess pieces to face the opponent. Each side begins the match with a king, a queen, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks and 8 pawns. Each type of piece has a unique move or set of moves in its arsenal, with each piece having distinct range, ability and advantage.

To win the game, one player must checkmate the opponent's king, which involves entrapping this most valuable piece and preventing its movement. This can be performed at any point in the game to determine victory.

As simple as its design seems on the surface, chess is a profoundly deep contest of strategy that has provoked intense contemplation and tactical development for centuries. The unique abilities of each piece, when combined with its counterparts, create a tapestry of strategic possibilities that challenge focus, computational capacity and mental endurance.

Of course, a game is a game, and a game is meant to be fun. Once you've learned to play chess or have even become exceptionally talented at it, you'll find it hard to deny how much fun a mental workout can be. Chess is immersive, addictive and entertaining. It challenges you while absorbing all of your focus, turning seconds into minutes, and minutes into hours. Whether playing chess on a recreational or professional level, it will always be a stage of excitement, surprise and fascination.

A Game for Everyone

One of the reasons chess is such an immensely popular game is its exceptional appeal to all age groups, cultures and walks of life.

Chess has withstood centuries of social upheaval, transcended national and cultural barriers, and has found itself a popular pastime for the very old to the very young. It has seen itself develop from a game into a sport, while remaining faithful to both the leisurely and professional player.

It is easy to see the cultural relevance of chess with every passing trend and enduring celebration of chess fans. Chess sets of every variety are available today when browsing chess boards for sale. Whether your child is developing an interest in chess and has their heart set on a Lord of the Rings chess set or your grandfather is a history buff who has the perfect place for a Civil War chess set, you can rest assured that you will be able to track down the ideal chess set for sale to make just about anybody happy.

A professional chess player will more than likely have a tournament chess set at home, starting with a chess table, a chess clock (chess timer), and a unique chess set. Boards come in many styles and materials from classic wooden chess boards to plastic electronic chess boards and electronic chess sets. Many people enjoy the classic authenticity of wooden chess sets while others appreciate the novel and unconventional feel of a different sort such as metal chess sets and magnetic chess sets, marble chess sets, glass chess sets and many other types of unique chess sets and cool chess sets.

While strolling through a popular park it is very common to find chess players of all levels enjoying a game with a friend or a stranger over an outdoor chess set, usually found in designated chess areas of public parks. You may even come across a giant chess set with people-sized chess pieces that can be lifted and moved as players laugh about the idea of being appropriately scaled to play the role of a chess king or queen.

For the keen collector, elaborately crafted and exquisite luxury chess sets of a great variety are available to complete a quest or furnish a room. When life calls for a regular itinerary, a travel chess set can become the perfect accessory for a moment of familiarity when abroad.

Chess and Mental Benefits

It's no wonder that being a talented chess player requires exceptional focus, computation and intellect, so the next question is: does playing chess make you smarter?

In a sense, it can be argued that the answer is yes. However, it is difficult to apply the cognitive benefits of playing chess to the technical and practical problem-solving scenarios of the real world. As an exercise of mental faculties, chess serves to refine our cognitive abilities and keep them healthy, so to affirm or deny whether chess actually makes you smarter is not an easy claim to make, and is as of yet undetermined.

Nevertheless, the mental health benefits of chess, whether it makes you officially smarter or not, is enough reason for anyone to play if you're looking for a one outside of recreational and sporting purposes.

Neuroscientists have been conducting studies on the effects of chess on the brain and they are yielding positive results. Chess has been shown to hone cognitive abilities as well as offer increased mental adeptness in particular age groups. Experts claim that the developing minds of children and young adults benefit greatly from consistent exposure to chess and are likely to experience increased critical thinking, visualization and analytical skills. This is particularly the case for children in rapidly developing age groups where the brain welcomes increased cognitive flexibility and impresses the problem-solving attributes of chess on growing young minds.

Critical thinking skills can go a long way for a child who is developing their concept of good judgment and problem-solving abilities. Among tremendous benefits for young people, chess is seen as a benefactor in several arenas that cover all age groups. Studies have shown that chess is likely to sharpen verbal skills for developing children and adults alike. This has been explained by the necessity to utilize multiple mental powers at once when playing chess, similar to the mental flexibility required to maintain and improve verbal and language skills.

Another intriguing concept on the mental benefits of chess is its capacity to strengthen what is considered emotional intelligence and psychological-social skills. The reasoning behind this implies that chess transcends physical and cultural barriers and gives players an opportunity to evaluate emotions on a more logical level and have naturally and emotionally intelligent regard for fellow players.

Possibly one of the great undisputed benefits of chess is its agency of mental exercises that are highly productive in maintaining mental awareness and fortitude among the elderly. Chess practices strict patterns of causation which exercise and strengthen analytical abilities that falter and become difficult with age. To this effect, chess is considered an effective instrument in delaying neuro-degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease as well as dementia.

With so many reasons to play chess, it's no wonder that the game maintains its greatest following in a long and reputable history.

If you've never played chess... what are you waiting for? There is plenty of information on this site to get you started with a strong foundation in the basics. If you’re looking to expand your knowledge even further, there are plenty of great chess resources out there. You can find countless chess blogs that cover a range of chess related topics. If you’re looking to learn one particular skill or strategy, you can surely find an online chess course to teach you, or if you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can play a few games of online chess until you get the hang of it. In this day and age, all the information you could ever need is right at your fingertips- you just need to get out there and find it! You know all about the history of chess, its enduring popularity, and even the many mental benefits you can gain from simply playing the game, so we’ll ask you one more time- what are you waiting for?

Visit us on our new website: Chess-Site.com

The Chess Directory Team.