By Remi Kou, age 10
Did you know that on Chess.com, an online chess app where you can play chess against others, there are 90-100,000 people playing at any given time?
Before chess was this popular, it originated in India in the 600s A.D. from the game chaturanga. After that, chess progressed extremely slowly until the 18th century, when François-André Philidor, a well-known chess player, published a book that went over basic theory and his famous “rook versus pawn” endgame strategy, called the Philidor.
During this time, chess sets also became standardized when Nathaniel Cooke created a chess set that was endorsed by Howard Staunton, the best player of his time. This style of pieces became instantly popular and is still the standard for chess tournaments today.
Over time, chess has become more than a game — it has become an exercise for the brain. Some benefits of chess for kids are increased confidence in their own decisions, enhancement in their social emotional skills, and development in strategic thinking, according to the Premier Chess Academy. Women have also become a crucial part of the chess community.
In the world, there are 1,594 grandmasters, which is the highest rank in chess. You achieve this rank by meeting three “grandmaster norms,” while also achieving a chess rating of 2,500. Of those, there are only 35 women. Women’s appearances in chess have increased since the hit 2020 TV show The Queen’s Gambit.
In the chess community, like adults, children play a massive role. Young chess players at the 2019 National Championships spoke to The Atlantic, and one said, “When you lose, you learn from your mistakes.” These kids learned a valuable life lesson from chess: When something doesn’t go your way, you shouldn’t just give up; you should keep going until you get what you want.
Chess coaches are also critical, because they are the ones who first teach new players chess fundamentals. I asked coach Ashe Nervil from Impact Coaching Network, if she thought her chess students were good at chess by nature, or nurtured into learning it. She said, “I think a little bit of both, and it really depends on the person. Some people do just have a natural talent, a natural knack for chess. But it doesn’t matter if you have a natural knack, or if you don’t; regardless, it’s one of those things where you have to work hard.” This shows that anyone can be good at chess if they set their mind to it.
Chess players I spoke with also agreed that chess skills are a mix of natural skill as well as practice and technique. Eleven-year-old chess player Isaac Lui told me, “I feel that it is a mix of both, for me. I got to a 1,000 rating relatively quickly, but that only took me so far. After that, I had to study to get to where I am right now.”
Throughout time, some aspects of chess have changed, but it has stayed the same game. As Coach Ashe also said, “Many people say chess isn’t a creative game, but I made it creative for myself.” In life, she reminds players that they should always try their best and think things through.
