Questions and Answers about Playing Chess

Q: Where can I learn to play chess? I want to know the rules of the game and how the pieces move.

A: You can learn about the basic moves on a website called “Chess is Fun” (http://www.princeton.edu/~jedwards/cif/intro.html) which will show you how to set up the chess board, how each piece moves and will give you the basic rules of chess. It will even help you learn some strategies.
You may also want to view the video tutorial on our new “Playing Chess” page (http://chessright.com/playingchess.htm) called “How to Play Chess: The Pieces” for instruction on the fundamentals.

Q: I want to learn to play better chess. Where can I go to get better at chess?

A: Children as young as five years old can learn to play chess, but folks will spend a lifetime trying to learn to master the game. That is the beauty of the “Game of Kings” -- that it will always be challenging and there is always another level to achieve. The best way to get better at playing chess is to play regularly, play as often as time allows, and play against people who are better than you are.
Personally, I have a very competitive nature. Sometimes I think I’m a little too competitive, and it’s important to know that about myself. For me, I find it practical to practice by playing chess against the computer. If you think you would benefit from playing against the computer also, I have put a computer game on our “Playing Chess” page (http://chessright.com/playingchess.htm) which is free and limitless, no strings attached. Please come over and help yourself any time, day or night.
Also, from time to time, I will be posting links and resources on chess strategies on the “Playing Chess” page to help improve your skills in chess. Right now, there is a video on the page about Knights Openings that may be of interest. English is apparently a second language for the makers of this video, so all GrammarNazis are warned to stay away. But the strategies discussed in the video are understandable and may even prove to be helpful.
Check back to our new “Playing Chess” page often as these resources are subject to change.

Keep playing chess!
Visit Chess Right Chess Shop today

Fabulous short film from Pixar

Skinny old man playing chess ... a must-see:

Geri's Game

Delightful

November products

The weather is turning cooler as winter approaches. The leaves, once colorful displays, are now slippery messes along the sidewalks and roadways. More and more time is spent indoors now. Soon the holidays will be upon us all. However you choose to celebrate the year’s end, in all likelihood you will have friends and family, neighbors and guests visiting your house. Little wonder that this season (not Spring Cleaning) is the busiest time of the year for rug cleaning services.
At this time of year, many folks take a look around their houses. The
décor of your home says a lot about you. What do you see in yours? As our new home page at www.ChessRight.com reminds us, nothing says “status” like a chess set and, whether deserved or not, chess players have reputations for being brainy types and shrewd negotiators. Incorporating chess themes into home decorating is an easy way to grab a little of that respect for yourself.
The easiest way, of course, is to proudly display your favorite chess set. You might be able to get a “do you play?” invitation for a match from a neighbor. Chess is one of the most popular games in the world, and friendly chess matches are a highly pleasant way to spend many a dark winter evening. But where can you display your set? Finding an empty flat surface can be challenging in some homes. If yours is one of those homes where the horizontal surfaces have been filled long ago, consider a chess table. From modest wooden side tables to beautiful inlaid game tables, Chess Right has something for almost any budget. Please visit our gallery of beautiful chess tables.
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We have found a new product to help you display your favorite chess set. Must-see our latest find! These vertical chess boards hang on the wall. Your chess set stays on display as the fine work of art it really is, whether or not a game is in progress. Take a look at these unique chess boards on Chess Right website. A vertical chessboard will surely intrigue your visitors and help keep those flat surfaces clear. We have several varieties to choose from, so please look around.

Keep playing chess!

More about Chess and Kids

This article suggests that kindergarten is not too soon to begin reaping the benefits of learning to play chess:

Daylight Saving Time

March is here and Daylight Saving Time has arrived. It’s frequently albeit incorrectly called Daylight Savings Time, possibly because that may be somewhat easier to say. Besides, no daylight is actually saved by the adjustment of our clocks. The First Day of Spring is still a way off, but most of us have already set our clocks forward an hour. There are still some communities in the U.S. that don’t participate in this ritual each March.

Whenever someone mentions time to a chess fanatic, all thoughts turn to “clocks” and then to “Chess Clocks!” Chess Right Chess Store has an assortment of chess clocks (starting at $29.95) to help you find the chess clock just right for your game. Then, please take some time to look around our newly designed shop and check out our new merchandise.

Keep playing chess!

New Year's Resolution

It's that time of year again. Every year I go through this reflective process about (1) what went right during the past year, (2) what went wrong / could have been done better, and (3) what I am going to do differently in the coming year to make this next year better than the year before.

This year, I have gotten very interested in this new science of the aging of the human brain. In recent years, there have been a number of products that have come to market that are supposed to help with focus, memory and concentration. Some of these products are herbal / drug supplements, some of them are software packages that offer to stimulate one's brain with puzzles and patterns, and there are some books appearing that claim to be able to lower your brain age and keep your wits sharp.

This is all very interesting -- but not altogether necessary. Chess players already know the secret to keeping their brains active. Play chess regularly! Get a cool chess set from www.ChessRight.com with all the money you will save from NOT buying those brain-oriented supplements.

From that point, it's a simple New Year's Resolution: Hang a notice in the local library and offer to whomp some butt. If the game doesn't get too rowdy that it distracts the other patrons, the library staff will probably be happy to have the match right there in the library (maybe even taking bets amongst themselves in their little back room behind the checkout counter!) This will help your chess game, you will meet new people, and you will keep your brain active. An active brain is a happy brain. There is no knowing where your active brain will lead you in 2009! Enjoy!

Chess Tournament

Chess Association for Arkansas Schools ("CAAS") is a state organization of parents and educators working to develop and improve chess play throughout the schools of Arkansas. The goals of this organization include (1) rewarding study and practice, (2) encouraging critical thinking, and (3) cultivating creative problem solving.


The CAAS held a chess tournament in November. The tournament organizer was Carm Proct of the Wilbur Mills Education CoOp (pictured at right). She has been organizing chess tournaments since 1999. Presently, the Wilbur Mills Education CoOp hosts two chess tournaments per year, with approximately 200 players between the fourth and sixth grades, and about 85 players at the junior high and senior high levels. Both individual and team play is encouraged at these tournaments.

Congratulations from all of us at www.ChessRight.com to Josh Elander of Searcy, AR for his first place win in the 11th - 12th Grade Division, and to the two eighth graders, Patrick McKenzie and Josh Lovitte, for their second and third place trophies in their division.

The senior high regionals will be held in February 2009, and the state finals will be in April. You can learn more about CAAS by visiting their website.

Chess in the News

Here is an interesting annual event for chess players!

Princeton University students challenge prison inmates to chess matches:
Prison chess

Finding Fun in Tough Economic Times

If the news media is to be believed (and that's a whole separate issue), many of us are feeling the economic pinch these days. Paying the mortgage and keeping gas in the tank are a couple of those "must-have" items in the family budget. Having fun is often one of the line items that gets cut in tough times. It may be good for the financial health, but it's depressing and not-so-good for the mental health.

But it doesn't have to be that way. It's not necessary that we should all sit on the edges of our cots and do nothing. That is not really a workable plan, not in the long term. What is necessary is that we should find ways to entertain ourselves for less, to enjoy ourselves in different ways than we have done before. In other words, we need to find fun and enjoyable ways to spend more time for less money.

Although this may seem counter-intuitive, consider this: Buy a new chess set from www.ChessRight.com and start playing chess regularly.

What's that you say? Chess sets are expensive! How can that be a great way to save money?

Think it through! There are many lovely chess sets at www.ChessRight.com for less than $100, or under $150. You don't have to buy a fancy, expensive set to start having fun. Once you have purchased the set of your choice, there is NO additional cash outlay to have months, even years of enjoyment. Challenge one of your neighbors to play chess with you -- you've always wanted to get one-up on your arrogant neighbor and here is a socially-acceptable way. Put up a notice on a bulletin board at the local grocery store, community center or library and meet someone new to challenge to a friendly (yes, let's keep it friendly) game of chess.

The point is that, once you have purchased the chess set of your choice, you don't have to spend any more money to enjoy hours and hours of fun, challenging family and friends, and keeping your mental health through these troubling times. So come on by www.ChessRight.com and buy the chess set that's just right for your game.

Do Smart People Play Chess? Or Does Playing Chess Make People Smart?

Mastering the moves of the chess pieces is only a small part of the game. Children as young as five have the cognitive development, the eye-hand coordination and the dexterity to be able to move the six different pieces around the chess board properly. However, becoming skilled at the strategies for winning at chess requires a great deal more.
Certainly, the first capabilities tested are the abilities to concentrate and analyze. Any lapse in concentration or failure to correctly analyze the situation on the chess board will most likely result in a loss. All chess players experience losses, even the grandmasters of the game, so players also learn the consequences of their decisions, and to win and lose gracefully.
There are more talents exercised through playing chess than just these first obvious few. Studies conducted over the past thirty years have been discovering that playing chess affects a number of aptitudes; from spatial relationships to persistence and focus, exercising both numerical and verbal skills, all working together when playing chess. A 1992 study in New Brunswick, Canada found that primary school children showed significant improvement in their problem solving skills when chess was added to their regular mathematics curriculum. Other studies, from Venezuela to Zaire, have found improvements in students’ memories and increased IQ scores among teenagers who play chess regularly.
The benefits of playing chess are not confined to school age children. In this Information Age, we are all bombarded continuously with incoming information of all types from many sources, some more credible than others. Data that used to take substantial commitments of time and specialized skill to dig out is now available in a fraction of a second from an Internet search on a home computer. The ability to analyze and manage multiple considerations is a skill that can make the difference between responding with agility to new situations and becoming mired in information overload. These torrents of information, whether the subject is managing your business or monitoring family health options, must be met with critical thinking to sort out the useful information from the spurious. Then, the new data needs to be adapted into our current plan, as appropriate. Nowhere are these skills (critical thinking, analysis, managing multiple considerations, adapting to new data, decision making, and planning / thinking ahead) better honed than from engaging in regular games of chess.
After all is said, chess is a game. In addition to exercising these many abilities and skills, chess is still a moment of sportsmanship and recreation. Playing games with people provides opportunities to develop social bonds and offers a diversion from the stresses of the day. With so many benefits, it’s easy to understand why chess is increasing in popularity. For years, people have associated playing chess with smart people. Now, the evidence is suggesting that playing the game of chess is not attracting smart people so much as it is contributing significantly to the abilities and skills of the people who participate in playing chess on a regular basis.
Buy your new chess set at ChessRight.com today, for yourself or for that special child in your life. We can make the world a smarter place -- one chess set at a time.