There were no American contenders in the recent world chess championship
tournament in San Luis, Argentina, which was limited to the world’s top eight
players. The closest American candidate for the tournament was Hikaru Nakamura —
a 17-year-old who is ranked 42nd in the world. But Nakamura — who at 15 became
the youngest American grandmaster, breaking Bobby Fischer’s record — says that
he might give up pro chess because there is so little money in it. Losing
Nakamura would be devastating for American chess.
How can American chess
save itself? No doubt it would make purists protest, but chess should steal a
few moves from poker. After all, in the past few years, poker has lured away
many chess masters who realized that the analytical skills they’ve learned from
chess would pay off in online card rooms.
And that’s a shame. There are
plenty of smart people playing poker (and I love playing it myself), but there’s
no denying that when it comes to developing mental acuity, chess wins hands
down, so to speak. Dan Harrington, a former world poker champion who quit chess
because there wasn’t enough money in it, laments that poker is thin and
ephemeral in comparison.
So here are some poker-inspired ideas for
chess:
Teach it more. Web sites and TV programs that explain the rules of
poker abound. Chess needs to do the same. Programs like Chess-in-the-Schools in
New York are improving chess literacy by teaching the game to schoolchildren.
But there are very few opportunities for adults to learn the basics. Chess Web
sites, like that of the U.S. Chess Federation, should include interactive
tutorials on how the pieces move. Chess tournaments, which are now closed
gatherings of devotees, should include more basic commentary and
instruction.
Source : Herald Tribune
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