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Articles on Chess

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Robotic orchestra conductor ‘Yumi’ performs on stage with the Orchestra Filarmonica di Lucca in Italy in 2017. Laura Lezza/Getty Images

Why improvisation is the future in an AI-dominated world

Machines have been getting better at mimicking improvisation. But can this distinctly human process serve as a bulwark against the mechanization of life and art?
The white-moves-first rule became standard in the late 1800s. Nupat Arjkla / EyeEm / Getty Images

Why does white always go first in chess?

Ever since the late 1800s, it has been standard for white to go first in chess. Has the time come to get rid of that rule?
Chess websites abound for those interested in taking up the royal game. romrodinka/Getty Images

3 things to consider before you let your child play chess online

Playing chess online offers a variety of ways for children to get good at the royal game, but it also comes with a few pitfalls. An expert in chess education provides some advice.
Ju Wenjun, the reigning Women’s World Chess Champion, will defend her title against Aleksandra Goryachkina, of Russia this month. Photo from an earlier encounter in September 2019. David Llada

Why there’s a separate World Chess Championship for women

As the Women’s World Chess Championship takes place in China and Russia this month, Alexey Root, an expert on chess in education, weighs in on the benefits of having a separate championship for women.
Legal battles require the same skills seen at the highest levels of chess. Elnur/Shutterstock.com

5 ways chess can make you a better law student and lawyer

The same skills and talents that enable chess players to dominate the board will also serve aspiring lawyers well in the courtroom, a law scholar argues.
Did ancient Egyptian parents worry their kids might get addicted to this game, called senet? Keith Schengili-Roberts/Wikimedia Commons

Games blamed for moral decline and addiction throughout history

Somewhere between the early Buddhist times and today, worries about game addiction have given way to scientific understanding of the benefits of play, rather than its detriments.
We found students who played chess didn’t show significant improvements in their standardised test scores. from shutterstock.com

Most people think playing chess makes you ‘smarter’, but the evidence isn’t clear on that

Previous studies that explored whether chess improves children’s cognitive abilities have had mixed results. We found playing chess wasn’t linked to better standardised test scores.
Third-grader Tanitoluwa Adewumi was crowned as a New York State Scholastic chess champion on March 10. GoFundMe

A chess program helped this 8-year-old raise $240,000 and get his family out of a homeless shelter – here’s what to look for in a chess program for your child

For 8-year-old Tanitoluwa Adewumi, a chess program ended up being a ticket out of a homeless shelter. A chess education expert explains what to look for in a chess program for your child.

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