tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/world-chess-championship-7971/articlesWorld Chess Championship – The Conversation2022-10-13T15:43:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1914132022-10-13T15:43:12Z2022-10-13T15:43:12ZWhy Canada should invest more in teaching kids how to play chess<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488605/original/file-20221006-12-urtylf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3840%2C2160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The government should invest in chess to foster more Canadian success at international competitions</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chess has recently been in the news far more than usual. First, there was the runaway success of the Netflix miniseries <em>The Queen’s Gambit</em>. That made chessboards the new toilet paper as retailers and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/02/queens-gambit-ignites-sales-for-spanish-chessboard-maker">manufacturers struggled to meet the demand</a>. Now there’s a high-profile <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/oct/04/hans-niemann-chess-com-cheating-investigation-magnus-carlsen">cheating scandal</a> rocking the chess world. </p>
<p>But amid those headlines, the best recent chess news for Canadians is the quieter story of Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, a Québec teen who recently <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-s-shawn-rodrigue-lemieux-becomes-world-chess-champion-1.6073479">won the world under-18 chess championship</a>: a first for a Québecer and only the second time for a Canadian.</p>
<p>Unlike the cheating scandal and the fictional depiction of chess in <em>The Queen’s Gambit</em>, the story of Rodrigue-Lemieux is unequivocally good and real. It should inspire and motivate us as a nation to invest more in chess so that his accomplishment leads to more Canadian success at international competitions. </p>
<p>Success at the highest levels of chess costs money. Investing in chess as a sport and as a mandatory subject in schools would be money well spent.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489206/original/file-20221011-10401-5xogic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large room filled with people sitting at tables playing chess." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489206/original/file-20221011-10401-5xogic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489206/original/file-20221011-10401-5xogic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489206/original/file-20221011-10401-5xogic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489206/original/file-20221011-10401-5xogic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489206/original/file-20221011-10401-5xogic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489206/original/file-20221011-10401-5xogic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489206/original/file-20221011-10401-5xogic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Participants compete in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, India on July 29, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Chess as a sport</h2>
<p>This year <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/sport-organizations/national/funding.html">Sport Canada has supported</a> hockey in Canada with nearly $7 million. It has given an additional $1.5 million toward individual hockey players through its athlete assistance program. But Sport Canada isn’t just generous to hockey. It’s giving more than $300,000 to bowling; $5.2 million to curling; $200,000 to surfing; over $1 million to cricket; almost $700,000 to ringette; about $250,000 to skateboarding; and more than $500,000 to archery.</p>
<p>What does chess get from Sport Canada? Nothing.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/sport-support/accountability-framework.html">According to Sport Canada</a>, chess does not qualify for sport funding for the simple reason that chess is not a sport. But chess satisfies every single criterion for being a sport, except one: it is not considered a physical activity. It is merely a “game of skill,” a board game like Monopoly or Scrabble, that requires mental effort but no physical, bodily effort. </p>
<p>Sport Canada’s position on chess may be shared by many Canadians, but it is mistaken and out of step with the position of many other nations for at least two reasons.</p>
<p>First, in 1999, the International Olympic Committee recognized chess as a sport. Chess was even featured as an exhibition event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. There was an effort to get <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-should-chess-be-included-in-the-olympic-games/">chess into the 2024 Paris Olympics, but this was rejected</a>. </p>
<p>When the time comes and chess is featured at the Olympics, Canada will not be ready to compete unless we start funding chess now.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489063/original/file-20221010-19-h87jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man wearing a grey suit moves a piece on a chess board." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489063/original/file-20221010-19-h87jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489063/original/file-20221010-19-h87jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489063/original/file-20221010-19-h87jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489063/original/file-20221010-19-h87jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489063/original/file-20221010-19-h87jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489063/original/file-20221010-19-h87jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489063/original/file-20221010-19-h87jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Magnus Carlsen competes at the 2018 World Chess Championship in London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Second, when chess is played at the highest levels, it is indeed a physical activity, contrary to the naïve position of Sport Canada. In a 2014 <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b04mb80d">interview with the BBC</a>, the greatest chess player of all time and current world champion, Magnus Carlsen revealed: “For me chess is first and foremost a sport and then secondly an art and a science.” </p>
<p>Carlsen credited two of his wins against former world champion, Vishy Anand, to his superior athleticism rather than to his superior chess playing. The games were long ones and, according to Carlsen, “were very much decided in the fifth and sixth hours by physical strength.”</p>
<h2>Investing in chess</h2>
<p>The wisest way for Canada to invest in chess would be to follow the examples of other nations, <a href="https://www.thelocal.es/20150212/chess-set-to-become-school-subject-in-spain/">including Spain</a>, <a href="https://bigthink.com/thinking/chess-should-be-required-in-us-schools/">Armenia</a>, and <a href="https://agenda.ge/en/news/2022/1826">Georgia</a>, that have made chess a mandatory subject in elementary or high school.</p>
<p>The case for including chess among school curricula is usually based on the benefits for improving math skills. But this is not the only benefit of chess.</p>
<p>Chess is a prime example of an interdisciplinary activity. The best chess players throughout history have had one thing in common: they saw in chess something far more serious than a game. The first official champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, declared that chess is a science, and <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7251810M/The_modern_chess_instructor.">wrote a treatise on the principles of this science</a>. The next champion, Emanuel Lasker, saw chess as a perfect <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6981278M/Struggle">model of every human struggle</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489062/original/file-20221010-23-yvk1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman and three young children sit around a table with a chess board. The woman holds a chess piece in her hand while the children raise their arms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489062/original/file-20221010-23-yvk1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489062/original/file-20221010-23-yvk1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489062/original/file-20221010-23-yvk1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489062/original/file-20221010-23-yvk1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489062/original/file-20221010-23-yvk1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489062/original/file-20221010-23-yvk1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489062/original/file-20221010-23-yvk1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Teaching chess is school can help children to see the unity of all the other disciplines they learn at school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Another champion, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRCvqr7XJAo">Alexander Alekhine</a>, thought chess was an art, an opinion that was corroborated by one of the world’s most famous artists, Marcel Duchamp, <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/P/bo44310477.html">who quit making art to focus on chess</a>. Computer scientists frequently turn to chess as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/04/deep-thinking-where-machine-intelligence-ends-human-creativity-begins-garry-kasparov-review">test for artificial intelligence</a>. And former world champion Garry Kasparov has assimilated all of these insights and <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781427202291/howlifeimitateschess">written a book</a> arguing that chess is a model of all aspects of life.</p>
<p>Teaching chess in Canadian schools would train children to see the unity of all the other disciplines they learn at school. It would challenge them to use their minds, and yes, even their bodies, to learn, compete and have fun. While chess is in the spotlight, we should not miss this opportunity to build on the enthusiasm for chess that is present in Canada.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Hickson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Chess affords young people a host of interdisciplinary skills, Canada should invest in teaching them how to play it.Michael Hickson, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1292932020-01-03T20:58:49Z2020-01-03T20:58:49ZWhy there’s a separate World Chess Championship for women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308384/original/file-20200102-11919-ep6giu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">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.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Llada</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s Note: The Women’s World Chess Championship match is from <a href="https://www.fide.com/calendar/50113">January 3-26, 2020</a>. The first six games will be played in Shanghai, China and the remaining six games, plus any tiebreak games, will be played in Vladivostok, Russia. The match features Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun of China against challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina, of Russia. Here, Alexey Root, a lecturer teaching courses about chess in education at The University of Texas at Dallas, answers questions about the Women’s World Chess Championship.</em></p>
<h2>1. When did the Women’s World Chess Championship begin?</h2>
<p>The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) was established in 1924 and, in 1927, held the first Women’s World Championship and the Men’s Olympiad. <a href="https://www.mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/aa03c08.htm">According to Mark Weeks</a>, who served as the Chess Guide for About.com, FIDE organized just these two events for its first two decades. Eventually, FIDE gained control of other prestigious chess events, most notably the World Chess Championship. </p>
<p>The present <a href="https://www.fide.com/news/143">Women’s World Chess Championship cycle</a> parallels the World Chess Championship cycle. The World Chess Championship cycle is open to both men and women, though only men have reached its final stage, a two-person match for the champion’s title. Preliminary stages include the Candidates Tournament, an eight-player double round robin where the winner becomes the challenger for a title match.</p>
<h2>2. In most sports, such as tennis, golf, basketball and the like, there are separate categories or leagues for women because men tend to have some sort of inherent physical advantage. Why is there a separate championship for women in chess when chess is about decisions as opposed to muscle mass and physical speed?</h2>
<p>Most chess tournaments are open, to all ages, all genders, and all nationalities. In the United States, the annual “<a href="https://new.uschess.org/national-events-calendar/">U.S. Open</a>” is one example. However, segregated championships exist, by age (junior championships), geography (state chess championships), by gender, and even by profession (U.S. Armed Forces Open Chess Championship). These segregated tournaments allow those playing to get media attention, benefit financially, and make friends with people with whom they share some similar characteristics. Separate tournaments don’t speak to whether there are advantages or disadvantages.</p>
<p>Likewise, separate tournaments for girls and women don’t mean that girls and women are more or less capable than boys and men at chess. However, there may be less interest in chess among girls and women compared to boys and men. Based on 2019 statistics, <a href="https://www.chess.com/news/view/team-battles-femme-batale-north-america-vs-europe-tuesday">14.6% of US Chess members are female</a>, and that is a new, record-high percentage. Thus logically, and in reality, a smaller base of females means fewer women than men at the top of the chess rating list, as one <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6598839_Sex_Differences_in_Intellectual_Performance_Analysis_of_a_Large_Cohort_of_Competitive_Chess_Players">study found</a>. Offering occasional female-only tournaments may make chess more attractive to girls and women, for the financial, social, and publicity reasons mentioned above.</p>
<h2>3. What would happen if there was no separate world chess championship for women?</h2>
<p>The Women’s World Chess Championship match is the culmination of a two-year cycle of events. Those events financially help the current top women players to concentrate on chess exclusively, as there is prize money for each event in the cycle. If the cycle were abolished, then it would be much harder for those women players to make money from playing in chess tournaments. Women would also become relatively invisible in media stories about chess.</p>
<p>A four-time Women’s World Chess Champion, Hou Yifan, is <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=men">ranked at #75</a> among men and women combined. Though she is the highest-rated woman on the list of active chess players, as #75 she likely would not qualify for the Candidates Tournament in the World Chess Championship cycle and the prize money and media attention associated with it. Sponsorship money might also be lost to the chess world, as some sponsors <a href="https://new.uschess.org/women/womens-girls-regional-event-guidelines/">specifically target chess for girls and women</a>.</p>
<p>However, segregated tournaments for girls and women are not universally supported. For example, Judit Polgár, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Judit-Polgar">highest-rated woman of all time who at her peak in 2005 was ranked #8 in the world</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/30/chess-grandmaster-women-only-tournament-play-men">wrote</a> that she makes it a point to never separate girls and boys – nor award special prizes for girls – in the children’s tournaments that she organizes. “Meanwhile, national federations use their resources, and public subsidies are creating more female-only competitions,” Polgár wrote. “It is high time to consider the consequences of this segregation – because in the end, our goal must be that women and men compete with one another on an equal footing.”</p>
<p>To get to equal footing, however, separate championships may provide a leg up. <a href="https://chess24.com/en/embed-tournament/fide-womens-world-championship-2020">The prize fund for the Women’s World Chess Championship match is 500,000 Euros</a>, and you can follow the championship’s games at this same link. Perhaps that prize money will enable the two competitors to invest in more chess training for themselves so that maybe, someday, they can compete also in the World Chess Championship. </p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129293/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexey W. Root does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>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.Alexey W. Root, Lecturer in Education, University of Texas at DallasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1061592018-11-09T11:46:09Z2018-11-09T11:46:09Z5 things to know about Fabiano Caruana and his quest to become world chess champion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244047/original/file-20181106-74778-4fokz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, shown here at the 2017 Tradewise Gibraltar Masters tournament, could become the first American-born world chess champion since Bobby Fischer.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Llada/American Chess Magazine</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Bobby Fischer became the first American-born world chess champion in 1972, it spurred a dramatic increase in interest in chess. For instance, after Fischer’s world championship victory against the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky, membership in the United States Chess Federation <a href="http://www.uschess.org/images/stories/Yearbooks/2017yearbook.pdf">swelled</a> from just under 31,000 in 1972 to more than 59,000 the following year.</p>
<p>Could there be a similar effect if Fabiano Caruana defeats reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, of Norway, in London this month to become the first American-born world chess champion since Fischer? In a Q&A with education editor Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Daaim Shabazz, an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_uHxozkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">international business professor</a> and <a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/welcome.html">chess journalist</a>, explains what a Caruana victory could mean for the United States, where an estimated <a href="http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/6376-agon-releases-new-chess-player-statistics-from-YouGOV-Fide">35 million people</a> are regular chess players. </p>
<p><strong>What characteristics enabled Fabiano Caruana to become a contender for the world chess championship?</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243758/original/file-20181103-12015-1mlezuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243758/original/file-20181103-12015-1mlezuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243758/original/file-20181103-12015-1mlezuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243758/original/file-20181103-12015-1mlezuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243758/original/file-20181103-12015-1mlezuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243758/original/file-20181103-12015-1mlezuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243758/original/file-20181103-12015-1mlezuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243758/original/file-20181103-12015-1mlezuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Fabiano Caruana, shown here at age 10 in 2002 in Bryant Park in New York City, where he challenged 15 players simultaneously. He won 14 of the matches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Domestic-News-New-York-United-/1fe221ebb6e6da11af9f0014c2589dfb/27/0">Bebeto Matthews/AP</a></span>
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<p>One of the things I saw in Fabiano early on was not being afraid to play the strongest competition available. He didn’t fear losing. I once saw Caruana lose a game when he was around 9 or 10 and he didn’t seem to carry any of the usual childish pouting from a loss.</p>
<p>This self-control may have been developed because of his early diet of competitive open tournaments. In these competitions you must forget about a bad result quickly or risk distraction in the next game. In a recent interview, he mentioned his ability to <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/244841784?t=12m16s">come back from losses</a> as one of his top strengths.</p>
<p>In his November 2018 Chess Life article “Caruana versus Carlsen,” Grandmaster Ian Rogers described Caruana’s <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/342/nov2018cl_%28dragged%29.pdf?1541523016">“hard-working, calculation-heavy, fearless style.”</a></p>
<p>I believe this to be an essential trait in his psychological makeup. Given the comments made in a <a href="https://youtu.be/_39_E_uL1i4?t=539">recent interview by Chess.com</a>, he seems self-assured in his chances against Carlsen. </p>
<p><strong>What are Fabiano Caruana’s odds of winning?</strong></p>
<p>In many chess circles, Carlsen is the considered the favorite. Surprisingly, <a href="https://twitter.com/STLChessClub/status/986723875240243201">some predictions are as high as 75-25</a> in his favor. A September <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/carlsen-vs-caruana-looking-back-and-looking-ahead">ChessBase.com poll</a> put Carlsen’s advantage at 56-43. I have looked at articles <a href="https://www.chess.com/article/view/will-fabiano-caruana-beat-king-magnus">showing a number of games between the two</a>, but some offer the safe prediction that the match would be close. Caruana stated at the 2018 Sinquefield Cup that his “<a href="https://www.chess.com/news/view/caruana-i-think-my-chances-are-about-50-50">chances are about 50-50</a>.” </p>
<p>As one who has <a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2014/09/11/is-caruana-the-next-contender/?fbclid=IwAR39bO8KxH1vvxgWBdiDyFqtoscQlEb2MOffqwVtzTF4gK5lFK9uAZDf1Gk">closely followed</a> Caruana’s rise to the top of the chess world, I believe Carlsen is in for a fierce battle. What makes it interesting is that both players are at different trajectories. In the past couple of years, Carlsen has not shown the same dominance that led him to be the top-rated player seven years ago. </p>
<p>Meanwhile Caruana gradually ascended to the number two position some years ago, but battled inconsistency. In the past couple of years, he has stabilized his play, won various top-level tournaments and – as of November 2018 – Carlsen is only <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=men">three rating points</a> higher than Caruana. The margin is so close that it makes them virtually indistinguishable in terms of their chess ratings, which indicate their strength as chess players. Carlsen has a definite advantage in match experience and tenacity, while Caruana’s advantage may come in his composure and theoretical preparation. In my view, Caruana has an even chance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243760/original/file-20181103-83632-8bgy16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243760/original/file-20181103-83632-8bgy16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243760/original/file-20181103-83632-8bgy16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243760/original/file-20181103-83632-8bgy16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243760/original/file-20181103-83632-8bgy16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243760/original/file-20181103-83632-8bgy16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243760/original/file-20181103-83632-8bgy16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">World champion Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen plays American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in St. Louis in August. It was their last match before battling for the World Championship title.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/2018-Sinquefield-Cup-Magnus-Carlsen-vs-Fabia-/d492dd2b9c294b53a2998bd0c960e648/4/0">Dilip Vishwanat/AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>What will be the impact of a Caruana victory?</strong></p>
<p>On an international level, a new champion would shake the seven-year grip that Carlsen has had as the world’s top-rated player. This may prove healthy for the global expansion of chess as players from other nations see that they have a chance at the title.</p>
<p>When Fischer broke Soviet domination, it also had similar globalizing effect.</p>
<p>Also, chess may gain more appeal as an educational tool. Caruana was homeschooled and spent time traveling abroad – as did Carlsen – so more people may consider home schooling as a way to position their children for success in life.</p>
<p>On the other hand, a Caruana win may not have a lasting impact on the general public. As <a href="https://www.chess.com/member/danielrensch">Daniel Rensch</a>, an international master and vice president of content at Chess.com, stated in the Fall 2018 edition of American Chess Magazine: “November may come and go with no tangible change for chess in the U.S.”</p>
<p><strong>Will a Caruana victory have the same impact as the Bobby Fischer victory in 1972?</strong></p>
<p>Nothing can replicate the <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18228004">“Fischer boom”</a> that occurred after his politically charged Cold War era victory over the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky. With the world gripped in an ideological battle, chess had two combatants who were polar opposites. </p>
<p>The mercurial Fischer mostly worked alone while Spassky had the weight of the Soviet empire behind him. The match almost didn’t happen, but last-ditch attempts by high U.S. chess officials got Fischer on a jet to Reykjavik, Iceland, and he won a thrilling match charged with controversy. However, Fischer became the darling of the world and spawned a wave of interest in chess never seen before.</p>
<p>Whether a Caruana victory can spark the same interest in chess remains to be seen. However, his genial persona should do much to dispel the faulty notion – sometimes reinforced by media and popular culture in movies such as “<a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2015/10/03/movie-pawn-sacrifice-fair-to-fischer/">Pawn Sacrifice</a>” – that chess is a game for rarefied geniuses who tend to be socially awkward.</p>
<p>If Caruana wins the championship, it could also lead young players to stick with chess longer than they would otherwise.</p>
<p><strong>If Caruana loses, how long will it be before we see another American contender for the world chess championship?</strong></p>
<p>Given America’s <a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2016/09/15/the-anatomy-of-usa-gold-at-16-chess-olympiad/">recent re-emergence to prominence in chess</a>, even if Caruana loses the championship, we could see another contender within a decade. Caruana is only 26 and currently the No. 2 player in the world, so he’ll be back.</p>
<p><a href="http://wesleyso.com/">Wesley So</a>, a Filipino who represents the U.S., is a possibility, and I believe <a href="https://hikarunakamura.com/">Hikaru Nakamura</a> still stands an excellent chance to compete for the world championship.</p>
<p>Incidentally, there is a wave of talent emerging in American chess, but the question is one of retention. While at the 2018 Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Ray Robson, a three-time member of the Olympiad team and recent graduate of <a href="http://www.webster.edu/spice/chess-team/accomplishments.html">chess powerhouse Webster University</a>, told me his plans to focus on chess in the coming year to see how far he can go. I reminded him of the young grandmasters like <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-column/2018/04/09/coppell-chess-prodigy-compete-us-chess-championship-st-louis">Jeffery Xiong</a>, <a href="https://new.uschess.org/news/gm-sam-sevian-wins-philadelphia-international-four-im-norms-achieved/">Samuel Sevian</a> and <a href="https://new.uschess.org/news/interview-cake-gm-awonder-liang/">Awonder Liang</a> nipping at his heels. He acknowledged this and also mentioned several foreign arrivals, such as Cuba’s top player <a href="https://grandchesstour.org/gm-leinier-dominguez">Leinier Dominguez</a>, who is now living in the U.S. </p>
<p>There are many scenarios, but American chess will have world champion contenders in the near future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daaim Shabazz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Daaim Shabazz, an international business professor and chess journalist, explains what’s at stake as American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana fights for the World Chess Championship in London this month.Daaim Shabazz, Associate Professor of International Business, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1063102018-11-09T11:45:25Z2018-11-09T11:45:25ZMyths and unknowns about chess and the contenders for the World Chess Championship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244596/original/file-20181108-74775-1y38rie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reigning Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen, left, from Norway, and American challenger Fabiano Caruana will face off in the World Chess Championship, which begins Nov. 9 in London.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Britain-Chess-World-Championship/cb70fb4f09de45d3849ab90dab335bfd/7/0">Matt Dunham/AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If Fabiano Caruana wins the World Chess Championship match against champion Magnus Carlsen this month, he will be the first American to hold the championship title since Bobby Fischer won it in 1972. The match between Caruana, age 26, and Carlsen, age 27, of Norway, takes place in London, England, from Nov. 9 to 28.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://new.uschess.org/international-events/couch-potatos-guide-2018-world-chess-championship/">winner will take home about US$700,000 – or 50 percent more than the loser</a>.</p>
<p>Here are five myths and unknowns about the world chess championship contenders and the game of chess.</p>
<h2>1. Parents name their babies after chess champions</h2>
<p>When Woman Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade and her husband, Daniel Meirom, learned that they were having a son, she told her father that she would name the baby either Fabiano or Magnus. “It started as a joke and then we realized how much we loved it,” Shahade told The Conversation. Shahade’s son Fabian was born in January 2017, before Fabiano Caruana became the challenger for the World Chess Championship but after Shahade had admired Caruana’s 7-0 win and sportsmanlike attitude in the <a href="https://uschesschamps.com/2014-sinquefield-cup">2014 Sinquefield Cup</a>. </p>
<p>Other parents may have had the same idea. According to the <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html">Social Security Administration</a>, the name “Magnus” first made the list of the top 1,000 baby names in the United States in 2013, the same year that Magnus Carlsen became world chess champion. It will be interesting to see if the name “Fabian” – or “Fabiano” – experiences a surge if Caruana wins the match and becomes the World Chess Champion. </p>
<p>Status: Unknown.</p>
<h2>2. Chess is not a sport</h2>
<p>People may not think that it requires much stamina to move chess pieces and pawns from one square to another. However, as mentioned in my 2006 book <a href="https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=F2132P">“Children and Chess: A Guide for Educators</a>,” chess players sitting at the board experience a quickened heartbeat and higher blood pressure, similar to what athletes experience when they compete in their sports.</p>
<p>Many, if not most, chess players <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/sports/bobby-fischer-chess-caruana.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimesworld&fbclid=IwAR12tfOTjQ2caDeOrcxWRBoB0030kMWrTVZueTACeKHg3wVhXaayGLIpL-8">view chess as a sport</a> and approach it as such. For instance, the 2018 U.S. Open chess champion Timur Gareyev – a grandmaster known for playing numerous players at once while blindfolded – has promoted the <a href="https://new.uschess.org/news/timur-gareyev-to-attempt-blindfold-world-record/">benefits of exercise for chess players</a>.</p>
<p>Carlsen and Caruana stay in top physical shape to meet the demands of chess. Carlsen <a href="https://new.uschess.org/news/who-is-magnus-carlsen/">plays soccer, basketball and tennis</a> and also enjoys hiking and skiing. Caruana also plays basketball and soccer and partakes in <a href="https://new.uschess.org/news/who-is-fabiano-caruana/">indoor rock climbing</a>.</p>
<p>Status: Myth.</p>
<h2>3. You need 10,000 hours of practice to be a chess master</h2>
<p>The 10,000 hour rule has been popularized by books such as Malcolm Gladwell’s <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/malcolm-gladwell/outliers/9780316017930/">“Outliers: The Story of Success</a>.” However, according to <a href="https://www.crcpress.com/The-Psychology-of-Chess/Gobet/p/book/9781138216655">“The Psychology of Chess</a>,” a new book by University of Liverpool psychology professor <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/psychology-health-and-society/staff/fernand-gobet/">Fernand Gobet</a>, some need less than 10,000 hours.</p>
<p>Though grandmaster is an even higher title than “master,” Carlsen became a grandmaster at age 13. Caruana got his grandmaster title at age 14. “The quickest players needed only 3,000 hours of deliberate practice to reach master level,” Gobet wrote, based on his research using data from the World Chess Federation. On the other hand, some chess players spend 25,000 hours of deliberate practice – and never make master. Gobet arrived at these findings in a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226396370_Deliberate_Practice_Necessary_But_Not_Sufficient">study</a> conducted with his then-Ph.D. student Guillermo Campitelli.</p>
<p>Status: Myth.</p>
<h2>4. Starting chess as an adult gives you an advantage</h2>
<p>While one might think that adults have the edge in improving at chess, due to their emotional maturity for handling wins and losses and their fully developed intellects, it just is not so. “Starting young clearly helps,” Gobet told me in an <a href="https://www.utdallas.edu/chess/files/interview-fernand-gobet.pdf">interview for Chess Life magazine</a>. “In our <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226396370_Deliberate_Practice_Necessary_But_Not_Sufficient">study</a>, individuals who started playing chess at or before the age of 12 years old had 1 chance out 4 of becoming a master, as compared to 1 chance out of 55 for people who started to play after the age of 12. So, there is truth in the saying that ‘You have to start young at chess to become really great at chess.’”</p>
<p>Status: Myth.</p>
<h2>5. Chess helps prevent Alzheimer’s</h2>
<p>An <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117588&page=1">ABC news story</a> published March 6, 2018 stated, “Chess, jigsaw puzzles and other mentally challenging activities may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, a study published today says.” A 2013 <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/checkmating-alzheimers-disease-210513">ChessBase News article</a> likewise cites chess as one of several mind sports that “will be beneficial to an older adult.” Yet rigorous research that specifically examines the impact of chess on Alzheimer’s does not exist. Right now, chess just seems a likely way to maintain mental agility as one ages.</p>
<p>Status: Unknown.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexey W. Root does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the World Chess Championship set to begin Nov. 9 in London, Alexey Root, who teaches online courses about chess in education, tackles some myths and unknowns about the royal game.Alexey W. Root, Lecturer in Education, University of Texas at DallasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/941492018-04-02T10:47:45Z2018-04-02T10:47:45ZFabiano Caruana is poised to do what no American has done since Bobby Fischer. Here’s the path he took to get there<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212732/original/file-20180330-189801-bcb4db.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. chess grandmaster Fabiano Caruana is set to vie for the world title.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Germany-Chess/70f416787a2543cd88b9a597326ba971/4/0">Soeren Stache/dpa via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whenever a glimmer of chess talent is spotted in the United States, people often ask: “Is this the next Bobby Fischer?”</p>
<p>In the early 2000s, a diminutive, bespectacled young boy – who by age 9 was already battling seasoned competitors in top-level sections – had his name added to the roster of Fischer aspirants.</p>
<p>His name is Fabiano Caruana.</p>
<p>Fabiano, now 25, has finally earned the right to challenge reigning chess champion Magnus Carlsen for the world championship crown this November in London. On March 27, he <a href="https://www.chess.com/news/view/breaking-caruana-wins-fide-candidates-tournament">won the 2018 Candidates Tournament</a> in thrilling fashion. </p>
<p>If Fabiano defeats Magnus this fall, he will become the first American to hold the world title since Fischer beat the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky in their epic match. Fischer’s victory set off a wave of interest known as the “Fischer Boom,” attracting thousands of new chess enthusiasts. His achievement was celebrated as a symbolic victory for the U.S. since the world title had been held exclusively by Soviet players for the previous quarter century during the Cold War era.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212733/original/file-20180330-189816-1v24qe3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212733/original/file-20180330-189816-1v24qe3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212733/original/file-20180330-189816-1v24qe3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212733/original/file-20180330-189816-1v24qe3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212733/original/file-20180330-189816-1v24qe3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=590&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212733/original/file-20180330-189816-1v24qe3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=741&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212733/original/file-20180330-189816-1v24qe3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=741&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212733/original/file-20180330-189816-1v24qe3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=741&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Chess star Bobby Fischer, pictured in New York in 1962.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Watchf-Associated-Press-Domestic-News-New-York-/53d90ce3c7b143deb65f2d8d4de1100c/69/0">John Lent/AP</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Will a Fabiano victory set off another “boom” the way Fischer’s victory did in the 1970s? That remains to be seen. But what is certain is that Fabiano’s progress as a chess player – which I have observed and <a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2012/10/05/the-rise-of-fabiano-caruana/">followed</a> for many years <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_uHxozkAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1&oi=ao">as a journalist</a> for <a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/">The Chess Drum</a> – is more than just his rise to stardom. His evolution makes a good case study for homeschooling and other ways of learning that enable young people to break free from the static environment of formal education in order to pursue their passions. It also makes for a good case study of what talent looks like in its earliest stages.</p>
<h2>Composed and Confident</h2>
<p>Over the years, I have witnessed talented “juniors” in the chess world and studied their composure at the chess board. From the earliest times when I first saw Fabiano, I noticed something different about how the Miami-born, Brooklyn-bred boy of Italian ancestry approached the game. Attentive and engaged, Fabiano carried unmistakable energy, focus and determination. </p>
<p>After playing in the same tournament section with Fabiano in the early 2000s, I observed how he would set the plastic chess figurines perfectly on the checkered squares and sit in anticipation of his opponent. Despite his size, his sense of confidence was impressive. I continued to follow his progress.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212607/original/file-20180329-189821-1s3a2sd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212607/original/file-20180329-189821-1s3a2sd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212607/original/file-20180329-189821-1s3a2sd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212607/original/file-20180329-189821-1s3a2sd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212607/original/file-20180329-189821-1s3a2sd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212607/original/file-20180329-189821-1s3a2sd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212607/original/file-20180329-189821-1s3a2sd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212607/original/file-20180329-189821-1s3a2sd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Author’s photo of Fabiano Caruana at the 2003 Foxwoods Open chess tournament.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/tournaments/Foxwoods2003/photos/Fabiano_Caruana.jpg">Daaim Shabazz</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Magnus Carlsen’s rise to stardom is well-known in chess circles and chronicled in the biography, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/365286.Wonderboy">“Wonder Boy.”</a> Fabiano’s story has some similarities. Parents grapple with ideas to help their children realize their unique set of talents. Fabiano’s parents – <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/fabulous-fabiano">Lou and Santina Caruana</a>– made a tough decision and <a href="http://www.caruanachess.com/about-fabiano/">decided to move to Spain to foster his chess development</a>.</p>
<p>Maliq Matthew, a sociology professor at the University of Cincinnati, told me about Fabiano from his chess-playing days in New York. He recalled his concern on whether Lou was taking too big a risk in moving Fabiano to Europe to pursue a chess career when his talent trajectory for chess was still uncertain. “I remember when he was leaving, and we were wondering if (Fabiano’s father) Lou was going too far in,” Matthew said.</p>
<p>The elder Caruana <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/crosswords/chess/29chess.html">told The New York Times</a> about the decision to move to Europe in a 2007 interview. “It was hard to evaluate. It was more of a risk than what we had realized at the time,” Lou Caruana said. “But it did work out.” Bobby Fischer had also <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bobby-Fischer">left school at age 16</a> to focus his energy solely on chess.</p>
<h2>The making of a world-class player</h2>
<p>Once inside European chess circles, Fabiano had access to world-class trainers and stronger competition. In retrospect, it appears that his experience abroad helped him to channel the toughness that he developed from the hardscrabble chess scene in New York. During his <a href="https://uschesschamps.com/bio/fabiano-caruana-0">10-year stint in Europe</a>, he took a vaulted leap, won a number of strong tournaments and steadily increased in the world rankings. </p>
<p>In 2014, Fabiano <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=325">climbed to the No. 2 spot in the world chess rankings</a> and made history by starting the <a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2014/08/27/2014-sinquefield-cup-st-louis-usa/">2014 Sinquefield Cup</a> with <a href="http://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/2nd-sinquefield-cup-2014/7-and-0-for-caruana-in-the-sinquefield-cup">seven straight wins</a>. This field included Magnus Carlsen, the reigning world champion, who hails from Norway. At the press conference, <a href="https://livestream.com/accounts/1504418/events/3303977/videos/61355469">I asked Fabiano</a> if he had ever thought he would become one of the world’s top players. This was his response: </p>
<p>“When I was a kid, I didn’t imagine that I would play chess professionally. I mean I always loved chess, but when I was a kid, it was just a hobby. After school I would go and play in the <a href="http://www.marshallchessclub.org/">Marshall Chess Club</a> and I would play game 30s (30 minutes per game). I thought at some point that I would move away from chess, that I would keep going to school. But it worked out this way. I’m very happy about it. But I didn’t really have those thoughts when I was a kid.”</p>
<h2>Winning gold for the US</h2>
<p>One can argue that Fabiano’s experiences abroad were instrumental in the social maturation process and may have provided him with a very balanced perspective on life. In any case, the European stint charted a course for success.</p>
<p>In 2015, Fabiano <a href="http://www.uschess.org/content/view/13060/141/">switched back to the U.S. Chess Federation</a> after deciding that it would provide him with a path to vie for the world championship. Unfortunately, he missed qualification in the <a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2016/03/12/2016-world-chess-candidates-moscow-russia/">2016 World Candidates tournament</a> after a heartbreaking loss to Russia’s Sergey Karjakin. Not to be deterred, <a href="http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2016/05/01/caruana-pakidze-new-u-s-champions/">Caruana won the U.S. Championship in 2016</a> for the first time and later that year helped the <a href="https://new.uschess.org/news/olympicgold/">U.S. win the gold medal</a> at the Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan.</p>
<p>After a challenging 2017 campaign, he managed to qualify for the 2018 Candidates Tournament given his world ranking. Giving himself <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi61h4F5Zgc">no more than a 15 percent chance</a> to win the tournament, he closed out the tournament with a last-round win, becoming the first American-born player since Bobby Fischer – and the second American since <a href="http://www.uschess.org/content/view/132/203">Gata Kamsky</a>, a Soviet-born American grandmaster – to vie for the title. The storyline of Thor versus Captain America immediately appeared on social media sites.</p>
<h2>Are there better learning models?</h2>
<p>Some parents may seek to replicate the alternative methods of both Magnus and Fabiano, whose parents paved the way for their success. Top 10 player and four-time U.S. champion player Hikaru Nakamura <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/21/sport/nakamura-chess-grandmaster/index.html">was also home-schooled</a> by his mother and Sri Lankan stepfather, Sunil Weeramantry. In the preeminent experiment of chess, Laszlo Polgar – a Hungarian chess teacher and author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20877035-bring-up-genius">“Bring Up Genius!”</a> – home-schooled daughters Susan, Sofia and Judit into world-class chess players. </p>
<p>Laszlo Polgar argued in his book that “genius equals work and fortunate circumstances” and “geniuses are made, not born.” If Fabiano defeats Magnus for the world title later this year, it will give further testimony in support of this idea of the power of parents to shape their children’s future outside the world of formal education – and chess will be at the center of the discussion.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94149/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daaim Shabazz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For Fabiano Caruana, the path to the world chess championship veered away from formal schooling. FAMU professor and chess writer Daaim Shabazz retraces the young grandmaster’s educational journey.Daaim Shabazz, Associate Professor of International Business, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/207722013-11-29T03:23:30Z2013-11-29T03:23:30ZHow computers changed chess<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/36464/original/m945ny6v-1385679784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Computers have changed the face of chess, and put Carlsen in a winning position.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Stringer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For his precocity, newly crowned World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen was named <a href="http://www.wimp.com/chessmozart/">“The Mozart of chess”</a>. For his tenacity and comfort with long games he was dubbed <a href="http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/is-magnus-carlsen-the-new-rafael-nadal-of-chess">“The Nadal of chess”</a>. More prosaically, the BBC called him <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-25059274">“The Justin Bieber of chess”</a>. </p>
<p>In a poetic turn, former World Champion Garry Kasparov <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/garry-kasparov-previews-the-anand-carlsen-match-2013-11">said he has the super talent of Harry Potter</a>, and American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura compared him with Tolkien’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauron">Sauron</a>. </p>
<p>Whatever your preference, the 22-year old Norwegian is now famous because last week he defeated Indian Viswanathan Anand 6.5 to 3.5 and <a href="http://chennai2013.fide.com/">clinched the World Chess Championship</a>.</p>
<p>Was this result expected? If we take into account the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system">Elo rating</a> difference between the players (2870 to 2775) the estimated score in 10 games was 6.33 to 3.66. So: yes. However, it was anticipated that Anand’s experience in World Championship matches would have made a tighter contest.</p>
<h2>The role of computers in chess</h2>
<p>One of the distinctive features of this match compared to, for example, those played between the Russians Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov in the 1980s, is the central role played by computers.</p>
<p>After <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Deep_Blue">IBM’s Deep Blue</a> defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997 and then “retired”, chess computers kept improving their strength. Nowadays, chess engines like <a href="http://www.cruxis.com/chess/houdini.htm">Houdini</a> and <a href="http://www.hiarcs.com/">HIARCS</a> can beat the top chess players in the world running on a laptop.</p>
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<span class="caption">The high-tech face of chess, circa 1979.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">laimagendelmundo/Flickr</span></span>
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<p>Before the computer era, understanding the games of the world championships was difficult even for strong club chess players. Nowadays, it is possible to watch the games live on the internet and run a chess engine on one’s computer. </p>
<p>The engine tells you the best moves in each position, and evaluates each move. These engines are so good that beginner players immediately realise when the world class players make mistakes.</p>
<p>When some chess master commentators give live online commentary of the games, they refuse to use the engines for their commentary. They want to convey to the audience the moves the human grandmasters may be considering, not what silicon machines are calculating. However, they rarely succeed: fans, who are running the analysis on a chess engine, impatiently send a tweet to the commentator with the move that “the computer” suggests.</p>
<h2>Cheating</h2>
<p>Chess engines are so powerful and portable that cheating has become a serious issue. Russian grandmaster <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2006">Vladimir Kramnik</a> was unfairly accused of cheating by his opponent, Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov, in the World Chess Championship match played in Elista (Russia) in 2006. </p>
<p>The allegation was that Kramnik was getting help from a computer during his frequent visits to the toilet. This incident was called “toiletgate”. Since then, in some tournaments chess players <a href="https://chessbase.com/post/chennai-final-magnus-victorious">are scanned with metal detectors</a>.</p>
<p>This year, Bulgarian player Borislav Ivanov surprised the world by beating several players 400 Elo points stronger than him (his expected score in 10 games against those player was 1 to 9), and by playing incredibly fast. When his games were compared to those of Houdini the match between them was almost perfect. </p>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marcin Wichary</span></span>
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<p>This would be impossible even for Magnus Carlsen! His fraudulent activity came to an end when American grandmaster Maxim Dlugy observed that Ivanov was walking in a strange way. </p>
<p>Before his game against Ivanov he took off his shoes and requested the organisers that Ivanov do the same. Ivanov refused to do that and was forfeited. After that he decided to <a href="http://www.chessvibes.com/borislav-ivanov-alleged-cheater-ends-chess-career">retire from chess</a>.</p>
<p>These stories are a long way from the days when grandmasters’ opening preparation relied on the <a href="http://www.chessinformant.rs/">Chess Informant</a>. This Balkan publication put out a few hundred world class games every six months (from 1966 to 1990) or four months (from 1991 to 2011). </p>
<p>Nowadays, chess players’ opening preparation is based on databases with millions of games, updated every day.</p>
<p>A more recent development is the “opening books”. These are not written books. Specialists make the chess engines play a particular opening thousands of times, and discover “novelties”; that is, very good moves that were not played in grandmasters’ games before. </p>
<p>Opening books are used in two ways. First, they are stored in chess engines’ memories, so they can play the openings mostly by memory, not calculation. Second, they are studied by grandmasters in order to use the novelties in tournament games. </p>
<h2>Carlsen’s preparation</h2>
<p>There were rumours that Carlsen got preparation assistance from a supercomputer in a huge basement in Norway. </p>
<p>Paradoxically, despite the role of computers in opening preparation, Magnus’ weakest point is his openings. Indeed, some have suggested that if he improves his opening playing, the sky is his limit. </p>
<p>On the other hand his middle game and endgame playing resemble how engines play chess. Humans struggle to, for example, return a piece to the position it was located one or two moves earlier, even though it would be the objectively best move. </p>
<p>Computers don’t care about the past and play the move that their calculations determine is the best. Carlsen seems to be able to avoid this human bias, and play more like a computer.</p>
<p>Magnus Carlsen has not only become the World Chess Champion, he has created a different style of playing, and he has popularised chess in an unthinkable way. Who knows? Maybe in the future other sports would refer to their champions as “The Magnus Carlsen of…”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/20772/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guillermo Campitelli received funding from the Argentine National Research Council (CONICET).</span></em></p>For his precocity, newly crowned World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen was named “The Mozart of chess”. For his tenacity and comfort with long games he was dubbed “The Nadal of chess”. More prosaically…Guillermo Campitelli, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/201972013-11-18T19:18:42Z2013-11-18T19:18:42ZThink (quickly) outside the square – how is speed chess different?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35467/original/f4jt882d-1384741464.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If the World Chess Championship ends in a draw, the players go to rounds of fast chess. How does this differ to traditional chess?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">gadl</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After six games, the 12-game <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/world-chess-championship">World Chess Championship</a> Match is now led, 4 games to 2, by 22-year-old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viswanathan_Anand">Magnus Carlsen</a>. </p>
<p>This is a very important advantage, but reigning champion <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viswanathan_Anand">Viswanathan Anand</a> is no stranger to winning from behind: he was able to turn around matches against Bulgarian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veselin_Topalov">Veselin Topalov</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2010">2010</a> and against Israeli <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Gelfand">Boris Gelfand</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2012">2012</a>. </p>
<p>If Anand manages to win two of the remaining six games, the championship will come down to a number of tie-break games with increasingly faster time limits.</p>
<p>So what are the differences between traditional chess and fast chess? Are the same skills required to be good at both modalities? </p>
<h2>Chunks and templates</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.liv.ac.uk/psychology-health-and-society/staff/fernand-gobet/">Fernand Gobet</a> from University of Liverpool (in collaboration with Nobel Prize laureate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_A._Simon">Herbert Simon</a>) developed the <a href="http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/1339/1/Multiple_boards.pdf">template theory of expertise</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35478/original/by98jsx2-1384749404.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35478/original/by98jsx2-1384749404.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35478/original/by98jsx2-1384749404.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35478/original/by98jsx2-1384749404.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35478/original/by98jsx2-1384749404.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35478/original/by98jsx2-1384749404.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35478/original/by98jsx2-1384749404.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35478/original/by98jsx2-1384749404.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">cesarastudillo</span></span>
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<p>Here is a snapshot of the template theory: when chess players study and play games, their brains produce memories of typical configurations of pieces. </p>
<p>These memories are available for future use, and, depending on their size, they are called chunks (configurations of three to four pieces) or templates (more than 12 pieces). Templates are also associated with typical moves, typical strategies and other information related to that configuration of pieces. </p>
<p>Pattern recognition occurs when experienced players observe a position in a game. The templates most similar to the current position get automatically activated together with the most typical moves. </p>
<p>The player engages in search only if the typical moves don’t seem to work in the current position. In this context, search consists of trying to anticipate the opponent’s responses to the player’s move. </p>
<p>A typical anticipation would be “if I move my bishop to g5, he may play the pawn to h6, threatening my bishop, then I would move my bishop to h4 …” and so on. </p>
<p>The theory indicates that the position gets updated in an internal structure called the “mind’s eye”, and pattern recognition is applied recursively over the positions represented in the mind’s eye. This, obviously, takes time.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35472/original/9bcwxkrm-1384745384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35472/original/9bcwxkrm-1384745384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35472/original/9bcwxkrm-1384745384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35472/original/9bcwxkrm-1384745384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35472/original/9bcwxkrm-1384745384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35472/original/9bcwxkrm-1384745384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35472/original/9bcwxkrm-1384745384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35472/original/9bcwxkrm-1384745384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">@Doug88888</span></span>
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<h2>Fast chess</h2>
<p>In fast chess, there is little time to execute search processes; therefore, players mostly play their games in pattern recognition mode. </p>
<p>As indicated earlier, the template theory enunciates that pattern recognition also participates in search processes. Therefore, for the template theory there is little difference between normal chess and rapid chess. </p>
<p>On the other hand, theories that consider search as a very different process to pattern recognition (such as <a href="http://csi.ufs.ac.za/resres/files/Holding%20(1992%29.pdf)">Holding’s SEEK theory</a> suggest that normal chess and rapid chess require very different skills.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yHrg8Lib0WU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Hikaru Nakamura vs Vladimir Kramnik, 2010 World Blitz Chess Championship, Moscow.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Guillermo_Campitelli/publications/2?sorting=published">2007 study</a> of Argentine chess players, Professor Gobet and I found that the correlation between the rating in normal chess and the rating in blitz chess (consisting of only five minutes per player for the whole game) was .89. Given that 0 indicates no relation between variables and 1 indicates perfect relation between variables, .89 is a very high correlation.</p>
<p>These data provide some support for the template theory. This result was confirmed in <a href="http://intl-pss.sagepub.com/content/15/7/442.full">another study</a> this one by <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/science/people/bruce.burns.php">Bruce Burns</a> from the University of Sydney, who found correlations between .78 and .90 in an Australian sample and a Dutch sample.</p>
<p>In essence, a person good at traditional chess will very likely also be good at fast chess.</p>
<h2>Halfway through the World Championship</h2>
<p>Since my <a href="https://theconversation.com/anand-vs-carlsen-the-age-effect-in-the-world-chess-championship-20120">last article</a> on the World Chess Championship match, Anand and Carlsen have played four more games. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35473/original/jmx546qp-1384745550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35473/original/jmx546qp-1384745550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35473/original/jmx546qp-1384745550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35473/original/jmx546qp-1384745550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35473/original/jmx546qp-1384745550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35473/original/jmx546qp-1384745550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35473/original/jmx546qp-1384745550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35473/original/jmx546qp-1384745550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Viswanathan Anand and challenger Magnus Carlsen play on November 15 – a game that ended in a draw.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first of these two were very long, and, unexpectedly, the players with black pieces obtained clear advantages. However, the defensive resources of both players were superb, and both games finished in a draw. </p>
<p>In game 5, Carlsen again playing with white pieces was not able to obtain advantage in the opening. However, a slight inaccuracy of Anand’s led to an endgame with a small advantage for Carlsen. </p>
<p>Carlsen’s endgame ability is his main strength; he tests his opponents with ingeniously disguised tricks. Anand could not defend perfectly and lost the game. </p>
<p>Game 6 was similar to game 5. They arrived to an endgame with a small advantage for Carlsen, in which Anand could not resist Carlsen’s constant pressure, and eventually lost the game.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/20197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guillermo Campitelli received funding from the Argentine National Research Council (CONICET).</span></em></p>After six games, the 12-game World Chess Championship Match is now led, 4 games to 2, by 22-year-old Magnus Carlsen. This is a very important advantage, but reigning champion Viswanathan Anand is no stranger…Guillermo Campitelli, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202002013-11-14T03:15:54Z2013-11-14T03:15:54ZA good move to master maths? Check out these chess puzzles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35265/original/hwgydzn2-1384396967.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chess can be applied to maths education – you just have to think outside the box.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">practicalowl</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the spirit of the current <a href="http://chennai2013.fide.com/fide-world-chess-championship-2013-live/">world championship bout</a> between Norwegian grandmaster <a href="http://magnuscarlsen.com/">Magnus Carlsen</a> and Indian grandmaster <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viswanathan_Anand">Viswanathan Anand</a>, we should seriously consider the role of chess in how young students learn mathematics.</p>
<p>The two activities have plenty in common. In either, one’s success relies strongly on the ability to be creative under some set of rules. </p>
<p>Beginners in both maths and chess seem to play only for the rules, for they don’t really understand much else yet. In maths, this means swinging the algebraic sword blindly in the hope of making progress. In chess, making any legal move is enough for a beginner, so long as their piece can’t be immediately taken.</p>
<p>Playing either game this way seems fine at first, for if the teacher has the right experience then the newbie will be punished or rewarded accordingly, and will shape their ideas and strategy for the next time around.</p>
<p>Though while chess has maintained huge popularity worldwide, the allure of doing maths seems <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-theres-a-numeracy-crisis-so-whats-the-solution-6386">lower than ever</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35264/original/sp5gzft8-1384396881.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35264/original/sp5gzft8-1384396881.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35264/original/sp5gzft8-1384396881.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35264/original/sp5gzft8-1384396881.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35264/original/sp5gzft8-1384396881.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35264/original/sp5gzft8-1384396881.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35264/original/sp5gzft8-1384396881.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35264/original/sp5gzft8-1384396881.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brian Auer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And if we think about the reasons for which we bellow the importance of maths – critical thinking, decision making, mental agility – it seems surprising that chess isn’t routinely taught in maths classrooms across the country. </p>
<p>Perhaps other mathematicians would want my blood for suggesting such a gambit, but learning chess could actually have a two-fold effect. Not only could we impart the aforementioned skills through something which more people seem to enjoy, but we might able to transition students to maths through chess.</p>
<p>Students of chess use symbolic notation to record their moves, arithmetic to add up their points and creativity to win position and pieces. And plenty of new ideas in maths could be first taught under the framework of chess.</p>
<p>Let’s have a look at a couple of excellent examples.</p>
<h2>Fewest queens, please</h2>
<p>In high school, advanced students who undertake a course in calculus will get to see the idea of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constrained_optimization">constrained optimisation</a>. A typical problem they will be (gently) forced to answer is this:</p>
<p><em>A farmer has 100 metres of fencing and wishes to build a rectangular paddock. What are the dimensions that will maximise the area of this paddock?</em></p>
<p>The point is to maximise the area under the constraint of having a fixed amount of fencing. At any rate, some techniques from calculus can be used to solve this (for those who don’t know, the farmer should build a square paddock with lengths of 25 metres).</p>
<p>But you don’t have to be a student of calculus to appreciate (or even attempt) the following constrained optimisation problem:</p>
<p><em>What is the minimum number of queens that can be placed on a chess board so that every square is being attacked by at least one queen?</em></p>
<p>Here we are trying to minimise the number of queens, under the constraint that every square must be attacked. (Queens are able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally and diagonally.) After some experimentation, one solution that students might propose is the following:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35197/original/287g4dd7-1384383047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35197/original/287g4dd7-1384383047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35197/original/287g4dd7-1384383047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35197/original/287g4dd7-1384383047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35197/original/287g4dd7-1384383047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35197/original/287g4dd7-1384383047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35197/original/287g4dd7-1384383047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35197/original/287g4dd7-1384383047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An attempt to solve the constrained optimisation problem.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But other students will soon point out that this isn’t the minimal number of queens. In fact, we only need five queens to do this:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35199/original/5hsnf2rq-1384383337.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35199/original/5hsnf2rq-1384383337.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35199/original/5hsnf2rq-1384383337.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35199/original/5hsnf2rq-1384383337.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35199/original/5hsnf2rq-1384383337.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35199/original/5hsnf2rq-1384383337.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35199/original/5hsnf2rq-1384383337.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35199/original/5hsnf2rq-1384383337.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ta da! The solution.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sure, they won’t go straight to the solution of five queens. This will be achieved through the same means by which most high level maths is done: mathematicians will play with the problem to gain a deeper intuition before working towards and proposing a solution.</p>
<p>Not only can mathematical concepts be illustrated through the game of chess, but sometimes experience with chess can solve mathematical problems.</p>
<h2>The mutilated chessboard</h2>
<p>The following is one of my favourite questions to ask high school students:</p>
<p><em>Consider an 8 x 8 grid with the top-left and bottom-right corners removed:</em></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35234/original/h73t8f98-1384389002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35234/original/h73t8f98-1384389002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35234/original/h73t8f98-1384389002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35234/original/h73t8f98-1384389002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35234/original/h73t8f98-1384389002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35234/original/h73t8f98-1384389002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35234/original/h73t8f98-1384389002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35234/original/h73t8f98-1384389002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Is it possible to tile this mutilated grid perfectly using 2 x 1 dominoes?</em></p>
<p>If you haven’t seen this problem before, then you should have a good think about it. It’s very rewarding.</p>
<p>High school students draw up the grid and try all sorts of tilings. At any rate, they struggle to find a tiling, and so propose that there isn’t one. But the point is for them to convince me through sound argument of their proposition. </p>
<p>After letting them suffer for some time, I ask them to consider a chessboard instead of a grid. It’s actually the exact same problem; we’ve just given it some colour.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35233/original/r9mdp7rg-1384388911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35233/original/r9mdp7rg-1384388911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35233/original/r9mdp7rg-1384388911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35233/original/r9mdp7rg-1384388911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35233/original/r9mdp7rg-1384388911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35233/original/r9mdp7rg-1384388911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35233/original/r9mdp7rg-1384388911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35233/original/r9mdp7rg-1384388911.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And then it all falls into place. It’s definitely impossible to tile the chessboard (and thus the grid) and here’s why.</p>
<p>By removing the top-left and bottom-right squares, we have deleted two white squares, and so there are now two more black squares than white ones. But notice that every time we place a domino on the board, we cover up exactly one white square and one black square. So there will always be two more black squares.</p>
<p>If we get to the end of any tiling, we will have two black squares left over, and it will not be possible to place a single domino to cover these together. Therefore, a tiling is impossible.</p>
<p>The beauty of this problem is that it remains the same, regardless of whether it’s on a grid or chessboard. The latter object, however, allows an elegant proof to be given.</p>
<h2>Your say</h2>
<p>At any rate, one can not deny the polar popularity of maths and chess, nor the strong connection between them. But it would be interesting to hear what the readers think: would chess be a useful thing for young unconvinced students of maths to learn and play?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/20200/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian Dudek's PhD is supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award and an ANU Supplementary Scholarship.</span></em></p>In the spirit of the current world championship bout between Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, we should seriously consider the role of chess in how young students…Adrian Dudek, PhD Candidate, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/201202013-11-12T19:45:00Z2013-11-12T19:45:00ZAnand vs Carlsen: the age effect in the World Chess Championship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/34999/original/qkyqbh5b-1384229179.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who will prevail: 43-year-old Anand or 22-year-old Carlsen?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/STR</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In <a href="http://theconversation.com/sorry-but-practice-alone-does-not-make-perfect-14563">a previous article</a> in The Conversation, I presented the Norwegian chess prodigy <a href="http://magnuscarlsen.com/">Magnus Carlsen</a>. He obtained the [grandmaster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_(chess%29) title at the age of 13, climbed to top position in the world ranking at the age of 19, and achieved the highest rating in the history of chess this year (2,872 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system">Elo points</a> – a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players) … just after turning 22. </p>
<p>The only title he has not achieved in his meteoric chess career is that of World Champion. But this may soon change, for he is currently the challenger in the 12-game <a href="http://chennai2013.fide.com/fide-world-chess-championship-2013-live/">World Championship</a> match against the Indian grandmaster <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viswanathan_Anand">Viswanathan “Vishy” Anand</a>, which is underway in Anand’s home town, Chennai, India.</p>
<p>Who will prevail: the youthful prodigy or the experienced grandmaster, more than 20 years his elder?</p>
<p>If we take into account the latest results and the current chess ranking, Carlsen (number 1 in the world ranking) has an advantage over Anand (currently ranked number 8 in the world). </p>
<p>But in world championship matches, ranking is one among many factors. Some commentators such as <a href="http://guardian.co.tt/sport/2013-06-05/checkmating-age-factor">Carl Jacobs</a> and British grandmaster <a href="http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2013/11/bst_20131108_0823.mp3">Nigel Short</a> indicated that age may play an important role. </p>
<p>This match is not only a battle between the finest chess players on the planet, but also a battle of generations. Vishy is 43 years old, and Magnus is only 22. If Carlsen wins the match he will join the great Russian grandmaster <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov">Garry Kasparov</a> in achieving the World Champion title at the age of 22. </p>
<h2>The psychology of ageing</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35001/original/d7vth6b8-1384229643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35001/original/d7vth6b8-1384229643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35001/original/d7vth6b8-1384229643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35001/original/d7vth6b8-1384229643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35001/original/d7vth6b8-1384229643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35001/original/d7vth6b8-1384229643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1150&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35001/original/d7vth6b8-1384229643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1150&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/35001/original/d7vth6b8-1384229643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1150&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Carlsen during a game at the the world chess championship in Tripoli, Libya, in 2004.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Sabri Elmhedwi</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Psychologist <a href="http://faculty.virginia.edu/cogage/lab-members/director/">Timothy Salthouse</a> and colleagues have shown that the performance in cognitive tests (typically referred as “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence#Development_and_physiology">fluid intelligence</a>”) reaches its peak at the early 20s and then slowly decreases with age. </p>
<p>Given that chess is the quintessential cognitive game, you may think that these data suggests that Carlsen has a huge advantage. </p>
<p>Not so fast! Research has also shown that the accumulation of knowledge (also referred as “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence">crystallised intelligence</a>”) does not stop until the age of 60.</p>
<p>Given that chess is a combination of cognitive ability and the accumulation of thousands of pieces of chess knowledge, Anand has the advantage of having had more time to accumulate knowledge.</p>
<p>Now, these laboratory tests may not reflect the capacity to use the intellect in real life. For example, Salthouse showed that the average age of Fortune 500 company CEOs is <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3632788/">around 50 years</a>. </p>
<h2>Company board to chess board</h2>
<p>But what about chess players: at what age do they peak? University of New South Wales researcher <a href="https://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/about-us/people/robert-howard/">Robert Howard</a> showed that chess players peak, on average, at <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886904001138">around the age of 35</a>.</p>
<p>However, Anand obtained his highest chess rating (2,817 Elo points) only two years ago, at the age of 41. His chess rating has now dropped to 2,774 but, given the fluctuations in chess rating, it is difficult to say whether the decline has started or not.</p>
<p>In other respects, Anand’s age and experience may be an advantage. </p>
<p>He was successful in all his four world championship matches: against the Latvian Alexei Shirov in Tehran in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_World_Chess_Championship_2000">2000</a>, the Russian Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2008">2008</a>, the Bulgarian Veselin Topalov in Sofia in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2010">2010</a>, and the Israeli Boris Gelfand, in Moscow in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2012">2012</a>. Watch last year’s deciding tiebreaker below:</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rK96r_bAOzo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>On the other hand, Carlsen is playing his first world championship match. The first game of the match was last Saturday, and the TV showed signs of tension in Carlsen’s face. Anand, playing with black pieces, was relaxed, and very easily neutralised Carlsen’s advantage of playing with white pieces: a draw was agreed after only 16 moves. </p>
<p>It seemed the tension was huge for the young prodigy – the match is watched by many millions in Indian and Norwegian TV, not to mention being live-streamed on the internet. </p>
<p>There were 8,000 spectators in the opening ceremony and the number of journalists in Chennai has never been seen in the history of chess championships. Despite the pressure, Carlsen’s recovery was fantastic.</p>
<p>In the second game, played last Sunday, Carlsen surprised Anand by playing a defense he does not usually play (the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caro%E2%80%93Kann_Defence">Caro-Kann defense</a>). This led Anand to avoid the sharpest options, and a draw was agreed after only one hour and ten minutes of play.</p>
<p>Fans have been a bit disappointed with the length of the first two games, but still find it fascinating because they know the result of these games was the outcome of a complex psychological battle.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/20120/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guillermo Campitelli received funding from the Argentine National Research Council (CONICET). He is Senior Lecturer at Edith Cowan University.</span></em></p>In a previous article in The Conversation, I presented the Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen. He obtained the [grandmaster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_(chess%29) title at the age of…Guillermo Campitelli, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.