Why I love Chess

The first chess board with white and black squares appeared in Medieval Europe in 1090 and we have been playing chess ever since.

Back in the day before exams were invented. Chess was the only way to see who was intelligent and who was not. It was used as a method for assesing ability to derive tactics in warfare. In fact the word "check mate" comes from the Persian "Shah Mat", which means that the king is dead.

I have always loved chess, ever since my mother taught me how to play when I was a boy. Eventually, I overtook the family in my talent as a chess player. So much so that in the end they refused to play chess with me, as they thought that I would outfox them at every move!

By the age of nine the monks at Ampleforth had trained me to a county level and I was winning chess competitions everywhere I went in North Yorkshire. Back in my heyday I even won chess games at Eton College against thier top players, something which I now continue to do as a member of the Hurlingham Chess Team.

And just so, my chess abilities were honed and eventually I was able to build up a small book of students, to whom I could pass on my experience.

Teaching chess like I do, is filled with responsibility. As a chess tutor the art is not so much in the teaching, as it is the passing down of knowledge. So like libraries, the skills do not become forgotten with time.

Chess is also a pshycological sport, as it tires out the brain. Many Grand Masters still see it as a form of war, often claiming that the best form of defence is attack. As such, and much as in war, chess is all about stamina and as this improves with practice, so do your odds of winning.

As a Chess Master on a cruise ship, which I will shortly have the privilege of becoming, this practice is done in a shorter window of time; half an hour sessions only, three per evening. Yet it still provides great joy to guide and improve people's thinking through chess and there is no better place to do so than in the bracing fresh, sea air!

Overall, Chess has many versions although the European is the most famous. Then there is a unique Viking chess, which is bizzarre to say the least, and of course the Chinese version. My favourite is the European version as that is what most people associate chess with.

An interesting fact which most chess players do not even know, is that the famous scientist Albert Einstein was a great friend of the World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker. There was a special interview in the New York Times in 1936 in which Einstein said "I do not play any games. There is no time for it. When I get through work I don't want anything which requires the working of the mind". In the end I suspect that Emanuel Lasker very had a strong influence on his friend, as when Albert retires in facts take up chess as one of his main hobbies. What I wouldn't give to have played Albert Einstein a game of chess!

There have been many amazing chess players since 1090, some of them are well known for winning and some, well known for losing. My favourite player in the latter category is Macleod from Canada who lost 31 games in the New York double round robin of 1889. No chess master wants to be remembered for being terrible!

I shall leave you all with one last piece of information; did you know that the folding Chess board was originally invented in 1125 by a Chess playing priest. The Church back then forbade priests from playing chess, so the crafty priest hid his Chess board by simply making it look like two books lying together.

Hopefully this article has, even in its brevity, convinced some of you to take up this noble art of war making. After all, if you ever need a helping hand or a few lessons, you can always reach out to your local, friendly Chess Master - me!