Chess, the Art Of War Or the Science of Destruction.

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Kevin the grey

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Aug 26, 2005
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I like Chess . It doesn,t like me . I have always approached it from a mathematical point of view . After all it is set upon a grid . The pieces move in a predictable pattern . The only x factor being the mind of your opponent .


There is at least some proof that it is much more to some people . Aside from appreciating the fineness of the pieces there is a suggestion to me that the pleasure may be in the playing of the game in a more involved fashion .

Is there a ring of steel in your ears when the knights clash ? Do you look down upon the pawns as mere playthings upon which to test the cut of your sword ?

When your Bishop strides forth are there whispers of religious overtones as he both bludgeons his enemies and excommunicates with the same fell swoop of his mace?

O:K: so maybe thats going overboard . Do you find looking at the game as war or battle helps you?

Do you feel that looking at it as a series of battles in a war helps . Can this be an analogy for opening moves and end game ?

B:T:W: it is my end game that needs the most help . This may be a poor observation as if from an oversimplified point of view . The defeated will always lose at the end of the game . It is what leads up to the loss that counts .

An online lesson resource would be appreciated .
 
Chess may help with developing logic skills. Logic can be helpful in any arena.

Chess does not overtly help in war. War is never so neat and tidy.

John
 
John my question was more "Does war help in chess?" Not in a direct fashion perhaps . The strategies may have to be adapted .
 
Whats interesting to me is the extent to which personal styles dictate the way you play the game. Some players love to ruch out and attack at all costs. I'm a cautious player, seeking to establish a strong position and repel all attacks. I seek to build up small advantages and gradually turn them into large ones. I sometimes wonder if I would fight the same way if I took up that as a hobby. Thoughts anyone?

Cheers, Acolyte.
 
You should try chess on the Xbox, Kev.

Great graphics, but every time you lose you are pitted against a lesser player. Lose again, step down again.

Six-year-old Timmy kicked my ass last time. :(


Mike :foot:
 
I love it. Way back when for my 40th birthday I bought a hand carved set for myself with brown and tan leather board that is beautiful workmanship. The white is a set of Romans and the black Barbarians. The carving is by Nigri in Italy.

I have 3 other sets, one classic Staunton design in cream and green boxwood, one onyx with small pieces and a very heavy board, and one with large carved Chinese dynasty type pieces, also by Nigri. My favorite is the first set though. My biggest problem is finding someone to play with me. My wife has never expressed an interest, nor has my son, even though I taught him to play at age 6. My daughter played with me until the age of 12 or so, and then it suddenly became passe to play chess with the old man when she hit puberty.

In 1988 or so I bought one of the first electronic sets, a small portable one from Australia called Star Chess, for $75. Still have it, and it's just 4" x 7", small enough to fit in a large pocket. 16 levels, and fairly sophisticated for that time. At least with that I don't have to beg for an opponent. :)

BTW, anyone ever play the old Battle Chess? (I think that was an Interplay game?) In 3-D mode? That was a blast. Great graphics for the time.

Norm
 
I also like chess, played it a bit when I was a kid, dropped it for many many years, and took it up again this summer. I enjoy the craft and workmanship in the pieces. I bought two very inexpensive sets this summer from Yipperoo in British Columbia:
http://stores.ebay.ca/Yipperoo-Company-Chess-Store

They have some beautiful wooden sets made in India of rosewood and boxwood. You can buy direct from them or find their sets up for auction at you know where. Good delivery, good workmanship.

I also have no one to play with so I downloaded a program called Chessmaster Challenge ($19.95) that has good instructional set ups and also lets you go against other players ranging from 14 year old whiz kids up to masters like Bobby Fischer or Anatoli Karpov (computerized models based on many of their individual games). After I got tired of getting my ass kicked by a 14 year old I decided I might as well get it kicked by Karpov or Fischer...at least there's some dignity and honor in getting wiped by them ;)

I see some elements of war in how you open, plan ahead, how you set up formations, use the mobility of different pieces, and open up "fields of fire". There is certainly logic in the game. Most importantly, this is a great exercise for me in learning situational awareness, looking both ways and all around, because if I don't I'm going to start bleeding pieces to my opponent.
 
I love chess and tend to view it very much as a war. Each piece having a different purpose within my army. Your goal being to break through the enemy's lines or out flank them. Hey Svastar if you like the old Batlle Chess, you should check out Chessmaster 10. There's a great 3-D set on there.
 
I guess I was looking for a different view of the game . I am glad there are some with a differing one from mine . It gives me hope .

I am sure there are online opponents to joust against . I doubt if you get a feeling for the game .
 
Kevin, I agree, I would greatly prefer to play one-on-one, mano a mano, in a real life board game. I've even thought about finding or starting a local club.

If you're looking for a lesson resource, try Chessmaster Challenge:

http://www.playfirst.com/game/chessmaster?SID=sr2pf5go120gx76pi1ai4

It's a free download, they give you one hour of free playtime to see if you like it and then it shuts down; you can buy the program or not. The instructional lessons are two dimensional, but it's 3D when you play an opponent, and you have choices of different style chess pieces.
 
Coldwood said:
I also like chess, played it a bit when I was a kid, dropped it for many many years, and took it up again this summer. I enjoy the craft and workmanship in the pieces. I bought two very inexpensive sets this summer from Yipperoo in British Columbia:
http://stores.ebay.ca/Yipperoo-Company-Chess-Store

They have some beautiful wooden sets made in India of rosewood and boxwood. You can buy direct from them or find their sets up for auction at you know where. Good delivery, good workmanship.

I also have no one to play with so I downloaded a program called Chessmaster Challenge ($19.95) that has good instructional set ups and also lets you go against other players ranging from 14 year old whiz kids up to masters like Bobby Fischer or Anatoli Karpov (computerized models based on many of their individual games). After I got tired of getting my ass kicked by a 14 year old I decided I might as well get it kicked by Karpov or Fischer...at least there's some dignity and honor in getting wiped by them ;)

I see some elements of war in how you open, plan ahead, how you set up formations, use the mobility of different pieces, and open up "fields of fire". There is certainly logic in the game. Most importantly, this is a great exercise for me in learning situational awareness, looking both ways and all around, because if I don't I'm going to start bleeding pieces to my opponent.
Click to expand...

Like you I had dropped the game for over 20 years and am just beginning to rediscover it. It is an excellent game and the finest representation of battle that can be had. The only key thing missing, the thing that keeps me from calling it a classic representation of war, is that it ignores the politics and assumes that both players have set out to achive the same objective. To simulate that you would have to add an element of the unknown: where one player can win by checkmating his opponet's king, while the other may win by eliminating the queen, or both rooks. It would be up to each player to discover and counter the objective of his opponent.

n2s
 
I view war's relation to chess in the classical European environment. Both on the Field of Battle and in chess position is paramount in my thinking. You manuever and skirmish for the purpose of gaining better positioning on your opponent. Although many of the elements are the same today, technology as changed the modern battlefield greatly. The focus is on surgical strikes and smaller, mobile forces with superior firepower and support from over the horizon. To me chess represents more the land campaigns of 1600-1860s. with whole armies manuevering to win the day.
 
I have never gotten a grasp of all the rules in chess. Backgammon, on the other hand, i used to play with a fervor. I have read that both games were developed to teach strategic thinking, and I'll buy that.
In the world of the set-piece battles, of yesteryear, Chess had some relevance to war, no doubt.
DaddyDett
 
Kevin the grey said:
I guess I was looking for a different view of the game . I am glad there are some with a differing one from mine . It gives me hope .

I am sure there are online opponents to joust against . I doubt if you get a feeling for the game .
Click to expand...

Instead of just playing a normal online game, have you tried playing playing like a correspondence game with a distant friend or relative? Just play no time limits and email your moves back and forth or relay them while on the phone?
 
Kevin the grey said:
Is there a ring of steel in your ears when the knights clash ? Do you look down upon the pawns as mere playthings upon which to test the cut of your sword ?

When your Bishop strides forth are there whispers of religious overtones as he both bludgeons his enemies and excommunicates with the same fell swoop of his mace?
Click to expand...

Are you sure you are not playing wizzards chess? :D

Well playing Go I think of a battle but then again, the Go terminology is very battle oriented as well....
 
For a free download of a good chess program:

http://www.3dkingdoms.com/chess/slow.htm

It's funny how we seem to overlap in our interests -- I've spent many hours this week looking for free programs to re-learn chess. Quit many years ago when I discovered how poor my skills were. Maybe this time I'll stick with it better.
 
Art, how are those free programs? Havent tried any yet. Mostly been using Chessmaster 10 (about $20 on the bay) and have been able to better my game a bit. Was thinking about picking up Fritz 9 or preordering Fritz 10 next. Anybody have any experience with any of the Fritz releases?
 
The free SlowChess is a good program, but because it's a small download the graphics are limited and there are no tutorials or lessons.

It does allow you to load PGN files, so if you find some on-line lessons from a site like:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~reidr1/index.html

you can download lessons or libraries to help. I doubt that you would prefer it to Chessmaster. I have an old Chessmaster 5500 and like it a lot but get tired of searching for the CD every time I want to use it. Is 10 the same way -- must insert CD to start the program?
 
Yeah. All of the Chessmasters are that way. If you do the full download, you can use it without the disk for like 30 days but, after that you will need the disk. Personally, I think the trade off is worth it. The 10th Edition a lot better than the earlier editions.
 
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