Chess is very popular across the United States among young players.
What do you think are some of the reasons that could hinder the growth and development of young players / scholastic chess programs in small towns versus big cities such as NY, Chicago, LA, etc?
What can people like me do to help the smaller cities / towns?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
I think the biggest hindrance to the development of young chess talent in the United States is the meager financial future chess provides. I believe I’ve read that young Mr. Nakamura is wrestling with this very issue. In other nations, chess playing is a recognized profession, respected by the populace, supported by both private and public sponsorship. Those opportunities are very limited here.
With regard to small towns, I have lived in several and it is very difficult to overcome the bias towards physical sports as a legitimate extracurricular activity for young people. In a small town, the high school sports teams become the community’s identity and social milieu. It seems like Americans are much more activity oriented than thinking oriented. This tendency, in my view, is exacerbated in small towns where opportunities for cultural activities may be limited by both finances and interest.
What can you do? I think that titled and well-known players in the USA such as yourself can make themselves available as catalysts for the game in as many venues as is possible, keeping in mind your limitations and schedules. After all, you are human. We lower rated players can also do our part by promoting the game and helping out at those larger event where famous players appear.
I’d say having a club to play in is an important piece to this also. I started playing chess late in life and when I did the nearest club was a 2 hour drive away. I’m going to start my own club in a place there is none just so others don’t have to drive forever like I did before I moved. (thanks for signing my board by the way. I plan on filling it up with GM autographs and hanging it in my club). 🙂
Building clubs like you did in Texas is a big help. If you build it, they will come.
Good question.
I live in a rural area. Our town had had a chess club for quite a few years, but it’s becoming moribund (2 active players right now, two who have quit going). One member used to actively recruit children, but the kids would play for a few months and then drift away (sometimes one got the feeling that the parents wanted the kids to play more than the kids themselves wanted to play).
Seems to me that children’s chess activities should be centered at the local school, rather than clubs – that way kids can play other kids right after school, rather than having to go to clubs at possibly inconvenient times and playing adults. I really don’t know what people like you (Susan) could do to improve the situation: families here don’t have much money, and fee-based programs won’t work.
Small town? Small chess. Big City – big chess. Superman also went from Metropolis to Minneapolis to pursue his flying carrer.
Employ SP certified coaches and base them for 6-12-18-24 months in small towns to promote the game for reasonable fees. Explain the benefits and form armies of young chess players US-wide.
The small Kansas town of Lindsborg (pop. 3,200) is home to the World Champion Anatoly Karpov International School of Chess!?
Even the smaller towns have chess clubs, and it was in Long Beach, twenty-two miles from Los Angeles. This small town of 60,000 inhabitants has a fine club. It has a room provided for it by the municipal authorities. This it shares with the draught players.
I think the biggest thing that hinders the growth of chess in America is the promotion that chess is only for nerdy kids. This prevents even those kids whom might have an interest into avoiding chess for fear of being “uncool”
this is my thinking and it is all just my opinion with no evidence to back it up.
Nakamura is not sure about chess. there are no chess sponsors in USA.
Magnus seems sure about chess. He has several sponsors.
Guess who might leave chess and who might stay. My thinking is that if a player at this important time is already thinking that chess is not a good profession then he will be lost.
Nakamura in my view takes all kinds of abuse when he loses a game. why should he be taking that abuse. he can earn 100 times the money with no abusive comments from strangers.
The question is not if nakamura will leave chess as his profession. the real question is when will he choose a new profession. how soon.
I expect Magnus to continue to receive sponsor support and therefore to stay in chess for the forseeable future. I guess unless something unexpected happens.
Chess is not about the money. It’s about love. USAs will never understand.
“Anonymous:” Of course, playing chess is about the love of the game, but you still have to eat. “USA will never understand.” Talk about a broad generalization and stereotype of 280 million people…
We are talking about children. Parents will provide food for them.
You may try with free educational pamphlets describing the real and proven benefits for chess, which there are obviously many, and read the feedback.
Forming a chess club, where parents can leave their children for a few hours to play each day, or during the weekend, and practice, too, is a great start for a small town.
For one Nakamura, there will be 100,000+ children playing chess for the benefits of it, the love for the game, friendship and interactions, no violence, only joy. Chess has a higher quality and purpose than to become a grand master with elo >2600.
This is an important topic for Chess. There have been many great comments posted. After promoting Chess here in Watertown for several years, I have concluded that the biggest obstacle to our growth is lack of public school support. Trying to convince public school educators that Chess is beneficial is like trying to talk to my dog. Chess is what I call a literacy driver. Once students are shown the amount of research material available to improve their game they begin a reading and research process that provides tangible results over the board. What educators and sponsors have failed to realize is that this research process is transferable to any other academic discipline. Susan, thanks for bring up all these important issues and keeping the process going…Kunz, Sci-Tech Chess..P.S. we took seconf K-12 at Marcellus. I had a great conversation with Mike Brown their Chess coach and urged him to contact you.
“What do you think are some of the reasons that could hinder the growth and development of young players…”
My point was that we can promote chess in schools and offer all kinds of support to the children to develop their games further, but, eventually, they will grow up and realize that all the effort it takes to become world class simply won’t put food on the table. Since 1972 when I became a USCF member, many promising American players have moved on beyond chess to occupations that would better serve their financial interests. Yes, I think in long range terms and I realize now that the question posed by Ms. Polgar was for the shorter term.
I think, Susan, you may now try some scientific work. Take 10 weakest students from an elementary school some grade, offer them free training for 9 months, check out how they improved in school. If you get a positive result, well, no need to say that all will switch from rugby to chess. If results are not good, try again.
I think, Susan, you may now try some scientific work. Take 10 weakest students from an elementary school some grade, offer them free training for 9 months, check out how they improved in school. If you get a positive result, well, no need to say that all will switch from football to chess. If results are not good, try again.
Rugby, football, whatever. Please delete 2/3 last posts.
There are a number of hinderances for chess players in small towns. The biggest single factor is the limitation in the population. Without a critical mass it is unlikely that there will be quality players, clubs, and coaches. Access to the internet for play and instruction helps somewhat, but we all no internet chess is not the same as over the board chess and without a more human connection the greatest element of the sport is missing.
How can this be overcome? The answer lies in what you have started and plan to continue to do. By creating more exposure for the game and appearing at numerous events in both big cities and small towns you are reaching out and thereby recruiting more players, coaches, and organizers. This will energize the system to have more dedicated participants who can overcome the small town limitations and grow the numbers and thereby improve the developement of the small town player. Once the human connection has been made then continued contact via the internet for instruction and/or play will be more real and rewarding.
In conclusion, thanks again for coming to our small town this weekend to promote the sport. It was an experience that will not be forgotten by those who attended.
Best in chess and in life,
Dr. Mark Mieth
the chess doctor
Six Steps to Success
Throughout the centuries history tells of men and women with the midas touch, who achieved greatness against what seemed insurmountable odds. To some their successes appeared to be the result of blind luck, to others the reward for hard work, but the truth about the successes of men such as Andrew Carnagie and Henry Ford is much more interesting.
Success is a state of mind to which all people should aspire. Like many others you can unlock te gate to achievement and the fulfilment of yor personal desires. With the six steps outlined below anyone can arrive at a set destination, with the added advantage of renewed self-confidence and secure in the knowledge that every goal is attainable.
Step 1. Desire
The key factor involved in the process of achieving any desire lies in the response of one’s mind to the objective. If a complacent attitude is apparent then there will be a lack of enthusiasm leading to failure or only half-success.
If a goal is to be reached determination is needed to carry set plans through to a successful conclusion. This determination must have enough mental ‘weight’ behind it to propel you forward onto the road of achievement. This mental state can only be instilled by one thing – desire!
As can be easily seen, when we look around us, it is this desire-force that has launched mankind on his frenzied zest for ever-new knowledge and has enabled him to push back the boundaries of science to never dreamed of achievement.
It is this same desire-force that must be used in our business and personal affairs if the success we seek is to materialize. It is not very hard to develop this kind of desire for all you have to do is go after what you really want – its that simple. With this desire you will have all the persistence you need to accomplish your goal. There is a great saying “you never fail until you give up”!
Take heed of what Napoleon Bonaparte said “What we ardently and constantly desire, we always get”.
Step 2. Goals
If success is to come your must realise what is expected to materialize. This statement may seem obvious at first but if careful thought is given its meaning takes on deeper significance.
Many people fail to gain satisfactory results from their endeavours because they did not know what they wanted to accomplish in the first place. Your objective must not be hazy or incomplete. Before you reach your goal you must be able to identify how your life will be different when you achieve it. You must know exactly what it is that you want to achieve. How will your life be better/different? How will you feel? What way will you look? What situations will you find yourself in? Will other people in your life be effected and if so how will they react? You need a clear definite picture in your mind of what the attainment of your goal will mean to you.
Step 3. Belief
Belief is the back-up system of desire. It keep the fires of enthusiasm burning and makes us continually strive to get nearer the goal attainment. Faith can truly move mountains; the mountains of fear, inferiority, worry and low self esteem – ‘the success killers’!
Once a goal is firmly fixed in mind and our desire-force is hurtling us toward seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the firm belief that we can gain a favourable outcome can spur us on to victory. When the mind has been manipulated to reflect this state, wonderful physical results can ensue, producing symptoms of success in our lives in every area imaginable.
Although many can attest to the power of belief and to the wondrous accomplishments that were achieved through nothing else except faith, it still remains that many individuals find it hard to believe that a positive outcome will be forthcoming when they are faced with momentous opposition. Whether the opposition is mental or physical the fact that nothing seems to be going right and everything seems to be wrong is enough for even the strongest of us to ‘throw in the towel’. But it is in these very situations that faith can conquer all. Faith in yourself, what you are doing and belief that that your objective will be reached.
There are some who bemoan “easier said than done”. This is exactly the kind of mental attitude that sustains the problems that they are trying to eradicate. If your belief power is not apparent, take hope for it can be acquired.
Each morning and night recite your intentions from a written list of your goals. Voice your belief in your own abilities. Tell yourself that in due course you will be successful. As you go about your daily affairs reflect as often as possible on your goals and affirm that they are yours now. Fool your mind into believing it and you will see your world reflect it!
Step 4. Plan
Having decided upon your goal and being determined to build your faith you need to give your desire-force a ‘vehicle’ through which it may materialize. This ‘vehicle’ will take the form of a definite plan of action.
Do you need to acquire certain skills? Do you need to know certain people or be in certain places to help you achieve your goal? Make a plan that will help you get closer to your end objective. Research your desires and get clear on what you need to do. Then do it!
Ensure that your plan is workable and realistic for you. Although your plan should remain flexible so that changes can be made when appropriate only make changes after careful consideration. Trial and error will eventually show the way to a good plan although you should be open to intuition also.
However, I should point out that, it is very likely your goal will materialize in a most unexpected way. The fact that you have set a plan for its accomplishment tends to set things in motion and like a chain reaction (or the butterfly effect) subtle changes made by you may cause dramatic changes elsewhere and your goal may come before your plan is completed.
Step 5. Visualization
Visualization is the art of creating mental movies of your completed goal. This has many beneficial effects upon your consciousness. Without going into the deeper esoteric benefits of using this art let me just say that you are truly designing your life when you use it. It has one other major benefit – it strengthens your desire and persistence because you momentarily experience the thrill of having achieved your goal!
Just form a mental picture of having achieved your goal. See what you will see. Feel how wonderful it will be. See how it effects everyone around you. Hear people congratulate you. When this state is experienced nothing will stop you in your quest for your objective and thus your belief-power will also be reinforced.
Step 6. The Subconscious Mind
It is within the subconscious part of your mind that you hold all th positive and negative beliefs about yourself – your self-image. These beliefs are reflected back to you in the form of attitudes. Therefore it is from the subconscious mind that the thought of failure or success comes.
Attitudes are just mental programs and so is your self-image. They can easily be changed (yes I said ‘easily’). Any attitude or belief can be changed by using the formula outlined in this article – by combining affirmations with visualization. Henry Ford used it, as did Ralph Waldo Emerson and even Arnold Swatzeneger. It is reported in some circles that a similar technique was employed by Bill Gates to build his global empire. Andrew Carnegie used it exactly as described to attain and give away multi-millions even though he was an unschooled manual worker when he started it. Carnegie’s legacy can still be seen today when you freely borrow a book from any Carnegie library of which there are thousands.
If you use these six steps there is nothing you cannot achieve. Luckily we have the advantage of living in the Twentieth Century with all its new technology and innovations such as hypnosis and subliminal programming. Use these steps in conjunction with your favourite personal development system and you are assured success. hypnosis