Playing chess online helps you track your level of expertise
One of the major beneficiaries of the technological advancements, especially in the sports arena, should be none other than the ancient game of Chess.
The game of chess, also referred to as a War Game, or the King of Games, was first played way back in the 6th Century A.D in India and was spread to other countries across the world. By 1475, the game gained much popularity and attracted the interest of the intellectuals and the common people. Since 1900, the game got professional recognition and World Championships are regularly held then.
The advancement of technology in the form of computers and the World Wide Web has made this noble game more popular.
With the development of online chess, it is easy for any person, having a little knowledge about the game and the passion for the game, to learn the game, practice the game and master the intricate skills of the game with the help of a personal computer.
He no longer need to go out searching for a partner to play a game of chess. He can sit in front of his personal computer, visit the online chess site, select the partner and start playing the game.
There are other benefits of playing chess online.
Many websites come up with a unique way of calculating the level of your expertise in the game. All you have to do is to honestly reveal as to which category you belong to. If you are a novice or a beginner, you can disclose the same. If you are an expert you can declare yourself so.
Depending upon the level of your skill set as perceived and disclosed by you, the online chess site assigns you a basic rating, something like a rating of 1000 or 750, as the case may be. As a registered player with the online chess site with a rating of 1000 or 750 as the case may be, you can select a player having a similar rating and start playing the game.
If you register a win against that selected opponent, your rating will be increased by a certain number. If your manage to end with a draw, your rating will be increased by a certain number less than the number assigned for a victory. If you resign, lose or forfeit the game, then your initial rating will be deducted by a certain number.
As you increase the number of games you play online with the given rating, your level of expertise in terms of the rating will change. The more the percentage of games you register victories, the higher will be the rating.
If you grow up the ladder of rating, you will encounter stiffer battles and tough games against players with similar ratings. You have the choice to select a player with a higher rating than what was assigned to you, and if he opts to play with you, then you will be challenging a relatively skilled player. Exposure to more games and with skilled players will enhance your skill set at a relatively quicker pace. The most important thing is that you can know where you stand in terms of skill set you possess in the game.
Not only will you be able to gauge and keep track of your skill set in the game, you will get an opportunity to play with players from different countries and also interact with and exchange productive ideas on the game of chess. The online chess site provides with the facility of online private chats and this, coupled with the rating, motivates a chess player to grow up the ladder of expertise in the game of chess at a relatively faster pace.
Play chess online to exercise your brain
One of the most important parts in our body, which requires adequate care and attention, is the brain. The brain regulates the normal working of the body and aids in our activities.
According to scientists, the only part in the body that comes fully grown at the time of birth is the brain. The brain contains as much as 100 billion neurons or brain cells, and by the age of six, these neurons or brain cells creates as much as 1000 trillion interconnections between themselves. After the age of 15, these neurons start shedding if left unused.
You might have heard about a phrase – “if you do not use it, you lose it”. This phrase is apt for the brain. The more we put to use the brain, the more the benefits we can reap out of it.
Just as we do exercises such as walking, jogging, and running to keep our body healthy for a longer time, the brain also needs regular exercise. If we do not exercise the brain as frequently as we can, then we are bound to suffer at a later stage, when the condition of the brain starts deteriorating. The common diseases such as Alzheimer and Multiple Sclerosis affect the brain the most.
How do we exercise the mind? Psychologists have come up with various recommendations to keep the brain active at all time and engage it in some sort of activities. Some common activities recommended to exercise the mind include reading, writing, doing some number crunching or arithmetic, solving puzzles, Sudoku or crosswords. It is true that all these simple exercises do help the brain exercise but these cannot be done in a single activity. Each one is a separate activity in itself and needs to be done individually. One cannot read and write at the same time with 100% concentration or attention all the time. While these activities do exercise the brain, it is difficult to engage oneself in any of these activities for a fair amount of time, atleast in the initial stages, and might lead to boredom.
Is there any one exercise that can include all the above-mentioned activities or atleast most of them in a single action so that the brain is exercised well? Will that exercise provide excitement and fun to the person doing that? The one thing that can do all these things is the board game called Chess.
Said to have been played since the 6th Century AD, chess is the ideal solution to exercise the brain. It is this unique quality of the game and its association with the life is that makes Chess the King of Games or the Game of the Kings.
Basically, chess is a board game played between two players across a 8x8 square board having 64 squares of alternate colors. Both the players were provided with 16 pieces each and should comply with some basic rules of the game. The objective of the game is to corner the opponent's Chief piece – the King – and saying checkmate. It is the most easiest game to learn but, by far, the most challenging game to play and gain expertise. But there are immense benefits of playing and gaining expertise in this game as this game teaches invaluable lessons to the life.
Chess is a thinking game that challenges your mind the most. There is no room for chance or luck in this game and the onus lies on the player to make the correct moves at the correct time. If you make a mistake, then you are out of the game or lose control over the game. The game requires a person to think, think deeply, concentrate, analyze, visualize, plan, decide and execute a series of tactics and strategies aimed at winning the game. The interesting aspect is that all tactics and strategies will yield the desired results as the opponent also will look at the same position and will take steps to nullify the strategies. This calls for dynamic planning. All these activities – thinking, concentrating, analyzing, visualizing and dynamic planning, will provide the much-needed exercise to the mind, without your knowledge that your brain is at serious work.
Playing the game is fun and entertainment to you and at the same time a rigorous workout for the brain. What else you want to have your brain exercised without you being even aware of the same.
Now, this exercise to the brain can be done whenever you want to do. The means is playing chess online. You can use your desktop PC or laptop to simply visit the online chess site, choose a partner and start playing the game.
Then, what are you waiting for ? Go ahead and put your brain to a rigorous exercise right away.
Chess Links
Killer Chess Tips
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 10, 11 and 12
- Endgame Lessons From Game Twelve of the 2010
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 9
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 8
- 12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 7