Chess

Originally posted by heinzkat
No, the playing of chess is a pretty dumb activity, far from "intellectual". You can say, hey, in order to play chess, you have to actually think every once in a while, but really, it is not so necessary to "think" to "play chess".

that doesn't make sense. writing is an intellectual activity, right? if you're saying, a 1216 rated player cannot be "thinking" that much as he hangs his queen every two games, I wasn't creating the most beautiful literature in the world when I wrote that paper about my trip to the amusement park at 2nd grade.

on the other hand, if chess isn't intellectual activity, what kind of activity is it?

Chess has the power to make men happy.

It's addictive.

It's not an artform, it's just game.

A beautiful, fantastic, absorbing game, but just a game.

There are more books on chess than all the other sports put together.

Of course 90% of them should never have been written but not
bad for just a game.

Originally posted by philidor position
if chess isn't intellectual activity, what kind of activity is it?

A procrastination activity, to throw away your time doing nothing, I'd say.

Originally posted by greenpawn34
Chess has the power to make men happy.

It's addictive.

It's not an artform, it's just game.

A beautiful, fantastic, absorbing game, but just a game.

There are more books on chess than all the other sports put together.

Of course 90% of them should never have been written but not
bad for just a game.

that's not very accurate play from you Greenpawn. I'm sure I can dig up many posts from you where you call a game "beautiful" or indicate by any terms that you enjoyed watching or "going through" it.

you wouldn't enjoy it if it had no aesthetical value in it. that means it's an art form.

in my view, it's nothing else than an art form. maybe sport, but maybe. I don't know about that, but it's definitely an art.

Originally posted by greenpawn34
Chess has the power to make grumpy old men happy.

Happy in what way? Happy? That they can "win" a board game against little kids and geriatrics every now and then? Still, in reality many a chess player is severely depressed and unhappy about the life they live... this is true for quite a big minority of "serious" chess players, don't you think?

We are drifting a bit from what I was initially inquiring about, I was asking about what "chess" is, now we are discussing what "chess players" are. OK, so chess is addictive - and chess players are addicts.

Originally posted by heinzkat
A procrastination activity, to throw away your time doing nothing, I'd say.

well again, you would have a hard time finding any activity you wouldn't have to call a procrastination activity from that view.

Originally posted by philidor position
that's not very accurate play from you Greenpawn. I'm sure I can dig up many posts from you where you call a game "beautiful"

GreenPawn's words are:

"A beautiful, fantastic, absorbing game"

So that's not very accurate play from you Mr. Philidor Position.

Yes I am pointing that out because I am running out of plausible points (if I ever gave one). More tomorrow! Stay tuned! And please don't forget to add your own thoughts too, to be scrutinized by me and others 😉

I love the game and can get many hours of enjoyment of
just me sitting at board playing over games.

But 'What is Chess?' it's a game.

Everyone can appreciate a beautiful painitng a piece of sculpture
or a piece of music. But only chess players can appreciate the
beauty we see in a 'game' of chess.

My life revolves the game, my friends, true friends, are all chess players.
I have friends who do not play Chess but I feel sorry for them
because they do knot know Chess.

But it's just a game - what else can it be?

Originally posted by heinzkat
GreenPawn's words are:

"A beautiful, fantastic, absorbing game"

So that's not very accurate play from you Mr. Philidor Position.

Yes I am pointing that out because I am running out of plausible points (if I ever gave one). More tomorrow! Stay tuned! And please don't forget to add your own thoughts too, to be scrutinized by me and others 😉

why is that an inaccuracy? it was at the least a !?.

what I meant by "game" there was specific chess games played by specific chess players. not "the royal game of chess," but a chess game like kasparov-tal 1970 (making that up) or polgar-karpov linares 1992.

when you see a chess game and you enjoy it, that means it carries some sort of an aesthetical value. greenpawn has shared such feelings many times in the forums. so I said, him calling chess "not an art, just a game" wasn't accurate.

show him an unsound rook sac and you'll now what I'm talking about 🙂

Originally posted by greenpawn34
Everyone can appreciate a beautiful painitng a piece of sculpture
or a piece of music. But only chess players can appreciate the
beauty we see in a 'game' of chess.

a spanish novel is still an art form even though I can't understand it. play the guitar solo of child in time to a person from the 3200 B.Cs and he'll think you're trying to kill him.

I love the game and can get many hours of enjoyment of
just me sitting at board playing over games.
there you go, it means it's art! come on!

Originally posted by heinzkat
Happy in what way? .

Happy as is in content.

Happy as in laughing at some of the moves I've seen.
(unkind I know but when I think about that guy missing a mate in
one in a game he had been playing for the two years I still laugh).

Happy as in solving problems/puzzles creating puzzles and problems.

Happy in reading a post and discover that two players have been
moving bare Kings around waiting for the 'system' to declare the
game drawn.

Happy as in seeing an old opening trap catch yet another player.

Happy as in being surrounded by chess players in a bar analysing a game.

Happy as in playing over good games with good notes.

Happy as in getting a Thank You from some lad who you have
given advice to and they thought it was worth a Thank You.

Happy as in blundering a piece and then winning at Blitz.

Happy as in winning a piece then walking into a mate at Blitz.

Happy as in when the latest CHESS arrives.

Happy as in when I know I've done a good Corner.

Happy as in when someone emails me a good game that I will enjoy
analysing and annotating.

Happy as in simply playing over games from the RHP database.
(I do that for hours on the 1400-1900 site.)

Happy as in posting on a forum read by chess players.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Originally posted by heinzkat
Happy in what way? Happy? That they can "win" a board game against little kids and geriatrics every now and then? Still, in reality many a chess player is severely depressed and unhappy about the life they live... this is true for quite a big minority of "serious" chess players, don't you think?

We are drifting a bit from what I was initially inquiring a ...[text shortened]... ng what "chess players" are. OK, so chess is addictive - and chess players are addicts.

I think this is a perversion of reality. True many players may be depressed,
and true some of these players use this to drive there study.

The greatest players loved the game, rather than fear their self-image.
Yes, many chess players are depressed, but many humans are depressed.
The game itself does not create depression, nor claim all of those ailed.

Chess players, more directly serious chess players; are generally people with
passive personalities OR are controlling personalities. The board
gives the mind the ability to become hyperactive in its weakest, or strongest
areas. To those who enjoy control; this provides a medium of absolute
discipline, something they long to have themselves. To those whom are
considered passive personalities; this provides a medium of
hyper-aggression, or hyper-defensiveness depending on the thirst of the
particular starving personality. The board begins to fill mental needs,
and while it does this for the depressed, it also does this for a large
myriad of people.

I would agree that chess players are closely related to chemical addicts.
Here, its the mental stability the game portrays that uniquely challenges
and entices the minds of the weak.

The strong however, are not free of the game either. Even the most
mentally robust players can be captured by the game. Why is chess
such a poison? Its hard to say exactly. However, it is one of the oldest
most respected symbolic representations of human logic ever created.
It is tied to the desperations which follow many of our most hidden
emotions. When the game begins to apply pressure to the mind,
suddenly our most locked and hidden emotions are allowed a small
amount of control. Here; we begin to delve into each individuals most
subversive weaknesses. Sometimes the remnants of such discovery can
have a lasting effect.

The game breaks the mind, and we strive to repair it after each use.


-GIN

Originally posted by heinzkat
What is this thing called chess?

Regarding your original post, my statement about what chess is, currently
in my profile, I think will satisfy.

Chess - As best as I may see

An illustration, a shifting representation of logic, guiding the principles
of a pair of grande designs. Where the imbalance of human
philosophical predilection, erodes logic's hold, on equilibrium.

-GIN

sorry guys, chess is not an art.

See art has mening, filosophical meaning, it apeals to men and it makes him think about his existence, about life, and death and about the world and the everything. Art is not just aestethics, heck it doesn't even have to be beutifull to be art! If there is anything that illustrated this point better it is these modern painters. I've seen somewhere, I can't remember were, a huge painting: it was some 3x3 meters, it was red. Nothing else, just a giant red square. The most quick of you wouldn't call it art, first of all it is not aesthethic, as it is neither beutifull nor ugly, and a giant red square can hardly makes us think can it? Wrong! See this giant red square makes you think about the meaning of art, when you look at it and ask your self: what is the purpose? the object in front of you becomes art, as it has fullfilled his aspirations, to make you think.

sorry guys, chess is not an art.

chess is a game, its PURPUSE is not to make you think about the meaning of life, or about death or religion or to induce any philosophical tought. Shure, chess can be beautifull, brilliant and great. It also can be admired greatly. But it shall never be art. Its just a game...

sorry guys, chess is not an art.

wrong for there is much which passes as art, which is nothing of the sort. do you think that when a lady buys a Jack Vitrinani print to place above her mantle piece that she is thinking of life and death and philosophy? Not in the least, it is a romantic image and is purely decorative. are we to assume that chess is also without meaning? i think not?

For it is the human element that is so outstanding, the triumph of personality and imagination, over mundane materialism as Reti so eloquently puts it. This has a universal appeal to those who are interested in cultivating personality and innate qualities.

Then there is the concept of sacrifice, doing something which seemingly yields little in he way of materialism, but when realised, has a much greater impact than that which went before. Are we to assume that in life as in chess sacrifice is unimportant, yes, only to those who are afraid to make sacrifices! to those who are not, it yields untold joy and happiness!

I was an art student for five years, i know the difference between what passes for art and what is nothing of the sort, Chess is an art form my friends, make no mistake about it!