Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

[Gordon Ritchie]

The attached piece runs in tomorrow's paper: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion...537/story.html

[Nigel Hanrahan]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

Nice article, Gordon. A good summary.

Just one thing. We, chess players, know that the coverage of chess (and not just the play) has changed and improved. I was happy to see, for example, Susan Polgar intersperse her remarks, calculations, and so on, with observations that are transparent to an experienced chess player but which are good reminders for less experienced players. This is reaching out to the non-player in my opinion, and while her remarks might be obvious, I interpret them as an attempt to reach a wider audience.

The technology allows coverage for "chess idiots" in my opinion. And yes, we want them to become interested just as we were interested more years ago than we'd like to admit to this great game.

Maybe better coverage really can attract a bigger audience. I dunno. But we should sell it because it is new and it is important.


Anyway, maybe draw attention to the kind of online coverage, explain what variations mean to the observer, outline which service is at what level, let newbies know that they cannot solely rely upon engines and that they should try and imagine what the next move might be, and so on. A few words could make a difference.

I really think we chess players could do a lot more in this regard. Each game broadcast could be a kind of chess lesson. And we need to think more often of means to attract newcomers to chess.

The "angle" that is of most interest to me is of chess as a cultural activity. Not just the competitive side, but the creative, compositional side, chess history, its usefulness in learning, artistic qualities, beauty, its numerical and mathematical-like qualities, etc, etc, etc.

Anyway, my two bits.

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

Good stuff Gordon!

[Emil Smilovici]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

Gordon, I enjoyed your article.

[Bob Gillanders]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

Great article Gordon. Beautifully written.
I love all the references to mainstream sports (hockey, cricket, golf) engaging the non-chess playing world and then introducing them to some of the craziness of chess (databases) as well as drawing some parallels (youth movement, man vs. machine) with other sports.

A very entertaining read for both those inside and outside the chess world.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

Marvelous stuff, Gordon!! :) :)

[Hans Jung]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

An exceptionally well written and informative article amongst the many articles out there. Minor clarification: Magnus is into chess books as much as any great player or more and he devoured those books without a chessboard. (dont believe me? check his interviews and interviews of those close to him) Both Magnus and Anand are hybrids of both the book and computer generations - they are comfortable with both.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

Nice article, Gordon. A good summary.

Just one thing. We, chess players, know that the coverage of chess (and not just the play) has changed and improved. I was happy to see, for example, Susan Polgar intersperse her remarks, calculations, and so on, with observations that are transparent to an experienced chess player but which are good reminders for less experienced players. This is reaching out to the non-player in my opinion, and while her remarks might be obvious, I interpret them as an attempt to reach a wider audience.

The technology allows coverage for "chess idiots" in my opinion. And yes, we want them to become interested just as we were interested more years ago than we'd like to admit to this great game.

Maybe better coverage really can attract a bigger audience. I dunno. But we should sell it because it is new and it is important.


Anyway, maybe draw attention to the kind of online coverage, explain what variations mean to the observer, outline which service is at what level, let newbies know that they cannot solely rely upon engines and that they should try and imagine what the next move might be, and so on. A few words could make a difference.

I really think we chess players could do a lot more in this regard. Each game broadcast could be a kind of chess lesson. And we need to think more often of means to attract newcomers to chess.

The "angle" that is of most interest to me is of chess as a cultural activity. Not just the competitive side, but the creative, compositional side, chess history, its usefulness in learning, artistic qualities, beauty, its numerical and mathematical-like qualities, etc, etc, etc.

Anyway, my two bits.

Well said and bang on!

[Nigel Hanrahan]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

Supplemental:

I am proud to say that for the 1st time ever, chess is more popular than cricket, and even Sachin Tendulkar on twitter, in India!

The #1 hashtag of all of India is #AnandCarlsen and #3 is #FWCM2013. #ThankYouSachin is #2. Over 1 billion people are expected to follow this World Championship between Anand and Carlsen. On behalf of the organizers, IM Lawrence Trent, GM Ramesh RB, and IM Tania Sachdev, a big thank you to all of you for supporting this event.

One billion. That's a big market. We begin to see the value of those small remarks and commentary by Susan Polgar.

Record Breaking World Championship

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

An exceptionally well written and informative article amongst the many articles out there. Minor clarification: Magnus is into chess books as much as any great player or more and he devoured those books without a chessboard. (dont believe me? check his interviews and interviews of those close to him) Both Magnus and Anand are hybrids of both the book and computer generations - they are comfortable with both.

Thanks, Hans. I stand corrected.

[Nigel Hanrahan]

2nd Supplemental ...

Second supplemental ...

As Norway’s chess hero Magnus Carlsen played his way to yet another remis (draw) on Tuesday, lots of Norwegians remained glued to their televisions. State broadcaster NRK’s decision to televise all the world championship matches live has led to ratings almost as impressive as Carlsen’s own.

Fully 700,000 viewers tuned in when NRK started up its live broadcasts during the weekend, reported media website Kampanje. Even though the games going on in Chennai, India begin mid-morning in Norway (10:30am local time), NRK is claiming strong viewership in a country of just 5 million people.

Around 194,000 viewers were watching on Sunday, giving NRK a 42 percent share of the market. The games are anchored in Oslo by a sports journalist with expert commentary and graphics that attempt to explain the intricacies of chess to a broad audience.

NRK’s unusual live coverage of every chess game during the World Chess Championships in Chennai is winning unusually high ratings.

On Tuesday, as chess fever continued to grip the country, viewers were even sending messages on social media that they were cutting classes at school to watch, or avoiding work to follow Carlsen’s progress. And the ultimate “slow TV,” marked by long stretches where Carlsen and defending world champion Vishy Anand are simply staring at the chess board, was even described as “incredibly exciting” and “full of suspense.”

VGTV, produced by newspaper VG’s media house, is also experiencing strong viewership and heavy traffic. Around 90,0oo viewers followed VG’s coverage on Saturday and another 75,000 on Sunday, while clips from the world championship have been viewed more than 420,000 times, reports Kampanje.

See the part that I have bolded. The coverage seems to be going beyond just exploiting the expected large viewership for a national sports hero and actually trying to widen chess understanding and viewership. clap clap.

from Susan Polgar's weblog ...

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: 2nd Supplemental ...

WOW;) Perhaps Eric Hansen will do the same for us?

[Gordon Ritchie]

Same Theme but Better Writer

See the following from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/wo...html?src=recg:)

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Tomorrow's Ottawa Citizen on Chess and the WCC

And another: http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment...wanathan-anand