CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

[Bob Armstrong]

Posted on the Cooperative Chess Coalition ( CCC ) Facebook chess discussion site, " CCC - Chess Posts of Interest ", by CCC Member Abbey Alo, from Ghana:

CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

Chess is facing an extraordinary crossroads in 2012 as the extended global economic crisis has forced many top tournaments to be cancelled due to lack of funding. We also seem to have reached a very peculiar situation at the pinnacle of the chess world as the current World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand (FIDE 2780, #6 on rating list) is rated over 60 points below the highest rated player in the world Magnus Carlsen (FIDE 2842). Since Kasparov lost the World Championship to Kramnik in the year 2000, global interest in chess has been on the decline. Without a catalyst to promote the game to new levels, where will chess be in the next 5, 10, or 20 years? Shouldn´t the governing body (FIDE) take more responsibility to organize and market chess?So What Will The Future Of Chess Look Like?So how´s it going to go down? Will computers solve chess and destroy all human competition, erasing all interest in the game? Or will mankind step up and organize a progressive plan for promotion that pushes it to new limits of popularity?

What do you think will happen to chess?
And how do you think we can improve the future of chess?
What are the biggest obstacles to success and how can they be overcome?

Bob Armstrong, CCC Coordinator

[Michael Yip]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

Bob Armstrong takes on

Ontario Chess News
Canadian Chess News
North American Chess News
World Chess News

Toronto Chess News(TCN)
-Gets its own blog
-Expands into merchandising
-Expands into publishing
-Has its own rating system
-Starts a message board

And it all started here
http://www.torontochessnews.com/

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

Bob Armstrong takes on

Ontario Chess News
...

Ontario chess news?

Does Toronto Chess News allow news/games submissions from other parts of the province than the GTA (e.g. Ottawa)?

[Aman Hambleton]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

Ontario chess news?

Does Toronto Chess News allow news/games submissions from other parts of the province than the GTA (e.g. Ottawa)?

Since this thread is entitled what is the FUTURE of chess, one can only assume he means that he will expand the Toronto Chess News to include Ottawa, and that it currently doesn't.

[Bob Armstrong]

Scope of TCN

Hi Kevin:

Toronto Chess News ( TCN ) has written Gord Ritchie and Halldor Palsson about Ottawa RA CC taking out a " news section ", and that we would open an Eastern Ontario news heading, to match the GTCL and South-western Ontario regional headings. We have not heard back yet.

TCN definitely seeks to expand its coverage Ontario-wide, if clubs and tournament organizers in different regions wish to participate. We offer clubs the opportunity to take out a " news section ", but they must appoint a " TCN Liaison for that club ". This person is our contact person, and takes responsibility to send in " news articles " on the club for each Issue.

Though focussed on the GTA, because that is where we have the most information, we do cover all levels of chess from international to local. But it is dependent to a high degree on our sources providing the information to us.

Speak to someone in Ottawa RA and see if you can move the conversation along. Thx.

Bob, TCN Editor

[Michael Yip]

Re: What Is The Future Of (Canadian) Chess?

I was predicting the future...and what Bob would be up to. Hopefully he will continue with limitless energy and keep on going and going.

[Bob Armstrong]

TCN - A National Publication

Hi Michael:

Will do!! TCN will continue to expand its coverage if there is interest in us doing so. We consider ourselves a national publication, though with a GTA focus, much the same in chess as the Toronto Star hard copy in mainline journalism.

Bob, TCN Editor

P.S. Thanks again for featuring TCN on your blog the other day.
PPS - To get on the free subscribers' list for Toronto Chess News ( TCN ), write me at canadianchessconsultingservice@gmail.com. Our newly launched website is: www.TorontoChessNews.com

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: Scope of TCN

Hi Kevin:

Toronto Chess News ( TCN ) has written Gord Ritchie and Halldor Palsson about Ottawa RA CC taking out a " news section ", and that we would open an Eastern Ontario news heading, to match the GTCL and South-western Ontario regional headings. We have not heard back yet.

TCN definitely seeks to expand its coverage Ontario-wide, if clubs and tournament organizers in different regions wish to participate. We offer clubs the opportunity to take out a " news section ", but they must appoint a " TCN Liaison for that club ". This person is our contact person, and takes responsibility to send in " news articles " on the club for each Issue.

Though focussed on the GTA, because that is where we have the most information, we do cover all levels of chess from international to local. But it is dependent to a high degree on our sources providing the information to us.

Speak to someone in Ottawa RA and see if you can move the conversation along. Thx.

Bob, TCN Editor

The RA club in Ottawa has its own website, which is frequently updated by John Upper; here's a link:

http://ottawarachessclub.pbworks.com...7119/FrontPage

Perhaps John (who is a chesstalk member) might be willing to help out TCN, if the RA club website doesn't provide enough timely info by itself for TCN's purposes. I'm sure he (possibly along with Mr. Ritchie and Mr. Palsson) will get around to reading this thread.

I'll think more about things I myself might do in the new year, should nothing special happen by 21 December. :)

[Michael Yip]

Re: TCN - A National Publication

Hi Michael:

Will do!! TCN will continue to expand its coverage if there is interest in us doing so. We consider ourselves a national publication, though with a GTA focus, much the same in chess as the Toronto Star hard copy in mainline journalism.

Bob, TCN Editor
...

Canada needs a way to keep in touch with its current (and future) chess enthusiasts with a daily chess Canada wide news medium, be it a blog or a formal website.

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: Scope of TCN

Hi Kevin:

It is true that there are resources available from which reports might be written on many things.

But TCN is rather seeing our offer to clubs as a way for THEM to get what's important to them out to the readership, and those visiting the TCN website. That is why we have set up a system for the club or organization to appoint THEIR TCN Liaison, who will write the " news article " and submit it to TCN for pubication, as is ( we do very little editing of the club/organization " news articles ").

Bob, TCN Editor

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

Posted on the Cooperative Chess Coalition ( CCC ) Facebook chess discussion site, " CCC - Chess Posts of Interest ", by CCC Member Abbey Alo, from Ghana:

CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

Chess is facing an extraordinary crossroads in 2012 as the extended global economic crisis has forced many top tournaments to be cancelled due to lack of funding. We also seem to have reached a very peculiar situation at the pinnacle of the chess world as the current World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand (FIDE 2780, #6 on rating list) is rated over 60 points below the highest rated player in the world Magnus Carlsen (FIDE 2842). Since Kasparov lost the World Championship to Kramnik in the year 2000, global interest in chess has been on the decline. Without a catalyst to promote the game to new levels, where will chess be in the next 5, 10, or 20 years? Shouldn´t the governing body (FIDE) take more responsibility to organize and market chess?So What Will The Future Of Chess Look Like?So how´s it going to go down? Will computers solve chess and destroy all human competition, erasing all interest in the game? Or will mankind step up and organize a progressive plan for promotion that pushes it to new limits of popularity?

What do you think will happen to chess?
And how do you think we can improve the future of chess?
What are the biggest obstacles to success and how can they be overcome?

Bob Armstrong, CCC Coordinator

Some of the assumptions behind the multiple questions posed within the first paragraph of the above quote seem at the least suspect, so I'll just focus on the second paragraph's questions (posed by Bob A. ?):

1. Chess will continue to be played as it is for at least 100 years. Its popularity will wax and wane, depending largely on international star players and their personalities, styles, personal appearance and results.

2. The future of chess can be improved if national federations worldwide promote chess education and their star players better than now.

3. The biggest obstacles to the successful promotion of chess worldwide at the moment would have to include FIDE's politicians and some of FIDE's actions and policies. Kasparov isn't helping at the moment either.

[Felix Dumont]

Re : Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

Sadly, chess should be solved by computers in a couple of years. Estimates usually range from 10 to 20 years, maximum... People will still be able to play, as no one can really learn all the variations by heart, but it will definitely relegate chess as a solved game, like checkers...

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: Re : Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

Sadly, chess should be solved by computers in a couple of years. Estimates usually range from 10 to 20 years, maximum... People will still be able to play, as no one can really learn all the variations by heart, but it will definitely relegate chess as a solved game, like checkers...

One anonymous techie once tried to explain to me that the speed electrons pass a given point, and then can be read, would make a 32-piece tablebase (solving chess) impossible. That's if I recall his drift.

[David Bowers]

Re: Re : Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

One anonymous techie once tried to explain to me that the speed electrons pass a given point, and then can be read, would make a 32-piece tablebase (solving chess) impossible. :

i don't understand that sentence.

aspects of computing are getting so advanced that the role of the speed of light as a limiting factor in computation speed is proportionally greater all the time. i understand that different computing forms are being researched and when they come online, this factor will be overcome and chess will be solved in short order.

we have motorized vehicles that move faster than runners; we have boats that move faster than swimmers; yet, we still watch the races. this never even seems a talking point.

yet, when a member of the public finds out that the strongest chess player on the planet is a computer, this usually does in fact diminish their view or image of chess. i know - i've had enough such conversations.

people are worried about the popularity of chess. people on this board make suggestions all the time on how to promote chess. more or less though, in the west, it's only high profile players who capture the media's attention who truly affect chess popularity at any moment.

i'm sure there are math boards on the internet "how can we make math more popular among the public?" etc. chess, like math is a difficult activity, intensely rewarding to people of a certain intellect and personality type. it will always be popular only to a tiny fraction of people, and like the recent shortening of time controls, the imminent solving of chess won't help this situation!

[Nigel Hanrahan]

Re: Re : Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest -What Is The Future Of Chess?

... we have motorized vehicles that move faster than runners; we have boats that move faster than swimmers; yet, we still watch the races. this never even seems a talking point.

Predictions about the "demise" of chess, like those of the death of Mark Twain, are greatly exaggerated.

i'm sure there are math boards on the internet "how can we make math more popular among the public?" etc. chess, like math is a difficult activity, intensely rewarding to people of a certain intellect and personality type. it will always be popular only to a tiny fraction of people, and like the recent shortening of time controls, the imminent solving of chess won't help this situation!

Actually, you're way off here. According to a serious promoter of chess, over 600 million people worldwide play chess on a regular basis. That's an enormous number.

See the article on ChessBase over here for confirmation of the numbers.

My own prediction is that just as chess outlived the feudal age into which it was born, it will outlive our own age into the murky future we cannot see. Winston Churchill once said, famously, that if the British Empire lasted for a thousand years then it's finest hour would still be the Battle of Britain. The British Empire toppled over in Egypt within a decade or so, and the new American Empire took its place. In contrast, chess has already lasted one and a half thousand years and I rather expect that over the next 500 years it will eventually be included in the curriculum of the educational system of most countries.