Have you ever wondered why the game of chess is still popular among the people even after 1500 years? Why innumerable websites are springing up day-in and day-out teaching chess skills and offering online chess, either free or at a nominal fee, to the people?

Well. The answer is simple to decipher. Chess is fun and exciting on one hand, and at the same time, is a challenge to the mind and exercise to the brain. Just as a healthy body is essential to remain fit physically, a healthy brain is absolutely vital and essential for a person’s well being, long and active life. With a healthy brain, a person can avoid diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer disease and Multiple Sclerosis, which have a direct impact on the weak brain cells.

Chess is one game that stimulates the mind and exercises the brain. How is it possible?

What is the objective of the game of chess? It is to corner the King of the opponent, make it immovable to a Safe Square, and say, “checkmate”. This cannot be done in a single move or by shaking a magic wand. Further, there is no option like chance or luck in the game.

It is the responsibility of the player to make the moves wisely, plan his moves, devise tactics and strategies, not to make any mistakes and ultimately achieve his objective of saying “checkmate”. The opponent will also have the same motive, and the game gets excited when the two players battle it out in the limited 64 squares.

Since, as a chess player, you are responsible for the fate of the game, you need to exercise utmost caution in making the moves and think more than once before taking a final decision to make the move.

You need to think deeply and visualize at least a couple of moves ahead taking in to consideration the possible countermoves of the opponent. Some sort of creativity also needs to be displayed by the player such that the opponent is given a false belief or diversion with wisely disguised moves, sometimes resulting in a sacrifice of a piece, such that the major or minor objective is achieved.

What is creativity? Creativity is nothing but a mental process where new concepts or ideas are generated for achieving the said objective. In simple terms, creativity refers to an act that deviates from the normal and appear to be new or a novel one. Some sort of lateral thinking, or thinking out of the box as is otherwise called, is put into practice as part of creativity.

Just, for a moment, try to understand the concept of creativity, critical thinking, and lateral thinking and figure out what does these actually mean.

Is this not you, as a chess player, doing it every time you take a decision to make a move, offer a piece as sacrifice or plan out a tactic or strategy?

What a chess player, in his normal course of playing the game, is what these concepts define and teach as management tricks. Though I am not trying to belittle these high subjects and their utility in other areas of application, playing a game of chess online with friends or with others over Internet can provide you these vital skills with a lot of fun and excitement. Without your very knowledge that you are learning something very important and very serious, you get to know of these things.

The highlight of the game of chess, be it played offline with friends at home or in a park, or played online with virtual partners in a virtual chess room across Internet, you will be using these creativity and critical thinking skills not for one single move, but for a series of moves, with a single objective of cornering the opponent’s King.

Is this not a wonderful exercise for the brain? On top of this, you are learning by fun. You enjoy the fun of playing chess, challenging your brain, and your excitement and ecstasy will peak when you ultimately say “checkmate” to your opponent. The pleasure would be more than double if you can do that with a player more experienced than you.

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