Interviewer: In your view and experience, what are some of the benefits of learning and playing chess?  

Aidan: Firstly, scientific studies show that chess significantly improves rapid critical thinking among players.  Secondly, chess can give one insight into other occurrences in life that seem unresolvable.  Thirdly, the game itself is fun to play and is a great source of entertainment.


Interviewer: I have read some chess articles discussing whether chess is a sport, art or science?  In which category do you believe chess fits and why?  

Aidan: I think chess is a sport, but not the normal, athletic type (though the exhaustion is real).  Chess is a mental sport: you sit down at a table in front of a problem and think deeply for hours on end about how to solve it.  This can leave you mentally fatigued.


Interviewer: In 1996, Garry Kasparov, then World Chess Champion, won a chess match against an IBM supercomputer called “Deep Blue.”  One year later Deep Blue won the rematch 4 – 2.  What is your opinion of computer chess software?  Are they good for chess or not? If so, how?  

Aidan: I think they are somewhere in between.  Computers certainly have contributed to deep position analysis, opening novelties, and endgames, but they also open the door for accessible cheating.  For one, computers can now fit into extremely small containers – some as small as a thumb drive – and still are able to defeat even the strongest players.


Interviewer: I understand that former World Chess Champions had other talents and expertise besides playing chess.  For example, Vassily Smyslov was also an opera singer and Max Euwe was a mathematician.  In your view, are any of those disciplines, music or mathematics, compatible or naturally connected with chess?  If so, how?  

Aidan: I think chess has deep connections to mathematics, especially in statistics and graph theory.  Graph theorists commonly pose questions or examples in the form of a chessboard and a certain type of piece.  For example, how many queens can fit on an 8x8 chessboard without attacking each other?


Interviewer: I understand that you have an interest in space.  Do you believe that humans will ever play chess on Mars, and how much longer would you estimate before that happens?  

Aidan: I certainly think that humans will play chess on Mars at some point in the future, although how far in the future is up for debate.  NASA’s Artemis program is a precursor to their humans-to-Mars goal, but SLS has not even launched once yet, and the program is likely to extend into the 2030s before completion.  SpaceX’s aspirational goal for crewed Starship landings on Mars is in the late 2020s or early 2030s.  Only time will tell how long it will be.

​
Interviewer:  Lastly Aidan, how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your chess playing activities and do you plan on playing any tournaments this summer?

Aidan: During the pandemic, I stared actively playing on online platforms, Lichess especially.  I've continued to play over-the-board games to keep in practice for in-person tournaments and I definitely plan to participate in tournaments this summer. 

 

In January this year, the United Nations focused on the global learning disruption that is occurring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The learning disruption is compounded by the digital divide between urban and rural communities, and inequalities.  

In addition to the learning disruption, summer vacation is approaching for many students which is associated with the well-known "summer slide".  Summer slide is the tendency for students to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous year. 






​













​Besides reading, educational, fun enrichment activities like chess should help reduce the dreaded summer slide. We intend to offer online chess classes and activities this summer starting July.

If you are interested, then let us know.  The intake will be small, and spaces will be limited since existing students will be given the firsts right of refusal.

Send inquiries to kean@nimblemindschess.org

Vasily Smyslov took chess as a hobby until the age of 14.  He was inspired by the appearances of Jose Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker in Moscow to pursue competitive chess.  As Smyslov improved he won the All-Union Boys’ Championship and the Moscow City Championship in 1938. 

Smyslov finished third in 1940 USSR Championship and second in 1944.  

He began to attract international attention when he defeated Samuel Reshevsky twice in the famous U.S.-USSR radio match of 1945. His first of eight Candidates Tournament appearances came in 1948, where he finished third. He would advance to and win the World Championship on his fourth attempt, in 1957. Though he held the title for only a year—losing to former champion Botvinnik in 1958—the success of his career both before and after this period testify to Smyslov’s greatness as a chess player.

He would qualify as a Candidate on four more occasions, including the 1985 tournament at age 64! 
He was earned a record 17 Chess Olympiad medals and won the inaugural World Senior Chess Championship title in 1991.

In addition to being a World Chess Champion, Smyslov was an opera singer.

Click here for additional information.

(content of this post was taken substantially from World Chess Hall of Fame.