It’s hip to play chess

Chess no longer just for nerds
Game gains in popularity thanks to the internet

Dave Mcginn, National Post
Published: Saturday, January 06, 2007

TORONTO – Alexander Martchenko doesn’t play video games. He finds them boring.

Instead, the 13-year-old Toronto boy and many of his schoolmates prefer a game enjoyed by kings, philosophers, caliphs and figures such as Einstein, Karl Marx and Benjamin Franklin, a centuries-old game of 64 squares, 32 pieces and near-infinite possibilities that to Alexander has the excitement of a fight to the death.

“It’s like w a r,” he says when asked about why he likes chess.

While chess has always been thought of as a battleground fought over by nerds, the game is enjoying a popular resurgence among young people across North America thanks to the Internet and the fact there’s no longer any social stigma about being a nerd.

“The Internet has been hugely influential,” says David Shenk, author of the recently published book The Immortal Game: A History of Chess.

Thanks to the Internet, children and other players no longer need to find a friend at school or even someone in their hometown with whom to enjoy a game; they can easily go online and play fellow enthusiasts anywhere in the world.

Indeed, more than 100 million games are played online each year, Mr. Shenk says in his book.

Here is the full article.