“The glory of kings is to search out a matter.” – Proverbs 25:2b
LOOK FOR FORCING MOVES | The first rule of thumb… on my high school debate team was to never ask a question you didn’t know the answer to. The second was to never be asked a question you didn’t know the answer to (smile). Forcing moves are like asking your opponent a question they have to answer but don’t want to. It’s a great relief in life and chess when you limit the options an opponent has to use against you. Checks, checkmates, pins, and forks are just such limiting options. It can gain you the initiative as well as win you the game. Reducing complications in life and over-the-board are always welcome as healthy decision making is meant to reduce, well, er… complications! It’s fun when you have the board vision and the knowledge to make moves that reduce your workload.
REDUCE CHANCE | Remember… Chess does not use dice nor a spinning bingo basket! The Ninth World Chess Champion, Tigran Petrosian, was labeled a boring defensive player who valued “safety above all else.” As we teach in The Chess Kitchen, asking questions is always important. One day, a reporter asked Mr. Petrosian about his thoughts on his so-called yawn-inducing play. His answer was enlightening. “Some consider that when I play I am excessively cautious,” he responded, “but it seems to me that the question may be a different one. I try to avoid chance. Those who rely on chance should play cards or roulette,” he continued. “Chess is something quite different.” In life, as on the chess board, it’s good to mitigate risk and to control all you can… but never foolishly to have the notion that risk can be eliminated. Healthy decision making means never relying upon a “what if…?” or relying strictly on hope that something good will happen next.
THE HOT KITCHEN EFFECT | Think of a popular busy Michelin Star restaurant… the kitchen is buzzing and hot. White jacketed staff are purposely moving swiftly between stations performing time-limited tasks and procedures all in a frantic-looking, but highly ordered, dance to get a delicious dish to a hungry customer. Decisions are continually being made and today’s souffle although made with the same ingredients as last week will taste slightly different depending upon those decisions. The Chess Kitchen is a place like that. Teaching and practicing the skills and learning the procedures and plans that make for healthy decision making leading to excellent outcomes – a dish that lights up all the senses and brings joy to all.
The Chess Kitchen is where learning is actually fun – “Putting the Power of Healthy Decision Making into the Hands of Local At-Risk Youth Using Chess!”
We look forward to serving you and this community and having meaningful fun while doing it!