by Mark Harrington

Created on: June 04, 2008

No, chess is not a waste of time nor is it a waste of intelligence, chess is a game that is if anything something that can increase one's intelligence. I don't understand why anyone would say that chess is a waste of time, that's just like saying taking piano lessons or reading a book is a waste of time, each are fun to some and each require some sort of skill. Anything that you do could be considered a waste of time to somebody. Nothing that is fun is a waste of time and nothing can be a waste of intelligence unless maybe it's doing drugs or something like that but other than that there's nothing that is a waste of anything. I've played chess for many years and I have learned a lot about how to face many different scenarios and it has helped me to think about things before I do them; to find the best way to go about something.

It's like a miniature history lesson into the medieval era and is the oldest game of skill. For instance pawns are representations of medieval laborers who were expendable to distract enemies, be traded for goods, currency or even be sacrificed so land owners could escape their enemies. They were also known as serfs and life was hard for these people in that era, they would work hard and die at a very young age, just like pawns in the game. The castle represented a home for which people could seek refuge and are also referred to as rooks. The knight represented a medieval soldier; his job was to protect people above him in rank. The bishop is the representation of the church for who held a high seat of power in medieval times. The queen is the most powerful piece on the board just like in medieval times which a lot of people don't know that the queen was usually the most powerful person in a kingdom, even more powerful than the king.

The history lesson in the game is that you can see how each one of these people lived out their lives and what kind of role each of them played in time of war. It's a game that requires one to have a lot of good thinking skills that need to be applied when playing the game. There's a lot of strategy and critical thinking involved in the game and is a good work out for the mind. How can anything be a waste of intelligence? I believe that there are a lot of things people can do to increase their thinking skills and make people think more clearly; even simple things like hobbies such as putting a model car together. I don't see how a game that keeps you thinking and improves your ability to figure out different scenarios can be a waste of time or intelligence.

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