Yet another article has appeared at the New York Times concerning the Chess Boom:
There was a time not too long ago when people who played Chess were thought to be “smart.” Chess was a serious game held in esteem by many people all over the planet. Unfortunately, as can be seen from the above picture, Chess has become a frivolity. Case in point:
From the article:
“But by all accounts — from players, parents, teachers, website metrics — the game’s popularity has exploded.”
At least there is one honest and objective ‘player’ in the current ‘game’ and his name is Mike Klein.
“Mr. Klein has been traveling the country trying to convince schools to include chess in the curriculum. He argues that chess is good for the brain, but he concedes that the scientific studies he invokes, linking chess with better performance on standardized tests, “are pretty old or don’t have a good control group or are not a large enough sample size.”
Alexandra Botez,
28, another chess celebrity on Twitch and YouTube, earned a particular claim to fame: Once, while streaming a match, she blundered into losing her queen and reacted with an endearing, bemused shock that made the gaffe seem cool. To accidentally lose your queen is now known as the Botez Gambit.
What comes after a Boom?
Armchair Warrior 