The game of kings and queens has been a source of high drama and great stories for a long time. A story as old as time, with one side pitted against the other in a game of wits and logic. There’s no weightlifting, no special diet, and no doping scandals. It’s just intuition and careful thought. A chess set should be as important as a hot plate or a cup of coffee. Its cognitive benefits are clear, and as we’ll see, the checkered board has a lot of power beyond simple math and problem solving.
Why you should have a chess set
When you’re done reading this, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without one.
A town is saved from itself.
A lot has changed in the last few years in the small Indian village of Marottichal. Fifty years ago, everyone in the town drank a lot and gambled a lot. The 6000 people who live there would tell you that. A bad problem that affects many of the smaller towns in the area. But that changed when the owner of a tea shop brought out his chess set and started teaching anyone he could find the old rules of the game of kings.
Soon, the people became addicted to a new thing: strategy. It swept through the village like a storm, and people started playing at all hours of the day, trying to perfect their skills and learn the strategies. Soon, people were drinking less because they were too busy playing games.
The streets were filled with the sounds of people playing chess with their friends and family. It quickly became an important part of the town’s identity and a source of national and local pride, which was more important than ever in a world that was becoming more and more digital.
It might not have saved the world, but it did save the people of Marottichal.
The Talent of the Homeless
In the case of Nigerian refugee Tani Adewumi, a chess set led to revenge. After leaving his home country, he just got to New York, which was the start of his journey. He didn’t even know what a chess set was a few years ago. After running away from terrorists overseas, he didn’t find out how good he was at the game until he got to the United States. In record time, he quickly got ahead of his classmates.
Because of how much he loved chess, he became a state champion just 18 months after he learned how to play. He started to be known as a prodigy, which brought him a lot of fans. Soon, the public gave him and his family enough money to move out of the homeless shelter they were living in.
It’s strange to think that they now live in a rent-free apartment filled with chess boards and sets, and that the young prodigy is living his life happily and saving his family by accident, all because he was curious and wanted to play chess.
Your Turn
We don’t expect every chess set to change the world, but it’s funny how a simple game with simple rules can become so powerful in so many places. For the game to have meaning and significance, you don’t have to be a genius or save a town from itself. Chess is a game of logic, rules, and self-control. Having a well-made chess set might not save the world, but it could make yours a little brighter.
A chess set should be on the table in every house because you never know where it could lead.
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