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Franz Becker

Argumentative Essay

Chess has been played in all corners of the world for centuries. It is a universal

game. A game of strategy, a game of wits, and a game of war. As a game founded on

the principles of war it begs the question: Is chess a game of war or is the game a force

for peace? While chess is based on military strategy and has elements that would lead

many to contend that it is a game of violence, the themes of chess are a driving force

for peace. The strategy that is learnt in chess teaches people to act rationally. One must

learn to sacrifice and always think about what is best in the long run. Chess teaches you

not to be impulsive. Chess is a game that brings people together. You sit down with

your opponent and you play a game. It brings people closer and forms a bond of

friendship, not feelings of aggression. The skills of chess are skills that can be used to

achieve peace and keep it. Chess is a game that teaches the skills which are found in

diplomacy, not in war. The ability to think rationally allows people to make good choices.

Having the skills to think critically, coming together with your opponent, and learning the

skills of diplomacy are what make the game of chess a driving force for peace.

When you play chess you become a better thinker. Unlike most sports, chess is a

game of wit not a game of bronze. The game allows you to develop a particular set of

skills. In chess you have to think to solve your problems. You think ahead and don’t act

impulsively, two things that often stop conflict. Child psychologists believe that when

children learn chess, they develop critical thinking skills (Dauvergne, Peter.). When

children can develop such skills at a young age they're able to use their minds to solve

conflict in their lives. Chess gives people the strategy to solve their problems through
thinking them out. Chess requires players to always be thinking ahead. You have to

think rationally and do what’s best in the long run. This is what makes chess a game of

peace. When you have the ability to think before you act, you're much more likely to

make better choices and do the right thing. Chess is a force for good in the world

because of the skill set it instills in its players.

When you play chess you pick up life lessons. One lesson I’ve taken away is that

to achieve a goal you can’t be impulsive. The great world champion Garry Kasparov

once remarked that “Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you

to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions.” Chess teaches people to

think in an uncertain environment. To become successful at chess you must learn to

control your emotions and do what is logical, not just what your gut tells you to do.

Whether it’s a fist fight in the lunchroom or the First World War, conflicts often start

because people act impulsively and don’t think about the long term implications of their

actions. When people have the ability to think critically and think for themselves they

make better decisions. Chess is a game which teaches people to use their brain. It

forces people to look at the bigger picture and do what's best. You always have to be

looking ahead and planning for the future. Chess is game for peace because it teaches

people to act rationally and solve their problems with their mind.

Chess brings people together. One of my earliest memories is watching my

brother and father play a game of chess. For all they argued and all the fought, their

conflicts would be washed away through a friendly game of chess. Often what causes

war and conflict is a lack of communication. People simply don’t talk or won’t come

together and work things out. They let petty disagreements drive their violence. With
chess you have to come together and sit down at a table and talk things out. Chess is a

game in which you are forced to sit with the person next to you and play. A conservative

estimate given by the United States Federation of Chess is that chess is played by over

a half a billion people in the world (Allen, Nick). It is a universal game that spans

continents and transcends language. If half a billion people in the world took away the

values that chess teaches, the world would be an inherently better place. Chess brings

people together at all levels. From old men in central park to school boys in Tehran,

chess is played across the world. It brings people from all walks of life together to

engage in a civil game. Chess is not a game of war, it's a game which encourages you

to come together with your enemy and play a friendly match. It has been played by all

people in all places. It brings people together to work out their differences through the

element of sport, not war. Coming together to work out your differences is what makes

chess a game of peace.

While chess brings people together and teaches them to think critically, a major

reason that it can be used as a means to achieve peace is the element of diplomacy

players learn. The pieces of chess may be instruments of war, but the themes of chess

are instruments of peace. The game teaches its players to always think about their

actions and the implications their decisions will have later on. The English writer Charles

Buxton once remarked that “In life, as in chess, forethought wins.” Chess gives its

players a number of life lessons, but none more important than being able to think about

your actions. When you are forced to look at your actions, you evaluate what you're

doing and why you're doing it. While the ultimate goal of war is to win, you often don’t

think ahead. You focus on one battle at a time and act on impulse rather than doing
what's best to achieve your ultimate goal. Chess instills in the people who play it the

concept that being able to take responsibility for your actions makes you a better player

(Ericsson, K. Anders). Thinking about your actions and creating an environment where

thoughts come before action is the very essence of diplomacy and a key element to

making peace. Chess is a force for peace because its themes teach its players how to

be rational human beings. You may be playing a game of war, but you're learning how

to control yourself, how to use your mind to win out, and how to use rational thought to

achieve victory.

Chess was founded as a game of war, there’s no denying that. The elements of

war are easily visible by watching the game. The goal is to overthrow another king and

capture those who guard him. Chess has been viewed as a violent game which over the

years has led many parents and social activists to view it in the ranks of violent video

games (Goldstein, Jeffrey H.). Chess was invented as a way to play war. It captured the

elements of war and placed them on a board. One had to use the strategy of a General

to obtain a surrender from their opponent. If one purely watches chess even the pieces

are militarized. The knight, king, and queen were all fundamental parts of armies. They

were centerpieces in battles and represent what war was, a struggle of one power to

defeat an opposing one. In chess one seeks to overtake their opponent and in a sense

overthrow their government. You're constantly looking to see how you can pounce on

your opponent and how you can take advantage of their weaknesses. Chess appears to

be a ruthless game which aims to kill people. Your goal is to corner a king and defeat

his army. Chess was founded as a game of war that encourages people to use the

same strategies one would find on a battlefield and apply it to the game. Chess was
founded on the principles of war and could be describe as a simulation of war itself.

Many contend that chess promotes conflict, shows violence, and is nothing more than a

game of war.

Chess may have been founded on the principles of war, but its themes give

players a different message. Chess is a game which forwards the ideals of peace. The

objective of chess may be to overthrow the opponent, but the lessons you learn are

lessons which achieve peace. Chess is not a violent game. It may be based on war, but

it is a game of wits more than anything else. Chess doesn’t teach you how to kill

someone, it teaches you how to think. In chess you don’t develop skills that you can use

in war, rather you develop the skills of a statesman. You're able to think about your

actions and the implications they have on yourself and others. You can analyze the

moves you make and take into account their long term implications. Chess teaches you

strategy which you can apply to your daily life. It makes you a problem solver, not a

problem starter. Chess gives players a skill set which develops their minds as rational

thinkers. In schools teachers use chess as a way for students to pick up skills which

make them not just good chess players, but better thinkers (Bailin, Sharon). Being able

to think rationally and avoid making judgments based on emotion tends to make one a

better decision maker than those who succumb to acting on their emotion. Chess is not

a game of war. The themes of chess make its players better people. When you develop

critical thought, you grow as a person and make better decisions. People who make

better decisions do not engage in violence, they engage in debate and negotiations and

use their mind as a weapon to achieve their goals. Chess is not a force of war, it is a

force for peace in the world


If chess does one thing, it forces you to think. You have to think about what

comes next and anticipate how others will react. You have to promote yourself while

always being aware of what your opponent is doing. Chess makes people critical

thinkers. It teaches them to use their mind to solve problems, rather than engage in

violence. The game of chess brings people together. Chess is a universal game played

by people across the globe. When people are able to sit down and play a game, they

are not enemies, merely opponents engaged in sport. The themes of chess teach

people the principles of diplomacy. When you play chess you develop a set of skills

which prepares you to face conflict in the world. Chess teaches you to solve your

problems by outthinking your opponent rather than fighting them. Many say chess is a

game of violence and a game of war. While chess may have been founded on war, the

themes of the game are rooted in peace. Chess teaches its players to be statesmen,

not soldiers. It instills in players the ability to use their wits to fight their battles, not their

fists. Chess is not a game of war, it is a game which forwards the ideas of peace.

Citations

1. Dauvergne, Peter. "The Case for Chess as a Tool to Develop Our Children’s

Minds." The Case for Chess as a Tool to Develop Our Children’s Minds. University of

Sydney, 2000. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.


2. Allen, Nick. "Chess Gets 'sexy' in Million Dollar Las Vegas Tournament." The

Telegraph [London] 13 Oct. 2015: n. pag. Print.

3. Ericsson, K. Anders, and Jacqui Smith. Toward a General Theory of Expertise:

Prospects and Limits. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991. Print.

4. Goldstein, Jeffrey H. Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment.

New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.

5. Bailin, Sharon, Roland Case, Jerrold R. Coombs, and Leroi B. Daniels. "Common

Misconceptions of Critical Thinking." Journal of Curriculum Studies 31.3 (1999): 269-83.

Web.

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