Chess and Other Child's Play

   Children grow up fast. One stage they race through is particularly fascinating: a brief period in middle childhood where they become sponges and can learn anything that interests them at alarming rates. As an adult, it is critical to force your interests on a vulnerable child at this crucial time. Really. This is a great chance for bonding, a chance to share your passions and see them take shape in a fellow child of the universe. My dad this for me when I was a boy and now I'm practicing on my second nephew; its great fun! A child's enthusiasm is gloriously contagious.

   

   I have a theory. It's a simple one, but elegant. Children enjoy a fresh experience of the world and this results in their sense of wonder. When a 7 year old looks at a tree, it may be only the fourth or fifth time they have really looked at a tree. It may be one of the first times they've seen that particular color of green. Even the simple realization that birds live in trees is a new idea and fascinating. As adults, we don't even really look at the tree anymore. We know what to expect. We have seen thousands of trees and they are all the same. Of course we're wrong, but we feel forced to seek more and more complex concepts and forms in order to maintain a sense of wonder. This drive, this curiosity,  has propelled us to the moon, developed sciences, mathematics, revealed secrets of life, so I guess I'm not complaining. But the point I want to make is that the beauty of even the most complicated concepts, sciences, endeavors, etc., always boils down to something so simple, a child can understand it

   

   Take the game of Chess. The Royal Game. Like many children, I remember my father teaching me the pieces and the way they move. It was exciting. The appeal, as a child, lay in the look of the individual pieces and their special powers, the basic fact that they could be lost to the opponent or, better yet, capture enemies. Even the lowly pawn could be transformed into a powerful queen if it survived a difficult journey to the far side of the board. 

  

  Chess is a beautiful game, never the same, with such intricate levels of complexity it boggles the mind. But the fun of chess, as most things, is appreciated best through a child's eye. It is a battle where men are won and lost, the powerful can be outdone by the clever, and the weak can overcome their lot and ultimately change the course of history. Children lead by example; they are a constant reminder of the simple joys that surround us. So, yeah, I'm grateful for this gift, but I allow myself a little well-deserved envy: when I play my nephew, I play to win. Check. Mate.