Kasparov throwing some nice Russian shade in this article: ... ... I recently started playing chess again because my daughter asked me to teach her. I mean, talk about the blind leading the blind. We use an old travel set but she told me excitedly yesterday she's ordered a full size chess board and set. It's neat when your kids get excited about something - especially as full and rich as chess. I've got my work cut out for me though. One massive difference is how much easier it is to learn and practice these days. Now there's chess.com and lichess.org. My daughter's practising on her ipad and the app comes loaded with puzzles. She was looking at online chess clocks; I'm going to have to up my game significantly. When I learned there was no chess club at my school, very few friends could play and it was hard to find anyone to play. My mum worked at a servicemen's club I guess I must have gone in with her one day with my chess set and there was a guy there who wandered over and offered me a game. Of course he slaughtered me but I remember the absolute thrill of winning my first game against him. Looking back I'm convinced he let me win and I also suspect he was actually quietly coaching me during our games. But at the same time, Walter Tevis’ descriptions of the games were, let’s say, amateurish.
The whole book is about overcoming challenges and learning from opponents and this teamwork. Not typical for Americans.
Everybody is watching it. It’s No. 1 in Russia. God knows how, but somehow Queen’s Gambit just hit all the right buttons.
I'd wager it's also going to be less stigmatised as 'nerdy' or 'uncool'. This is good, but it's easy come easy go. I'd caution against her overtraining or setting the bar too high. It takes time, learning chess teaches many good habits, pacing, and patience. It's also discouraging like nothing else when you hit a plateau. Never let her think she's not smart enough to overcome it or that it says something negative about her. Forcing yourself through it burns you out. In my case, for something like four years I genuinely couldn't look at a chessboard without feeling stressed, defeated, stupid, and angry with myself. It took time to be fun again. Dunno if it helps, but I both play and taught a bunch of people. If you have questions or an opponent, I'm here and or lichess.One massive difference is how much easier it is to learn and practice these days.
It's neat when your kids get excited about something - especially as full and rich as chess.