Armenia is the first country in the world to make chess mandatory in school

The kids will love chess when they have to get good grades in chess class and wake up early, in the winter cold, to attend it.<p>“I suspect that many children would learn arithmetic, and learn it better, if it were illegal.” — John Holt

Remember that video "What Most Schools Don't Teach" that had Zuckerberg, Gates, and Houston encouraging kids to learn how to program? The opening quote is from Steve Jobs that says "Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer...because it teaches you how to think."<p>To me, chess does the same and has since my childhood. When you first learn chess, you learn what each piece can and can't do. And after that, YOU must learn how to strategically move the pieces in a way that traps your opponent and beats him/her. It teaches you how to think strategically, both offensively and defensively...or to be able to think 4-5 steps ahead...it's a different way of thinking.<p>Of course, as you get more advanced, there are books and such to explain certain strategies but the world champions don't just win off the strategies in the book--they are forced to think even further outside the box if they want to have a chance of winning.<p>Chess is a great game to teach kids HOW to think. I'm all for this, especially in a country such as Armenia.

Hidden in the middle of the article: "The majority of the budget was allocated to train chess players to become good teachers."<p>It's nice to see someone acknowledge that being good at a thing does not automatically make one a good teacher of the thing.

I've been playing chess since childhood. These days I play on and off exclusively through Fritz using their online service, of which I've been a member since inception. I have also taught my kids to play chess. They have entered local tournaments starting at age six and have nearly always come out on top. They usually have to play one or two divisions above their age grade due to the skills they have developed.<p>And yet, after a couple of years of them playing tournaments and taking classes from our local master I pull them out of the entire thing and only allow them to play an occasional tournament here and there for fun. Why?<p>Because playing lots of chess only makes you good at playing chess. Yes, you learn deep concentration, situational analysis, etc. However, these skills do not translate linearly to other activities.<p>Playing blitz chess does not make you better at avoiding an accident on the freeway when things get out of hand. In other words, you don't become some kind of a super-fast general-purpose thinker. You simply become really good at fast chess.<p>The same is true of "traditional" slow chess. Again, the skills you learn seem to be focused around the game and very little of it translates to the outside world.<p>There are teachings that do, for example, one mantra I repeat to my kids while learning chess and try to reinforce in other activities is: "Is there a better move?".<p>The other problem with chess study is the fact that in order to move past a certain level you have to become a human chess database. I personally detest that paradigm shift in the game. Yes, you have to know how to analyze the board and evaluate positions, of course you do. However, without committing to memory a huge library of openings, end games and even mid-game strategies (and specific move sequences) you simply can't get past certain thresholds. This, from my perspective, is an absolute waste of time, talent and effort that no kid should be subjected to.<p>Please consider this to be my opinion and only that. Don't be offended if your position is diametrically opposite mine. It's OK to disagree. Life goes on.<p>The first couple of years of learning chess can be fantastic if, and only if, they are used as a conduit for learning important lessons. For example, teaching kids to deal with loosing can be a part of this. Teaching them to take a situation apart to examine the pieces is critical in nearly every engineering discipline. If you don't take the time to make these connections while teaching chess then all you are doing is teaching chess. In other words, the connections will not be magically constructed by your kid simply because they can now check-mate another kid.<p>What should kids have a really good grasp of? Lots of things, but if I had to name three it would be Mathematics, Physics and Programming.<p>Math gives you the most fundamental toolset you'll need for just about everything, from balancing your checkbook to building a rocket. Very important.<p>Physics connects math to the real world. If taught correctly kids get a real "touch-and-feel" sense of how things work and why.<p>Programming, again, if taught correctly, teaches, at the most fundamental level, about problem solving. How do you take a seemingly huge problem, break it into a bunch of little components and methodically solve each one of them. And it can teach quick real-world problem analysis as well. For example, I've done things like play "if-else-then" games with my older kid where we break down the things that could happen if you place a glass too close to the edge of the table.<p>That said, chess is great. And, in moderation, as a conduit for learning other ideas it could be fantastic. Nothing wrong with that.<p>BTW, there's an interesting connection between Steve Jobs and Armenia:<p><a href="http://tert.am/en/news/2011/10/06/jobsarmenian/" rel="nofollow">http://tert.am/en/news/2011/10/06/jobsarmenian/</a><p><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=steve+jobs+armenian&#38;aq=f&#38;oq=steve+jobs+armenian&#38;aqs=chrome.0.57j0l3.4229&#38;sourceid=chrome&#38;ie=UTF-8" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/search?q=steve+jobs+armenian&#38;aq=f...</a>

Maybe this is a way for a tiny country to make a dent in the world's intellectual community. If you can't afford a giant linear accelerator or billion dollar telescope to make headlines, producing a few world chess champions could make you shine.<p>We've taught more useless things in schools... Some states want to teach creation along side evolution for instance...

The biggest problem I had as a kid was finding other people to play against. I moved from a fairly urban area to the countryside and never really found anyone else who enjoyed playing it. I only ever played for fun and was never interested in competitive play.<p>These days I'm mostly relegated to my own rules of drunken hyper-chess; the two players must make their move immediately after the other and the entire game is over in a couple of minutes. Drink every time a piece is taken. This is a form of chess most people seem to be able to get behind.

When the Armenian chess team returned to Yerevan as winners of the Olympiad, they were treated like rockstars outside the opera house, fireworks and all.<p>There are many great reasons this is good for the country: - cheap to play - teaches discipline &#38; patience - both genders can compete on level playing field - scope for creative thinking &#38; problem solving

I'm not sure of Kalmykia's political status, but chess has been mandatory there for decades: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmykia" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmykia</a>

Chess has many lessons to teach the entrepreneur, or indeed any businessperson. One is the difference between strategy (aka planning) and tactics, and the vital importance of strategy.<p>I've seen too many companies run <i>entirely</i> in reactive "what do we do next?" mode - you can't do that and win at chess or life.

Article is a bit misleading, because they mention former world champion Tigran Petrosian who passed away in 1984, and quote his son the 29-year-old grandmaster Tigran Petrosian.

Out of curiosity... Are there any Armenians on Hack News?<p>-Diran

I think this is about on par with making programming mandatory in (elementary) school.

Chess does not make you smarter. Chess makes you better at playing chess. Nothing more nothing less. If you want to become smarter on a specific topic then you must study that specific topic.