[1/23/05 kwg] While
breathlessly awaiting the Winter Antics and possible feedback from
Kirk's questionnaire, I found myself pondering the present state of
Chess in America. Actually, my musings began with yet another
boneheaded message seen on an internet newsgroup, saying in part:
Two things bugged me about this message, all the more so because I have heard these claims made at tournaments and meetings as well: (a) the notion that chess is on some long-term decline (clearly false), and (b) that computers and the internet have hurt chess participation (false in my view).
Look at the graph above, and allow me to add my interpretation. Notice that as a percentage of the population, serious chessplayers (as represented by USCF members here) are as numerous now as at the height of the Fischer boom. Surprised? I was when I first looked at the numbers a year or so back. Note the two dramatic increases. First came the spike in activity surrounding the 1972 World Championship match, which gave back some ground but still resulted in a long-term boost. Then something happened in the early 1990's. Ah, yes, I remember now: tons of media coverage of matches between Kasparov and powerful computers, Garry over Deep Thought in 1990, Garry over Deep Blue in 1996, and finally Garry's loss in the 1997 rematch with Deep Blue. It is perhaps telling that Deep Blue was the first "chess player" on the cover of Newsweek since Fischer (or so I've read).
Now there is presently a downturn in USCF membership, likely related to recent financial problems in our national organization and resulting disenchantment. I suspect the USCF will recover, and I note casually that sales of chess books, sets, and software continue to be strong. Closer to home, local clubs are still sparse, and tournaments seem infrequent, yet Alabama still has plenty of interested players, again judging by USCF membership.
Personally, I went through a long chess drought, causes or excuses including lack of time, no local club, and general discouragement, and it was online chess play and chess chat at FICS that got me back into the game. I believe the internet can serve as a great communication tool to promote chess, and that we are not using this tool as well as we should in Alabama. In terms of broader participation, I believe you can see from the graph above that media attention has been a major factor in the popularity of chess. Still, the basic foundation for organized chess is enjoyment of the game by as many people as possible. Chess is fun, remember?
Basically, chess is alive and well, in the USA and in Alabama, but let's face it: at 30 players per 100,000 people, organized chess still has lots of room to grow. So what's our next move? Perhaps our new ACF president's survey will help answer that. Kirk?
...adult chess is on an
unstoppable decline. Like stamp collecting, model trains, and other
pursuits of the past, adult chess players are getting older, their
numbers are shrinking dramatically, and they are destined to become a
small but dedicated sub-culture in this country, like breweriana
collectors. ... Nothing will stop this. Our children will not, as adults, be members of
the USCF. Add the Internet into the mix, and you see the death knell.
Two things bugged me about this message, all the more so because I have heard these claims made at tournaments and meetings as well: (a) the notion that chess is on some long-term decline (clearly false), and (b) that computers and the internet have hurt chess participation (false in my view).
Look at the graph above, and allow me to add my interpretation. Notice that as a percentage of the population, serious chessplayers (as represented by USCF members here) are as numerous now as at the height of the Fischer boom. Surprised? I was when I first looked at the numbers a year or so back. Note the two dramatic increases. First came the spike in activity surrounding the 1972 World Championship match, which gave back some ground but still resulted in a long-term boost. Then something happened in the early 1990's. Ah, yes, I remember now: tons of media coverage of matches between Kasparov and powerful computers, Garry over Deep Thought in 1990, Garry over Deep Blue in 1996, and finally Garry's loss in the 1997 rematch with Deep Blue. It is perhaps telling that Deep Blue was the first "chess player" on the cover of Newsweek since Fischer (or so I've read).
Now there is presently a downturn in USCF membership, likely related to recent financial problems in our national organization and resulting disenchantment. I suspect the USCF will recover, and I note casually that sales of chess books, sets, and software continue to be strong. Closer to home, local clubs are still sparse, and tournaments seem infrequent, yet Alabama still has plenty of interested players, again judging by USCF membership.
Personally, I went through a long chess drought, causes or excuses including lack of time, no local club, and general discouragement, and it was online chess play and chess chat at FICS that got me back into the game. I believe the internet can serve as a great communication tool to promote chess, and that we are not using this tool as well as we should in Alabama. In terms of broader participation, I believe you can see from the graph above that media attention has been a major factor in the popularity of chess. Still, the basic foundation for organized chess is enjoyment of the game by as many people as possible. Chess is fun, remember?
Basically, chess is alive and well, in the USA and in Alabama, but let's face it: at 30 players per 100,000 people, organized chess still has lots of room to grow. So what's our next move? Perhaps our new ACF president's survey will help answer that. Kirk?
Game Viewer Updated
[12/9/04 kwg] I have finally replaced my clunky old game viewer
with a new version that uses JavaScript for faster user interaction. There are still several items
on my to-do list for this feature, and I would appreciate user feedback on this - so please
try it and drop me a line.
Chess Calendar: Please Take a Peek
[11/13/04 kwg] My chess
calendar script is now online, and data entry is in process. The
idea is to give a tabular view of past and future events, with links to
tournament reports and announcements. Please give it a look and let me know what you think.
Sad Spectacle Reminds: Fischer Replacement Long Overdue
[7/18/04 kwg] Bobby Fischer is once again in the news, and as usual the news isn't good. Arrested Friday at the Tokyo airport, Bobby may soon face American "justice" for charges stemming from his 1992 rematch with Spassky. That match violated U.S. sanctions against Yugoslavia, resulting in issuance of a warrant for his arrest by the U.S. While many chessplayers would no doubt find it easy to forgive Fischer for playing a match that violated U.S. policy, it's likely few would excuse his anti-American attidude, displayed most shockingly in a Phillippine radio interview applauding the 9/11/2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A troubled individual, as always. |
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Despite all this, Bobby Fischer is never far from the thoughts of
many American chessplayers, and his name is seldom absent from the
pages of Chess Life magazine. After all, his brillant play and total
(but brief) dominance of the chess world led to a tremendous boom in
American chess. Just imagine: Live coverage of a chess match on ABC's
Wide World of Sports! USCF membership doubling in less than two years!
A banquet room in a Montgomery, AL hotel packed with players for the
organizing meeting of a local club! Yes, those were exciting times
for chessplayers here, the likes of which we may never see again - and
all this excitement was generated by one eccentric genius.
The good news is that chess is more popular than ever in the United States. One measure of this popularity is USCF membership: the inevitable slump following the membership surge in 1972-73 has been followed by slow and steady gains. Even as a percentage of the total population, USCF membership is higher now (0.031%) than in 1973 (0.028%). Still, those percentages make it obvious there's plenty of room for Chess to grow in our country.
So what's missing? Maybe it's all in my head, or maybe it's just that media organizations have lost interest. After all, it's big events, big stars, and big money that drive media coverage - as in Deep Blue vs. Kasparov (certainly not on the same scale as Fischer-Spassky). We need a new American chess "hero" to really fire us up again - and perhaps more importantly, to help displace our waning Fischer-worship with something more positive. When will we see another world chess champion from the USA? Surely it's not too much to ask!
One thing's for sure, though: Our future champion will not appear out of nowhere (neither did Bobby!). He or she will spring from some local chess club somewhere, and local tournament action will play an important part in that. So to all the chess organizers around Alabama and around the USA, and to all the weekend warriors who take the time to participate, thank you, and keep it up!
The good news is that chess is more popular than ever in the United States. One measure of this popularity is USCF membership: the inevitable slump following the membership surge in 1972-73 has been followed by slow and steady gains. Even as a percentage of the total population, USCF membership is higher now (0.031%) than in 1973 (0.028%). Still, those percentages make it obvious there's plenty of room for Chess to grow in our country.
So what's missing? Maybe it's all in my head, or maybe it's just that media organizations have lost interest. After all, it's big events, big stars, and big money that drive media coverage - as in Deep Blue vs. Kasparov (certainly not on the same scale as Fischer-Spassky). We need a new American chess "hero" to really fire us up again - and perhaps more importantly, to help displace our waning Fischer-worship with something more positive. When will we see another world chess champion from the USA? Surely it's not too much to ask!
One thing's for sure, though: Our future champion will not appear out of nowhere (neither did Bobby!). He or she will spring from some local chess club somewhere, and local tournament action will play an important part in that. So to all the chess organizers around Alabama and around the USA, and to all the weekend warriors who take the time to participate, thank you, and keep it up!
