In the collective unconscious, chess is considered a curiosity, both complex and fascinating, primarily intended to an elite.
The legendary match Bobby Fischer vs
Boris Spassky ( the first taking the title of World Champion after 48 years of
Soviet supremacy ), because of its wide media coverage related to the symbol
representing the EAST-WEST confrontation during the Cold War, has been instrumental in forging an
intellectual image of the game by placing it on a pedestal.
It was in 1972 !
If the vocation of chess is to
symbolize the political systems that govern us, then it is time to bring it up
to date, that of globalization, alliances, interbreeding and cultural mixtures.
If, on the contrary, its purpose is to
be a game and a tool for education then it is time to bring the perception that
one has to the reality of its practice, from its summit in imagination to the
streets, but better to schools and clubs.
In 2012 , 40 years after the clash of
symbols, teaching chess in schools is sweeping across the planet. It is not a coincidence!
Indeed, the pedagogical qualities of chess are
recognized.
• Attention
and concentration.
• Judgment
and foresight.
• Imagination
and foresight.
•
Memory.
• Desire
to win and self-control.
•
Decisiveness.
• Mathematical
logic and analytical mind.
• Creativity
and orderly.
Today, chess is not, or is no longer
the symbol of the opposition, opposites and fighting. It is Harlequin who lives
in each of us, as defined by the philosopher Michel Serres in the Tiers
Instruit. It has become a metaphor for the crossing of knowledge and the
acceptance of each other.
Today,
the chess player is no more the
character imagined by Stefan Zweig ( which symbolizes the opposition
between
Nazism and Humanism ). This is often a retiree who plays with his little
son, children, adults or two after work, opponents of all races,
faiths, social
position, who shake hands before playing.
There is something more than chess
about chess.
We decide to add a S.
Not only because chess is multiple.
The third S will stand for Solidarity.
The purpose of the ChessSolidarity
program is to give a hand to those who have very little and sometimes nothing
at all.
François Voituron | ENJE - President
