Media comments on chess

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JustinHorton
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by JustinHorton » Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:42 pm

I dunno if this is really the right thread for this but I guess an academic journal is media of sorts. A paper appears in the Journal of Development Economics for May 2021, by Asad Islam and two others, entitled "The Effects of Chess Instruction on Academic and Non-cognitive Outcomes: Field Experimental Evidence from a Developing Country".

Science Direct lists the "Highlights" as follows...
  • We investigate the benefits of an intensive chess training program.
  • Chess training reduces the level of risk aversion.
  • It improves math scores and reduces the incidence of time inconsistency.
  • No evidence of significant effects on other academic and non-academic outcomes.
...and the Abstract reads thus.
We conduct a randomized field experiment to investigate the benefits of an intensive chess training program undertaken by primary school students in a developing country context. We examine the effects on academic outcomes, and a number of non-cognitive outcomes: risk preferences, patience, creativity and attention/focus. Our main finding is that chess training reduces the level of risk aversion almost a year after the intervention ended. We also find that chess training improves math scores, reduces the incidence of time inconsistency and the incidence of non-monotonic time preferences. However, these (non-risk preference) results are less conclusive once we account for multiple hypothesis testing. We do not find any evidence of significant effects of chess training on other academic outcomes, creativity, and attention/focus.
The paper itself is here.
"Do you play chess?"
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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:35 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 7:44 pm
IM Jack Rudd wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 5:38 pm
Your being out by one is surprising; I'd expect being out by two to be much more likely.
I quickly estimated "four" to get to the other side, and then an extra move to get far enough "up" the board, but failed to realise that I'd land on g7 and a slightly twiddly route is needed to land precisely on h8, hence the answer being "six" not "five".
It actually takes four moves to get from a1 to g7. As that is a quite 'direct' route (I am sure there is a mathematical way to express that) there are not many variations in how to get between those two points. But that got me wondering how many different ways there are to get from a1 to h8 that are distinct from each other (i.e. not reflections of each other by some rotational symmetry)?

The route needs to be three "up" moves (i.e. 2 up and 1 across) plus one "across" move (i.e. 2 across and 1 up) plus a "twiddle" of two moves that moves the knight across two squares. That is a grand total of 7 across and 7 up that gets the knight from a1 to h8. (Though I may be getting confused over whether the knight makes a 3x2 move [the shape of the rectangle], or a 2x1 move [the knight moves three 'steps']).

I wonder what the answers are for squares of size 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, 7x7, 8x8, 9x9, 10x10 .... nxn?

For 3x3 it takes 4 moves.
For 4x4 it takes 2 moves.
For 5x5 it takes 4 moves.
For 6x6 it takes 4 moves.
For 7x7 it takes 4 moves.
For 8x8 it takes 6 moves.
For 9x9 it takes 6 moves.
For 10x10 it takes 6 moves.
For 11x11 it takes 8 moves.

Can we generalise?

Everytime you add on a 3x3 board, you only add on 2 moves (see the result for 4x4).

It does seem to always be an even number of moves. This will be because the diagonally opposite squares are always the same colour, and knights moves between squares of the same colour have to be an even number (again, there will be a formal mathematical way to express this). So the generalisation (for n greater than or equal to 5) seems to be 4, 6, 8, and so on, but in groups of three. Not sure how to express that mathematically.

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:18 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:35 pm
knights moves between squares of the same colour have to be an even number
I have clearly spent too long not playing actual chess, as I now realise (Jack was saying this, but not explicitly enough to get the point across to me!) that the knight moves between squares of the same colour thing should have told me immediately that the answer had to be an even number, and I could have guessed 4 or 6 straight away, and my answer of 5 was obviously wrong! :oops: :oops:

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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by PeterFinn » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:50 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:35 pm

Can we generalise?

Everytime you add on a 3x3 board, you only add on 2 moves (see the result for 4x4).

It does seem to always be an even number of moves. This will be because the diagonally opposite squares are always the same colour, and knights moves between squares of the same colour have to be an even number (again, there will be a formal mathematical way to express this). So the generalisation (for n greater than or equal to 5) seems to be 4, 6, 8, and so on, but in groups of three. Not sure how to express that mathematically.
2*floor((n+1)/3) with an exception for n=3 should do where floor is the floor function (rounds a number down to the nearest integer).

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JustinHorton
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Apr 07, 2021 6:06 pm

Watching The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex (1939) with Olivia de Haviland

Image

and Bette Davis.

Image.

I assume we all know what happens next?

Image
"Do you play chess?"
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Stewart Reuben
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Stewart Reuben » Wed Apr 07, 2021 6:17 pm

Monday 5 April ITV 3
rerun of WYCLIFFE the pilot episode of a detective series, set in Cornwall.
Early in the 100 minute episode you see two men playing chess. It went too quickly to see whether the moves made sense or had anything to do with the ensuing plot.

Tuesday 6 April TV Ad for San Miguel.2 people playing chess. Just blink and you would miss it.

I like the implicit message in both, that chess is a natiural part of life.

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JustinHorton
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Apr 07, 2021 6:25 pm

Stewart Reuben wrote:
Wed Apr 07, 2021 6:17 pm
Tuesday 6 April TV Ad for San Miguel.2 people playing chess. Just blink and you would miss it.
Presumably this same one
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

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JustinHorton
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Apr 07, 2021 10:49 pm

Some guy's written a book

Image
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Geoff Chandler
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Geoff Chandler » Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:03 am

Hi Justin,

Perhaps we could could do a new thread with non chess books using chess pieces or a chess setting on the cover.
I'm sure we have all seen 100's. My favourite, which I first saw on the Kevin Spraggett site is:

Image

Pinned!

I've never read any of the 1930's Black Bat' series. He may have been a chess player.

wiki research revealed he was blind (as a bat - gedditt?) and he and Batman settled peacefully out of court over the use of the name.

You will be pleased to know Black Bat got his sight back when a dying policeman's corneas were grafted onto his eyes.
When the bandages came off he could see not only in daylight but perfectly well in the dark too.

Simon Rogers
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Simon Rogers » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:25 pm

Monday 5th April
BBC2 Mastermind.
One of the semi-final episodes in the General Knowledge round there was a question on Chess:
"In Chess, which piece can take en-passant? "
Which the contestant answered correctly.

Stewart Reuben
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Stewart Reuben » Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:41 pm

CRITICAL THINKING I saw this 2020 film on Sky/Virgin channel Greats Friday at 4.25pm. I only noticed what it was about immediately before the programme and thus could not provide advance notice.
It is a typical US High School story of pupils becoming strong chess players and going on to win the US Schools Championship and also improve their position in society. Apparently based on a true story.
There are quite a large number of such films, not all based in the US, not all centering around Afro-American pupils. I think the best in the genre is possibly 'Queen of Katwe'.
It is quite likely it will be broadcast again.

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JustinHorton
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by JustinHorton » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:58 pm

Just watched Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011) which is really very poor indeed but I was glad to see that the precocious three-year-old ape Caesar demonstrates his intellectual progress by picking up a chess piece.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

Simon Rogers
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Simon Rogers » Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:28 am

Today's Sunday Times Culture Section. Page 30.
2.35pm to 4.35pm BBC1.
"FILM: Queen of Katwe
Stars David Oyelowo. The life of a poor Ugandan youngster is changed for ever when she is introduced to the game of chess. Uplifting. (2016, PG)"

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JustinHorton
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by JustinHorton » Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:49 am

I hope he's better in it than he is in last night's film
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Stewart Reuben
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Stewart Reuben » Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:09 pm

Simon > Stars David Oyelowo. <
David Oyelowo may well be the best known actor in Queen of Katwe. But he plays the part of the arbiter who teaches her chess. The girl is the main character. Jovanka told me she has met the girl who plays for the Ugandan women's team. Great play is made in the film that she is an International woman candidate chess master. I introduced that title.
If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.