English Chess Forum

The publication of new demographic categories is an opportunity to gather information on the social class of chess players on this forum. Fill out the poll using these social classes

I think it can be generally agreed "serious" chess in this country is a *mainly* middle class thing.

The interesting question is whether it has become less, or more, so since the "English Chess Explosion" four decades ago........

Matt Mackenzie wrote:I think it can be generally agreed "serious" chess in this country is a *mainly* middle class thing.

Yes it is mainly a middle class thing. The one great exception that I can think of was Sultan Khan who could barely even read or write but won the British Championship 3 times and was at one time rated number 6 in the world.

He was unable to study chess books and relied almost exclusively on his natural talent .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Sultan_Khan

No, there's no such thing as class. Last time I checked we're all the human race so please let's not go doing long division on ourselves and creating further childish disunity.

Dan O'Dowd wrote:No, there's no such thing as class. Last time I checked we're all the human race so please let's not go doing long division on ourselves and creating further childish disunity.

I am also a mammal, but that doesn't mean I'm the same as a whale or platypus! That said, I do not know what class I am or how to define it, but the BBC think I am an "Emergent service worker".

For the precarious proletariat, we use the word "precariat."

http://globalsociology.com/2011/02/28/the-precariat/

Arshad Ali wrote:For the precarious proletariat, we use the word "precariat."

http://globalsociology.com/2011/02/28/the-precariat/

or PRATS for short
/edit: Pinner Real Ale Tasting Society - a nice bunch of like minded people

I'm pleased to see that I don't think I fit into any of those categories - pleased because I don't like to be pidgeonholed.

Dan O'Dowd wrote:No, there's no such thing as class. Last time I checked we're all the human race so please let's not go doing long division on ourselves and creating further childish disunity.

Malcolm Pein 13/03/2013:

"... I realised that probably less than one in ten schools had any chess provision in the state sector. Nine out of ten private schools had chess."

We can debate whether that's class or not, I suppose, but it's definitely something. Childish disunity indeed.

It appears I'm a Precarious proletariat - mainly because I'm broke, presumably.

Johnathan Rothwell wrote:It appears I'm a Precarious proletariat - mainly because I'm broke, presumably.

Greetings, fellow precariat. 30-40% of the working populations of Britain, Holland, France, Belgium, Italy and Japan are now precariat -- and only two people (you and me) 'fess up to being precariat? It doesn't smell right ....

I'd imagine most of Cyprus and Greece as well, at least i'm not alone.

"... I realised that probably less than one in ten schools had any chess provision in the state sector. Nine out of ten private schools had chess."

We can debate whether that's class or not, I suppose, but it's definitely something. Childish disunity indeed."

I think it's probably money not class!

Kevin Thurlow wrote: I think it's probably money not class!

To some extent is it also aspirational. Most independent, private or fee paying schools actively want chess in their schools and make efforts to seek it out.

Some of them go so far as to make it part of their school day.

The same cannot be said of the bulk of state schools. One has to work very hard to evangelise chess in state schools where there has not been before.

They will not get involved in the financial arrangements and a tutor/coach is required to deal with the parents directly. This is to be expected of course

In other words, when cold calling schools one of these groups is very much more interested in starting a chess club compared with the other.

However, I have detected that more and more state schools are feeling pressure from parents and other schools to start chess even if they did not want it themselves.

I believe we are seeing a situation in which chess is coming into schools at each end of the affluence spectrum. The fee paying schools are doing it anyway and the schools in difficult areas are doing it because of the great work of CSC.

That leaves a gulf in the middle of average state schools that do not attract the attention of CSC.

These will be the challenge now and in years to come.