Activists protest against chess as 'racist'

[luiz]

This is something I've been pondering for a while: who was it that invented chess, where, and when?

I´m not sure if this is considered the predecessor of chess, but the persians had a game called "Game of the Xah", where one had to command armies and the way to win the game is by killing the enemy´s king(xah).

 

[thestonesfan]

The Egyptians had a chess-like game, I believe.

 

[Syterion]

No they didn't, it's widely recognized to be from India or Persia.In Egypt they had some loser game called "Set".

Anyway, Once when discussing violence in videogames, I thought it was clever when I pointed out that Chess is extremely violent (killing pieces all the time), gives bad influences(encouraging suicide), and is racist. I never knew someone actually thought it was racist.

 

[Amenhotep7]

You type in black! That's racist! Death to you!

You type in Blue! You hate the Blue Man Crew! Yeeeaaargh!



Anyways, these people are pretty weird. I mean, SOMEONE needs to go first in Chess.

SOCIETY FOR EQUAL RIGHTS: Let's play chess.

ME: Okay. I'll be white. White goes first.

SFER: $*#^ing Racist!!!!!111!!~1!

ME: Ooookay. Lemme be black, and you can go first.

SFER: Black being your second choice?! As though they're second rate?! %)#Q*%&)(%!!!!

ME: Fine then I'll be black and go first.

SFER: Son of a --!!!!!!!

~~~~~​

And Checkers is racist against Indians.

 

[Akka]

Kill them.

 

[The Last Conformist]

@luiz: The Persian royal title is normally spelt "shah" in English. Our "chess" derives from it via Arabic and Old French. German Schach is rather closer to the original.

 

[Enkidu Warrior]

Chess is based on an Indian game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturanga

 

[bob rulz]

You type in Blue! You hate the Blue Man Crew! Yeeeaaargh!

Any you type in purple! You're racist against homosexuals!

 

[Aphex_Twin]

The "draw death" of chess will most likely materialize in a "politically-correct death".

 

[stormbind]

As an enthusiastic chess player, I have been waiting many years for activists to move on the innocent coloured pieces. Those activists just want an argument, they don't even know what they are talking about.

Way back when chess appeared in Europe, the pieces were made of solid stone.. and how many different colours of stone are readilly available? Ever heard of white, and black, marble?

The pieces may have been made of wood where dark colours were available, i.e. ebony vs. pine... although that's not a geographically realistic combo, you get the idea.

Today, it's just traditional to use those colours.. though browns are fairly common, as are reds, and transparency.

The reason one colour always moves first, is because the two sides deployments are different. Each side is a mirror-image of the other, and in the interests of fairness, the same side always has to go first... the rule is entrenched, traditional, and universal.

Players swap sides between games. So both players play as white, and both play as black.

Many players prefer to play as black, because they feel it has an advantage... black can select the optimal opening move specifically to take advantage of the white player's opening move... whereas the white player starts blind.

 

[stormbind]

SOCIETY FOR EQUAL RIGHTS: Let's play chess.

ME: Okay. I'll be white. White goes first.

SFER: $*#^ing Racist!!!!!111!!~1!

ME: Ooookay. Lemme be black, and you can go first.

SFER: Black being your second choice?! As though they're second rate?! %)#Q*%&)(%!!!!

ME: Fine then I'll be black and go first.

SFER: Son of a --!!!!!!!

Excellent

 

[Hitro]

This sounds like satire. But since having that meal with Stapel in London I have become more careful about that...

 

[Yaniv]

Here is another factor in chess:
When playing the whites, the Queen starts to the left of the King,
but the Black Queen starts to the right of her King.

I don't see anything racist about it, but I'm sure these activists can come up with something.

 

[philippe]

I then think that those guys are racists. Chess is an Arabian game. so they despise arabian culture,so they are against arabians and are the true racists.

 

[Sims2789]

I think some people complain just for the sake of complaining, even when there is nothing to complain about.

 

[Iggy]

I do not see the problem, even if the pieces can be construed as racist, they end up mating at the end anyway.

 

[Syterion]

Many players prefer to play as black, because they feel it has an advantage... black can select the optimal opening move specifically to take advantage of the white player's opening move... whereas the white player starts blind.

Black doesn't have an advantage. At high levels of chess if you are black you are very happy with a draw.

And Checkers is racist against Indians.

I don't understand? Do you mean Native Americans because Red is a checker piece color? That still makes no sense because Native Americans are brown skinned. And "Redskin" I thought was an offensive term, but apparently it's good enough for a football team.

 

[Tassadar]

I think going first gets you a definite advantage. You'd have to check with one of the local chess gurus though.

It is far from beeing a definite adventage, white only have half a tempo, this give them initiative only, it worth about 1/3 point, a pawn worth 1 point, and usualy you need at least a full point in advence to have a theorical win.

What is fun with chess is that you can convert time into material adventage as well as space, when the original equilibrum is broken ( by human mistake), you either have a space adventage, tempo adventage, or material adventage.

You can also sarcifice matter ( material) to gain a descisive space and tempo adventage. My best game was against an expert ( he became master a few month later), i sarficed 1 knight and a rook and within 8 move he was checkmate.

But you definitly dont win the game with only half a tempo, you need like 3 tempo to have a definitve adventage.

 

[stormbind]

Black doesn't have an advantage. At high levels of chess if you are black you are very happy with a draw.

I didn't say it did, and I've played at the higher levels.. don't put words in my mouth

 

[Aphex_Twin]

Many players prefer to play as black, because they feel it has an advantage... black can select the optimal opening move specifically to take advantage of the white player's opening move... whereas the white player starts blind.

Playing white allows you to develop faster and the better players prefer that colour.