Checkmate: Dubai makes the right moves as chess hotbed

Gulf News

Checkmate: Dubai makes the right moves as chess hotbed. Dubai Chess and Culture Club employs world-class facilities and top coaches as the region’s premier chess training ground.  See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

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00:00There are more than half a billion people who play chess around the world.

00:12In the UAE, chess is likewise a thriving sport with UAE and expatriate clubs organizing various

00:18chess tournaments and events every month.

00:20Dubai, in fact, remains a hotbed of chess in the region, having hosted some of the most

00:25prestigious chess tournaments in the world, including the World Chess Olympiad and the

00:29World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships, as well as Arab Championships.

00:33One of the oldest and most popular board games, chess is played by two opponents who each

00:38have 16 pieces to maneuver on a 64-square checkered board.

00:42The ultimate goal is to checkmate the opposing king.

00:45Dubai Chess Club is one of the institutions spearheading UAE's efforts to promote the

00:49sport and develop new generations of chess masters.

00:53The club has one of the best training facilities in the world.

00:56Dubai Chess Club has been established since 1981 and since establishment they played a

01:01major role in promoting the game.

01:04We do host tournaments on a regular basis and that attracted a lot of people to try

01:09the game on a competitive level as well.

01:11We are open for all nationalities.

01:13What we try to do is nurture all talents, whether they are Emiratis or non-Emiratis,

01:17to be part of this community and to be able to spread the game and play in big tournaments

01:23and achieve medals for their countries.

01:25But of course there is also a big focus and big responsibility we have to nurture Emirati

01:30talents and I can say that we succeeded in that.

01:33The club is home to amateur and professional chess players.

01:36It helps both Emirati and expatriate players to develop their chess skills.

01:41To bring chess to the grassroots, the club also organizes seminars and workshops in different

01:45schools and companies.

01:47What Dubai Chess Club does is they try to attract young talents, nurture them, bring

01:53them on the competitive level so they can play for the national team and bring medals

01:57and achievements for the country.

02:01We don't only provide such services for the Emirati people, the club is also open for

02:06other nationalities as well.

02:08Some schools, we help them to have their own chess clubs and for some others what we do

02:13is we send our coaches to train the students while they are having a chess session or any

02:19sports session over there.

02:21As a mind sport, chess is a great way to stimulate the brain and cultivate mental alertness,

02:26which chess enthusiasts say is very helpful in their daily lives.

02:31This is also the reason why many parents send their children to attend chess classes.

02:35Chess is developing intelligence in kids and many benefits kids can have from chess.

02:41They can develop quicker.

02:43You know the chess game is like a life, everything you have in chess game you have in life.

02:49So kids without knowledge about it, they are learning some things through chess.

02:54There's even a lot of psychology in chess which is very interesting actually because

02:58sometimes the best move theoretically is not the best move in practice because of time

03:04limits, because of your opponent, because of your result in the tournament so far.

03:10So it has a lot of complex things that are most often applicable in real life, you know

03:17practicality, the vast number of possibilities that can happen on a chess board.

03:22I think we should start from schools first, encourage families.

03:27Most families they don't prefer their kids to play chess because there is like no good

03:32future for chess.

03:34They prefer like football for example, but actually chess improve our mind and improve

03:39our thinking and even improve our result a lot in university and school.

03:45Chess also stands out as one of the few sports that allows mixed gender competitions and

03:50where both young and old can compete against each other.

03:53It's one of a kind sport where age or physical limitations are never a hindrance.

03:58Irish Eden Balieza for Golf News.

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