A History Of Chess & Chess Theory New

Since its inception over 1,500 years ago, the game of chess has captured the imagination of people of all backgrounds, cultures and professions. Tracing its original roots in India during the Gupta Dynasty, the game of chess underwent some additional ramifications when it spread to Persia and the Islamic World before undergoing some final key changes after making its way to Europe in the 15th century. For the next 500 years, chess theory has gone through some major innovations characterized by diverse styles and eras, with each era adding another layer of critical thinking to the game. The first era, "The Romantic Era (1450-1870) was characterized by strong attacking play, the Scientific Era (1870-1920) oversaw the original elements of the games strategic understanding and positional play such as the importance of pawn structure, the Hypermodern Era (1920-1945) added further to strategic theory with concepts such as domination with the center with pieces and the value of open files and outposts, the New Dynastism Era, (1945-1965) where players popularized the concept of giving up something in order to obtain something better in a chess position, The Age of Universality, (1965-1985) where players learned to synthesize the lessons from all previous generations, The Age of Creative Concreteness (1985-Present), where chess players look for advantages in little details, sharpen their calculation skills and focus on candidate moves before each move itself, to the present age of Transformation that is currently popularized by current top player Magnus Carlsen and his intuition and understanding of any given chess position. 

Along with this rich history of the game and theory, students will sharpen their skills in general tactics and theory geared towards intermediate and advanced levels of the game. Now the best part about learning and excelling in any board game, is the opportunity to play and socialize with fellow peers and students, so there will be a great deal of time for students to casually play each other in friendly games, as well as learning from a native New Yorker how to explore the chess scene in New York City, whether one is interested in finding a local chess club, participating in a rated chess tournament, finding a chess meetup group or finding any location where the game of chess is played in New York City. Chess is an integral part of New York City culture and it's a wonderful way to develop and sharpen one's creativity, critical thinking and social skills. At the end of this program you will not only know about chess and its history of development and theory, but you will learn how to explore the chess scene in New York City and beyond and find your very own style of chess so that you know what next steps to take as you grow as a chess player and as a strategist of life.