Da mystery of chessboxin’0

Chess is a game that I know how to play and have flirted with at various stages of my life but always underrated. My impatience makes me more of a draughts/checkers man. If you listen to proponents like the Hip Hop Chess Federation, while playing chess is the equivalent to acrobatic psychological warfare, it is also a method of developing mental capacity by honing good habits.

“The game of chess is like a swordfight; you must think first before you move.”

When introducing the panel at the inauguration of the HHCF, Adisa Banjoko – the founder, recalled an instance when a game of chess served to break the age and other barriers between him and some unlikely others. Renaissance man the RZA (who deserves an article of his own) and chess prodigy from age 6 – Josh Waitzkin (of Searching for Bobby Fischer fame) were also on the panel.

Josh Waitzkin spoke about how he developed his chess technique by combining aggressive street-inspired speed chess with classical techniques and came to become a two time Tai-Chi world champion (of all things) after he left competitive chess. He stressed the importance of being open-minded and learning in a way that best suits one’s self. Interestingly the RZA was able to blur the lines between Chess, Hip Hop and Martial Arts while touching on Buddhism, the Chinese Shang Dynasty, Yin-Yang and numerology.