# Who taught you how to play chess? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2001, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471 "2001-01-23T22:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2001, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/41 "2001-01-25T21:19:48Z")
I learned in 5th grade, in Math class. We actually had a whole unit on chess, relating it to Math and stuff. At the end of the unit, we had a tournament with all the 5th graders and the teachers. Surprisingly, most of the teachers got eliminated and the final game came down to me vs. my favorite teacher. I lost. But it was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2001, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/42 "2001-01-25T21:28:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > **cribbage (the rage among DC Dopers!)** No kidding? {checking MetroLiner schedule while muttering to himself} _Hmmmmmmm…at a nickel a point, I kin take those DC patzers for the price of the train tickets, suite at the Willard, din-din at Red Sage, and a pack a’ smokes besides…_ ---
**Author:** ![dal\_timgar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@dal\_timgar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dal_timgar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/43 "2001-01-25T21:42:51Z")
other kids in high school. my parents didn’t play. tried reading books, but that was boring. just learned by getting my ass kicked. was kicking back pretty good by junior year. ---
**Author:** ![Silo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Silo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2001, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/44 "2001-01-25T21:59:42Z")
I was in some sort of gifted school when I was a little tyke. I remember being in first grade and learning to play from the other students while we waited for our parents to come pick us up. It’s been a couple years since I’ve last played. I was pretty good at it - at one time. I prolly “suck ass” nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/45 "2001-01-26T09:46:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Five \* > \*\*What is J’adoube? Perk’s defense? > > I assume “underpromotion” is when you reach the eighth rank with a pawn and promote it to any piece other than a queen. > \*\* You have the definition of underpromotion correct. It’s the **Pirc** defense: [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~Sacummin/people.html](http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~Sacummin/people.html) Oh, and any REAL chess player knows the meaning of **zugzwang** and **Zwischenzug**. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/46 "2001-01-26T14:06:03Z")
**DRY** : > [@](#): > > It’s the **Pirc** defense: > > [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~Sacummin/people.html](http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~Sacummin/people.html) That link doesn’t say specifically what it is, **DRY**. > [@](#): > > Oh, and any REAL chess player knows the meaning of **zugzwang** and **Zwischenzug**. Okay, so slap me around and call me Susie. What is their meaning? ---
**Author:** ![Ayesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Ayesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ayesha)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/47 "2001-01-26T14:17:52Z")
My husband the LIONsob taught me to play. I then taught a couple of my sisters, my son and a nephew. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/48 "2001-01-26T14:56:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > \*\*Dad also taught us a lot of card games \ _casino_, among others. \*\* [hijack]Wow! I swear I thought my family was the only one that played casino. No one else I know has even heard of it. I always suspected my dad just made that game up.[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Venkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ec9cab/32.png) [@Venkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venkman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/49 "2001-01-26T19:07:35Z")
My mother, father, sister and I all learned together when I was about 10 years old. We made a set of chess pieces from old thread spools with small cardboard signs on them indicating what each piece was and how it could move, and got the rules from a library book. It was an extremely cool thing to do, but the result is I have very little sense of strategy at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/50 "2001-01-26T19:24:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Turpentine \* > \*\*And everybody that I play on a regular basis seems to have learned from their dad. \*\* Incidentally, is there any truth to the legend about Jose Raul Capablanca learning chess by the age of three from watching his father play on Sunday afternoons after church? According to the story, the 3-year-old laughed at his dad when he moved a knight incorrectly. Dad got angry and asked whether HE could do any better. Little Jose proceeded to demolish Dad’s friend, then Dad. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/51 "2001-01-26T21:43:50Z")
Ok kids, I did some tabulating. Yes, my theory was absolutely correct, according to this random sample (?), it’s the FATHER’S job, not the mother’s, in teaching kids chess. We have here one vote for someone taught by mum, and 17 taught by Pops. FWIW the other categories: Book: 4 Friend or acquaintance of some sort: 5 School: 3 Sibling: 2 Other (husband, camp, son, computer)- 6 There is a significant number of fathers who taught chess, but I haven’t taken a statistic class in years and I don’t remember what number is significant but 17 is lot for this survey. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2001, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471/52 "2001-01-27T08:28:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Five \* > \*\ ***DRY** : > > > [@](#): > > > > It’s the **Pirc** defense: > > > > [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~Sacummin/people.html](http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~Sacummin/people.html) > > That link doesn’t say specifically what it is, **DRY**. > \*\* I believe it’s the defense of Black’s P-Q3 (or 1…d3 if you prefer) in reply to White’s P-K4 (or 1. e4) \*\* > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Oh, and any REAL chess player knows the meaning of **zugzwang** and **Zwischenzug**. > > Okay, so slap me around and call me Susie. What is their meaning? \*\* Just for you, **Susie** : **Zugzwang** –An uncomfortable position in which one would be in no difficulty were it not for the fact that one has to make a move in a situation where all legal moves lead to trouble. (In plain English, this is a situation where the side having to move does so at a tactical or strategic loss no matter what move is made. If the player could “pass”, he/she would) **Zwischenzug** –A move played in response to a capture which is not a recapture, but which forces the opponent to make a reply which cannot avoid eventual capture. Most Zwischenzugs are checks. (In other words, this is an interposed move which interrupts the recapture, presumably to gain some sort of tempo.) Here’s the link: [http://www.research.ibm.com/deepblue/reference/html/i.2.xyz.html](http://www.research.ibm.com/deepblue/reference/html/i.2.xyz.html) **Zugzwang** is the more common term, in my opinion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-taught-you-how-to-play-chess/51471.md?page=2)