131. Chess symphonies

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 Chess is an ancient pastime, which has perdured for many generations. It is a great means to entertain oneself whilst developing cognitive and reasoning capacities. Excellent to exercise memory and calculation. And it is a beautiful game. A well constructed, game winning combination has a rhythm which you can almost hear, it is irrepressible, deterministic and beautiful, a crescendo of energy perfectly fitting of a Beethoven or Wagner symphony. In fact, when I am fortunate enough to execute such a combination in a game, I literally hear that music, as the pieces sweep energetically across the board, putting my opponent to the figurative sword. As we witness the development of the first generation to grow with digital devices, I wonder what will become of chess. Will the wide availability of entertainment on consoles and mobile devices leave room for old pastimes like chess in human schedules? If not, we will lose not only a great tool to educate and shape the mind, but a thing of beauty

Length: 1,000 characters 

Location: Hereford, UK

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