In focus: Chess in Germany
11/9/2019 – Today, November 9th, 2019, Germany marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, a major geopolitical event in 1989 which set the stage for German reunification. Germany is one of the most important chess countries, cultivating chess culture for about 1000 years. With over 2300 clubs almost 100,000 chess aficionados are actively engaged. The country has 100 grandmasters and some of the most important chess tournaments. Walter Rädler has produced a nice video vignette.
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A German chess short movie
Today is day of reflecting on history throughout Germany and especially in the capital Berlin, where 30 years ago the Berlin Wall began to fall.
A pop-up exhibition outside the Berlin Wall Memorial has collected impressions in clay from the hands of tourists and passers-by and strung them up on wires lit from above and below. Each of the 9477 shapes represents a day the wall stood between 1961 and 1989. At least 140 people were killed or died at the Wall in connection with the East German border regime in this period.
"9477 hand shapes" represents the number of days the Berlin wall stood | Photos: Macauley Peterson
The game of chess was invented 1500 years ago, and is still widely played today so chess much have something special to it. For several centuries the game has been meticulously studied, and while computers these days are able to play almost flawlessly, there is still much to learn.
Whether a sport, an art or just a game, diverse culture has formed around chess, connecting generations and people around the world. It is old and modern at the same time. It trains systematic thinking and exercises concentration, keeping the mind fit.
Walter Raedler has produced a nice introductory video for chess in Germany.
Earlier the Schoolchess Foundation published another informational video for the European Chess Union which has already been translated into several languages (Spanish, Russian, Swedish and German):
