Are there good free chess ebooks available (or online tutorials)? Every now and then I ponder learning it. First I'll try to get some basic proficiency in Poker. I figure in case of an apocalypse, Poker might be more useful (to gamble for help from other people). Chess has a tradition in novels (ie deciding disputes over a chess game), but I am not sure how common it really is.
One bad thing about long-distance running is that motorcycles are much faster and can travel much further, so no matter how good you get, you'll still suck compared to motorcycles.
As I said, chess is a beautiful game - but I can totally understand why players are deciding not to devote their life to the study of the game, when computers are much better.
I think instead of your running analogy, it is more similar to devoting your life to the study of tic-tac-toe. Or even checkers, which computers have already solved.
Chess is very interesting. But it seems like a big investment on time. In my case there are bunch of other things that I rather learn. Right now it is bjj (which believe it or not is kind of similar to chess) It would have been cool to learn chess when I was 12 and had lots of free time; too bad, I didn't a partner to practice with and computers were way too expensive.
Granted, investing the time in something that involves physical workout might have a better PE. It's just that I really enjoy a casual game of Carcassonne every now and then. But it is difficult to find interesting opponents, and there might not be that much left to learn for me. So I was thinking maybe learning another, more common game might be more interesting in the long run. Plus, with Poker there really is the hint of the thought that if I enjoy playing, why not earn some money on the side. Admittedly, I don't really expect to get into money earning territory, but who knows.
Garry Kasparov made a comment recently that in the era of 3000+ ELO chess computers, poker seems like a good match for humans still beating computer for now given that both sides don't have complete information. This could explain why top chess players (and chess programmers like Rybka's Vasik Rajlich) are becoming more interested in poker.
Chess has lost a lot of its prestige since the end of the Cold War.
Poker, on the other hand, has grown in prestige since tournaments have offered much more lucrative payouts [1], been televised more widely and had lots of amateurs enter the field.
[1] Even if "more money" doesn't give an event more prestige in your eyes there's a large number of people out there who are impressed by money.
I agree with you but I think the "prestige" of chess is largely confined to Russia and a few eastern european countries, and people originally from those areas. Most other cultures don't have the same history with the game.
This is a really incredible (and free!) chess book. If you read and practice your way through this, you'll have no trouble beating the average chess player.
Live commentary by GM Susan Polgar: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2010/04/topalov-anand-g3-liv...