As the London Chess Classic prepares to get underway, there is a growing interest in Chess in the UK. A recent article in the Telegraph (read it here: London Chess Classic: the chess set come to Britain – it’s worth it) comments on the stirrings of a growing popularity of chess clubs at schools around the UK, and renewed interest in chess in the UK in general.

As Marie Gallagher comments in the article: “there is a growing recognition that chess has an invaluable role to play in education. It is a brain-accelerator, like music.”

We couldn’t agree more, and were even more pleased to read the following in the article:

“Far from killing chess, the internet has given it a shot in the arm. As a spectator sport, chess has never made great television: the time taken between moves is too long. But on the internet, with chess fans around the world able to follow a match through online forums, a slow sport has suddenly become lightning-fast, with the merits of different moves sparking feverish debate.”

This seems almost like a description of ChessCube itself, with popular short games taking place between players from around the world, complete with frequent spectators and energetic comment from the ChessCube community. Chess may be a game of war, but it’s a game that pulls people together.

Image credit: hugrakka on Flickr