Page 28 - PLATINO EDUCA

28 Chess is a strategy board game that is believed to have originated in India. Emperor
Kublai Kan once discussed the game with Marco Polo. It is a game that can teach you
a lot about your opponent’s character and values. It is interesting that in Spain we keep
the original terminology (i.e., jaque mate) but at the same time, we are the only ones
who have changed the name of the game itself: Schach in German, scacchi in Italian
and chess in English are all closer to the root than the Spanish denomination.

In the movie, professional chess players compete for a title and we learn of chess
schools, which are still going even in the midst of a war. We can also see how the value
of a great player transcends political ideas and circumstances. The movie takes place
at Vincennes, a prison camp which, although terrible, was not the worst of its kind. The
film depicts the relationship between Colonel Maier and our main character around
chess. The sport was the temporary savior of a military man who did not fall into the
typical Nazi stereotype. He even saved his master and chess partner when he had been
given the order to kill all prisoners before fleeing.

Chess is a great tool for training and development. It is as a journey into the minds of
the players who go head-to-head using strategy, self-esteem, knowledge, and courage.
It is also a device that ultimately acts as a support to several teaching skills which can
and must be introduced in school and in many other settings. This has actually already
been happening for a while.

In the Hungarian People’s Republic, there were secondary schools that specialized in
chess, just like those that specialized in mathematics, music, sports or languages. This
went against the continuous refusal of some to admit that chess was a subject. It is clear
that introducing chess in formal education is not such a crazy idea, it’s not even a big
risk: on the contrary, it seems to be a positive educational opportunity.

The movie is also a beautiful love story. I’ve
watched it multiple times, with others and
alone, and each time I have the same knot
in my throat and the hope that what has to
happen will happen, with the overarching
figure of a knight that acts as the great
symbol of freedom.

In class, when studying the Second Spanish Republic, the Civil War, or the Second
World War, we use this movie in many different contexts: who was involved in the rise
and fall of the Spanish Republic, who participated in the Spanish Civil War, nationally
and internationally, and who was involved in the international conflict that followed six
months later, where many Spaniards went to fight but in a different place. The cinematic
portrayal of international events helps to depict them realistically. This is perhaps one