FAETS & FIGURES National Chess Survey Reveals The Truth About Chess: Why People Play And What Scares Them Away (NAPSA)—Do you think you know chess? According to a survey conducted by Greenfield Online for Fluent Entertainment, a lead- ing developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, you probably know the stereotypes, but not the reality of chess in the U.S. today. Over a two-day period, men and women, old and young, rich and poor, chess players and nonplayers, weighed in for a national survey on chess, which according to the U.S. Chess Federation is now played by 39 million people in the U.S. Debunking popular assumptions about chess and the people who play the game, only 11 percent of chess players and nonplayers associate the game with a “geeky pastime.” In fact, the vast majority of people—81 percent— associate chess with strategic thinking and there’s nothing geeky about that. Indeed, almost 60 percent of chess players believe that chess makes them better negotiators, while more than half of non-chessplayers believe they would be better negotiators if they played the game. Many older Americans believe chess improves theirlife, while younger Americans think it helps in school. And while the competitive nature of chess tournaments grabs most of the headlines and makes for good Hollywood plotlines, it turns out only 26 percent of people play the game “to win.” An increasing number of people are finding out how much fun playing chess can be. Instead, 80 percent of men and womencite “fun” as the number one reason they play chess. So how do you get those fearful few who don’t play chess already to start? Not suprisingly, sixtyeight percent of people believe that if chess were easier to learn even more people wouldplay. Today, there are countless ways to play chess—on the board, online alone or against another player somewherein the world, on PDAs and on the PC. New to the market is Hoyle Majestic Chess, a PC and online chess game featuring an interesting new twist on the game: an adventure chess module that easily teaches chess and builds confidence in young and old playersalike. However you do it, take another look at chess and have some fun while building your negotiation and strategy skills. For more information about chess and chess adventure, check out www.majesticchess.com.
