Chess is for the smart. If you play well, you probably are a genius. That’s what everyone says, and everybody believes. But Marco Bode lives by this ideology. He is a legend of German football. And he isn’t just an exceptionally gifted football player but a singularly talented chess player too.
His passion for chess took German by storm a few weeks ago, specially Bremen where there was a chess tournament. The city of Bremen has 5,70,000 inhabitants. And it is situated in the north of Germany. This city became the hub for chess that week. And it made the headlines. Around 1000 students from primary schools in Bremen met on the Rauthauplatz (centre of the city). And they played with each other.
This huge event also attracted the attention of Weserkurier, an important local newspaper. The motto of the tournament was “Schach macht Schlau” which means Chess makes you smart.
Chess isn’t just a sport in Bremen, and all thanks to Bode for his efforts. Chess is now a subject in Germany. Schools have chess classes now once in a week. This helps students learn to focus and follow their goals systematically. Many chess academies like ChessMaxAcademy are also opening up to help students master the game of chess.
Marco Bode was a loyal player of the club of Bremen. From 1989 to 2002 he played for Bremen in Germany’s Premier league. But Bode also loves to play chess. He supported the idea of introducing chess as a subject in school.
He also convinced the senator of education in Bremen that chess as a subject in primary schools will be beneficial. Chess isn’t just a form of education, but a sportive way of learning now.
The efforts of Bode bore fruit when 1000 students gathered at the centre of the city at 7 in the morning and played each other. And at 10 in the morning the game started. There were four groups after the legendary musicians of the town of Bremen as they appear in the Fairy Tale “Borther’s Grimm”. The teams were donkey, dog, cat and rooster.
And students who won the game received a walnut. And those who were at a draw got a hazelnut. After the game the students put their nuts into the glass pillar. Later the team with most nuts won.
The first XXL Scholastic Tournament of this kind went nicely. And it was the Roosters who won and prize went to 1C of the Primary School Lessingtrabe. Bode expressed his satisfaction after the end of the tournament.
