A Chess Renaissance

According to this report from New Zealand, many old board games like chess are making some sort of a comeback thanks to social networking sites such as Facebook. The report even quotes Aussie Richard Gastineau-Hills.

Games such as Scrabble, chess and even Monopoly work well online because, unlike graphics-heavy "shoot-em-up" or role-playing games, they require relatively low bandwidth. Even without broadband it is quite possible to play a game of, say, Scrabble online.

One game that has seen a marked renaissance in recent years is chess.

The treasurer of the NSW Junior Chess League, Richard Gastineau-Hills, says junior ranks have swelled enormously. About 20 years ago there were fewer than 25 primary schools competing in the inter-school competition - now there are more than 400.