I know this is a dumb question, but I thought I would throw it out there. I am a casual tournament player who is trying to get better. I am also the chess advisor for the chess team in the high school where I teach.
Here is the dumb question…In the materials that I have gotten for the kids and the various Masters who I have worked with, I have noticed that many of the better chess players will grip the pieces between their index and middle fingers. Normally, I and all my kids/students, move the pieces using our index finger and thumb. Has anyone else ever noticed the “Master grip” to which I refer? Is it a secret sign of greatness?? I especially notice it when great players are analyzing games with me or on DVD’s. Roman Dzindzichashvili (Roman’s Lab series) is a frequent practitioner of the grip I am describing.
I have never posted here, and I thought I would start out my postings with some levity in mind.
Any thoughts?
Also, if there is anyone with questions about starting or working with high school chess clubs/teams…ask me. I might have an answer.
If you grip the piece with the index and middle finger, the whole arm will be more out of the way of the other pieces then the index finger and thumb. The arm would be higher from the board with index and middle finger, would have more room from not bumping other pieces. Do not think it is a master grip, just a skill you pick up if you play a great deal of blitz.
A Harvard Medical School study of grandmasters noted that over 25% of them are left-handed. (Left-handedness occurs in about 15-16% of the population.)
Therefore, teach your players to move the pieces with their left hand!
I’m left-handed. Was told for years we are only 10% of the population. My facts can be out-dated, as teachers do not force students to use their right hand only in this era. Then again we do not have nuke drills also.
When you think about it, your answer make total sense. Moving pieces with the index and middle finger does naturally keep the elbow up and out of the way of brushing other pieces.
As for the left/right handed thing, I don’t force the issue. BUT…most of the top board on my team have been right handed. This coming year’s top board is USCF rated 1894 (right handed). My highest “lefty” is USCF rated USCF rated 1273.
The other idea with the index and middle finger players, the set they do use the most would be the 3 3/4" or the second 3 7/8". The unweighted set would be more preferable for them. This would be more ideal for the blitz player too. If you get into the 4" King as a weighted set, it would be hard on the fingers if you play blitz. If would force the players to use the thumb, that could be annoying for the other player.
There are a number of blitz players very loyal to their set. Even with chips and major damage, with yellow sweat build up. They are not in the mood to get a brand new set. There are chess sets players use older then the scholastic players. The loyality of set and player is just like a husband and wife.
If I grip the piece I’m moving with my index and middle finger, it’s easier for me to then immediately pick up the piece I’m taking with thumb and index: pick up my piece, move to new square, take opponent’s piece: all in one smooth motion.
Some of our eight-year-old hotshots accomplish the same thing by using a weird fist grip that they all think is the ultimate in cool.
Actually, I heard somewhere that, in order for a left-hander to function normally, he needs to develop an extra bundle of nerves between his left and right brains, or something like that. A left-hander who succeeds in developing this extra circuit thereby develops extra intelligence. One who fails is extremely messed up.
It does seem that left-handers are always either highly intelligent or highly messed up (sometimes a little of each).
On the contrary, they’re Chronos users. They’re not looking at their clocks to see which light is on (or they have the lights turned off), and the button is electronic and does not stay down when hit, so they hit it again just to make sure.
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch of a redeemed social condition; to know that one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.”
Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
It probably depends on which Forsythe you’re talking about. It looks like he has several different names on this forum, the most recent being TDDouglas!
But I’m glad to hear some facts about this, even if it is off-topic. It goes a long way towards explaining my mother!
Dale, I believe some regulars here didn’t like Forsythe’s postings, and they eventually succeeded in getting him permanently banned from the Forums. At least, I recall seeing a number of people agitate for that a couple months ago, and since then I haven’t seen him on any Forum thread.
Sorry, don’t know the history…but had absolutely no problem with the post to which I replied. On the contrary! “Ignore or confront”?, that is always the question…and ignoring is often an effective method of “confrontation.” But, please, “listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.”
Was told for years we are only 10% of the population. My facts can be out-dated, as teachers do not force students to use their right hand only in this era. Then again we do not have nuke drills also. 
, what’s with all the junior high school blitz players who insist on double-tapping their clocks?