ĐỌC VUI VÀ SUY NGHĨ

New Math Chess is a new edition of Mathematical Chess published in 2018.

New Math Chess is a two-player educational and recreational game played on ten Digit pieces (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) and six Operator pieces (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Power (Square & Cube), and Root (Square Root & Cube Root)).

New Math Chess focuses on the explanation and applications of four fundamental concepts that govern the feasibility and the success of the book. These are:

– Attachment of Digits to an Operator.
– Partial Values of an Operator.
– Partial Equality of two Partial Values of an Operator.
– Partial Equality of an Operator with its Partial Values.

The chessboard is a square grid made up of nine vertical lines and nine horizontal lines equally separated. The chessboard has 81 nodes, where the chess pieces can reside. Bound by the chess rules, a chess piece can move freely on a line (horizontal or vertical) provided other chess pieces do not obstruct it. A move of a chess piece can result in the removal of one or many opponent’s chess pieces.

In a standard chess game, each player has 16 chess pieces of different colors, comprising: 10 Digit pieces from 0 to 9 and 6 Operator pieces, including Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Power, and Root.

For a standard New Math Chess game, 32 chess pieces, comprising 20 Digit pieces and 12 Operator pieces, are put in a can. A supervisor (teacher, parent, or one player) shakes the can few times before throwing the chess pieces on the chessboard, then moves the chess pieces to their close nodes on the board. When all chess pieces are on the nodes, the game can begin. If one player does this preparation, the other player starts the first move. Otherwise, the white side has the first move. For educational purposes, a supervisor can preset the initial display of the game.

A Time Limit of a New Math Chess game can be set to 30 minutes if needed. When the game ends due to Time Limit, the ranking, if necessary, can be based on the chess pieces remained on the chessboard: 1 point for a Digit piece and 2 points for an Operator piece. The side with the higher total point wins the game. A draw happens if two sides have the same total point.

A New Math Chess game ends when one of the following cases happens:

1. All Operator pieces of one side were removed, the other side wins the game.
2. All Digit pieces of one side were removed, the other side wins the game.
3. The Time Limit has passed.

The New Math Chess has 12 rules created from 17 definitions and 4 conventions. A new rule regarding a single Digit piece and a single Operator piece of different owners on a line is introduced in this new edition. This simple rule speeds up the game and proves the critical power of Digits over that of Operators in the game.

New Math Chess provides 20 chess games of various numbers of operators and with solutions for the readers to practice.

New Math Chess is flexible and suitable for all students from middle and high schools to universities. It offers many benefits that exist in chess playing (European or Chinese chess) and mathematical learning, such as strategic thinking, problem-solving, memory improvement, decision-making, concentration, perseverance, logic, observation, analysis, and organisational skills. New Math Chess itself also promotes numerical abilities and mental and speedy calculation.

A New Math Chess game is a competition between two players. The competition fosters interest, promotes mental alertness, challenges all students, and elicits the highest levels of achievement.

New Math Chess is an educational and recreational game. A learning environment organised around games has a positive effect on students’ attitudes towards learning and produces an improvement in their school achievements.

“Everybody prefers to learn something while playing rather than to learn it formally.”

New Math Chess is the right tool to prove that this statement is correct.

Dr George Ho
Sydney, 08 August 2020