It's all in the mind at first-ever world games

By Hu Yinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-16 07:13

The smartest minds in the world are about to wrap up a little-known, two-week games in Beijing - and it's mission accomplished for the mastermind of the show.

As president of the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), Jose Damiani's dream has been to attract ever more youngsters to the fun of "mental games".

That dream has come true with the roaring success of the ongoing 1st World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) consisting of bridge, draughts, chess, Go and Xiangqi, or Chinese chess.

"I realized my dream We've managed this perfectly. The Chinese organizing committee did a marvelous job," the Frenchman told China Daily Wednesday.

Jose Damiani: A success

Beijing has notched up unprecedented success this year with the hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic games. Now, the capital can rightly - and proudly - add the first-ever WMSG to that list.

Damiani, also head of the World Bridge Federation, says it's always difficult to hold the first edition of any Games, "but frankly speaking, we've had a very nice event (so far)".

The gala has brought together prominent stars as well as promising talents to contest some of humankind's oldest, yet highly sophisticated, mental exercises.

But in a fast-paced world used to the instant gratification dished out by superstars such as Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, Damiani says mind sports are all about the basics.

"I believe we should have not live, but delayed broadcast (of the Games)," he said, asserting that the visual thrill of physical sport is what mental sport neither can, nor needs, to offer.

The most important thing about, and hopefully also legacy of, the WMSG, is education, he said. "Mind sports teach people how to concentrate. And if you concentrate, it will help you better memorize and reason ... It will also help you learn about different cultures.

"Mind sports are for wisdom and peace. If the people know each other better, they will play not against, but more importantly, with each other. They'll know better and understand better. And the risk of war will be lowered a lot as a result."

For Damiani, mind sports enjoy far more popularity than physical sports because "hundreds of millions of people are already playing and practicing". With active fan bases everywhere on the Internet playing chess, checkers and Go at just about any given time, Damiani is convinced that mind sports "are a fantastic tool for the Internet".

"For a bridge game, you can be in Beijing and team up with a player in Paris to play against a random pair from Moscow and New York We're perfect proof of the value of the Internet. Our future is very bright," he said.

At the same time, Damiani stresses that there is a limit as to what a virtual environment can bring.

"I believe in the future, we'll have it (parts of the Games held completely online)," he said. "But for the time being, we believe we need to bring people together to one country, one city (for the event) in order to create a human atmosphere."

"The human interaction will be very important," he said.