CHESS IS USEFUL IN THE SENSE THAT IT IS USELESS

A journalist Clive Thompson has written an interesting essay

Why Chess Will Destroy Your Mind 

It turns out that at the area of the reign of chess genius Morphy when chess became very popular in America, the scientific journal Scientific American published a short essay about the uselessness and even harmfulness of the chess game:

“CHESS-PLAYING EXCITEMENT.” 
Scientific American, vol. 1, no. 1, 1859, pp. 9–9.

Some quotations from that scientific paper:

... chess is a mere amusement of a very inferior character, which robs the mind of valuable time that might be devoted to nobler acquirements, while at the same time it affords no benefit whatever to the body.

A game of chess does not add a single new fact to the mind; it does not excite a single beautiful thought; nor does it serve a single purpose for polishing and improving the nobler faculties.

Those who are engaged in mental pursuits should avoid a chess-board as they would an adder’s nest, because chess misdirects and exhausts their intellectual energies.

 ♘♘♘ 

As a reply to Clive Thompson, I wrote a post

Chess is Useful in the sense that it is Useless 

It is based on Paul Keres's short remark from 1944 concerning weapons, fighting and board games:

Paul Keres rarely said anything about politics or real life. However, at the end of World War II, he laconically said that there would be lesser wars if those who like to fight with others would do it harmlessly on the chessboard. I think that maybe Keres had Sigmund Freud’s theory in mind or something like that, I do not know.

Of course, sports as a means to harmlessly express one’s primitive instincts is a kind of justification for it.

However, I do not believe that sports can be used to avoid wars. Those who like the real power and real battle, are despising chess as mere replacement activity.

♘ ♘ ♘

I could not find that quotation of Paul Keres I kept in mind when writing the text above. Perhaps it was only my interpretation of some of his sayings?
However, what I did find is the following quotation (in Estonian):

Igas inimeses peitub tahe oma jõudu mõne teisega mõõta, ükskõik millisel kujul see avaldub. Ühed haaravad relvade järele, teised lepivad rusikatega, kolmandad valivad rahulikumaid teid ja siirduvad spordiväljale, neljandad istuvad laua taha ja püüavad teist ületada mõnes mängus.

The original publication was in the newspaper:

Paul Keres, “Noored ja malemäng” [= “Youngs and Chess”], Postimees, 8. March 1944, nr 56, p 4.

It was reprinted in the collection:

Paul Keres, Igavene tuli [= Eternal Check], (Tartu: Ilmamaa, 2006), pp 199–204.

My approximate translation:

Each person has a willingness to measure his strength with others, in whatever form it manifests itself. Some are grabbing weapons, others agree with fists, the third choose a calmer way and move into the sports field, the fourth sit behind the table and try to overcome the other in some games.

— Paul Keres, 1944

I CHANGED MY BLOGGER ACCOUNT

I changed my chess blog's account. 

Earlier, the address was

jeintaluchess.blogspot.com

From now on, the address is

chessmaletaja.blogspot.com

The new name of the blog is

Chess/Male 

"Male" is chess in Estonian language.

However, there is a confusion concerning it.

I realised that no one reads my chess blog and that all people were gathered into the Facebook, the main if not the only advantage of which is the very same fact that all people are gathered into the Facebook.

Thus, I created a chess page in the Facebook with the name

Chess/Male

And I really have some followers there, some Estonian chess players.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to create the username "chess/male" because the sign "/" is prohibited.
Therefore, my chess blog's address in the Facebook is

@chessmale

There, most of my posts are in Estonian.

Afterwards it turned out that some people interpreted this address in the following way:

"male" is the opposition of "female" - as if I did not create the address "chessfemale" only because of I was male.

But I forgot it.

Finally, I decided to return to the Google Blogger, because the technical possibilities in the Facebook are poor, while the Facebook is built on the advertisements, which I very much dislike.

Now, an obstacle arose.

Surprisingly, Google regards the username "chessmale" as being against the community standards. Or I do not now what. Among other things, why they do not think that some words in English language can be insulting if read as words in Estonian language?

The other possibility is that someone got the idea to block me of using that username. Or I do not know. Anyway, there was a possibility to choose the username

"chessmale777"

for example.

However, I chose the username

"chessmaletaja"

If to translate from Estonian to English:

"male" - "chess"
"maletaja" - "chess player"

As it is only a chess blog, I shall not politicise here about the fact that the Estonian word "neeger" is actually neutral in Estonian language, etc. Because I would not use it in the username of my chess blog. However, it is obvious that the community standards are chosen according to the English-speaking world, perhaps according to the U.S. standards.

From now on, this blogger here is in English and about more serious staff.

My Facebook page Chess/Male, on the other hand, remains in Estonian language and can contain some short jokes, recent news, etc.

♘♘♘ 

FACEBOOK DECLARES THAT MY CHESS BLOG'S LINK IS AGAINST THEIR COMMUNITY STANDARDS 

Suddenly it turns out that it is impossible to share my blog posts to the Facebook, because my blog's name supposedly violates their community standards.

Even worse: it was impossible to send a private message about it to my friend (he is an IT-journalist). Facebook declared that my message in the Facebook Messenger contained a link that was against their community standards. Among other things, it shows that they are monitoring and censoring private messages.

Finally, of course, one cannot know the reasons if the reasons have not been presented.
It is a real Kafka.
One can only guess. Some alternative hypotheses. For example, perhaps the chess terminology is regarded as a "violent content"?
Who knows.