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Chess Playing as Strategic Activity
Author(s) -
Puddephatt Antony James
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1525/si.2003.26.2.263
Subject(s) - amateur , perspective (graphical) , action (physics) , style (visual arts) , context (archaeology) , participant observation , psychology , impression management , sociology , social psychology , process (computing) , computer science , political science , social science , art , visual arts , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , law , biology , operating system
This article takes an interactionist perspective and explores how people engage in strategic activity in the context of a chess game. Based on participant observation in the chess community and interviews with twenty amateur chess players, it examines the most relevant issues to players as they form their lines of action during play. It considers the following dimensions: incorporation of routine activity and style, role taking, impression management, engrossment, and composure. By examining these dimensions, we can gain an understanding of strategic activity as a generic social process. Further, drawing connections from strategic activity in chess to other areas of human group life indicates directions for future research.