> "I was so happy because it was the first time where we could see chess as a positive factor," he said. "We had so many years with chess being seen as potential destruction and something that could push kids to the dark area of psychological instability."

This surprises me, could someone expand a bit on this? I've only ever heard chess referred to positively in popular culture. I would assume most non chess players' understanding of chess is based on idioms like "thinking N moves ahead" and "playing 4D chess."

(I'm not sure I'd consider Beth Harmon a shining example of psychological stability either...)