Saturday, September 12, 2015
Ancient Chinese Game of "Go" Alive and Well in Lincoln, Nebraska
Some game historians have speculated that chess may have originated from the game of Go (Chinese: Wei qi; Japanese: Igo), but I'm not convinced (Chinese chess is Xiang qi). Still, Go is a venerable game played by millions all around the world today, which is more than can be said for many other ancient board games that we know of, such as another Chinese game, Liubo or "six sticks," and the ancient Egyptian games of Mehen and Senet.
Article from The Daily Nebraskan
Article from The Daily Nebraskan
Local club meets weekly at Cultiva to play ancient board game
Patrons at Cultiva are greeted by an intriguing sight every Saturday afternoon. Entering the café yields a view of brooding, pensive combatants. Their moves are swift, but thoughtful and each of the games attract the undivided attention of those around the players.
This is board game that started in China well over 2,500 years ago has found a home in modern-day Lincoln.
“It is less like a war and more like a contest for territory,” said Grant Centauri, the Go club’s founder, when describing the game’s play style. “The end goal is to take over more space than your opponent.”
All of Antarctica Might Melt Drowning Major Cities
Hola darlings!
The hot, humid and unbearable tropical weather (dew points were close to 70 nearly every day) we've been suffering through the entire month of August and the beginning of September in my little piece of southeastern Wisconsin is FINALLY over, hooray! Drier and cooler air coupled with plenty of sun have arrived, and I am feeling re-energized. It also helps that my latest flair-up of sciatica seems to have miraculously nearly disappeared, literally overnight! I'm actually tackling some much needed home improvement projects that I should have started and finished a year ago. Oh well.
Headline: DUH! I mean, really. We all know there are a kabillion jillion gallons of water locked up in Antarctica's ice cover and it is melting (along with the ice cover in the Arctic regions) at an alarming and rapidly expanding rate.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government fiddles instead of preparing for the coming inexorable rise in the oceans - and what will happen to the Great Lakes? Will they be inundated with salt water via the St. Lawrence Seaway and other swamped rivers? Holy Hathor! I'm sure there will be those who say - hey, we'll have figured this all out long before 10,000 years from now. I say: Yeah, right (sarcasm).
Students of herstory know for a fact that many great civilizations have come and gone over the thousands of years of recorded herstory and long before that, with many (most) of them wiped out by climate changes of relatively short (a few hundred years) or long (the last Ice Age) duration. But somehow, we just never seem to learn herstory's lessons. Why is that? I leave that to the philosophers to debate. Here's the article:
Of course, it wouldn’t be only Antarctica that melts under this scenario. “Our study shows that if we don't leave most of the carbon in the ground, we are going to melt most of the ice on this planet,” Caldeira says. “I think this is one of the most important papers of my career.”
The hot, humid and unbearable tropical weather (dew points were close to 70 nearly every day) we've been suffering through the entire month of August and the beginning of September in my little piece of southeastern Wisconsin is FINALLY over, hooray! Drier and cooler air coupled with plenty of sun have arrived, and I am feeling re-energized. It also helps that my latest flair-up of sciatica seems to have miraculously nearly disappeared, literally overnight! I'm actually tackling some much needed home improvement projects that I should have started and finished a year ago. Oh well.
Headline: DUH! I mean, really. We all know there are a kabillion jillion gallons of water locked up in Antarctica's ice cover and it is melting (along with the ice cover in the Arctic regions) at an alarming and rapidly expanding rate.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government fiddles instead of preparing for the coming inexorable rise in the oceans - and what will happen to the Great Lakes? Will they be inundated with salt water via the St. Lawrence Seaway and other swamped rivers? Holy Hathor! I'm sure there will be those who say - hey, we'll have figured this all out long before 10,000 years from now. I say: Yeah, right (sarcasm).
Students of herstory know for a fact that many great civilizations have come and gone over the thousands of years of recorded herstory and long before that, with many (most) of them wiped out by climate changes of relatively short (a few hundred years) or long (the last Ice Age) duration. But somehow, we just never seem to learn herstory's lessons. Why is that? I leave that to the philosophers to debate. Here's the article:
All of Antarctica Might Melt, Drowning Major Cities
By Zoë Schlanger22 hours ago
“Combustion of available fossil fuel resources sufficient to eliminate the Antarctic Ice Sheet.”
Few peer-reviewed study titles sound quite so much like a line spoken by the bad-news-bearing scientist from a dystopian sci-fi movie. But there it is. A real-world—and apparently very possible—dystopia.
For what Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science and an author on the paper, published Friday in the journal Science Advances, believes is the first time, he and his colleagues have shown that there are enough fossil fuels still in the ground to melt “effectively all of Antarctica” and ultimately cause as much as 200 feet of sea level rise.Of course, it wouldn’t be only Antarctica that melts under this scenario. “Our study shows that if we don't leave most of the carbon in the ground, we are going to melt most of the ice on this planet,” Caldeira says. “I think this is one of the most important papers of my career.”
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
2015 Montreal Open
Hi everyone!
Goddesschess is pleased to announce that it is continuing its sponsorship for the Montreal Open Chess Championship, September 11 - 13, 2015 at the beautiful College Jean de Brebeuf, Montreal.
This year we have expanded prizes exclusively for female players as well as providing addition individual sponsorship to top Canadian female players. Goddesschess prizes for female players are IN ADDITION to any prize a female player also may win.
As you may remember, Goddesschess' long-time webmaster and reporter on the scene, Don McLean, was a native of Montreal and attended many Montreal Open Chess Champions, providing interviews and photographs for this blog over the years. Goddesschess continues it sponsorship of the Championnat in honor and loving memory of Don, who passed away in October, 2012, just a few months after the Goddesschess Canadian Women's Closed Championship in August, 2012.
We are hoping for a great turnout of female chess players! Online registration available through September 10 at 18:00.
Goddesschess is pleased to announce that it is continuing its sponsorship for the Montreal Open Chess Championship, September 11 - 13, 2015 at the beautiful College Jean de Brebeuf, Montreal.
 |
| The playing venue at College Jean de Brebeuf, Montreal. |
This year we have expanded prizes exclusively for female players as well as providing addition individual sponsorship to top Canadian female players. Goddesschess prizes for female players are IN ADDITION to any prize a female player also may win.
As you may remember, Goddesschess' long-time webmaster and reporter on the scene, Don McLean, was a native of Montreal and attended many Montreal Open Chess Champions, providing interviews and photographs for this blog over the years. Goddesschess continues it sponsorship of the Championnat in honor and loving memory of Don, who passed away in October, 2012, just a few months after the Goddesschess Canadian Women's Closed Championship in August, 2012.
We are hoping for a great turnout of female chess players! Online registration available through September 10 at 18:00.
2,000 Year Old Ethiopean "Sleeping Beauty"
Hola everyone!
'Sleeping beauty': 2,000-year-old remains found in biblical city
It was the Queen of Sheba that first drew Louise Schofield -- an archaeologist and former curator at the British Museum -- to the Gheralta plateau in northern Ethiopia. She'd heard tell of a 20-foot stone stele carved with an inscription and a symbol often linked to the biblical queen: a sun and crescent moon.
"The story of the Queen of Sheba has a central place in the heart of all Ethiopians, so I became interested in the story myself," she recalls (Sheba is thought to be located in parts of Ethiopia).
It was this initial visit that ultimately led her to discover the 2,000-year-old remains of a character she fondly refers to as "sleeping beauty."
The grave was discovered at the stone stele, in an area that was once part of the ancient kingdom of Aksum, which today encompasses Ethiopia and Eritrea. Inside, Schofield's team found the skeleton of a woman posed in a resting position, with her chin laid gently on one hand. A Roman-era bronze mirror was placed before her face. The corpse was surrounded with glass vessels (to catch the tears of the dead), as well as a bronze cosmetics spoon and a lump of kohl eyeliner.
"She must have been very wealthy, and probably well-loved to be placed in this position, and judging by all the items of finery around her," surmised Schofield.
The dig also uncovered several other graves, all of which had several bodies buried beneath. In some, she found the remains of large warriors clad who each wore an iron bangle.
"We think they were warriors from a battle," she says.
The unusual find suggests trade between Rome and Aksum started at least 200 years earlier than previously believed.
As the dig is less than a month old, there's still a lot of information yet to come in about this restful lady. A bone expert wasn't able to ascertain her age at the time of death because the pelvis -- which usually provides a close approximation -- had been consumed by termites. Schofield hopes that analysis of the teeth will provide some answers.
"There was something very personal about the way she was lying," Schofield says. The remains were also found surrounded by clay containers that likely contained food or drink (these have also been sent off for analysis).
"The food, drink and cosmetics were all presumably left for her to use in the afterlife. She was pre-Christian and that's how people buried their dead then," says Schofield.
Shofield has a bit of the Midas touch when it comes to extraordinary finds. She also recently uncovered a Roman-era perfume flask in the same cemetery, although by chance. The archaeologist is also the director of London-based NGO The Tigray Trust, and the item was first brought to her attention by a local farmer she knew through the organization.
"I had been showing around a member of the Peace Corps who had been working in a nearby town (around the site), and we'd been out in the blazing sun for 8 hours, when a farmer I knew said his friend found something old, and he'd been keeping it for me," she recalls.
"I was apologizing to the Peace Corps guy. I told him, 'it could be an old coffee pot, but you never know, it could be the Queen of Sheba's perfume flask.'"
Sunday, September 6, 2015
FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2015-2016
Hola darlings!
FIDE has announced the nominees and schedule for the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2015-2016, consisting of four events (only four - how low we have fallen). Top finishers will -- if I understand this correctly -- qualify for the Women's World Chess Championship Match in 2017. You can find all of the info here.
Essentials:
* 2-16 October 2015 in Monte Carlo, MONACO
* February 2016 in Kish, IRAN
* May 2016 in Tbilisi, GEORGIA
* July 2016 in Chengdu, CHINA
FIDE President has nominated Alexandra Kosteniuk and Antoaneta Stefanova,
The 10 original qualifiers who have to confirm their participation by 20 August 2015 are:
01. Muzychuk, Mariya (World Champion, Sochi 2015)
02. Pogonina, Natalija (finalist world championship, Sochi 2015)
03. Cramling, Pia (semi-finalist world championship, Sochi 2015)
04. Harika, Dronavalli (semi-finalist world championship, Sochi 2015)
05. Hou, Yifan (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2674.83 in 88 games)
06. Koneru, Humpy (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2585.83 in 39 games)
07. Dzagnidze, Nana (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2568.50 in 50 games)
08. Ju, Wenjun (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2557.91 in 92 games)
09. Muzychuk, Anna (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2548.41 in 63 games)
10. Gunina, Valentina (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2532.91 in 83 games)
The first reserve for any replacement needed is Kosteniuk, Alexandra (by rating 2532.00 in 69 games, average 12 std lists 8/2014 to 7/2015).
The full regulations of the Women's Grand Prix 2015-2016 are published here.
FIDE has announced the nominees and schedule for the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2015-2016, consisting of four events (only four - how low we have fallen). Top finishers will -- if I understand this correctly -- qualify for the Women's World Chess Championship Match in 2017. You can find all of the info here.
Essentials:
* 2-16 October 2015 in Monte Carlo, MONACO
* February 2016 in Kish, IRAN
* May 2016 in Tbilisi, GEORGIA
* July 2016 in Chengdu, CHINA
In total 16 players will participate, 10 qualifiers as per regulations (listed below) plus 4 nominees from the organisers of each tournament (to be announced) plus 2 nominees of the FIDE President.
The 10 original qualifiers who have to confirm their participation by 20 August 2015 are:
01. Muzychuk, Mariya (World Champion, Sochi 2015)
02. Pogonina, Natalija (finalist world championship, Sochi 2015)
03. Cramling, Pia (semi-finalist world championship, Sochi 2015)
04. Harika, Dronavalli (semi-finalist world championship, Sochi 2015)
05. Hou, Yifan (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2674.83 in 88 games)
06. Koneru, Humpy (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2585.83 in 39 games)
07. Dzagnidze, Nana (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2568.50 in 50 games)
08. Ju, Wenjun (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2557.91 in 92 games)
09. Muzychuk, Anna (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2548.41 in 63 games)
10. Gunina, Valentina (by rating, 12 std lists 8/14 to 7/15: average 2532.91 in 83 games)
The first reserve for any replacement needed is Kosteniuk, Alexandra (by rating 2532.00 in 69 games, average 12 std lists 8/2014 to 7/2015).
The full regulations of the Women's Grand Prix 2015-2016 are published here.
Each player will participate in exactly three (3) out of the four tournaments. Players must rank their preference of tournaments but FIDE reserves the right to assign players to tournaments according to the organizational needs and the players for each tournament will be announced before the cycle begins.
Here is the prize structure:
7. Prize Money & Grand Prix Points.
7.1. The prize money which will be offered by host city organisers for each tournament is 75,000 Euros (net
amount, after all local taxes are deducted) and is split 60,000 Euros as direct prize money for the tournament
and 15,000 Euros towards an accumulated prize fund for the players at the end of the series:
PLACE PRIZE (Euros) GP POINTS
1
st € 10,000 120 points + 40 bonus
2
nd € 8,250 110 points + 20 bonus
3
rd € 6,750 100 points + 10 bonus
4
th € 5,750 90 points
5
th € 5,000 80 points
6
th € 4,500 70 points
7
th € 4,250 60 points
8
th € 4,000 50 points
9
th € 3,250 40 points
10th € 3,000 30 points
11th € 2,750 20 points
12th € 2,500 10 points
Total 60,000 euros 850 points
In the case of any tie in any tournament, the Grand Prix ranking points and prize money will be split equally.
The overall winner of the Grand Prix will be the one who will score the most number of cumulative points. The
cumulative score will be calculated from the best three results for each player. The winner of the Grand prix
agrees to play a match against the World Champion as per FIDE regulations in 2017.
7.2. Tie Break for Overall Winner: In the case of two or more players having equal cumulative points at the top
of the GP standings, with the objective of determining a clear, single winner to play in the World Championship
Match, the following criteria (in descending order) will be utilized to decide the overall GP top winner(s):
7.3. Accumulated Prize Fund.
9 prizes will be awarded from the minimum accumulated prize fund of €90,000 (Euros) as follows :
Overall Place Accumulated Prize (Euros)
1st 25,000
2nd 20,000
3rd 15,000
4th 10,000
5th
7,500
6th 5,500
7th 4,000
8th 3,000
€90,000
In the case of any joint overall ranking, the respective accumulated prizes will also be split equally.
Of course, FIDE, rather than CONTRIBUTING FUNDS toward women's prizes sucks more money out of the organizers and local chess organizations who are stupid enough sponsoring events:
7.4. FIDE Contributions. The organiser will pay FIDE an additional sum of 20% (15,000 Euros), over and above, the above total host city
prize fund (75,000 Euros).
7.5. Global Chess Contribution. The organiser will pay Global Chess the sum of 15,000 euros for the assistance provided in the co-ordination
and management of this event. This will include the cost of 4 people to cover organisation assistance and
setup (2 persons), event reporting and commentary in Russian and English (2 persons). All travel expenses in
economy class, and hotel accommodation on full board basis will be covered by organisers.
I don't know about how you feel, but frankly, I'm a little tired of seeing the same players over and over and over again. There have been no break-through female players since Hou Yifan when she was a pre-teen. Where is the next Judit Polgar? Will the world ever produce the like of her again?