David Shenk on the Lewis Chess Pieces

I saw this at Susan Polgar's blog. 

It's an excellent piece giving a clear and concise history of the discovery and subsequent sale of the Lewis chess pieces (dated to about 1150 CE) in the early 1830s. 

I am a big fan of David Shenk.  His book "The Immortal Game: A History of Chess" is a wonderfully readable work that presents facts of chess history along with the suppositions of various authors on aspects of the ancient history and development of chess, all blended into a move-by-move description of  "The Immortal Game" - an actual chess game that took place in the mid-19th century -- a game that, ultimately, changed the way chess was played.  Someone with no prior knowledge of the game of chess will be able to read this book and afterward say "wow!"

Friday Night Miscellany

Hola Darlings! Right to it tonight -- Is there really Aramaic writing (in Hebrew letters) on the Shroud of Turin? A Vatican researcher, Barbara Frale, told Vatican Radio July 26 that her own studies suggest the letters on the shroud were written more than 1,800 years ago. The article goes on to say that Frale, who is a researcher at the Vatican Secret Archives, has written a new book on the shroud and the Knights Templar, the medieval crusading order which, she says, may have held secret custody of the Shroud of Turin during the 13th and 14th centuries.She told Vatican Radio that she has studied the writings on the shroud in an effort to find out if the Knights had written them."When I analyzed these writings, I saw that they had nothing to do with the Templars because they were written at least 1,000 years before the Order of the Temple was founded" in the 12th century, she said. Okay... Can culture be embedded in DNA? A study using Zebra finches says "yes." Hmmmm, maybe -- I'd like to read more about this. Where is it? Cf. every bit of information in David Shenk's "The Genius in All of Us" blog. I respect David Shenk's opinion. He is a man who knows how to thoroughly research and submerge himself in a subject. Among other best-selling books, Mr. Shenk wrote THE IMMORTAL GAME: A History of Chess-- or How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science and the Human Brain. This is, bar none, the best non-fiction book on chess I've read. An interesting article about intra-species communication (specifically - bees) when brought together from opposite ends of the world. Why can't people do this? We are supposed to be at the top of the "evolutionary scale", aren't we???

Friday Night Miscellany

Some kind of critter was out in the yard last night rummaging around for food and was making the strangest kind of noise - it sounded sort of like "CRRAAAAKKKKEEEE" (very loud, or pehaps it just sounded loud because at that time of the early morning there was nothing else out there making noise!); there would be a couple of "crakes" and then silence for a little while, and them more "crakes." It was about 2:39 a.m. I staggered out of bed and peered out of the window but it was too dark to see anything without a moon. So I went around the upstairs and shut the windows so I wouldn't hear the "crake" noise anymore and tried to get back to sleep. I have no idea what it was. There are some juvenile raccoons who hang around, perhaps it was one of them. I figure there must have been some other critter out there rummaging around too, otherwise the first critter would not have been making the loud "crake" noises. Ah, such is life in the suburbs... In the quickest time yet, we already have a review/summary/report or whatever you'd like to call it of our Goddesschess Eighth Anniversary get-together during my recently concluded vacation. To save download time a lot of the pics are done in minis and there is also a separate photo gallery; if you click on a mini pic it turns into a larger photo but hopefully not so large that it will take forever to download on dial-up. Now that vacation is over Random Round-up has been updated and we're back on schedule to update it every Sunday. I don't think I mentioned that I finished David Shenk's "The Immortal Game - A History of Chess" a few weeks ago - what an excellent book, I highly recommend it. It's not dry, dull and boring like HJR Murray's tome on the origins and history of chess - and certainly not 800 plus pages - these days I only read Harry Potter novels that are that long! Shenk hits all the highlights, particularly with respect to the mysteries surrounding the origins of chess and the early days of the game's development. He frames each chapter in the book by a series of moves in the "Immortal Game" between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kierseritsky on June 21, 1851, in London - a game that was a throw-away, a practice game - but it didn't turn out that way... Shenk struck a good balance between writing for a non-chessly audience while providing enough meat for serious chessophiles. Now, onto the spooky and wierdo stuff - what the heck is this I've been reading about "Mothman?" What is Mothman, anyway? Lately over at the Daily Grail there are items that refer to Mothman. At least some bloggers see a connection between this Mothman and bridge collapses (recently occurred in Minnesota and one in China), and other disasters. Is Mothman some kind of omen or harbinger? Check out this headline (in red ink, no less) from the Gulf Daily News: Tissir masters 42 in stimulation chess Oh my! Well, if you live long enough, I guess you'll see just about everything... "It was a really enjoyable event, and I feel that it was very educational for the young and amateur players that took part," Tissir told the GDN afterwards. Double Oh My! Educational, heh? Er, it turns out this was a "simultaneous" game by IM Mohammed Tissar, although it certainly may have been "stimulating!" One of those "lost in translation" things... Ah, Viktor Korchnoi won Banja Luka 2007. I wish he had emigrated to the United States - the history of chess here might have gone a whole different path with such a player "on our side." Chessbase has a nostalgic article about the history of the Banja Luka tournament. Oh, by the way, I don't believe for a single second that the Russian Chess Federation "mistakenly" sent a 16-year old Kasparov to Banja Luka in 1979 under the assumption that it was a "junior" tournament. Ha! What a joke! Okay, that's it for tonight. It's supposed to start raining tomorrow around 4 p.m. so I cut the grass in the backyard tonight after trudging home from a long hard day at the office; since I hadn't cut for nearly 2 weeks it was rather long, with the rain we've had lately. Yes, rain! It seems the drought is over, at least for this area of southeast Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the farmers in the northern part of the state can't say the same, and it's too late for them. We're talking about crop losses in excess of 60-70%. Anyway, since the grass in the back was rather tall, it took more effort than usual, and somewhat longer than usual, to get it cut to my exacting specifications. On the plus side, I got a real good work-out. On the minus side, I'll probably sleep until 7 a.m. tomorrow and blow half the day recuperating from overdoing it today! Tomorrow the plan is to cut the front yard as soon as it's decent enough to rev up the gas power mower without disturbing the neighbors toooo much. I do try to keep the front yard presentable for the neighbors, so it isn't nearly as shaggy and overgrown as the backyard was, as I cut it last week Saturday morning. Then it's party party - my birthday is Sunday and I'm celebrating tomorrow night AND on Sunday, whooppee, while dodging in between thunderstorms. 'night.

Interview with David Shenk on "The Immortal Game"

Howard Goldowsky has written a book "Engaging Pieces" and one of his interviews, with author David Shenk, who wrote best selling "The Immortal Game", is excerpted at the Skittles Room at Chess Cafe. I've had "The Immortal Game" since November but have only recently begun reading it. It's a book I highly recommend - it's well written and engaging, and Shenk has managed to achieve just the right balance between scholarship, history and storytelling. Here's part of the excerpted interview (I don't know how long the Skittles Room link will be valid): Excerpt: Engaging Pieces Interviews and Prose for the Chess Fan by Howard Goldowsky HG: How did you convince your editors that a book about chess would sell, and who is your target readership? DS: This book is not solely for chess players. I dearly hope that all chess players will appreciate it, and I’m gratified by a number of recent comments from serious players that it holds their interest, but it’s also for anyone who loves to read about history and ideas. The history of chess is a spectacular lens on the history of civilization over the last 1,500 years. In the book, I tried to balance an appreciation for the game itself with an appreciation for how the game has influenced ideas over many centuries. In many ways, it’s impossible to understand the evolution of modern thought without chess as a crucial tool. For the insider, my ambition was nothing less than to write a formidable companion to Murray. Obviously, my book doesn’t have anything close to the level of detail or scholarship that Murray’s does. But I hoped that by fleshing out chess’s cultural and intellectual significance, and by conveying the power of the game, we’d have something that would sit nicely alongside his definitive history. For the more casual audience, who knows and cares nothing of Murray, the book has to stand on its own, which I hope it does. HG: Chess certainly has transcended many time periods and cultures. What, in your opinion, makes the game so addictive? DS: Chess’s cultural and historical transcendence is the single curiosity that drove this book. How could one game resonate with 7th century Persians, 8th century Muslims, 11th century Spaniards, and on and on up to 21st century school kids all over the world? The answer, I think, comes in two parts. First, the game itself has a magical combination of accessibility and near-infinite complexity. A five-year-old could learn to play, and yet the game could also occupy the full-time attention of an adult for many decades. Chess obviously touches on spatial and abstract qualities that tickle the brain; it’s fun to play regardless of one’s level of education, background or other interests. Secondly, there is a strong social resonance that seems to take place everywhere the game has traveled. People feel connected to it, because each army represents a social hierarchy. People reading the book will be blown away, as I was, by how popular chess has been as a social and political metaphor throughout the centuries. Chess actually helps us understand ourselves in all sorts of ways, and that has helped insure the game’s survival as other games have come and gone. More about "The Immortal Game." More about "Engaging Pieces."