This and That

A new Random Round-up is running at Goddesschess - from Mehen to particle accelerators, it's spooky physics all around. Located in the right-hand column down below Axis Mundae. I don't remember if I told you - my August/September column is now up and running at Chessville. And I've done some updating at Chess Femme News on the Women's World Chess Championship. I've got a lot to catch up on there!

Chess News Update

Chess Femme News has been updated, and my August column at Chessville is now up and running. Enjoy!

Chess News

Hola! I've been working like a maniac for the past two days on the August, 2008 Chessville column, that I submitted just a few minutes ago to my editor for review. It should be up and running soon. Keep your eyes out. Meanwhile, dondelion has updated Random Round-up at Goddesschess, and has a report on the award of the Goddesschess Promoted Pawn Prize at the 2008 Canadian Open. Vacation is over - back to work.

Chess News Update

I spent the weekend putting together the June Chessville column and it's up and running, hooray!

Random Round-Up

RR at Goddesschess has been updated by delion, the master web magician. This week he takes a look at a HOT HOT HOT topic - the Devil and chess. From the old tale about Paolo Boi and the Devil (image) to dreams of chess-playing incubi, he covers a wide spread of entertaining and enlightening information. Enjoy! Random Round-Up can be found in the right-hand column at Goddesschess under the Access Mundae.

We did not consult this week about RR; sometimes I make suggestions and provide links to articles and information I found interesting (sometimes he uses that info, sometimes he doesn't); sometimes we're so busy doing our respective "things" we don't talk or email at all! It's interesting, therefore, that delion picked a "devilish" theme for RR this week, as it was also the theme of my June 1, 2008 coverage of the U.S. Women's Chess Championship at Chessville. Just another one of those little synchronicities that makes life so interesting...

And now, darlings, I'm going to take a break and cut the grass in the back yard. And then sit on the deck and enjoy a few glasses of wine while I catch up on some reading!

Chess News

My June column is up and running at Chessville. This month there's also a separate report on the Frank K. Berry U.S. Women's Chess Championship. Enjoy!

Oy!

Hola darlings! Yes, I'm still alive and kicking (sort of). I spent the better part of the past two days putting togther my June column for Chessville. Argggh! It always takes longer than I think it will and this month I had the addition of the U.S. Women's Chess Championship to write about. It's not as if I haven't gone through this exercise before and, by now, I should know better. But I swear to you I thought that, since I'd already had so much written before hand, and since I already had the news published both here and at Chess Femme News, it wouldn't take any time at all to put the June 1st column together. Ha! It took all day Saturday, starting before 9 a.m. until I hit a wall at 8 p.m. (I'd collapsed into bed before 8:30) and most of the day today (again starting before 9:00 a.m. and sending off the final draft of the second column shortly after 7 this evening). BUT - soon, it will be posted at Chessville (I hope). Meanwhile, before I collapse one more I'll try and post a few things...

Chessville Column

JanXena's May, 2008 column is now up and running at Chessville. Enjoy!

Egoddess!

It's been a rough night. I worked like a maniac after I got home from the office to finish up my May, 2008 Chessville column which had been - ever so politely - called for, starting last Friday night. I started the thing three weeks ago but, per usual, at the end of the month crunch with all the news crashing down upon me and trying to decide which stories were most newsworthy for Chessville (well, damn it all, they all are, but then I may as well just copy and paste everything from Chess Femme News and this blog into a monthly article and be done with it - NOT! It would take up a large part of their website every month but, come to think of it, maybe that would be a good idea...) I worked on it Saturday AND Sunday, hours and hours. I didn't even realize that the IDJUTS at Chessville had been writing to me until this morning because they were using an alterate email address (not my primary - although they all bloody well know it). The reason I didn't realize it until this morning is because I DO NOT CHECK THAT EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE WEEKENDS. Well, that's the Chessville men for you. No wonder their website design is stuck somewhere back in the 1907's... Anyway, I absolutely hate this month's column - not because it's lousy but because it is so incomplete and disconnected. So, I emailed Mr. Webmaster (because my former Editor and I no longer SPEAK to each other) and said, okay it's ready. But you see, it's really not, but it's as ready as it is going to be because it's already far too long and has too many photographs of beautiful chess femmes (they're all beautiful in my eyes), and fascinating stories - arggghhh. I wanted to pick up on this month's theme of "fashion" but I ran out of space and time. The running gag (at least, it is supposed to be) is that Xena (who is a sort of action figure avatar for yours truly) does her thing every month and she allows me to snap some photos of her, which I use in the Chessville column, and every now and then "I" appear, as in March's column, where I showed up with my uber-expensive Coach bag and so women's handbags were a theme throughout the column. This month, Xena let me photograph her in a ratty looking pink towel - well - the fashion angles were obvious but I didn't have time to fully develop them and interweave them into the chess stories of the month. Not only that, I left out several interesting match and tournament results. Writing a column is @%^&3!)+. What I want to know is - where is that column that was only supposed to take an hour or two a month? That's what I was promised when I agreed to this undertaking. Ha! Double Ha! Triple Ha! In addition to compiling the chess femme news on a regular basis (which I do for Chess Femme News and when I'm not posting it there I'm posting it here at the blog, and that's all done out of sheer love for the game of chess, the female players I admire so much and just out of plain stubborness) I'm spending between about 18-24 hours each month putting Xena's Chessville column together. Talk about LABOR! Argggh, well, that's my vent for the night. As it's now past 11:30 p.m. and I'm absolutely exhausted, this is all the more I'm going to post tonight.

Chessville Column

JanXena's Echecs des Femmes for April, 2008 is up and running at Chessville. Everyone visit and click on the link multiple times so the guys think I'm real popular :)

Chess News Update

Hola darlings! The İş Bankası - Atatürk International Women Masters Chess Tournament featuring a super-star line-up of chess femmes from around the world starts tomorrow (Game 1): 1 Cramling, Pia G SWE 2531 2 Zhu Chen GM QAT 2531 3 Zhao Xue WGM CHN 2530 4 Hou Yifan WGM CHN 2502 5 Ushenina, Anna IM UKR 2486 6 Harika, Dronavalli WGM IND 2480 7 Krush, Irina IM USA 2475 8 Javakhishvili, Lela IM GEO 2474 9 Atalık, Katerina IM TUR 2404 10 Betul Cemre Yildiz WIM TUR 2220 So! I don't know whom to root for! I like equally Cramling, Hou, Ushenina, Dronavalli, Krush and Atalik. Well - maybe a multi-way tie for first!!! Chessbase has a lovely article on the event (lots of great photos) featuring several young Turkish chess femmes - they are all so beautiful, they just make me smile. There are some chess hommes too :) * * * * * GM Susan Polgar was one of six women who received a special Commendation from the City of New York Comptroller: Each woman was chosen for her expertise in her field; the respect accorded her by her peers and colleagues; her commitment to serving others; and her demonstrated commitment to making New York City a more vibrant, inclusive and healthy place to live. Congratulations to GM Susan Polgar and the other recipients of this special award! * * * * * Photo of Beyonce as Etta James in the upcoming film (Chess Records in the old days). I recently saw Etta perform on Austin City Limits on PBS - 70 years old and the voice is a bit more gravelly, and she sits down during some of her performance, but the soul that reaches out and grabs you by the throat is stronger than ever. She put on a fabulous show. And looks great! Sorry Beyonce, I don't think you have the voice and no where near the presence that Miss Etta has. * * * * * My March, 2008 column is now up and running at Chessville!

New Chessville Column by JanXena

Hooray, darlings! My latest experimental column for those cute guys over at Chessville (macho men, every last one of them - too bad they don't know that macho means "stupid goat" in Spanish, but then, I don't hold that againt them - much) is now online!!!!! TA DA! If I do say so myself (and I do), it's a great column, please read it and pump up my ego to even more enormous size than it presently is... I'm experimenting with the formatting of the column - within the somewhat antiquated confines of Chessville's design (they are working on that, thank Goddess, perhaps we will see something new and updated within the next 50 years). A running gag will be the photo icon for JanXena, which will change regularly - we'll see if anyone notices. Well, now, no fair since I tipped all my two readers off :) I am working on yet more ingenious ways to present my bona fide Xena doll astride (or whatever) in various poses with her bronze horsey (not a matched set). I'm trying to keep it clean, but having way too much fun shooting what appear to be x-rated photos with my digital camera. But - ahem - since Chessville is a family-rated website except for the occasional profanity that they allow yours truly, I deleted most of those shots from my memory card :) Now - about that name - JanXena on Les Echecs des Femmes (literally, JanXena on Women's Chess) - it wasn't my first choice. After some kicking around with my editor who disguises himself as Alekhine's Parrot over at Chessville, we had pretty much settled on JanXena's Girlie Chess News (long story) - but that caused a sort of mini-revolt amongst the other editors and principals of Chessville and so it was decreed by the Webmaster himself that the name of the column should be blah blah blah. However, I'm still a fan of JanXena's Girlie Chess News. So, if you like that title better than the oh-so-presumptious Les Echecs des Femmes (I mean, darlings, it's FRENCH) then write to Chessville and let them know what you think about their censorship, er, choice of title.

Pssst - wanna read about...

Ah ha! Gotcha! My new column, JanXena's Echecs des Femmes, is up and running at Chessville. Check it out, darlings! The February column will be even bigger, better, grander, a true opus grande to chess femmes - well, okay, it will be longer... There are lots of pictures!