JAPFA Chess Festival

Irene Kharisma Sukandar in hot pursuit of 1st GM at JAPFA April 13, 2008 From TheJarkataPost.com Sports News After a narrow failure in Ukraine, Indonesia's leading women's chess player Irene Kharisma Sukandar will be given another chance to win her first grandmaster (GM) norm at the upcoming JAPFA Chess Festival in Jakarta next week. The chess festival will bring together 700 players from across the country to play in several categories with cash prizes totaling US$10,700, at the National Sports Council (KONI) headquarters in Central Jakarta from April 15 to 20. A competition in which foreigners contend will be a highlight of the festival. 16-year-old Irene will compete against five other female players from overseas. Another highlight will be Indonesia's new star Susanto Megaranto taking on Wesley So of the Philippines, another young chess prodigy. Irene will need to score at least 6.5 to win the round-robin tournament against Women's Grandmaster (WGM) Jana Krivec of Slovenia, WGM Regina Pokorna of Slovakia, WGM Li Roufan of Singapore, Women's FIDE Master (WFM) Thandar Aye Win of Myanmar and Perena Catherine of the Philippines. "It will be hard to get the points but I am optimistic about my chances," Irene said, adding that she had met all of the players before. Irene missed out on earning her first norm at the Cup of Rector international tournament in Ukraine last month when she only scored six points, well below the required point score. The Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) has been relying on Irene in its efforts to produce the first women's grandmaster in the country. Percasi has taken its campaign seriously, with Irene undergoing intensive training under the supervision of Hungarian Tibor Karolyi. Karolyi said he held seven-hour training sessions every day to prepare her for future tournaments. "Right now, her lexical knowledge is still behind European chess. But I think she shows promise to place in the world's top 20 in two years to come," he said during a media conference on Friday. Percasi's executive director Eka Putra Wirya said the matches would be tight with world ratings at stake. Meanwhile, Susanto, in his match against the world's youngest grand master Wesley So, will seek a redemption for his three losses in a six-round match against 15-year-old Wesley, whose rating is 2,540. Susanto's rating is 2,561. "He (Wesley) is very good at opening, so I will concentrate on that part," Susanto said. In last year's festival, Susanto was tied 3-3 against GM Zhang Zhong of China while Irene was beaten 1-5 by WGM Li Ruofan, who is also Zhang's wife. (ind)

Mozah Al Mansouri, a Chess Champion

Mozah, a chess champion By Yasir Abbasher, Senior Reporter Published: April 12, 2008, 00:39 Abu Dhabi February 27, 2000. The father paced up and down the waiting hall at the maternity ward - praying silently for a boy. His wife was in labour and he waited impatiently for her to deliver. It was strange how he, like his ancestors in the Arabian Peninsula for centuries, opted for sons. He already had two sons and as many daughters, but his wish was not granted as the nurse came out smiling: he was just blessed with another daughter. " Yes, I wanted a son, but believe me, I was as pleased when the nurse told me it was a girl. It was a blessing," Sarhan Al Mansouri reminisced, sitting near a chessboard facing his eight-year-old daughter Mozah at the Al Ain Chess and Culture Club (ACCC). Last year had been an extraordinary one for Mozah, making her an instant celebrity in the capital's chess circles. Shy but at the same time conscious of her appearance like any other young girl, Mozah was reluctant to remove her baseball cap for the photographer as she believed that her hair was not properly combed. Strong determination The innocence of childhood soon was replaced by the determination and deep thought when she sat down at the chessboard to play some moves against her father. Mozah, who took to the game at home when she was only two-and-a-half years old, has already won local and regional acknowledgement despite the fact that she started receiving proper coaching only one year ago. "I am a chess player. In my university days, I used to play with my teachers at the Emirates University in Al Ain, as there were no chess clubs in the early 1980s. "I was hence keen also to teach my children the basics of the game. Mozah got jealous when she saw me playing with her other sisters and brothers and used to bring the chessboard to me. "In order to make her happy, I tried to teach her the first few steps. She imitated all my moves and used to spend a lot of time alone at the board," Sarhan recalled. "It was strange - while other children of her age were busy playing with dolls or TV games, she was trying to learn more about the game. "She started to play against her elder sisters and brothers and even started winning some matches against them. "Last year, she joined the ACCC after she was discovered by her present coach at a school tournament," Sarhan added. "I organised a competition for about 20 girls under eight years and when I saw them playing, I circled three names in red because they interested me. Mozah was the first one. "That tournament was held on February 26 last year, a day before her seventh birthday," Huda Al Najjar, the ACCC coach for women, told Gulf News. "Nobody can create a chess champion by coaching only. It is important that the player has the talent. Mozah has it in plenty and I predict a glorious future for her if she continues to take part in tournaments and gains more experience from higher rated players," Al Najjar said. Mozah then took part in the UAE School Chess championship last March 16, in which she won all but one of her matches in the under-eight category, collecting eight points out of nine. On June 26, 2007, Mozah won the UAE girls singles title for under-eight years in what was her first official tournament. Only a month later, she took part in the Arab Juniors chess championship in Syria and won 4.5 points as she was frightened by the fact that all the other competitors were older than her. Still a child "At only seven years old and with the duty to represent her country, Mozah was accompanied by her mother, aunt and uncle to Syria. She is still a child," her father said. Barely another month passed and Mozah found herself taking part in the Asian juniors chess championship in Al Ain in August 2007. She won five points in nine matches and was hailed as one of the best future prospects. Her best was yet to be as Mozah found herself and her father in Turkey to take part in the World Youth Championship in November 2007. She defeated the champion of Turkey in the first match and came under the spotlight of the world media as she could move to play on top of the table. The media hype and the camera flashes put her under tremendous pressure - so much so that she lost her second match against the champion of India. "She recovered and went on to beat champions from Poland, Australia, Canada and Hungary, although her best result was beating the champion of Russia in an exciting encounter. "I was so moved by her victory that I cried for the first time in years. I was so overjoyed that I gave her a big cash reward but believe me, I was even more pleased when she donated the money to the housekeeping staff of the hotel where we stayed." Sarhan said. While being only a seven-year-old, Mozah became one of the rated players by FIDE ( International Chess Federation). with an elo rating of 1,590. She was the youngest female player to be ranked in the World Youth Championship. "After beating the Russian player, I began thinking of her potential as a future world champion. Why not, as with more training, participation in strong tournaments and a bit of luck, that can be achieved," Sarhan hoped. The high point of Mozah's short career came when Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received her with the officials of the ACCC, headed by Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Shakhboot Al Nahyan, President of the Asian Chess Federation. FACTFILE Promises to keep--Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received her along with officials of the Al Ain Chess and Culture Club recently. - On June 26, 2007, Mozah won the UAE girls singles title in the under-8 age group. - In July the same year, she took part in the Arab juniors chess championship in Syria. --Last November, Mozah took part in the World Youth Championship in Turkey.

Chess News Update

Chess Femme News has been updated, April 11, 2008. Enjoy - I'm experimenting with a new format and CFN may be offline a day or two.

Prior post. From The Discovery Channel Bejeweled Anglo-Saxon Burial Suggests Cult Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News April 11, 2008 -- In seventh century England, a woman's jewelry-draped body was laid out on a specially constructed bed and buried in a grave that formed the center of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, according to British archaeologists who recently excavated the site in Yorkshire. Her jewelry, which included a large shield-shaped pendant, the layout and location of the cemetery as well as excavated weaponry, such as knives and a fine langseax (a single-edged Anglo-Saxon sword), lead the scientists to believe she might have been a member of royalty who led a pagan cult at a time when Christianity was just starting to take root in the region. "I believe it is a cult because of the arrangement of graves, the short period of the cemetery's use and the bed burial and burial mound that is almost in the center of the very regular cemetery," archaeologist Stephen Sherlock, who directed the project, told Discovery News. "The whole focus of the cemetery is based upon the bed burial -- it is our view that this was erected first and the other graves were dug around it," added Sherlock, who worked with the Teesside Archaeological Society, which recently published a report on the research. A summary of the finds also appears in the latest issue of British Archaeology. The cemetery, named Street House, consists of 109 graves, most of which were dug in a square around the bed burial. "This square formation is unparalleled in Anglo-Saxon England," Sherlock said. Remains of a sunken-floored building, possibly used as a mortuary chapel where the body might have been laid to rest prior to her funeral, exist near the cemetery's entrance. A roundhouse and the burial mound also stand within the square. The bed burial itself consists of a wooden bed held together, and decorated with, iron. Artifacts within the grave included two gemstone pendants, gold and glass beads, a jet pin or hairpiece, and the shield pendant that was unique for the time, according to Sherlock and colleague Mark Simmons. Mounted by a central blue gemstone, the piece has scalloped-shaped carving with 11 separate lobes and a scalloped lower edge. Small red gems resting on gold foil, which would have reflected light when the piece was worn, surround the central stone. Although the site's acidic soil eroded the woman's remains, the age of the cemetery and its location provide clues to her identity. Sherlock believes "likely suspects" include Ethelburga, the wife of King Edwin of Northumbria, who converted to Christianity and was made a saint. Other possibilities are Eanflaed, the wife of King Oswiu, or Oswiu's daughter, Aelflaed. Next to the bed burial is a grave that also contained valuable jewelry, such as a unique gold pendant, a silver brooch and glass beads. The woman buried there might have been a relative or lady-in-waiting, while the researchers believe the other graves could have contained retainers or followers. Iron age coins, pierced to hang as if they were crucifixes, were found in one of the perimeter graves, suggesting that at least one member of the group was interested in Christianity. Archaeologist Mike Pitts, who is the editor of British Archaeology and was the former curator of the Alexander Keiller Museum at Avebury, told Discovery News, "This cemetery dates from that very interesting period in European history when a variety of religions and beliefs were circulating, out of which Christianity eventually rose to be completely dominant in religious thought, society and politics." In 657, at around the time the cemetery was established, an abbey was erected nearby, marking a "turning point in the history of Christianity in Britain," Pitts said. "So the Street House cemetery is particularly interesting," he added. "It seems to revolve, quite literally, around a woman… Her bed burial is stridently pagan, a sort of rare, female equivalent of ship burials, as she is laid out on a vehicle to deliver her to the afterworld." Sherlock and his team plan to further investigate the Yorkshire site later this year. They hope to find an Anglo-Saxon settlement linked to the cemetery.

A Roman Soldier's Gift Altar to Two Goddesses

Roman soldier's gift found
David Ottewell 10/ 4/2008

HE was many miles from home - a Roman soldier posted to Manchester, perhaps feeling cold and lonely, longing for loved ones left behind.

He was called Aelius Victor. And now after 2,000 years an altar he built to keep a promise to the goddesses he prayed to has been unearthed in the middle of the city.

The altar - described by experts as being in 'fantastic' condition - was discovered during an archaeological dig at a site on Greater Jackson Street earmarked for development.

Aelius Victor had dedicated it to two minor goddesses. A Latin inscription on the altar says: "To the mother goddesses Hananeftis and Ollototis, Aelius Victor willingly and deservedly fulfils a vow.

"The find marks the first time in nearly 400 years that archaeologists have been able to put a name to a Mancunian Roman solider. In 1612 another altar was found by the River Medlock, dedicated by Lucius Seniacianius Martius, a centurion - an officer - with the 20th Legion from York.

Commander
It is believed that Aelius Victor may have been a centurion commander posted from Germany - where worship of Hananeftis and Ollototis originates.

Norman Redhead, Greater Manchester's county archaeologist, said: "This is the first Roman stone inscription we have found for 150 years. It is a very, very valuable find and it is in fantastic condition, considering it has been in the ground for 2,000 years."

The altar was discovered during a pre-development dig at the site at the junction of Great Jackson Street and Chester Road.

Latter
Evidence suggests it may have been constructed in the latter part of the first century AD and later discarded, as it was found on top of an ancient rubbish pit.

The existence of a number of pits and ditches in the area suggest it was cleared for farming use.

The site is only hundreds of yards from a known fort and civilian settlement of Roman Manchester, dropping down to a ford across the River Medlock.

Mr Redhead said that, traditionally, that was the kind of area where places of worship were located. The altar will go on display at Manchester Museum.

General Julius Agricola (40-93AD), the commander of the invading legions, first founded a Roman settlement at the meeting point of the Rivers Irwell and Medlock. He called the place Mamuciam - meaning 'breast-shaped hill' because of the shape of the outcrop.
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Hananeftis and Ollototis, were worshipped in Germany. Hananeftis sounds like a variation on the theme of Anna/Hannah/Inanna - a mother goddess/grandmother goddess. I am not familiar with Ollototis, but according to this information, she is another mother goddess.

A Tale of Two Females in India

From Merinews.com ritu sejwal, 10 April 2008, Thursday Scene one: People worshipping goddess Lakshmi. Scene two: A woman brutally tortured by her in-laws for dowry! What a contrast! And you can witness both in India. One female is revered and the other is burnt! Why? RIYA (NAME changed) – a girl with a dream to be like her idol Barkha Dutt. A dream to have her individual identity, and to prove the allegations wrong that ‘women are made for kitchen’. Riya belongs to Chappra district of Bihar. She has an aim to do something new that has never been tried by anyone from her district. Riya, with big dreams but with fewer options, came to Delhi to crack an all India journalism entrance exam – a first step towards her dream. Being from a middle class joint family, she never got the due attention she deserved. She always received halfhearted support from her family. “I always wanted to perform well in my exams but due to my family restraints, I was not able to give proper attention to my studies, and did not score up to my expectations,” she said in a disappointing tone. In Delhi, she manages her studies, along with household work that includes cleaning, cooking, filling water, to name a few. “My aunty, who lives with me in Delhi, is unwell and never tries to understand my problems.” She always sacrificed her feelings and her desires for the good of the family. “I am aware that I will be competing for an all India level entrance, I need to give time to my studies and for that, one should be mentally satisfied and do roti pet mein honi chahiye (stomach should be full), only then one can study properly,” she said with a helpless tone. Full of frustration and a will to achieve her dreams, she is a true fighter! After an interaction with her, my problems looked so small! India is a country where goddesses are worshiped. Girls are associated with ’Durga’, ’Lakshmi’, and as powerful as Rani Lakshmi Bai. But, still women die within the ‘four walls’ of the house, serving the family without complaining. Number of schemes are introduced for empowerment of women, but how many of those benefit hundreds of girls like Riya, who are made to sacrifice at every point, from their childhood till their marriage and by in-laws after marriage?

Girls in Gangs - Victims and Victimizers

From The New York Times Abuse Trails Central American Girls Into Gangs By MARC LACEY Published: April 11, 2008 GUATEMALA CITY — To join one of Central America’s fierce street gangs, Benky, a tiny young woman with heavy mascara and tattoos running up and down her arms, had to have sex with a dozen or so of her homeboys one night. She recalls sobbing uncontrollably when the last young man climbed off her and everyone gathered around to congratulate her on becoming a full-fledged member of the Mara Salvatrucha. The gang leader ordered Benky, then 14, to rob buses, grab chains off people’s necks and even kill a girl from a rival gang. She always complied, although Benky said she was not completely sure if her rival had lived or died from the bullet she fired into her back. “I thought it would be like my family,” Benky said of her reason for joining the gang, asking that her full name not be used. “I thought I’d get the love I was missing. But they’d hit me. They ordered me around. They told me I had to rob someone or kill someone, and I did it.” When she tried to leave the gang five years later, her fellow gang members shot her six times. The scars still visible on her body vouch for her story, as do social workers who visited her during the nine months she spent in a hospital. Horrible as it is, Benky’s story is not unusual. Her lament is one heard from young women in gangs across the region, and in interviews many told similar tales of sexual initiation, beatings and being made to rob and kill to earn their place. New evidence suggests that girls like Benky, most 18 or younger, may make up a larger share of Central America’s street gangs’ ranks than previously suspected, many of them straddling the line between victims and victimizers. “There are a lot more women and girls than anyone imagined,” said Ewa Werner-Dahlin, the Swedish ambassador to Guatemala. “It’s a surprise to the experts and it shows that authorities have been reacting to gangs without really understanding them.” Rest of article.

Trouble with a Capital T in Iran

Gee - couldn't happen to a nicer guy, LOL! Cabinet Shakeup in Iran By NAZILA FATHI Published: April 11, 2008 TEHRAN — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has decided to dismiss his economics and interior ministers, a government spokesman said in Iranian newspaper accounts published Thursday. No reason for the shake-up was given by the spokesman, Gholamhossein Elham, but the dismissal of the economics minister in particular comes as Iran faces growing economic problems despite a revenue windfall from high oil prices. An increasing number of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s domestic critics are angry about the country’s pervasive inflation, which by the Central Bank’s calculation has reached an annual rate of 18 percent. Iran’s economy has also suffered because of trade sanctions and other restrictions imposed by the United Nations in response to the Iranian refusal to stop uranium enrichment. Only a week ago, Mr. Elham dismissed rumors about a cabinet shake-up as an April Fools’ Day joke. [Har!] It was not immediately clear from Mr. Elham’s published announcement who would replace the economics minister, Davoud Danesh Jaffari, or the interior minister, Mostafa Pourmohammadi. Nor was it clear when the dismissals were to take effect. Both ministers, however, are among a group of cabinet ministers who were said to be favored by the country’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, when Mr. Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. The interior minister, Mr. Pourmohammadi, is a midranking cleric known to be close to the ayatollah. With the latest dismissals, Mr. Ahmadinejad has removed 8 of the original 21 members of his cabinet, including the country’s veteran nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, who was also close to Ayatollah Khamenei. The daily newspaper Etemad Melli, in a harshly critical editorial on Mr. Ahmadinejad’s performance, called his cabinet shake-ups a “management catastrophe,” and said no ministers could make long-term plans because they feared dismissal at any time. The daily newspaper Kargozaran published a critical commentary by a reformist politician, Hossein Marashi, who wrote that the president should at least explain the dismissals. “People should know that Mr. Danesh Jaffari is being sacked because of the skyrocketing inflation or because of his opposition to the president’s economic policies,” he wrote. Mr. Ahmadinejad has defended his right to choose cabinet ministers on his personal blog, which he updates periodically. In an entry this week, without identifying any minister by name, he wrote that his cabinet choices reflected his policies for progress and development of the country. ******************************************************************************** Hey - Mr. Madjob - can you read the proverbial handwriting on the wall? Oh - what's that you say? You only speak and write Arabic. Well, let me spell it out for you then, darling. As the story goes, one night at a great party given by the King of Babylon a disembodied hand (cue spooky music) suddenly appeared out of the air and, in front of everyone's shocked eyes, wrote upon a wall in large letters (no doubt dripping in blood, but I digress) the following words: MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN None of the King's wisemen could interpret the handwriting on the wall; it was left to his Queen to save the day - by recommending that the King ask the captive Hebrew Daniel to interpret the handwriting. Daniel was brought before the King, and he read the handwriting on the wall: "This is the interpretation of the word MENE: God has numbered [the days of] your kingdom and has finished it. "TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and have been found deficient. "PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians." Later that very night, according to the biblical account, Darius the Mede conquered the city of Babylon and the Chaldean king was killed. See Daniel Chapter 5, Bible. So, Mr. Madjob, you can fire all the ministers you have - it won't do you any good. I believe that great finger of God has once again written on the wall MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN. PARSIN was also a play on words for "Persian." The great Persian people will rise up again and blot you and the Arab interlopers and your false religion from the face of Iran like the smut you are. It's just a matter of time, darling. I'll be sitting back in my rocking chair, enjoying every minute...

The Haunting Spectre

This is a frightening article. The implications are staggering. Price of rice continues record surge Philippines to crack down on hoarding Glenys Sim and Danielle Rossingh, Bloomberg News Published: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 Rice climbed to a record price for a fourth day as the Philippines, the biggest importer, announced plans to buy one million tons and some of the world's largest exporters cut sales to ensure they could feed their own people. Rice, the staple food for half the world, rose as much as 2.9 per cent to $21.60 per 100 pounds in Chicago, double the price from a year ago. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo announced two rice tenders yesterday and pledged to crack down on hoarding. Anyone found guilty of "stealing rice from the people" will be jailed, she said. "We're in for a tough time," Roland Jansen, chief executive officer of Pfaffikon, Switzerland-based Mother Earth Investments AG, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television from Zurich. Unless prices decline, "you will have huge problems of daily nutrition for half the planet." Mother Earth holds about four per cent of its $100 million funds in the grain. China, Egypt, Vietnam and India, accounting for more than one-third of global rice exports, curbed sales this year to protect domestic stockpiles. The World Bank in Washington says 33 nations from Mexico to Yemen may face "social unrest" after food and energy costs increased for six consecutive years. The Philippines, which imports about 15 per cent of its rice, is tightening controls over domestic sales and buying more overseas. The government's rice tenders are in April and May. "I am leading the charge" against any officials and businessmen who divert supplies or distort the price of the staple food, Ms. Arroyo said in a televised speech yesterday. Rice seeding in the United States is behind last year's pace because of flooding in growing regions, the Department of Agriculture says. Farmers in six states have planted 11 per cent of their crop versus 21 per cent a year earlier. "The need to avert social tensions from high food prices" has made "food sufficiency even more urgent," Abah Ofon, a soft-commodities analyst with Standard Chartered Plc, said in a report. Food importers may not be able to meet their needs because of the export limits, said Mr. Ofon, who is based in Dubai. Stockpiles are at their lowest since the 1980s and demand for the grain has gained 40 per cent in the past two decades, he said. © The Ottawa Citizen 2008

Chess News Update

Chess Femme News has been updated, April 10, 2008! Enjoy!

Nazi Origins of Olympic Torch

Whoa! First The Wall Street Journal publishes a story today about the Chinese storm troopers guarding the Olympic torch (Lord Coe called them "thugs") - and now there's this from The Lede at The New York Times: April 9, 2008, 2:21 pm The Beleaguered Torch, Now With Nazi Origins By Mike Nizza For the Olympic torch relay, every day just seems to bring bad news. What began last Tuesday in Beijing as a “Journey of Harmony” had by Sunday become a “public relations nightmare” in London, and worse on Monday in Paris, when the torch was extinguished several times. On Tuesday, international Olympics officials mulled the prospect of canceling the rest of the relay. Jacques Rogge, chief of the International Olympic Committee, later dismissed the possibility, clearing one negative piece of torch news from the register. But others soon filled the void, as the torch landed in its next city of protesters, San Francisco. In the past 24 hours, two major news agencies decided to add a historic touch toward the bottom of their torch-relay articles, the kind that is easy to ignore in happier Olympic times. Here’s The Associated Press version: The Olympic flame wasn’t part of the ancient games, and the torch relay didn’t become a fixture in the modern Olympics until the 1936 Berlin Games, when it was part of the Nazi pageantry that promoted Hitler’s beliefs of Aryan supremacy in the world of sports. And from Reuters: The Olympics first held a torch relay in 1936, the year dictator Adolf Hitler made the Berlin games a showcase of Nazi propaganda. That torch run is captured in one of the most famous — and infamous — Olympic movies ever made, Leni Riefenstahl’s “Olympia.” . . . Cauldrons and parabolic mirrors aside, another question remains: Should the torch’s Nazi-linked past affect its future? Absolutely, says Mary Beard, a columnist for The Times of London (via Clive Davis): I don’t quite understand how we have forgotten that the “Olympic Torch” ceremony was invented by Hitler and his chums. If ever there was an “invented tradition” well worth stamping out, it is this ridiculous, Fascist-inspired waste of money. She was writing on Friday, days before the relay plunged into chaos for completely different reasons. ****************************************************************************************** The Chinese government is fit to be tied about all of this adverse publicity! And the Chinese public - spoon fed censored news by the Communists that isn't giving all sides of the story - is indignant at the fact that in the west, we have the right to free assembly and can - and do - protest anything we want, including the Chinese government's treatment of the native Tibetians. This is my advice to the Chinese government, for what it's worth. Darlings, if you want to play in the big leagues, you have to act big league. If you can dish it out, you have to be able to take it back with equinamity. If you cannot do this - then you're not ready for the big leagues.

Follow-up: Viking Coin Hoard

Prior post. From National Geographic News April 8, 2008 Huge Viking Hoard Discovered in Sweden James Owen Hundreds of ancient coins unearthed last week close to Sweden's main international airport suggests the Vikings were bringing home foreign currency earlier than previously thought, archaeologists say. Buried some 1,150 years ago, the treasure trove is made up mainly of Arabic coins and represents the largest early Viking hoard ever discovered in Sweden. Archaeologists from the Swedish National Heritage Board unexpectedly found the stash of 472 silver coins while excavating a Bronze Age tomb near Stockholm's Arlanda airport. Kenneth Jonsson, a professor of coin studies at the University of Stockholm, has independently dated the hoard to about A.D. 850. "That date is very early, because coin imports [by the Vikings] only start in about [A.D.] 800," Jonsson said. The discovery contains more coins than Sweden's only other known large Viking hoard from the period, which was discovered in 1827, Jonsson added. "That coins were so important to the Vikings at such an early date is very interesting" and suggests they may have engaged in intensive overseas trade earlier than previously believed, he said. Viking Treasure The newfound hoard consists only of eastern coins, which is unsurprising, since early Viking hoards are typically dominated by coins from the Middle East. Most of the coins were minted in Arab locations such as Baghdad in modern-day Iraq and Damascus in Syria. The youngest coin dates to the A.D. 840s. But the oldest coins came from Persia, said dig team member Karin Beckman-Thoor. These Persian coins must have been in circulation for centuries before being buried and "were very high quality," she said. Rest of article.

An Archaeological Find in Michigan

Artifact may be ancient ax blade
Published: April 09, 2008 09:50 am

ESCANABA (AP) -- Ryan Bernard of Escanaba has found a lot of interesting things with his metal detector: an 1837 Quebec bank token, an 1861 penny, a 1916 buffalo nickel.

When he found a hunk of metal buried 2 feet beneath his Lakeshore Drive backyard last summer, he almost threw it in the trash. Upon further examination, it may be an artifact from a prehistoric culture.

"I was about to throw it in the garbage, and I held it up and I saw the honed edge on it," he said.

Ray Reser, director of the Central Wisconsin Archaeology Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, described the object as a copper "celt," a type of ax blade with no perforations or grooves. He said the celt was probably a functioning tool. The piece probably dates from 3,000 to 5,000 years ago.

"We were just out there looking for weed pennies and what not," Bernard said. "To end up digging something like that up is really shocking."

When his detector went off, he wasn't expecting much. "A lot of times when you get a signal that good and it's buried that deep, it's just a big chunk of iron," he said.

He said he dug down, found nothing, got frustrated and recovered the hole. When his father gave him some ribbing for not finding anything, he tried again, a little deeper, and there it was.

Similar findings have been made throughout the Upper Midwest, most notably in Oconto, Wis., where a site unearthed in 1952 now known as Copper Culture State Park yielded several burial plots and artifacts.

Thomas Pleger, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County, wrote his doctoral dissertation on the Old Copper Complex. He described these prehistoric societies as seasonally-mobile people whose temporary homes were based on abundance of particular resources.

Hunting, fishing and trade were the basis of their lives. The Old Copper Complex is one of the oldest metal-working societies in the world. Many sites have been found near major waterways. Pleger said though the shoreline is not likely where it was then, what made land valuable for settlement then still holds true today.

"Where do you see campgrounds today," he said. "Public campgrounds tend to be on high, well-drained land in close proximity to water."

The copper likely started out in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Bernard believes it could have been "float" copper, that is, deposited by retreating glaciers. Pleger said it was more likely acquired via trade.

Keweenaw copper from this era is easily identifiable because of its exceptional 99 percent purity, making it suitable for forming right out of the ground. Reser said Keweenaw copper artifacts have been found in Mexico, the Rockies and the East Coast.

"This stuff was highly coveted. It was intensively traded up and down the Mississippi River valley," he said.

For the first thousands of years, most copper artifacts from this culture were used as tools. By 1000 B.C., Pleger said more pristine items, such as jewelry, can be found.

Bernard wants to find out more about the artifact and the people who may have left it in what would become his backyard. He said the search for its origins has been frustrating, especially since he is not an archaeologist.

"I've learned definitely, first of all, you have to present yourself professionally, even if you're not a professional, so to speak," he said.

Still, he has observed consensus on what he's found.

"All of the people that have actually seen it, when they see it, they recognize what it is," he said.

Pleger said because those people were fairly mobile, and due to the perishable nature of their materials, archaeologists have yet to excavate well-preserved habitation sites connected to the Old Copper Complex, but the nature of their finds does retain some clues.

"One of the other nice things about copper artifacts is that it tends to preserve organic material that it comes into contact with," he said. The oxide created in the copper over time retards bacterial growth.

Most field work on these sites in this region was done in the 1950s and '60s, but Pleger said scholars are starting to re-examine the conclusions made then.

Metal detecting technology has resulted in many similar finds, but not all people have taken as much care with what they found. "Collectors find these things and will often clean them up, destroying the evidence we can use to date them," Pleger said.

Pleger said there are many unknown elements of the Old Copper Complex, but archaeologists, both professional and impromptu, must be smart with what they find.

"It's important to understand that the archaeological resources of Michigan, Wisconsin, Canada are non-renewable," he said.

Bernard said he's awestruck to be able to hold something that might have been from thousands of years ago. "That's an awesome piece of Escanaba history, I think," he said.

An Important Agreement

Plan brokered by UCLA, USC archaeologists would remove roadblock to Mideast peace April 8, 2008 Negotiations lead to first agreement on region's archaeological riches Israelis and Palestinians may not be able to agree right now on their present or future, but, if a pair of Los Angeles archaeologists have their way, they soon will see eye to eye on their past. Working tirelessly for the past five years, Ran Boytner, a University of California, Los Angeles archaeologist and Lynn Swartz Dodd, an archaeologist at the University of Southern California, have guided a team of prominent Israeli and Palestinian archaeologists to arrive at the first-ever agreement on the disposition of the region's archaeological treasures following the establishment of a future Palestinian state. "Israelis and Palestinians never previously had sat down to achieve a structured, balanced agreement to govern the region's archaeological heritage," said Dodd, a lecturer in religion and curator of USC's Archaeological Research Collection. "Our group got together with the vision of a future when people wouldn't be at each other's throats and archaeology would need to be protected, irrespective of which side of the border it falls on." With dozens of high-ranking Israeli, Palestinian, U.S. and international statesmen and Palestinian archaeologists already aware of the Israeli-Palestinian Archaeology Working Group Agreement, the 39-point document now faces its toughest audience: Israeli archaeologists whose country would cede control over tens of thousands of artifacts and hundreds of sites. "We're talking about putting your precious archaeological heritage — things you believe your ancestors created — in the hands of what you now consider to be your enemy," Dodd said. "We're asking enemies to become partners."

Chess News Update

Chess Femme News has been updated, April 9, 2008!

2008 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Chess Life Online reports the following "confirmed" line-up for the 2008 Women's Championship: 1. IM Irina KRUSH 2515 Current Champion 2. IM Anna ZATONSKIH 2490 Rating 3. WGM Rusudan GOLETIANI 2384 Rating 4. WGM Katerine ROHONYAN 2318 Rating 5. WIM Batchimeg TUVSHINTUGS 2289 Rating 6. WFM Tatev ABRAHAMYAN 2280 Rating 7. WIM Tsagaan BATTSETSEG 2251 Rating 8. WFM Iryna ZENYUK 2205 Qualifier 9. WFM Chouchanik AIRAPETIAN 2143 Wild Card 10. Courtney JAMISON 2064 Wild Card The alternate on the rating list for the women is Alisa Melekhina, who will receive an invitation in case any of the above players must withdraw from the event. Just for the record, here are the top ranked U.S. chess femmes from the April, 2008 USCF ratings list: 1. Zatonskih, Anna (12873912) NY USA 2432 (Rating) 2. Rohonyan, Katerine (12973020) MD USA 2322 (Rating) 3. Krush, Irina (12543137) NY USA 2285 (Current Champion) 4. Abrahamyan, Tatev (12851435) CA USA 2242 (Rating) 5. Baginskaite, Camilla (12716466) CA USA 2233 (Rating) 6. Battsetseg, Tsagaan (12719650) MD USA 2147 (Rating) 7. Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg (12925481) CA USA 2103 (Rating) 8. Bianchi, Andrea (13887154) CA USA 2032 9. Sagalchik, Olga (12565069) NY USA 2028 10. Melekhina, Alisa (12726115) PA USA 1980 11. Root, Alexey W (10374651) TX USA 1969 12. Zitserman, Tatyana N (12654535) MN USA 1957 13. Zenyuk, Iryna (12846035) NY USA 1949 (Qualifier) 14. Jamison, Courtney (12746751) TX USA 1948 (Wild card) 15. Marshall, Abby (12784803) VA USA 1946 16. Vicary, Elizabeth (12477355) NY USA 1941 17. Vayserberg, Tatiana (12864285) WI USA 1937 18. Thompson, Tracey C (12750249) NJ USA 1922 19. Airapetian, Chouchanik (12629918) WA USA 1913 (Wild card) 20. Mateer, Amanda Rae (12752032) AZ USA 1906 I thought according to the official rules the participants were supposed to be chosen from the USCF April, 2008 Ratings List (with the exception of Irina Krush, who is the current U.S. Women's Champion, one qualifier, and two wild cards). Where did those different ELOs come from listed for the participants? Those numbers do not match with the USCF ratings. I do not believe those numbers are on the FIDE ratings list either. Irina Krush's FIDE rating is 2479, not 2515. Where did 2515 come from? WGM Goletiani does not even appear on the April, 2008 USCF ratings list. Why does she appear on the list of championship participants with a rating of 2384? By the way, according to FIDE, her current rating is 2383. Was the selection criteria changed? If that is the case, why was there no announcement that the qualifications for selecting particpants had been changed? Can someone please explain this to me?

Chess News Update

Chess Femme News has been updated, April 8, 2008! Enjoy!

Hannah, Bride of the Lord of Death

Notice the mention of the Goddess Inaras and her particular use of the temple tower - rather "chessly" wouldn't you say? Consider also the geometry of the five-pointed star (pentacle) and how it is played out on the chess board. From Barbara Walker's "A Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets." Related to the entry about Jupiter, below. Hannah Biblical version of the Anatolian Grandmother-goddess Hannahanna, or Anna. Hittites called her Hwanhwanar, the Nether Upsurge, married to a sacred king at the Puruli festival, shortly before he was sent down into her Abyss to become the new Lord of Death.(1) Hannah's biblical son bore the same name as the Lord of Death, Sama-El, Sammael or Samuel, from Samana, a Hindu title of the death-god Yama as Conductor of Souls.(2) In Old Iranian, a clan matriarch was the hana, "grandmother." Similarly, the Mother of the virgin mother was worshipped through the Middle East under such names as Hannah, Anna, Nana, In-anna, or "Queen Nana, the Creatress."(3) In Christian tradition she was Anna, the Grandmother of God.(4) Mother of the Virgin Mary was Anna or Hannah, just as Anatolian Hannahanna was the mother of the virgin Mari. Sometimes her virgin aspect was named Inaras, who was also a death-goddess. She annually imprisoned the sacred king in a temple tower, mated with him, then killed him.(5) See Anne, Saint.) Notes: (1) Gaster, 7. (2) Larousse, 346. (3) Stone, 219. (4) Graves, W.G., 410. (5) Hooke, M.E.M., 98-99. Anna-Nin Sumerian prototype of the many forms of the Great Goddess named Anna, Ana, or Hannah throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean lands. The name meant Lady of Heaven. See Anne, Saint. Anne, Saint Mythical mother of the virgin Mary, from the Middle-Eastern Goddess Anna, or Hannah, or Di-Ana, mother of Mari. From Sumeria to pre-Roman Latium she was known as Anna, the Grandmother-Goddess; Anatha in Syria, Anat in Canaan, Ana or Anah in several Old Testament transformations. Long before the Bible was written, the Goddess Anna wa already known as the Grandmother of God. Hence, the choice of her name for the mother of God's Mother is hardly surprising.(1) Syriac versions of the Book of James said God's Grandmother was not Anna but Dinah, actually the same name, a Semitic Di-Ana or "Goddess Ana." Dinah was the ancestress of Dinaite tribes who settled in Sumeria (Ezra 4:9). As Anatha, she was the consort of Yahweh at Elephantine.(2) As Anna Perenna she was Grandmother Time to the Romans, mother of the Aeons. As Ana or Anu she ruled Celtic tribes. As Nanna, she was an incarnation of Freya in the mother-bride of Balder. In Phrygia too, she was Nana, mother of the Savior. She was really as old as the oldest civilization. A Sumerian prayer declared: "Hear O ye regions, the praise of Queen Nana; magnify the Creatress, exalt the dignified, exalt the Glorious One, draw nigh unto the Mighty Lady."(3) Romans worshipped the Goddess as Anna Perenna, "Eternal Anna," mother of the Aeons. She stood at the change of years, a two-headed Goddess of Time with two facesnamed Prorsa and Postverta, looking forward and backward from her heavenly gate among the stars, where one celestial cycle merged into the next. So she stood for both Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. Under the name of Carmenta she invented all the letters in between.(4) She was also Jana, or Juno, mother of the January New Year. [My birth name Janet is a derivative.] Classical myths masculinized her as the two-faced Janus, god of gateways. Christians may have confused icons labeled IANA with the mother of the Virgin; for Jana-Juno was the virgin mother of the savior-god Mars. [The Chief, Ricardo Calvo, didn't call me "Patton" for nothing... .] Ovid said Anna was the same as the Moon-goddess Minerva. Sappho named her "the Queen."(5) To the Celts, she was the same as their Ana, first of the female trinity of the Morrigan, associated with the Cauldron of Regeneration. Her moon-teple used to stand at Cnoc Aine in Limerick, now a shrine of "St. Anne."(6) To Irish pagans, Ana means "mother." It also came to mean wealth, plenty, treasure.(7) As Grandmother-goddess, Ana could be a destroying Crone. Some myths called her Morg-ana, "Invincible Queen Death." Medieval Christians called her Anna of the Angles, or Black Annis, or Angurboda, the Hag of the Iron Wood, mother of Hel.(8) The magic pentacle was the sign of Morg-ana.(9) A similar five-pointed star stood for the underworld in Egyptian hieroglyphics(1) This same star was the official sigil of St. Anne.(11) In her Christianized form, Anne had three husbands, gave birth to many saints, and became the patron of midwives and miners. [The miners are a connection to her mate Dis-Pater/Dyaus Pitar/Jupiter - see posts below.] Neumann says "All this bears witness to her original fertility aspect as Earth Mother."(12) St. Anne was of crucial importance in the dogma of the virgin Mary's immaculate conception, adopted as an article of faith in 1854, after seven centuries of controversy.(13) [No offense against true believing Catholics, but this really cracks me up - finally declaring the virgin birth in 1854, ha ha ha! Perhaps in honor of her Majesty Queen Victoria? Ha ha ha!] In the official Catholic view, original sin was transmitted by sexual acts. Therefore, so Mary could be born without taint of original sin [har!], St. Anne herself had to be innocent of sexuality. Accordingly, Johannes Trithemius proclaimed that Anne "was chosen by God for her appointed services before the foundation of the world. She conceived 'without the action of man' and was as pure as her daughter."(14) At first the church accepted this doctrine, because it seemed to solve the problem of Mary's sinlessness. Later it was rejected. Two virgin births made one too many. In the end, St. Anne was said to have conceived Mary in the normal way but the child was freed in the womb of original sin. Though these intimate matters are supposed to be known in minute detail, churchmen incongruously admit that "nothing whatever is known about the parents of the Virgin Mary."(15) The leaders of the Roman Catholic Church are the same people who point their fingers at the so-called Pagans and say their myths are full of baloney! Ha! Notes: (1) Graves, W.G., 411. (2) Hays, 89. (3) Stone, 219. (4) Larousse, 210. (5) Graves, W.G., 408. (6) Loomis, 387. (7) Joyce, I., 261. (8) Sturluson, 56. (9) Loomis, 342. (10) Budge, E.L., 75. (11) Brewster, 343. (12) Neumann, A.C.U., 57. (13) Young, 203. (14) Neumann, A.C.U., 59. (15) Attwater, 186.

Dis Pater/Dyaus Pitar/Jupiter

From Barbara Walker's "A Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets:" Dis Pater "Father Dis," a Roman name of the Lord of Death inherited from Etruscan times. On occasion he wore the wolf head of the Etruscan god of the dead. Like underground Pluto he was called "the rich one," because he knew everything about mines, deposits of gem stones, and buried treasurer.(1) Gallic Celts worshipped Dis above every other male deity, claiming he was the "father" of their race - in the old way of the dying god who became "father" by shedding his blood (see Kingship). In Britain, Dis was regarded as a universal deity very like Jehovah, whoe later adherents, however, transformed Dis into an alternative name for the devil.(2) Notes: (1) Larousse, 211. (2) Graves,W.G., 45. See also Walker's entry on Jupiter: Roman Heavenly Father, from Sanskrit Dyaus pitar [Sanskrit is probably closest, in terms of minimal corruption from outside influences, to the original language spoken by the Indo-Europeans], the basic Father Heaven mated to Mother Earth. Zeus Pater the Greek Heavenly Father, was another incarnation of the same Aryan deity, whose worship spread westward with migrations and invasions of Indo-European patriarchal tribes. Like his counterparts in other nations, Jupiter was primarily a rain god; his function was to fertilize the soil with seminal moisture. Thus he was connected also with thunder and lightning - his voice and his weapon. He was commonly known as Jupiter Pluvius, "the Heavenly-Father-Who-Rains." Jupiter was added to the originally female Capitoline Triad by outsing the Virgin form of the Goddess, Jeventas, leaving Juno and Minerva as Jupiter's two female partners.(1) Juno was said to be his wife, though like Hera she was much older than her spouse. Notes: (1) Rose, 116.

Chess News Update

Chess Femme News has been updated, April 7, 2008!