Reminder: An Excellent Resource for Board Games Studies

From the blog The Big Game Hunter - invaluable resources for those who study board games/board games history:

(Link updated April 26, 2012 to February, 2012 link at The Big Game Hunter). 

BGS-Board Game Studies

June 28, 2011

By bgh

The International Society for Board Game Studies encourages board game research and hosts a yearly conference. The Board Games Studies colloquium is a multi-cultural event in which scholars, university professors, museum curators, and others involved in games research in the international community speak on various aspects of board games and board game study. Participants also include historians, authors, game inventors, collectors, and game company directors and representatives.

Some of the research is very general and examines board games as a part of play and learning in different cultures. Other studies relate to specific board games and their evolution; such games include backgammon, mancala (wari, oware, awele, et. al.), Halma (Chinese Checkers), the game of India (Parchesi, Ludo, et. al.), checkers, chess, and others.

The International Society for Board Game Studies has previously published a journal, Board Game Studies, and usually issues a book of proceedings following each colloquium.

The BGS group holds research seminars every year, meeting each time in a different country, usually in April.

Previous BGS colloquia have been held in:

• 1995: Leiden, The Netherlands
• 1997: Leiden, The Netherlands
• 1999: Florence, Italy
• 2001: Fribourg, Switzerland
• 2002: Barcelona, Spain
• 2003: Marburg, Germany
• 2004: Philadelphia, PA, USA
• 2005: Oxford, UK
• 2006: Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
• 2007: St. Pölten, Austria
• 2008: Lisbon, Portugal
• 2009: Jerusalem, Israel
• 2010: Paris, France
• 2011: Bruges, Belgium

Coming up:

• 2012: Munich-Haar, Germany
• 2013-2014?: Edinburgh, Scotland; Poland (we were hoping to get to Munich in 2012, but it looks like we'll be going to Edinburgh in 2013 instead)

The Board Game Studies colloquia began as Board Games in Academia, following a preliminary gathering in the early 1990s in England, hosted by Irving Finkel, curator (keeper) of the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum.

Abstracts, Journals and Proceedings

Abstracts were given to BGS colloquium participants but were never made available to the general public.

Proceedings have also been published at various times, based on some of the individual meetings. In 1995, Alex de Voogt published the proceedings from the first Board Games in Academia symposium. This is no longer available.

Board Games Studies, an academic journal for historical and systematic research on board games, was published from 1998 to 2004. Scroll to the bottom of this page for a list of articles, many of which were based on talks given at the various symposia. During this period, only one set of proceedings were published:

•Fribourg University Press published symposium chairperson Jean Retschitzki’s proceedings from the 2001 colloquium in Fribourg, Switzerland. as the book Step by Step. This is now out of print.

•The Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI were published by host Jorge Nuno Silva after the 2008 Lisbon conference. Originally available in print, the material can now be found online as a pdf. Click on Lisbon 2008 (be patient — it takes a long time to load). You can also purchase the book on Amazon: click on BGS 2008

•The proceedings of the 2009 colloquium in Paris, hosted by Thierry Depaulis, are due to be published on CD in late 2011 or 2012. Though designed primarily for the speakers (who will all receive one) and attendees (who can purchase one), some copies may be made available for sale to the general public.

International Journal for the Study of Board Games

Board Games Studies, an academic journal for historical and systematic research on board games, was published from 1998 to 2004. Its object was to provide a forum for board games research from all academic disciplines in order to further our understanding of the development and distribution of board games within an interdisciplinary academic context.
Click on the title below to be taken to the BGS website page that has an abstract for the article in English, French and German. At the end of each abstract in issues 1-3, you can download a pdf. of the article.
Issue #1
. Articles / Articles / Beiträge

• Ulrich Schädler, Mancala in Roman Asia Minor?
• Thierry Depaulis, Inca Dice and Board Games
• Vernon A. Eagle, On a Phylogenetic Classification of Mancala Games, with some Newly Recorded Games from the “Southern Silk Road,” Yunnan Province, China
• Caroline G. Goodfellow, The Development of the English Board Game, 1770 – 1850
• Lieve Verbeeck, Bul: A Patolli Game In Maya Lowland

-1. Research Notes / Notes de recherche / Forschungsberichte

• Irving L. Finkel, Edward Falkener: Old Board Games for New

-1. Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / Rezensionen

• E.R. Santos Silva, Jogos de quadrícula do tipo Mancala, by Philip Townshend
• A. van der Stoep, Over de herkomst van het woord damspel, by Rob Jansen
• M. Zollinger, Bibliographie der Spielbücher, par Thierry Depaulis

Issue #2
-1. Articles / Articles / Beiträge

• Benedikt Rothöhler, Mehen, God of the Board Games
• Hermann-Josef Röllicke, Von “Winkelwegen”, “Eulen” und “Fischziehern” liubo: ein altchinesisches Brettspiel für Geister und Menschen
• Andreas Bock-Raming, The Gaming Board in Indian Chess and Related Board Games: a terminological investigation
• Peter Mebben, Die Arithmomachia des Abraham Ries und weitere neuzeitliche Überlieferungen der Rithmomachie
• Michel Boutin & Pierre Parlebas, La Métromachie ou la bataille géométrique
• Alexander J. de Voogt, Distribution of Mancala Board Games: a methodological inquiry
• Bruce Whitehill, American Games: a historical perspective

-1. Research Notes / Notes de recherche / Forschungsberichte

• Ulrich Schädler, Vom 20-Felder-Spiel zum Würfelvierschach?

-1. Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / Rezensionen

• W. Decker & M. Herb, Bildatlas zum Sport im Alten Ägypten, by Irving Finkel
• M. Fittà, Giochi e giocattoli nell’antichità, von Anita Rieche
• Alfonso el Sabio, Il libro dei giochi, P. Canettieri, ed., by Ulrich Schädler
• R. Ineichen, Würfel und Wahrscheinlichkeit, von Jörg Bewersdorff
• N. R. Keesen & A. v. der Stoep, Blinddammen en blindschaken, by Rob Nierse

Issue #3
-1. Articles / Articles / Beiträge

• Pascal Romain, Les représentations des jeux de pions dans le Proche-Orient ancien et leur signification
• Alex R. Kraaijeveld, Origin of Chess A Phylogenetic Perspective
• Kôichi Masukawa, Kurze Geschichte des Tricktrack in Japan
• Philipp von Hilgers, Eine Anleitung zur Anleitung. Das taktische Kriegsspiel 1812-1824
• Jeroen Donkers, Alex de Voogt, Jos Uiterwijk, Human versus Machine Problem-Solving: Winning Openings in Dakon

-1. Documents and Materials / Documents et Matériaux / Dokumente und Materialien

• Alexander J. de Voogt, Mancala boards (Olinda Keliya) in the National Museums of Colombo

-1. Research Notes / Notes de recherche / Forschungsberichte

• Thierry Depaulis, Les Indo-Européens jouaient-ils aux dés?
• Anne-E. Dunn-Vaturi, “The Monkey Race”. Remarks on Board Games Accessories
• Ulrich Schädler, Medieval Nine-Men’s Morris with Dice
• Spartaco Albertarelli, 1000s Ways to Play Monopoly

-1. Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / Rezensionen

• A. Sanvito & K. Whyld (ed.), Il Dilettevole, e Giudizioso Giuoco de Scacchi, by Gianfelice Ferlito
• C. & L. Gavazzi, Giocare sulla pietra, by Thierry Depaulis
• J. Bewersdorff, Glück, Logik und Bluff, by Jos Uiterwijk
• G. Westerveld, De invloed van de Spaanse koningin Isabel la Catolica op de nieuwe sterke dame, by Arie van der Stoep
• G. Westerveld, De invloed van de Spaanse koningin Isabel la Catolica op de nieuwe sterke dame, par Thierry Depaulis

Issue #4
-1. Articles / Articles / Beiträge

• Alf Næsheim, Daldøsa, An old dice game with an obscure origin
• Erik Østergaard and Anne Gaston, Daldøs the Rules
• Peter Michaelsen, Daldøs, an almost forgotten dice board game
• Alan Borvo, Sahkku, the “Devil’s game”
• Thierry Depaulis, Jeux de parcours du monde arabo-musulman (Afrique du Nord et Proche-Orient)
• Thierry Depaulis, An Arab game in the North Pole?

-1. Documents and Materials / Documents et Matériaux / Dokumente und Materialien

• Andreas Bock-Raming, Das 8. Kapitel des Hariharacaturanga: ein spätmittelalterlicher Sanskrittext über eine Form des “Großen Schachs”. Annotierte Übersetzung und Interpretation

-1. Book Reviews

• Peter Banaschak, Schachspiele in Ostasien, by Ken Whyld.
• Michel Boutin, Le Livre des jeux de pions,by Joris Wiersinga.
• Jean-Louis Cazaux, Guide des échecs exotiques et insolites, by Ulrich Schädler.
• Masukawa Koichi, Awasemono by Sepp Linhart.
• David Parlett , The Oxford History of Board Games, by Egbert Meissenburg,

-1. Obituary

• Yuri Averbakh, In memory of Natalia Ivanova (July 22nd 1947 – February 21st 1998)

Issue #5
-1. Articles / Articles / Beiträge

• Alessandro Sanvito, Das Rätsel des Kelten-Spiels
• Yasuji Shimizu and Shin’ichi Miyahara, with Kôichi Masukawa, Game boards in the Longmen Caves and the game Fang
• Susanne Formanek & Sepp Linhart, Playing with filial piety – some remarks on a 19th-century variety of Japanese pictorial sugoroku games
• Irving Finkel, Pachisi in Arab garb
• Wolfgang Angerstein, Das Säulenspiel Laska: Renaissance einer fast vergessenen Dame-Variante mit Verbindungen zum Schach

-1. Research Notes / Notes de recherche / Forschungsberichte

• Thomas Thomsen, Chess in Europe in the 5th century?
• Jean-Marie Lhôte, Martin Le Franc et la dame enragée
• Arie van der Stoep, Early Spanish board-games

-1. Obituary / Nécrologie / Nachruf

• Ricardo Calvo (22.10.1943 – 26.9.2002), von Ulrich Schädler

-1. Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / Rezensionen

• Antonio Panaino, La novella degli scacchi e della tavola reale, von Egbert Meisenburg
• Grigori L. Semenov, Studien zur sogdischen Kultur an der Seidenstraße, von Ulrich Schädler
• Leo van der Heijdt, Face to face with dice: 5000 years of dice and dicing, par Thierry Depaulis

Issue #6
Articles / Articles / Beiträge

• Peter Michaelsen, On some unusual types of stick
• Rangachar Vasantha, Board Games from the City of Vijayanagara (Hampi) (1336-1565): a survey and a study
• Mayarí­ Granados, Reflections on the role of baroque games tables with allegories of war in German courts
• Andrew Morris-Friedman and Ulrich Schädler, “Juden Raus!” (Jews Out!): History’s most infamous board game

-1. Documents and Materials

• Manfred Zollinger, Zwei unbekannte Regeln des Gänsespiels: Ulisse Aldrovandi und Herzog August d.J. von Braunschweig-Lüneburg

-1. Research Notes / Notes de recherche / Forschungsberichte

• Thierry Depaulis, Un jeu de pions mapuche au XVIe siècle
• Alex de Voogt, Hawalis in Oman: a first account of expertise and dispersal of four-row mancala in the Middle East

-1. Obituary / Näcrologie / Nachruf

• Ken Whyld (6 March 1926-11 July 2003), by Jurgen Stigter
• Alain Borveau (1933-2002), by Thierry Depaulis

-1. Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / Rezensionen

• Renate Syed,Kanauj, die Maukharis und das Caturanga. Der Ursprung des Schachspiels und sein Weg von Indien nach Persien, von Egbert Meisenburg
• Robert Bollschweiler,Die Handschriften großer Schach, von Hans Holländer
• Roberto Convenevole and Francesco Bottone,La storia di Risiko e l’anello mancante : origini e evoluzione del gioco di strategia più diffuso nel mondo, by Thierry Depaulis

Issue #7
-1. Articles / Articles / Beiträge

• Stephen Duff, Go and Order
• Katsumi Yuhara, The Evolution of Sugoroku Boards
• Michel Boutin, Les jeux de pions à la Belle èpoque

-1. Research Notes / Notes de recherche / Forschungsberichte

• Thierry Depaulis et Jean Simonata, La plus ancienne représentation datée de joueurs de dames (1492)
• Claudia Engler, Karten-, Würfel- und Brettspiel im spätmittelalterlichen und frühneuzeitlichen Bern

-1. Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / Rezensionen

• Jean Louis Cazaux, Du Senet au Backgammon. Les jeux de parcours, von Ulrich Schädler
• Jean Louis Cazaux, Gerhard Josten, Myron Samsin, The Anatomy of Chess. Überlegungen zur Herkunft des Schachspiels, von Ulrich Schädler
• Francis Willughby’s Book of Games. A Seventeenth-Century Treatise on Sports, Games and Pastimes, by David Parlett

Mastering Chess

How interesting that this article has appeared, when I'm seriously contemplating taking lessons.

From Science Daily
Mastering Chess: Deliberate Practice Is Necessary but Not Sufficient, Psychologists Find
ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2011) — Psychological scientist Guillermo Campitelli is a good chess player, but not a great one. "I'm not as good as I wanted," he says. He had an international rating but not any of the titles that chess players get, like Grandmaster and International Master. "A lot of people that practiced much less than me achieved much higher levels." Some of the players he coached became some of the best players in Argentina. "I always wondered: What's going on? Why did this happen?"

Now a researcher at Edith Cowan University in Joondalup, Australia, Campitelli studies practicing. He's written an article with Fernand Gobet of Brunel University in the United Kingdom on their and other people's research on chess for Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

In one survey of chess players in Argentina, Campitelli and Gobet found that, indeed, practice is important. All of the players that became masters had practice at least 3,000 hours. "That was not surprising," he says. There is a theory in psychology that the more you practice, the better you'll do in areas like sports, music, and chess. "But the thing is, of the people that achieved the master level, there are people that achieved it in 3,000 hours. Other people did, like, 30,000 hours and achieved the same level. And there are even people that practiced more than 30,000 hours and didn't achieve this."

Campitelli and Gobet concluded that practice is necessary to get to the master level -- but it's not enough. There has to be something else that sets apart the people who get really good at chess.

Similar results on practice have been found for music. A study published in Psychological Science last year found that musicians need a lot of practice, but that practice isn't enough. The researchers identified one additional factor: musicians who are better at sight-reading have better working memory, the ability to keep relevant pieces of information active in your mind.

But, for chess, that factor has not been pinned down. One possibility is intelligence. A lot of studies have found that children who play chess have a higher IQ than the general population. (Because of the ongoing debate on whether IQ really shows intelligence, Campitelli prefers to be conservative and call it "IQ.") But studies have found mixed results on whether adults who play chess have higher IQs than adults who don't play chess. And only one study -- of several that have been performed -- found that adults with higher IQs are better at chess.

Campitelli and Gobet suggest that more intelligent children may be attracted to chess, and use their good reasoning skills to play well, but later they need to practice hard to learn all the strategies and plans that make a good chess player -- and intelligence isn't much help.

Other things that set apart chess players are handedness -- while about 90 percent of the general population is right-handed, only about 82 percent of adult chess players are right-handed. This could indicate some difference in brain development that makes people better at the spatial skills you need to be good at chess. But it still doesn't explain what makes some people better at chess than others.

Campitelli was disappointed that he didn't get to be a better chess player, despite all his practice. "But actually, when I started studying these things, I was happy, because I don't play chess as well as I want, but I can do scientific research and I can coach other people."

Blast from the Past: Russians to Raise Treasure Ship

No kidding, this came up in a news search today at Archaeologica:

What the hell is taking Putin so long to broadcast on Russian public television the recovery of Catherine the Great's treasures?  Should we not by now have been deluged with images of  Putin from 2008 (ahem) diving beneath the frigid waters, not even in a "bell" suit, just holding his breath down 135 plus feet and feeling around for treasure with a flashlight attached to his head with a rubberband...

Article from the telegraph.co.uk

Russia to raise shipwreck containing Catherine the Great's treasures

Russia plans to raise a schooner that sank off the coast of Finland in 1771 with gold, precious porcelain and Dutch paintings for Empress Catherine the Great aboard.

10:23PM GMT 18 Nov 2008
[Is this like Russian April Fools' Day???]

The Frau Maria was commissioned by Catherine the Great to transport precious porcelain, gold, silver, bronze and 27 paintings by Dutch masters for her art collection, which became the basis for the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg.

But the ship was struck by a storm in October 1771 and sank 41 metres (135 feet) off the coast of what was then Sweden, Tarasov said.

Artem Tarasov, head of the Rescue of National Cultural and Historic Valuables fund, said the project would take two years.

"We would like to say that within two years all necessary measures will be taken and in 2010 we will be able to finally see what secrets this ship holds." There is hope that the paintings have not been ruined, he said. [Yeah, right.]

Catherine herself sent off several expeditions in vain efforts to raise the schooner, which may indicate that the paintings, whose total cost could be up to 100 million euros, were packed into leaden boxes sealed with wax and could yet be salvaged, Tarasov said.

Experts from Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands determined that soft ropes would be slipped beneath the well-preserved schooner, which would then be brought to dry dock to avoid unnecessary danger during the treasure hunt.  Hermitage deputy director Georgy Vilinbakhov said the museum was ready to welcome the precious cargo, which would arrive nearly 240 years late.  "We will work throughout 2009 to understand what we may face if that cargo is found and there is something to restore," he said.

It was not immediately clear, however, if Russia would be able to claim the entire cargo, even though it is technically the legal successor to all property of the Russian empire.

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIV

Update - the final results/standings are in from Round 4!  USCF ratings changes will be posted later tonight, probably:

Winners/top finishers in the Open and Reserve Sections and results/rankings for the ladies:

OPEN SECTION (46)

No. Name St Rate Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Score

1. Santarius, Erik (1)........... WI 2381 W30 W29 W5 D3 3.5
2. Sawalani, Navin (5)........... WI 2249 D19 W14 W11 W10 3.5
14. Ulrich, Rachel J (29)......... WI 1721 W41 L2 D12 W37 2.5 (Rachel wins $100 from Goddesschess)
25. Rajendra, Anupama (35)........ WI 1611 W43 L18 L19 W38 2.0 (Anupama wins $80 from Goddesschess)
43. Karimikonda, Teja (46)........ WI 1242 L25 W41 L30 L22 1.0 (Teja wins $40 from Goddesschess)

RESERVE SECTION (36)

1. MacLeish, Brian (3)........... WI 1568 W29 W25 D3 W10 3.5
2. Shefsky, Michael W (1)........ WI 1586 L14 W26 W30 W12 3.0
3. Kaczmarek, Daniel (7)......... WI 1467 W17 W23 D1 D6 3.0
4. Wright, Gary M (9)............ WI 1395 W30 L11 W27 W16 3.0
5. Reese Sr, Gregory (11)........ WI 1383 L23 W27 W28 W18 3.0
6. Andersson, Mitchel (13)....... WI 1358 W37 W24 D11 D3 3.0
7. Pahl, Sandra R (14)........... WI 1342 L11 W28 W20 W13 3.0
8. Ulrich, Susanna G (18)........ WI 1279 L25 W17 W21 W14 3.0  
9. Loomer, Xavier Mar (21)....... WI 1182 L21 W36 W24 W23 3.0
10. McVicker, Marqis (37)......... WI nnnn W20 W15 W13 L1 3.0 (an excellent tournament for Marqis)
15. Huang, Alena (15)............. WI 1335 L13 L10 W35 W31 2.0
18. Murali, Anjana (22)........... WI 1169 -H- D22 W25 L5 2.0
20. Huang, Sabrina (27)........... WI 914 L10 W35 L7 W29 2.0
31. Wanek, Ellen A (28)........... WI 906 L26 W37 L14 L15 1.0
33. Ulrich, Anne E (36)........... WI 182 -N- -N- -N- W37 1.03
4. Murali, Ananya (30)........... WI 753 -H- L19 L29 L22 0.5
35. Newton, Jan L (33)............ WI 579 L28 L20 L15 -N- 0.0
37. Foat, Patricia J (35)......... WI 350 L6 L31 L32 L33 0.0

Rachel Ulrich in the Open and Sandra Pahl in the Reserve also win paid entry to Hales Corners Chess Challenge XV, should they choose to play in that event (April, 2012!)

Southwest Chess Club blog entry and photos.

2011 Unive Hoogeveen

Crown Group results R6 and final standings:
Pairings round 6 (Saturday, 22 October 2011)

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	GM Polgar, Judit	1.5	2701	GM Kramnik, Vladimir	4.0	2791	½-½
2	GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	2.0	2715	GM Giri, Anish	2.5	2722	½-½

Final

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	GM Kramnik, Vladimir	4.5	M	2791	2906	+0.86	1	1	½	½	1	½
2	GM Giri, Anish	3.0	M	2722	2736	+0.12	0	½	½	½	1	½
3	GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	2.5	M	2715	2681	-0.32	½	½	½	½	0	½
4	GM Polgar, Judit	2.0	F	2701	2618	-0.66	½	0	½	½	0	½

Judit performed below par for her.

In the Open, unfortunately GM Alex Lenderman (USA) was not able to hold his place - he lost his final game and finished in 4th place overall:

Rank	Name	Score	Fed.	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	BH	SB	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	GM Tiviakov, Sergei	7.0	NED	M	2647	2652	+0.21	52.0	38.75	1	1	1	½	½	1	0	1	1
2	IM Van Kampen, Robin	7.0	NED	M	2529	2628	+1.30	50.5	38.25	½	1	1	1	½	½	½	1	1
3	GM Ernst, Sipke	7.0	NED	M	2581	2561	+0.06	48.5	37.25	0	1	1	1	1	½	½	1	1
4	GM Lenderman, Aleksandr	6.5	USA	M	2562	2623	+0.91	53.5	36.5	1	1	1	1	½	½	½	1	0

In Love Eternally?

Hmmmm....  What the article doesn't ask is whether the woman went willingly to the grave with her mate (I am presuming he died first).  It seems to be suggested that they died at the same time or very close together, although a cause of death has not been mentioned for either in this short article and, indeed, has yet to be determined!  Further study of the remains is pending.  So, my question is - was the woman killed (sacrificed) and then "posed" in this loving scenario?  I can go further - what if the male was killed (sacrificed) after the woman died, and set in the tomb in the faithful, loving pose?

Am I just being overly suspicious???

From Discovery News
Couple Held Hands for 1,500 Years
The man and woman were likely buried facing each other in Italy in the 5th century A.D.
By Rossella Lorenzi
Fri Oct 21, 2011 10:30 AM ET

Two skeletons found in central-northern Italy
reveal the couple was buried holding hands some 1,500
years ago. Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici
dell'Emilia-Romagna

The skeletal remains of a Roman-era couple reveal the pair has been holding hands for 1,500 years.
Italian archaeologists say the man and woman were buried at the same time between the 5th and 6th century A.D. in central-northern Italy. Wearing a bronze ring, the woman is positioned so she appears to be gazing at her male partner.

"We believe that they were originally buried with their faces staring into each other. The position of the man's vertebrae suggests that his head rolled after death," Donato Labate, the director of the excavation at the archaeological superintendency of Emilia-Romagna, told Discovery News.

The tender discovery was made during ordinary construction work in Modena and was announced this week. Labate explained the dig revealed three layers of scientific interest.

The deeper layer, some 23 feet below the surface, contained the remains of Roman-era structures, including a calcara where mortar was produced. The ruins belonged to the suburbs of Modena, then called Mutina.

"A middle layer, at a depth of about 10 feet, featured 11 burials, while a third stratification on top of the necropolis, revealed seven empty tombs," Labate said.

Excavated by archaeologist Licia Diamanti, the skeleton couple belonged to the 11 tomb necropolis. According to Labate, the simple fossa (trench) tombs suggest that the people buried there were not particularly rich.

"They were possibly the inhabitants of a farm," Labate said.

The area was subjected to several floods from the nearby river Tiepido -- which may have caused the male skeleton's skull to roll away from the female skeleton after burial. The necropolis was covered by alluvial deposits, and on top of them, another seven tombs were built.

"These burials were empty. Most likely, they were covered by another flood just after their construction. We think it was a catastrophic flood which occurred in 589, as reported by the historian Paul the Deacon," Labate said.

The two skeletons, which are poorly preserved, will be now studied by Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist at the University of Bologna. The research includes establishing the couple's age, their relationship and the possible cause of death.

"In antiquity, it is not surprising to learn of spouses or members of a family dying at the same time: whenever epidemics such as the Black Plague ravaged Europe, one member of the family would often die while the family was trying to bury another member," Kristina Killgrove, a biological anthropologist at the University of North Carolina, told Discovery News.

In 2007 another skeleton couple, buried between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago, was found at a neolithic site near Mantua, just 25 miles south of Verona, where Shakespeare set the romantic story of Romeo and Juliet.

Locked in a tender embrace, they also looked at one another in apparent defiance of time and decay.

"The two couples are separated in time by five millennia, and both evoke an uplifting tenderness. I have been involved in many digs, but I've never felt so moved," Labate said.

According to Killgrove, the positioning of the Modena skeletons, looking at one another and holding hands, indeed suggests they may have been a couple.

"Whoever buried these people likely felt that communicating their relationship was just as important in death as it was in life," Killgrove said. [I don't think anyone can confidently reach this conclusion until more thorough forensic studies of the remains have been completed!  Like I suggest above, the bodies could have been posed to make the couple look like they were devoted to each other even in the grave, while the reality was much different!]

Indian Girls Shed "Unwanted" Names

I just don't know what to say when confronted with an article like this, and it takes a lot (as you well know) to render me speechless:

285 Indian girls shed 'unwanted' names

By CHAYA BABU - Associated Press | AP – 6 hrs ago

MUMBAI, India (AP) — More than 200 Indian girls whose names mean "unwanted" in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life.

A central Indian district held a renaming ceremony it hopes will give the girls new dignity and help fight widespread gender discrimination that gives India a skewed gender ratio, with far more boys than girls.

The 285 girls — wearing their best outfits with barrettes, braids and bows in their hair — lined up to receive certificates with their new names along with small flower bouquets from Satara district officials in Maharashtra state.

In shedding names like "Nakusa" or "Nakushi," which mean "unwanted" in Hindi, some girls chose to name themselves after Bollywood stars like "Aishwarya" or Hindu goddesses like "Savitri." Some just wanted traditional names with happier meanings, such as "Vaishali" or "prosperous, beautiful and good."

"Now in school, my classmates and friends will be calling me this new name, and that makes me very happy," said a 15-year-old girl who had been named Nakusa by a grandfather disappointed by her birth. She chose the new name "Ashmita," which means "very tough" or "rock hard" in Hindi.

The plight of girls in India came to a focus as this year's census showed the nation's sex ratio had dropped over the past decade from 927 girls for every 1,000 boys under the age of 6 to 914. Maharashtra state's ratio is well below that, with just 883 girls for every 1,000 boys — down from 913 a decade ago. In the district of Satara, it is even lower at 881.

Such ratios are the result of abortions of female fetuses, or just sheer neglect leading to a higher death rate among girls. The problem is so serious in India that hospitals are legally banned from revealing the gender of an unborn fetus in order to prevent sex-selective abortions, though evidence suggests the information gets out.

Part of the reason Indians favor sons is the enormous expense of marrying off girls. Families often go into debt arranging marriages and paying for elaborate dowries. A boy, on the other hand, will one day bring home a bride and dowry. Hindu custom also dictates that only sons can light their parents' funeral pyres.

Over the years, and again now, there are efforts to fight the discrimination.

"Nakusa is a very negative name as far as female discrimination is concerned," said Satara district health officer Dr. Bhagwan Pawar, who came up with the idea for the renaming ceremony.

Other incentives, announced by federal or state governments every few years, include free meals and free education to encourage people to take care of their girls, and even cash bonuses for families with girls who graduate from high school.

Activists say the name "unwanted," which is widely given to girls across India, gives them the feeling they are worthless and a burden.

"When the child thinks about it, you know, 'My mom, my dad, and all my relatives and society call me unwanted,' she will feel very bad and depressed," said Sudha Kankaria of the organization Save the Girl Child. But giving these girls new names is only the beginning, she said.

"We have to take care of the girls, their education and even financial and social security, or again the cycle is going to repeat."

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIV

I'm here, about to start R2.  I lost my first game (as expected) - player was rated 1033 to my 579, eek!

I gave him a battle but in the end he got me, aaaaaahhhhhhh.....

Now I've got to run and see who I'm paired against.  Ellen Wanek is here - more later.

Update 1:55 p.m.
Well, I went down in flames to Sabrina Huang in 22 minutes - and I had the white pieces.  Going downhill fast - my head hurts!  Ouch!

On a positive note, there are 12 female players out of 80, for an excellent participation rate of about 15%!  I'm absolutely delighted.  There are three femmes playing in the Open, including Rachel Ulrich who I believe has a 1728 rating.  She won her first game and in game 2 has the black pieces against a player rated above 2200, so she's going to have her work cut out for her!  All the rest of us femmes are playing in the Reserve.

Today I met Pat Foat, who has 2 sons who play chess and she learned to play so she could play while they're playing! This is Pat's first rated tournament.  She also plays casually at the Southwest Chess Club and at a chess club in Waukesha.  Each of her sons belongs to his "own" club!

Ellen Wanek teaches chess to kids in Sheboygan-area schools.  She's got a rating in the 900s, she wasn't exactly sure.  She won game 2 against Pat.  I'm not sure, but I expect I may be paired with Pat for R3.

I'm about spent - it's amazing that I can spend a day stomping around the Met and never get exhausted (until I fall over when my legs give out, that is) and yet playing two chess games since 10 a.m. has sapped my brain!  Round 3 begins at 3:30.  I must try to play better! 

I have taken only a few pictures.  I should wrap this up now and go track down some of the other femmes and ask if I can take their photos...

Update: 
It's now 5:31 and I am home.  I left at the end of R3, which did not last very long.  I was horribly pathetic in my last game and I feel awful, actually, that I did not give more of a game to Alena Huang.  I lasted 8 lousy moves.  Eight!  Someone just take me out and shoot me now, please.  Yeah yeah, she's rated 1300 something, but I give Shira (who at her peak was over 1700) better games than I gave Alena H. today. Sorry, Alena. 

I was too tired to stick around after I finished R3 to try and get pics of some of the female players and in no shape to wait until the conclusion of R4, which doesn't begin until 6 p.m., to hand out prize checks to the winners!  Maybe next Challenge -  but I won't play in that one, I'll just hang around making a pest of myself with my camera and asking stupid questions, darlings!  LOL!  We'll see.  Right now, my head hurts and I'm dehydrated.  Wine, I need wine...

Unfortunately the one photo that I did take was blurry - it's of Ellen Wanek and Marquis McVicker (I hope I have his name right).  He's a senior in high school and a scholastic player; and he won his first two games in the Reserve Section where I played.  He has a scholastic rating (which I don't know) but he does not have a USCF rating. Today he joined USCF in order to play in the HCCC XIV and he will now get a USCF rating, which I expect will be very respectable!  He's a cool, collected young man, and very charming.  I hope he continues to play in USCF-rated events.

Pat Foat's son, Dustin, took this photo of four of us chess femmes before the start of R2 - unfortunately also a little blurry:

On the left is Ellen Wanek and me (Ellen is pointing at me and I was making a face), and across from us are Sabrina Huang, who was my opponent in R2, and in front of her is Pat Foat. 

I was able to meet/greet some other female players and some parents of some of the younger players.  Tom Fogec (one of the TDs) insisted in spotting me out by introducing me to both Open and Reserve Sections, and I think I stayed red for the rest of the tournament.  He told me that he'd also done that at the last Challenge I attended (Challenge XII) - I must have blanked the memory out of my mind...

So, in retrospect, my first game was probably my best - at least I lasted 28 moves until I was mated, ach!  That was also my longest game, time wise.  Time issues are definitely not a problem with my play at its current level...

I am pleased to report that I did manage to write down each and every move that I made as well as the moves of my challengers.  Now, I'll admit it's not all in official notation and I may have muffed some of them and put our pieces in impossible squares - although some of the easy stuff like pawn from e2 to e4 I did absolutely 100% correct!  Life Master Sheldon G., who was available throughout the Tournament in the Skittles Room to go over games with the players afterwards, was present and saw some of my R3 game and I think I nearly gave him a stroke, poor man.  Alas, Life Master, I have not improved one iota from the woman who hung a knight a year ago...

Soooo - here's some news from the Southwest Chess Club's blog:

In the Open, going into R4:

25. Ulrich, Rachel J (29)......... WI 1721 W39 L4 D19 A31 1.5
37. Rajendra, Anupama (35)........ WI 1611 W41 L21 L11 A32 1.0
41. Karimikonda, Teja (46)........ WI 1242 L37 W39 L20 A35 1.0

Honorary Mention to Anne Ulrich, who did not officially play in the Tournament but consented to be a - I'm not sure I've got the term right - table player?.  Tom F. explained to me that this is a person who agrees to play another player who otherwise would be left without a game because of an odd number of players.

In the Reserve, going into R4:

1. McVicker, Marqis (37)......... WI nnnn W28 W23 W8 A2 3.0
12. Pahl, Sandra R (14)........... WI 1342 L3 W27 W28 A8 2.0
14. Ulrich, Susanna G (18)........ WI 1279 L21 W24 W30 A10 2.0
16. Murali, Anjana (22)........... WI 1169 -H- D32 W21 A11 2.0
23. Huang, Alena (15)............. WI 1335 L8 L1 W34 A29 1.0
28. Huang, Sabrina (27)........... WI 914 L1 W34 L12 A22 1.0
29. Wanek, Ellen A (28)........... WI 906 L19 W36 L10 A23 1.0
33. Murali, Ananya (30)........... WI 753 -H- L17 L22 A32 0.5
34. Newton, Jan L (33)............ WI 579 L27 L28 L23 -N- 0.0
36. Foat, Patricia J (35)......... WI 350 L5 L29 L31 A37 0.0
37. Ulrich, Anne E (36)........... WI 182 -N- -N- -N- A36 0.0

P.S. Here's a pic I tried to take of myself after I got home, just to show that I am actually still alive and it is not the Ghost of Jan Newton writing this:

My Xena, Princess Warrior figure is chastising me above my head (she's riding the black elephant - a potent chess symbol).  Well, at least my outfit was nice!

Personal Stuff - You Can Skip This, Darlings...

THANK YOU, LUCILLE! 

Lucille and I are related through the Makuski line on my mom's side of the family tree.  She sent me an email yesterday that I didn't get to read until this morning.  HOLY GODDESS!  It has information that I did not have before, including the name of the parents of one Josef Jablonski, whom I had not been able to trace back beyond his stating on old census records that he came to America in 1871 from Poland.  The information includes the names of his parents, which did not previously have!  It also has contact information to a descendant of one of Josef's children, but it's from 2004.  I will try and follow-up.

So - tonight I'm going to be working on family tree stuff because Christmas is looming -- it will be here sooner than I think!  I've got to get the major family lines firmed up and printed, and then add photographs, obituaries and histories to round things out.  A major undertaking.

Tomorrow it's C-DAY!  The Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIV is upon me. EEEK EEEK EEEK!

LOL!  Seriously, darlings, I'm not ready for prime-time but I have to tell you, I had some of the most interesting chess conversations today that I've ever had in life.  What's more, on the one that took place coming home tonight from the office, half the bus listened in on it and had input!

I'm not kidding you!  Damn, this is one time I wish I had one of those fancy-pants cellphones where I could have recorded what happened, it was just so much fun.

As you know, I'm a relatively new member of the CCR (Crazy Cougars Rock).  But we don't restrict ourselves to cougars.  I'm the oldest at 60; "Thelma" (not her real name, it has to do with a long involved conversation we had about "Thelma and Louise" and - well, the less said about that, the better) is our newest member, and she can't be more than 25.  She's ridden the bus with one or more of us, off and on, for some years -- you know how you get to recognize regulars along your route, morning and night -- but it was only during the last week or so that she started sitting with JJ, A, D and others in the morning, and joining JJ, A, D and I on the evening ride home.  We're non-discriminatory.  We have male members, too, but they mostly sit and laugh riotously at whatever we say :)

Anyway, tonight we were minus two of our regulars.  I sat down next to JJ and next stop, Thelma got on.  The conversation went along, and at one point JJ asked me what I was doing tomorrow.  I said tomorrow's the tournament.  She knew what that meant, but Thelma didn't, and when JJ explained that tomorrow I was going to be playing in a CHESS TOURNAMENT (and that's just how she said it, in ALL CAPS), Thelma was not only duly impressed, it seemed most everyone else on the now crowded bus was, too!  I mean, darlings, it was just one of those priceless moments when all eyes are on YOU in a GOOD way and you feel like a GENIUS!  Me and my 579 ELO!

Oh Goddess, it was priceless! 

When I modestly (ahem) declaimed that I was a very poor player who would have her butt whipped tomorrow by 10 year olds, advice started pouring in!  The lady standing next to my seat told me about a 9 hour event she'd played in, and thought she'd die but she did okay!  And the young dude sitting in front of us (who had been laughing at our conversation earlier, well, we are pretty funny broads, if I do say so myself, although he was trying hard not to show it, his shoulders were shaking; and when I declared to the bus in general that the New Middle Age was between 60 and 80, and after 80 I intended to be an Old Bitch, he just couldn't hold it in anymore) - he had some words of advice.  Good advice, actually, hmmm...

Thelma, who has never played a game of chess - gasp! - wanted a lesson then and there.  JJ, whose significant other sounds like a very competent and competitive chessplayer, who gets into staring-at-the-board-matches-for-long-stretches-of-time with one of his brothers, explained to Thelma and everyone else who was within shouting range (she's rather LOUD, if you know what I mean) with air drawings how some of the pieces move, and I filled in here and there with timely narrative. 

I had so many "good luck" and "you beat their little 'bleeps' off tomorrow" yelled to me as people exited the bus (JJ and I don't get off until near the end of the route) that I was getting hoarse shouting back at ya'll.  THANK YOU.  I doubt any of you read this blog - but here's to you, darlings, just in case :)

Thelma wants lessons.  How we can manage that on the bus...

Speaking of which, today I gave my very first chess lesson to a fellow employee, who wants to learn how to play so that she can teach her son, who is three and absolutely precious.  We had a very productive lunch hour lesson.  I explained and showed her the basic moves of each of the pieces, I explained the "j'doube" rule, I explained what "shah mat" (checkmate in English) actually means and where the original term came from, and gave her just a little bit of the ancient tradition of The Royal Game. For our second 30 minutes I "tested" her on what the pieces were and what their moves were (she did very well!), and showed her basic situations of how a king can harried by the other pieces. 

By Goddess, I think she's got it.  But you know what, it's so easy to teach someone who is eager to learn.  So I'm still feeling like a GENIUS. 

I am hoping that some of the Chess Magic that happened in my life today will carry-over to tomorrow, and give me a draw!  That's all I want, just ONE DRAW!

2011 FIDE Women's Grand Prix - Nalchik

Final results and final standings.  The Chinese players finished 1-2 - and I don't think anyone can "blame it on steroids" unlike in some other disciplines :)

Round 11 on 2011/10/21 at 13:00
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
6	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2528	½ - ½	IM	Kovalevskaya Ekaterina	2421	12
7	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	2536	½ - ½	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	2560	5
8	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2536	1 - 0	GM	Zhao Xue	2497	4
9	GM	Cmilyte Viktorija	2525	½ - ½	GM	Zhu Chen	2490	3
10	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2469	0 - 1	GM	Lahno Kateryna	2554	2
11	IM	Galliamova Alisa	2498	1 - 0	IM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	2467	1

Final Ranking
Rank	SNo.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts	Res.	SB	Koya	Rp
1	4	GM	Zhao Xue	2497	CHN	*	0	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	9½	0	46,50	2½	2817
2	8	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2536	CHN	1	*	½	½	½	1	½	1	1	½	0	½	7	0	39,75	2½	2606
3	12	IM	Kovalevskaya Ekaterina	2421	RUS	½	½	*	1	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	0	6	1	33,75	2½	2551
4	9	GM	Cmilyte Viktorija	2525	LTU	0	½	0	*	1	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	6	0	29,25	1½	2541
5	2	GM	Lahno Kateryna	2554	UKR	0	½	½	0	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	5½	0	26,75	1	2502
6	3	GM	Zhu Chen	2490	QAT	0	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	1	½	1	0	5	2	25,00	1½	2472
7	7	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	2536	RUS	0	½	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	5	1½	24,50	1½	2468
8	5	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	2560	RUS	0	0	0	½	½	½	½	*	½	½	1	1	5	1½	23,00	1	2466
9	6	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2528	BUL	0	0	½	½	0	0	½	½	*	1	1	1	5	1	23,00	1	2469
10	11	IM	Galliamova Alisa	2498	RUS	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	*	1	0	4½	0	23,75	2	2443
11	1	IM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	2467	MGL	0	1	½	½	½	0	½	0	0	0	*	1	4	0	21,75	2½	2408
12	10	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2469	RUS	0	½	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	*	3½	0	19,00	1½	2377

Here are the "scheduled" events for the remainder of the 2011-2012 Women's Grand Prix Cycle:

2012
30 May - 13 June 2012, Kazan RUSSIA
16-30 July 2012, Jermuk ARMENIA
16-30 November 2012, Istanbul TURKEY