It’s USCF Election Time!

Today I received my June edition of Chess Life in the mail – wrapped in a ballot on which, as a member, I can vote for up to four members of the United States Chess Federation Executive Board. The ballot will be mailed to Taylor, Bilyeu and Company and I sincerely hope it is never shown that this company, which I assume is a firm of accountants, has any connection whatsoever in any way, shape or form to any member of the USCF Executive Board or any of its officers, past and present. I’ve previously reported that I had let my USCF membership lapse in, I think, 2004. I renewed my membership around the end of March this year after I started regularly reading Susan Polgar’s chess blog and a few other blogs and chess news sources, and re-acquainted myself with some of the issues affecting USCF and, in particular, this election for EB members. I renewed my USCF membership specifically for the purpose of voting in this election. I would have been inclined in any event to vote for Susan Polgar because she is an icon of chess for all women and is a tireless ambassador the game and promoter of the game among our young people, girls and boys. She is honest, sincere and gutsy and it is because of her fighting the fine fight that today women and girls can play chess in all open tournaments and participate in championship events without regard to their gender. Not so long ago it wasn’t so. All women owe her a debt of gratitude for being one of the trailblazers that has made it easier for the rest of us in so many ways today. Normally chess politics gag me – but I became actively engaged and enraged by the absolute BS I was reading on the internet about SP and the other candidates she supports that was spewed out by gutless wonders hiding behind anonymous identities and the openness of the internet to protect them. I would not have necessarily voted for any of the other candidate SP supports – but after having read so much sexist and racist garbage and trash aimed at SP, Truong and Korenman, I determined to also vote for the three other candidates SP recommends: Paul Truong, Randy Bauer and Mikhail Korenman. So much venom, filth and hatred by those anonymous posters could only be triggered by immense fear that SP and her slate will be elected by ordinary chess people like me who are fed up with the bumbling incompetency and never-ending back-biting politics of the people who have run the USCF for the past several years. And, true to their cowardly hearts, the spineless anonymous jerks have resorted to the lowest of tactics to support their vested interests in seeing that SP and her slate are NOT elected to the Executive Board. When SP and her slate are elected, I do not expect them to work miracles – the USCF is sunk too deeply in debt and has burned so many bridges with potential sponsors that it may take years of concentrated effort and hard work by EVERYONE on the EB and ALL officers of USCF to repair the damage. I do believe that SP, Truong, Bauer and Korenman and other honest-hearted members already sitting on the EB who will support them will stop the slide of our federation which, after all, was founded to promote chess in the United States, and begin the turn-around to a sounder future. I believe that SP and her newly formed association with Texas Tech can only bode well for the future of scholastic and college chess under the auspices of USCF; and, speaking pragmatically, I believe that SP and Paul Truong can attract the kind of big corporate and individual sponsorship for adult and professional level that we desperately need. I ask you to please for Susan Polgar, Paul Truong, Randy Bauer, and Mikhail Korenman to the Executive Board of the USCF.

Want to Buy an Ancient Chess Piece?

I envy collectors who have the funds to buy the things they want. Sigh. There are beautiful chess sets available at auction. I look through the catalogs and see things I’d love to buy for $1,000 to $2,000. If only! Then, of course, there are the rare pieces that fetch $60,000 USD. You can find these at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. For great lot sales, though, check out Bloomsbury.

The question is why I feel drawn to these antique pieces? Part of it is because of my great love for history, especially ancient history. I’ve been fascinated by ancient cultures since I first learned to read. Part of it is the "story" I imagine behind each and every piece I see. Well, that’s always been the tension – tell stories and starve, or work for a living. I should have gone for a Ph.D in history and become a professor. Oh well.

One of my favorite places to visit from time to time is BC Galleries in Australia. I haven’t purchased anything from them but – maybe some day.

These are two lovely affordable pieces circa 1000 year old pieces, described as:
Two early Islamic bone game pieces, most probably chess pieces, each with concentric circle designs.
Origin: Circa 10th-12th century CE Afghanistan.
Dimensions: Height of each 3.7 cm
Price: AUD $575 USD $479

Maybe someday.

Chess and Squirrels 2

Hola!

Psst, don't tell the boss, but I took a sick day today and it was glorious to get the front yard grass cut first thing this morning, before the rain came, and take that looonnnngggg nap from 10:30 to 1:30. Now I feel fresh as a daisy and ready to go; it's a wonder what getting enough sleep can do for a gal.

We added a new link to Goddesschess - it's "Chess Boss" and among other things you can do there is play chess for money. Well, I'm not sure how that's going to work out, but there could be a market for such a service. The site is crisply designed and they can't be all bad - I clicked on the "blog" page to see what was there and lo and behold, there's a picture of a squirrel on a tree trunk, just like I see from my kitchen window every morning! Anyone who puts a picture of a squirrel up at a chess website is all right with me :)

Vietnamese Redux

It seems the Vietnamese chess community has something of a battle going on regarding state funding of promising (versus "already there") chessplayers. What is it to be? Funding many promising young players at a low rate of support every month, or funding fewer, more mature players with higher ELOs at a higher rate of support every month? Is the immediate controversy at all related to the relatively poor showing of the Vietnamese Women in the recently concluded First World Women’s Team Chess Championship? Unfortunately, no. That event wasn’t mentioned in the article – and perhaps the author doesn’t give a rap about women’s chess in Vietnam. All the players the article mentions are males: GM Le Quang Liem: 2541 (born 1991) GM Dao Thien Hai: 2543 (born 1978) GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son: 2542 (born 1990) GM Nguyen Ahn Dung: 2528 (born 1976) GM Tu Hoang Thong: 2472 (born 1972) Tran Duc Hoa Khanh: 2183 (born 1974) Here is the article: Investing in sports talents needs thorough change 14:21' 03/06/2007 (GMT+7) VietNamNet Bridge – Chess player Le Quang Liem is a rare talent but the total State investment in this great master is only VND43 million ($3,000) a year or only VND3.5 million ($215) a month – too little for a great talent. Le Quang Liem is the first player who has held all three national championships for traditional, rapid and blitz chess tournaments within a given year, according to Vice Chairman of the HCM City Chess Federation Nguyen Phuoc Trung. Mr Trung also said that in early July, when the World Chess Confederation (FIDE) announced the Elo and the new rankings for chess players worldwide, Liem had passed Thien Hai and Truong Son to become the top chess player of Vietnam. At the age of 16, Liem has proven his talent in overcoming great masters like Thien Hai, Anh Dung, Hoang Thong and Truong Son. Is there any special investment for Liem to develop his talent? “Liem currently ranks 372nd in FIDE’s ratings and if he is invested in properly, Liem can enter the top 50 of the world,” Mr Trung said. What is proper investment? It is participating in around ten international contests and being trained by a good coach who is paid US$5,000 a month. That’s an unreachable dream for a Vietnamese chess player, even a rare talent like Liem. It is sad to know that the above investment level is a dream but it is much sadder to know the current investment in Liem, because it is too low. Each year Liem receives VND21 million of salary from the HCM City Department of Sports and Physical Training, VND2.5 million for being a national sports great master and around VND20 million for being a member of the national chess team, totaling VND43.5 million (less than $3,000). Changes are needed Hoa Khanh, a former member of the national chess team, said: “Irrational investment mechanism has held back the development of sports in general and chess in particular. It’s absurd when a pupil who has just played chess for a short period of time and shows a little talent is immediately selected for the team of key chess talents and enjoys State support of several hundreds of thousands dong a month.” This amount of money is small but it becomes a big number when the payment for hundreds of players of this kind is added up. In addition, there are many other kinds of talented players who also receive State money. If this whole sum of money is invested in a small number of big talents the results would be much better. The viewpoint of Hoa Khanh is the way that developed countries perform. An overseas Vietnamese in Australia said that his family must pay everything for their 7-year-old daughter who has won a gold medal at a state swimming contest for students. If this girl becomes a member of the state team she will receive huge investment from the state and her future will be very bright. Irrational investment has hindered the development of many talents of Vietnamese sports, for example chess players Dao Thien Hai, Truong Son or Anh Dung, who have shown signs of stagnation since they lack opportunities to play in international contests. Le Quang Liem’s future will be the same when he can’t devote his mind and life to chess but has to study at school to prepare for his future life. “People like Quang Liem, Truong Son and Thien Hai are rare in Vietnam. We now have only five great masters of chess. Those transcendent heads, if they focus on studying at school only, will easily find a good job to earn a high salary. If they pursue the career of a chess player, after they stop playing chess, they can only work as a chess coach and earn a low salary. So who dares to let their children pursue such a sports career?” Khanh asked. So, a thorough change for investment in sports is a must. (Source: Tuoi Tre) Here are prior related posts: A Different Perspective Dragon Capital – Trying a Queen’s Gambit? It seems to me we have our own "war" going on right now in the USCF, between the supporters of "adult" and the supporters of "scholastic" levels of membership. That chess wag Sam Sloan recently "made a motion" (not, of course, to the actual Executive Board of the USCF, but as a post on an online message board that he can always disclaim as "not serious") to fund increased prizes in USCF-sponsored adult championships by increasing the membership fees of scholastic members by $3 per member per year. Basically, SS wants to stick it to the kids (who now are a majority of USCF paying membership) to benefit a relatively small number of above 2600-rated U.S. players who play the rather anemic tournament circuit in the US every year rather than travelling overseas where the events are more numerous but the competition is also more fierce (and they would probably, but for Nakamura, Onischuk, Krush, and a few others) lose their butts. Hint: The way to improve chess in the USA isn't by sticking it to the scholastic players.

Polgar at the Candidates' Matches 2

Hmmm, I think I'm over the worst part of my disappointment that Judit Polgar didn't make it into the second round of the Matches. But if I start sobbing uncontrollably while I'm writing this post I promise not to spot up your screen with my tears.

Oh darlings! Things seemed to start out so promising yesterday morning. Not only was the weather here great (although with the constant threat of thunderstorms because we are centered under an unstable air mass), I was able to watch Judit's game taking place on my computer screen with virtually no problems - although sometimes a bunch of moves would suddenly show up all at once. Fortunately, I figured out how to back-click on a move to figure out what had happened. I'm not a college graduate for nothing, heh heh. Well, to tell the absolute truth - since I don't have any deep understanding of the kind of chess that people like Polgar and Bareev play, I often had no idea why they moved the pieces where they did. But - see below...

I was also trying to follow along with Susan Polgar's annotations of the game, and her comments gave me the necessary background to appreciate what was taking place on the screen.

Amazingly, I actually guessed a few of Judit's moves correctly - that is - I screwed on my thinking hat and stared hard at the screen, and said, okay, this is where I would move, generally without being able to come up with a good reason for doing so, other than to take a piece or move into what seemed a better position (of course, isn't that what all the really good players say? LOL!) And - lo and behold - sometimes she would move her piece there. This only happened a few times, and it was scary, man! The implications could be staggering for the future of my non-existent chess-playing career.

Oh no! Maybe Judit lost because I was filling the ether with my crappy chess moves and somehow, some way, she picked up on my brain waves out of the millions that were bombarding her from all over the world. Oh goddess! I sure hope that's not true!

Oh, Judit. How sorry I am that you did not advance. You would have had hundreds of thousands of women and even men chess fans rooting for you from all over the world. As it is, you get $40,000 less what I assume is FIDE's customary 20% off the top "take," and you go home to Gustav and the kids. Somehow, that doesn't seem right. But you'll be happy to see them, and happy to let your hair back down, until your event, whatever it is.

Shirov, who used to be so cute but who has let himself go terribly the past few years (weight and looks wise), made it through! Somehow, it seems like a "sign" to me - if you know what I mean (well, you probably don't; actually, not many people do, and most think I'm just a nut case). How well I remember that 1998 match in Germany between you and Shirov. You were both so cute back then - it was a sort of "battle of the sexes." If Shirov makes it through to the final four of the Candidates' to play in Mexico in the fall, I perceive that as a good sign for you. Yes, I know, it doesn't make much sense. But the Goddess works in very mysterious ways.

I guess all I want to really say is please don't retire any time soon, Judit. I love Humpy, but she's not ready to step into your shoes yet, and there doesn't seem to be any other woman behind her who can meet and beat the chess hommes on a regular basis. Not like you.

Wow, talk about pressure...

Senet and the Promoted Pawn

Here is an example of a senet board, this one from the tomb of Amenhotep III (c. 1386 – 1349 BCE). Senet was a game of 30 squares, and although the rules of the games are not precisely known, intact games recovered from tombs consisted of either five or seven pieces of the "spool" and "reel" type, as in the photograph, and several squares on the board were marked with either hazards or blessings. Some of the marked squares can be observed in this example and notice the checkered pattern on the drawer end. The game dates back possibly to c. 3500 BCE, and in later years during the long Egyptian civilization it took on religious and mystical significance. Some tomb paintings depict the senet board as a red and black checkered board. One of the most famous depictions of this type of board is from the Theban tomb of Nebenma'at (c. 1250 – 1100 BCE), where he plays Senet with his wife, Meretseger, on just such a board (click on view 9). Another view here.

As shown by the ancient Egyptians' use, the two-colored checkered gameboard goes way back in history. During the Egyptian ceremony of the judgment of the dead, the gods stood on a checkered floor, thus associating it with Egyptian religious ritual. In senet, which developed mystical and religious associations connected with the journey of the deceased through the underworld, the game was won by a player successfully moving all of his pieces off the board. At that point, the literature says, the pawn (decedent) becomes an imperishable star. In the latter years of Egyptian religious practice, this transformation was not restricted only to Pharoah, but could be achieved by anyone. Could this tradition, perhaps, be the ancient root of the concept of "pawn promotion?"

Has Anything Changed?

I finished reading Jennifer Shahade's book Chess Bitch today. It was a great read - I was disappointed to get to the end of the book! I especially appreciated the section where she talked about women who played chess in the "early days" in the United States ("Playing for America.") As I was reading, I was very much struck with this story from the career of U.S. player Mary Bain, and I take the liberty of quoting from Ms. Shahade's book: (p. 229) It was not until 1951 that Bain managed to capture a single title from the Gresser and Karff duo [U.S. Women's Chess Champion title holders]. This enabled her to take another stab at the world crown. She was thrilled to travel to Moscow, along with second-place Karff, to participate in the 1952 World Championship Candidates. . . . (p. 230) She was livid that the American Chess Federation offered her neither financial nor psychological support. "My sendoff was cruel. I was told that I was not going to represent the USA and USCF but Zone Number Four. No use complaining..." She also had no second to help her analyze adjourned games, which ususally resumed the following day: "When I have an adjourned game I stay up all night and then make the worst move." Ideally, Mary would be sleeping soundly, while her trainer would work through the night, and then supply her with a thorough analysis in the morning. British Master Golombek sympathized with Bain, pointing out, "It is very sad that a great country like the USA should have such a weak chess federation." Perhaps the worse insult was that the Soviet Federation had been willing to pay all expenses for her second, but Bain had not been told this until it was too late to arrange. Does this sound familiar? We have the same kind of treatement of our women chessplayers going on over fifty years later. Two recent examples are the way the USCF treated the Women's 2004 and 2006 Chess Olympiad Teams - the same way they treated U.S. Women's Chess Champion Mary Bain - like dirt! It is well known and publicized that the USCF tried its best not to fulfill its contractual obligations to the 2004 Women's Olympiad Team, including waiting several months to pay them the bonus money the team members earned by bringing home the first ever Women's Team Olympiad Medal (Gold) and promptly cancelling the Women's Olympiad Training Program that Susan Polgar had been asked to spearhead just a few years before! I have written in this blog about the inability of the USCF to keep the 2006 Olympiad team together - they finished in fourth place and had earned a spot to play in the recently-concluded First Women's World Team Chess Championships. But we couldn't even field a team of players. Botswana sent a team of four players to the Championship, which didn't win a single match. Wouldn't our "B" team have done better? Of course, the USCF probably didn't have a contingency plan for a "B Team" - or the money to send the team to Russia to compete even if we did have a "B Team." Geez! The richest country in the world - so we claim. But we can't afford to send four women to Russia to compete in a chess tournament. Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.

The Weave revisited: The WEAVE Discussion group archive: "Is chess the game of the goddess?" The Weave began on December 6th, 1998 as a Wild Card discussion in Art Bell's old C2C message board system. Evolving into a cooperative survey, The Weave contains articles wrapped in the cloth of chess and chess history. During the course of discussion, it became apparent that an archive of messages should be gathered and preserved with a view towards future reference, study and speculation. We continue to build on the past with ongoing interactions at Delphi, as well as via private content submissions delivered to this site. The WEAVE continued at Delphi Forum...there are many many posts that are fasinating, and filled with history, archaeological, and submissions from chess historians.

Why Do I Play Chess?

Why do I play chess? I have no idea why that question occurred to me today while I was sitting here at the office desperately trying to find some commentary on Judit Polgar's win against Bareev at the Candidates' Matches. The question gave me pause because - no answer came to mind! Gee - am I dead??? So then I thought "oh for goddess' sake, Jan, you have to come up with some answer. Preferably something profound and thought-provoking, something that will give any readers who stumble upon this blog a sit-up-and-take-notice moment - aha - I feel exactly like that myself. I shall become famous, I might even win a Pulitizer prize...the first for a blog..." I am still waiting for inspiration to strike my fingers, which are patiently poised over the keyboard; it seems the Chess Goddess' mojo went out to lunch after seeing to it that Judit won her "must win" game today. Will She see to it that Judit win's her second "must win" game tomorrow? (Note to self: email Isis and see what the current line is, maybe it's worth a $5 bet). And will She get Judit safely through the tie-break so that she moves into Candidates' Matches, Part Deux? Does the Goddess' mojo have mojo, or will she need to boost some extra caffeine tomorrow??? Thank Goddess that I'll be able to watch the game online - oh and Chess Goddess - can you also make sure there are no technical or transmission difficulties tomorrow while I'm watching the game? Back to my question - why do I play chess? I'm thinking about it but I'm coming up blank. I don't play well, I have no deep (well, to be honest, none at all) understanding of positional play or tactics, I'm lucky if I can think three moves ahead on a good day and usually I'm busted by my imagined second move anyway because the other guy NEVER does what I thought he might do, I don't know a Ruy Lopez from a Queen's Indian, I'm not interested in improving my game by doing any kind of studying (yech) and I hate to lose. Doesn't sound very promising, does it. I could say it's because I love the game, but it sure doesn't sound like I love the game very much, does it! So I guess I'll just have to settle for "I play because I'm an eternal optimist." That line of reasoning goes perhaps some day I'll wake up and I'll be a chess genius, and I'll blow away anyone who plays chess with me, showing no mercy and without regard to race, color, creed, age or gender. I shall zoom up to the top of the ratings charts faster than I can lose 20 pounds, enter all the big name Opens and win them all, make a kajillion dollars from endorsements (wow, that middle-aged woman sure can play chess. And do you know why - it's because she uses [insert name of product]), and win the world championship - not only being the first woman to do so, but the oldest player ever even when I knock 10 years off my age. Then I'll move to Seattle, become a recluse, ask Robert J. Fischer to marry me and we'll clone a chess genius together who lives happily ever after spending all the money we made while we were great chessplayers. Ah, to sleep perchance to dream - well, I know it's something like that, that line from Romeo and Juliet? Well, from one of (as Candi Kane calls him) Spearshaker's plays. Okay - time to get a large glass of wine and settle down with Chess Bitch out on the deck.

Polgar at the Candidates' Matches

Judit pulled out the stops and won with white today, yippee! Susan Polgar published an interesting photo of a smiling Judit snuggling a baby lion on her shoulder in front of a bookcase filled with chess sets. Hmmm.... She also provided analysis of the game and practically a blow by blow description. So, the score is now Bareev 3, Judit 2. Judit still has to win behind the black pieces tomorrow in order to force a play-off. Can she do it? My goddess, the woman is causing me to go prematurely grey...

A Different Perspective

What would $31 a month mean to you? To six young Vietnamese chessplayers, it could be the world-changing break of a lifetime: National Focus (31-05-2007) Young chess talents receive grants The Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT) body yesterday awarded monthly scholarships of VND500,000 (US$31) to six chess talents from north Viet Nam, in addition to computers on which to practice. Furthermore, the two best chess players will receive financial assistance to compete at international tournaments, as proposed by the Chess Federation of Viet Nam. The three-year sponsorship deal is intended to support under-privileged under-ten-year-olds to play competitive chess. A further six young players from central and south Viet Nam will receive their scholarships on Saturday in HCM City. More coverage here.

We Televise Spelling Bees! Why Not Chess?

Hola everyone! Oh its hot and muggy here and it rained, but not enough to make a difference to my parched lawn. The same weather is supposed to be here for the next 4 days, long enough to totally ruin the weekend. Sigh. I kid you not, right now (7:00 p.m. CST - or is that CDT? I can never keep it straight) I've got the ABC station affiliate on and there are 15 finalists in LIVE COVERAGE competing for the "National Spelling Bee Championship." Oh my goddess! A spelling bee with kids on national television for the next two hours - and chess can't PAY to get itself broadcast! There is definitely something wrong with this picture... Yes I know, I know, I've read the arguments about how chess is "boring" - excuse me? Anyone who says that doesn't know a THING about the incredible hit movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer." The way the tension was built-up between the good kid and the "bad" kid (who was smirkingly excellent in the role, by the way) that led to that penultimate game when Josh brought out his queen "too early" - goddess, I get goosebumps just writing about it here. There are obviously ways to bring excitement and audience involvement to a game like chess. Hell, if people can sit glued to the television set for hours watching men swing clubs at balls on a golf course, surely we can make chess interesting - sexy, even. And I'm not talking about speed chess. An event like the Candidates' Matches going on right now in some place called Elista can be made very exciting for an audience, even if they aren't familiar with chess. First of all, you do a brief "get to know" the players - like they do for the Olympics - video clips and sound bites, a little family background and history of how he/she got from there to here for each two players in a match. You personalize the players for the audience, let the audience get to see some of the personalities involved in this great game. Then you give a clear overview of the rules of competition - six games in the first round and how the points are scored, and only three from the first round of six games will go on to the second half. That's enough drama for anyone to understand. And it doesn't hurt that large sums of money are involved and, for the winners of the Candidates' Matches, the chance to go for the BIG ONE - the World Championship. Do a chart like the football commentators do during the play-offs to show the possibilities. Guys love charts! Then you show highlights of each match, crucial points in the games where a player either made a good move or made a not so good move. You have lively commentary/review of the games by a couple different teams - preferably one man and one woman on each team - experienced players who know what they're talking about - and they switch off commenting on the matches. I know it's sexist, but one woman should be attractive and one man should be a hot hunk. Let's face it - eye candy appeals to a certain audience type (like me). The other man and woman commentators could be more the "elderly statesman/woman" type. Think "Dick Button and Peggy Fleming" doing figure-skating commentary on ABC - Fleming is as beautiful, gracious and likeable as ever and Button is to figure skating what John Madden is to NFL football. Older man/younger woman; older woman/younger man. These ideas aren't anything that hasn't been done before - think about golf again - it's routine for the initial shots at each hole to be shown and the action jumps around from player to player, and then the action concentrates on the green and the putting - or if someone lands in a "dramatic situation" such as the rough or a sand-trap or in front of a tree! The commentators and the camera work build up the drama - close-ups of the players' faces, whispered commentary into the mike explaining what's at stake and just what the odds are of making a 25 foot putt going uphill with the green cut slanting the other way, etc. etc. Hell, I don't know a think about golf and I've watched it for years and enjoy it. I'd love watching a summary of an important game/match/tournament on t.v. But, darlings, not on cable television, please. I don't subscribe.

Mon Dieu, MonRoi!

If you followed the recently concluded U.S. Chess Championship ("Men's") on the internet, you may be aware that MonRoi, which produces and markets a device for recording moves while a game is in progress (in place of a manual scoresheet), sponsored the official website for the event on behalf of the USCF and provided live coverage of the games. MonRoi is a Canadian company located in Montreal. I tried to follow a few games online, but I don't have the patience to sit that long and stare at my computer screen, so I can't comment on whether what seemed like a long time to me in-between moves was actually reflecting real time/events in the game or caused by technical problems. I thought the website was a little slow to get the results and news published and, for an official website, I thought the coverage was rather thin. I would like to have seen more interviews with the players, a lot more photographs and human interest stories, but that is my personal preference. There were reports of problems with game transmission and there were some negative comments made about MonRoi (and its product) at the Daily Dirt blog while the U.S. Championships were taking place. I thought a few of the comments were a bit over the top, I didn't agree with the tack that some of the posters took, and that was that. This is America - we're used to saying what we like (for the most part) when we like and our right to do so is guaranteed under our Constitution. People can say and write things that others may find obnoxious and insulting; under American law, truth is an absolute defense to charges of libel and slander and expressing one's opinion is generally protected, particularly when one is speaking of or writing of a figure in the public eye or a public entity such as MonRoi. Regardless, what I read in those posts didn't influence any opinion I held about MonRoi (generally favorable because of its support for the Women's Grand Prix) or its product (no opinion whatsoever as, not being a tournament player, I can conceive of no reason I would purchase and use the device). I am a fan of Mig's Daily Dirt, as much for the news and insight he provides as for the comments from the eclectic crowd of posters who hang out there. I visited the blog today, as usual, and was shocked to read that Mig had been contacted by MonRoi because it (or someone high up at MonRoi) took offense at some of the comments posted at the blog! Quoting Mig: "That situation is that the people at MonRoi are claiming that posts here in the Daily Dirt, of mine and of yours, are legally actionable as libel/defamation. They have requested that said posts be deleted and that information identifying the posters be given to MonRoi." Mig wrote that he had taken steps to attempt to remedy the situation and to comply with some (but not all) of MonRoi's requests, including deleting some posts. I'm not going to get into all the minutae, you can read about it here if you would like more details. Canadian law on libel and slander is different that ours in the USA, but to do the legal equivalent of running home to mommy crying because someone called you a bad name, well, that's just ridiculous! Don't they know the old saying up north - "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me"? And evidently no one at MonRoi ever saw any of the classic Steve Martin hosting "Saturday Night Live" episodes (say it all together now) - "WELL! Exxxccuuuuuussseee mmmeeeeeee!" Reaction was swift and, if only the officers at MonRoi would have thought about this for a moment or two before coming down heavy on Mig, utterly predictable. Now MonRoi has a public relations disaster on its hands, for this is sure to get reported all over the internet by posters and bloggers (such as yours truly) and picked up by more and more as the days go by. Oh mon Dieu! What were they thinking? One of the cleverest and funniest Pythonesque comments today was this one (it had me laughing my head off). Stern is - well, you'll get the idea who Stern is if you read some of his posts on the subject. This is an obvious lampoon (at least I hope it's obvious, maybe they don't know about Monty Python in Montreal, either): MONROI: If you will not show us the Grail we shall storm your castle. (Murmurs of assent.) STERN: You don't frighten us, English pig-dog! Go and boil your bottoms, son of a silly person. I blow my nose on you, so-called Arthur-king, you and your silly English K...kaniggets. MONROI: Now look here, my good man! STERN: I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal, food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries. MONROI: Is there someone else up there we could talk to? STERN: No. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time. Posted by: cadlag at May 30, 2007 at 06:47 LOL! Brilliant! cadlag, remind me to hire you to write something witty and clever for my tombstone. Postscript added May 31, 2007: I edited this post somewhat to reflect the fact that, at least in the initial rounds of contact between Mig and MonRoi, no specific threat of legal action against him and/or Daily Dirt was made. I thought I'd best make it clear, also, that cadlag's post was a lampoon - a send-up - a JOKE!

1st World Women's Team Chess Championship-7

It was clear for the last two rounds that no team would catch them, and the Chinese proved they are the best Women's Team by taking another 2 points today to finish with 17 points. Russia finished in second place with 15 and Ukraine in third pace with 14 points. Here are the final results from Round 9 and an individual results table (by team) including Round 9: UKR (3.5) v. VIE (0.5) Lahno, Kateryna 1-0 Le Kieu Thien Kim Ushenina, Anna 1-0 Le Thanh Tu Gaponenko, Inna 1-0 Hoang Thi Bao Tram Vasilevich, Tatiana ½-½ Nguyen Thi Thanh An ARM (2.0) v. GEO (2.0) Mkrtchian, Lilit ½-½ Chiburdanidze, Maya Aghinian, Nelly ½-½ Khurtsidze, Nino Andriasian, Siranush ½-½ Khukhashvili, Sopiko Aghabekian, Liana ½-½ Gvetadze, Sofio CZE (0.5) v. POL (3.5) Jackova, Jana 0-1 Socko, Monika Sikorova, Olga 0-1 Zawadzka, Jolanta Blazkova, Petra ½-½ Szczepkowska, Karina Nemcova, Katerina 0-1 Przezdziecka, Marta BOT (0.0) v. RUS (4.0) Sabure Tuduetso 0-1 Kosintseva, Tatiana Lopang Tshepiso 0-1 Kosintseva, Nadezhda Modongo Boikhutso 0-1 Korbut, Ekaterina Pilane Masego Sylvia 0-1 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina GER (1.5) v. CHN (2.5) Paehtz, Elisabeth ½-½ Zhao Xue Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketino ½-½ Hou Yifan Ohme, Melanie ½-½ Shen Yang Schoene, Maria Randi 0-1 Huang Qian Here are the point totals for each player (by team) after Round 9: CHN 1. Zhao Xue 6.5/8 2. Hou Yifan 7.5/9 3. Ruan Lufei 6.0/7 4. Shen Yang 6.5/8 5. Huang Qian 4.0/4 RUS 1. Kosintseva, Tatiana 6.0/9 2. Kosintseva, Nadezhda 4.5/9 3. Korbut, Ekaterina 3.5/6 4. Kovalevskaya, Ekat. 6.5/7 5. Tairova, Elena 3.5/5 POL 1. Socko, Monika 5.5/9 2. Rajlich, Iweta 1.0/7 3. Zawadzka, Jolanta 5.5/9 4. Szcezepkowska, Karina 2.5/4 5. Przezdziecka, Marta 5.0/7 GEO 1. Chiburdanidze, Maya 4.5/8 2. Javakhishvili, Lela 6.0/8 3. Khurtsidze, Nino 4.5/8 4. Khukhashvili, Sopiko 2.5/6 5. Gvetadze, Sofio 2.5/6 UKR 1. Lahno, Kateryna 3.0/8 2. Ushenina, Anna 6.5/9 3. Gaponenko, Inna 7.0/8 4. Vasilevich, Tatina 5.5/8 5. Vosivic, Oksana 1.5/3 ARM 1. Danielyan, Elina 5.0/8 2. Mkrtchyan, Lilit 4.0/8 3. Aghinyan, Nelly 3.0/7 4. Andriasyan, Siranush 2.0/6 5. Aghabekyan, Liana 3.0/7 CZE 1. Jakova, Jana 2.5/9 2. Sikorova, Olga 1.5/9 3. Blazkova, Petra 3.0/9 4. Nemcova, Katerina 4.0/9 BOT 1. Sabure, Tuduetso 0.0/9 2. Lpang, Tshepiso 0.0/8 3. Modongo, Boikhutso 0.0/6 4. Saburre, Ontiretse 0.0/9 5. Pilane Masego, Sylvia 0.0/5 GER 1. Paehtz, Elisabeth 5.0/8 2. Kachiani-Gersinska, Ket. 5.5/9 3. Nill, Jessica 2.5/7 4. Ohme, Melanie 3.0/7 5. Schoene, Maria Randi 2.0/5 VIE 1. Le Kieu Thien Kim 2.5/9 2. Le Than Tu 4.5/8 3. Hoang Thi Bao Tram 2.5/7 4. Nguyen, Thi Than An 3.5/7 5. Pham Le Thao Nguyen 3.5/5

1st World Women's Team Chess Championship-6

Hola darlings! Here are the results from Round 8. Only one more round to go. Currently CHN is in first with 15 points; RUS in second with 13 and UKR in third with 12.0. I could not figure out how the points scoring system works, but based on what I saw, no team can catch CHN, the battle is now for the silver and bronze medals. VIE (2.0) v. GER (2.0) Le Thanh Tu 0-1 Paehtz, Elisabeth Hoang Thi Bao Tram ½-½ Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketino Nguyen Thi Thanh An 1-0 Nill, Jessica Pham Le Thao Nguyen ½-½ Ohme, Melanie CHN (4.0) v. BOT (0.0) Hou Yifan 1-0 Sabure Tuduetso Ruan Lufei 1-0 Modongo Boikhutso Shen Yang 1-0 Sabure, Ontiretse Huang Qian 1-0 Pilane Masego Sylvia RUS (3.5) v. CZE (0.5) Kosintseva, Tatiana 1-0 Jackova, Jana Kosintseva, Nadezhda ½-½ Sikorova, Olga Korbut, Ekaterina 1-0 Blazkova, Petra Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 1-0 Nemcova, Katerina POL (3.0) v. ARM (1.0) Socko, Monika 1-0 Danielian, Elina Rajlich, Iweta 0-1 Mkrtchian, Lilit Zawadzka, Jolanta 1-0 Aghinian, Nelly Przezdziecka, Marta 1-0 Aghabekian, Liana GEO (1.0) v. UKR (3.0) Chiburdanidze, Maya ½-½ Lahno, Kateryna Javakhishvili, Lela ½-½ Ushenina, Anna Khurtsidze, Nino 0-1 Gaponenko, Inna Khukhashvili, Sopiko 0-1 Vasilevich, Tatiana Here are the individual results (by Team), through Round 8. Performance wise, this may put it into better perspective as to why CHN has run away with the title: CHN 1. Zho Xue 6.0/7 2. Hou Yifan 7.0/8 3. Ruan Lufei 6.0/7 4. Shen Yang 6.0/7 5. Huang Qian 3.0/3 RUS 1. Kosintseva, Tatiana 5.0/8 2. Kosintseva, Nadezhda 3.5/8 3. Korbut, Ekaterina 2.5/5 4. Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 5.5/6 5. Tairova, Elena 3.5/5 POL 1. Socko, Monika 4.5/8 2. Rajlich, Iweta 1.0/7 3. Zawadzka, Jolanta 4.5/8 4. Szcezepkowska, Karina 2.0/3 5. Przezdziecka, Marta 4.0/6 GEO 1. Chiburdanidze, Maya 4.0/7 2. Javakhishvili, Lela 6.0/8 3. Khurtsidze, Nino 4.0/7 4. Khukhashvili, Sopiko 2.0/5 5. Gvetadze, Sofio 2.0/5 UKR 1. Lahno, Kateryna 2.0/7 2. Ushenina, Anna 5.5/8 3. Gaponenko, Inna 6.0/7 4. Vasilevich, Tatina 5.0/7 5. Vosivic, Oksana 1.5/3 ARM 1. Danielyan, Elina 5.0/8 2. Mkrtchyan, Lilit 3.5/7 3. Aghinyan, Nelly 2.5/6 4. Andriasyan, Siranush 1.5/5 5. Aghabekyan, Liana 2.5/6 CZE 1. Jakova, Jana 2.5/8 2. Sikorova, Olga 1.5/8 3. Blazkova, Petra 2.5/8 4. Nemcova, Katerina 4.0/8 BOT 1. Sabure, Tuduetso 0.0/8 2. Lpang, Tshepiso 0.0/7 3. Modongo, Boikhutso 0.0/5 4. Saburre, Ontiretse 0.0/8 5. Pilane Masego, Sylvia 0.0/4 GER 1. Paehtz, Elisabeth 4.5/7 2. Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketsina 5.0/8 3. Nill, Jessica 2.5/7 4. Ohme, Melanie 2.5/6 5. Schoene, Maria Randi 2.0/4 VIE 1. Le Kieu Thien Kim 2.5/8 2. Le Than Tu 4.5/7 3. Hoang Thi Bao Tram 2.5/6 4. Nguyen, Thi Than An 3.0/6 5. Pham Le Thao Nguyen 3.5/5

Eric Moskow Takes Up the Challenge!

A few weeks ago, I read a post at Mig’s blog by Dr. Eric Moskow, where he was writing about his efforts to gain a patron’s spot in the recently-concluded U.S. Chess Championship ("Men’s"): "actually the truth is, I offered 10k now, 10k gurnatee (sic) next year, best efforts to secure a great site and large long term committment (sic) moving forward. In the event susan wins and works with me, I am committed to make that stick and play in person next year. I vow to have 1-2 im norms (earned) by then. …" Posted by: eric moskow at May 15, 2007 21:46 At Susan Polgar’s blog a few days ago she reported that Dr. Moskow reiterated to her and Paul Truong his desire to take a year off, basically, from his other activities, and just concentrate on achieving an IM title. SP has offered to assist Dr. Moskow in his training during the next year. I believe that Dr. Moskow has the will to succeed and the "fire" inside to do the grind necessary to achieve that next level in his chess playing. But it will take much hard work and total dedication. He is a husband, a father of four, a medical doctor, a businessman, a religious man devoted to his community and to the doing of good for others. He is a busy man! He will have to make many sacrifices during the next year to devote himself entirely to his intent and training. I don’t think his "age" has anything to do with achieving his goal – it’s all these other obligations (such as raising a family, making a living, etc.) that, typically, children don’t have to deal with, that may do him in, so to speak. When one is an adult and has so many responsibilities and obligations, it takes a lot of "selfishness" to concentrate on just doing those things (lots of purposeful studying and training and practice) that are necessary in order to take one's chess playing to the next level. Dr. Moskow does not strike me as a selfish person - obviously he is not, so this task he has set for himself may be more difficult that he can begin to imagine. It is much easier for children, who do not have the cares and responsibilities of adults, to achieve sometimes mind-boggling success in chess, because they have the luxury of being selfish and totally self-focused upon achieving their goals. Can Dr. Moskow focus on chess to the exclusion of these other areas of his life? Now that the "experiment" and stated goal has been publicized at Susan Polgar’s popular blog, people from all over the world will be following Dr. Moskow’s progress. Wow – talk about living life in a fishbowl for the next 12 months! See my prior post about David Shenk’s intriguing research, which I think is related to Dr. Moskow’s quest. Perhaps Dr. Moskow was intrigued by Shenk’s research as well, and perhaps he was inspired by the recently published book by former chess star IM Josh Waitzkin "The Art of Learning" which, based upon reviews I’ve read, is a very interesting book. Good luck, Dr. Moskow.

Wisconsin Scholastic Chess

I normally don't follow scholastic chess although now that we're doing a weekly Random Round-up at Goddesschess, I do highlight female players from time to time. Today this article in my local newspaper caught my eye. I didn't follow the national scholastic event in question and I have no idea who won it, etc., so I found this article interesting. A local unrated scholastic team did quite well - one of the team finished individually in second place overall. My goddess! The photo shows 8 year old Jessica Whittow, a member of the Chess Club at Mill Valley Elementary School. Is she the face of our chess future?

The article does show the tremendous growth in scholastic chess over the last decade or so and I found the comparison (near the end of the article) to "where soccer was" 20 years ago an arresting analogy. The questions remain: if scholastic chess does become as popular as grade school and high school soccer, does it necessarily translate into more chess professionals in the United States and an upgrading in both home-grown talent AND prize funds? AND more female players who opt to stay in the game and participate at the professional level?

Success makes them chess mates
By ERIN RICHARDSerichards@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 27, 2007

After starting a chess club at Mill Valley Elementary School in the Muskego-Norway School District this school year, parent Gregory Reese knew the players were catching on quickly.

Few students besides Reese's son, Greg, had played before, yet they started regularly bringing home trophies from local competitions.

But even Reese was surprised at how well the children finished the competition year. About two weeks ago, one of his squads of second- and third-graders won the national title in the kindergarten through third grade unrated division at the United States Chess Federation National Bert Lerner Elementary (K-6) Championship in Nashville, Tenn.

Thirty-one students from New Berlin and Muskego went to the competition, which hosted 51 students from Wisconsin, as well as more than 2,000 other young players.

Growth game

The success of the new chess club in Muskego underscores the growing popularity of the game locally as well as across the country.

Bob Patterson-Sumwalt, president and founder of the Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation, said that to better reflect membership, the organization changed its name last July. It used to be the Milwaukee-Area Scholastic Chess Federation.

"The numbers are going up each year exponentially," Patterson-Sumwalt said. "This past year we had 23 tournaments in the area, plus one in Sheboygan and Waukesha. This year we will have them from Green Bay to Kenosha."

Jerry Nash, the director of the United States Chess Federation, said the organization has grown from 10,000 members in 1990 to 45,000 registered players currently, which he attributes to increased support from teachers and administrators.

"They've come to understand the value of this to students," Nash said. "In what other game can you have a first-grader sit across from a 12th-grader and stand a realistic chance of winning?

"In terms of self-esteem, when you have children that come from Wisconsin or inner-city Chicago, or a Hispanic community in Brownsville, Texas, and they can do that, it's transforming in terms of self-perception," added Nash.

Centuries old, chess is a war game involving strategy and the ability to persevere with ever-diminishing resources. Reese, who helped with a chess club in New Berlin before moving his son to Mill Valley, said he likes to bring players up as a group instead of individuals.

The objective is to get better, he said, not just to beat other players.
Reese called the Mill Valley Chess Team, which has about 75 players, the best group he has coached. They've won 60 team and individual trophies this year, he added.

"I usually take the beginners or quitters and make them good, but I didn't have any quitters here," Reese said.

Chess talk

On a recent Friday morning before school at Mill Valley, about 15 children with matching chess team shirts were scattered around a classroom, playing each other on boards spread out across desktops.

Third-graders Evan Seghers, Chris Tillson and Reid Seghers along with second-grader Jorin McGuire won the national K-3 unrated team title, and individually they placed 2nd, 8th, 18th and 23rd, respectively. In the classroom, they stopped playing and shouted out thoughts on the game:
"I open with a king's pawn or a queen's pawn move," said McGuire.

"I like taking the opponent's queen," said Reid Seghers.

"Next time I'm gonna get first, not second," said Evan Seghers, referring to his individual placing.

As for next year's elementary chess championships in Pittsburgh, Reese said he plans to take more kids. He'll spend the year improving the current players' strategies and recruiting more students, especially girls, who are traditionally under-represented in chess clubs. "This is where soccer was 20 years ago," observed Patterson-Sumwalt. "People are just starting to figure out what chess does for kids."

1st World Women's Team Chess Championship-5

Here are the results from Round 7: GEO (2.5) v. VIE (1.5) Chiburdanidze, Maya 1-0 Le Kieu Thien Kim Javakhishvili, Lela ½-½ Le Thanh Tu Khurtsidze, Nino ½-½ Hoang Thi Bao Tram Gvetadze, Sofio ½-½ Nguyen Thi Thanh An UKR (2.5) v. POL (1.5) Lahno, Kateryna 0-1 Socko, Monika Ushenina, Anna 1-0 Rajlich, Iweta Gaponenko, Inna 1-0 Szczepkowska, Karina Vasilevich, Tatiana ½-½ Przezdziecka, Marta ARM (1.5) v. RUS (2.5) Danielian, Elina ½-½ Kosintseva, Tatiana Mkrtchian, Lilit ½-½ Kosintseva, Nadezhda Andriasian, Siranush 0-1 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina Aghabekian, Liana ½-½ Tairova, Elena CZE (0.5) v. CHN (3.5) Jackova, Jana 0-1 Zhao Xue Sikorova, Olga 0-1 Hou Yifan Blazkova, Petra 0-1 Ruan Lufei Nemcova, Katerina ½-½ Shen Yang BOT (0.0) v. GER (4.0) Sabure Tuduetso 0-1 Kachini-Gersinska, Ketino Lopang Tshepiso 0-1 Nill, Jessica Modongo Boikhutso 0-1 Ohme, Melanie Sabure, Ontiretse 0-1 Schoene, Maria Randi

1st World Women's Team Chess Championship-4

Hola! I apologize - I thought I had reported on the Round 5 results but I see I did not. Play resumed again today, after a day of rest (well deserved) for the players. I'll report on Round 6 results separately. Here are the Round 5 results: Here are the Round 5 results: POL (2.0) v. VIE (2.0) Socko, Monika 0-1 Le Kieu Thien Kim Rajlich, Iweta 0-1 Le Thanh Tu Zawadzka, Jolanta 1-0 Nguyen Thi Thanh An Przezdziecka, Marta 1-0 Pham Le Thao Nguyen GEO (1.0) v. RUS (3.0) Chiburdanidze, Maya ½-½ Kosintseva, Tatiana Javakhishvili, Lela ½-½ Kosintseva, Nadezhda Khurtsidze, Nino 0-1 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina Khukhashvili, Sopiko 0-1 Tairova, Elena UKR (0.5) v. CHN (3.5) Lahno, Kateryna 0-1 Zhao Xue Ushenina, Anna 0-1 Hou Yifan Gaponenko, Inna ½-½ Ruan Lufei Vozovic, Oksana 0-1 Shen Yang ARM (1.5) v. GER (2.5) Danielian, Elina ½-½ Paehtz, Elisabeth Mkrtchian, Lilit ½-½ Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketino Aghinian, Nelly ½-½ Nill, Jessica Andriasian, Siranush 0-1 Ohme, Melanie CZE (4.0) v. BOT (0.0) Jackova, Jana 1-0 Sabure Tuduetso Sikorova, Olga 1-0 Lopang Tshepiso Blazkova, Petra 1-0 Modongo Boikhutso Nemcova, Katerina 1-0 Sabure, Ontiretse

2007 U.S. Chess Championship Brilliancy Prizes

Mig has reported on the winners of the fan-sponsored brilliancy prizes at his website. Third prize of $200 went to GM Gregory Kaidanov; second prize of $500 went to GM Alexander Shabalov (also the clear winner of the 2007 U.S. Chess Championship ("Men’s"); and the big first prize of $1,165 went to GM Julio Becerra. I confess, prior to this championship I hadn’t heard of Becerra but I’ll be paying attention from now on! You can read about the reasons determining the awards at Mig’s site. For those of you who weren’t following the story, Mig originally put up a challenge at his website – he staked up to $500 out of his own pocket and challenged chess fans to match the amount. Many fans rallied and contributed. A total of $1,855 was collected, including Mig’s $500. Mig said this in his May 26, 2007 post: Thanks to everyone who donated and participated. It went far beyond my expectations and might even make inroads into new sponsorship models (actually old ones, just online now) for chess in places like the US where it's not really considered a sport. Museums, concerts, and other cultural events across the US are supported by enthusiasts. Why not chess? In the old days there would be subscriptions taken up for everything from tournaments to medical bills for Grandmasters. More on this topic later. I am interested to see what "more on this topic later" means.

I have been searching for connections between the God Mithras and Chess. Any help will be Gladly welcomed. Here is a post from the Delphi. Persian Temple of Mithras Found in Germany Author: The Tehran Times Source: The Tehran Times Title: PERSIAN TEMPLE OF MITHRAS FOUND IN GERMANYArcheologists in southwest Germany have uncovered a 1,800-year-old temple built to the Persian god Mithras while they were working on a Roman dig, authorities in the town of Gueglingen said Friday.Well preserved parts of an altar, jewelry and pieces of a fresco have been discovered, said Andrea Neth, director at the site, which will be opened to the public on Sunday, AFP reported.Additonal Article Link: [Click HERE] Options: [Read Full Story]

Playing Games Together

I read an article today about families playing board games and card games together, and how beneficial this type of activity is to family dynamics. This article produced an avalanche of reminiscence!

(Photo: Michelle, Georgia, Don and I were playing cribbage in the kitchen at my house, 2005, Don took the photo - that white box near the lower left corner is what's left of a box of fudge, Don ate most of it :))

I have very fond memories of playing games as a family and with family members as I was growing up. As young children, we would sit around the kitchen or dining room table watching my parents and assorted aunts and uncles play poker - wild games like Baseball (3's and 9's are wild and 4 gets you an extra card); and there was almost always at least one wild-card even in "Five Card Stud." It was rare a "straight" game (with no wild cards) was called. They played for small change, and we learned the game by watching and after the end of the hand, asking questions.

We learned very quickly not to say a word or even make faces at each other while an actual hand was being played; we would generally position ourselves so that we could see one or even two players' hands! I remember some very early games, I was perhaps four, and I would fall asleep on dad's lap while they played, the hum of conversation, the slapping sounds of the cards, the laughter, the slide of coins across the table into the pot, the absolute feeling of contentment and belonging, closeness, love. Soon, my siblings and I were playing with the grown-ups and having a ball. The stakes were always small; we'd play for pennies and nickels, and winning a 50 cents pot was a big deal! There was a special really good feeling associated with those times; I never thought much about it as a child, it was just taken for granted; but looking back, part of it must be the feeling of being included in the group of adults (and therefore being special, admitted to the "high ranks" of the adults), of not being ignored, of being nurtured and appreciated. There was always lots of joshing talk and laughter, but sometimes serious conversations about politics and their "work" and such, and we soaked it all in and felt very "grown up" for being part of it all.

We also played Monopoly (lots of Monopoly) and Life, and we would play "team" Battleship. Invariably, at any family gathering, a large group would gather around a table or two and play card games and board games. The favorite game of my mother's family was penny-ante poker and my aunties would call some crazy games, with 3 and sometimes 4 wild cards! The uncles would follow along, with much laughter. The favorite game of my father's family was cribbage. My paternal grandfather taught me to play cribbage when I was 11 (he taught me about baseball then, too) and whenever that side of the family gathered together we'd have tables to play cribbage, sometimes team cribbage, while other family members would play Monopoly and poker.

At big family reunions where relatives from all over would join together at a county park, I'd move from table to table, playing crazy poker games, Monopoly and Clue, and cribbage, lots of cribbage. We also played Bocci ball - I'm pretty good because we also all learned to bowl when we were kids, that was a big deal in my hometown. You never lose the "eye," it seems...

The older I got, the more I appreciated the ritual. I would catch myself just watching the family talking, laughing, enjoying the time and the moment, and memorizing it, like a snapshot.

One of my best friends in the "old neighborhood" was Donna, and her mother and grandmother (and even, on occasion, her father) loved playing Canasta. They taught me how to play the game so I could join in because I spent a lot of time over at their house; often there would be Donna, her mom, her dad's mom and me playing Canasta around their kitchen table. I don't remember how to play Canasta anymore and I haven't seen Donna since she married and moved away in the early 1970's, but I do remember many afternoons playing cards with the Berne family. It was Grandma Berne who taught me how to play Gin. I was 13 and she and I sat at the Berne kitchen table smoking cigarettes (she smoked Camels and I smoked Salem Lights) as she taught me the game and tried to helped me with my atrocious "French" accent (it was my 'foreign language' in junior high and high school). I don't remember much French and I never did learn how to properly "roll" my ‘r’s’, but I still remember how to play Gin and I remember Grandma Berne, with her thick glasses that she only put on when she absolutely had to, her real French-Canadian accent, her furs, her expensive perfumed scent, her high-heeled pumps and black leather handbags that always seemed to hold the most wonderful things, and her perfectly groomed dark auburn coif, very 1940's and quite elegant. And bright red lipstick.

Now we're all grown up; I'm a "great aunt" (eek!), my sisters are grandmothers, my mother who loved playing 500 rummy with us at night around the kitchen table while dad was at his second-shift job is a great-grandmother. My youngest niece is seven; my oldest nieces and nephews are married and have children of their own! The family is even bigger now than it was when I was a child. We are more scattered now, too, and it seems harder these days to have those big family get-togethers than when I was a kid. But we still do have get-togethers, it's just not all of us at one time and place. We’ll be having a get-together tomorrow, to celebrate my mom's 80th birthday party and (weather permitting), having a cook-out. I’m sure that after we eat, someone will break out a deck of cards and we'll gather around and play some of those crazy poker games my mom still loves. My mom grew up in a family of seven sisters; four of them have passed away, the torch from that generation has been and is being passed to my generation. This makes me sad - and scared.

Because there are so many of us, the family gathering tomorrow is an "everyone bring a dish" event. I am the designated "bringer of the jello." I am grateful for the fact that the sister who suggested I do the jello doesn't remember the debacle from a few years ago when - for some mysterious reason - my jello failed to "set"...

Chess Champion at 10 Might Not Make It To 11...

I detest children who are obnoxious like this. Mama needs to teach this boy a little humility, or at least some decent manners! Or, someday soon, he may find himself on the wrong end of a punch in the nose. St. Petersburg Times Neighborhood news Chess champion at 10 By Helen Anne TravisPublished May 25, 2007 The champion arrives 30 minutes late. He's sweaty and out of breath from a school skate party. Two dozen elementary school students look up from their chess boards. Logan McElvenny doesn't apologize for his late arrival to the weekly chess tournament at Center Place in Brandon. He's 10 years old. He placed first in the state in the K-5 under 750 rating division at the 2007 Florida Scholastic Chess Championship in Miami in March. He likes the games where he wins trophies. Doing well on this night would only merit him a ribbon. Shreya Chidarala, an 11-year-old who beat Logan once, plays him first. Logan uses his signature Ruy Lopez opening. While he waits for Shreya to make her move, Logan talks to the other kids who have gathered around to watch him play. He hums to himself. He loses track of when it's his turn. He barely glances at the board before moving his piece. He wins twice. He reminds Shreya that he's been featured in the newspaper more times than she has. Around them chess pieces clack on the boards and an occasional shriek of "check" rings out. These children are fearless about striking conversations with adults. They're smart, inquisitive, white, Asian, Indian, blond, dark-eyed. Logan is the only redhead in the room, except for his sister Annie, 6. She waits with their mother and the other chess moms. She doesn't play chess, but wants to "horseback ride" instead. She's his biggest fan and, as long as she stays out of his bedroom, she doesn't annoy him. When he's nice, she helps him arrange his 11 chess trophies. When he's mean, she cries in her bedroom. She and their mom painted their toenails by the hotel pool while they waited for him to finish his games in Miami. A fast learner Logan, of Valrico, learned to play chess two years ago. His father, John, had saved the chess board that he learned to play on as a child. He taught Logan to play on this board, just like his father had taught him more than three decades ago. Logan was bad at checkers and wary when he saw that chess used a similar game board. He thought a checkmate was something you could draw. In two weeks, Logan was able to beat his father. Now he sneaks out of bed at night to play chess by himself and work on his strategy. "I can't shut it off, " he says. Logan's mom, Kathy, doesn't know what to say when she catches her son playing chess by himself hours after his bedtime. A part of her wants to tell him to go back to sleep. But she usually gives him two minutes to wrap it up. He might be in the middle of learning a strategy or teaching himself a move. If it was anything else - video games or playing with Legos - she wouldn't give him the extra time. But it's chess, a hobby Kathy sees as enriching. It's something she knows he can take with him as he grows older. He can play it in college, he can play it in the nursing home. Teaching mom Kathy always assumed she wasn't smart enough to learn how to play chess, but Logan taught her the ropes. He goes easy on her, tells her to take back a move if it will let him win too easily. Sometimes he avoids check mating her. He doesn't have any lucky chess rituals, but he says that if he drinks orange soda before a chess game he will be too high-strung to win. At the skate party before the community tournament, Logan indulged in some soda. His last game with Shreya ends in a stalemate. "I tied him, " Shreya calls out to the room. She smiles and claps her hand. Parents appear in the doorway. It's almost time to go. In June, he's moving to South Carolina, Logan tells the children around him. He'll be the state champion there, too, he says. Helen Anne Travis can be reached at 661-2439 or mailto:htravis@sptimes.com.%3C/p%3E [Last modified May 24, 2007, 07:41:18] *************************************************************************** An obnoxious teenaged chess prodigy was featured on the television medical series "House" recently - too bad House saved the punk. Maybe this kid, at 10, still has a chance to be turned into a decent human being. TV Review "House: The Jerk" (no, not House, who is a jerk, the punk chessplaying kid): It's quite the shock to realize that the jerk of this episode's title is not House, at least not exclusively or even primarily. Nick Lane as rage-prone teenager Nate is possibly too effective as the mini-jerk. From the unmodulated bullhorn voice to the constant, not-particularly-funny smart remarks, the fictional kid is not someone I'd want to spend even an hour with. Not even an hour between 9 and 10 p.m. on a Tuesday evening. I realize this confession reveals my own jerkdom, but it was the first ever House episode where I was rooting for the patient to die. I'm not completely heartless – I would have settled for a prolonged coma. Even a persistent vegetative state. ...

I Couldn't Make This Up...

Throughout the ages, there have been reports about people being killed because of the results of a chess game. I have to admit, though, that I couldn't have dreamed up this story if I tried: Ohio Inmate Executed for Killing Cellmate After They Fought Over Chessgame (Court TV News, May 24, 2007) LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An execution was delayed more than an hour Thursday while prison medical staff struggled to find suitable veins in the condemned man's arms — the second time that has happened in Ohio in little more than a year. The execution team stuck Christopher Newton at least 10 times with needles to get in place the shunts used to administer the lethal chemicals. Newton, who had insisted on the death penalty as punishment for killing a cellmate, continued to talk, smile and laugh with the prison staff, and at one point was even given a bathroom break. When he eventually was moved from his holding cell and strapped to a table in the death chamber, he made this short statement: "Yes, boy, I could sure go for some beef stew and a chicken bone. That's it." Newton, 37, was pronounced dead at 11:53 a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility; his execution had been set to begin at 10. He weighed 265 at his physical on Wednesday. The head of the Public Defender's death penalty division, Joe Wilhelm, said Newton told him it was hard for blood to be taken from his veins because of his weight. The public defender's office said the decision was made not to intervene when the execution was delayed. "You have to remember that Newton wanted to die. Our job isn't to oppose the death penalty, it's to represent our clients," said Greg Meyer, chief counsel for the Ohio Public Defender's Office. In May 2006, the execution of another Ohio inmate, Joseph Lewis Clark, also was delayed more than an hour because the team could not find a suitable vein; a prison official said at the time that Clark's history of drug use may have been a factor. That case has been cited by death penalty opponents as an example of problems with lethal injection. Executions typically last about 20 minutes. A group of Ohio inmates is suing over the state's injection method, saying it is unconstitutionally cruel, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio called on the state to stop executions because of Thursday's problems. The delay will be discussed as part of that suit and helps show the state is unable to complete executions smoothly, Meyer said. "There will be a day in trial that they will have to answer up as to what caused this two-hour delay," Meyer said. "That's a lot of time messing around trying to get a needle in a vein." Gov. Ted Strickland closely monitored Newton's execution, his office said. The governor had delayed Newton's execution for a few months to research the case just after he took office in January. "There was not a cause to intervene," Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said. "Out of an abundance of caution, every precaution was taken before the procedure began to ensure that there would be no problems when the procedure began." Newton beat and choked cellmate Jason Brewer, 27, to death in 2001 after they argued over a chess game. In a statement read by public defender Robert Lowe after the execution, Newton apologized to his victim's family. "If I could take it back, I would," the statement said. "To my family, I love you and I'm sorry." Although his attorneys argued Newton should be spared the death penalty because of mental disorders, a court last fall found him competent to forgo his appeals. The prosecution had argued that he had feigned mental illness. Court documents say Newton, who spent much of his adult life in prison, knew Brewer's killing was a capital crime, and refused to cooperate with investigators unless they sought the death penalty. In an interview with reporters last month, Newton said he killed Brewer because he repeatedly gave up while they were playing chess. "Every time I put him in check, he'd give up and want to start a new game," Newton said. "And I tried to tell him you never give up ... I just got tired of it." Newton also claimed that he had intentionally gotten himself put back in prison by leaving behind a handprint during a 1999 break-in at his father's house.

A Woman Who Made A Difference

As so often happens when I'm conducting online research, I came across this article about a chess femme of whom I've never heard while doing research on a totally different subject! I don't know how many people read it when it was first published, or how many people will read it here; I'm trying to find out more about the lady. Her story, I think, speaks volumes about the kind of lady she is. The article was originally published in 2005 at the "signonsandiego.com" website: Player was a trailblazer in women's chess By Michelle DeCrescenzoUNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER August 19, 2005 SOLANA BEACH – Alina Markowski delved into chess in the 1950s, at a time when women in the sport were uncommon. She heard remarks such as "You're a good player, for a girl." On occasion, she said, "You could see, if a player lost to me, how disgusted he was that he had lost to a woman."This stoked a fire within her to promote women in chess through writing articles, organizing women's teams and tournaments and volunteering time to help a number of chess organizations as secretary, treasurer and more. The 95-year-old Solana Beach resident's chess stories include the shortest win on record, a tale she volunteers with a chuckle. She said her competitor refused to play against a woman during a tournament in Milwaukee in 1973. He was faced with disqualification if he failed to make at least one move. After he sat down to make his move and then left, Markowski earned the win and boosted her ratings. All that changed, she said, when she moved to Escondido in 1975 and joined the North County Chess Club, where she was warmly received by members. "Usually when people get to be 65, they stop studying chess," said Michael Nagaran, the club's president. "She never stopped. She tried to learn as much as she could." Nagaran estimates he has played up to 100 games with Markowski. "She would always say something positive whether she won the game or lost the game," he said. "And she was always ready for another game." Markowski said that when she's playing, the game takes precedence over friendships. "You play for blood," she said. "But when the game is over with, you can congratulate your opponent." Markowski has played an integral role in bringing players – especially female players – together for tournaments. "As a chess player, I'm average, but my strong point was organizing," Markowski said. "I was most happy when I was organizing the women's teams." She recruited local female players to organize the first regional chess tournament for women. She was an active board member and lifetime member of the Southern California Chess Federation, and wrote articles on women and chess for the organization's publication, Rank & File. As well as belonging to the North County Chess Club, Markowski has been a member of the San Diego Chess Club. She has reached chess players through the mail as well. She has been active in correspondence chess, in which moves are sent by mail between two players. Markowski served as captain of a women's team for an international correspondence chess tournament. She chose the best five players from the United States to compete in a game that lasted several years. Markowski was introduced to postal chess by her husband, who died from cancer in 1971. During the end of his life, he was an active postal chess player, since he was no longer able to attend tournaments. After 30 years of involvement in the local chess community, Markowski played her last tournament game in June, and the North County Chess Club held a retirement party for her. Nagaran called her the "driving force" behind organizing the tournaments and said she will be greatly missed. When she reflects upon her years of dedication to chess, she said, "I look back with pleasure on them." I put a piece together on Ms. Markowski at Goddesschess.

1st World Women's Team Chess Championship-3

Here are the Round 3 and Round 4 results: Round 3 results: Poland (0) v. China (4) Socko, Monika 0-1 Zhao Xue Rajlich, Iweta 0-1 Hou Yifan Zawadzka, Jolanta 0-1 Ruan Lufei Przezdziecka, Marta 0-1 Shen Yang Russia (3.5) v. Vietnam (0.5) Kosintseva, Tatiana 1-0 Le Kieu Thien Kim Kosintseva, Nadezhda ½-½ Le Thanh Tu Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 1-0 Hoang Thi Bao Tram Tairova, Elena 1-0 Nguyen, Thi Thanh An Georgia (2) v. Germany (2) Chiburdanidze, Maya 0-1 Paehtz, Elisabeth Javakhishvili, Lela ½-½ Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketino Khurtsidze, Nino 1-0 Ohme, Melanie Khukhashvili, Sopiko ½-½ Schoene, Maria Randi Ukraine (4.0) v. Botswana (0.0) Ushenina, Anna 1-0 Sabure Tuduetso Gaponenko, Inna 1-0 Lopang, Tshepiso Vasilevich, Tatiana 1-0 Sabure Ontiretse Vozovic, Oksana 1-0 Pilane Masego Sylvia Armenia (4.0) v. Czech Republic (0.0) Danielian, Elina 1-0 Jackova, Jana Mkrtchian, Lilit 1-0 Sikorova, Olga Aghinian, Nelly 1-0 Blazkova, Petra Aghabekian, Liana 1-0 Nemcova, Katerina Round 4 results: VIE (3.0) v. CZE (1.0) Le Kieu Thien Kim ½-½ Jackova, Jana Le Thanh Tu 1-0 Sikorova, Olga Hoang Thi Bao Tram ½-½ Blazkova, Petra Pham Le Thao Nguyen 1-0 Nemcova, Katerina BOT (0.0) v. ARM (4.0) Sabure Tuduetso 0-1 Danielian, Elina Lopang Tshepiso 0-1 Aghinian, Nelly Modongo Boikhutso 0-1 Andriasian, Siranush Sabure, Ontiretse 0-1 Aghabekian, Liana GER (2.0) v. UKR (2.0) Paehtz, Elisabeth ½-½ Lahno, Kateryna Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketino ½-½ Ushenina, Anna Nill, Jessica ½-½ Gaponenko, Inna Schoene, Maria Randi ½-½ Vasilevich, Tatiana CHN (2.0) v. GEO (2.0) Zhao Xue ½-½ Chiburdanidze, Maya Hou Yifan 0-1 Javakhishvili, Lela Ruan Lufei ½-½ Khurtsidze, Nino Shen Yang 1-0 Gvetadze, Sofio RUS (2.5) v. POL (1.5) Kosintseva, Tatiana ½-½ Socko, Monika Kosintseva, Nadezhda ½-½ Rajlich, Iweta Korbut, Ekaterina ½-½ Zawadzka, Jolanta Tairova, Elena 1-0 Szczepkowska, Karina

2007 U.S. Championship-8

Hola darlings! Well, it's over for 2007. GM Alexander Shabalov won the U.S. Championship ("Men's") with 7.0/9 by winning the last game (Round 9), 1/2 point clear of defending Champion Alexander Onischuk. The chess femmes didn't fare so well. Contrary to my expectations, IM Irinia Krush did not make 4.5 and thus, did not earn a spot in the Women's World Chess Championship zonal event for which the U.S. has three spots. Therefore, all three spots will now be determined in the upcoming 2007 Frank K. Berry U.S. Women's Chess Championship. Well well well! Does that mean that Krush will now play in the July Women's Championship? Stay tuned. Perhaps there is some other way for her to qualify for the zonal? I don't understand all this chessly stuff, that's for sure! My suspicion is that the powers that be keep this all deliberately obscure on purpose :) Here are the final standings for the chess femmes: (24) IM Irina Krush (2488), 4.0; (32) WFM Iryna Zenyuk (2229), 2.5; and (36) WFM Chouchanik Airapetian (2188), 1.5. And now, the Brilliancy Prize Fund that Mig raised over at Chess Ninja/Daily Dirt, over $1800, will be distributed in a manner I find somewhat strange (why aren't they equal?) - but hey, I only contributed $25, to winners to be determined by a combination of recommendations from the regulars who post there and two IMs who volunteered to help him out on the matter. The top brilliancy prize will be at least $1000.

Dragon Capital - Trying a Queen's Gambit?

This is an interesting story – Dragon Capital, an English asset management firm that specializes in Vietnamese investments, is trying to get expatriot chess players GM Hoang Thanh Trang (HUN 2472) and GM Cao Sang (HUN 2548) to return home to Vietnam to play for that nation: (28-04-2007) Dragon Capital likes chess The Viet Nam Chess Federation (VCF) has sewn up an annual sponsorship deal with financial investment firm Dragon Capital to the tune of US$40,000, which will run from 2007-2009. The funds will be used by the VCF to organise and fund chess tournaments. The deal will allow the company to serve as the premier sponsor of the World Youth Chess Championships, to be held in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province from September 8-20, 2008. Dragon Capital and VCF also called on International Grand master Hoang Thanh Trang, who now represents Hungary and finished fourth at the recently concluded European Championships, to come back to the Vietnamese national team. The company has offered the player a sponsorship deal worth $50,000-$100,000 a year. According to a subsequent news story, Dragon Capital has paid $50,000 (USD) to the VCF. The VCF then turned the money over to FIDE as part of its bid, evidently, to host the 2008 World Youth Chess Championships, and the VCF is now out of funds: Great Master doesn’t want to play for Vietnam chess yet 13:17' 22/05/2007 (GMT+7) VietNamNet Bridge – In its sponsor plan for Vietnam chess, one of the top priorities of Dragon Capital is bringing back home two great masters Hoang Thanh Trang and Cao Sang, who are playing for Hungary. The two above chess players are invested by the company of Hoang Minh Chuong, Thanh Trang’s father. The representative of Dragon Capital has met with Thanh Trang’s family members in Da Lat and Cao Sang’s family as well. However, the two families’ initial feedback is that they don’t want to play for the Vietnamese national team because the investment for sports talents in Vietnam is nearly zero now. According to Secretary General of the Vietnam Sport Federation Dang Tat Thang, if investment is less than US$50,000 a year, it is utopian to bring Thanh Trang back to the national team because Trang needs better conditions to develop her talents. However, even when the federation receives $50,000 in the first year of sponsor from Dragon Capital, the money has been transferred to the International Chess confederation (FIDE) to register as the host of the World Young Chess Tournament 2008. With this tournament, the federation is clean out of money to spend for other tasks like bonuses for national tournaments, training, and to send players to international contests. Once again investment in sport talent of Vietnam is in a vicious circle. (Source: Tuoi tre) "Once again investment in sport talent of Vietnam is in a vicious circle." One can substitute the name of many countries for "Vietnam" and it will be the same sad, frustrating story.

U.S. Chess Scholarships to Foreign Students

The University of Texas/Dallas announced a partnership with the European Chess Union to award two scholarships to the winners of the boys’ and girls’ European Youth Chess Championships to be held in Croatia September 13 – 24, 2007. I’m not sure I approve. At a time when the skyrocketing cost of a college education in the U.S. is putting it out of reach of more and more families, why are we giving precious scholarship dollars to non-citizens??? Don’t we have enough young promising chessplayers in the United States to fill the bill? Somehow, saying this will increase "diversity" doesn’t seem very convincing in the face of genuine financial hardship by so many of our own young people! Arrrggggghhhhh.

1st World Women's Team Chess Championship-2

The 1st Women’s Team Chess Championships started on May 19 and two rounds of action have been completed. There have been some surprises, including four wins by the Chinese team over the Russians (whose team includes the two strong Kosintseva sisters, Tatiana and Nadezhda, who finished first and third at the recent European Individual Women’s Chess Championships). The 12-year old up-and-coming star Hou Yifan is on the Chinese team. It really is too bad the Americans are playing, it would have been great experience to play against such strong opponents. Instead, we have a team from Botswana, that all the other teams will beat-up on but the team members will probably have a great time. How can Botswana afford to send a team to this championship, when the Americans couldn’t even keep their team together (or afford to send the team if it had stayed together)? Pathetic, just pathetic. Official website: http://www.chesswomen.com/en/ Round 1 results: CHN (3½) vs VIE (½) Zhao Xue 1-0 Le Kieu Thien Kim Hou Yifan 1-0 Le Thanh Tu Ruan Lufei 1-0 Hoang Thi Bao Tram Shen Yang ½-½ Nguyen Thi Thanh An POL (4) vs BOT (0) Socko, Monika 1-0 Sabure, Tuduetso Zawadzka, Jolanta 1-0 Lopang, Tshepiso Szczepkowska, Karina 1-0 Sabure, Ontiretse Przezdziecka, Marta 1-0 Pilane, Masego, Sylvia RUS (3) vs GER (1) Kosintseva, Tatiana ½-½ Paehtz, Elisabeth Kosintseva, Nadezhda ½-½ Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketino Korbut, Ekaterina 1-0 Nill, Jessica Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 1-0 Schoene, Maria Randi GEO (2½) vs CZE (1½) Chiburdanidze, Maya 1-0 Jackova, Jana Javakhishvili, Lela 1-0 Sikorova, Olga Khukhashvili, Sopiko ½-½ Blazkova, Petra Gvetadze, Sofio 0-1 Nemcova, Katerina UKR (3) vs ARM (1) Lahno, Kateryna ½-½ Danielian, Elina Ushenina, Anna 1-0 Mkrtchian, Lilit Gaponenko, Anna 1-0 Aghinian, Nelly Vasilevich, Tatiana ½-½ Andriasian, Siranush Round 2 results: VIE (2.5) v. ARM (1.5) Le Kieu Thien Kim 0-1 Danielian, Elina Le Thanh Tu ½-½ Mkrtchian, Lilit Hong Thi Bao Tram 1-0 Andriasian, Siranush Pham Le Thao Nguyen 1-0 Aghabekian, Liana CZE (1.0) v. UKR (3.0) Jackova, Jana ½-½ Lahno, Kateryna Sikorova, Olga 0-1 Ushenina, Anna Blazkova, Petra 0-1 Vasilevich, Tatiana Nemcova, Katerina ½-½ Vozovic, Oksana BOT (0) v. GEO (4.0) Sabure, Tuduetso 0-1 Javakhishvili, Lela Lopang, Tshepiso 0-1 Khurtsidze, Nino Sabure, Ontiretse 0-1 Khukhashvili, Sopiko Pilane Masego, Sylvia 0-1 Gvetadze, Sofio GER (1.0) v. POL (3.0) Paehtz, Elisabeth ½-½ Socko, Monika Kachiani-Gersinska, Ketino ½-½ Rajlich, Iweta Nill, Jessica 0-1 Zawadzka, Jolanta Ohme, Melanie 0-1 Szczepkowska, Karina CHN (4.0) v. RUS (0) Zhao Xue 1-0 Kosintseva, Tatiana Hou Yifan 1-0 Kosintseva, Nadezhda Ruan Lufei 1-0 Korbut, Ekaterina Huang, Qian 1-0 Tairova, Elena

A Typical Inquiry to Goddesschess - Akasa Ashtapada

From time to time we get email at Goddesschess and they are invariably interesting. Sometimes they're "fan" mail; sometimes we get inquiries on a chess-related topic. Here is one we received a few days ago: Interesting comment appears in 5th century BC, Digha nikaya where, Buddha admonishes monks: "Monks, Where as some ascetics addicted to such idle persuits such as eight row or ten row chess, chess in the air (mental chess), hopscotch, spillikins, dicing, ball games, guessing letters, hand pictures, guessing thoughts, mimicking deformities, playing with toy ploughs the ascetic Gotama refrains from such idle pursuits". Digha Nikaya, Maurice Walsh, translation, page 70 4th century Sri Lankan commentators says the game was known as "Ashtapada" and "Dasapada" (8 and 10 rows). Any info about the Akasa Ashtapada (Akasa means sky or air), is appreciated. Thanks I responded that I had not heard of the (Indian concept of) Akasa Ashtapada but if the Walsh translation was correct, then chess was being played 900 years before it was supposed to have been invented. I said I would do some research in my books and get back to him (or her). I forwarded the email to Don and Isis and they sent separate responses to the correspondent. I then received another email from the correspondent: What can be established with the available information is that some board game was played in the air. (similar to blindfold chess conceptually). Please find the exact Pali paragraph and Walsh translation below. “‘Yathā vā paneke bhonto: (Omitted - because the alphabetical transliterations could not be reproduced by my balky "Word" program. If you are interested, you can find the Pali language transliteration at the link given below). Reference: http://www.tipitaka.org/roman/s0101m/s0101m-frm.html (paragraph 14) Atthapadam (Attha = eight; Padam = rows, Dasapadam = (Dasa = ten Padam = rows) Akasam = sky or air Pariharapadam = doing Akasam Pariharapadam = doing in the sky or air (Doing what? Since atthapadam and dasapadam was discussed...from context doing atthapadam and dasapadam in the air). Walsh translation: "Monks, Where as some ascetics addicted to such idle pursuits such as eight row or ten row chess, chess in the air (mental chess), hopscotch, spillikins, dicing, ball games, guessing letters, hand pictures, guessing thoughts, mimicking deformities, playing with toy ploughs the ascetic Gotama refrains from such idle persuits". Digha Nikaya, Maurice Walsh, translation, page 70 Atthapada appears in another place in Vinayapitaka. http://history.chess.free.fr/ashtapada.htm Buddhist dictionary by Pali text society gives "chess = atthapadakila; caturangakila. (How they figured Atthpadakila = chaturangakila? I dont know what kila means either). I was unable to find any rules on Atthapada. I was told by someone that he remembers that sinhala atthakata has a description on Atthapada. Unfortunately sinhala atthakata have not been translated to English (probably never will be). Sinhala = language of ancient Sri lanka; Atthakatha = commentary to Buddha's discourses. Pali atthakatha or Pali commentaries has being translated by PTS and I do not know what they say. (Pali atthakatha was compiled in 4th century AD by Buddhagosha). Sinhala atthakata is much older. But then there are Tikas (commentaries to atthkata) - compiled by Anuruddha in 6th century (Not been translated to English). Then there is Anutika - commentaries to Tika. If you find any more information please share with me. Thanks The question is interesting (1) because of the allusion to playing some kind of board game "in the air" (i.e., "blindfold") and (2) because of the dates involved. Popular theory dates the invention of chess to around the 5th century CE. But, if chess was being played during the time of Buddha (5th century BCE), that is about 900 years earlier than when the game is popularly assumed to have been invented! I did some research (online and in my small chess library) and, to make a long story short, provided the following reply: I do not know if this information will be of any assistance to you. I cannot read or speak Sansrkit or Pali, so I must rely solely on translations provided by others. I checked in H.J.R. Murray's "A History of Chess" to see if he had written anything about the "blindfold chess" (akasam ashtapada). Murray writes on page on pages 34-35: "(Page 34) Of more importance is a passage in the Pali (23) Brahma-jala Sutta, or Dialogues of the Buddha,(24) according to Rhys Davids one of the earliest of Buddhist documents, purporting to record the actual words of Gotama himself, and dating back to the 5th cn. B.C. The Buddha is contrasting the conversation and thoughts of the unconverted man with those of the disciple: " 'It (sec. 7, p. 3) is in respect only of trifling things, of matters of little value, of mere morality, that an unconverted man when praising the Tathagata, would speak. And what are such trifling minor details of mere morality that he would praise?' " "He then proceeds to enumerate all the many trifles which occupy the thoughts of the unconverted man, and finally comes to games, and gives us a most interesting and valuable list of games - quite the oldest known - which from its interest I quote entire: " 'Or (sect. 14, p. 9) he might say, 'Whereas some recluses and Brahmans while living on food provided by the faithful continue addicted to games and recreations; i.e., to say - 1. Games on boards with boards with 8 or 10 rows of squares. 2. The same games played by imagining such boards in the air (Pali, akasam). 3. Keeping going over diagrams drawn on the ground, so that one steps only where one ought to go. [my note - hopscotch] 4. Either removing the pieces or men from a heap with one's nail, or putting them in a heap, in each case without shaking it. He who shakes the heap loses. [my note - spillikins or 'pick-up sticks' as we called the game when I was a child] 5. Throwing dice (Pali, khalika). 6. Hitting a short stick with a long one. 7. Dipping the hand with the fingers outstretched out in lac, or red dye, or flour water, and striking the wet hand on the ground, or on a wall, calling out 'What shall it be?' and showing the form required - elephants, horses, &c. 8. Games with balls (Pali, akkham). 9. Blowing through toy pipes made of leaves. 10. Ploughing with toy ploughs. 11. Turning somersaults. 12. Playing with toy windmills made of palm leaves. 13. Playing with toy measures made of palm leaves. 14, 15. Playing with toy carts, or toy bows. 16. Guessing at letters traced in the air, or on a playfellow's back. 17. Guessing the playfellow's thoughts. 18. Mimicking of deformities. " 'Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such games and recreations.' " "This passage is quoted at length in many other early Buddhist works, e.g. in Vinaya, ii. 10, and iii.180. The translation naturally depends considerably on the early native commentaries, and it must be remembered that the earliest commentators are considerably later than the original; indeed they only appeared when changes in the spoken language made the written work archaic and unintelligible to the ordinary reader. The commentator was often in a worse position than the modern scholar for interpreting the text, (page 35) and we often find his explanation absurd or impossible. We are accordingly compelled to accept the above translation with some reserve.(25)" "We are only concerned now with the first two of the games named. These are the ashtapada - here in its Pali form atthapada - and the dasapada. One of the two commentators used by Rhys Davids, the Sinhalese Sanna, who belongs to the 10th c. A.D. or even later, says that each of these games was played with dice and pieces (poru, from purisa = men) such as Kings and so on.(26) His evidence is far too late to be of any value as to the nature of the games in question, but is important as showing that these boards were still used for dice games in his day in Ceylon. Yet, if the second sentence is accurately translated, the games must have been of a character which permitted 'blindfold' play without the use of material boards." There is more in Murray that discusses the nature of the game of ashtapada (he concludes it was a race game played on an 8x8 board, similar to chapur or pachisi, played with dice. I can make a scan of the pages and email them to you if you like.) I did not transcribe the footnotes ( ) referenced above, if you would like them, let me know. Based upon the translation you provided (Walsh), and the Rhys Davids translation Murray provided in "A History of Chess", the reference to the game described in number 2 can be confirmed as a "blindfold" game. It is evident to me, based upon what Murray wrote, that he found himself with a dilemma; on the one hand, there was clear evidence from the Rhys Davids' translation of the Brahma-jala Sutta that players were playing some kind of "blindfold" game (imagining the board in the air), and yet his position had to be that this could not be chess, since chess - according to Murray's theory - was not invented at the time to which the commentaries are referring - 500 B.C. Murray therefore fell back to the weak position that the later commentators and translators made errors in translation. Rhys Davids did not translate the 'games on boards played in the air' as "chess." But, I find it hard to believe that the players of that time were playing "blindfold" chapur or pachisi! Playing a game with imaginery dice??? No, it must have been chess or a chess-like game that they were playing, a game that did not rely upon dice to determine the moves of the pieces, just like players today play blindfold chess in demonstrations and, of course, the famous Melody Amber tournament held every year. Those are my thoughts. I hope this was helpful to you. JanXena Indeed, just how would players go about playing a game such as Chapur or Pachisi with imaginary dice? I don't see how it would be possible, as each player would naturally call a dice throw most favorable to his own move (for instance, 6 +1 or other combinations of 7, or two, three, etc. - whatever would be needed to out-race the other player's pieces, land on a favorable square or land on the same square and send the other player's piece back to "home"). On the other hand, chess, or a chess-like game, where the moves of the pieces are well-established and known by both the players and the audience and do not depend upon the chance element of the toss of dice, would be in keeping with "blindfold" play. It would be skill (and memory) only that would determine the course of play, not the intentional manipulation of a pair of imaginary dice to drive the pieces hither and yon. Murray never adequately addressed this in his learned tome. Perhaps he thought it would all just "go away" when he tried to sweep it under the rug by suggesting "bad translation" was at fault for implying that the blindfold game referred to was chess! But does anyone play "blindfold" Pachisi today? Did anyone do so during Murray's time, or prior thereto? If there was any evidence of such a practice, don't you think the meticulous Murray would have hunted it down and recorded it? Of course he would have done so. The fact that there is no written evidence of such feats recorded in his book is highly suggestive of the fact that there is NO such evidence. However, we DO have numerous examples attested to, at least in more "historical" times according to "The Oxford Companion to Chess" by Hooper and Whyld, of blindfold chess being played; and they state (p. 45): "Nearly as old as the game itself, blindfold play originally called for the player's eyes to be covered but allowed the pieces to be touched. ... All the great masters of SHATRANJ were able to play at least one game blindfold. ..." "Shatranj" is the Arabic name for "Chatrang," which was the Pahlavi (Middle Persian) name for chess, attested to in Persian literature from the mid-500's CE or so. Of course, there are those of us who believe the game of chess is much older than that. The quote from the Brahma-jala Sutta certainly seems to confirm that!