Wednesday, May 16, 2012

My apologies for not getting these final standings to you sooner in the Women's "standard chess" division.  It was a Battle Royale between Mary Ann Gomez of India and Irine Kharisma Sukandar of Indonesia right down to the end:

Rk. Name Rtg FED 1.Rd 2.Rd 3.Rd 4.Rd 5.Rd 6.Rd 7.Rd 8.Rd 9.Rd Pts.  TB1 TB2 TB3
1 WGM Sukandar Irine Kharisma  2288 INA  32w1   5w1   3b1  20b1   6w½  15b1   4w½   2b0   8w1 7 0 2413 48
2 WGM Gomes Mary Ann  2378 IND  33b½  26w1  11b0  24w1   7b1  18b1   6w1   1w1   3b0 6.5 0 2358 43
3 WGM Tan Zhongyi  2430 CHN  27w1   7b1   1w0  25w½   8b½  22b1  11w1   4b½   2w1 6.5 0 2342 45
4 WGM Ding Yixin  2353 CHN  26b½  35w1  24b1   6w½   5b1  11w½   1b½   3w½   7b1 6.5 0 2339 45
5 Wang Jue  2364 CHN  34w1   1b0  27w1  16b1   4w0  23b1  13b1   8w½   9b1 6.5 0 2313 43
6 GM Zhao Xue  2549 CHN  16w1  13b½  22w1   4b½   1b½  25w1   2b0  12b1  15w½ 6 0 2358 45
7 WGM Le Thanh Tu  2313 VIE  38b1   3w0  31b1  17w½   2w0  30b1  18w1  23b1   4w0 5.5 0 2356 41
8 IM Karavade Eesha  2353 IND  28w1  21b1  20w0  29b½   3w½  16b1  15w1   5b½   1b0 5.5 0 2340 44
9 WGM Padmini Rout  2345 IND  24w½  22b0  19w1  23b0  14w1  34b1  26w1  11b1   5w0 5.5 0 2263 39
10 WGM Guo Qi  2360 CHN  21w0  28b1  14w0  41b½  37w1  27b1  12w0  30b1  23w1 5.5 0 2221 34
11 WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An  2301 VIE  39b1  17w½   2w1  15b½  20w1   4b½   3b0   9w0  14b½ 5 0 2387 45
12 WIM Nakhbayeva Guliskhan  2309 KAZ  37w1  15b0  34w1  18b0  29w1  17b½  10b1   6w0  16b½ 5 0 2379 39
13 IM Mohota Nisha  2321 IND  36w1   6w½  17b½  14b1  15w0  20b1   5w0  16w½  19b½ 5 0 2368 43
14 WIM Yanjindulam Dulamsuren  2214 MGL  17b0  39w1  10b1  13w0   9b0  40w1  20w1  15b½  11w½ 5 0 2362 39
15 IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag  2451 MGL  29b1  12w1  25b½  11w½  13b1   1w0   8b0  14w½   6b½ 5 0 2354 43
16 WFM Zhai Mo  2248 CHN   6b0  36w1  40b1   5w0  33b1   8w0  29w1  13b½  12w½ 5 0 2335 39
17 WGM Pham Le Thao Nguyen  2390 VIE  14w1  11b½  13w½   7b½  23w0  12w½  22b½  27b1  18w½ 5 0 2326 40
18 IM Tania Sachdev  2417 IND  31b0  30w1  32b1  12w1  25b½   2w0   7b0  28w1  17b½ 5 0 2308 37
19 Ni Shiqun  2157 CHN  25w0  23b½   9b0  36w½  38b1  31w½  33b1  22w1  13w½ 5 0 2299 34
20 WGM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs  2363 MGL  30b1  31w1   8b1   1w0  11b0  13w0  14b0  32w1  26b1 5 0 2270 39
21 WFM Medina Warda Aulia  2172 INA  10b1   8w0  29b0  31w0  40b½  32w½  38b1  33w1  25b1 5 0 2260 31
22 WIM Muminova Nafisa  2338 UZB  35b½   9w1   6b0  33w½  31b1   3w0  17w½  19b0  30w1 4.5 0 2334 38
23 WGM Swathi Ghate  2286 IND  40b0  19w½  26b1   9w1  17b1   5w0  25b1   7w0  10b0 4.5 0 2326 41
24 Pratyusha Bodda  2123 IND   9b½  33w1   4w0   2b0  34w0  37b1  27w0 -1  31b1 4.5 0 2277 37
25 WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram  2356 VIE  19b1  40w1  15w½   3b½  18w½   6b0  23w0  26b½  21w0 4 0 2352 41
26 WIM Nguyen Quynh Anh  2129 VIE   4w½   2b0  23w0  35b1  41w1  29b1   9b0  25w½  20w0 4 0 2331 39
27 WIM Hoang Thi Nhu Y  2238 VIE   3b0  38w1   5b0  32w1  30b½  10w0  24b1  17w0  28b½ 4 0 2285 38
28 WIM Vo Thi Kim Phung  2155 VIE   8b0  10w0  39b1  30w0  36b1  33w½  34w1  18b0  27w½ 4 0 2276 34
29 WIM Le Kieu Thien Kim  2239 VIE  15w0  37b1  21w1   8w½  12b0  26w0  16b0  36b½  38w1 4 0 2253 36
30 WIM Pham Bich Ngoc  2176 VIE  20w0  18b0  38w1  28b1  27w½   7w0  31b1  10w0  22b0 3.5 0 2324 37
31 WIM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung  2237 VIE  18w1  20b0   7w0  21b1  22w0  19b½  30w0  40b1  24w0 3.5 0 2277 38
32 Pham Thi Thu Hoai  1956 VIE   1b0 -1  18w0  27b0  35w½  21b½  41w1  20b0  34w½ 3.5 0 2253 36
33 WGM Kiran Manisha Mohanty  2208 IND   2w½  24b0  35w1  22b½  16w0  28b½  19w0  21b0 -1 3.5 0 2224 37
34 WIM Sihite Chelsie Monica  2181 INA   5b0  41w1  12b0  40w½  24b1   9w0  28b0  35w½  32b½ 3.5 0 2195 34
35 WFM Dewi Aa Citra  2112 INA  22w½   4b0  33b0  26w0  32b½ -1  40w½  34b½  36w½ 3.5 0 2182 31
36 WFM Enkhtuul Altanulzii  2108 MGL  13b0  16b0  37w½  19b½  28w0  41b½  39w1  29w½  35b½ 3.5 0 2177 32
37 Jelsen Yemi  2007 INA  12b0  29w0  36b½  39w1  10b0  24w0 -1  38b0  41w1 3.5 0 2172 30
38 Ngo Thi Kim Tuyen  2070 VIE   7w0  27b0  30b0 -1  19w0  39b1  21w0  37w1  29b0 3 1 2186 33
39 WFM Ton Nu Hong An  1997 VIE  11w0  14b0  28w0  37b0 -1  38w0  36b0  41b1  40w1 3 0 2089 28
40 Virda Rizka Aulia  1769 INA  23w1  25b0  16w0  34b½  21w½  14b0  35b½  31w0  39b0 2.5 0 2242 34
41 Otorbaeva Nuriza  1740 KGZ 0  34b0 -1  10w½  26b0  36w½  32b0  39w0  37b0 2 0 2130 27
You find all details to this tournament under  http://chess-results.com/tnr70398.aspx?lan=1
Chess-Tournament-Results-Server: Chess-Results
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Results R7:

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1IM Goletiani, Rusudan3.52333WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev3.523291-0
2IM Zatonskih, Anna4.52510IM Krush, Irina4.52457½-½
3WFM Kats, Alena1.02137WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.02224½-½
4WGM Baginskaite, Camilla0.52358WIM Ni, Viktorija3.02228½-½
5WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca3.02364FM Melekhina, Alisa3.522421-0

Ouch!  Abrahamyan had a chance to get within 1/2 point of the leaders, who drew their game today (anti-climax!)  Instead, she's stuck with 3.5, Goletiani takes over 3rd place and Foisor springs into 4th place with her win against Melekhina.

Standings after R7:

RankNameScoreM/FRatingTPRW-We1234567
1IM Zatonskih, Anna5.0F25102448-0.3711½½½1½
2IM Krush, Irina5.0F24572477+0.251½1½1½½
3IM Goletiani, Rusudan4.5F23332417+0.8210101½1
4WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca4.0F23642388+0.2701½1½01
5WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev3.5F23292300-0.26½101010
6FM Melekhina, Alisa3.5F22422340+0.88½½0½110
7WIM Ni, Viktorija3.5F22282335+0.96½001½1½
8WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.5F22242319+0.84½11½00½
9WFM Kats, Alena1.5F21372089-0.41001000½
10WGM Baginskaite, Camilla1.0F23581997-2.980000½0½

R8 pairings:

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev3.52329FM Melekhina, Alisa3.52242
2WIM Ni, Viktorija3.52228WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca4.02364
3WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.52224WGM Baginskaite, Camilla1.02358
4IM Krush, Irina5.02457WFM Kats, Alena1.52137
5IM Goletiani, Rusudan4.52333IM Zatonskih, Anna5.02510


R6 Zatonskih in Angst. Zenyuk had white. Photo from
U.S. Chesschamps.com. 
Well, ujnless Alena Kats has the game of her life, put 1.0 up in Krush's column of Ws!  Zatonskih, on the other hand, is going to have her hands full with a fired up Goletiani who will also have the white pieces.  Goletiani has 4 wins already, Zatonskih (and Krush), 3.  Uh uh.  Could my prediction of a Zatonskih repeat be ill-fated?  Could I be - gulp - wrong?  We'll see.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Dark Age Glass Manufactory (?) at Glastonbury

The science and art of glassmaking is ancient.  I'm sure no expert!  As I know of it, there were two main types of glassmaking.  The oldest was the coiled form of glass that was developed in the Middle East about 3500 BCE - maybe in Mesopotamia(?).  There was a major breakthrough in the entire type of glass that glass-blowing allowed to be created when the technique was invented, around 50 BCE. 

I am not certain of this, but perhaps the art of glass-making was transmitted, or discovered, and lost, in various places over various times, only to be discovered over and over again.

In any event, I think these production artifacts that have been redated using current techniques (originally excavated in the 1950's at Glastonbury) are fascinating!  And this article perfectly ties into my comments in the previous post -- about how with the current changes in tecnology (that, for instance, allow us to date certain types of objects much more accurately than even 5 years ago, let alone 50 years ago!) allow us to put together a more accurate and ever-changing picture of our development, both as "humans" and as cultures.  More changes are on the horizon!!!

From BBC News
8 May 2012 Last updated at 05:41 ET

Glastonbury Abbey excavations find Saxon glass industry

New research on glass fragments found at Glastonbury Abbey in the 1950s reveals the earliest archaeological evidence of glass-making in Britain.
Researchers from the University of Reading carried out radiocarbon dating on finds from the digs.
Clay crucibles and pieces of vivid blue-green window glass were tested. The results show the pieces date from the 680s and are likely to be associated with a major rebuilding of the abbey by King Ine of Wessex.
The research team believes specialist glass workers came from France to work at Glastonbury.  Analysis of the glass is now being carried out to find out where the source materials came from.  Extensive remains of five glass furnaces have also been identified.
Prof Roberta Gilchrist from the Department of Archaeology said: "The research project reveals new evidence for the early date of the monastery at Glastonbury and charts its development over one thousand years, from the 6th century to its dissolution in the 16th century."
Glass-making at York and Wearmouth is recorded in historical documents in the 670s but Glastonbury provides the earliest and most substantial archaeological evidence for glass-making in Saxon Britain.
The story of the Abbey's pioneering role in medieval crafts and technology is outlined in an exhibition at Glastonbury Abbey Museum which runs until 16 September.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Anthropologists Discover Oldest Form of Wall Art

Well - we'll see.  At the rate things are changing these days, this "oldest" may not survive a year.  About time things speeded up!  Technology is changing rapidly and with it, so are the intepretations of what we're discovering (and what has already been discovered) by the experts.

Let's play a little game, darlings:  What is this?



Basically, I want to know why they say this is Aurignacian?  Not "Neanderthal?"  (Maybe the two were already blended by then, LOL!  Well, I shouldn't laugh.  Most of us with European ancestors have between 2 and 4% of so-called "Neanderthal" DNA, so who got the last laugh, heh heh heh?) 

By the way, after the oh-so-staid press release, check out some of the "vulgar vagina" (har!) headlines from around the world that this - press release? - generated?  Well, darlings, something generated these headlines!  Check them out...

Press Release:
Public release date: 14-May-2012Contact: James Devitt
james.devitt@nyu.edu
212-998-6808
New York University

Anthropologists discover earliest form of wall art

Anthropologists working in southern France have determined that a 1.5 metric ton block of engraved limestone constitutes the earliest evidence of wall art. Their research, reported in the most recent edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows the piece to be approximately 37,000 years old and offers rich evidence of the role art played in the daily lives of Early Aurignacian humans.

The research team, comprised of more than a dozen scientists from American and European universities and research institutions, has been excavating at the site of the discovery—Abri Castanet—for the past 15 years. Abri Castanet and its sister site Abri Blanchard have long been recognized as being among the oldest sites in Eurasia bearing artifacts of human symbolism. Hundreds of personal ornaments have been discovered, including pierced animal teeth, pierced shells, ivory and soapstone beads, engravings, and paintings on limestone slabs.

"Early Aurignacian humans functioned, more or less, like humans today," explained New York University anthropology professor Randall White, one of the study's co-authors. "They had relatively complex social identities communicated through personal ornamentation, and they practiced sculpture and graphic arts."

Aurignacian culture existed until approximately 28,000 years ago.

In 2007, the team discovered an engraved block of limestone in what had been a rock shelter occupied by a group of Aurignacian reindeer hunters. Subsequent geological analysis revealed the ceiling had been about two meters above the floor on which the Aurignacians lived—within arms' reach.

Using carbon dating, the researchers determined that both the engraved ceiling, which includes depictions of animals and geometric forms, and the other artifacts found on the living surface below were approximately 37,000 years old.

"This art appears to be slightly older than the famous paintings from the Grotte Chauvet in southeastern France," explained White, referring to the cave paintings discovered in 1994.

"But unlike the Chauvet paintings and engravings, which are deep underground and away from living areas, the engravings and paintings at Castanet are directly associated with everyday life, given their proximity to tools, fireplaces, bone and antler tool production, and ornament workshops."

He added that this discovery, combined with others of approximately the same time period in southern Germany, northern Italy, and southeastern France, raises new questions about the evolutionary and adaptive significance of art and other forms of graphic representation in the lives of modern human populations.
###
Woooo woooo!

Female genitalia features in world's oldest cave art, found at Abri Castanet
by Jean-Louis Santini (love that name!)
May 15, 2012

Is this world's earliest pornography?   
Daily Mail, May 16, 2012

Okay - enough!  I'm tired, I'm hungry, I've got 3 pounds of ground beef I bought on sale I've got to divide up and get a casserole going and wrap the other 2 pounds for the freezer.  Holy Mother!  A woman's work is never ever done. 
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Results R6:

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev2.52329WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca3.023641-0
2FM Melekhina, Alisa2.52242WGM Baginskaite, Camilla0.523581-0
3WIM Ni, Viktorija2.02228WFM Kats, Alena1.021371-0
4WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.02224IM Zatonskih, Anna3.525100-1
5IM Krush, Irina4.02457IM Goletiani, Rusudan3.02333½-½

Standings after R6 (cross-table):

RankNameScoreM/FRatingTPRW-We123456
1IM Zatonskih, Anna4.5F25102456-0.3011½½½1
2IM Krush, Irina4.5F24572480+0.181½1½1½
3IM Goletiani, Rusudan3.5F23332369+0.3310101½
4WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev3.5F23292352+0.23½10101
5FM Melekhina, Alisa3.5F22422394+1.21½½0½11
6WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca3.0F23642354-0.0601½1½0
7WIM Ni, Viktorija3.0F22282332+0.78½001½1
8WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.0F22242350+0.96½11½00
9WFM Kats, Alena1.0F21372062-0.53001000
10WGM Baginskaite, Camilla0.5F23581918-2.800000½0

Pairings for R7:

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1IM Goletiani, Rusudan3.52333WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev3.52329
2IM Zatonskih, Anna4.52510IM Krush, Irina4.52457
3WFM Kats, Alena1.02137WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.02224
4WGM Baginskaite, Camilla0.52358WIM Ni, Viktorija3.02228
5WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca3.02364FM Melekhina, Alisa3.52242

Tomorrow a much-anticipated game between Zatonskih with white against Krush with black at Table 2.  I also expect the Table 1 match-up to be intense.  Abrahamyan wants to move into the first or second position after being a bridesmaid for several years running.  I don't know if she's strong enough to do it, but she sure as hell is STUBBORN, a trait I admire (gee, I wonder why) :) 
Abrahamyan won't give up. 

Really, except for Baginskaite's performance, I am pleasantly surprised by how tight the scores actually are after 6 games, with only 3 more to go, with Alena Kats being somewhat of an outlyer.

Jen Shahade commenting during R4 of the U.S. Chess
Championship.  Leopard Print?  Soooo Judit Polgar!
Zatonskih scored a "must win" game today against  the "other" Iryna, Iryna Zenyk, in order to stay in first place after Krush's draw.  Iryna is a good friend of the Irina with whom Zatonskih keeps trading the U.S. Women's title back and forth.  I don't know if Krush took it "easy" today in agreeing to a draw, I haven't looked at the games and, frankly, I probably wouldn't be able to tell anything from it anyway without hearing live commentary from the pros! 

In any event, we all know she'll have her hands full tomorrow with black against Zatonskih, who will be looking to make another definitive move by taking the full point.  The final 3 games should be where the leaders pull away from the pretenders -- and that doesn't mean someone pretending to play chess, that means someone who hasn't been there before trying to move as high up the ranks as possible and possible take over one of the top spot -- as in "pretender to the throne."  That sort of pretender. 
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

How To Teach Chess to Anyone!

Parents and their kids can learn together - easy peasy! 

I will never forget the kindness Laura and Dan Sherman showed to me when I was needing some coaching in preparation for my charitable chess match with Shira Evans a few years ago.  Shira still won all of our games, but I was able to put up a fight thanks to Dan's coaching (he spent over an hour with me on the telephone and also reviewed some of my games and gave me practical, helpful pointers a/k/a tactics).  In my book, they are good people.

Laura Sherman and her co-writer, Bill Kirkpatrick, have a new book out:


Chess is Child's Play: Teaching Techniques That Work
ISBN: 978-1936277315
Publisher: Mongoose Press
Date of publish: April 16, 2012
Pages: 304
S.R.P.: $19.95

You can read more about it at Amazon.  There is also a very short animated video:

Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , ,

Monday, May 14, 2012

Thracian Horseman Statute Donated by ...

...a local "businessman" who just happened to discover it in "pieces" in a "house he inherited."  Hmmmm, what is that scent I smell?  Could that possibily be bullshit?

Article is at Novinite - don't try to copy it!  I took a "snip" of the main body of the text but there are a few more paragraphs that are not included in the snip since I cannot scroll down when doing a "snip" to capture material.

Here is an image of the "Heros" -- is it just me -- or does this look like a really poorly faked antiquity???  See, for comparison, this specimen at Wikipedia.  More information on the Thracian "heros."



Bulgarian Archaeology Museum Gets Unique Thracian Statue
May 7, 2012

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

New Update on Theft of Chinese Artifacts from The Fitzwilliam

All from BBC News.  Very smart - news, even insignificant seeming, was being released nearly daily and reported by BBC to keep the theft present in the minds of the public.
Some of the beautiful jade objects stolen from the Fitzwilliam,
used several times to illustrate headlines in the BBC News reports/udates.


The white Cadillac van that, despite intensive searches,
has not been found since the date of the Fitzwilliam theft.

April 28, 2012
Fitzwilliam Museum £18m theft: Appeal posters and hotline set up

April 30, 2012
Fitzwilliam theft: Museum appeals for return of art

May 1, 2012
Fitzwilliam Museum theft: New CCTV images released

May 2, 2012
Fitzwilliam Museum Chinese art theft: Two held in London
Detectives investigating the theft of Chinese art from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge have arrested two people.

A 28-year-old man and 15-year-old boy were arrested earlier at addresses in east London by officers from Cambridgeshire and the Metropolitan Police.

A number of other addresses in London are being searched.

May 4, 2012
Fitzwilliam Museum steps up security for Chinese art show
(I thought this was rather funny!)

May 8, 2012
Fitzwilliam Museum Chinese art theft: Third arrest
A 31-year-old man from London is the third person to be arrested in connection with a burglary at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Police investigating the raid at the museum said the man had been arrested on suspicion of money laundering.

May 9, 2012
Fitzwilliam Museum Chinese art theft: Third man bailed
Of note was the increase of the estimated value of the stolen objects: now from between 18-40 million pounds. 

May 11, 2012
Fitzwilliam Museum theft: New CCTV images of white van

That is up to the most recent.  Not much.  The reports are brief, certainly not like U.S. press reports would be on such a sensational crime!  We only know the ages of the arrested suspects, not their names.  Since I did not see an article reporting that the two people (one a minor) arrested on May 2, 2012 have not "been bailed," I assume they are still in custody.  The third person arrested was "bailed" - and what, exactly, does money laundering have to do with these thefts?
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Sunday, May 13, 2012

2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Results from R5:

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1IM Krush, Irina3.02457WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev2.523291-0
2IM Goletiani, Rusudan2.02333WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.022241-0
3IM Zatonskih, Anna3.02510WIM Ni, Viktorija1.52228½-½
4WFM Kats, Alena1.02137FM Melekhina, Alisa1.522420-1
5WGM Baginskaite, Camilla0.02358WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca2.52364½-½

Standings after R5 (cross-table):

RankNameScoreM/FRatingTPRW-We12345
1IM Krush, Irina4.0F24572517+0.351½1½1
2IM Zatonskih, Anna3.5F25102419-0.4611½½½
3WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca3.0F23642431+0.4901½1½
4IM Goletiani, Rusudan3.0F23332355+0.1610101
5WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.0F22242390+1.12½11½0
6WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev2.5F23292281-0.32½1010
7FM Melekhina, Alisa2.5F22422332+0.55½½0½1
8WIM Ni, Viktorija2.0F22282299+0.40½001½
9WFM Kats, Alena1.0F21372116-0.1500100
10WGM Baginskaite, Camilla0.5F23581969-2.140000½

Pairings for R6 - getting up their now, ladies, now's the time to make your mooooovvvveeessss....

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev2.52329WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca3.02364
2FM Melekhina, Alisa2.52242WGM Baginskaite, Camilla0.52358
3WIM Ni, Viktorija2.02228WFM Kats, Alena1.02137
4WIM Zenyuk, Iryna3.02224IM Zatonskih, Anna3.52510
5IM Krush, Irina4.02457IM Goletiani, Rusudan3.02333
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Happy Mother's Day!

Mr. Don sent this to me some days ago -- don't know where he got it from.  It is called "Decorama" but I think it is just sooooo appropriate of the kind of chess that moms play everyday while taking care of the kids, hubby and running the household!  So, I'm calling it Housewife Chess.  Or, if you prefer the politically correct term, "Stay-at-Home-Mom" Chess :)

To all the Moms everywhere in the world, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!  You have the toughest job in the universe.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Dido, Queen of Carthage

Oh, those male patriarchs.  Always messing with herstory to try and make women into beings who do their bidding.  Tsk tsk.

Dido, founder of Carthage.  Coin of unknown origin/date.


From tunisia-live.net

Dido of Carthage – Tunisia’s Warrior Queen

Megan Radford | 09 May 2012
Her story ends in suicide, caught up in the flames of a funeral pyre. Scholars of ancient literature know it well, Virgil’s tragic tale of a lustful Queen of Tyre, in the epic poem the Aeneid. But less well-known is the legend, passed down in oral form, of a heroine who through courage and determination founded a city to rival Rome, and who refused to let herself be subject to men, even at the cost of her life.
Dido, or Elissa, as she is known in the legend, was said to be a Phoenician princess who fled Tyre when her brother, the king, murdered her husband. Rather than bemoaning her lot, she took her companions and set sail for North Africa. When she reached Tunisia, she used her wit to gain control of the area of Carthage by getting locals to promise her whatever she could fit within the hide of an ox. She cut the ox’s throat and had her traveling companions cut the hide into thin strips, placing them around the perimeter of the city.

Dido founded Carthage, populating it by organizing the marriage of her male companions and a group of virgins from Cyprus. But when a Berber ruler demanded that she marry him or he would wage war on her city, she killed herself in the heat of battle rather than be subjected to his authority.

In contrast, the Roman tale promoted the image of imperial Rome and cast Dido as a slighted woman who couldn’t live without her man. Aeneas, after escaping Troy, falls in love with Dido. But the god Jupiter tells him he must leave to fulfill his destiny. Dido, crazed with love, curses the Trojans just before she stabs herself in the heart. According to the Aeneid, Aeneas would go on to found Rome. [What!  No Romulus and Remus?]

Many scholars agree that Rome used Dido and Aeneas’ ill-fated love story to justify their actions during the Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome. Some have even suggested that Dido’s desire for Aeneas symbolized a twisted view that the colony desired the colonizer, desired domination.

In modern-day Carthage, Tunisia, Dido’s name is attached to everything from restaurants to beauty parlors to wine. A search for “Didon Tunisie” (French for Dido Tunisia) reveals a dental surgery company and a hotel as the first hits. Dido has become a cultural icon in Tunisia, comparable to Joan of Arc in France.

But there is a difference. Dido, also known as Elissa, is part of the heritage of a country where patriarchy is the cultural norm. The fact that as a woman, she founded one of Tunisia’s most important cities, is significant.

Nejet M’Chala, a Tunisian professor of literature says that today Elissa represents “feminine wisdom and inventiveness, care for the other…a creative empowered woman.” Children read her story at school, she says, and learn what it means to be “a courageous, smart woman.”

“Today women identify with Dido as an icon of self-determination and freedom…She is the icon of basic human rights.”

In his 1980’s novel “Elissa La Reine Vagabonde” (Elissa the Vagabond Queen), Franco-Tunisian writer Fawzi Mellah gives the tale of Dido a breath of new life by using the story to comment on modern Tunisia. On page 71, he speaks of Dido’s desire for the new city she would build, “A fragile, maternal land. Not a fatherland (who was it who invented that absurd term?). It was a motherland that I desired; If need be, I would invent it.” Some have interpreted Mellah’s words as his way of voicing his own disapproval at the patrimony and marginalization of women in the public sphere in his home country.

In 2010, Jeune Afrique wrote an article about women in Tunisia. It compared Dido to all the women in Tunisia that have come after her, “who have shone in the sky of this country,” to make Tunisian women “the freest, the most educated and most active of the Maghreb region – of the Middle East.”

But after the Revolution, women’s rights groups have kept a close watch on how the female population is treated in the new Tunisia. Activists and politicians like Ahlem Belhadj, the President of the Tunisian Association for Democratic Women, say that Tunisia’s struggle for equality is not over.

In this confusing modern era, Dido, and her story of bravery and creativity, becomes even more relevant. As M’Chala explained, Elissa represents equality in both society and politics. It’s this story, and its message, that has lasted through the ages, inspiring generations in the country she chose to call home.

With contributions from Ahmed Jaouadi.

Read more bout Dido/Elissa at Wikipedia.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...