Friday, August 16, 2019
I Love Me A Good Squirrel Commercial
This is so cute! It rather reminds me of my backyard when I put out the hazelnuts in the morning and evening for my tribe of squirrels. I've yet, however, to have a man show up with a squirrel's mask on. Probably a good thing - I'd likely attack him with my broom...
Monday, August 12, 2019
FIDE Women's Grand Prix Series 2019-2020
The places and dates are set, along with the List of Players. FIDE announcement on the upcoming events. Players must play in 3 of the 4 events.
| Skolkovo | Monaco | Lausanne | Sardinia | |||
| PLAYER | RATING | September 10th – 23rd 2019 | December 2nd – 15th 2019 | March 1st – 14th 2020 | May 2nd – 15th 2020 | |
| Harika, Dronavalli | 2492 | + | + | + | - | |
| Goryachkina, Aleksandra | 2564 | + | + | + | - | |
| Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2517 | + | + | + | - | |
| Cramling, Pia | 2479 | + | + | + | - | |
| Koneru, Humpy | 2558 | + | + | - | + | |
| Gunina, Valentina | 2497 | + | + | - | + | |
| Lagno, Kateryna | 2549 | + | + | - | + | |
| Paehtz, Elisabeth | 2473 | + | + | - | + | |
| Ju, Wenjun | 2595 | + | - | + | + | |
| Stefanova, Antoaneta | 2474 | + | - | + | + | |
| Kashlinskaya, Alina | 2492 | + | - | + | + | |
| Sebag, Marie | 2451 | + | - | + | + | |
| Muzychuk, Anna | 2547 | - | + | + | + | |
| Muzychuk, Mariya | 2551 | - | + | + | + | |
| Dzagnidze, Nana | 2511 | - | + | + | + | |
| Zhao, Xue | 2485 | - | + | + | + | |
| Average Rating | 2512 | 2518 | 2513 | 2515 |
2019 FIDE World Cup
The 2019 FIDE World Cup event is set to start and the pairings are up for Round 1. I won't be following the men's event because, frankly - I find them boring, but there are six Americans playing: GM Wesley So (seems like a nice young man, GM Sam Shankland (who once declared after a dismal performance at, I believe, a U.S. Chess Championship some years ago that he was quitting, quitting, quitting the game forever), GM Hikaru Nakamura (I get bad vibes from this dude), GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (don't know who this player is), GM Samuel Sevian (been reading about him off and on since he was a promising kid - what am I saying, he's only 18!), and GM Jeffery Xiong (don't know who this player is).
Action is set to start with Round 1 September 10 - 12, 2019. Good luck, dudes.
Some information on the 2019 FIDE World Cup at Revolvy website.
Official website.
Action is set to start with Round 1 September 10 - 12, 2019. Good luck, dudes.
Some information on the 2019 FIDE World Cup at Revolvy website.
Official website.
Medieval Islamic Style Chess Piece Found in Wallingford, England (Story from 2016)
Another bit of news from an older story, reported in April 2016 at ArcheoFeed, that I didn't find I'd reported here at Goddesschess Blog.
Medieval chess piece discovered
In a recent dig at Wallinford Museum a small medieval Arabic chess piece was discovered. Closer examination revealed it was made from the tip of an antler. Once the artefact was cleaned up it was identified as a gaming piece, highly decorated with ring and dot designs.
 |
| Chess bishop piece found in Wallingford (by Oxford Times) |
It is one of only about 50 medieval chess pieces found in England and, at only 21.7 mm high [Note: 0.8543307 of an inch for Americans], it is unique in being the smallest medieval Arabic chess piece known in the country. It is dated to 12th-13th century. It was identified as a bishop and it can be estimated that the other pieces in the set must have been really small as well – it may also have been part of a travelling set. Archaeologist suspect that further pieces can be found when a second dig will be carried out in July.
(after Oxford Times)
Silver Coins Found Inside Ivory Chess Piece
I missed this article - all the way back from May, 2017, but better late than never. I haven't been able to find out anything about what happened to the Bishop these 10 silver coins were supposedly found in - inside a false bottom. How big was the piece to have contained 10 coins in a false bottom?
You will note - not a word was said about the chess piece itself. Evidently thus far this is the only chess piece in this area because I've read nothing on any other chess pieces being discovered. But even a single ivory piece dating back to the time of Ivan the Terrible, first Czar of Russia from 1547 to 1584 would, I assume, be valuable. I could not locate any photographs of the piece itself or any further mention of what happened to the chess piece.
Note: There are only 9 coins in the photo, one of which appears to be halfway out of the empty bottom of something - the chess piece? Who knows!
You will note - not a word was said about the chess piece itself. Evidently thus far this is the only chess piece in this area because I've read nothing on any other chess pieces being discovered. But even a single ivory piece dating back to the time of Ivan the Terrible, first Czar of Russia from 1547 to 1584 would, I assume, be valuable. I could not locate any photographs of the piece itself or any further mention of what happened to the chess piece.
Silver Coins Hidden In Chess Figure Date Back To Ivan The Terrible’s Days – Discovery In Moscow
| May 13, 2017 | Archaeology, Artifacts, News
A collection of silver coins dating back to the days of Ivan the Terrible. was recently unearthed during construction work in downtown Moscow, Russia.
 |
| Silver coins date back to Ivan the Terrible's times. Image credit: TASS |
Ten silver coins found in an ivory chess bishop, were probably hidden from thieves or robbers according to Alexey Yemelyanov, head of Moscow’s Cultural Heritage Department.
"Chess was a game played for money at that time. Maybe the person who owned the chess set did not want to carry money in a purse out of fear of being robbed, but wanted to be able to pay in case he lost," Yemelyanov said.
"In another version, Prechistenka [district in downtown Moscow] of that time had a lot of inns where chess was played, and this was the way inn owners stored the money,"said Yemelyanov, adding that "ten hand-minted silver coins were stashed in a bishop made of ivory. The total sum is five kopecks."
This is rather a unique discovery because money is found only on rare occasions, and now Moscow museum workers will study the ancient chess pieces in their collections to look for more potential treasures stowed inside them, reports Russian News Agency TASS.
The deputy director general of a company providing archeological survey during construction work, Vladimir Berkovich, said the volunteer who had found the treasure trove was not rewarded for his discovery. "This is not customary among Moscow volunteers," he said. He also declined to reveal the treasure’s value, saying coin collectors must be consulted.
The coins date from the mid-16th century and among them, one was minted in Tver (a city about 174 kilometers northwest of Moscow) and the other nine - in Moscow.
"If each chess piece had the same stowage, the total sum of the stashed coins could amount to 160 kopecks," Yemelyanov noted, adding that no other chess pieces had been found yet.Note: There are only 9 coins in the photo, one of which appears to be halfway out of the empty bottom of something - the chess piece? Who knows!
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Doing A Little Catch-Up:
Hola everyone!
It's a humid day threatening rain here in Milwaukee, but the stormy weather has given me a chance to do some catch-up at my poor, languishing Goddesschess blog. As you know (or if not, I'm telling you now), I've been a member of the Chess Collectors International or CCI for many years. I don't remember exactly when I joined, but I believe it may have been in the early to mid 2000's. I receive the CCI magazines/news letters and the USA branch of the CCI also produces it own magazine that comes to me three times a year.
Recently I wrote about an exciting development - the CCI is going to be holding its biennial meeting in St. Louis, Missouri (USA) once again next year! The first (to my knowledge) was in 2011, then in 2015, and now again next year in 2020. Since I received the information, I've been thinking about possibly attending. I have a while before I need to make a decision. I always like having those "whiles."
The only CCI meeting I attended was in 2011, also in St. Louis. It coincided at the time with the Kings v. Queens Tournament (also called "The Battle of the Sexes" Tournament) of American and international players being hosted at the St. Louis Chess Club, just a few blocks away from the hotel I booked a suite at for my friend of nearly 30 years, Georgia, and myself. The chess club is right across the street from the World Chess Hall of Fame (and museum that features several new special exhibits, as well as shows and creative activities all year round.) The Gift Shop at the World Chess Hall of Fame is something special - if you have a chance, visit it!
I went back earlier today to blog entries here from 2011 and refreshed my memories of the CCI meeting in 2011. I did a summary in 2011 and in it I mentioned a few of the people I met as well as a special purchase or two I made at the CCI Auction that always closes out CCI get-togethers.
I met Duncan and Ann Pohl - Duncan is the current editor of the CCI-USA Magazine, and a most excellent job he does. Mr. Pohl was one of the presenters in 2011; he started out a bit nervous, but soon got into the groove of his presentation on "vintage" American chess sets that don't cost an arm and a leg as many of the rare sets (or pieces) do that were crafted in the Old World, merely a couple of fingers or maybe a hand. Yikes! Both Duncan Pohl and his wife, Ann, were at a round table shared with attendees (were there 10 or 12 of us - don't remember) including Georgia and I, at the CCI meeting at a lovely cocktail and dinner party. I struck it off right away with Ann Pohl - such a lovely lady. It was a lively group - the conversation hummed!
Mr. Pohl has produced a couple of books on American chess sets that would be of great help to a collector and of interest to any fan of the ancient game of the Goddess who wants to learn about American producers of chess sets, the materials used to make them, the rarity (or not) of such sets today, etc. Both can be found at Amazon:
Later that evening after dinner, Ann Pohl introduced me to Rick Knowlton, who had also given a fascinating presentation at one of the CCI sessions. We had a long chat about ancient chess and its origins, at least 30 minutes. Among other things, Mr. Knowlton maintains a website on Ancient Chess (which I am particularly interested in). He also did a "diary" online of his visit to St. Louis for the 2011 CCI meeting. How wonderful then, to see that Mr. Knowlton and well-known chess historian Jean-Louis Cazaux produced a book (which you can find a Youtube video on), "A World of Chess: Its Development and Variations through Centuries and Civilizations." Also offered at Amazon.
I also see that the BBC New program "The Forum" produced an episode by Mr. Knowlton and Mr. Cazaux that aired on April 19, 2019 and is available online in Podcast, "Chess: A Chequered History."
You just never know what these chess collectors and chess historians may get up to!
It's a humid day threatening rain here in Milwaukee, but the stormy weather has given me a chance to do some catch-up at my poor, languishing Goddesschess blog. As you know (or if not, I'm telling you now), I've been a member of the Chess Collectors International or CCI for many years. I don't remember exactly when I joined, but I believe it may have been in the early to mid 2000's. I receive the CCI magazines/news letters and the USA branch of the CCI also produces it own magazine that comes to me three times a year.
Recently I wrote about an exciting development - the CCI is going to be holding its biennial meeting in St. Louis, Missouri (USA) once again next year! The first (to my knowledge) was in 2011, then in 2015, and now again next year in 2020. Since I received the information, I've been thinking about possibly attending. I have a while before I need to make a decision. I always like having those "whiles."
The only CCI meeting I attended was in 2011, also in St. Louis. It coincided at the time with the Kings v. Queens Tournament (also called "The Battle of the Sexes" Tournament) of American and international players being hosted at the St. Louis Chess Club, just a few blocks away from the hotel I booked a suite at for my friend of nearly 30 years, Georgia, and myself. The chess club is right across the street from the World Chess Hall of Fame (and museum that features several new special exhibits, as well as shows and creative activities all year round.) The Gift Shop at the World Chess Hall of Fame is something special - if you have a chance, visit it!
I went back earlier today to blog entries here from 2011 and refreshed my memories of the CCI meeting in 2011. I did a summary in 2011 and in it I mentioned a few of the people I met as well as a special purchase or two I made at the CCI Auction that always closes out CCI get-togethers.
I met Duncan and Ann Pohl - Duncan is the current editor of the CCI-USA Magazine, and a most excellent job he does. Mr. Pohl was one of the presenters in 2011; he started out a bit nervous, but soon got into the groove of his presentation on "vintage" American chess sets that don't cost an arm and a leg as many of the rare sets (or pieces) do that were crafted in the Old World, merely a couple of fingers or maybe a hand. Yikes! Both Duncan Pohl and his wife, Ann, were at a round table shared with attendees (were there 10 or 12 of us - don't remember) including Georgia and I, at the CCI meeting at a lovely cocktail and dinner party. I struck it off right away with Ann Pohl - such a lovely lady. It was a lively group - the conversation hummed!
Mr. Pohl has produced a couple of books on American chess sets that would be of great help to a collector and of interest to any fan of the ancient game of the Goddess who wants to learn about American producers of chess sets, the materials used to make them, the rarity (or not) of such sets today, etc. Both can be found at Amazon:
Chess Sets of the United States: Ready for Some Chess 'Tenite'? Paperback – May 14, 2014
Vintage Chess Sets of the United States Paperback – November 23, 2016
Later that evening after dinner, Ann Pohl introduced me to Rick Knowlton, who had also given a fascinating presentation at one of the CCI sessions. We had a long chat about ancient chess and its origins, at least 30 minutes. Among other things, Mr. Knowlton maintains a website on Ancient Chess (which I am particularly interested in). He also did a "diary" online of his visit to St. Louis for the 2011 CCI meeting. How wonderful then, to see that Mr. Knowlton and well-known chess historian Jean-Louis Cazaux produced a book (which you can find a Youtube video on), "A World of Chess: Its Development and Variations through Centuries and Civilizations." Also offered at Amazon.
I also see that the BBC New program "The Forum" produced an episode by Mr. Knowlton and Mr. Cazaux that aired on April 19, 2019 and is available online in Podcast, "Chess: A Chequered History."
You just never know what these chess collectors and chess historians may get up to!
2019 Perseid Meteor Showers
Hola darlings!
My birthday is a bit later this month and as I'm getting younger each year I won't bore you with the young age I'll be achieving soon :)
Tomorrow and Tuesday - August 12 and 13 - if you have clear skies check for the Perseid Meteor showers where you may see as many as 50 meteorites streaking across the sky each hour! You should be able to see them all across the United States. If you live in an urban area, don't expect to see much before 10 p.m. when the sky is dark enough for you to catch the brightest "falling stars." Out in the countryside away from bright city lights, about an hour after sunset should give you a front-row seat.
You can read more about this year's Perseids in this article at The Washington Post.
My birthday is a bit later this month and as I'm getting younger each year I won't bore you with the young age I'll be achieving soon :)
Tomorrow and Tuesday - August 12 and 13 - if you have clear skies check for the Perseid Meteor showers where you may see as many as 50 meteorites streaking across the sky each hour! You should be able to see them all across the United States. If you live in an urban area, don't expect to see much before 10 p.m. when the sky is dark enough for you to catch the brightest "falling stars." Out in the countryside away from bright city lights, about an hour after sunset should give you a front-row seat.
You can read more about this year's Perseids in this article at The Washington Post.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Interesting Observations on Kingship
I've had reason recently to dip back into Barbara G. Walker's incredibly informative "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" and I came across this entry on KINGSHIP. Here is a part of it, verbatim, that I typed word for word from my 1986 edition.
If you want to read the entirety of the lengthy and very informative/interesting entry online, you can find a scanned edition of "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" online at archive.org (also in various formats, including PDF and in various zip formats, that you can read online or download). It is the complete 2007 edition with footnotes and Bibliography. I have found this book to be an invaluable resource in doing my research over the years and it is a treasure trove of information.
Kingship
In early Asiatic civilizations, kingship depended on the choices of women. There was no law of primogeniture. Kings were rarely succeeded by their sons. Kings of Sumeria and Assyria were of unknown fatherhood. King Esakhuruna was called "the son of Nobody." (1) Women were the kingmakers in the land he ruled. (2)
Marriage with the earthly representative of the Goddess, in the form of the queen, was essential to the position of kingship; this was the original meaning of "holy matrimony" (hieros gamos). Akkadian kings apparently went on military expeditions chiefly to prove themselves worthy of the sacred marriage. (3)
Ashurbanipal said he ruled by the grace of the Goddess Ishtar, he was he king "whom her hands created." Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon said he was chosen for kingship by the same Goddess under her title of Eura, Queen of the Gods. King Esarhaddon of Assyria said he was "beloved of Queen Ishtar, the goddess of everything, the unsparing weapon, who brings destruction to the land of the enemy." (4) Ishme-Dagan, king of Isin in 1860 B.C., said he was "he whom Inanna, queen of heaven and earth, has chosen for her beloved husband.(5) The Bronze Age King Iion of Thessalian Lapithis married the Mother of the Gods after killing her former mate, described as his father-in-law, because each king's successor was supposed to call his defeated rival "father."(6) The queens were the same as Goddess, or Mother of God. The pharaoh Amenhotep III built a temple for his wife Ti, who was worshipped as the Goddess. (7)
The goddess-queen's choice largely depended on the candidate's sex appeal. If she tired of the king's lovemaking, he could be deposed or killed, for the queen's sexual acceptance of him determined the fertility of the land. In many early societies the old king was killed by the new king, usually called a "son," though he was no blood relative. Hence the unbroken chain of Oedipal murders that puzzled modern scholars before it was known that the words "father" and "son" were used in a different sense. A Babylonian tablet says:
Haharni laid claim for himself to lordship over Dunnu. Earth raised her face to her son Anakandu, "Come let me make love to you,"she said to him; in Dunnu, which he loved, they laid him to rest. And Anakandu took over his father's lordship and Nether Sea, his sister, he took (as wife). Lahar, son of Anakandu, came and Anakandu he killed and in Dunnu in the (tomb) of his father he caused him to rest. Nether Sea, his mother, he took (as wife). (8)
After this Lahar's son killed Lahar and took his sister River as wife; he in turn was killed by his son, who married his sister Ningesh-tinna, "Lady of the Vine of Heaven," a shortened name of the Goddess Nin-gest-inanna. Sovereignty passed from mother to the daughter, beginning with Earth, the Goddess Dunnu herself, foundress of the line - the same as Crete's Danuna, Anatolia's Danu, Greece's Danae, the Gaulish Diana. Kings were expected to kill their predecessors or pseudo-fathers, "Son" meant "successwor," and "wsister" was synonymous with "wife." (9)
The length of a king's reign was often predetermined, because people thought the Goddess needed the refreshment of a new lover at stated intervals. Up to 1810 A.D., kings of Zimbabwe were ceremonially strangled to death by their wives at the moon temple every four years. (1) Kings of ancient Thebes reigned for seven years; so did kings of Canaan. Myths suggest a similar seven-year period for each king of Crete. Cretan kings were never allowed to grow old, they always died in the full bloom of youth. (11) More recently, Nigerian kings were strangled after the queen's pregnancy was established, which meant each king fulfilled his role in life by begetting one royal offspring. (12)
White explorers in Africa spoke of tribal "kings," but rarely mentioned that the real rulers of the tribes were queens. "In the oldest times there were no reigning princes in Africa, but the negroes had large kingdoms [sic] which were ruled by goddesses. (13) Ghana was governed by kings of matrilineal succession whose divine right passed through sisters' sons. The Lovedu were ruled by a female "king" who took a series of lovers but always left the government to one of the royal princesses. (14) Angola was ruled by women until the Portuguese invasions. Ashanti was ruled by queens until the British Protectorate in 1895. Its kings were subject to the queen mothers; its princesses took no husbands but kept a series of lovers. Similar customs obtained in Loango, Daura, the country of the Abrons, and other African nations. The queen of Ubemba was called Manfumer, "Mother of Kings," and did all the governing. (15)
The Gospels' "Candace queen of the Ethiopeans" (Acts 8:27) was not a single individual but the hereditary title of queen mothers who governed the Nubian states. (16) Ethiopian kings were ritually slain from the earliest times. Regicide was still the custom of Nubian Kassites of the Upper Nile in the 1st century B.C. Diodorus said only one Ethiopian monarch escaped the kingly fate because he was educated in Greece and dared to disobey tribal law. He led a party of soldiers into the sanctuary and killed all the priests before they could kill him. (17)
The Javanese Singasari dynasty had matriarchal queens similar to Candace, typified by Queen Dedes whose statues show her as a beautiful Shakti of wisdom. She married a number of new kings after they killed her previous consorts, each apparently holding office for a seven-year period. (18)
Legends consistently associate kingship with ceremonial death. A seal from Lagash shows the Goddess taking her new kin by the hand, while he raises a weapon to slay the old king, prostrate under the queen's feet. (19) King Sennacherib of Assyria was "beaten to death with stauettes of the gods," in the temple at Nineveh. Perpetrators of the deed were his "sons," one of whom succeeded him as King Esarhaddon. Upon his succession, Esarhaddon proclaimed" "I am powerful. I am omnipotent. I am a hero, I was gigantic, I am colossal!" (20)
Sometimes, kings had to proclaim they were embodiments of the Goddess herself so as to rule with the same authority as queens. Antiochus of Commagene announced that he could rule because he was the Goddess. (21) A king's investiture used to mean putting on female robes, so the king could be displayed as a transvestite Goddess (see Transvestism).
In the ancient Middle East generally, kings were not so much governing figures as ceremonial ones, primarily concerned with dedication of temples and other religious responsibilities. (22) Sometimes they were also war leaders, able to preserve their lives in time of danger by convincing the people that no one else could defeat the enemy. In such a case, a surrogate victim might be found - a real or adopted son, a prophet, a condemned criminal, or a divine animal.
A war leader of Carthage "clothed his best and most beloved son in royal robes and crucified him as a sacrifice" to secure the blessing of Baal on his military campaigns. (23) Similarly, the god-king Isra-El clothed his only-begotten son Ieud in royal robes and sacrificed him "according to the custom of the Jews," as Philo said. (24) The king became Jesus, "king" of the Jews (John 18:33). Since a king was God, any king's real or adopted son was naturally the Son of God, and Yahweh himself was embodied in the Jewish king. "In the early period of the Hebrew monarchy the central element of the annual New Year festival was the ritual enthronement of Jahveh as King. (25)
Son-killing was a habit, not only of the Jewish god-king but of many other god-kings who modified the old custom by shedding the blood of someone else in the proper season. A Swedish king named Aun extended his reign for nine years by sacrificing one of his nine sons each year to ransom his own life. (26)
Footnotes and Bibliography for the material above:
1. Assyr. & Bab. Lit., 198.
2. Bachofen, 215.
3. Hooke, S. P., 49.
4. Assyr. & Bab. Lit., 91, 114, 130.
5. Gray, 59.
6. Campbell, C. M., 422.
7. Budge, D. N., 83.
8 Albright, 94.
9. Albright, 94, 128.
10. Lederer, 132.
11. Campbell, Oc. M., 59.
12. Stone, 132.
13. Briffault 3, 26-32.
14. Hays, 296, 312.
15. Hartley, 161.
16. Briffault 3, 41.
17. Campbell, P. M., 200.
18. Campbell, M. I., 216-17.
19. Campbell, Oc. M., 42.
20. de Camp, A. E, 64.
21. Cumont, M. M., 95.
22. Hooke, S. P., 49.
23. de Lys, 450.
24. Frazer, G. B., 341.
25. Hooke, S. P., 110.
26. Frazer, G. B., 337.
1. Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, Selected Translations, New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1901.
2. Bachofen, J. J., Myth, Religion and Mother Rite, Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1967.
3. Hooke, S. H., The Siege Perilous, Freeport, N. Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
4. Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, Selected Translations, Ibid.
5. Gray, John, Near Eastern Mythology, London: Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd., 1963.
6. Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Creative Mythology, New York; Viking Press, 1970.
7. Budge, Sir E. A. Wallis, Dwellers on the Nile, New York: Dover Publications, 1977.
8. Albright, William Powell, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1968.
9. Albright, William Powell, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, Ibid.
10. Lederer, Wolfgang, The Fear of Women, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc., 1968.
11. Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology, New York: Viking Press, 1964.
12. Stone, Merlin, When God was a Woman, New York: Dial Press, 1976.
13. Briffault, Robert, The Mothers (3 vols.), New York: Macmillan, 1927.
14. Hays, H. R., In the Beginnings, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1963.
15. Hartley, C. Gasquoine, The Truth About Woman, New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1913.
16. Briffault, Robert, The Mothers (3 vols.,) Ibid.
17. Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology, New York: Viking Press, 1959.
18. Campbell, Joseph, The Mythic Image, Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1974.
19. Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology, Ibid.
20. de Camp, L. Sprague, The Ancient Engineers, New York: Ballantine Books, 1960.
21. Cumont, Franz, The Mysteries of Mithra, New York: Dover Publications, 1956.
22. Hooke, S. H., The Siege Perilous, Ibid.
23. De Lys, Claudia, The Giant Book of Superstitions, Secaucus, N. J.: Citadel Press, 1979.
24. Frazer, Sir James G., The Golden Bough, New York: Macmillan, 1922.
25. Hooke, S. H., The Siege Perilous, Ibid.
26. Frazer, Sir. James G., The Golden Bough, Ibid.
My Notes:
1. Frazer's The Golden Bough (my edition is a 1963 paperback issued by Collier Books of Macmillan Publishing Company, New York) has an entire chapter devoted to "The Killing of the Divine King" (Ch. XXIV) and consisting of: I. The Mortality of the Gods; II. Kings Killed When Their Strength Fails; and III. Kings Killed at the End of a Fixed Term.
There are also separate chapters devoted to: Ch. XXV -- Temporary Kings; and Ch. XXVI -- Sacrifice of the King's Son (also cited in Walker's "The Woman's Encyclopedia..."). This would be considered a form of "substitute" King sacrifice.
2. Wikipedia has an interesting entry on the ancient Egyptian Sed festival or "Jubilee," that tested the stamina and physical/mental fitness of the Pharaohs. You may want to follow-up on Footnote 4 in the Wikipedia entry:
3. For some "light" reading (har!), check out Human Sacrifice in Jewish and Christian Tradition by Karin Finsterbusch Amin Lange at Google Books online starting on page 21 under "5.3. Ritual of the Substitute King."
If you want to read the entirety of the lengthy and very informative/interesting entry online, you can find a scanned edition of "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" online at archive.org (also in various formats, including PDF and in various zip formats, that you can read online or download). It is the complete 2007 edition with footnotes and Bibliography. I have found this book to be an invaluable resource in doing my research over the years and it is a treasure trove of information.
Kingship
In early Asiatic civilizations, kingship depended on the choices of women. There was no law of primogeniture. Kings were rarely succeeded by their sons. Kings of Sumeria and Assyria were of unknown fatherhood. King Esakhuruna was called "the son of Nobody." (1) Women were the kingmakers in the land he ruled. (2)
Marriage with the earthly representative of the Goddess, in the form of the queen, was essential to the position of kingship; this was the original meaning of "holy matrimony" (hieros gamos). Akkadian kings apparently went on military expeditions chiefly to prove themselves worthy of the sacred marriage. (3)
Ashurbanipal said he ruled by the grace of the Goddess Ishtar, he was he king "whom her hands created." Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon said he was chosen for kingship by the same Goddess under her title of Eura, Queen of the Gods. King Esarhaddon of Assyria said he was "beloved of Queen Ishtar, the goddess of everything, the unsparing weapon, who brings destruction to the land of the enemy." (4) Ishme-Dagan, king of Isin in 1860 B.C., said he was "he whom Inanna, queen of heaven and earth, has chosen for her beloved husband.(5) The Bronze Age King Iion of Thessalian Lapithis married the Mother of the Gods after killing her former mate, described as his father-in-law, because each king's successor was supposed to call his defeated rival "father."(6) The queens were the same as Goddess, or Mother of God. The pharaoh Amenhotep III built a temple for his wife Ti, who was worshipped as the Goddess. (7)
The goddess-queen's choice largely depended on the candidate's sex appeal. If she tired of the king's lovemaking, he could be deposed or killed, for the queen's sexual acceptance of him determined the fertility of the land. In many early societies the old king was killed by the new king, usually called a "son," though he was no blood relative. Hence the unbroken chain of Oedipal murders that puzzled modern scholars before it was known that the words "father" and "son" were used in a different sense. A Babylonian tablet says:
Haharni laid claim for himself to lordship over Dunnu. Earth raised her face to her son Anakandu, "Come let me make love to you,"she said to him; in Dunnu, which he loved, they laid him to rest. And Anakandu took over his father's lordship and Nether Sea, his sister, he took (as wife). Lahar, son of Anakandu, came and Anakandu he killed and in Dunnu in the (tomb) of his father he caused him to rest. Nether Sea, his mother, he took (as wife). (8)
After this Lahar's son killed Lahar and took his sister River as wife; he in turn was killed by his son, who married his sister Ningesh-tinna, "Lady of the Vine of Heaven," a shortened name of the Goddess Nin-gest-inanna. Sovereignty passed from mother to the daughter, beginning with Earth, the Goddess Dunnu herself, foundress of the line - the same as Crete's Danuna, Anatolia's Danu, Greece's Danae, the Gaulish Diana. Kings were expected to kill their predecessors or pseudo-fathers, "Son" meant "successwor," and "wsister" was synonymous with "wife." (9)
The length of a king's reign was often predetermined, because people thought the Goddess needed the refreshment of a new lover at stated intervals. Up to 1810 A.D., kings of Zimbabwe were ceremonially strangled to death by their wives at the moon temple every four years. (1) Kings of ancient Thebes reigned for seven years; so did kings of Canaan. Myths suggest a similar seven-year period for each king of Crete. Cretan kings were never allowed to grow old, they always died in the full bloom of youth. (11) More recently, Nigerian kings were strangled after the queen's pregnancy was established, which meant each king fulfilled his role in life by begetting one royal offspring. (12)
White explorers in Africa spoke of tribal "kings," but rarely mentioned that the real rulers of the tribes were queens. "In the oldest times there were no reigning princes in Africa, but the negroes had large kingdoms [sic] which were ruled by goddesses. (13) Ghana was governed by kings of matrilineal succession whose divine right passed through sisters' sons. The Lovedu were ruled by a female "king" who took a series of lovers but always left the government to one of the royal princesses. (14) Angola was ruled by women until the Portuguese invasions. Ashanti was ruled by queens until the British Protectorate in 1895. Its kings were subject to the queen mothers; its princesses took no husbands but kept a series of lovers. Similar customs obtained in Loango, Daura, the country of the Abrons, and other African nations. The queen of Ubemba was called Manfumer, "Mother of Kings," and did all the governing. (15)
The Gospels' "Candace queen of the Ethiopeans" (Acts 8:27) was not a single individual but the hereditary title of queen mothers who governed the Nubian states. (16) Ethiopian kings were ritually slain from the earliest times. Regicide was still the custom of Nubian Kassites of the Upper Nile in the 1st century B.C. Diodorus said only one Ethiopian monarch escaped the kingly fate because he was educated in Greece and dared to disobey tribal law. He led a party of soldiers into the sanctuary and killed all the priests before they could kill him. (17)
The Javanese Singasari dynasty had matriarchal queens similar to Candace, typified by Queen Dedes whose statues show her as a beautiful Shakti of wisdom. She married a number of new kings after they killed her previous consorts, each apparently holding office for a seven-year period. (18)
Legends consistently associate kingship with ceremonial death. A seal from Lagash shows the Goddess taking her new kin by the hand, while he raises a weapon to slay the old king, prostrate under the queen's feet. (19) King Sennacherib of Assyria was "beaten to death with stauettes of the gods," in the temple at Nineveh. Perpetrators of the deed were his "sons," one of whom succeeded him as King Esarhaddon. Upon his succession, Esarhaddon proclaimed" "I am powerful. I am omnipotent. I am a hero, I was gigantic, I am colossal!" (20)
Sometimes, kings had to proclaim they were embodiments of the Goddess herself so as to rule with the same authority as queens. Antiochus of Commagene announced that he could rule because he was the Goddess. (21) A king's investiture used to mean putting on female robes, so the king could be displayed as a transvestite Goddess (see Transvestism).
In the ancient Middle East generally, kings were not so much governing figures as ceremonial ones, primarily concerned with dedication of temples and other religious responsibilities. (22) Sometimes they were also war leaders, able to preserve their lives in time of danger by convincing the people that no one else could defeat the enemy. In such a case, a surrogate victim might be found - a real or adopted son, a prophet, a condemned criminal, or a divine animal.
A war leader of Carthage "clothed his best and most beloved son in royal robes and crucified him as a sacrifice" to secure the blessing of Baal on his military campaigns. (23) Similarly, the god-king Isra-El clothed his only-begotten son Ieud in royal robes and sacrificed him "according to the custom of the Jews," as Philo said. (24) The king became Jesus, "king" of the Jews (John 18:33). Since a king was God, any king's real or adopted son was naturally the Son of God, and Yahweh himself was embodied in the Jewish king. "In the early period of the Hebrew monarchy the central element of the annual New Year festival was the ritual enthronement of Jahveh as King. (25)
Son-killing was a habit, not only of the Jewish god-king but of many other god-kings who modified the old custom by shedding the blood of someone else in the proper season. A Swedish king named Aun extended his reign for nine years by sacrificing one of his nine sons each year to ransom his own life. (26)
Footnotes and Bibliography for the material above:
1. Assyr. & Bab. Lit., 198.
2. Bachofen, 215.
3. Hooke, S. P., 49.
4. Assyr. & Bab. Lit., 91, 114, 130.
5. Gray, 59.
6. Campbell, C. M., 422.
7. Budge, D. N., 83.
8 Albright, 94.
9. Albright, 94, 128.
10. Lederer, 132.
11. Campbell, Oc. M., 59.
12. Stone, 132.
13. Briffault 3, 26-32.
14. Hays, 296, 312.
15. Hartley, 161.
16. Briffault 3, 41.
17. Campbell, P. M., 200.
18. Campbell, M. I., 216-17.
19. Campbell, Oc. M., 42.
20. de Camp, A. E, 64.
21. Cumont, M. M., 95.
22. Hooke, S. P., 49.
23. de Lys, 450.
24. Frazer, G. B., 341.
25. Hooke, S. P., 110.
26. Frazer, G. B., 337.
1. Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, Selected Translations, New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1901.
2. Bachofen, J. J., Myth, Religion and Mother Rite, Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1967.
3. Hooke, S. H., The Siege Perilous, Freeport, N. Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
4. Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, Selected Translations, Ibid.
5. Gray, John, Near Eastern Mythology, London: Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd., 1963.
6. Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Creative Mythology, New York; Viking Press, 1970.
7. Budge, Sir E. A. Wallis, Dwellers on the Nile, New York: Dover Publications, 1977.
8. Albright, William Powell, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1968.
9. Albright, William Powell, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, Ibid.
10. Lederer, Wolfgang, The Fear of Women, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc., 1968.
11. Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology, New York: Viking Press, 1964.
12. Stone, Merlin, When God was a Woman, New York: Dial Press, 1976.
13. Briffault, Robert, The Mothers (3 vols.), New York: Macmillan, 1927.
14. Hays, H. R., In the Beginnings, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1963.
15. Hartley, C. Gasquoine, The Truth About Woman, New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1913.
16. Briffault, Robert, The Mothers (3 vols.,) Ibid.
17. Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology, New York: Viking Press, 1959.
18. Campbell, Joseph, The Mythic Image, Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1974.
19. Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology, Ibid.
20. de Camp, L. Sprague, The Ancient Engineers, New York: Ballantine Books, 1960.
21. Cumont, Franz, The Mysteries of Mithra, New York: Dover Publications, 1956.
22. Hooke, S. H., The Siege Perilous, Ibid.
23. De Lys, Claudia, The Giant Book of Superstitions, Secaucus, N. J.: Citadel Press, 1979.
24. Frazer, Sir James G., The Golden Bough, New York: Macmillan, 1922.
25. Hooke, S. H., The Siege Perilous, Ibid.
26. Frazer, Sir. James G., The Golden Bough, Ibid.
My Notes:
1. Frazer's The Golden Bough (my edition is a 1963 paperback issued by Collier Books of Macmillan Publishing Company, New York) has an entire chapter devoted to "The Killing of the Divine King" (Ch. XXIV) and consisting of: I. The Mortality of the Gods; II. Kings Killed When Their Strength Fails; and III. Kings Killed at the End of a Fixed Term.
There are also separate chapters devoted to: Ch. XXV -- Temporary Kings; and Ch. XXVI -- Sacrifice of the King's Son (also cited in Walker's "The Woman's Encyclopedia..."). This would be considered a form of "substitute" King sacrifice.
2. Wikipedia has an interesting entry on the ancient Egyptian Sed festival or "Jubilee," that tested the stamina and physical/mental fitness of the Pharaohs. You may want to follow-up on Footnote 4 in the Wikipedia entry:
3. For some "light" reading (har!), check out Human Sacrifice in Jewish and Christian Tradition by Karin Finsterbusch Amin Lange at Google Books online starting on page 21 under "5.3. Ritual of the Substitute King."
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Chess Collectors International - USA News and Looking for a Webmaster
Hola darlings!
Yes yes yes, I've been very delinquent, I know. I've been consumed with gardening and traveling.
You'll see the news in the post below this one about the fantastical "discovery" and sale at auction of a genuine Lewis chess piece (a "Warder") on July 2, 2019 for nearly $1 million. Although I am a reader of The Washington Post, I somehow missed this story - but then I realized I was visiting one of the family compounds up north Wisconsin and was out of my usual routine of reading the WaPo news much more thoroughly than I do while on vacation :) Anyway, it's an incredible story. As far as I've been able to determine, the piece was sold to an "anonymous" bidder. Wonder who it was...
CCI USA is also looking for a webmaster. Here's the "ad" from the news letter/magazine:
CCI needs a web presence! Unfortunately, it's been several years since CCI has had a functioning English language website. Crazy, right? We are looking for a volunteer who can create and maintain a basic, no-frills website for the club on one of the free or inexpensive services such as Wix, Go Daddy, etc. If you have web design and development skills, and would like to be our club's new webmaster's, please contact Tom Gallegos at livinginthepast@comcast.net and let's discuss.
The other big news is the planned CCI 19th Biennial Congress set for May 27 - 31, 2020 in St. Lewis. I attended an earlier biennial, also held in St. Louis, in 2011 (how time flies!) and it was wonderful! It coincided with the Kings v. Queens chess tournament at the St. Louis Chess Club as it's popularly called, directly across the street from the lovely building housing the World Chess Hall of Fame where I was able to watch live action and also spent considerable time in the lower level listening to the live games coverage by the commentators, IM Jennifer Shahade and GM Yasser Seirawan. I also did a lot of exploring of the local neighborhood around the club, the chess museum and the hotel where I was staying and posted about it at this blog. Here's one of the posts about the Kings v. Queens Tournament.
Yes yes yes, I've been very delinquent, I know. I've been consumed with gardening and traveling.
You'll see the news in the post below this one about the fantastical "discovery" and sale at auction of a genuine Lewis chess piece (a "Warder") on July 2, 2019 for nearly $1 million. Although I am a reader of The Washington Post, I somehow missed this story - but then I realized I was visiting one of the family compounds up north Wisconsin and was out of my usual routine of reading the WaPo news much more thoroughly than I do while on vacation :) Anyway, it's an incredible story. As far as I've been able to determine, the piece was sold to an "anonymous" bidder. Wonder who it was...
CCI USA is also looking for a webmaster. Here's the "ad" from the news letter/magazine:
CCI needs a web presence! Unfortunately, it's been several years since CCI has had a functioning English language website. Crazy, right? We are looking for a volunteer who can create and maintain a basic, no-frills website for the club on one of the free or inexpensive services such as Wix, Go Daddy, etc. If you have web design and development skills, and would like to be our club's new webmaster's, please contact Tom Gallegos at livinginthepast@comcast.net and let's discuss.
The other big news is the planned CCI 19th Biennial Congress set for May 27 - 31, 2020 in St. Lewis. I attended an earlier biennial, also held in St. Louis, in 2011 (how time flies!) and it was wonderful! It coincided with the Kings v. Queens chess tournament at the St. Louis Chess Club as it's popularly called, directly across the street from the lovely building housing the World Chess Hall of Fame where I was able to watch live action and also spent considerable time in the lower level listening to the live games coverage by the commentators, IM Jennifer Shahade and GM Yasser Seirawan. I also did a lot of exploring of the local neighborhood around the club, the chess museum and the hotel where I was staying and posted about it at this blog. Here's one of the posts about the Kings v. Queens Tournament.
Ancient Lewis Chess Piece Discovered in a Drawer Sold for Nearly One Million Dollars
Holy Hathor! I found out about the discovery from the CCI-USA June 2019 news/magazine edition which is edited by Duncan Pohl (CCI is Chess Collectors International). I finally had a chance to read it while I was waiting at a doctor's office for my appointment to be called!
The story itself about how the piece was discovered is absolutely amazing. The piece came up for auction on July 2, 2019 at Sotheby's London, and was estimated to go for as much as $1.3 million, the first time any Lewis chess piece has been offered for auction.
The piece itself is called a "Warder" and is the equivalent of a modern Rook (Castle), carved from Walrus ivory. You can read more about the piece, it's discovery and the auction at the links below.
A Lewis Chessman, Bought for $6 and Then Tucked Away in a Drawer for Decades, Just Sold at Auction for Almost $1 Million
Sarah Cascone, July 3, 2019
ArtNet News
A Newly Discovered Lewis Chessman Comes to Auction
Jue 4, 2019
By Sotheby's
Why this single chess piece could fetch $1 million in an upcoming auction
Alex Horton, June 3, 2019
The Washington Post
Lewis Chess Piece Bought for 5 Pounds and Kept in Drawer Sells for 735,000 Pounds
Simon Johnson, 2 July 2019
The Telegraph
The story itself about how the piece was discovered is absolutely amazing. The piece came up for auction on July 2, 2019 at Sotheby's London, and was estimated to go for as much as $1.3 million, the first time any Lewis chess piece has been offered for auction.
The piece itself is called a "Warder" and is the equivalent of a modern Rook (Castle), carved from Walrus ivory. You can read more about the piece, it's discovery and the auction at the links below.
 |
| Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s. |
Sarah Cascone, July 3, 2019
ArtNet News
A Newly Discovered Lewis Chessman Comes to Auction
Jue 4, 2019
By Sotheby's
Why this single chess piece could fetch $1 million in an upcoming auction
Alex Horton, June 3, 2019
The Washington Post
Lewis Chess Piece Bought for 5 Pounds and Kept in Drawer Sells for 735,000 Pounds
Simon Johnson, 2 July 2019
The Telegraph
Monday, April 29, 2019
2019 Grand Pacific Open - Final Results/Standings
Hola darlings!
Full Section standings and cross-tables.
Premier Section (49 players): (Female Players)
5. WGM Nino Maisuradze (2344): 4.5/6
14. WFM Valeria Gansvind (2119): 4.0/6
22. WFM Anne Marie Velea (2090): 3.0/6
26. Kate Jiang (1810): 3.0/6
U2100 Section (36 players): (Female Players)
18. Sophie Velea (1861): 3.0/6
21. Larysa Plostak (1750): 2.5/6
30. Stephanie Velea (1836): 2.0/6
31. Julia O'Neill (1711): 2.0/6
U1700 Section (36 players): (Female Players)
7. Yu Han (Veronica) Guo (1335): 4.0/6
15. Helen Cheng (1404): 3.0/6
34. Amanda Yang (1072): 1.5/6
U1200 Section (37 players): (Female Players)
5.0 Inna Rabinovich (1079): 4.0/6
31. Collete Eisenberg (805): 2.0/6
Goddesschess Prizes:
WGM Nino Maisuradze $125
Valeria Gansvind $100
Anne-Marie Velea, Kate Jiang $65 each
Sophie Velea $25
Section Prizes:
Premier: 3rd/4th WGM Nino Maisuradze $220
Premier (U2100): Anne Marie Velea $20; Kate Jiang $20
U1700 (U1400): Yu Han (Veronica) Guo $75
Congratulations to all of the chess femmes who played in this event. You were 8.2% of the turnout this year. We're taking a look at the Goddesschess prize structure for the top finishing female players to see how we can encourage more of you to play in next year's event.
Full Section standings and cross-tables.
Premier Section (49 players): (Female Players)
5. WGM Nino Maisuradze (2344): 4.5/6
14. WFM Valeria Gansvind (2119): 4.0/6
22. WFM Anne Marie Velea (2090): 3.0/6
26. Kate Jiang (1810): 3.0/6
U2100 Section (36 players): (Female Players)
18. Sophie Velea (1861): 3.0/6
21. Larysa Plostak (1750): 2.5/6
30. Stephanie Velea (1836): 2.0/6
31. Julia O'Neill (1711): 2.0/6
U1700 Section (36 players): (Female Players)
7. Yu Han (Veronica) Guo (1335): 4.0/6
15. Helen Cheng (1404): 3.0/6
34. Amanda Yang (1072): 1.5/6
U1200 Section (37 players): (Female Players)
5.0 Inna Rabinovich (1079): 4.0/6
31. Collete Eisenberg (805): 2.0/6
Goddesschess Prizes:
WGM Nino Maisuradze $125
Valeria Gansvind $100
Anne-Marie Velea, Kate Jiang $65 each
Sophie Velea $25
Section Prizes:
Premier: 3rd/4th WGM Nino Maisuradze $220
Premier (U2100): Anne Marie Velea $20; Kate Jiang $20
U1700 (U1400): Yu Han (Veronica) Guo $75
Congratulations to all of the chess femmes who played in this event. You were 8.2% of the turnout this year. We're taking a look at the Goddesschess prize structure for the top finishing female players to see how we can encourage more of you to play in next year's event.
Sunday, April 14, 2019
2019 Hales Corners Chess Challenge (Challenge XXIX)
Hola darlings!
The 2019 spring Hales Corners Chess Challenge has finished and prizes awarded. This year's event was brought back to Milwaukee (YAY!) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, South 13th Street and College Avenue.
This year's Challenge hosted 31 players in the Open and 34 players in the Reserve. As you know, Goddesschess has been helping support female chess players since Challenge VIII. Our prize structure has changed quite a bit since then but our goal remains the same - to encourage more chess femmes to play in tournaments and match themselves against stronger players. That's the way to grow your skills.
This year's Challenge XXIX conflicted with the All Girls National Open in Chicago hosted over the weekend, and it seems that drew a lot of chess femmes who might have otherwise considered playing in the Challenge to Chicago to compete in the All Girls National Open. But we still had a good percentage of chess femmes attending, 9.2%.
You know the drill by now (I hope!): Goddesschess prizes are in addition to any prize a female player may earn, and the top finishing female player in each Section receives Goddesschess paid registration if she chooses to play in the next Hales Corners Chess Challenge.
The report:
Open Players; Goddesschess Prizes Awarded (if any):
Susanna Ulrich (2079) $125 (plus paid registration for next event)
Madeline Weber (1718) $100
Reserve Players; Goddesschess Prizes Awarded (if any):
Lizzie Brahin (1289) $50 (plus paid registration for next event)
Ellen Wanek (1234) $40
Sandra Hoffman 81371) $20
Katerina Tarra (375) (no prize won but scored lots of experience points!)
My chess buddy Ellen Wanek sent me a couple of photos of the chess femmes!
Ladies, you brought a smile to my face!
Okay, I probably should have used this one instead but I couldn't resist using the first one (I always make faces in photographs, too):
I LUV you all! Thanks for coming out and supporting your fellow female chess femmes at this great event. I plan on seeing you ALL in person at the Autumn Hales Corners Chess Challenge on October 5th, same time, same place (but I won't be playing - it makes my eyes cross and gives me a headache that would kill a man to play chess these days, UGH!)
The 2019 spring Hales Corners Chess Challenge has finished and prizes awarded. This year's event was brought back to Milwaukee (YAY!) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, South 13th Street and College Avenue.
This year's Challenge hosted 31 players in the Open and 34 players in the Reserve. As you know, Goddesschess has been helping support female chess players since Challenge VIII. Our prize structure has changed quite a bit since then but our goal remains the same - to encourage more chess femmes to play in tournaments and match themselves against stronger players. That's the way to grow your skills.
This year's Challenge XXIX conflicted with the All Girls National Open in Chicago hosted over the weekend, and it seems that drew a lot of chess femmes who might have otherwise considered playing in the Challenge to Chicago to compete in the All Girls National Open. But we still had a good percentage of chess femmes attending, 9.2%.
You know the drill by now (I hope!): Goddesschess prizes are in addition to any prize a female player may earn, and the top finishing female player in each Section receives Goddesschess paid registration if she chooses to play in the next Hales Corners Chess Challenge.
The report:
Open Players; Goddesschess Prizes Awarded (if any):
Susanna Ulrich (2079) $125 (plus paid registration for next event)
Madeline Weber (1718) $100
Reserve Players; Goddesschess Prizes Awarded (if any):
Lizzie Brahin (1289) $50 (plus paid registration for next event)
Ellen Wanek (1234) $40
Sandra Hoffman 81371) $20
Katerina Tarra (375) (no prize won but scored lots of experience points!)
My chess buddy Ellen Wanek sent me a couple of photos of the chess femmes!
Ladies, you brought a smile to my face!
Okay, I probably should have used this one instead but I couldn't resist using the first one (I always make faces in photographs, too):
I LUV you all! Thanks for coming out and supporting your fellow female chess femmes at this great event. I plan on seeing you ALL in person at the Autumn Hales Corners Chess Challenge on October 5th, same time, same place (but I won't be playing - it makes my eyes cross and gives me a headache that would kill a man to play chess these days, UGH!)
2019 U.S. Women's Chess Championship - Final Standings
Congratulations to Jennifer Yu, who came out of the gate on fire and stayed on fire throughout the entire 2019 tournament, finishing with 10 out of 11 possible points. She had 2 draws and 9 wins! WHOOP WHOOP! Yu took sole first place in the Women's Championship for $25,000. Veterans to the U.S. Women's Championship Tatev Abrahamyan and Anna Zatonskih tied for 2nd place with 7.5/11 and each took home $15,500.
Final standings (11 rounds):
Here is the final cross-table:
Final standings (11 rounds):
Here is the final cross-table:
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
2019 Grand Pacific Open
Hola! The 2019 Grand Pacific Open (13th Annual Grand Pacific Open) will be here before you know it: April 19 - 22, 2019 in beautiful Victoria, BC over Easter weekend. You can find all the details and registration information/forms, etc. at the link (above).
WGM Nino Maisuradze is returning to play in the Premier Section after an absence of several years, hooray! WFM Valeria Gansvind is also returning and will play in the Premier Section as well.
Goddesschess has provided prize and sponsorship money for female chessplayers at various tournaments throughout the years. I believe we've been providing prize money and some sponsorship funds to the GPO since 2010. I can't check exactly when we first started because a few months ago I updated my email and cleaned out a whole bunch of stuff, keeping correspondence and records only since 2017. Oh well :)
We've been trying to get WGM Maisuradze back for some time, but she's married to a chessplayer and they try to schedule where there will be several events that they can play in either together or in separate events simultaneously within a certain time period and relatively close (distance wise) together. This year WGM Maisuradze's husband, GM Alexandr Fier, is playing in the 2019 GPO too!
The 2019 GPO is a FIDE and CFC rated 6-round Swiss. Top prize in the Premier Section is $1,000. Goddesschess prizes are awarded separately and do not affect any prize money awarded out of the GPO prize fund.
We're hoping for another great turnout in 2019 - especially your chess femmes!!!
WGM Nino Maisuradze is returning to play in the Premier Section after an absence of several years, hooray! WFM Valeria Gansvind is also returning and will play in the Premier Section as well.
Goddesschess has provided prize and sponsorship money for female chessplayers at various tournaments throughout the years. I believe we've been providing prize money and some sponsorship funds to the GPO since 2010. I can't check exactly when we first started because a few months ago I updated my email and cleaned out a whole bunch of stuff, keeping correspondence and records only since 2017. Oh well :)
We've been trying to get WGM Maisuradze back for some time, but she's married to a chessplayer and they try to schedule where there will be several events that they can play in either together or in separate events simultaneously within a certain time period and relatively close (distance wise) together. This year WGM Maisuradze's husband, GM Alexandr Fier, is playing in the 2019 GPO too!
The 2019 GPO is a FIDE and CFC rated 6-round Swiss. Top prize in the Premier Section is $1,000. Goddesschess prizes are awarded separately and do not affect any prize money awarded out of the GPO prize fund.
We're hoping for another great turnout in 2019 - especially your chess femmes!!!
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Saturday, March 23, 2019
XXIX Hales Corners Challenge (Southwest Chess Club)
Hola darlings! It's that time of year once again. Goddesschess is sponsoring cash prizes for female players which are paid in addition to any prize money for which the player may qualify. Goddesschess is pleased to have provided prize money for Southwest Chess Club's Spring and Fall tournaments since Hales Corners Challenge VIII!
This year's 29th Spring Tournament will be held on Saturday April 13, 2019 - 4 rounds in one day, whew! We're back in a Milwaukee location, whoop whoop! This year's event will be held at the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport Hotel at 6401 South 13th Street in Milwaukee.
US Chess Grand Prix Points: 10
A Wisconsin Tour event!
4SS, G/60;d6. 2 Sections: Open & Reserve (under 1600).
You can find further details at the Southwest Chess Club blog, as well as a link to the flyer.
Goddesschess Prizes:
Open: $50 per win/$25 per draw
Reserve: $20 per win/$10 per draw
Perfect Score Prizes for Females: $80 in Open/$40 in Reserve
This year we're scheduled at the same time as a national girl's chess competition in Chicago so some of our best female players may not be with us this spring. This may present a great opportunity for some new chess femme future stars to shine at the Hales Corners Challenge!!!!! They're great events, I hope there will be a "fabulous, dahling" turnout!
This year's 29th Spring Tournament will be held on Saturday April 13, 2019 - 4 rounds in one day, whew! We're back in a Milwaukee location, whoop whoop! This year's event will be held at the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport Hotel at 6401 South 13th Street in Milwaukee.
US Chess Grand Prix Points: 10
A Wisconsin Tour event!
4SS, G/60;d6. 2 Sections: Open & Reserve (under 1600).
You can find further details at the Southwest Chess Club blog, as well as a link to the flyer.
Goddesschess Prizes:
Open: $50 per win/$25 per draw
Reserve: $20 per win/$10 per draw
Perfect Score Prizes for Females: $80 in Open/$40 in Reserve
This year we're scheduled at the same time as a national girl's chess competition in Chicago so some of our best female players may not be with us this spring. This may present a great opportunity for some new chess femme future stars to shine at the Hales Corners Challenge!!!!! They're great events, I hope there will be a "fabulous, dahling" turnout!
2019 U.S. Women's Chess Championship
It's that time of year again, darlings! Yes, once again, the "St. Louis Chess Club," whose formal name is too long for me to remember, something with Chess and Scholastic and Center in it -- is hosting the U.S. Chess Championships. It's smaller than you'd expect (at least it was in 2009 when I visited the city) in a great location on this wonderful mini-pedestrian mall area in an upscale neighborhood of St. Louis, right across the street from the World Chess Hall of Fame with its fabulous shows and displays.
This year's Championships started on March 18 and end on April 1. Not exactly an auspicious date (in my humble opinion) for ending a world-class tournament. The prize fund is $100,000, which is fabulous. Except the male players are competing for $185,000 in total prizes. And the $64,000 Fischer Award will be paid to ANY player(s) who have a perfect score. Yeah - well, you never know...
This year's field of twelve players features some "venerable veterans" and several young and eager up and comers, many with ELOs below 2400. Here's the Field:
GM Irina Krush 2533, age 35
IM Anna Zatonskih 2489, age 40
WGM Tatev Abrahamyan 2462, age 31
WGM Jennifer Yu 2398, age 17
WIM Carissa Yip 2384, age 15
WGM Sabina Foisor 2362, age 29
WIM Annie Wang 2360, age 16
WGM Anna Sharevich 2354, age 33
WIM Akshita Gorti 2352, age 16
WIM Maggie Feng 2333, age 18
WIM Emily Nguyen 2310, age 16
WIM Ashritha Eswaran 2295, age 18
Standings after Round 3 (chart courtesy of www.uschesschamps.com):
:
Cross-Table and Round 3 Pairings (chart courtesy of www.uschesschamps.com):
This year's Championships started on March 18 and end on April 1. Not exactly an auspicious date (in my humble opinion) for ending a world-class tournament. The prize fund is $100,000, which is fabulous. Except the male players are competing for $185,000 in total prizes. And the $64,000 Fischer Award will be paid to ANY player(s) who have a perfect score. Yeah - well, you never know...
This year's field of twelve players features some "venerable veterans" and several young and eager up and comers, many with ELOs below 2400. Here's the Field:
GM Irina Krush 2533, age 35
IM Anna Zatonskih 2489, age 40
WGM Tatev Abrahamyan 2462, age 31
WGM Jennifer Yu 2398, age 17
WIM Carissa Yip 2384, age 15
WGM Sabina Foisor 2362, age 29
WIM Annie Wang 2360, age 16
WGM Anna Sharevich 2354, age 33
WIM Akshita Gorti 2352, age 16
WIM Maggie Feng 2333, age 18
WIM Emily Nguyen 2310, age 16
WIM Ashritha Eswaran 2295, age 18
Standings after Round 3 (chart courtesy of www.uschesschamps.com):
:
Cross-Table and Round 3 Pairings (chart courtesy of www.uschesschamps.com):
Tani Adewumi Wins His Age Group in New York State Championship While Family Lives in Homeless Shelter
By now you would have heard the story. There is more coverage at The New York Times:
This 8-Year Old Chess Champion Will Make You Smile
Overcoming Life's Basic Truth: Talent is universal, but opportunity is not.
By Nicholas Kristol (Opinion writer)
March 16, 2019
Our Chess Champion Has a Home
The 8-year old refuge who last week was thrilled to have a trophy suddenly has so much more.
By Nicholas Kristol (Opinion writer)
March 3, 2019
This article is from The Washington Post. Tani made the big time!
Chess victory is ticket out of shelter for
8-year-old boy
From AP
March 19, 2019
This 8-Year Old Chess Champion Will Make You Smile
Overcoming Life's Basic Truth: Talent is universal, but opportunity is not.
By Nicholas Kristol (Opinion writer)
March 16, 2019
Our Chess Champion Has a Home
The 8-year old refuge who last week was thrilled to have a trophy suddenly has so much more.
By Nicholas Kristol (Opinion writer)
March 3, 2019
This article is from The Washington Post. Tani made the big time!
Chess victory is ticket out of shelter for
8-year-old boy
From AP
March 19, 2019
NEW YORK — An 8-year-old boy’s victory as New York state chess champion will be his family’s ticket out of a homeless shelter.
The New York Times reported that Tani Adewumi (TAH’-nee ah-deh-WOO’-mee) won the state chess title for his age group this month even though he learned to play only about a year ago.
Tani and his family have lived in a New York City shelter since fleeing Nigeria in 2017. The Christian family feared attacks by the militant group Boko Haram.
Tani’s chess coach Russell Makofsky (muh-KAHF’-skee) set up a GoFundMe account for the family after Tani won the championship.
Makofsky joined Tani on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday and said that thanks to donations, the family is moving into an apartment.
Tani says he “felt surprised” by his win.
And Garry Kasparov wrote a piece for The Washington Post.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Trying to Stay Warm and Staying Alive, Staying Alive...
February 9, 2019 (sorry for the delay!)
Hola darlings!
Housebound yet again this snowy and super-cold winter in southeast Wisconsin. UGH! We got at least 8 more inches of snow overnight. I shoveled once yesterday, once this morning, and need to go out and do what I hope will be a final shovel a bit later on. It's still snowing although flurries now, not the wet heavy stuff that pounded us overnight and earlier this morning.
Anyway, after Polar Vortexes, and freezing sleets and ice skating on the sidewalk (not kidding!), and the snow banks reaching up so high I can't throw the snow much higher than it already is, who has time for blogging? Not moi. And now tax season is upon us.
Americans, have you seen what the IRS has NOW inflicted upon us? Not just a single page (on both sides) regular 1040 Federal Income Tax Return that has been the standard for years. The form where everybody knows what lines to fill out. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Now the return is two half-pages long and you need to attach SCHEDULES. This was supposed to make the #&$@#*! process simpler, was it not? Instead, leave it to this clueless wonder of the most stupid administration ever in the entire history of the world to EFF it up even worse than it already was. The instructions for Form 1040 alone are 117 pages long. Not joking. And you have to figure out what schedules you need to fill out in order to complete your Form 1040, and what to attach. RUTSA RUCK! I've a feeling a lot of people are going to be getting letters from the IRS that will read something like this:
Dear Taxpayer: Blah blah blah you really effed up your 2018 U.S. Federal Income Tax Return and Schedules. Please remit $10,000 via wire transfer to Prince Abuki Kababoi, care of Sudanese Embassy, Hanoi, Vietnam. Please remit within ten (10) days or you will be arrested and sent to a prison camp in an undisclosed southwest desert location with no due process of law. Because - that's the way we do things in the Trump administration now. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
I started reading the instructions (no way am I printing out 117 pages on my little printer) online yesterday, a process that is driving me bonkers (can you tell?), and I think I have the Schedules I need now printed to complete the Form 1040. What a pain in the ASS! I am now enjoying a much needed glass of wine.
I am going to have to tackle my income tax return either later today or tomorrow. I want to file early this year instead of not receiving my refund check until July, LOL! Of course, with my luck, Trumpypoo will shut the government down and I won't get a refund check until July anyway. July 2020.
On a happier note, I just saw this commercial that brilliantly uses chess and thought it was great. Enjoy!
Hola darlings!
Housebound yet again this snowy and super-cold winter in southeast Wisconsin. UGH! We got at least 8 more inches of snow overnight. I shoveled once yesterday, once this morning, and need to go out and do what I hope will be a final shovel a bit later on. It's still snowing although flurries now, not the wet heavy stuff that pounded us overnight and earlier this morning.
Anyway, after Polar Vortexes, and freezing sleets and ice skating on the sidewalk (not kidding!), and the snow banks reaching up so high I can't throw the snow much higher than it already is, who has time for blogging? Not moi. And now tax season is upon us.
Americans, have you seen what the IRS has NOW inflicted upon us? Not just a single page (on both sides) regular 1040 Federal Income Tax Return that has been the standard for years. The form where everybody knows what lines to fill out. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Now the return is two half-pages long and you need to attach SCHEDULES. This was supposed to make the #&$@#*! process simpler, was it not? Instead, leave it to this clueless wonder of the most stupid administration ever in the entire history of the world to EFF it up even worse than it already was. The instructions for Form 1040 alone are 117 pages long. Not joking. And you have to figure out what schedules you need to fill out in order to complete your Form 1040, and what to attach. RUTSA RUCK! I've a feeling a lot of people are going to be getting letters from the IRS that will read something like this:
Dear Taxpayer: Blah blah blah you really effed up your 2018 U.S. Federal Income Tax Return and Schedules. Please remit $10,000 via wire transfer to Prince Abuki Kababoi, care of Sudanese Embassy, Hanoi, Vietnam. Please remit within ten (10) days or you will be arrested and sent to a prison camp in an undisclosed southwest desert location with no due process of law. Because - that's the way we do things in the Trump administration now. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
I started reading the instructions (no way am I printing out 117 pages on my little printer) online yesterday, a process that is driving me bonkers (can you tell?), and I think I have the Schedules I need now printed to complete the Form 1040. What a pain in the ASS! I am now enjoying a much needed glass of wine.
I am going to have to tackle my income tax return either later today or tomorrow. I want to file early this year instead of not receiving my refund check until July, LOL! Of course, with my luck, Trumpypoo will shut the government down and I won't get a refund check until July anyway. July 2020.
On a happier note, I just saw this commercial that brilliantly uses chess and thought it was great. Enjoy!
Sunday, January 6, 2019
New Year!
Hola darlings! How are you all - hope you're doing great! I can tell you right now I'm sure enjoying this January thaw that's enveloped my home town for the past 3 days, just wonderful to not be freezing my fingers and toes off every time I step out the door. Yesterday it got up to 54 degrees F and the Sun felt fabulous!
Sad news. As the new year churns forward, we are losing more and more of the generation of my Dad (Dad passed at the age of 80 a week before Veterans' Day in November 2002). I read this morning in The Washington Post that Christine McGuire, the oldest sister of the three McGuire Sisters, had passed away. Link to article.
As part of the baby-boomer generation, the McGuire sisters were already grown up by the time I and my younger siblings came along after the end of WWII, when millions of GIs came home, got married, got jobs or went on to college, and got married in droves. And they nearly all had children, often large families. My family of six was not considered unduly large in those days and was more the norm in the neighborhoods were I grew up. One of our neighbors had 14 children in their family! The family we lived upstairs from for years had five kids.
I literally grew up watching black and white movies on television - FOR FREE! - back in those "old" days in the 1950s and 1960s.
I remember the McGuire sisters only from those old movies. One song I remember in particular was "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and the McGuire sisters dancing while dressed up as WACs in WWII. I actually found an old clip of the McGuires performing the song from the 1941 movie, "Buck Privates" starring Abbott and Costello, thanks to TCM online - Turner Classic Movies. The sisters rocked out the song! Many years later, the incomparable Bette Midler featured the song in several of her shows over the years - this montage is a hoot (from Youtube):
Sad news. As the new year churns forward, we are losing more and more of the generation of my Dad (Dad passed at the age of 80 a week before Veterans' Day in November 2002). I read this morning in The Washington Post that Christine McGuire, the oldest sister of the three McGuire Sisters, had passed away. Link to article.
As part of the baby-boomer generation, the McGuire sisters were already grown up by the time I and my younger siblings came along after the end of WWII, when millions of GIs came home, got married, got jobs or went on to college, and got married in droves. And they nearly all had children, often large families. My family of six was not considered unduly large in those days and was more the norm in the neighborhoods were I grew up. One of our neighbors had 14 children in their family! The family we lived upstairs from for years had five kids.
I literally grew up watching black and white movies on television - FOR FREE! - back in those "old" days in the 1950s and 1960s.
I remember the McGuire sisters only from those old movies. One song I remember in particular was "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and the McGuire sisters dancing while dressed up as WACs in WWII. I actually found an old clip of the McGuires performing the song from the 1941 movie, "Buck Privates" starring Abbott and Costello, thanks to TCM online - Turner Classic Movies. The sisters rocked out the song! Many years later, the incomparable Bette Midler featured the song in several of her shows over the years - this montage is a hoot (from Youtube):
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