Friday, March 31, 2006
US Amateur Team Championship
Related post: Boylston invades New Jersey...
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Encounters in Kalmykia
Lost Cosmonaut documents Daniel Kalder's travels in the bizarre and mysterious worlds of Russia's ethnic republics. Obsessed with a quest he never fully understands, Kalder boldly goes where no man has gone before: in the deserts of Kalmykia, he stumbles upon a city dedicated to chess and a forgotten tribe of Mongols; in Mari El, home to Europe's last pagan nation, he meets the Chief Druid and participates in an ancient rite; while in the bleak industrial badlands of Udmurtia, Kalder looks for Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47, and accidentally becomes a TV star. Profane yet wise, utterly honest and yet full of lies, "Lost Cosmonaut" is an eye-opening, blackly comic tour of the most alien planet in our cosmos: Earth.Howard expressed the hope that "by the time Lost Cosmonaut comes out, Kirsan and Chess City will be history."
Resistance is still futile
Chess, my on-again off-again obsession, is off again after a couple of months of constant playing and studying the game. The last two weeks I have no desire to even look at a chess board, let alone play a competitive game. A part of me hopes that I have gotten chess out of my system for good, it is a game that requires far too much work and eats up way too much of my time when it occupies my attention. I fear this is just wishful thinking though; I have gotten rid of the chess monster before, and sooner or later it always returns.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
1K
What's in a name?
Andrew Incognito, assistant professor of math and statistics, placed seventh in a national chess competition when he was in the ninth grade.Since then he has played things very low key and now goes totally unnoticed in the chess community.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Dawn of the Dead Down Under
For $20, we got to see plasticized humans in poses like skiing, tennis and archery. Oh, there was also a cadaver playing chess, but he was taking forever to move!
Wandering Minds
"Sometimes people don't notice their moves, and they will just do something when they aren't paying attention," he said. "That's how I won one of my games."Read "Chess players converge on KU" from the Lawrence Journal-World.
Monday, March 27, 2006
The Burdens of Knighthood
Mousetrapper has indicated that life and work preclude him from actively blogging for an indeterminate amount of time. Since he is already an MDLM graduate, I have listed his blog as such on the Other Knights Errant list.
DutchDefence plans to keep blogging but has concluded that it no longer makes sense to call himself a Knight.
Since i am doing nothing really de la Maza like, as in circlish, concentric squarish things and all that, i really do not see much of a reason for me to stay on.
Damaged Goods
Read the story of Michael Lostritto and watch him crack under the pressure before your very eyes.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Memphis-style dry rub chess
As anyone who has ever played the game of chess more than a few times can attest, it may take 10 or 15 minutes to learn the basics of the game, but....it's something that might never be mastered after a lifetime of dedication.
The concentration and dedication required are enormous. It's a game that you might be able to win against mediocre players, who haven't played much, but when you're up against more experienced players, it can be very, very humbling and very frustrating....
Competitive barbecue is very similar. It's a grassroots sport that is rewarding and fun, but long term success in the sport is not easy. I know more than a few teams that have been competing for years that have never won a grand championship or a reserve grand championship award. I know other teams that have won a few awards, but when the winning didn't continue, the teams chose to stop competing altogether. I know other teams that have had some success in specific categories here and there, but for whatever reason haven't been able to put together consistent results in all four categories enough to win consistently.
I'm thinking about a combined competition -- rounds of chess interspersed with pork ribs, chicken and brisket. Win or lose, you'll never go home hungry.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
A paramount Paramount
You can follow the results on the BCC News page.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Multi-Purpose Facilities
We “are not commercial sex venues at all,” nine gay bathhouses and sex clubs said in a lawsuit filed March 3 against Los Angeles County.
“That’s a lie,” said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, who has been pushing county health officials to step up oversight over such businesses. “What are people going [there] to do? Play chess?”
Towards improved Championship blogging
The champblog was a good idea, but needs to be expanded. A couple of interested players could be drafted as featured star bloggers, updating several times a day.
Add multimedia content. Have a couple of people taking photos all day, everyday. Post the photos online. Record some audio or video in the skittles after each round and post it to the website (maybe as a podcast). You could even have a video confessional booth like on reality TV shows.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
War of the Roses Quote of the Day
When asked if chess is a male-dominated game, 11-year-old Kao Smith scoffs, "No, it's just overpopulated by boys."Read "Young female chess champions vanquish foes, take no prisoners" from the East Valley (AZ) Tribune.
Chess Poetry VI
Bangkok!Read more...
Oriental setting
And the city don't know what the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world in a
Show with everything but Yul Brynner
Time flies doesn't seem a minute
Since the Tyrolean spa has the chess boys in it
All change don't you know that when you
Play at this level there's no ordinary venue
It's Iceland or the Philippines or Hastings or this place
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Defending Chess in Bikinis
Of course, I keep getting flamed for what a horrible person I am for using girls in bikinis to promote chess. The horrors. People who have not even seen the current pictures are saying that I am like a drug deal[er] in adultery. Or that I am just like all the other big TV advertisers (which doesn't seem so bad, until they say it is soft porn) using pretty girls to sell stuff.
Sigh. Flipping through late night TV, I go from a gun shootout on a street, fist fight that ends when crowbar cuts through skull and lodges in brain, some sort of "comedy" that portrays women as mindless inflated barbie dolls, slasher movie where slasher suddenly slashes slashees, etc. Sound familiar? That's what seems to be on 24/7. Would girls in bikinis teaching chess really be such a bad thing compared to all that? I think not.
I don't know if I really buy this argument or not. It sounds like one my kids justifying their actions by pointing out that their friends behave even worse. Besides, how can you tell what's "on 24/7" based on "late night TV"? Many of the more recent pictures are too risque for me to even consider reposting here -- chess rarely comes to mind when I'm looking at them (which is not to say that I don't enjoy them).
Exchanged
"[Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein and I] were pretty close. Probably as close as you can get to a GM as a player, but you know, the game is business, man, that's what it's about. It doesn't matter how you feel personally about somebody. You just make the best move. It's like playing a chess match, man. Just pieces on the freaking board."
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Parallelism
Surfing and golfing go together like sky-diving and chess.
From "Costa Rica ready for another April of golfing and surfing" at Budget Golf.
Monday, March 20, 2006
So much anger about lunch meat
What is it about spam? We can put a man on the moon, split the atom, clone a sheep, build a computer that can beat the world's greatest chess player, but we can't track down and arrest the handful of idiots who continually deluge the world's email systems with spam.
This sounds fun
After a sit-in at McDonalds (eating fries with a McFlurry is not weird, goddamn it), went off with Angers and Qian to buy slinkies and then play around in the Science Centre playground like the mature 5 year olds we are. Suicide chess with half-life sized chess figures. My soul is so owned by the concept. XD. Ang took black and I took white and we dashed around screaming "eat my pawn!!" while Qian took photos. We, most obviously, have no brains.
Pluming their feathers
Sunday, March 19, 2006
For the groupies
"I play it to impress girls."Read "Short-handed UD chess team takes top spot" from the UD Daily.
Shut Up!
...for the first time ever, [Barbara Kruger] has produced a chess set that talks. Every time a move is made, tiny concealed speakers in each piece utter forth a phrase, sentence, or statement, ranging from "Give me a break!" or, "This is SO over!" to a series of expletives.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Boylston player wins Nigerian Championship
In a separate post, they list his chess accomplishments from 1999-2006 (including his successes at the Boylston Chess Club).
Congratulations, Chikwere!
Friday, March 17, 2006
New secret to chess improvement revealed
There is evidence that while most chess players spend virtually all of their time trying to calculate, strong players rely on unconscious process for most of the game, and only calculate for short periods when their unconscious tells them too. There is even evidence from brain imaging studies that average players activate all the cognitive areas of the frontal lobes while playing, with some temporal lobe activity as they try to remember their lessons. By contrast, a chess master uses many regions of his brain at once, and only occasionally activates parts of his frontal lobes when calculation is required.
Blogging like a chess player
Why do i even have a blog?!? They are as boring as BEING STUCK UP AT YOUR GRANDPARENTS HOUSE PLAYIN CHESS ALL WEEK!!!!!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Run-On Chess Quote of the Day
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Topalov Envy
New Knight, Old Knight?
In more listing news:
- Ilanchess and the French blog ChessLand went 404.
- Twelve other blogs have been relisted as Inactive. The most notable is probably Rocky Kasparov, which I thought had great potential as the only blog covering Chessboxing training.
- I finally got around to translating Chess Collector again and discovered that the most recent post announced its end. A real disappointment, but I decided to make it an instant Classic. I did the same with the 2006 Champblog, now that the US Championship is over.
- Plenty of new listings including Chesswitch (another female chess blogger), NM Jeff Ashton's Chess Training Blog, and Kirk's Chess Odyssey (the "K" in all the C vs. K games posted at C's Chess).
- And, as has been mentioned elsewhere (here and here), two GMs have recently joined the blogosphere and earned a spot on the sidebar. Pascal Charbonneau's blog shows great potential; on the other hand, Gata Kamsky has posted only once and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a quick exit for the Inactive list.
Why chessplayers rarely date
9. The King has limited powers.
10. The Queen has phenomenal powers.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Take your chess to new heights
I don't know why, but I suddenly have the urge to play chess on my rooftop... Best part is...it's not like it's FLAT or anything.
More amusing than fiction
It is a great honor to head up the Seattle Sluggers. I will try to get the Slugfest7 girls there to cheer the team on in a publicly visible location to build awareness of the team.
In other US Chess League news, the logos have been introduced for the Sluggers and the now named Tennessee Tempo.
Monday, March 13, 2006
The breaking point
i had the worst dream the other night it was about a rabbit... it was a cute rabbit nice and playful and i liked it a lot then all of a sudden it attacked me biting me numerous times before choking to death on a chess piece.
Buy stock in Amazon.com
- Der Alter Goniff and Patzer's Mind on Jonathan Rowson's Chess for Zebras
- Steve Learns Chess on Igor Khmelnitsky's Chess Exam and Training Guide
- Mate in Three on Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess (well, not exactly a review)
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Chess geek loses
Joe Block didn't win [Thursday] night, but they did have a 4-5 minute segment devoted to chess. Joe taught his partner, Brittany, how to play chess on a life-sized board (somewhere near a beach), and then they showed Joe playing blitz with a local. Joe won the game, but it looked staged.
Unrelated Note to the Blue Devil Knight: I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to predict a winner (we all know how that turns out sometimes), but I suspect the team from The Heights -- the new kids on the ACC block -- are giving the old boys on Tobacco Road a case of indigestion.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Chess Poetry V
...know,that i am freed of you
and this chess game for
once all have been tossed away, you
will need those pawns
like myself, that you, so carelessly wasted.
to protect the shadow of
a worthless queen, better identified
as yourself....
Friday, March 10, 2006
Multi-sport stars
Knight Chess Club of Jhapa surprised top-flight Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) with a 3-2 victory in the Fourth Aaha Gold Cup football tournament Thursday at the Pokhara Stadium.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Winning is its own reward
For the first time in its 10-year history, [Stanwood High School]'s chess team placed No. 1 in the Wesco league, beating 10 other schools in the county. The team is undefeated for the season, with players recording 38 wins, six losses and one draw.What does that mean?
"To the rest of the school? Not much," said Tristan Hiegler, 17, a junior. "To us, it's pretty cool.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
USCL announces expansion plans
The first will be in Seattle and will be managed by Slugfest's Clint Ballard. Players committed to the team include GM Gregory Serper, IM Giorgi Orlov and IM Eric Tangborn. I don't know how strong they will be, but there is no doubt that they will have the best looking cheerleaders!
The second team will hail from Tennessee, and like the Carolina Cobras will represent an entire state rather than a single city (I guess to be technical, Carolina actually covers two states -- not that there's anything wrong with that ... we have the New England Patriots after all). Tennessee will feature IM Ron Burnett, blogger FM Peter Bereolos, and FM Todd Andrews (who is also team manager).
As for team names, say hello to the Seattle Sluggers. Slugfest...Sluggers, get it? Given my previous post on USCL expansion plans (which you will need to read now in order to get the attempted humor which immediately follows), I was hoping they might have gone with the Seattle Sablefish. The other expansion team has yet to choose a name; I'll be pulling for the Tennessee Tzimmes.
Chess Hardware
Hat Tip: diy:Happy
Monday, March 06, 2006
Thank You
By the way, The Chess House also has their own blog. Here's a recent post on choosing the right plastic chess set.
Why strain yourself?
...tonight after work we are having a checkers tournament with my shot glass chess set...
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Never mind "chess on ice"
Champblog II
Here's what The Kenilworthian had to say about the inaugural 2005 Champblog:
They set up a computer at the championship and lured everyone to make an entry and post their picture. Not a bad "stunt" to help promote the championship, but it could have been so much more.This year's innovation -- players can post via e-mail.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Competitive Fashion II
After the players greeted each other at the start, they tended to avoid eye contact. It was hard to say where the eyes of Dmitry Schneider, 18, were, however. His opponent, 27-year-old Kelly Cottrell, wore an eye-popping top that caused a small stir among players and tournament officials.Ben Finegold might want to take a break from his preparation to keep an eye on his wife between rounds. :)
Was it a strategy to distract her opponent? There was no way to tell for sure, Tanner said, but some female players have used alluring attire as a means of distraction before.
Have you ever played in the Paramount?
Monday, March 6 - May 8: 7th Annual Paramount, 10 Rounds, 2RR, Players divided into six player sections by rating; 40/2, G/60; Entry fee: $22, $17 to BCC members; Prizes: This year there will be prizes determined by the Tournament Committee. Registration: 6:00 to 6:45 PM, Rounds at 7PM.
TDs will be Bernardo Iglesias and Robert Oresick.
Previous Paramount Crosstables: 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000
Women's Chess (Blogging)
Friday, March 03, 2006
Competitive Fashion
In chess, some top grandmasters wear eye-blinding pendants or neon shirts to distract [their] opponent, can you imagine prohibiting them from wearing these things because "psyching" out the competition is not courageous?Have you ever been distracted by your opponent's attire? Have you ever chosen to wear distracting fashion to gain a competitive advantage?
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Boylston invades New Jersey...
This year's Amateur Team East tournament was won by the team of Boylston players Charles Riordan, Alex Cherniack, Lawyer Times, and Charlie Mays. Moreover, Boylston's fearless leader Paul MacIntyre held U.S. Champ Hikaru Nakamura to a draw with black in an impressive game. Other notable results included Cherniack's prize for the best overall score on board 2 (5.5 from 6) and Ilya Krasik's perfect 6-0 score playing as his team's third board.
(The Amateur Team East is an annual event held in Parsippany, New Jersey. Teams of four players are formed with a mean rating cutoff of 2200. This year's event featured 276 teams.)
How they did MDLM before laptops
It's snowing like mad outside right now, the shop here in sugarhouse is just about empty, save me and two old guys....Read "another coffee shop anecdote..." from Kim's Live Journal.
[One of the] old guy[s] has brought a rollout chess game and is teaching himself to play from a book. Nobody to play with, no matter. He sets up a theoretical chess situation and proceeds to ponder it for a few minutes. He stands up and stares out the window at the passing traffic, still thinking about the puzzle on his table, then it comes to him and [he] sort of jumps to make his next move. After a few minutes of that, he gathers up his things and moves to a comfy armchair to nestle down for a little nap.
That moment of terror
i have that feeling, like the one you get when youre playing chess and you realize just a second too late that youve made a fatal move. i couldnt pinpoint the move, or the error, or hell even what game i envision myself to be playing. but apparently i suck at it.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Which Chess World Champion Are You?
Take the Quiz: Which Chess World Champion Are You? -- brought to you by Quizilla
Hat Tip: Dave Hinton's Live Journal
One step forward, one step back
The step back? After much contemplation, I have decided to defrock Satish Talim. As I indicated previously, he has not posted in almost two months and hasn't discussed chess improvement, MDLM, etc. for much longer than that. I thought I might get more feedback from the Knights on what to do with his listing, but none that I received argued against removing him. Therefore, his On Line Chess Blog can now be found in the inactive listings.