A Resurrection?

Back in October Dennis Monokroussos declared his blog closed. Since then we've heard nothing ... until today! Check out four new posts on schedule changes for his ChessBase shows, Blogroll changes, new products, and the current state of the World Championship.

Is this just a last gasp or has The Chess Mind been revived? Dennis, care to enlighten us?

The Chess Bitch and the Beauty Salon

A few bloggers have already commented on the Gothamist's interview with Jennifer Shahade. The Hungarian focused on her thoughts regarding what poker can teach chess about promoting itself, while The Kenilworthian was more interested in her comments on how to make the uschess.org website more popular. For my part, this is the question and answer that caught my eye:

On your website, you have photos of various friends and family members modeling the same pink wig you wear on the cover of your book, and you sporting an assortment of other wigs. What's so appealing about wigs, and which one's your favorite?

Well, changing your hair changes your personality. My hair is naturally very curly, but I used to get it straightened a lot. I’d immediately feel like a different person. Neater, more organized, more together and ready to attack life.

Wigs can give you the same kind of feeling, but it’s not permanent and it doesn’t damage your hair like too many blow dries does.

Maybe my next assault on Expert/Masterdom should be accompanied by a new 'do?

I can't think of anything wittty to say

Better wear gloves

The city of Moscow is planning a telephone match with London to be played in Pushkin Square on a chess set fashioned out of ice.

What are you doing for New Year's?

Start your new year right at the annual Herb Healy Open House on New Year's day (the Boylston Chess Club's annual party and fund raiser).

• If you were up late celebrating on New Year's eve, not to worry - first round is 11:45


• If you don't feel like rated games in the rated section, play in the unrated section


• If game 30 is too quick for your taste, this year the time control is changed to G/45


• If you are not a member of the BCF, no problem -- you do not need to be a BCF member to enjoy the tournament and food and fellowship, though it is a traditional time for many to join or rejoin

Monday, January 1st: BCF Herb Healy Open House 4SS; G/45; 2 sections: Rated and Non-Rated; Entry fee: $25, $20 BCF members if received by 12/30, $5 extra on site. Registration: 10:45 to 11:40. Rounds: 11:45, 1:20, 3:00, 4:40. Free food and drink served all day long to tournament players. Send advance entries to: Herb Healy Open House, 240B Elm St. Suite B9 Somerville, MA 02144

Adapted from a Bob Oresick e-mail
*****
P.S. At past years' events, more than one chess blogger has been known to show up.

Four!

Over the past couple months, I've read a few posts about the IbeatGarry.com website which applies the six degrees of separation model to the 2005 Megabase to determine how many defeated opponents stand between you and Garry Kasparov. The most recent post at the Streatham & Brixton Chess Club blog finally motivated me to try it on myself.

Since I don't have any won games in the database, I approached the problem by entering the names of the best opponents I've beaten and then added one to their number. I started with Masters that I've defeated.

Shapiro, Daniel E vs. Riordan, Charles 0-1, US op swiss USA 2001
Shapiro, Daniel E vs. Kreiman, Boris 1-0, Nassau CC-ch swiss USA 1995
Yermolinsky, Alex vs. Kreiman, Boris 0-1, World op swiss USA 1997
Kasparov, Garry vs. Yermolinsky, Alex 0-1, Leningrad game URS 1975

Charles' Kasparov Number = 4; My Kasparov Number = 5

Cherniack, Alex vs. Godin, Eric J 0-1, Boylston CC-ch tourn USA 1997
Cherniack, Alex vs. Paschall, William M 1-0, Boylston CC-ch tourn USA 1994
Yermolinsky, Alex vs. Paschall, William M 0-1, New York Syracuse swiss USA 1995
Kasparov, Garry vs. Yermolinsky, Alex 0-1, Leningrad game URS 1975

Eric's Kasparov Number = 4; My Kasparov Number = 5

But surprisingly my lowest Kasparov Number comes from an expert, my friend and clubmate Alex Slive.

Slive, Alex vs. Paschall, William M 1-0, Boylston CC-ch tourn USA 1994
Yermolinsky, Alex vs. Paschall, William M 0-1, New York Syracuse swiss USA 1995
Kasparov, Garry vs. Yermolinsky, Alex 0-1, Leningrad game URS 1975

Alex's Kasparov Number = 3; My Kasparov Number = 4

Happy Returns

It's the age old question, naming your worst Christmas gift. 'Paintbrushes' was one response on the street Wednesday. As was 'having my truck burn,' or 'getting a Charlie Brown sweater in Grade 6' or 'getting a chess board'.

Read "Bad gifts are very personal" from Thunder Bay's Source.

Yet another list of top chess blogs

At Chess Cafe, Steve Goldberg includes chess blogs in his "Survey of Interesting Websites." His picks -- 64 Square Jungle, Boylston Chess Club, ChessBase News, Daily Dirt, Scholastic Chess Gateway, Susan Polgar, Chess Life Online, and The Chess Drum.

A few notes:

• Scholastic Chess Gateway is his own blog (not that there's anything wrong with self-promotion).
• The Chess Drum is a fine site, though I don't consider it a blog.
• About Chess is included in the Instruction & Training category.
• While I am certainly pleased to see BCC Weblog on the list, it only gets credit for "maintain[ing] an extensive set of chess links."
  (Don't worry, I'll get over it.)

Chess more challenging than watching TV

It may only be one piece of anecdotal evidence but I'm sure the long-term double-blind studies will show that it is true:

"I like to think out of the box," said Mastin as she gazed over the chess board looking for her next move. "It challenges me more than sitting around watching T.V."

Read "Mates check-in at school chess club" from the Henry (County, GA) Daily Herald.

The Robert Tanner chess improvement program

Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember anyone writing about this bit of US Chess politics:

A chess coach at 10 schools in the Phoenix metro area has resigned from the U.S. Chess Federation executive board under accusations he manipulated tournament results to gain his title as a chess master....

[Current USCF Executive Board Member Sam] Sloan's complaint alleges that [Robert] Tanner achieved the titles of master and "original life master" by playing repeated games in 1991 and 1992 within a closed group of friends that moved together among remote places such as Teton, Wyo., Wendover, Nev., and Ceres, Calif....

Sloan said the players in the group shared Tanner's home address, and none of the nine men except Tanner ever competed outside the group.

"They are quite clearly fake people," Sloan said. "They don't exist."

Tanner maintains he did nothing illegal. He said the matches actually occurred, and the ethics committee supported his claim that the opponents were real people.

However, Tanner acknowledges in his Sept. 15 response to the committee that he circumvented the "spirit of the regulations" in the early 1990s while working to regain the master title he held in the 1980s. None of the opponents, he said, were legitimate masters or even expert-level players.

As distasteful as it is to agree with an convicted alleged pedophile, it does seem that Mr. Tanner got caught with his hand in the "ratings" cookie jar. Here's another more detailed article.

Arrivederci Amici Anziani

Some long-timers hit the inactive rolls this month:

From the sidebar - The Chess Mind (now a Classic), BlueEyedRook, ChessVault

Among the Knights Errant - Sancho Pawnza, CelticDeath, The Hungarian Knight

IM Vigorito lecture tomorrow night

The Boylston Chess Club Master Lecture Series presents:

A 90-minute lecture by IM David Vigorito

"Sneak Preview"

When: Wednesday, December 20th, 7:00 p.m.

Where: The Boylston Chess Club

Admission: Advance–$3/5 (BCC members/non-members), at the door– $4/6

IM Vigorito will be drawing on material from a new and as yet unpublished book, so here is a chance to get an early look. He will be selecting particularly instructive games and moments from the book for this lecture.

IM David Vigorito has won a number of tournaments in the US and Budapest. David has been the state champion of New Hampshire and Nevada and recently qualified for the US Championship by finishing in a tie for 3rd place at the US Open in Phoenix. David is an active chess coach for students of all ages in schools.

Light refreshments will be served.

Another reviewer of the chess 'sphere

Aussie chess blogger Chess Tyro lists his favorites. After mentioning the usual suspects -- About Chess, Susan Polgar, Boylston, and the Kenilworthian -- he moves on to the chess improvement category:

But my favourite chess blogs are those similar to this (or at least what I hope this blog will become) – patzers chronicling their journey towards chess improvement. Three of the ones whose stories I follow are Rocky Rook, Chess for Blood, and Chess Improvement by Effort (ed: aka Temposhlucker).

His sensitive side

Are time delay and time increment the same?

Those who play online quickly become familiar with the concept of time increment. For example they might play games at 5 minutes + 5 seconds/move or 2 minutes + 12 seconds/move. In these cases the increment (say 5 seconds) is added to your time before each move; so if your clock reads 4:02 while your opponent is pondering his move, it moves up to 4:07 when it is your turn to move. Time increment has also been used over the board in FIDE tournaments with 90 minutes + 30 seconds/move a common variation.

However, over the board in the U.S. (and perhaps elsewhere?) we use time delay instead. In this case, the 5 seconds are not added to our time but instead the clock pauses for 5 seconds before continuing to count down. Obviously this has implications for the type of chess clock one might consider purchasing since some have time delay, others time increment, and still others both modes.
Given this, I was surprised to read this post at NYChessKids about the DGT 2000 Chess Clock. Since this clock only offers time increment it has not been particularly popular in the states. However, the poster notes that:

...the current (5th edition) of U.S. Chess Federation rules state that DELAY and INCREMENT are considered equivalent: not only do few players know this, probably the majority of tournament directors do not realize this either, given the lack of uniformity in training and qualifications of TDs who direct events.

In summary: the DGT is the official clock of the International Chess Federation, and is perfectly acceptable in USCF-rated events.

Hey tournament directors: Is this really true? Can I use time increment at the next tournament I play in where time delay is in use?

It's hard to find good help

The Barrista of Bloomfield Ave. - a favorite of Don Q - mentions the installation of a couple of granite chess tables in a Montclair, NJ park in memory of a local chess player. Regrettably, as several commenters point out, it looks like the tables were installed with the boards in the wrong position (black square in the lower right-hand corner).

Hot Stove Chess League

ESPN's Buster Olney on the negotiations between the Boston Red Sox and Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's agent Scott Boras:

Boras is extraordinary at what he does, at extracting a volume of dollars from places that you never would've imagined. He is like a chess master, and every negotiation is a match to be won.

Hat Tip: Sports Media Review by Jonathan Weiler

Some "mainstream" recognition

Excite Mix's WebTwitcher Amanda Lorenzani makes her chess blog feed recommendations:

And of the blogs to follow for chess enthusiasts? Visit Chess Lodge (ed: aka Chess News & Events) and The Closet Grandmaster for all things chess flavoured and add their RSS feeds to your MIX if you fancy a dabble at the risque game yourself.

Seeking Higher Ground

With all the discussion of drug testing in chess, have you ever wondered what sport has the highest percentage of its athletes testing positive for banned substances? Cycling? Baseball? Au contraire, the answer is Billiards. Others high on the list include Sumo Wrestling, Golf and Bridge(!).

Read "Billiards pockets doping record" from The Toronto Star.

The Boylston Chess & Poker Club

Former BCC president and current poker professional Bryan Clark sent me a link to this Two Plus Two Internet Magazine interview with former club Champion and current poker tournament superstar "Action" Dan Harrington. There isn't very much chess content, but Caissa does get a brief mention or two:

deacsoft: After attending Suffolk University you had a career as a bankruptcy lawyer. What lead you away from that career and into the poker world?

Dan Harrington: I just got sick of that and just drifted into it. I’d always played backgammon, poker, and chess. I’d noticed that I had a natural ability for games, and I just got lucky. I drifted into it....

deacsoft: Prior to your success in the poker world you were a champion backgammon and chess player. There seems to be a number of successful poker players who were accomplished backgammon and/or chess players first. Are there skills that can be learned in backgammon or chess that can help in a players’ development in poker?

Dan Harrington: Yes, definitely. I think there’s cross-pollination between games....

By the way, it turns out that Bryan is the current editor of Two Plus Two Internet Magazine -- some "legitimate", albeit part time work, to supplement his poker income.