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October 31, 2005
Making Moves: Intimacy at the Board
"Do you play?" he asks. "Try me," she says. One wonders if this couple is interested in chess or something that rimes with it!
And so they "play."
A finger caresses the curve of a bishop, a pawn advances, a rook runs up and down the board, he fidgets with his tie, she brushes his knee under the table. They smile and exchange glances and he asks "how is this game going to end?"
The language of chess is very sexual. I mean what are you supposed to think when a knight puts the queen in "check," or if she's involved in "mating" the enemy king? Soon he declares that he's going to mate her in five moves and says "you might as well surrender now." And things get "taken" in chess. They can also be "pinned" and "skewered" and — gasp — "forked." (Oh, boy!) You just have to make the right moves for a favorable "endgame."
The well-known Jefferson Airplane song "White Rabbit" goes:
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"
Anyway...here's a joke: "I onced dated a girl named Checkers and every time she made a move I'd jump her."
Posted by rene on 9:52 AM | Comments (2)
October 28, 2005
My Favorite Links: Poke Here
One of the most important things about blogs are links! Links are what drives blogs - without them, well, there would be no extra credit points for a rewarding waste of your time.
I just realized that I forgot to share my favorite chess links. These links have helped me immensely, as I hope they will help you too.
+ ChessBase.com
ChessBase, a German-based company, is practically a CNN for all things chess. Here you will find everything there is to know about the world of chess, in three languages, plus more!
+ ChessGames.com
To be honest with you, I don't know what I would do without Chessgames.com. It is an "online chess database and community" that has become the quintessential link and your one-stop destination for chess games - both historical and current - delivered in a nifty Java viewer.
+ En Passant
I thought I'd mention En Passant of Denmark - my favorite link for chess graphics, fonts, and thingamajigs. Familiarize yourself with this site, especially if you're running a chess club and have a website that is in dire need of some aesthetics.
+ ChessCafe.com
A clever little site that gives you all the ins and outs of chess gossip, the latest fashion in openings, and excellent columns.
+ USCF
The United State Chess Federation (USCF) is the "self-proclaimed" official sanctioning body for over-the-board tournament play in the land. In addition to rating tournaments, the USCF supports and promotes chess activities throughout the U.S. They also publish the national magazine, Chess Life.
+ FIDE.com
Fédération Internationale des Échecs or FIDE is a recognised international federation in the domain of chess, which was founded on July 20, 1924 in Paris.
+ ChessFM.com
Learn and receive lessons from grandmasters -- in real time and On The Air. It's internet chess radio for your ears!
+ ChessClub.com
This is where famous grandmasters play online! You can sign-up for a free trial or become a member and challenge your favorite "grandmonster" all from a click of the mouse. You can also play a quick game anonymously for free.
OK, that should be enough for now. If you have favorite links to share please send them to me at rmorgan@ctpost.com and I'll poste them on this blog.
Remember: develop your pieces.
Posted by rene on 11:35 AM | Comments (1)
Nerve Endings and Neuroscience on the Chess Board
In a recent "neuroscientific" conversation my dear neurologist friend states that "alterations in attentional processing of conditioned stimuli following a reduction in neurotoxic damage to the posterior parietal cortex can be achieve through the physical disciplinary aversions of chess."
OK, English please: "well, it means that the nerve growth factor in our brain can be directly affected by a continuous exercise of the brain by engaging in chess activity."
Hmmm....
Then I asked if there's a drug that one could take to improve or at least stimulate brain power. Or perhaps there's a stimulant to enhance brain and brawn? "Even if a drug makes you bigger and stronger, it won't help you think better," was the answer I got. "You need logic, planning, concentration. To my knowledge, there is no drug that would help us play better chess."
Rats!
"But, but, the idea of cognitive enhancement is starting to take hold on a larger and larger scale," and adding "lots of people are still kind of unaware. But that's only temporary."
Well, in the mean time — during my long hours of study and concentration — I’ll stick to coffee. That seems to work...a little.
Posted by rene on 7:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2005
Favorite Chess Dish: The "Smorgasboard" Deluxe
One often wonders if all we chess players think about is food....
Consider the many inventions, conventions and concoctions that have been cooked up through the centuries. These are "special" moves that require culinary preparation and intuitiveness.
For example, a "fork" is a utensil used for eating or serving food. In chess, however, it is a delectable tactic that uses one piece to attack two of the opponent's pieces simultaneously — a maneuver that usually involves the valiant knight.
As we all know, a "skewer" is a long metal or wooden "pin" used by your dad to secure or suspend food during summer cookouts. A skewer happens to be another appetizing chess tactic that attacks two pieces in a line and is similar to a pin.
A "pin," the opposite of a skewer, is a situation in which a piece is forced to stay put because moving it would expose a more valuable piece to be captured. There are two types of pin: relative and Absolut. A relative pin involves any piece besides the monarch; an Absolut pin involves the king, to abstain from Vodka, and the piece blocking the pin cannot move, because that would cause the king to wobble in drunken stupor, or self-check, which is illegal in chess.
The jury's still out on whether grandmasters, the ultimate chess cooks, should really be called chefmasters instead.
Now, that's a palatable idea!
Posted by rene on 9:20 AM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2005
Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow...Idaho
No, I meant Kansas.
"Chess for Peace - with Karpov, Polgar and Gorbachev" is this year's campaign for peace in the small town of Lindsborg, Kansas. Would you believe it? This is part of a unique and ambitious plan to "promote peace through chess."
Read all about this event here or here.
Posted by rene on 11:24 AM | Comments (1)
