Home |
| What's New? |
| Who We Are |
| Mission Profile |
| Submissions |
| Sponsorships |
Women
of Chess |
| Gender & Chess |
| Chess Goddesses |
| Vegas Showgirls |
Community Chess |
| Goddesschess Blog |
| Chessfemme News |
| Historical Archives |
| Chessays |
| Chessquest |
| Misc. Archives |
Neural Net |
| The Weave |
| Delphi |
| Random Roundup |
| Access Mundae |
Museum |
| Literary Agora |
| Art & Artifact |
| Humour |
| Book Shelf |
| Links |
Contact |
 |
x
|
|
Random Roundup : : Archives by Year & Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 12 Nov
Teaching Moments Edition
Teaching My Mom to Play Chess
How Motherhood Changes the Brain - By Linda Thrasybule, MyHealthNewsDaily Contributor | LiveScience.com – Sat, May 12, 2012 - Chocolate treats and sentimental cards may sweeten mom's belly and heart this Mother's Day, but it turns out motherhood also goes right to the noggin, with plenty of research showing how having kids, and even the process of childbirth, can change a mama's brain.
Music benefits babies' brains: Study involved one-year-olds and their parents - QMI AGENCY - WEDNESDAY, MAY 09, 2012 Babies who receive musical training smile more, communicate better and react more calmly to unfamiliar or unfavourable situations, according to new research out of Ontario's McMaster University.
Our Sun Is Moving More Slowly Than Thought By Charles Q. Choi – Thu, May 10, 2012 - (Ed. Note: What could possibly move faster than the speed of thought? - Tha-da-dum!) The sun is zipping through interstellar space more slowly than once thought, suggesting the giant shock wave long suspected of existing in front of the sun is not actually there, researchers say. These new findings may influence what scientists know about high-energy cosmic rays that can endanger astronauts, they added.
Nevermind the Apocalypse: Earliest Mayan Calendar Found - By Stephanie Pappas – Thu, May 10, 2012 -The oldest-known version of the ancient Maya calendar has been discovered adorning a lavishly painted wall in the ruins of a city deep in the Guatemalan rainforest. The hieroglyphs, painted in black and red, along with a colorful mural of a king and his mysterious attendants, seem to have been a sort of handy reference chart for court scribes in A.D. 800 — the astronomers and mathematicians of their day. Contrary to popular myth, this calendar isn't a countdown to the end of the world in December 2012, the study researcher
Nepal's kung fu nuns practise karma with a kick - By Frankie Taggart | AFP – Tue, May 8, 2012 - It is a hot, cloudless morning on a hillside on the outskirts of Kathmandu and dozens of nuns arrange themselves into lines around a golden Buddhist shrine. In unison, each slams a clenched fist into their opposite palm, breathes deeply and waits, motionless in the rising heat.
Wu : female shamans in ancient China by Max Dashu (pdf) Html link - Old sources show the Wu carrying out invocation, divination, dream interpretation, healing, exorcism, driving off evil spirits, and performing ecstatic rain dances. Dramatic descriptions recount the powers of the wu in their ecstasies:
Ballplayer Statue Suggests Sports Were Big in Ancient Mexico By Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer - Date: 11 May 2012 -Sports may have been all the rage for ancient Mesoamericans, scientists say after discovering a portion of a figurine of an athlete near Oaxaca, Mexico. The figure indicates the activity known as "the ballgame" was even more widespread than thought in Mesoamerica, which extended from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Ancient language discovered on clay tablets found amid ruins of 2800 year old Middle Eastern palac - DAVID KEYS - THURSDAY 10 MAY 2012 - Archaeologists have discovered evidence for a previously unknown ancient language – buried in the ruins of a 2800 year old Middle Eastern palace. The discovery is important because it may help reveal the ethnic and cultural origins of some of history’s first ‘barbarians’ – mountain tribes which had, in previous millennia, preyed on the world’s first great civilizations, the cultures of early Mesopotamia in what is now Iraq.
Orangutans at Miami zoo use iPads to communicate - By DAVID FISCHER | Associated Press – Wed, May 9, 2012 - MIAMI (AP) — The 8-year-old twins love their iPad. They draw, play games and expand their vocabulary. Their family's teenagers also like the hand-held computer tablets, too, but the clan's elders show no interest. The orangutans at Miami's Jungle Island apparently are just like people when it comes to technology. The park is one of several zoos experimenting with computers and apes...
Known as 'Picti' by the Romans, meaning 'Painted Ones' in Latin, these northern tribes constituted the largest kingdom in Dark Age Scotland. They repelled the conquests of both Romans and Angles, creating a true north-south divide on the British Isles, only to disappear from history by the end of the first millennium - swallowed whole by the history of another group, the Gaels. Together they created the Kingdom of Alba.
Chariots in Pictish Art - By Historian Sarah Fisher - Numerous chariot examples survive on Irish high crosses. Chariots played a very large part in early Irish history. The ancient story of Tain bo Cuilagne (cattle raid of Cooley) indicates that the elite fought from 2 wheel chariots. Not only was chariot warfare in effect, but chariot racing was also a form of entertainment. The Irish story, The Curse of Macha, weaves a tale in which a 9 month pregnant Macha runs a race against the kings chariot to prove her husbands bragging as true.
The graffito on the gaming board from the Red Craig house, Birsay, Orkney - By Anne Brundle - This paper concerns a small graffito scratched on the end of a stone gaming board. The board was found in the excavation of a Late Iron Age house at the Red Craig in Birsay, Orkney (Morris 1989). It was originally thought to belong to the Viking period on the basis of parallels with three other boards found nearby, but the subsequent publication of another example from an earlier context at Howe in Stromness suggests that all the boards are likely to be Late Iron Age/Pictish.
Researchers fold origami with light - May 10, 2012 by Lisa Zyga - (Phys.org) -- Replacing the need for nimble fingers, researchers have demonstrated how to make origami using light of a specific wavelength. They call the new folding technique photo-origami, and it could potentially be used as a way to manufacture 3D structures.
Did Ancient Germans Steal the Pharaoh's Chair Design? - By Matthias Schulz - Bronze Age Espionage 05/03/2012 Roughly 3,500 years ago, folding chairs remarkably similar to ones found in Egypt suddenly became must-have items in parts of northern Europe. Scholars are now looking into this potential case of ancient industrial espionage. (Ed Note: or just another commonplace fact of the Royal Gift Economy) Many speculate that the furniture belonged to clan leaders entitled to an elevated position while traveling. Although the stool was only about 25 centimeters (10 inches) high, it would be high enough since everyone else would be forced to sit cross-legged on the ground.
Dablot prejjesne (Dablo) & Dablo Frostviken - Laplandish boardgames © Mats Winther 2006-2010 - This game derives from Lapland. Goal is either to capture the enemy king or reduce his forces so that only the king remains. All pieces move by single steps and can capture, by the short leap, in all directions. The soldier ("dårake") can only step in the three forward directions. Promotion does not occur. For the soldier, capture is mandatory. For the king ("gånneka") and prince ("gånnekan alke"), capture is optional. One can only capture a piece of the same rank or lower. Pieces are ranked in this order: king, prince, and soldier.
Dablot Prejjesne is a two player game played only by Laplanders (the Sami people) of northern Sweden. The game is also called Dablo and Dablot Prejessne means "To play Dablo on a board". The game depicts a struggle between a Lapp king, his prince and a Landlord and his son. The goal of the game is to capture all the opponent’s pieces.
The game represents the struggle between the Sami tribal people and the landowners. The Sami people are represented in this game with one piece representing the Sami King ("gånneka"), one piece representing the Sami Prince ("gånnekan alke"), and 28 pieces representing their soldiers or warriors ("dårake"), . The landowners are represented with one piece representing the landowner, one piece representing the landowner's son, and 28 pieces representing their peasants. The game is a relative of draughts and Alquerque.
Coolest underwater attractions Take the plunge to explore cool underwater attractions like shipwrecks, ruins, and even a post office that will mail your card from the deep. By Justin Ocean - Thu, May 10, 2012 - We’re just beginning to appreciate the depth of the ocean’s wonders, as demonstrated by director James Cameron’s recent seven-mile free fall to the lowest point of the Mariana Trench...
Parco Archaeologico Sommerso di Baia
(Photo: Stefano D'Urso / Centro Sub Campi Flegrei)
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
WANTED! WGMs & IMs - Our chess friends in Montreal are looking for IMs and WGMs to play in the Quebec Open (July 21 - 28, 2012) A nice prize fund and FREE accomodations for IMs and WGMs!!! PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO WGMs for the free accomodations. The playing venue will be at the gorgeous College Brebeuf! Come and fall in love with fabulous, beautiful Montreal! (Be sure to visit Cafe Pi for pick-up games with the locals). More info:
The Goddesschess Scholarship
The first Goddesschess Scholarship for the academic year Fall 2010 - Spring 2011 was awarded to Maraani Kamphors.
Please help support I.S. 318′s chess team. - Any donation amount is greatly appreciated. For large donations, the school will write you a tax receipt. Donations can be made via PayPal or by check.
Checks, made payable to I.S. 318 Chess Team, should be mailed to: I.S. 318, 101 Walton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206 For more information, please contact I.S. 318 Chess Coach Elizabeth Vicary at - evicary@yahoo.com
Can You Help Computer Labs For Kids? - 03/18/2012 - It's hard to believe, sometimes, that I have known Shira Evans Sandford for 11 years. She is my long-time chess buddy. I wrote about her as a featured American player back in the old days when I ran a website called Chess Goddesses, long off-line.
IPAD CLASS FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN - Computer Labs for Kids, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that attempts to provide technology to children in order to increase their self-esteem and improve their self-worth.
Gender and Chess
• 
Elizabeth Vicary: "The Game of Kings?" Encouraging Middle School Girls' Success and Invovement in Chess - Elizabeth's thesis on adolescent girls in chess - part of a
developing genre called "teacher research"... What can be done to increae the achievement and enjoyment levels of sixth grade girls learning chess for the first time
• Checkmate? The Role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport... By Anne Mass, Claudio D"Ettole and Maria Cadinu (University of Padova, Italy) In a nutshell, when women played chess with men on the internet but they didn't know the sex of their opponent, they played consistent with their relative skill level. But when they knew they were playing a male opponent, their relative performance levels dropped 50%!
Social/socialization factors at work explain the difference in performance rather than any lack of innate ability among females to play chess as well as males...
Chessays
• Stewart Culin: Chess and Playing Cards - At 44 Mgs, this is a book length file. It may also be the only complete copy of his exhaustive inventory available online. Is Culin worth the space in your computer? We think so!
• From Circle and Square to image of the World: a possible interpretation for some petroglyphs of merels boards - Friedrich Berger - Abstract - The game board for 'nine man's morris' (merels) us found incised on horizontal rock surfaces at many places of the world. It was also used in inclined or vertical positions as a motif for petroglyphs on rocks and historical buildings. The possible meaning of such depictions is examined. After an investigation into merels game boards, the route of circle and square motifs from Eurasian and Egyptian symbolism into Christianity is reviewed.
• “The Monkey Race” – Remarks on Board
Games Accessories Anne-E. Dunn-Vaturi - In the ancient Near East, games represented an essential dimension in social life. It is
because they are closely related to another principle, important in the stability of
human communities...
• Origin of chess - a phylogenetic perspective... Alex R. Kraaijeveld : "Board games are like plant and animal species in that they can can evolve and give rise
to new forms. This leads to an important similarity between board games and bio- logical species (Eagle 1995, 1998; Kraaijeveld 1999): in both cases a group of similar-looking ‘species’ most likely owe their similarity to their being descended from a single
common ancestor.
• The Game of Go: Speculations on its Origins and
Symbolism in Ancient China -
By Peter Shotwell © 1994-February 2008 "... just as new thinking and new evidence have turned up in recent years to help strengthen the original theses, scholarship and excavations of the multitude of China’s archeological sites that remain underground will undoubtedly influence future thought."
• The Literary World of 15th Century Valencia: The Scachs d'amour Manuscript and its Three Authors by M.C. Romeo. A wonderful description of the Spanish literary circle that made modern chess what it is today.
Chessquest
• Do it Yourself Games Part 1 of 2 - Alphonsine Chess - A Goddesschess historical guide for the perplexed craftsperson.
• Do it Yourself Games Part 2 shows a recently refurbished Alphonso set as well as some excellent adventures in backgammon and a differently crafted Charlemagne chess set.
• Do it Yourself Games Part 3 - A hand made Charelmagne chess set!
• The Daunce of Nine-Men's-Morris and the Boundaries Between Worlds by Tracy Boyd © 2004 - Well researched and written, Tracy gives us all something to sing and dance about! A stellar performance shows how the energetric pulse of a living culture courses through many tributary arteries - board games included.
Chesstories
• Final Gambit by Karah Pino: We received this very interesting chess story for publication from Karah Pino, who stopped playing chess in 1999 after a personal trauma and subsequent realization. This is the true and well written story of her final game.
• George Koltanowski Remembered: Just who was George and what made him so special to chess? The Knight's Tours of George Koltanowski, by Frederic Friedel takes us on a brief journey back in time...
Chess Goddesses
• FILE UPDATE: The Cleveland Public Library has a collection of articles and materials on Gisela Kahn Gresser's chess career. The Gisela Kahn Gresser Collection is available for use by researchers in the John G. White Special Collections Department on the 3rd Floor of the Main Building.
Delphi
• A Beginner's Guide to Athena - By Michelle Albert
• The Birth of Athena - By Ev Cochrane
Lori Lejeune: ChessScapes: High quality art prints and mixed media work for the chess enthusiast.
28 pages featuring 23 chess-themed images by Lori Lejeune - a lovely addition to any chess collection or gift for a fan!
Bio: "Lori Lejeune is an artist in Atlanta who explores the intersection of art and technology in her print and web-based work. Her artwork has been exhibited throughout the US and is included in corporate, private and museum collections. Collectors include: the Charter Management Company, Coronado Press, the Museum of South Texas, Mexic-Arte Museum, and the University of Texas Benson/Romo Collection, among others."