November 30, 2008



Archives of previous Access Mundae updates

Chess Femme News Penned by our own Ace Reporter, Jan Newton - here is a round up of recent chess events from around the world. Jan writes a monthly column for Chessville.

Vegas Showgirls 2008!
EXTRA! Showgirls cover Vishy and Vlady! The World Chess Championship match between GM Viswanathan Anand and GM Vladimir Kramnik draws Bambi and Candi into the spotlight! Shocking Expose!

Chessquest
The Goddeschess 9th Anniversary Celebration Come read about our latest exploits! Experience the graphical wonders!

Chesstories
The Legend of Dalukah by Don McLean, has received a significant footnote upgrade. (July 16. 2008)

Archives of previous Random Roundup editions

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Rounding up this week's universe ...

The thrill of victory at the 2008 Chess Olympiad !!

We honor the Gold Medal winning-teams of Armenia (Open) and Georgia (Women) (photo left) of the 2008 Chess Olympiad held in Dresden, Germany, which concluded on November 25, 2008. The Armenian Team, composed of GM Levon Aronian (2757), GM Vladimir Akopian (2679), GM Gabriel Sargissian (2642), GM Tigran L. Petrosian (2629), and GM Artashes Minasian (2541), repeated their 2006 Gold Medal performance. The Georgian Women's Team, composed of GM Maia Chiburdanidze (2489)(center figure, left photo), IM Nana Dzagnidze (2503), IM Lela Javakhishvili (2473), IM Maia Lomineishvili (2437) and IM Sopiko Khukhashvili (2409), celebrated their Gold Medal performance with the legendary Chiburdanidze earning an individual Gold medal for her performance on Board 1. Chiburdanidze also won a prize for the best Performance Rating. The Chess Goddess revealed her keen sense of irony and poetic justice by shutting out the much-vaunted Russian Open and Women's Teams of Team medals. The Russian teams entered this Olympiad both ranked number 1.  The Russian Open Team finished in 5th place overall; the Russian Women's Team finished in 4th place overall. 

We also take this opportunity to congratulate the hard-fighting American Open and Women's Teams (USA Women's Team photo above) who both earned Team Bronze Medals for the USA - against all odds. These are only the 3rd and 4th Olympiad medals won by U.S. Chess Olympiad Teams:  The 2006 U.S. Open Team won a Bronze Medal in 2006 and the U.S. Women's Team (anchored by GM Susan Polgar on Board 1) won a Silver Medal in 2004.  USA's IM Anna Zatonskih (red dress) won an individual Gold Medal for her Board 2 performance, and WGM Rusudan Goletiani (grey dress) earned an individual Silver Medal for her Board 3 performance.  Wrap-up coverage at Chessvibes.com

Iron Age stele reveals early evidence of belief in the soul By William Harms - A funerary monument recovered in southeastern Turkey reveals that people who lived in Zincirli, an important Iron Age city, believed the soul was separate from the body. They also believed the soul lived in the slab.

Discoveries Made 70 Years Ago Reveal Mystery:  Why did the makers of these 12,000 year old stone tools leave them behind? Eyota, Minn: In the late 1930s, Adolph Schumann was plowing a corn field on his family’s Olmsted County farm when he hit a rock...

15,000 Year Old Pottery Found in Amur River Region:  The oldest evidence of pottery making yet discovered, the Russian archaeologists who uncovered the camp site claim the ancient people who inhabited the encampment were "Russian tribes."  Shades of Star Trek's Ensign Chekov, who claimed everything was invented and/or discovered by Mother Russia...

Meanwhile...