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2007

April 29, 2007

Chess Analogies - Politics
It seems that people have been comparing chess to politics and political gamesmanship since the game was invented. Here are a few recent analogies in the headlines:

Chess Genius Battles Putin: Some say the war-game of chess is a mirror of reality. But what can the world's leading chess strategists accomplish outside the 64 squares...

Pakistan's legal crisis turns into legal chess: While the legal chess game is played out, some of the sense of drama surrounding the judicial crisis has begun to fade, as indeed Musharraf's advisers hoped...

Archaeologists to look for evidence of Knights Templar in Bulgaria Nikolai Ovcharov, one of Bulgaria 's most prominent archaeologists, will lead a team searching for historical evidence of the presence of Templar Knights in Bulgaria.

Death and the Maidens: Dozens of maidens, wearing headdresses of gold and lapis lazuli, walked down into a tomb in Mesopotamia 4,600 years ago. Each raised a cup to her lips, drank some poison, and lay down to die... Archaeologist sets out to prove "romantic" story of voluntary self-sacrifice in ancient Mesopotamian tombs is false.

Even now a huge new museum on the Giza Plateau is under construction and it promises, in its own way, to be as awe inspiring as the pyramids to which it will lead the way from the banks of the River Nile. Called the Grand Egyptian Museum, it is scheduled to open in 2011 and will be the largest display of Egyptian antiquities in the world, hosting over 100,000 objects. Goddesschess will have to visit!

The New York Sun reports on foreign countries' stepped-up efforts to crack down on the stolen antiquities market centered in New York.

The Ancient American is a magazine whose purpose is two-fold: to report in layman's language the variety of ancient artifacts found in the Americas and to open a forum for discussion between the professional and the avocational archaeologist. Now that's a purpose we at Goddesschess appreciate. Volume 2, Issue 8 from it's early days, is available only in photocopy. The subject - Egyptians in America. Features include "New World Drugs in Old World Mummies" and "Egyptian Statuettes in Mexico." For $7.00 US, it's worth a read.

Auction Watch Result #1
Sotheby's Auction results on Lot 48 (London, April 18, 2007): Islamic chess piece (elephant) sold for 12,000 GBP. Featured in Random Round-up during the Week of April 7, 2007.

Auction Watch Result #2
Christie's Auction results on Lot 0060 (London, April 17, 2007): Miscellaneous ivory Islamic chess pieces sold for 31,200 GBP. Featured in Random Round-up during the week of April 15, 2007.

Auction Watch
On May 2, 2007, Christie's will be hosting in South Kensington the sale of the Dr. Jean-Claude Cholet Collection of Chess Sets (Sale 5320). This is a BIG one! Lots of gorgeous lots. We'll be featuring some of the outstanding offerings in the weeks to come.

Auction WatchUpcoming at Sotheby's May 9, 2007 (Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, New York) Lot 372, Man Ray chess set, 32 gilder and silver gilded pieces. Executed in 1971 in an edition of 4 for Luciano Anselmino, Galleria il Fauno, in Turin. 32 silver and gilded silver pieces. Estimated at $20,000-$30,000.

Auction Watch
Upcoming at Sotheby's May 17, 2007 (British and Continental Pictures, Including Greek Art, London), Lot 166, in the style of Giovanni Boldini, Italian 1842-1931, "The Chess Players." Estimated at 2,000-3,000 GBP.

Auction Watch
Upcoming at Christie's May 4, 2007 (20th Century Decorative Art & Design, London), Lot 0121, Josef Hartwig for the Bausaus, Dessau, chess set with oak box, circa 1925. Cherrywood, partly ebonised, with paper instructions, dated 15 October 1925; box 2 1/2 in. (6.5 cm.) high; 5 1/4 in. (13.5 cm. ) wide; 5 1/4 in. (13.5 cm.) deep inside cover of box impressed Hartwig. Estimated at 7,000-9,000 GBP.

April 22, 2007

The History of Black Chess Masters in America by Gregory Kearse - "The larger mainstream society is beginning to recognize the importance of chess in the education and salvation of our nation's youth. Chess clubs and programs are springing up around the country, and at the vanguard are the kids whom we have dubbed the lost generation all that black chess masters have been doing, almost from the very beginning, is passing on a legacy of excellence to the inheritors of the throne!"

April 15, 2007

Auction Watch: Upcoming at Christie's on April 17, 2007 in London (Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds), Lot 0060, seven (7) ivory chess pieces, probably Mesopotamia or Syria, c. 11th century, estimated 15,000-20,000 GBP (three kings, each of solid cylindrical form with raised central circles on top and a lower saddle on one side, one with traces of red dye, together with a rook with rectangular body and V-section top, two knights, one with defined horse's head, the other, more abstract, and a further piece of short cylindrical form with two horizontal protrusions at the top, incised lines around the top and bottom). Largest 2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm.) high; smallest 1 9/16 in. (4 cm.) high.

Interview with Robert Bauval on his new book, "The Egypt Code."

Scientists have concluded that in paleolithic art across Europe, "female images dominate and are nude, almost every one full-figured above and below," and indicate a shared artistic tradition. Well, duh! Wasn't this one of the points that Marija Gimbutas (d.1994) was making more than 30 years ago?

Climate changes have led to the demise of several civilizations during ancient times, that's the theme of one of our discussions at the Goddesschess Discussion Group (It's Climatic Changes, Stupid!). Here's a story about how one fragile ecosystem in the Arizona highlands is being destroyed as the climate gets hotter and drier.

A new book, "Kingdom of the Ark," posits that the legendary Princess Scota of Egypt was none other than a daughter of the heretic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, who fled her homeland after her father's death; it explores archaeological and historical evidence that the author says supports her theory. Wonder if there's possible confirmation of an Egyptian-Ireland-Scotland connection via a special type of Y chromosome Thomas Jefferson (whose ancestors were English) passed along to his male descendants: "The presidential chromosome turns out to belong to a rare class called ‘K2’, which is found at its highest frequency in the Middle East and Eastern Africa, including Oman, Somalia and Iraq. Its closest match was in a man from Egypt... ."

The looted Jiroft artefacts are back in the news. The Iranian government lost a court battle in England to regain possession of artifacts sold by the Barakat Gallery, an antiquities specialist based in London and Beverly Hills. Thousands of artifacts were stolen by looters after floods washed away the topsoil and exposed the ancient city of Jiroft in 2001. Goddesschess' 2005 article on the Jiroft gameboards.

As America's first black Grandmaster, Maurice Ashley is busy promoting chess in the United States. Here he is with some fans at the Queen City Classic in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was held March 30-31, 2007.

April 7, 2007

Auction Watch: Upcoming at Sotheby's on April 18, 2007 in London (Arts of the Islamic World), Lot 48, a 6.2 cm. max. 4.8 cm. height ivory elephant form chess piece, Persia or Central Asia, 9th-10th century, estimated 10,000-15,000 GBP. Carved in the form of an elephant leaning forward supporting a howdah on its back (rider missing).

A little history on war games from the exhibit put together by the Asia Society, "The Art of Contest".  Great graphics!

The March/April, 2007 edition of Biblical Archaeology Review has an interesting article on the use of serpent symbolism by the Egyptians and the Hebrews in "The Mystery of the Nechustan."

The latest issue of KMT (Volume 17/Number 4/Winter 2006-07) continues its "Egyptian Pantheon" series with an article on Djehuty, Moon-God and Divine Scribe.

Sunken treasure and - even more exciting to Goddesschess - evidence of ancient trade!  Here's an article about both  - treasure and evidence of Bronze Age trade between England and Sicily. 

Goddesschess loves Queens.  Read an abstract on Queen Yaba's curse at Current World Archaeology.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) is hosting a special exhibit, Venice and the Islamic World, 828-1797, March 27, 2007 - July 8, 2007.

From a website devoted to the Origins of Things, here's an essay (no author noted) on the Origins of Chess.  A lot of it appears to be copied from the answer to "origins of chess" at Answers.com.  

Blast from the Past:  Speaking of the Origins of Chess, check out Ricardo Calvo's opinion on the subject.

Don McLean and Jan Newton saw this jewel of a temple in Madrid in 2002, where it shimmered in the warm autumn sun, situated in a small park on rising ground with sweeping views over half the city.  The Temple of Debod, a gift to the people of Spain from the nation of Egypt, is now threatened by pollution and bad weather!

April 1, 2007

New Delhi, April 2 Chess wizard Anand is formally world No.1 India's Viswanathan Anand was formally crowned world No. 1 Monday when the world chess governing body corrected its mistake and gave the pride of place to the grandmaster.

CAIS: CHESS Iranian or Indian Invention? Edited by Shapour Suren Pahlav

Was writing invented independently in Iran?  Archaeologist Yousef Majidzadeh says yes, in Jiroft.  In another CAIS report, two stone tablets with "inscriptions" have been discovered at Konar-Sandal, which is described as "around Jiroft," dating back to approximately 2500 BCE.  However, none of these "inscriptions" have been deciphered.  What does "around Jiroft" mean, anyway? 

This on-line exhibition contains documents, images, artifacts, oral histories, moving images and software related to computer chess from 1945 to 1997.

An interview of star NFL running back Priest Holmes shows just how much chess metaphors are interwoven into Sports and Life. 

In the upcoming U.S. Chess Championships in May, 2007, total prizes (for at least 34 players) are $65,000.  But in a recently concluded "sporting" event, first place won $45,000; second won $27,000; third won $18,000; and fourth won $13.000.  Who won the big money, in what event, and what does this auger for professional chess in America?

Take a tour of the

World Chess Hall of Fame & Sidney Samole Chess Museum

March 26, 2007

Ain't she gorgeous? Here's Susan Polgar - first woman in chess history to earn a GM title, first woman to qualify for a candidate's match in the world chess championship cycle (when it was the "men's" championship cycle), and the woman who fought for changes in chess we take for granted today.

PeaceMaker challenges you to succeed as a leader where others have failed. Experience the joy of winning the Nobel Prize or the agony of plunging the region into disaster.

Practice Makes Perfect Being good at chess is 99% perspiration and 1% natural talent according to Susan Polgar and a hard lesson learned by her second-grader chess-playing son.

Ancient Life in the Americas Cast in New Light The Field Museum (Chicago, Ilinois USA) has recast its entire Ancient Americas exhibit.

Chess Collectors International (CCI) will be hosting their Fifth Western Hemisphere Meeting in San Francisco, California USA from May 25 - 27, 2007.

In a flyer enclosed in Vol. XVI No. 1 2007 of The Chess Collector, Mathieu and Ine Kloprogge have announced the release of their book, "Chessmen, Art and History," in English:  "We have concentrated entirely on the history of the origin and evolution of chess and the description of chess sets and chess pieces.  ...  Dozens of museums have made contributions to the realisation of this book, including the Louvre, the British Museum, the Hermitage and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  With the book comes a special CD.  The CD contains many close-ups of the chess pieces shown and also historical information about the cities where the chess sets during the centuries were made".   The book will be offered through Gopher BV and will be available in September/October, 2007.   Here's a link to Gopher BV - but that's no gopher as the icon on the home page - that's a squirrel.

March 19, 2007

The Board Games Studies group out of Leiden University (The Netherlands) is having another get-together.

Queens of Ethiopia (the kingdom of Abyssina in ancient times) Ethiopia is where the fabled Ark of the Covenant is rumoured to exist. Does Dalukah have a connection to the Game of the Goddess?  That's one of the questions we're currently researching...