The Goddesschess Partnership
Who We Are

 

 

Appreciations: The People of Goddesschess

During the past ten years, comments posted by visitors to our message boards as well private submissions from gifted writers and researchers have enriched our treasury of friendships and knowledge. We voice our appreciation for the friends of Goddesschess who have helped out along the way...

We began as a group of strangers who showed up at the P2P website hosted by Art Bell, a popular AM radio radio personality and Internet presence who attracted a loyal follwing of late-night listeners. Our partnership formed while posting at Art's discussion forum. From December, 1998 through July, 1999, The People of Goddesschess generated an astounding 1,200 posts exploring the origins of chess. Now, ten years after that important core of posts, we continue to expand our horizons.

Happy times for Goddesschess. The above photograph was taken on November 30, 2001 in Amsterdam during the 5th Biennial Chess Symposium of the Initiative Gruppe Konigstein hosted at the Max Euwe Centrum. Seated at the left side of the table are (front to back) Georgia Albert, Michelle Albert, Don McLean, Jan Newton. Seated at the right side of the table are (front to back) Carmen Romeo, Ricardo Calvo, Gerhard Josten, Dr. Koichi Masukawa.

Georgia Albert Known to us as Isis, Georgia was nicknamed Pochahantas by Ricardo Calvo because of her Native American ancestry and her willingness to explore new worlds. She recently took up the sport of ballroom dancing and with her partner, has already won top awards in special competitions. A championship-level billiards player, Georgia owned an antiques shop for several years before embarking on her current career in the casino industry. Georgia's natural warmth and interest in people compliments her keen awareness and insight into character. For instance, while watching GM Alexander Khalifman play against GM Judit Polgar at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas during the 1999 FIDE World Chess Championship, Georgia said "He's a winner." Khalifman went on to win the FIDE World Chess Championship. Georgia has stood behind Goddesschess since opening our discussion with her question: "Is chess the game of the goddess?" The grandaughter of a Mason and a former Daughter of Job, Georgia is a driving force behind our partnership, working closely Jan on the Las Vegas Show Girls to produce entertaining and popular features. Georgia contributed to a 200-page presentation booklet by Goddesschess that was snapped up by attendees at the 2001 Symposium of the Initiativ Gruppe Konigstein in Amsterdam. Even our personal copies were given away because of unexpectedly high demand! Areas of Interest: Matriarchies in ancient society; the usurpation of goddess attributes by patriarchal-focused societies; histories and symbols of the Goddess; mathematical aspects of board games; alternative history (herstory); alternative historical timelines; Khemetian history; archaeology (old and new world); gemology; physics.

Jan Newton Known as JanXena, (Warrior Princess), and Alpheta (after Alphito, one of the names of Graves' "White Goddess") - Ricardo Calvo named her 'Patton', after the famous general - due to her propensity to roll full speed ahead in discussion groups. Along with Carmen Romeo, Georgia Albert and Don McLean, Jan is part of a small core group that composes the heart of Goddesschess. Jan's interest in archaeology and history is reflected in her academic record. An avid reader since childhood, it was Katherine Neville's best-selling novel, "The Eight", that sparked her interest in chess. In December, 1998 Jan discovered a small Internet discussion group exploring the question - "Is chess is the game of the goddess?" and joined the discussion by posting about Neville's novel. Ever since she has been researching and learning more about the origins of chess and other board games. Jan attended the 2001 Symposium of the Initiative Group Koenigstein in Amsterdam, where she read a paper written by Dr. Jean-Louis Cazaux, "Is Chess a Hybrid Game?". Jan also published a paper at the Symposium, "Goddess Iconography in Ancient Board Games", and continues her research today, authoring and co-authoring several articles for Goddesschess and providing book reviews for other Internet resources engaged in the study of chess. Jan continues her prolific involvement over at Chess Femme News and the Goddesschess Blog and has been the driving force behind a series of donated prizes and awards for both local and international chess tournaments. Areas of Interest: Sacred spaces/sacred places; historical importance of the horse in proto-chess; etymological roots of chess terminology; goddess iconography and symbolism in ancient board games; proto-chess games in Egypt, China and the Iranian/Afghanistan/Pakistan border area; liubo; divination practices as reflected in ancient board games.

Don McLean Don, known in The Weave as Pimander and Wallace, holds a B.A. in Applied Social Science, as well as diplomas in Media Studies, Graphic Arts and Pre-Press Technologies. Adventures into the untamed Internet jungle and friendships made in that wild kingdom have made his journey into the forests of chess all the more rewarding. Entertaining a long-standing interest in the liberal arts, Don's engagement with The Goddesschess Partnership is as solid today as ever. A participant at the IGK Symposium in Hamburg in 1999, Don delivered a brief presentation on the impact and usefulness of Internet-based chess research and also attended the IGK's 2001 Symposium in Amsterdam, where he presented a synopses of his paper, "The Fool's Guide to Pawn Promotion". Areas of Interest: Ancient Egyptian board games, primordial culture, mystery school traditions, myth, history, iconography, religious ritual and "mass media".

(IM) Dr. Ricardo Calvo From mid-1999 until a few months before his death on September 26, 2002, Ricardo Calvo was a valued contributor to The Weave, On Chess and The Goddess Weave Game. It was Ricardo who, as "The Chief", fed us, led us and teased us into steep thought about the origins of chess. We will always remember with love, respect, and admiration, this gentle icon of the international chess community and eminent authority on subjects dear to the heart of Goddesschess. (Photograph, right: Dr. Ricardo Calvo and Ken Whyld) Ricardo's contributions to The Goddesschess Partnership were delivered from of position of strength. The depth of his experience shines bright among the jewels of our initiative. We hope whatever gratitude we owe this remarkably gifted, generous and fair-minded man will be repayed with interest though our continued work. Ricardo posted at The Weave under the name "Ricardo Calvo", at The Goddess Weave Game under as "ricardo", and at On Chess as "Silverhaired". In tribute to the genius of our Medicine Man, we invite you to visit Dr. Calvo's world of chess in the Chessays and Renaissance sections of this site.

M.C. (Carmen) Romeo Carmen, affectionately known as W.I., was introduced to us by her late husband, Ricardo Calvo, who called her "The Librarian." If we have a research question that we can't get answered anywhere else, we turn to W.I. Carmen served as The Chief's right hand and is, in her own right, the author of several articles involving the history of chess. In addition to maintaining a full-time professional career, W.I. gives presentations before such groups as the Chess Collectors International and the Initiativ Gruppe Konigstein, and appears at other chess symposia around the world to give talks on the history of chess. W.I. is also active in chess activities in her native Spain, such as the Childrens Chess Olympiads and locally-sponsored chess events and tournaments. The designated historian of the Spanish Chess Federation, W.I. supports Goddesschess with her research contributions and articles while currently editing a multi-volume history of chess written by her husband, Ricardo Calvo.

Ken Whyld Well known in the world of chess, Ken freely shared his ideas and research on the origins of chess and encouraged us to continue our work. Sorely missed, he corresponded with some of us privately up to the day before his unexpected death in July, 2003.

Gerhard Josten In our earliest days, before Goddesschess, Gerd kindly introduced us to Dr. Ricardo Calvo and enriched many others with personal insights into board game studies. Gerd's contributions remain sharply focused and energizing.

Vickie Ramirez Vickie, also known as Ilumani and Terpsichore (Terpsy), shared her love for and knowledge of music and math with us, providing valuable insights into the mathematical connection between chess and music. In 1999, when our small group first decided to create a website it was Terpsy who designed and published the very first goddesschess.com at "xoom", later moving us to our current internet home with hypermart. Terpsy worked tirelessly to preserve all the posts from The Weave - a truly monumental effort. Terpsy set up the internal structure that still provides the bones and sinew for Goddesschess today and kept on top of publishing the new content that we continue to generate on nearly a daily basis! Without Terpsy, Goddesschess would probably not exist. Terpsy's interest in chess lives on at The Weave.

Mark Borcherding Mark and his wife, Mer, have given all of the members of Goddesschess an education in Mayan history, the Mayan calendar and Mayan numerology. In addition, Mark's posts on the numerological aspects of our chess halped expand our mental horizons. Now appearing on The Weave, Mark's posts were often highlighted with graphic examples. Going under the Mayan alias Foto Foton, Mark (AKA Marcus Arelius) played Holmes to Jan's Watson. Areas of Interest: The Maya, numerology (various systems, including Hebrew Gematria), sacred geometry, prayer, Marian apparitions, Dream-Star activation.

Philip Mistleberger One of the earliest posters at The Weave, Phil lent his wide-ranging knowledge to our chase for chess and also helped ground the group with his contributions. Phil was particularly knowledgeable about various esoteric traditions and grasped how the historical depths of games were associated with them.

Alice Haney Alice (Nightbird) shared her extensive knowledge of Tarot with us at The Weave.

Paul Bilyeu Paul's jack-in-the-box appearances at The Weave were always startling - entertaining, if enigmatic!

Ron Adams Ron participated in the original Weave from its December, 1998 inception at the Art Bell message board and continues the tradition today at The Goddess Weave Game, a relaxed message board where no subject is taboo. Among the most prolific members of the original Weave, Ron's resourcefulness, wide-ranging interests and insatiable curiosity led to many interesting discussions. Ron continues to provide valuable input to Goddesschess both through his posts and through private email exchanges. Areas of Interest: Professional counselor, writer and poet; Founder and Operator of Oasis Mystery Silver Academy; Specialist in esoterica, the "occult", numerology, tarot and various systems of divination. Ron's current enterprise is the United Academy of Dreams.

John Fiorentino John taught us much about the nuts and bolts of magic squares and contributed his insight into many other topics.

G. David Bock A man of many interests, G. David's research into the the concept of substitute king-sacrifice opened some new doors... G. David Bock - 12:33am Jul 28, 1999 MST (#1154 of 1163) I had intended to post on the topic of Marduk and his followers campaign to vanquish Inanna and the Goddess religions/temples following their victory in the "Great War of Gods and Men", C.2024-2023 B.C., however some distractions came up, so will cover that one at a future time. With the interest in numerology, symbolism, and portents of trends under occasional consideration here, this item I stumbled across earlier this evening may be of interest. It is a bit lengthy, thought provoking, and you may want to get your glode or atlas handy; King-Kill/ 33 degrees Symbolisms in this article concerning; King, Queen, horse, water, ley, and sacrifice among other references seemed highly synchronistic with the current thread of topics.

Michael Peck Michael provided much needed knowledge on the structure of ancient armies and battle tactics, with a liberal sprinkling of ancient history. Ulrich Schadler Laurence Totaro John Ayers Dr. Jean-Louis Cazaux Pierre Milles Hong Fei Teng, Yan Zhang, Yi Shou Wang & Hong Xia Zhao Brian Stross Andreas Bunkahle