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GoddesschessA compass of research papers, books, essays, articles, links and archived community discussions on historical chess - with special emphasis on the WOMEN of CHESS.
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Archives of previous Random Roundup updates
2007
July 25, 2010
EXTRA! EXTRA! Edition
Congratulations Tatev!
"I'm so glad that Goddesschess and 9Queens are promoting and celebrating fighting spirit among female chess players, and look forward to enjoying the beautiful and skillful display of chess mastery at the US Women's Chess Championships," said Grandmaster Kosteniuk.... who selected Tatev Abrahmayan as the recipient of this year's Fighting Chess Award.
Tatev Abrahamyan wins bronze medal at U.S. Women’s Chess Championship July 21, 2010 - PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s Tatev Abrahamyan scored 7.5 points and shared the 2nd-3rd places with Anna Zatonskih at the US Women's Chess Championship in Saint Louis. According to additional results, Abrahamyan was awarded bronze medal.
Tatev Abrahamian takes bronze in St. Louis
MORE - Photos of Tatev Abrahamyan
This is actually Tatev's second Fighting Chess Award. She won previously In 2008 when GM Susan Polgar selected her as the winner of the $500 Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award ($350 from Goddesschess and $150 from the Susan Polgar Foundation) for her record of six wins, no draws, and three losses. She finished in 4th place overall and has quickly emerged as a force in the world of women's chess.
“As part of Goddesschess' commitment to encouraging more girls and women to play chess, we are extremely pleased in 2010 to partner with 9 Queens to sponsor a Fighting Chess Award of $1,000, the largest award yet, in keeping with the prestige of this event,” explained Jan Newton official spokesperson from Goddesschess.
Since 2007, Goddesschess has been awarding prizes to players in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. Last year Anna Zatonskih won the Fighting Chess Award for her commitment to keep fighting even after she clinched the tournament with her astounding 8.5/9 score.
Archaeologists Discover “the Bulgarian Machu Picchu” 22 July 2010 - A team of archaeologists recently discovered a unique residence of the rulers of the Odrysian Kingdom - a union of the ancient Thracian tribes that lasted between the fifth and the third centuries BC, in central Bulgar
Wooden "Stonehenge" Emerges From Prehistoric Ohio Timber circles, like U.K. monument, aligned to summer solstice, study reveals. Published July 20, 2010 - Just northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio, a sort of wooden Stonehenge is slowly emerging as archaeologists unearth increasing evidence of a 2,000-year-old ceremonial site. Among their latest finds: Like Stonehenge, the Ohio timber circles were likely used to mark astronomical events such as the summer solstice.
Central Pa. petroglyphs tantalize investigators By DIANA FISHLOCK - The (Harrisburg) Patriot News - July 20, 2010 - From a few yards away, they look just like rocks. But as Paul Nevin pulls his motorboat closer, his finger traces a shape in the air, and suddenly, in the golden, waning light, the image of a bear practically leaps off the rock. Native Americans carved images in rock on islands in the middle of rocky rapids in the Susquehanna River, near Safe Harbor, Lancaster County. They came to this place, where rock and sky and water meet, to be closer to their mother earth, Nevin believes.
Archeologists found sculpture of Diana, Goddess of hunt S. Božinovi? - 21. 07. 2010. - Komentara: At the site of the ‘Felix Romuliana’, an imperial palace near the Town of Zajecar, German experts of the Archeology Institute in Frankfurt, together with the colleagues of the Archeology Institute in Belgrade have discovered a sensational sculpture, unique in this area of the Balkans. This marble statue originates from the first half of the third century.
'It's mind blowing': 900-year-old figurine found during work on new river bridge BY GEORGE PAWLACZYK - News-Democrat If just one more shovel of earth had been removed, the curious figurine of a kneeling woman carved about 900 years ago might have ended up in a 19th century curio shop. Or lost forever. Instead, archaeology graduate student Steve Boles found the rare, 6-inch-high artifact this spring at a massive archaeological dig now under way at the old National Stock Yards to make way for construction of a new $670 million Mississippi River bridge. The figurine and the whole excavation have caused great excitement among archaeology professionals and students.
Archaeologists virtually excavate Stonehenge Archaeologists will map an area of 14km around Stonehenge - Archaeologists are carrying out a virtual excavation of Stonehenge to discover what the area looked like when the monument was built. The multi-million pound Euro study will map the terrain and its buried archaeological remains with pinpoint accuracy, organisers claim. http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/A-second-Venus-found-in.6426346.jp
A second Venus found in Orkney as archeologists create history- 19 July 2010 By Jenny Fyall - A PARTNER has been found for a rare 4,500-year-old Neolithic figurine discovered at an archaeological dig site on a remote Scottish island. The second carved figure was unearthed just 100 feet from the spot in Westray, Orkney, where the artefact dubbed the Orkney Venus was found last year.
Top 10 Scottish Artefacts Abroad Submitted by Malcolm J - 10/06/2009 - 12:40 The Lewis Chessmen aren’t the only historical artefacts of Scottish origin that the Scots stake a fierce claim to, or have had to fight to get back.
Stones of Wonder is a Web guidebook to prehistoric monuments in Scotland (dating to the Neolithic or the Bronze Age) which have orientations to the sun, moon or stars. It gives the background to the archaeology of the sites, to archaeoastronomy and to the previous work which has been done. The main part of the guidebook is a listing of the monuments which can be visited, and the best time of year to see them and observe for yourself the sunrises, sunsets, moon rises and moon sets. The work is based on original surveys, of which full details are given.
Ancient City of Petra Tombs Reveal 61 Burials and Islamic Gold Medallion Submitted by owenjarus on Fri, 07/23/2010 - Inside this tomb archaeologists found a gold medallion, with an Islamic inscription, that may have been used to ward off evil. Outside they found the remains of a stone platform that can be seen in this photo. Archaeologists have made two major tomb discoveries at the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan. They discovered a rock-cut tomb that contained the skeletal remains of 61 individuals, along with a wealth of wooden artefacts, animal bones and ceramics.
Window into the past September 20 - Djulirri in north-western Arnhem Land is home to the most expansive and spectacular discovery of Aboriginal rock art spanning ancient and modern humanity. With motifs dating back more than 15,000 years and drawings of naval ships and early 20th century biplanes, guns, cars and bicycles it provides the first real insight into how the indigenous population reacted to these intrusions.
Macassan trepang trade in N.Australia: archeologists admit 1600's + earlier indigenous-Muslim ties
"What in the World:" A Famous TV Show on Archaeology - Published January 26, 2009 by: Vincent Summers - "What in the World?" was a CBS presentation originating in the 1950's that featured Dr. Froelich G. Rainey (1907 - 1992) and a group of three experts. Dr. Rainey was the director of the Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The three experts would be shown an archaeological specimen that was described to the viewer, but not to the panel, as to what it was, how it was used, and the object's place and time of origin. The panel had one guest and two who were considered regulars.
The History of Dice - Rolling Thunder...
Public Squares: a list of active partners
Updated July 25, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Computer Labs for Kids: South Central Los Angeles - Classes 3 and 4! Wow - Shira has been more than her usual busy the past few weeks. She has revamped the entire website for Computer Labs for Kids - check it out!
2010 Montreal Open Chess Championships
September 10-12
Interested in participating? Go to www.echecsahuntsic.com and check out the details in the Montreal Championship tab.
Hales Corners Challenge XII is coming in October!!!
Hales Corners Challenge XII
USCF Grand Prix Points: 10. October 16, 2010.
4SS, G/60. 2 Sections: Open & Reserve (under 1600).
Computer Labs for Kids -
South Central Los Angeles Project!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
We enthusiatically encourage our readers to
join Shira's charity cause on Facebook
This year Shira started a foundation called Computer Labs for Kids. Shira receives donated or buys laptop computers with donations and then gives them to needy children and provides training and orientation on how to use the laptops! Wow!
Shira's first activity was to travel to Agra, India where she taught several girls who are residents of a girls' school there. This You Tube video follows their progress. You can read more about Shira's foundation work and travels at her Facebook site
Chessays
Origin of chess - a phylogenetic perspective... (pdf) 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: (pdf) 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 Games of Chess and Backgammon in Sasanian Persia (pdf) By Touraj Daryaee California State University, Fullerton - "Board games were played in many parts of the ancient world and so it is very difficult to attribute the origin of any board game to a particular region or culture."
• L’Occident chrétien médiéval et les échecs. L’évolution des pièces non figuratives du 10e au début du 16e siècle. Modified for html access March 22, 2009 English-French introduction to French text - Pierre Mille offers a graphically rich and rewarding survey outlining the 10th - 16th Century evolution of non-figurative western chess pieces. Merci, Pierre!
•
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
• The Montreal Open Chess Championship 2009 - A patzer's eye view of the road to and from Ahuntsic (With gathered links to postscripts on the event in French and English) by Don McLean - September 19, 2009.
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.
• Lawrence Totaro has put together a nice pictorial essay on Salvador Dali's artistic interest in chess we are pleased to incorporate into our current library. Updated March 22: This page now hosts recent photos of the Dali Museum - St. Petersburg, Florida and some additional bits of information.
Gender and Chess
• 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 any lack of innate ability among females to play chess as well as males...
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.
Archives of previous Showcase material
Silver-plated divination bowl
Egypt, 1801-1900
Divination was used in medicine to try to determine the cause of an illness and to give some indication as to suitable treatments. This divination bowl may have been used by interpreting the reflection of light on its sides.
Other methods include casting stones or studying the entrails of a sacrificed animal and interpreting the patterns made. The engraving on the silver-plated copper bowl shows entwined snakes, a running dog and also has some Arabic text. Although its exact origin is unknown, it is thought that the bowl was made in Egypt. It is believed that at some point it may have been used as an ashtray as there is staining on the surface.
Agora Director: Alejandro Almenábar - Starring: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Michael Lonsdale Rating: 4/5 - Now here’s something rather unusual and interesting. A film set in 4th century Egypt that doesn’t involve lost treasure, monsters or magical artefacts. Instead, we have a beautiful reconstruction of Alexandria at the time that religious conflict destroyed the fabled library. Hypatia (Weisz, superb) teaches science and philosophy to a multi-cultural classroom, but this melting pot city is about to boil over.
The Chinese puzzle ball could generally be categorized as a good luck charm because it is decorated with symbolic figures and it is the shape of the eternal circle. The multi-layered sphere, which is an exquisite example of carving craftsmanship dating back to ancient China, is also sometimes called, and rightfully so, a “mystery ball.”
" No one should gather wisdom in a bag, put it in a box, and then stand on a road and say, “Teach me wisdom!” - African Senufo tribal saying
“ It is right to teach young people that chess is not a game of war, but is a beautiful game.” - Russian Chess Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh
" Remind me again he said, how the little horse shaped one moves." - Terry Pratchett
" Chess predates the universe, as I recall. It was the reason life arose."
"Chess is the greatest game ever invented, because it only looks like a game." - Scott Kerns
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