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© 2007 The Goddesschess Partnership All rights reserved |
What's new ?
Why, chess, of course! - a very old game - with no clear beginning ... and no end in sight! Spiral into the never-ending, ever-changing quest for the life and times of chess ...
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Chessays
The Real Honest to Goddess Truth about Football By Alpheta Patton (with Donus Felinicus) Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner. Goddesschess (and the game of the goal posts) is pleased to present the real meaning behind the game and what this means to chess. Truthiness in action! Grab a beer, hang onto your helmets, sit back and prepare to be infotained! Forward en Passant! Go Ra!
Chessays
Chessquest
Chessays Chessays
Alpheta's Literary Agora
Chess Goddesses
Chesstories Alpheta's Literary Agora
No foolin'! "An Ancient Game Computers Can't Master" Jan Newton's March 31, 2007 report on "Go" strikes a blow for humanity!
Chesstories
Chessquest
Gender
and Chess
International
Chessoid
Dilaram
Revisited by Jan Newton CHESSTIQUE: An all new look from the four corners of our upscaled merchandising adventure to you... Check out our brand new Goddesschess storefront PLUS - Georgia's Custom Games - Pawn Promotions - Chess Showgirls Collection Chess Femme News The Aeroflot Open, one of the strongest Swiss chess tournaments of the year, begins Wednesday in Moscow. The tournament director has posted the first round pairings at the official tournament website...
Aishwarya
Rai and Chess - Six Degrees of Separation by
Jan Newton
Chessquest
2006
Chessquest Art
and Artifact
Alpheta's
Literary Agora Links
A little late for Mother's Day,
but the name says it all! Chesstique
is Goddesschess' new portal to the Internet's commercial high
seas. Added product links and catalogue updates are expected
in the coming weeks. To get the cart rolling, Chesstique proudly
introduces items from Georgia
Albert's "Showgirls' Collection" of seductive
textile boards and shimmering pieces. Come and experience!
Who
We Are
Links
Alpheta's
Literary Agora Chessays
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Tracking the trail of board games history -
• LONDON, (CAIS) -- April 19, 2008 - An ancient four-pointed compass-rose showing directions of ‘four cardinal points’ and a number of board-games carved on rocks discovered in the Iranian island of Kharg in the Persian Gulf, reported Persian service of CHN on Saturday.
• "The history of backgammon is long, complicated, very incomplete - and fascinating. The exact origins of the game remain unknown, though there is much conjecture, a good deal of it both ingenious and farfetched." Oswald Jacoby / John Crawford, 1970 • Goddesschess wanders innocently into the fray! Although the name "backgammon" is claimed to be of English origin, what of the "Ammon" in Backgammon? Were English Tudors truly detached from ritual Egyptian and African backgrounds to Western coronation ritual - or just playing games? Why then does Shakespeare "see Helen in a brow of Egypt"?
• At Petra - more cupholes: At the Second Annual Conference for Nabataean Studies, Dr. Bilal Khrisat of the Hashemite University, presented a paper that introduced the conference to the various board games that are found in ancient Petra. That paper was also responsible for introducing Nabataea.net to this fascinating aspect about Petra. A second link can be found here... • Elvina Track Engraving Site Just inside the Kuringai National Park lies one of the largest engraving sites in Australia. • Board-games and divination in global cultural history a theoretical, comparative and historical perspective on mankala and geomancy in Africa and Asia – Part I Wim van Binsbergen "The scholarly literature on board-games continues to be dominated by Murray’s (1913, 1952) classic works History of chess and History of board-games other than chess. In the wake of these studies, also subsequent work on board-games has tended to keep aloof of any consideration of the relation between board-games and divination." • Board-games and divination in global cultural history a theoretical, comparative and historical perspective on mankala and geomancy in Africa and Asia – Part II Wim van Binsbergen "The specific imagery of mankala and geomancy is primarily explored within a Neolithic context of animal husbandry, agriculture, hunting, proto-astronomy and the earth cult. The simple formal structure of mankala has tempted several archaeologists to interpret as mankala boards Neolithic cupmarked artefacts; the paper addresses the difficulties involved in such an ascription, and formulates a ritual model for the possible origin of mankala. At this point the paper foreshadows the more extensive and technical argument on cupmarks, mankala and Palaeolithic astronomy." "You can't get there from here..." Cupmarks - footprints, handprints and dinosaur tracks... too many bridges too far for chess? Perhaps it all depends upon who is footing the bill for research...
• Walking as Art The Romans were accustomed to carve pairs of footprints on a stone with the inscription pro itu et reditu, "for the journey and return". They used them for protective rites on leaving for a journey and for thanksgiving for a safe return, when the traveller would place his or her feet in the footprints to mark the beginning or end of the undertaking. • Chess - A Living Fossil Gerhard Josten "Written sources and statuary artefacts on the one hand as well as theories, speculations and legends on the other have formed the more or less well-founded basis for the past thousand years for all those looking for the answer to the question as to how the game of chess came into being." Jelly Fish Chess can turn a human brain to jelly and the history of chess seems to have shapeshifting properties that do just about the same thing. Why this preoocupation with the chess octupus and how it evolved? Well... backgammon is thought to be a smaller fish than chess - but... watch where you step!! Those tentacles are poisonous...
Jelly Fish REALLY?!! Normally experts were supposing the sponge to be the first true animal because it is the simplest known, lacking in distinct tissues and nervous system which are two of the jelly characteristics. Jelly Chess • Rubber chess set... Designed by Buro fur Form for umbra this chess set has all the playing pieces made entirely from rubber. You can throw the pieces into your opponent without the fear of hurting him. I’m not saying to do this, but it’s just your insurance if you loose the game and you have a choleric temperament.
Roman soldier's gift found - David Ottewell 10/ 4/2008 He was many miles from home - a Roman soldier posted to Manchester, perhaps feeling cold and lonely, longing for loved ones left behind. It is believed that Aelius Victor may have been a centurion commander posted from Germany - where worship of Hananeftis and Ollototis originates. • Hananeftis ? • See also: Icons • Orissa - (pdf file) a possible location for the origins of chess referred to in H.J.R. Murray's only footnoted entry acknowledging the work of the esteemed Spanish historian Don Jose Brunet y Bellet. Bellet's hypothesis actually cited an Egyptian origin for chess. Bejeweled Anglo-Saxon Burial Suggests Cult
April 11, 2008 -- In seventh century England, a woman's jewelry-draped body was laid out on a specially constructed bed and buried in a grave that formed the center of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, according to British archaeologists who recently excavated the site in Yorkshire. Prior coverage
Did the Chinese mistake a "cannon" in xiang qi (Chinese Chess) for the artistic "canon of proportions"? Well, chess and related board games are canonic expressions of a particular kind and all manner of things do get shot out of many different canons ... This week's meander through some explosive artwork and crisp photograhic images highlight the craft and courage of artists everywhere... It is well known that representations of the human figure in ancient Egyptian art usually conformed to highly stylized principles in which the proportions between the different parts of the human body were determined by a set of fixed laws constituting a Canon of Art. Museum of Harmony and the Golden Section Simulacra and simulations "The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth — it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true. "Is the canon of chess more ideal than "real"? Marion Drennen's Quantum Connections A Louisiana Artist working in Acrylic on Board, Marion's paintings incorporate the concepts of NUMBER and QUANTUM PHYSICS in an effort to evoke a sense of connectedness ...across time and space, within ourselves and in our relationships. Mary Harrsch takes us on a photographic tour of several places. some of which may be of interest to chess hounds and board game researchers. Her photographs of New York's Metropolitain Museum of fine Arts exhibits bring back a few fond memories... A visually stimulating tour de force from Ron Reznick's photographic archives... The J. Paul Getty Collection and L.A. County Museum of Art vie with some extraordinary wildlife shots that make this site a pleasure to tour. An early canonic concept? The Sun-Headed Men Mind of a Rock? Rock Art is "semantic" and chess pieces apparently have their own stories to tell. But what about those rocks? Talking rocks is the subject of this brief essay on consciousness. "Panpsychism may be easier to parody than to refute. But even if it proves a cul-de-sac in the quest to understand consciousness, it might still help rouse us from a certain parochiality in our cosmic outlook." Homage to Pythagoras
A lyrical ode to the starry eyes of chess, My love must be a kind of blind love Archeoastronomy - The home page - cum blog of Alan Salut - a PHd candidate involved in finishing up his thesis on ancient astronomy and Greek colonisation. Lots of good links and insights about this relatively new field of study. Are the stars out tonight? More archeoastronomy - from Cloudbait Observatory, located under the dark skies of the central Colorado Rocky Mountains. A personal site from Chris L. Peterson that is worth exploring in its entirety. The moon maybe high "Origins and Meanings of the Eight-Point Star" I don't know if we're in a garden, The oldest solar observatory in the Americas has been found, suggesting the existence of early, sophisticated Sun cults, scientists report. It comprises a group of 2,300-year-old structures, known as the Thirteen Towers, which are found in the Chankillo archaeological site, Peru. You are here China finds ancient observatory: Archaeologists in northern China have reportedly found one of the world's oldest observatories.
And I Only Have Eyes For You. EXTRA! Jan Xena, goddesschesses' very own warrior-goddess-reporter extraordinaire locks into the red transporter room at Piccadilly Circus and emerges on the other side of the known chess world!
EEEK! Does her recent visit with the distinguished court of Zenobia, "Empress of the East" suggest a hidden plot for universal conquest by these two powerful chess femmes?!! OR shall we take this Sassanian Origin for the Game of Chess as just an empty handed threat? My personal experience and the research of Dr. Ricardo Calvo say we should prepare for the unexpected!
And so begins this week's reconstructive adventure into the ancient art and science of tattoo... "The reconstruction of ancient games is a very complicated subject where archaeological evidence, literary sources in Greek and Latin, and knowledge of general mechanisms of board games must be combined." - Ulrich Schadler Board Game Studies The Unique History of Chess Pieces Chess pieces are not only the rank-and-file of a chess game, but they are also the heart and soul of the chess game experience. For more examples of incised markings, see Anna Contadini's collection of Islamic chess pieces. Tattoos The Ancient and Mysterious History By Cate Lineberry- Smithsonian.com, January 01, 2007 Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs - sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal - have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment. Ancient Egypt - the Light of the World by Gerald Massey Book 2 of 12 - Totemism, Tattoo and Fetishism as Forms of Sign Language Tattoo History - A Brief History of Tattoos and Body Art Being one with the group or for standing out, the tattoo has always been a good bet. Here is a brief history of tattoos. From red Hot Pawn: "I have several tattoos; one of which is really large, and I'd like to get a chess tattoo on my ribs. Let me dig up the image I've in mind." From Edinburgh "I've always wanted a chess tattoo. So when I found out there was a new Tattooist at the West Port I went along to fulfill my dream." More tattoo amusement from Susan Polgar's Blog. Tattoo removal with Dr. Chess (!!) simply traces the laser light over the tattoo to begin the fading process. The lasers do not burn or cut the skin in any way. The skin remains intact, except for an occasional blister Tattoo You or Tattoo Me?
Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice - Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News March 14, 2008 -- Modern humans are known to have left Africa in a wave of migration around 50,000 years ago, but another, smaller group -- possibly a different subspecies -- left the continent 50,000 years earlier, suggests a new study. Wine-carrying ship dates back 2,300 years The vessel, dating from the late Classical period (mid-fourth century B.C.) is one of only a few such ships to have been found so well-preserved, said University of Cyprus visiting marine archaeologist Stella Demesticha Baltic yields 'perfect' shipwreck: A near-intact shipwreck apparently dating from the 17th century has been found in the Baltic Sea, Swedish television has said. Did more frequent El Ninos 5,000 years ago drive early Peruvian hunter-gatherers from the coasts to the dry valleys of Norte Chico, forming the foundation for all subsequent Andean civilizations? Along the coast of Peru, a mysterious civilization sprang up about 5,000 years ago. This was many centuries before the Incan Empire. Yet these people were sophisticated. Satellites spot lost Guatemala Mayan temples: GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Ancient Mayan astronomers aligned their soaring temples with the stars and now modern archeologists have found the ruins of hidden cities in the Guatemalan jungle by peering down from space. Mayan Warfare FROM BLOG: Song of the Open Road - I am on a continuous vagabond journey around the world. Tips on how to travel the world on the cheap as well as yarns of the Open Road The Geometry of Music
When you first hear them, a Gregorian chant, a Debussy prelude and a John Coltrane improvisation might seem to have almost nothing in common--except that they all include chord progressions and something you could plausibly call a melody. But music theorists have long known that there's something else that ties these disparate musical forms together. http://music.princeton.edu/~dmitri/ Geometry, Music and Healing by Ani Williams
"It's in the cards!" Why dice, cards and chess? Stuart Culin's publications are a major source for anyone intersted in the ethnogrophy of games. Consequently, this page includes detailed biographical information about Culin with an annotated bibliography of his many publications. Trionfi is the earlier name of Tarot cards, and that's, what this site is dedicated to. "We want to present material useful for the research of the oldest Tarot cards, and, of course, also to the question, where these objects come from and how they developed." Sound familiar? If not - try this site instead! LOL! The history of playing cards in Europe commences around 1370-1380. Out of an apparent void, a constellation of references in early literature emerge pointing to the sudden arrival of playing cards, principally in Belgium, Germany, Spain and Italy. Of course dice and certain board games were already long-established, and so playing cards were probably a new and novel addition to the repertoire of gambling pastimes. Various contradicting suggestions have been given to explain the original meaning of the word Tarot. They range from old Egyptian origin to a cardmaker from the French village Taraux who may have produced the original Tarot cards. The true remains an enigma. Other Chinese playing-cards (which they themselves regard as gambling cards) use systems rooted in dominoes and Chinese chess- and Rummy-type games which were not known in Europe until relatively recently.
Alf Cooke was an important producer of playing cards and card games in the UK during the period 1920-1970. The company had been founded in 1866 by Alf Cooke, in Leeds, as a general printer. Playing cards were first produced under the name of 'British Playing Cards' during the years 1920-25 with a variety of unusual court card designs. The name was changed to 'Universal Playing Card Company Limited' in 1925. Rounding up a handful of random quotes Iacta alea est. - The die is cast. The dice of Zeus fall ever luckily. The best throw of the dice is to throw them away. Whose game was empires and whose stakes were thrones. I cannot believe God plays dice with the universe. Not only does God play dice with the universe, He's using loaded dice. Not only does God play dice, He throws them where we cannot see them. Triumph depends on a roll of Fate's dice; the ultimate prize is a place in Heaven.
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Updated
items: March 23, 2008
April 20, 2008
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• Through a massive analysis of the evolutionary biology of animals it has been suggested that
The remains, discovered near the city of Linfen in Shanxi province, are thought to be about 4,100 years old.
