Chess Publishing, Web 2.0 Style

I have answered a number of e-mails in the past month from people who would like "to set up a chess website" (their exact words) for their club or for themselves. At first I wrote back trying to give some traditional web publishing pointers to these folks based on my experience. In the process, I realized that doing an old fashioned HTML website like ours is a lot of work, requires more than the standard computer literacy, and can cost some money if you want to do it right. And I also realized that, really, there is just no good reason to do that sort of thing anymore in this Web 2.0 universe, where web-based, browser-access, collaborative, point-and-click publishing is so accessible, free, fast, and easy. So now I'm going to write up my new advice so that from now on I can just send them the link!

I recently made the leap into Web 2.0 software for a class I'm teaching this semester, and I am now convinced that the easy way is the better way. The only downside I see is that, basically, you are often trusting in these Web 2.0 companies both to survive and to continue hosting your stuff for free (and without frequent server downtime). But at this point, that seems like a pretty good gamble, at least for as long as your stuff is going to have any currency anyway (and then you can always hope that the Wayback Machine takes it from there).

So the best way, IMHO, for anyone who wants to get started with online chess publishing can be stated in a single sentence: set up a blog at Blogger or WordPress (or use those programs to publish to your own host); use Chesspublisher or Game Replayer to create java applets of your games; use ChessUp, Chess Diagram Generator, or Steve Eddins's ChessImager to create diagrams; and use YouTube to host your videos (until Chess Videos starts taking uploads). That would not be hard, could reach a wide audience, and would not require even a fraction of the work that I put into the KCC site.

Besides those sites just mentioned, there are also a number of cool Web 2.0 applications coming out every day with potential uses for chesspublishing, especially from Google and Zoho. I think I'll bet on Google to have the greater longevity -- though no one would be surprised to see Microsoft buy up Zoho and make it even more competitive.

To get started trying out Google's new collaborative Web 2.0 tools, all you have to do (if you haven't done so already) is set up a Google account. Here are three programs they offer that I really like using:

• Google Docs
  I am a big fan of this web-based equivalent of MS Word, and I recommend you watch the excellent video "Google Docs in Plain English" at YouTube for an overview. This would be a useful application for anyone collaborating on a web or paper publication with a number of writers.
• Google Page Creator
  Create a home page and additional pages, then go back and link them all together for easy navigation. Even if a blog covers your publishing needs well enough, this online webpage builder can also serve as a good place to post files online for reference by your blog (if you are not satisfied with the way Blogger handles this).
• Picasa (requires free download)
  This is Google's slimmed down version of Photoshop, which is best for photo editing and has a great red-eye tool. It also allows you to post images to the "Picasaweb," but I noticed that Jim West tried this and then switched back to Blogger's method instead due to loading delays.
  

Zoho has a number of offerings that are pretty much equivalent to Google's, but they also have rather unique ones as well, including:

• Zoho Viewer
  Looking for an easy place to post and share documents, files, or pictures? Try Zoho Viewer, as explained in this video.
• Zoho Wiki
  Tired of the Wikipedia pinheads denying the existence of the Knights Errant? Create your own wiki and forget about them. Ideal for maintaining lists (such as of club members). If you want to maintain a collaborative list of links on the web, then del.icio.us might work better.

Of course, all of this assumes you know how to generate and edit PGN files (see 1, 2, 3, 4 for explanation) using Fritz, Shredder, Rybka, Chess Assistant Lite, Arena, SCID, Chesspad, Chess Cat, or a true Web 2.0 PGN generator like PGN Web Editor by Lapides Software (anyone know of other online utilities like this one?) You might also like to have ChessBase Light 2007, but it has limitations for creating PGN files (be sure to see ChessBase Downloads for tutorials). Posting games for display on the web should always begin with well-edited PGN files.

I generally still do things the old fashioned way, so I'm not sure my blog offers the best examples of how to be a true Web 2.0 chess publisher. But here are some good model Web 2.0 sites that I've seen:

• Jim West on Chess
  Uses Blogger, ChessPublisher, ChessUp, and Google
• Steve Learns Chess
  Uses Wordpress, ChessPublisher, and ChessImager.
• Streatham & Blixton CC
  Blogger and ChessPublisher.
  

I welcome others to share their sites and tell us the Web 2.0 tools they are using.

USATE 2008 Preview

The World Amateur Team & U.S. Team East is set to begin February 16-18 at the Parsippany Hilton (same as last year). You have until February 5th to send in your $140 for your team, otherwise it is $170 at the door. See the complete announcement at NJSCF and USCF for details. All teams must be under 2200 average rating.

The Three Tenors?

Rumor has it that there will be a three-GM team this year featuring GM Izoria (2705), GM Perelshteyn (2615), GM Dzindzichashvili (2586), and an unnamed youngster (max 894). If the rumor is true, that team's composition seems against the spirit of amateurism that the event intends to promote. But I guess Dzindzi was disappointed last year when his team with Perelshteyn kept losing on the two bottom boards (as they did against our Kenilworth B Team). If they don't have a team name yet, I suggest "The Three Tenors."

The Kenilworth A Team will be back in action, with the same players as last year: FM Steve Stoyko (2245), Scott Massey (2217), Ed Allen (2200), myself (2027) and Bob Rose (2052) as alternate, with an average rating of either 2178 or 2172, depending on how they calculate. Both Steve (in 1978 on The Westfield Winners) and Ed (in 1973 on The Independents) have been on winning teams before.

I'm told that last year's winning team Beavis and Butt-vinnik (featured on the cover of Chess Life) will also return, with James Critelli (2386), Evan Turtel (2205), Nick Panico, III (2120), Evan Rabin (2066), and Alan Kantor (2013) as alternate, giving them a very strong team average of 2194. We played a tough match with them last year in Round 5 on Board 1. Maybe we will get a second chance this year? A team has not repeated since the 1970s, when the GSCA four--featuring Ken Regan, John Fedorowicz, and Tyler Cowen--managed to do it. A team called "Mahko Ornst" won twice, but not back to back and not with any of the same players. If Beavis and Butt-vinnik repeat, that will be the second chess record in as many years that Tyler Cowen will have seen tied or surpassed.

No doubt Fedorowicz's team and teams from the University Texas, Dallas will also be in close contention. That is, if "The Three Tenors" don't just blow us all away!

Chess Blog Profiles

Goran Urosevic of the excellent Chessdom blog and website has published the profiles of ten chess bloggers, including myself. It makes for interesting reading -- especially for anyone interested in chess blogging as an example of the whole Web 2.0 movement.

2007 Chess Blog Awards

Obviously unaffected by the writer's strike, About.com's Mark Weeks announced his first annual "Chess Blog Awards" on January 13. For over a year, Mark has been posting an excellent column titled "Elsewhere on the Web," where he has taken note of the more interesting chess blog posts of the past month. Apparently he has been logging every interesting post and has put together a list of the top dozen high scorers (see above). Though I didn't win the "Oscar" (which went to Temposchlucker), I was pleased to note that my blog ranked rather well, and in very good company!

Bobby Fischer R.I.P.

ChessBase reports that Bobby Fischer has been buried in Iceland and includes a statement by Kasparov, who notes in part that "Fischer’s relentless energy exhausted everything it touched – the resources of the game itself, his opponents on and off the board, and, sadly, his own mind and body." Those looking for a touching way to remember Fischer should re-read Ralph Ginzburg's classic "Portrait of a Genius As a Young Chess Master." ChessBase includes a link to Leonard Barden's equally sad personal remembrance and obituary in The Guardian. Fischer's story was always very sad, but most chessplayers preferred to ignore that. Hat tip: The 64 Square Jungle.

Short Squishes Cheparinov

Short-Cheparinov, Corus 2008
White to Play and Win after 69...Nf6+

British GM Nigel Short today very slowly squeezed and finally squished GM Ivan Cheparinov like an anaconda devouring a giant river rat, in what had to be the most psychologically satisfying game of his career. Yesterday, Cheparinov refused to shake hands with Short to begin their game in Round 8 of the Corus tournament, whereupon the former World Championship challenger claimed a forfeit based on his understanding of the recent FIDE rule penalizing unsportsmanlike conduct of exactly this type. An appeals committee (which included Vladimir Kramnik) allowed Cheparinov to make up the game if he apologized in writing for the offense, which he did, and the game was replayed today -- after the required handshake. I had sided with Short in the matter, so it was very nice to see him gain the vindication of victory (much like the knights of old).

In the diagram above, find the most fully satisfying win for Short after 69...Nf6+. Replay the complete game at Chessgames.com. Read more about the incident at the links below:

• Short - Cheparinov Live now! from Chessdom
  Includes video and annotations (posted live during the game)
• YouTube Video Re: Short+Cheparinov
  There are several videos posted regarding the event and commentary.
• Short v Cheparinov: 2.0 at ChessVibes
  Amusing video and game replay with extensive commentary.
• Cheparinov Has Apologized at ChessVibes
  Commentary on the apology, with video that the site posted to YouTube.
• Taking Shorthand by Mig Greengard
  Breaking news and updates, complete with very extensive kibitzing.
• Cheparinov forfeits on handshake, appeals by Steve Giddins at ChessBase
  Photos of Short re-enacting the incident, with commentary.
• "Handshakegate" Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 by Dennis Monokroussos
• TWIC News Item #704 by Mark Crowther at TWIC
• A Forfeit over Refusing to Shake Hands? by Dylan Loeb McClain
• You Need Hands at Streatham&Brixton Chess Blog
• Corus Chess 2008 News
  The official news site includes several updates regarding the incident.

Revamped NJSCF Website

The website of the New Jersey State Chess Federation was recently updated, based on some of my designs. I was asked about a year ago by Pete Tamburro and Joe Ippolito to take over the site, but my recent job change had made it difficult for me to implement the redesign. I want to thank Aaron Kiedes for taking over as webmaster and getting the new site up. He did a great job and really added a lot to it. The next steps might include adding Pete's forums, but it took a lot of effort to get it to where it is now, and my hat is off to Aaron.

Bobby Fischer Dies

Bobby Fischer has died at age 64. Chess was his life, and his years were numbered to match that 8x8 world. As a "Bobby Boomer," I have mixed feelings about his passing. It was Fischer who helped draw me into chess; but the chess world may have been better off if he had died 35 years ago -- shortly after winning the title. I was alerted to his passing by a sudden spike in traffic to all things Fischer-related that I've posted. Web traffic was coming in so quickly that it overwhelmed our site (until I upgraded our account). Maybe that traffic is a sign that Fischer's passing will release a flood of chess nostalgia in fellow boomers, who will come streaming into the club over the coming weeks. If Bobby's rise to the throne helped Americans discover chess, perhaps his death can do as much to renew it, much as "the Fisher King" must die for his kingdom to see a rebirth...

Obituaries at AFP, AP, BBC, CNN, New York Times, Reuters, Telegraph, and Times Online.

KCC Championship Starts Tonight

The Kenilworth Chess Club Championship tournament starts tonight. Registrations will be accepted until 8:15 p.m. Games from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 championships are collected online, as is the history of this 17-year-old event. Meanwhile, The Checkmate Chess Club of Springfield starts their Championship on Sunday, January 20th. And The West Orange Chess Club's Championship starts Tuesday, January 22nd. Glen Hart has posted more detailed information about it at his blog to add to the Coroner's post #244. If you enter all these tournaments, you could be playing championship chess three nights a week!

1.d4 Repertoire Books

Anyone interested in building a 1.e4 repertoire will find a slew of books on the market to support that enterprise. Those who prefer to open with 1.d4, however, will find many fewer single-volume guides (and certainly even fewer still in print). Perhaps the audience for repertoire books is just not interested in the positional lines that tend to follow 1.d4. In any event, there are some good ones out there. Here is a brief review of the 1.d4 repertoire books in my collection along with some of their selected games (care of Chessgames.com) so that you can get a feel for the lines they recommend. They are only eight, listed in reverse chronological order. I welcome additions by readers -- including, if you must, books devoted to a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit repertoire.

1) Starting Out: 1d4: A Reliable Repertoire for the Improving Player by John Cox (Everyman 2006), 240 pp. Very thoroughly reviewed by John Watson in TWIC #78.
This is certainly the most current and useful 1.d4 repertoire book and a highly admirable effort. Cox sticks to main line theory, offering "improving" players a lifetime repertoire with 1.d4. The only downside of the book is that its recommendations are completely mainline GM-level theory that might indeed take a lifetime to learn, so an improving player is bound to get his head handed to him from time to time by stronger players more aware of the latest developments. But I think that's a small price to pay if someone really wants to improve and learn how to play the openings right. John Watson offers the most thorough discussion of the questions raised by recommending such high-level openings to beginners, and I tend to agree in the end with his assessment that only someone rated 2100 or above should attempt to adopt the whole repertoire, while improving players would do best to use it to pick up a few solid lines. I was especially impressed by Cox's treatment of the Albin Counter Gambit, where I think he makes the very best recommendation of 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2! (the best way to pressure the d4 pawn, with the threat of Nb3) meeting my favorite 5...Nge7!? with the correct (but rarely played) 6.Nb3! Nf5 7.e4! += as discussed in my article on the Morozovich-Mengarini line. I also like its recommendations of the Bayonet Attack in the Classical KID, the main line Exchange Variation against the Gruenfeld (certainly White's best), the QGD Exchange Variation with Nge2, the Slav main lines (featured in Kramnik-Topalov), etc. All indisputably important and current stuff, if inevitably highly theoretical. Read Watson's review and ponder these questions with him: When should the improving player get immersed in current theory anyway? After he's spent his youth learning the intricacies of the Blackmar Diemer Gambit? Why not from the very beginning? But won't books like this inevitably turn him into a theory-head with too narrow a focus? I'm as torn as Watson is about these questions. But the book has clearly inspired a few worthy souls, since someone has already done the job of finding games for each chapter at Chessgames.com in one of their excellent game collections: Starting Out: 1.d4!

2) Play 1.d4! by Richard Palliser (Batsford 2003), 288 pp. Preview at Google Books. Reviewed by Randy Bauer and Carsten Hansen. This is another fairly serious repertoire, as you'd expect from Palliser. The lines are solid, positionally sound choices that strive for structural advantage whenever possible. The lines, while solid GM choices, are also a bit less main-line than those recommended by Cox, so they would make a good repertoire for a positionally-minded player unprepared to keep on top of all the latest theory. This book could also combine well with Cox's to create a more well-rounded set of choices.

• The Slav Miles-Rogers (Melbourne 1992)
• QGA as in Sokolov - van Wely (Wijk aan Zee 1996)
• KID, Petrosian Kramnik-Bologan (Bundesliga 1994) and Kramnik-Ljubojevic (Monaco 2001)
• Benko, Declined with 6.b6 as in Knaak-Hertneck (Bad Lauterberg 1991)

3) Attacking with 1.d4 by Angus Dunnington (Everyman 2001), 160 pp. Reviewed by Carsten Hansen.
This book is dense with information, has lots of lines that are not mainstream choices, and seems trying a bit too hard to be sharp and tactical at every turn (perhaps just to live up to the book's title). The lines are definitely sharp, though, and if you want to follow d4 with c4 yet seek a less positionally-minded repertoire, and one that leads to some interesting positions, then this is not a bad choice. The common thread seems to be a preference for lines with an early White f3 (even against the Nimzo-Indian) to stabilize the center in preparation for a wing attack. To me, this seems a little slow in the development department, and I'd much rather have Black in several lines. The lines are certainly double-edged and relatively unusual, but they just do not seem to fit together to form much of a system in my view.

• Queen's Gambit Accepted: Kasparov - Anand, Linares 1999 and Van Wely - Milov, France 1999
• Queen's Gambit Declined: Pelletier-Chandler, Mermaid Beach 1999
• Gruenfeld with Bf4: Lalic - Polgar, Olympiad 1996

4) Ideas Behind the Modern Chess Openings: Attacking with White by Gary Lane (Batsford 2002). Preview at Google Books. Reviewed at Chessville and by John Watson in TWIC #51. Lane presents a repertoire built around the London System with an early Bf4 for White. This is rightly considered an unchallenging White opening, but Lane manages to make the repertoire a little more interesting with specific selections that are fairly consistent with the London in their concern with dark squares. He recommends Bf4 against the Chigorin (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bf4), an early b4 advance against the Leningrad Dutch (1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O d6 6.b4!?), Bg5 against the Pseudo-Benko, and includes the Barry Attack and 150 Attack repertoire covered by Aaron Summerscale. This book would make a fairly good supplement to Summerscale's for beginning players, and some may find this a solid if stolid choice.

• Tseitlin - Liesmann, Kleve 1999
• Hansen - Nielsen, Denmark 1999
• Van Wely - Guliev, IECC 2001

5) Richter-Veresov System: The Chameleon Chess Repertoire by Eduard Gufeld and Oleg Stetsko (Thinkers' Press 1999/2000), 192 pp.
I very much like the spirit and structure of this book, which presents the Richter-Veresov (generally beginning 1.d4 and 2.Nc3 for White) as a complex system of inter-connected transpositions, flowing freely between typical 1.d4 and 1.e4 lines. Hence the idea of "the chameleon" repertoire: the multiple transpositions allow White to camouflage his intentions so that Black cannot always predict the type of structure that will result. Rather than analyzing specific lines, Gufeld and Stetsko present a number of structures (e.g.: Benoni, Sicilian, French, Pirc, and Caro-Kann) and they analyze classic illustrative games, including many of Gufeld's own (typically on the Black side). The authors present a refreshingly balanced treatment of the opening that makes no claims for White's superiority. In fact, it's one of those rare White repertoire books where a significant portion of the games are drawn or won by Black. This emphasizes the point that Gufeld and Stetsko seek most of all to help the student of this opening system understand the principles and ideas of both sides so that he can find his own way through what continues to be relatively open territory with plenty of room for original play. The games themselves are all very rich and interesting, there is both analysis and historical treatment, and the breadth of the repertoire means that improving players will inevitably learn a great deal about a wide range of structures. I think this is therefore a valuable and worthwhile book, even if I have some doubts about the Richter-Veresov as a reliable long-term system. Those with a serious interest in these lines might also like to pick up Nigel Davies's The Veresov (Everyman 2003 -- game collection at Chessgames.com) and (if you can find it) Jimmy Adams's still useful Richter Veresov System (The Chess Player 1978), neither of which I list here because they are not strictly "repertoires." I have seen this book practically remaindered in various places, for cheap, so I recommend you snap it up if you like this sort of thing before the opportunity disappears.

• Richter - Baratz, Prague 1931
• Veresov - Bunatian, USSR 1965
• Mestrovic - Gligoric, Hastings 1970-1971
• Alburt - Gufeld, USSR 1974
• Miles - Tisdall, England 1982
• Morozevich - Malaniuk, Italy 1994
• Spassky - Korchnoi, Belgrade 1977

6) A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire by Aaron Summerscale (Cadogan / Everyman 1998), 144 pp. Excellent review by Alex Baburin at ChessCafe.
This is a lovely little red book with one of the most original and coherent White opening repertoires available in a single volume. British GM Summerscale presents a spectacular repertoire for a club player and everything you need to learn it, especially since he has also produced a number of video and DVD versions of the repertoire for Foxy (including on the Barry Attack, 150 Attack, and Colle-Zukertort), which would make it very easy to reinforce the lessons of the book for busy or developing players. If you want a solid repertoire that gives you very consistent ideas (around controlling the dark squares) and some surprising lines, this is the best book ever. My impression is that this book recently went out of print, so you better get your copy soon before the price goes sky high.

Barry Attack (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4) as in Blatny-Fette (Vienna 1991), Hebden-Nunn (Hastings 1997-1998), and Hebden-Birnboim (Rishon Lezion 1992)

The 150 Attack (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d6 4.e4 Bg7 5.Be3) as in Hebden - Felecan, Capelle de Grande 1993 and Khalifman - Adams, Lucerne 1997

Colle-Zukertort(1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 followed by b3 and Bb2) as in Zukertort - Blackburne, London 1883 and Yusupov - Short, Dortmund 1997.

Anti-Colle Systems as in Steinitz - Chigorin, Havana 1889

Anti-Benoni and Anti-Dutch as in Speelman - Suba Dortmund 1981 and Karpov - Topalov Dos Hermanas 1994

7) An Opening Repertoire for White, by Raymond Keene and Byron Jacobs (new edition, Batsford / Henry Holt 1995), 144 pp. -- first published in 1984 and available in other editions.
This is one of my favorite repertoire books, not only because of its very classical repertoire but because it chooses truly excellent classic games as its representatives. Almost every game is one you should probably know anyway because it's worthwhile in its own right. There is not a lot of deep analysis here, but that seems about right for club players or improving players seeking to learn a basic d-pawn repertoire while playing through some very good games. Overall, there may be no better way to get started playing a solid d4 repertoire than this classic book. Of course, it is currently out of print. But you should be able to find copies online.

Nimzo-Indian, Deferred Saemisch as in Botvinnik-Capablanca (Avro 1938), Reshevsky-Fischer (Match 1961, Game 7), and Geller-Lisitsyn (USSR 1955).

King's Indian, Kramer System as in Serper-Kotronias (Gausdal 1991)

Gruenfeld, Three Knights Exchange as in Tisdall-Jansa (Arhus 1983)

QGD, Exchange Variation as in Spielmann-Thomas (Karlsbad 1929)

Slav, Exchange Variation as in Alekhine-Euwe (Avro 1938)

Benko, Accepted as in Youngworth-Erlingsson (Lone Pine 1978)

8) Kasparov's Chess Openings by Otto Borik (Trafalgar Square Publishing 1989/1991), 128 pp. This is a very rare out of print book presenting great attacking lines for the serious student based on Kasparov's repertoire leading up to his first World Championship title, as both Black (Najdorf Sicilian and Classical King's Indian) and White (Exchange Variation QGD with Nge2 and Qc2 Nimzo for example).

• Queen's Gambit Declined: Kasparov - Campora, Greece 1988
• Nimzo-Indian, Classical: Kasparov - Hjartarson, Reykjavik 1988
• Benoni: Kasparov - Nunn, Lucerne 1982
• Gruenfeld: Kasparov - Natsis, Malta Ol. 1980
• King's Indian: Kasparov - Smirin, Moscow 1988

Here is a text about the world...

Video artist Diana Thater's installation Here is a text about the world... at the David Zwirner Gallery (525 W 19th St. in New York City) is featured in this weekend's New York Times (see "The Ritual of Chess, a Decoder of Life" by Dorothy Spears). Only a small portion of the installation shows chess, but it might be a nice "chess tourism" stop in the Village through February 9, 2008. Thater has done at least one other video installation that featured chess, titled "Off with their heads" (in Munich, Germany). More information about visiting the show can be found at the Chelsea Galleries website.

Amusing Search Terms IV

As I've discussed before (1, 2, 3), the majority of my blog visitors arrive via a Google search using keywords, some of which can be quite amusing. Here are some recent ones that caught my attention, together with my commentary:

• paranoia attack
  (Someone's plotting to use that variation against me.)
• anti anti-anti-sicilian
  (They will eventually up the ante on that.)
• robot fetish
  (Maybe if you dress it in leather....)
• david levy sex robot
  (I'm sure he'd be flattered by the nickname.)
• david levy fetish
  (Who suffers from that? Mrs. Levy perhaps?)
• sam sloan fetish
  (Probably Truong.)
• sexy chess photos
  (No doubt he was disappointed.)
• kenilworth sex
  (I hope that one doesn't show up at the club.)
• 1 e4 c4 2 Nf3 Nc3
  (He's only interested in White's perspective.)
• it takes many years to play good chess
  (Tell me about it, brother.)
• frankenstein, dracula and werewolf
  (My blog is near the top for that search.)
• chess petrov or petroff
  ("Let's call the whole thing off.")
• how to write a article
  (I don't think he's qualified.)
• pure pedantry
  (No surprise these terms lead you to my blog.)

Jennifer Shahade on Tactics Books

Many improving players have made a New Year's resolution to study tactics. In her latest blog post, WGM Jennifer Shahade offers a fine list of books to help you do that.

Prison Chess

Scotland's Daily Record reports in "Evil Killers Become Prison Chess Pals" that, "Two of Scotland's worst killers have struck up a bizarre jail friendship over games of chess." Murderers Zeeshan 'Crazy' Shahid and Jamie 'Baldy' Bain met in the segregation unit of Glenochil prison. Though kept in solitary confinement, they shout out moves to each other as they play on separate boards, much to the consternation of fellow prisoners. It's probably for the best, however, that they are kept in separate cells. As the story of Ohio killer Christopher Newton reveals ("Ohio inmate executed for killing cellmate after they fought over chess game"), playing chess with cellmates can be quite dangerous:

"In an interview with reporters last month, Newton said he killed Brewer because he repeatedly gave up while they were playing chess. / 'Every time I put him in check, he'd give up and want to start a new game,' Newton said. 'And I tried to tell him you never give up ... I just got tired of it.'"

And I imagine Alexander Pichushkin has met quite a few players in Moscow's prisons, though I hope they do not have to share his cell.... Are we to make of all these stories that chess is seen as the activity of a derganged mind? Or that chess is the ultimate way of passing time behind bars?

In "Prison Chess: The Game Called Life" at The 65th Square, by Daaim Shabazz, Ph.D., suggests it is the latter and points to the many psychological benefits to the game:

"What is it that is so attractive about the game of chess to inmates around the world, but specifically the U.S.? Perhaps it is the ability to control one's fate in a place where they are otherwise subjected to someone else's total control. Maybe it's a form of escape into a world of 64-square intrigue. Maybe it's the idea that some inmates are able to channel their aggressive energy in a more disciplined fashion."

Or perhaps it is that chess is the ultimate game of logic and rational thinking, which can help those used to acting on instinct, emotion, or irrational calculation to reform and learn to play by the rules....

2008 Kenilworth Chess Club Calendar Updated

The 2008 Kenilworth Chess Club Calendar has now been posted -- also available at the KCC Minutes site and The Chess Coroner.

Another Chess Tourist in New York

Tom Panelas tells us a fun way for chessplayers to tour "New York in Nine Hours" at his blog The Knights of Castle Kimbark. I imagine him making his way through various chess destinations to arrive at Times Square to see the ball drop. I'm glad he mentions the Chess & Checkers House in Central Park (even if he didn't make it there either), since it is a lovely chess tourist destination and very active of late (having only re-opened in the past two years), hosting a number of simuls and events. There are also a number of games clubs in the City, including the Midtown Backgammon & Chess Club (265 West 37th Street ), Ace Point Club (328 East 61st Street), the New York Chess & Backgammon Club (120 West 41st Street). I might also mention The Compleat Strategist (11 East 33rd Street) for general boardgame junkies.

Visit my post "A Chess Tourist in New York City" or click on the "chess tourism" label for some of my other posts on this topic.