Romp With Rook: Chess History - A Rare Morphy Photograph

A rare photograph of Morphy making a move against Louis Paulsen during the First American Chess Congress (New York, 1857). This certainly must have been a "posed" picture judging by the abominable playing conditions (LOL) and the state of photography in 1857.

Fridays by the Fireside No. 8 - More Odd, But True Chess Trivia

In our eighth installment of Fridays by the Fireside we feature some more odd, but true chess trivia from the Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld book The Fireside Book of Chess.

Chapter - The Magic of Chess
Section - Odd, But True
Item - 8 - 12
Page - 72

• Many a good player would like to try his skill against the masters in a tournament, but dreads the possible outcome—a long string of zeros. Not so Colonel Moreau, who played in the Monte Carlo Tournament of 1903. He played two games with each of 13 opponents, and lost 26 times in succession. Not even so much as one measly draw could he get!
• What is the best move to begin a game? At one time the masters began automatically with 1 P—K4; then they switched to 1 P—Q4. Paul Morphy, considered by many critics the greatest chess genius that ever lived, never played 1 P—Q4. In contrast, Ernest Gruenfeld, one of the greatest living authorities on opening play, ventured on 1 P—K4 only once in his entire tournament career (against Capablanca at Karlsbad 1929). When asked why he avoided 1 P—K4, he answered, "I never make a mistake in the opening!"
• Chess is thought of so highly in the Soviet Union that it is taught in the public schools. Yet, blindfold play is forbidden by law! (Do they realize, we wonder, that a master player analyzing a combination ten moves deep is really playing blindfold chess?)
• Franz Gutmayer wrote a book on how to become a chess master, but could never become one himself! Gutmayer never won a Hauptturnier first prize, a requisite in Germany for the title of master.
• Dr. Lasker was certainly a hard man to beat. Marshall won from him in May 1900, and then once again on another May day. But that second victory came after forty years of tournament and match play, in the course of which they had met many times.

Romp with Rook: Halloween Costumes for the Chess Nut

...and you'd have to be nuts to wear these costumes from BuyCostumes.com:

For those who look to the past here's an idea from the National Archives of Canada:

Chess Hats from MegaChess.com:

Chess Tunics from MegaChess.com:

Romp wth Rook - The Chess Art of Veronika Kasatkina

Here is a sample of chess art designed by the famous Russian graphic artist Veronika Kasatkina. Her work graces the covers of software made by Convekta and the Russian Chess Magazine 64. She works mostly with digital media, and deals with a chess theme. You can purchase a set of 28 Chess Art Postcards or a set of eight 8" x 12" posters from ChessCentral. Individual posters are also available from Convekta Chess Store. Here are a couple of my favorites:


"Night"

"River of Time"


A collage of her work:

Romp With Rook - Little Known Chess Facts

• The longest chess game theoretically possible is 5,949 moves.
• The record number of moves without the capture of a piece is 100.
• The longest recorded time for a chess player to make a move is 2 hours and 20 minutes.
• The word "checkmate" comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the King is dead."
• Rookies are named after the rook in chess. Rooks generally are the last pieces to move into actions, and the same goes for rookies.
• Iran is the only country in the world that bans chess. Ayatollah Khomeini said the game "hurts memory and may cause brain damage."
• The most popular PBS television show aired was the 1972 Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky chess match.

Source: Daytona Beach News Journal

Regal Games from the Realms of Yore - George Koltanowksi vs. Humphrey Bogart

Today, in our Sunday series Regal Games from the Realms of Yore, we feature a game by Humphrey Bogart. Bogart was actually an accomplished chess player (you can read more about that in my previous blog entry Humphrey Bogart - Chess Expert). In this game, Bogey puts up a good effort against International Master George Koltanowski. The game is variously reported as being either a simultaneous exhibition or blindfold game.

Koltanowski is also an interesting chess player. He set the world's blindfold record on September 20, 1937, in Edinburgh, by playing 34 chess games simultaneously while blindfolded. His record still stands in the Guinness Book of Records.

Romp With Rook - Chess and the Great Flood

How the game of Chess survived the great flood:
























Chess Ark by Kosobukin Juri (USSR)

Romp With Rook - Big Game Hunting

Fridays by the Fireside No. 3 - Odd, But True - Famous Chess Firsts

This is the third installment of Fridays by the Fireside where I will feature an item of interest from the wonderful Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld book The Fireside Book of Chess. Below is the excerpt:

Chapter - The Magic of Chess
Section - Odd, But True
Item - 80-89
Page - 96-97

• The first known historical document connected with chess is an inscription on a tablet in a pyramid at Gizeh, dating back to 3000 years before Christ!
• The first chess problem, as far as can be ascertained, was composed by the Caliph Mutasim Billah during his reign in Baghdad from 834 to 843.
• The first legal document in Europe dealing with chess was a testament of Armengo of Urgel in January 1010.
• The first book dealing with chess was published in 1472, under the title Dass Goldin Spil, in the city of Augsburg.
• The first International Chess tournament was played at Madrid in 1 575, at the court of Philip the Second.
• The first newspaper column on chess appeared in the Liverpool Mercury, July 9, 1813.
• The first match to be played by correspondence was begun in April 1824 between the London and Edinburgh Chess Clubs. The match lasted two years, and was won by the Scotsmen. They scored two wins, lost one, and drew two games.
• The first chess magazine appeared in Paris in 1836. It was called La Palamède, and its editors were Labourdonnais and Méry.
• The first chess match by telegraph was played in 1844, the year in which the telegraph was invented. The players represented the cities of Baltimore and Washington, D. C.
• The first problem-composing tournament was held at London in 1854. It was confined to Englishmen, and was won by Walter Grimshaw.

Romp with Rook - A Funny Chess Cartoon

Here's one of my favorite chess cartoons - especially appropriate for Rook Van Winkle :-)

Romp with Rook - Chess Bumper Stickers, Chess T-Shirts, And Chess Mugs

Do you know of a good chess bumper sticker, T-Shirt, or mug? Or do you have a good slogan for one?

My personal favorite bumper sticker was this one offered by the USCF back in the 1980's:



(Click on the above picture to view full-size)

It's those little fists that I like. :-)

ChessUSA has three chess bumper stickers for sale, including the familiar "Chess Nut" one:



Cafe Press have a wide selection of chess-related T-shirts, mugs, and other things. A sample:


It's always better to sacrifice your opponent's men. - GrandMaster S. Tartakower

For even more visit there Chessopolis Shop.

Finally, there are many crude (and sometimes rude) attempts to use the word "mate" in a bumper sticker slogan, but here's one that is really rather nice:






Romance is like a game of chess: one false move and you're mated

Next Saturday we'll be back with another installment in the series Romp with Rook. Until then, have fun with chess!

Romp With Rook - Chess: A Poem

Written by a member of the Cambridge University Chess Club:

Chess: A Poem

Anonymous

THE WRETCHED captive in the dungeon laid,
His body wasted and his mind decay'd,
Unwept, unfriended, comfortless, alone,
With nought but horror now to call his own,
Pines o'er his limbs with ruthless bonds confin'd,
But most deplores th' enthralment of his mind.
Yet yield him here the luxury of Chess,
To soothe his sorrows and abate distress.
And lo! once more dear Freedom's breath he draws,
Tho' clasp'd his chains, and barr'd his prison doors
His soul unshackled and his fancy free
He broods no more on his captivity.

—1858

Romp with Rook - Horsing Around

For our first installment in Rook's new series Romp with Rook, Rook does a little horsing around - sharing this amusing little cartoon "Chess Centaur" by Estis Oleg (SSSR):

Play "Cooperative Chess" at Work

I was certain that the game of chess would be mentioned in the excellent book Keep Your Brain Alive - 83 Neurobic Exercises to help prevent memory loss and increase mental fitness by Dr. Lawrence C. Katz and Manning Rubin. (You can read my blog entry about the book here: Rook Van Winkle's Chess Blog: Keep Your Brain Alive)

Sure enough, on page 83 they recommend using an "ongoing chess game" at work as one of their exercises for "preserving and enhancing the brain's capabilities into the senior years."

Basically the idea is to set up a chess game near the water cooler (or some other public place were co-workers gather) "where an employee can come to the board, assess the situation, and make a move."

Although this doesn't allow for the development of long term strategies, according to the authors of the book:

... It does require visual-spatial thinking that is different from what most of us do at work. The brief gear switching provides a break from verbal, left-brain activities and lets the 'working brain' take a breather."

I think this is a fantastic idea! You will need some method to indicate whether it is white's or black's turn to play.

Why not use this as a great way to get a chess club started at your work? It would certainly attract the attention of any chess playing co-workers, and the novelty of the 'shared game" might even spark some interest among your non-chess playing co-workers - perhaps they might even want to take up the game themselves?

Chess Monsters!

I'm a big fan of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. What connection does this have with chess? Well, not much really - except for an interesting article in the August issue of Dragon Magazine which present "6 Chess Monsters."

The table of contents goes on to say "Command kings, seduce queens, move castles, influence bishops, slay knights, and have pawns worship you." Clever write up.

Basically the idea is to provide players of D&D with "six new creatures [that] bring the cold strategy of the chessboard to life. Face powerful foes like the black king or take command of an entire chess legion for the ultimate battle of wits."

The idea here is that the chess pieces become "monsters" called "chaturani" for players of the D&D game to oppose in combat. For those of you with some understanding of D&D here are the specifics:

"The chaturani are intelligent, extraplanar constructs designed to resemble life-sized humanoid chess pieces. Their dangerous version of chess is performed on a gigantic battlefield rather than a small table-sized board. While chaturani can provide something as innocent as an afternoon's relaxation, the reality is that they all to often have a far deadlier use."

Of course, the idea of chess pieces taking on a life of their own (Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass) and fighting it out (as in various computer chess games) is not an entirely new idea, but those of you who like Chess and the D&D game must check this out! Cool stuff.

Note: The illustration is of a chaturan rook creature.

Humphrey Bogart - Chess Expert

Here's something I didn't know. In looking over the "Famous Games" in Chessmaster 10, there is an entry from 1952 "George Koltanowksi vs Humphrey Bogart!" Turns out that this was a game played by Humphery Bogart against chess writer and columnist George (Kolty) Koltanowski who "in his newspaper office played without sight of the board against movie star and chess expert Humphrey Bogart, who lost by a mere pawn."

According to GameColony.com "It turns out that Bogart was a very accomplished chess player. (Bogart's rating would probably be equivalent to modern 2100.)"

The City Collge Chess web site has some more interesting details: "Before becoming a movie star, Humphrey Bogart hustled strangers at 5-minute chess for 50 cents a game in chess parlors in New York Times Square. In 1943 the FBI prevented him from playing postal chess, thinking the chess notation were secret codes. He was a USCF tournament director and active in the California State Chess Association. He once drew a game against Reshevsky in a simultaneous exhibition. He made 75 films and chess appears in several of his movies. He and his wife, Lauren Bacall, appeared on the cover of CHESS REVIEW in 1945 playing chess with Charles Boyer."

Play it again, Sam... :-)