05/02/24
May 02, 2023
Chess Moves: The Indian Behind the Indian Opening: How a now-forgotten Brahmin in the mofussil of Calcutta,' unbeaten on his turf in the mid-1800s, went on to change the royal game. (New Lines Magazine is an excellent publication and all stories/essays are very much worth your time)
Not a sport! Not athletes!
(apologies, couldn't resist a throwback to the early days)
posted by Ufez Jones at 03:15 PM on May 03, 2023
Lol. I did actually do a search on: "is chess a sport?" Apparently the IOC officially recognizes chess as a sport
posted by NoMich at 03:17 PM on May 03, 2023
Lord knows the last thing this place needs a resurgence of gatekeeping and discussion-squashing.
I don't have enough knowledge of Chess beyond the basic rules to personally enjoy the competitive side of the sport, but if any of y'all ever find yourselves in StL, be sure to add the World Chess Hall of Fame to your itinerary, if nothing else just to walk by and get a pic with the giant wooden King.
(and thanks for the link to New Lines. Looks like they have some fascinating stuff)
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:59 PM on May 03, 2023
New Lines is humbling to encounter. All those bright, seasoned, well educated and dedicated folks focused on an area well outside the usual US perspective.
There are some young European women on YouTube who have made their share of fans by playing street chess in NYC against a rugged cast of hustlers while pretending to be fairly new to the sport. The hustlers think they see easy prey and then find out that they're up against near grandmasters.
The storylines are usually similar and I can't believe that the word didn't get out on them right away as being players to be wary of. Last I heard, those women were still out there shocking people.
posted by beaverboard at 06:43 PM on May 03, 2023
This is a cool read. Moheshchunder Bonnerjee is the Auston Matthews of his sport. The game he played was different because of local conditions and he turned the limitation into a strength.
We ought to add chess as a topic here.