A 19 year old Norwegian is now the top ranked chess player in the world.
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen has become the youngest person ever to top the world ranking in chess.
The 19-year-old was listed as number one in the World Chess Federation’s January statistics with a rating of 2,810.
The Norwegian Chess Federation Monday said Carlsen is the youngest person to hold the title since ratings were introduced in 1971.
Came across an article by Chess Writer, Shelby Lyman, quoting Ben Franklin’s view of Chess.
In his late-18th-century essay “The Morals of Chess,” Benjamin Franklin declared that life is a variation of the game.
“We learn by chess the habit of not being discouraged by present appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favourable change, and that of persevering in the search of resources,” he said.
“The game is so full of events, . . . and one so frequently, after long contemplation, discovers the means of extricating one’s self from a supposed insurmountable difficulty.”
So very true.
When shopping for a chess set, especially when you are matching up chess boards and chess pieces, there are some useful rules of thumb to consider. I came across knightofchess.com and found some useful insights.
Pairing up chess pieces with a chess board takes some careful thought.
The first thing that must be considered is the size of the base of the King. The King is the largest chess pieces and will therefore have the largest base diameter. The obvious goal is to make sure that the square of the chess board is larger than the base diameter of the Chess Pieces. It is fine to leave it at that. For those who want better refinement, the rule of thumb is to have a chess board square be 33% larger than the base diameter of the King. So, if your King has a diameter of 1.5 inches, then you should aim for a chess board with 2.0 inch squares (1.5 inches x 1.33 = 2.0). Of course you can select 1.75 inches and it will look great, but you probably don’t want to go too much larger.
Some chess sets can be quite pricey so it pays to understand what you need to be looking for.
I guess there are reasons I’ll never be a great chess player. Probably cause I’m not 11. Anyways, cool story about Kayden Troff.
Eleven-year-old Kayden Troff of West Jordan, one of the top elementary-school chess players in the country recently achieved the rank of mational master and is currently the North American Champion, No. 1 in the world for his age and the top current quick chess player for 13-year-olds and under. (Francisco Kjolseth / The Salt Lake Tribune )
Utah’s own chess phenom is Kayden Troff, and in many ways, he’s a normal 11-year-old boy. He loves to swim, go sledding and play video games.
He’s also the No. 1 chess player in the world in his age group (11 and younger), according to the World Chess Federation, a gold medal winner at the 2009 North American Youth Championship and a member of the 2010 All-America Team. .
Kayden’s latest accomplishment is his biggest yet. In November, the West Jordan boy achieved the rank of National Master, a lifelong title. He is one of two National Masters living in Utah, and one of about 1,500 in the U.S., Nash says.
“Just to give you an idea, Bobby Fischer didn’t make National Master until he was 13,” said Kim Troff, Kayden’s mother. “It never ceases to amaze me. In Germany, they’re talking about him, and in Australia, they’re talking about him. It’s just absolutely amazing. They’re talking about him as the next U.S. superstar.”
Everyone now and then I head over to Hardcore Pawnography. Always funny and amusing. Earlier this month he gave his take on Cool Chess Products That Don’t Exist But Should. I just warn you …. his blog isn’t always rated GP.
Alekhine’s Reserve brand vodka! You just had a bad day at a tournament, you go back to your room and drown your sorrows in Alekhine’s Reserve brand Vodka! (made with potatoes, like vodka should be made, not that grain vodka crap that is all over) . You had a great tournament, you want to celebrate? What better way than with a bottle of Alekhine’s vodka. And of course, the bottle would have a picture of Alekhine on it.
A cool article about a chess program in Birmingham, Alabama.
Youth in Birmingham Learning Chess
You can probably tell this isn’t your typical chess class, which one might assume (accurately enough) would be quiet, sterile and sedentary. The philosophy of Brooks’ 3-year-old Knight School, which holds afternoon chess classes at Birmingham-area schools, is that children learn to play better in an exciting atmosphere with fast, timed games, computer-generated big-screen tests and a reward system that confers Black Belt status on the highest achievers.
Came across an article whereby a frequent trans-continental flier is rethinking what he will do to pass the time. This is as a result of the attempted bombing of the US bound Christmas Day Flight.
While games have long been my time-waster of choice for the frequent international flights I take, it’s usually video games I stock up on. Not so for my Sydney to San Francisco flight. This time around I was hunting for pocket chess, little wooden brain teasers and magnetic backgammon.
The chess match between the Pope and the Archbishop
That was a fascinating (and shrewd) move Pope Benedict XVI made last week, when he invited disaffected Anglicans into the fold. Clearly, it caught the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, by surprise. And it displeased many Anglicans, who regarded it as poaching ….. In short, the chess match is far from over. Ideas and influences from these two sister churches have always traveled both ways.
New chess set offered at MyChessPieces.com
CALGARY - A weekend foosball tournament at a northeast sports bar attracted more than 60 world-class and amateur players from across Western Canada, but the opportunity to gloat among themselves seemed to hold more attraction than any of the gold-plated trophies or $4,000 in cash prizes.
The tourney took place at Juliet’s Castle, 440 16th Ave. N. E.
“We’ve managed to attract 10 of the top 25 players in Canada in our first year,” says co-promoter Brian Loeppky, who organized the event with Andrew Udell. “We have players from Vancouver, Thunder Bay, Saskatoon, Regina, and we have maybe 15 from Edmonton.”
Though tabletop soccer, or foosball, is hardly considered a highbrow game, the occupations of some of these players might make you re-evaluate the mental strength it takes to win consistently, Udell says.
And what’s more it’s just like chess …. really.
“Some of the best players in Canada are in Calgary,” says Darrel Popowich, a Calgarian who is ranked nationally in the Top 5. “And a lot of us guys from Calgary tend to do really well in these events down in the States. So we’re starting to build up some respectability.”
Popowich has a theory why that is.
“It’s engineering,” the former engineering student says.
“It’s the popular past time of engineers, and engineering is a big profession here. This game is high-speed chess, it challenges you mentally as well as physically. And with Calgary being so big in oil and gas, you can see why there’d be so many competitive players in our city.”