Information about shogi is available at http://www.shogi.net.
There is a server on the Web where you can register and play for free: http://www.shogidojo.com/eng/engindex.htm
The New York Shogi Club meets on Wednesday evenings from about 7 p.m. with games going on till 10:30 or 11 at the Naniwa restaurant, 4 East 46th Street, zip 10017.
From today's New York Times:
Could a grandmaster become a member of the next administration? Possibly. Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor at Harvard, is an economics adviser to the Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain. Rogoff is also a grandmaster.
Rogoff said an understanding of chess helped him learn economics: "The whole logic of game theory, which is a big part of economics, came easily to me."
He also said his knowledge of chess had helped him in his career. "I was the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2003, and you are involved in a lot of high-stakes negotiations," he said, "and chess teaches you to think about what the other person is thinking."
some good & interesting websites devoted in whole or in part to the history of chess:
http://www.mynetcologne.de/~nc-jostenge
http://history.chess.free.fr
http://www.goddesschess.com
http://www.chesscafe.com
Via puddingpie:
Greg Chamitoff, an American astronaut stationed at the International Space Station, is a chess player who plays Mission Control at the rate of one move per day! Barred from bringing magnetic pieces, he uses a lightweight plastic set fitted with Velcro.
He is currently playing six simultaneous games—one against each of the mission's ground stations. NASA is keeping a record of the games at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition17/chess_chamitoff.html.
Read the entire story at the New York Times.
Chess was all over yesterday's New York Times:
All three are by Dylan Loeb McClain.