Greenpoint Chess and Go Club

Reported discoveries of lost works by Leonardo da Vinci are almost as common as, well, images of the Mona Lisa.

The latest attribution to be proposed involves the design for the illustrations in a chess book from around 1500. The book, "De Ludo Scachorum," or "The Game of Chess," is by Luca Pacioli, a Franciscan friar and Renaissance mathematician who was a friend and collaborator of Leonardo. One of the earliest chess books, it contains 114 diagrams of chess problems drawn in red and black.

Long thought to be lost or destroyed, it was discovered in 2006 in a 22,000-volume library in northeastern Italy that belonged to Count Guglielmo Coronini, who died in 1990.

The nonprofit Coronini Cronberg Foundation, which oversees the library, enlisted Franco Rocco, an Italian architect and sculptor whose work has puzzlelike qualities, to examine the book and its illustrations. After a year of study he determined that Leonardo created the design on which the illustrations are based, possibly by building a chess set.

…

In his chess column in The Times of London, Raymond Keene wrote that the sophistication of the chess puzzles themselves could have come only from "a powerful intelligence" and might also be the work of Leonardo. But Martin Kemp, a prominent Leonardo expert who is an emeritus art history professor at Oxford University, has emphatically dismissed the possibility that Leonardo had any hand in the drawings. "There is not an earthly chance of them being by Leonardo," he said in a telephone interview.

→ Read the entire article: "Historical Stalemate: Chess Book May Have Leonardo Illustrations (or Not)." Dylan Loeb McClain. Published 14 April 2008.

Thanks for taking these, Phil!

Via bicyclethief:

My apologies for not posting a new problem the past two weeks. It shan't happen again.

White to mate in two

Add a comment to this post with your solution. I'll buy a beer for the first person to correctly solve the problem next Tuesday, during our regular session at Matchless.

He glanced at the chessboard and his brain wilted from hitherto unprecedented weariness. But the chessmen were pitiless, they held and absorbed him. There was horror in this, but in this also was the sole harmony, for what else exists in the world besides chess?

—Luzhin. The Defense. Vladimir Nabokov.

White to mate in three

Add a comment to this post with your solution. I'll buy a beer for the first person to correctly solve the problem next Tuesday, during our regular session at Matchless.

Note—To win the beer, please show all possible variations.

→ Solution to last week's problem

In chess I am also a staunch supporter of classical clarity of thought. The content of a game should be a search for truth, and victory a demonstration of its rightness. No fantasy, however rich, no technique, however masterly, no penetration into the psychology of the opponent, however deep, can make a chess game a work of art, if these qualities do not lead to the main goal—the search for truth.

—V. Smyslov. 125 Selected Games. Page 5.

Of course one shouldn't forget that the game of chess, for all its radiance, artistry and deep fascination, is essentially a trivial pursuit. It is without content. Thus the "history" of chess is of no more intrinsic interest than the history of punting or thumb-twiddling or nose-picking. But it does have a history, and so books about it will continue to appear. The subject already has the peaceful glow of scholastic futility. One of the great things about chess is its refusal, not its readiness, to serve as paradigm for anything else, as Freudians, Marxists et al. have frustratingly found. Chess is what it is and not another thing, it is only a game.

—Martin Amis. Observer. 23 December 1984.

From Kings, Commoners and Knaves: Further Chess Explorations. Edward Winter. 1999. Chess Notes 502 and 902.

Sam Loyd was a 19th century American chess player, chess composer, puzzle author, and recreational mathematician. At his peak, he was one of the best chess players in the US and, according to chessmetrics.com, ranked 15^th in the world. Despite this success, his playing style was "flawed"—rather than simplifying the position and winning, Loyd had a penchant for fantastic combinations.

"The art of problem composing has improved with rapid strides during the last quarter of a century, " wrote Loyd in 1878. "Not only have we a host of composers in place of a few; but their style and finish is so superior that a problem by one of the so-called old masters would only be published by the modern chess editor as a literary curiosity. The solutions of the old style problems were not only very defective, but chiefly consisted of a series of forced moves or checks, restricting the defence to one line of play. They often illustrated a succession of brilliant sacrifices, culminating in a pretty mate, but they were clumsy in construction and very easy of solution."

The following problem is an example of Loyd's old-style manner. While it has some of the characteristics (the forced checks, the consecutive sacrifices, and the driving about of the Black king), Alain White feels it is indelibly stamped with Loyd's handiwork, which would have seemed very original to a solver before 1850.

White to mate in three

Sam Loyd
N.Y. Albion no. 489, 22 May 1858

→ Solution | Solved by SwissGambit | Solution to last week's problem

Sources: White, Alain C. Sam Loyd and His Chess Problems. New York: Dover, 1962 (148–149). Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Loyd. Retrieved on 20071013.

So, you're on the go, at the bar or café, and an opportunity to play chess presents itself. While the house has a board, there's no clock. How will you play blitz?

With an iPhone and Peter Welch's chess clock, there's no problem. Simply navigate to http://invertible.net/chess/, enter the game time, flip the phone horizontal, and lay it on the table. Take turns hitting the large button in the middle of the screen and have fun!

Thanks, Pete!

from craigslist:

Work classrooms (25 students K–6th grade) from 3:30–6:00 pm (total of 3 classes per day = $135) Monday–Friday teaching the wonderful game of chess. Will be paid as an independent contractor—you do your own taxes.

1. Must know how to play chess (beginner level ok).
2. Must have previous experience working with children in a teaching environment.
3. At least two references.
4. Must be open minded, improv-comedy/personality.
5. Willing to train.
6. Be available to work on time in Passaic, New Jersey 07055
7. A "lets make it work mentality."
8. Be full of energy to motivate the classroom.
9. Able to control a classroom of 25 sometimes boisterous crowd of students grades Kindergarten–5th grade.
10. Dedicated and committed to work the entire school year (up to the end of June). Possible summer available work for the right candidate.
11. Must be willing to start next week.
12. Training, Lesson Plans, and curriculum will be provided.
13. Be able to pass a background/criminal check.

Please email resume along with phone contact number.
Thank You

Note—This position was posted on 20 September 2007, so I'm not sure if it's still open. Also, please do not contact us, go through craigslist.

This hilarious piece of public-access sh*t came to my attention via Greg.

The brilliancy prize goes to the establishing shot of a chess board set up and ready to go… only the bishops and knights are reversed! Runner up is the cracked-out, non-bra wearing guest host Tana. In her own words, "And let me tell you, friends, I don't know how to play chess." She's not kidding. Listen for her response to the question, "If the kings make it to the opposite side of the board, does the first king to make it win the game?"

If you love chess, you owe it to yourself to watch this video.

Chess Now is a live call-in chess show with online play. Tune in to the Manhattan Neighborhoood Network every other Thursday at 5:30 pm. During live shows, there is a 212 New York number you can use to call in to speak to the host and make game moves. Chess Now! homepage

Due to popular demand (ok, mainly Greg's demand), the return of the weekly Greenpoint Chess and Go Club problem.

This week's study, by F. Richter, comes from one of my favorite books, Secrets of Spectacular Chess. It was originally published in Suomen Shakki in 1953.

White to win

→ Solution

Source: Levitt, Jonathan and David Friedgood. Secrets of Spectacular Chess. London: Batsford, 1995

This post is from an email Greg sent me:

… The mates in the second two are so symmetrical and perfect that it is suspected the games were a script.

The first game is amazing too… but the second two games are the reason for this email.

• Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov vs Oleg L Chernikov. Rostov 1962. Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Modern Variation with Bc4
• Vasily Malinin v Victor Savinov. Leningrad 1988. Benko Gambit Fully Accepted
• Dodge v Houghteling. Chicago 1904. Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit

Thursday's New York Times contained some welcoming advice to college freshmen on things to avoid in NYC, including: falling asleep on the subway, public urination, swimming in the East River, and (our favorite), playing chess with hustlers in Washington Square Park.

Don't play chess for money with the hustlers in Washington Square Park. As they are hustlers, they will take your money. Also, you could be hit with a summons for unlawful gambling and sent to the criminal courts, where a judge would determine what you owe, according to Jama Adams, a spokeswoman for the city's Parks Department.

Of course, we can only assume it's okay to play with the hustlers in Tompkins Square Park.

Another of Greg's Chess Dreams

Jeffrey Hard At Work

(more…)

More Sunday quotes ambivalent about chess—this time from Kurt Vonnegut's Timequake, a book I read yesterday night while suffering from the effects of the first addiction.

"The late British philosopher Bertrand Russell said he lost friends to one of three addictions: alcohol or religion or chess."—Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake, pg. 32.

… "ever since I have had physics at the university I have had much trouble with it. This was a huge blow to me because I was used to doing well in school. I thought there was nothing I couldn't do if I just wanted it bad enough."

My reply will go like this: "You might want to read the picaresque novel The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow. The epiphany at the end, as I recall, is that we shouldn't be seeking harrowing challenges, but rather tasks we find natural and interesting, tasks we were apparently born to perform.

"As for the charms of physics: Two of the most entertaining subjects taught in high school or college are mechanics and optics. Beyond these playful disciplines, however, lie mind games as dependent on native talent as playing the French horn or chess.

—Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake, pg. 148.

this will be the last of the chess and sex images for a while [we promise], but we had to share this one: World Chess Beauty Contest!?!

Maria Manakova | World Chess Beauty Contest | source

(more…)

White to move and win in two

Add a comment to this post with your solution. I'll buy a beer for the first person to correctly solve the problem next Tuesday, during our regular session at Matchless.

White to mate in four

Add a comment to this post with your solution. I'll buy a beer for the first person to correctly solve the problem next Tuesday, during our regular session at Matchless.
→ Solution to last week's puzzle.

A new sensei, Mr. Takehiko Hoshida 7D, will arrive at the New York Go Center this Thursday, 5 July 207. He will only be at the center until some time in August, so players are encouraged to come in and meet him, especially stronger players who may be able to learn a thing or two. Attending this Sunday's tournament would be a great time to meet him, get in some rated games, and enjoy the good fellowship of other players.

This study is by Al-Adli [800–870 ce], considered the strongest Shatranj player [aliyat—players of the highest class] during the reign of caliph al-Wathiq [died in 847 ce]. Al-Adli wrote a book on chess, Kitab ash-shatranj [Book of Shatranj], and a book on nard [Kitab an-nard]. The books have long been lost, but some of his problems, endgames, and opening systems have survived. His book also contained information on the older game of Chaturanga.

Al Adli was the first to classify chessplayers, the highest being aliyat. He was the first to categorize the openings into positions called tabiya and the first to compile chess problems, called mansubat. He showed how to use the chessboard as a kind of abacus for purposes of calculation. He was the first to use coordinates to record positions and moves in chess. He may have been the first to discover the knight's tour.

White to move and win

Add a comment to this post with your solution. I'll buy a beer for the first person to correctly solve the problem next Tuesday, during our regular session at Matchless.

→ Solution | Solution to last week's puzzle.

sources :: Secrets of Spectacular Chess, Shatranj by Bill Wall

The New York Go Center is revising the format of their next monthly AGA rated tournament on July 8. Time control and pairing will be familiar [details to be announced], and three-game winners earn a prize from the bookstore as usual; but in lieu of pizza for lunch, the Center is offering $100 in prizes—$50 for first place and $25 each to second and third place. Other little goodies may also be awarded at the discretion of the tournament director. Watch their website for further details.

If you like the new format, please support it by showing up and playing. Pre-register by sending an email with your name, AGA ID [if any] and strength to nygc [at] usgo [dot] org.

The New York Go Center will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in July and August. They are open as usual from 5pm Wed–Fri and from 1pm on Saturday and Sunday.

"I am still a victim of Chess. It has all the beauty of art and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position"

—Marcel Duchamp