Not Chess News, but 'Chess-Triggered' Food for Thought
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
We just found these two very interesting articles which are not directly related to chess, but have a chess motif and worth reading. The first one is controversial and disturbing, but has a "chess man" link. The second article reminds us about a debate we've conducted here on Chess Blog before!
1. Bring up the bodies: a controversial anatomy exhibit comes to Moscow
by Joy Neumeyer
A man sits playing chess. Hunched over in concentration, he reaches to move one of his pieces. He could be any lover of the game - only his brain is exposed, as are all of his muscles. The chess man is one of dozens of bodies on display in "Mysteries of the Body: The Universe Within," now at Moscow's Vetoshny Art Center. The macabre traveling exhibit displays human specimens preserved by "plastination," a process that replaces body fluids with liquid plastic. It's spurred human rights protests, bitter rivalries between scientists - and in Moscow, as in most previous locations, it's a packed house.
Before coming to Moscow, "Our Body: The Universe Within" (the show's international title) had successful runs in the U.S., Europe and South America; other parts of the collection are now on display in Florida and Nicaragua. (You can read the full article here.)

2. Not Just a Pretty Face
In chess, there is a tactic called 'The Cleavage Attack'. This is where a woman leans in, her breasts pressing towards the table behind her opponent's troops, so disconcerting him that she wins the game. Is this the kind of game we want to play? Is this the kind of recipe for success that we want to write? That is one of the subjects for debate at 'How The Light Gets In', the festival of philosophy and music which runs down by the river at Hay, in parallel with the literary festival. The premise is that we openly discriminate in favour of intelligence. The question is whether this is a mistake: ought we to prize beauty as much as brains? Or, to put it in the terms of Catherine Hakim, one of the panellists, ought we to maximise and reward erotic capital? (You can read the full article here.)
But, that reminds us about a Chess Blog debate!
Check it out. If you have still not commented, maybe you would like to! Have fun playing chess and reading Chess Blog.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: beauty and brains, catherine hakim, Chess, hannah dawson, huffington post, joy neumeyer, mysteries of the body: the universe within, plastination, vetoshny art center
Winners of the New in Chess/Huffington Post Chess Contest announced
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
Winners of the New in Chess/Huffington Post Chess Contest have just been announced. They are:
1. Roberto Alvares, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2. Jan Kalendovsky, Brno, The Czech Republic
3. Michal Holes, The Czech Republic
They will receive one year subscription to the New In Chess magazine. How cool. Congratulations to them.
The solutions are shown below.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The contest was done in cooperation with New In Chess. It consisted of three parts: a trivia question, a chess study and a chess problem.
These were the tasks:

TRIVIA
He predicted the opponent and the outcome with these words: "It will by Short and it will be short." He also likes the movies Casablanca, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Godfather. Who is this grandmaster?
ANSWER: Garry Kasparov
One of Kasparov's favorite movies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, was screened on June 20 at New York's Bryant Park in front of 10,500 moviegoers. The film director Milos Forman opened the evening.
STUDY

White plays and wins
SOLUTION:
The position is from the game Healy,John - Kaas,E.,
Simultaneous display, Simpson's, 2009
1.Ne5! The only way to win! The white knight doesn't allow the black king the pick up the h-pawn. Black is in zugzwang: any king's move allows 2.h7 and white queens.
Other moves don't win, for example: 1.Nf4 Kf7 2.Kb2 Kg8 followed by 3...Kh7, draws;
1.Kb2 Kg6 draws as well.
The puzzle is from John Healy's book Coffeehouse Chess Tactics. The author of the powerful autobiography The Grass Arena pays a tribute to chess, a game that changed his life.
PROBLEM

White plays and mates in three moves
SOLUTION:
Karl Behting's splendid three-mover was published in the Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1893.
The Latvian chess composer was a strong master who participated in the first chess olympiad in Paris in 1924. He also devoted lot of time analyzing the Latvian gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5). The composition begins with a remarkable bishop sacrifice, a quiet introduction to beautiful mates.
1.Bg4!! fxg4 2.Rh2 Kf3 [2...f3 3.Qc7#] 3.Qd3 mate.
Or 1...f3 2.Qh2+ Kxg4 3.Qh4 mate;
or 1...Kxg4 2.Rh3 f3 (2...Kg5 3.Qg7 mate) 3.Qh4 mate;
or 1...Kf2 2.Qa7+ Kg3 3.Qg1 mate.
BONUS PUZZLE

White plays and can force a win. Can you find how?
SOLUTION:
1.Rc7! Rxc7 2.Bxc7 Kxh6 (2...Bg6 3.Kg7 followed by 4.h7, wins.) 3.Bf4+ Kg6 4.Bc1 f4 5.Bxf4Zugzwang. White wins the black bishop and the game. The puzzle is from Mihai Suba's masterpieceDynamic Chess Strategy.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's Also see her personal blog at Labels: chess contest, huffington post, New in Chess Yearbook Novelty contest
The New in Chess-Huffington Post Chess Puzzle Contest
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
Lubomir Kavalek, International Chess Grandmaster, has featured the following contest in his blog at The Huffington Post this week. Give it a go!
The contest is done in cooperation with New In Chess. It consists of three parts: a trivia question, a chess study and a chess problem. Try to solve all three puzzles and you may win one-year subscription to the excellent New In Chess magazine.

There is also a bonus puzzle that may improve your chances of being among the three winners. You will have until June 21 to e-mail your solution to: nic.huffpost@newinchess.com
They will publish the correct solutions and the winners after June 25.
TRIVIA
He predicted the opponent and the outcome with these words: "It will by Short and it will be short." He also likes the movies Casablanca, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Godfather. Who is this grandmaster?
Labels: huffington post, New in Chess Yearbook Novelty contest, puzzle contest
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