22
Oct
Two neighbors went from playing chess to physically fighting - leaving one Iowa City man dead. Police charged David Christian with second-degree homicide and public intoxication.
7
Oct
The 1st Mind Sports Games, a multi-game competition, is being held in Beijing. The events include chess, draughts (checkers), bridge, xiangqi and go. The event has attracted more than 3,000 players from 143 countries. There are thirty-five gold medals up for grabs.
China claimed their first gold metal yesterday when Wang Yang won the men’s rapid Xiangqi competition. Russian “Chess Queen” Alexandra Kosteniuk earned a gold metal in the women’s chess individual blitz competition.
The competitions will last until October 18th.
3
Oct
Reb Fountain, a New Zealand musician created a chessboxing themed music video.
The third meeting of the Abstract Strategy Game Club was the best yet. We played a four player chess variant called Sceptre 1027 AD. It was produced in 1986 by a company located in Indiana called Horizon Games, Inc.
The players may use up to nine boards to create the playing environment. The openness creates a chaotic atmosphere which is a bit overwhelming at first. The board sections have both dark and light squares (checkered) like chess, but have terrain which influences the way the pieces may move. It was a lot of fun, but we invested a lot of time learning the game. There were a lot of mistakes, mostly over confusion with the terrain, and illegal moves had to be taken back. We talked about playing it again next meeting, so we’ll see if the mistakes decrease and the strategy increases. Overall, we had a blast playing it, and if you can get your hands on a set, I recommend playing it with some of your more open-minded and patient friends.
29
Sep
Astronaut Greg Chamitoff made his first move in the chess match against the world. NASA and USCF have teamed up to create a Space vs. Earth chess match. A chess team from Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue, Washington is selecting four moves for the rest of us to vote on. The move with the most votes will be played. I voted for 1…Ng8-f6
Indianapolis Abstract Strategy Game Club successfully met for the second time Thursday night. We played Othello, Checkers, Chess, and Tablut. Our location is perfect because of the amount of available tables and chairs. Meeting in an area in a grocery store allows members to eat dinner comfortably while playing.
According to the Liverpool Daily Post, the 4th EU Individual Open Chess Championships attracted sixty-five million web viewings. This is a 250% increase over last year’s tournament, showing how Chess has continued to be incredibly popular through out the world. This tournament was held at Liverpool’s World Museum, and had 150 players, including 50 Grandmasters.
Thursday night marked the first Indianapolis Abstract Strategy Game Club meeting. The meeting started at 6pm and ended around 9pm. Othello was the game of choice, and looks like it may be a great gateway game. We had at least one person walk bye and ask about Othello. Thanks again to The Game Preserve for making the game donation.
