Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Cool Chess Sets

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Monday, December 28, 2009

Camels learn the truth about chess...

Part 1: The camels discover the game of "chess".
Part 2: Oscar discusses a "problem" with his opponent.
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Part 3:
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Oscar sighed. "Hasn't anyone explained this to you? There's only one problem with this game..."
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"A problem? What ever could it be?"
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"Something you'll eventually find out. It's a fantastic game, yet..."
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Oscar paused for a second before continuing,"...there's more strategy to it than what you see on the board."
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His opponent seemed confused.
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"You see, when I was a young lad, chess was a royal game. It was played in lavish palaces, decorated in the finest gold, silver, and white diamonds. People came from all over the world to see the matches, and those who performed well lived in luxury."
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Oscar's opponent's eyes began to dazzle. He could see the brightness of the light gleaming on his pieces. For a moment, even his small rickety stool began to feel like a throne. "Amazing! But tell me, Oscar, why do we live in rags?"
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"Haven't you ever heard of the expression 'it's too good to be true'? Well, that's exactly what happened. As more and more money was piled into the game, people became increasingly greedy...and that was just the start of the downfall"
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"Please tell me more."
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"Look closer at what I have in my hand."
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"A small bag?"
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"Not just any small bag. This kind of bag was once used to hold just about anything a person in the desert needed. It could hold water better than a metal container. It could hold salt and spices...money and valuables. It could even be used as a lucky charm. Deserters would carry hundreds of these little pouches everywhere they would go."
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"And how does this relate to chess?"
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"Well, one of the most common uses for these bags was as a weight. Each time a heavy load needed to be tied down, several little bags were filled with sand to keep the load in place. They became known as 'sand bags'."
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"I still don't see where this is going."
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"Hang on. I'm getting there. Though that was the most common use, chess players found another solution. By then, chess tournaments had become so large, expensive, and potentially rewarding that players would go to any extent to get an unfair advantage."
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"How would they do that?"
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"In smaller tournaments, players knew each other fairly well. They would talk between games, and figure out each other's style of play. Some even became friends. Using this knowledge, some players would fill sand bags with specific game information. This included who had the most potential in larger tournaments, and who was just in it for fun. These information collectors would pay the tournament coordinator (who they often knew very well) to organize the playing schedule based on a calculated mapping scheme. This way, the less serious players would play against the rising stars, who were instructed to lose on purpose."
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"I think I see how this works."
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"When a larger tournament was held, the stars were placed in groups much lower than their skill level. They would go on to win much larger prizes for their particular region. Meanwhile, the less serious players would be satisfied with their winnings in smaller tournaments, and could tolerate many larger tournament losses. While some were suspicious, no one was able to find any evidence of foul play as the information was hidden in the thousands of sand bags that circulated daily. This became known as 'sandbagging'"
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"Then wouldn't the process of fortune continue forever?"
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"Eventually, sandbagging became so widespread that tournament groups became a mess. Coordinators began to argue with sandbaggers. Younger stars became discouraged with losing all the time in the more frequent smaller tournaments, especially if they couldn't really afford to attend all the larger events. The list goes on, but one thing's for sure...no one could stand the chaos stemming from the basic drive for money. Eventually, the royal game itself became an insignificant piece that would slowly fade away..."
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...to be continued!!!
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Note: This isn't really how 'sandbagging' works. According to Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sand%20bagging), sandbagging means "to deliberately perform at a lower level than you are capable of".
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In chess, this can easily become an issue, since players are grouped based on rating. Ratings can be somewhat manipulated in a variety of ways. I have included a variety of links that discuss the issue of sandbagging:
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World Youth Revision

U10 Open
*Previously, the crosstable was incomplete

Dezheng Kong 6.5/11 --> 36th place/148
Biggest upsets: Beat Nikita Klepikov (1871 RUS) who finished 70th place, and Leonid Sawlin (1865 GER) who finished 54th place.

William Graif 5.5/11 --> 75th place/148
Biggest upset: Drew Evgeny Shtembuliak (2017 UKR) who finished 25th place.

U16 Open and Girls
*Sorry, rankings are still missing from the official site.
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Friday, December 25, 2009

Happy Holidays!

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Hazel's Holiday Jokes!

Which game was most popular at the Christmas tournament?
Answer: Rudolph's! People had "red" about it from all over!
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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Last Minute Gift Guide Part 2

An opponent anywhere, anytime (and at 64 levels)
Mephisto Junior Master Chess Computer $69.99
F. G. Bradley's
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Who came up with this cute edition?
Super Mario Brothers Chess Set $54.99
F. G. Bradley's
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Three in one -- cool colours!
Triple play 3-in-one game $31.50
UMBRA
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Great gift for the kids
Playmate chess set $31.50
UMBRA
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Can you score a hole in one?
Golf Chess $39.95
Strategy Games
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Simply adorable!
Peanuts Chess in a Tin $74.95
Strategy Games
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Combining the hit movie and a classic game of chess
Transformers Chess Set $39.95 US
Amazon.com
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Tutorial, scoring, and 3-D game boards
Brain Games: Chess (software) $23.28
Office Depot
http://www.officedepot.ca/a/products/554115/Brain-Games-Chess/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Involves children by portraying chess in a variety of backgrounds
Cyber Chess (software) $12.99
Office Depot
http://www.officedepot.ca/a/products/603883/Cyber-Chess/
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A bargain for all players!
Chessmaster 10 (software) $9.99
Future Shop
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=ENG&sku_id=0665000FS10106117&catid=11125

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The broader version of chessmaster, with input from Josh Waitzkin
Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition (The Art of Learning Chess) (software) $41.96
Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/Chessmaster-Grandmaster-Art-Learning-Chess/dp/B000SL4ANE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1261309453&sr=1-1
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Fantastic software for children
Various editions, most around $29.99
Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_i_1?rh=i%3Asoftware%2Ck%3ALearn+to+play+chess&keywords=Learn+to+play+chess&ie=UTF8&qid=1261310269
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As cheap as it gets
FRITZ CHESS - GRANDMASTER CHALLENGE III (software) $6.56
Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/FRITZ-CHESS-GRANDMASTER-CHALLENGE-III/dp/B001KJAE1K/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&gid=1261310196&sr=1-12
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Fun western and pirate themes
Lego Chess (software) $34.04
Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/Lego-Chess/dp/B000F6LZ94/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF&s=videogames&qid=1261310415&sr=1-24
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Kids love folding their very own pieces!
Paper Chess (softcover) $15.68
Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/Paper-Chess-Create-Detachable-Punch-out/dp/0762437448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261309679&sr=8-1
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Amusing magnets
Mini Magnetic Games: Chess (Hardcover) $8.50
Amazon.ca OR Chapters.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/Mini-Magnetic-Games-Contains-Pieces/dp/0764161237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=126130975&sr=8-1 OR
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Mini-Magnetic-Games-Chess-Contains-John-Tremaine-Tony-Potter/9780764161230-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527chess%2527
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On special -- what a deal!
How Life Imitates Chess: Making The Right Moves - From The Board To The Boardroom (softcover) $5.99
Chapters.ca
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/How-Life-Imitates-Chess-Making-KASPAROV-GARRY/9781596913875-item.html?ref=Books%3a+Search+Top+Sellers
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Similar to my first chess book. Good for children who are new to the game.
Starting Chess (softcover) $5.50
Chapters.ca
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Starting-Chess-H-Castor/9780794501150-item.html?ref=Search+Home%3a+%2527chess%2527
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A nice read for business-savvy adults
Three Moves Ahead: What Chess Can Teach You About Business (hardcover) $17.81
Chapters.ca
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Three-Moves-Ahead-What-Chess-Bob-Rice/9780470178218-item.html?ref=Search+Home%3a+%2527chess%2527
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Revisit 150 years of chess play from 1798 to 1938
500 Master Games of Chess (softcover) $16.93
Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/500-Master-Games-Chess-Mont/dp/0486232085/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261309886&sr=1-1
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Large variety of posters
AllPosters.com
http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?startat=%2Fgallery.asp&CID=E798FA3497FA41E1808EB75BAA91AD77&txtSearch=Chess&imageField2.x=4&imageField2.y=14 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New art print
Sandro Del Prete (Folded Chess) Art Poster Print - 24" X 36" $6.99
Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/Sandro-Prete-Folded-Chess-Poster/dp/B00306PCA4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1261310613&sr=1-4
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Cute print -- who said only humans can play chess?
It's A Cat and Mouse Game Art Print - 16" X 20" $4.99
Amazon.ca
http://www.amazon.ca/Mouse-Print-POSTER-kitten-chess/dp/B002ULOO0E/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1261310613&sr=1-15
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NOTE: Items listed may not arrive before Christmas depending on availability. Shipping charges may apply. See websites for details. In some cases, items may be available in-store.

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Last Minute Gift Guide Part 1

I was looking around online and found some great gift ideas to share!
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Bring it anywhere!
Chess Game in a Tin $7.99
F. G. Bradley's
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Perfect for the aspiring student
I Beat My Dad At Chess Leather Bookmark $2.00
Strategy Games
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For those special memories
Chess Picture Frame $19.95
Strategy Games
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Make your holiday dinner special
Napkin Holder Chess $14.95
Strategy Games
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The shirt says it all
I Love Chess t-shirt $21.80
Zazzle
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For the tournament player
Saitek Game Clock III $59.95
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For the tournament player
Saitek Game Clock for Scholastic Chess $39.95
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For the tournament player and collectible (signed by Susan Polgar)!
Saitek Competition Game Timer Autographed $34.95 US
Polgar Chess
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A basic set for new players
Game, Board Classic Chess $4.99
Home Hardware
Cool design!
Mephisto Travel Hand Held Chess Computer $59.99
F. G. Bradley's
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New colours
Polgar Olympic Chess Set $19.95 US
Polgar chess
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Real jade
Handmade Green & Black Chinese Jade Chess $72.12
Sam's Club
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Pavilion - Chess/Checkers/Chinese Checkers $11.97
Toys R Us
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Other Items (will add more later)....see part 2 above
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