Hazel's Mind Bender

How about this one?

Two players are playing a regular chess game against one another. They are using a standard 8 by 8 square board. The only valuable piece left on the board is a single rook. The player with the rook lifts it, places it down, and declares "Checkmate!". However, the rook is neither on the same file nor the same rank as the king. How is this possible?

Three possible answers:

The tricky answer: "The king" referred to in the question is not the one which is checkmated. A sample position: white king b6, white rook c8, black king a8. The white king is neither on the same file nor the same rank as the white rook, yet that is irrelevant to the fact that the black king is checkmated.

The silly answer: The "lifted" rook was already off the board (the player was simply playing around with it while he was thinking) . The actual checkmating rook was not lifted, but instead, simply shifted to the mating position.

The really silly answer: The two players have no idea how to play chess?! Silly, but not impossible...

Hazel's Mind Bender

Can you figure it out?

One bright, sunny day, a cafe owner decided to hold a chess tournament. In order to promote some excitement, he chose a blitz (5-minute) time control. The tournament was fairly successful, with a number of players of different age and skill level. As the cafe owner made his way through the crowd, he noticed one player staring intensely at the board. The game had already begun, and the clock was ticking. Ten minutes later, he was still staring at the board, yet neither his flag nor his opponent's flag had fallen. Assuming the clocks were functioning properly (with no lags), and clocks were not stopped during a game, how is this possible?

Note: Also assume the game was won on time.

Answer: The player watching the game had already finished his round, having checkmated his opponent (or vice versa) before either flag fell. An eager chess enthusiast, he went over to watch his friend's game, which was still in progress. When the game ended, the player reviewed it with his friend, and thus, was still staring at the same board ten minutes later!

The cafe owner probably noticed because he wanted to start the next round :)

So Proud!!!

Congrats to all teams who participated in the Ontario Team Tournament this weekend!

(and so proud of my Seneca students!)

Here are the results for K-3 and K-6:

K-3

1st - Seneca Hill 3A

2nd - Upper Canada College A

3rd - Palmerston

K-6

1st - Denlow
2nd - Crosby 2

3rd - Seneca Hill 6A

These teams will attend the Ontario-Quebec match in Kingston later this spring. Good luck!

Upcoming event for camels to explore!

Part 1: The camels discover the game of "chess".

Part 2: Oscar discusses a "problem" with his opponent.

Part 3: Oscar explains "sandbagging" in the once-luxury game.

Part 4:

"Eventually, the royal game itself became an insignificant piece that would slowly fade away..."

The two camels looked at each other. Could Oscar be right? In the desert, humans and animals were taught to cooperate with each other in order to survive, not to pursue individual greed! How could a single game break such a long-held unity?

As the camels pondered this question, Oscar continued to win against his opponent. Both seemed tired. It had been a long day.

With one last hand movement, Oscar indicated that another game had ended. "My friend, it has been such a pleasure. Fond memories. And it seems you are improving. Would you consider joining me in the Ma'at tournament next week? It's one of the only competitions left in all of Egypt."

Oscar's opponent thought about it for a moment, and then nodded, "That sounds good. I'll be there."

"Great, I shall see you then. So long for now. Don't forget what I have told you."

With that, the two parted. The camels were alone once again. They began to reflect on their mysterious encounter. What adventures would await them in the chess world? What was this approaching tournament? The possibilities seemed endless.

...to be continued!!!

(Sorry, cut short due to illness. I'll try to add more when I'm better.)

Note: Ma'at is the Egyptian goddess of "truth, justice, and harmony", married to Thoth, the god of wisdom...

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/egypt/maat.htm

Strange Coincidence!

I was looking for some cake recipes, and ironically came across this one,

"Chess Cake Bars"

(Coincidentally written by a chef named Hazel Smith)

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
2 eggs

1/2 cup soft butter

1 pkg. confectioner's sugar

8 oz. soft cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease 9 x 13 pan.

3. Beat eggs. Combine with cake mix and soft butter. Mix well.

4. Press into pan.

5. Combine sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Beat until smooth.

6. Spread over cake mixture.

7. Bake for 35 minutes.

8. Cool and cut into squares.

Voila! I should try making it sometime...

Recipe: http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1506690/08012005/id_0.jhtml

Picture: http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3609

Hazel's Jokes!

Do chess players like taking photos?

Answer: Of course! They love seeing them develop!

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Some great sites to view photos:

Monroi (http://www.monroi.com/chess-videos-photos.html)

Susan Polgar (http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/)

Egis Photo Gallery (http://www.kris-egis.com/egisphoto/index.php)

Another Awesome Blog!

The "Geeky Gadgets" blog features a wide array of interesting devices and inventions...check out these glow sets!

http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/