T.D.

This movement has previously surfaced, but was unsuccessful. Ironically, the "Chess as Olympic Sport" campaign encountered bitter resistance from many chessplayers, who balked at the stringent IOC/WADA drug-testing regimen (relatively moderate doses of caffeine, for instance, would be verboten). A lot of chessplayers are nonconformists (no shit, Sherlock!), and vehemently opposed to bureaucratic testing. And there were serious cost implications: for instance, American FIDE- [international chess federation] rated tournaments would have been required to conduct costly dope testing, which organizers couldn't be expected to afford.

I can't believe people missed out on this -- Chess-Boxing! http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1821639,00.html Not to get too Veblenesque, but a society that comes up with things like this, or paying people to play video games, or snowboard (and now off-road unicycling!) just doesn't have its priorities in order. I'm very familiar with the "chessboxing" stories, as is Conn (and various other chess enthusiast posters who follow the Chessbase site). It's always been clear to me that chessboxing is essentially an extravagant (I can't come up with the right quasi-synonym for "degenerate" that I've been searching for) performance art spectacle cooked up for jaded urbanites. There's a large element of tongue-in-cheek to the Chessbase coverage.

I'm not going to get into the "is chess a sport?" debate, but will say that, in addition to a certain aggression/competitiveness, competitive chess requires serious mental and physical stamina. Some tournament games can take as long as seven hours, and the intense thought and pressure over such a long time is incredibly stressful. I occasionally play offhand in a chess club, and although I'm in good physical condition, I really run out of gas (mentally and physically) after only about two hours of chess!

Thanks, but this story has been out for at least a couple of weeks (it's in my mailbox, dated November 12). Worth reading if you haven't seen it, though.

Little League, Pony League baseball YMCA basketball, soccer, flag football Various youth, intramural (college) and adult recreational hockey leagues Some track, cross-country in Jr. High and HS. Basketball in the one year I attended a small (international overseas) high school, also a (very) little rugby. Occasional intramural/adult softball leagues, though I really don't like the game. Few games in a NYC corporate basketball league (don't dig the game). Never truly had the team sports mentality, though I really enjoyed playing hockey, and participated in it the most of any sport (until just after 40). As I got older, I got into distance running (marathons), and later cycling (recreational only). Now that I'm middle-aged, feeble and nursing a lot of old injuries, I do some yoga to stay flexible and keep weight down (yeah, I know it seems ridiculous, but it's fairly effective and also promotes a healthy diet).

Yeah, MSU should go to a reasonably high-profile bowl. I expect they'll get hammered there [Disclaimer: I'm an alumnus and fan, so I'm being realistic, not bad-mouthing the team], but still a good season, and better than expected.

GA, are any gambling odds available? I haven't been able to find any. [i know nothing about the CFL, but was going to crib a pick based on point spread and over/under lines...]

I've been following "dadashampoo"'s eBay auctions for a long time, and have won at least one. Definitely an interesting seller, and uses funny flowery language to describe the items iirc . Another seller with interesting jazz items is "sgt_ishi". [Disclaimer: I have no connection whatsoever with these sellers, but have been a satisfied customer, blah blah blah.]

The FIDE Chess Olympiad in Dresden has started (now three rounds in). As usual, chessbase.com is posting updates, including many chess babe shots. [i posted this here so as not to monopolize the chess babe thread. ]

Yeah, you got me. I actually followed the link to check up on all the new titles...

Used to enjoy his music on radio back in the '80s. I only have one album, a compilation "Waiting for a Miracle: Singles 1970-87" which I like a lot. The songs are left-wing and highly politically engaged, but I never noticed any particularly Christian slant, and never even thought of it, given tunes like "If I had a rocket launcher".

Here's my guess at the endgame study: White needs to get the Black bishop off the g1-a7 diagonal to promote his a-pawn, so forcing a bishop swap with 1. Bf2 is an obvious try. This seems pointless after 1...K:d5, but then I think that the subtle 2. a6! might win.

Yeah, forced but I liked the "combine offense and defense" theme. Endgame studies are definitely tougher and more aesthetic, but I like "combination" puzzles because I study them a lot ; chessgames.com has a good one every day, for instance.

I think I see the solution... Here's a pretty real-life puzzle (courtesy Tim Krabbé's excellent site): Kamsky-J. Polgár, Buenos Aires 1994 Black to play and win

Anyone heard/can comment on the Al Haig? Thanks.

Yes, great album. I bought this as a steal (after it was OOP) at a used shop, without tray card but with booklet. It was the first IQ-led recording I bought (having only heard the one track on Sonny Clark's Leaping and Loping), but I've subsequently purchased 'em all. I dig the fact that it's kind of 2 albums in one (bluesy vs. ballads). Surely Easy Living must be somewhere in the RVG queue...

Hope you can work the problem out. I've had only good experiences with Jazz Loft. Have found Alan very responsive, and "one of the good guys."

:party: (I considered translating a greeting into Italian, but since I don't speak any Italian, that would have been lame.)

Happy birthday! :party: Rather than success for your beloved Patriots, I'll wish you a bounteous crop of Elo (chess rating) points in the new year, and many chessic babe encounters.

I listen to a lot of piano music, and really enjoy a lot of the 12-tone stuff, e.g. Barraqué's Sonata (come to think of it, all of his music is excellent, though sadly the performance of the Sonata on the cpo Complete Barraqué box is horrendous), Schönberg, Babbitt, Stefan Wolpe, B.A. Zimmermann. Never got into Boulez very much, and don't care for the extremely pointillistic serialist style (e.g. a lot of Stockhausen).

Not that I don't listen to recordings, but Crumb's music often has a sort of ritualistic quality that seems much more effective live (IMO). Once heard Eleven Echoes of Autumn 1965 at a small obscure concert at a church in NYC, and it was one of my most memorable concert experiences. Got a recording (on the Swiss Jecklin label) years later, and it just wasn't the same. OTOH, the ritualistic thing may not always work: saw/heard Vox Baleanae at Miller Theater in NYC, and and wasn't so impressed either musically or theatrically (players wore masks IIRC). I haven't purchased many of the Bridge CD series, because I find his work a bit uneven.

Happy Birthday! Many causes for celebration! :party:

With the Bengals' win, Lions now the only winless club.

Sad news. RIP. I've read several of his books, saw him lecture at the NY Public Library not too many years ago, and heard many Chicago radio shows in the old days.

It was f*****g hell here recently... Got hit with a freak early snowstorm Monday night through Tuesday. Twenty inches of wet snow, which no one was prepared for. Trees down all over (some still had leaves, which didn't help). Lost power for close to 80 hours, just got it back this evening. Fortunately it only got down to around 20 the next couple of nights, so no pipes froze. Had to shovel everything out by hand, as local plow guy hadn't yet put either plow or studded snow tires on his truck.