World Chess Championships.
I will be the first to admit that chess has a "nerdy" stigma attached to it. It just seems to involve so much thinking doesnt it? But just like the show "Revenge of the Nerds", minorities can become powerful if they break out of their shell. Although i really doubt that the show had any such moral intentions in the first place.
Then again, chess is actually extremely 'huge' in Singapore, especially with a new generation of children that are being cultivated to NOT grow up with video games. Coupled with the fact the Singaporeans do not ice skate and sky dive. Furthermore, they actually find chess exciting. Yes, black and white pieces moving around a checkered board may in fact constituite fun.
America is actually promoting chess to many poorer nieghbourhoods in order to turn less fortunate children away from crime. Apparently chess relieves teenage angst in a more socially acceptable way, not to mention its highly cost-effective. I am not trying to officially sanction my "boring" lifestyle. Its just that my introduction got a bit out of hand. The lady setting up many chess schools in America goes by the name of Susan Polgar and is the elder sister of Judit, who is currently the only female in top 10 (maybe 20-30) world chess rankings.
While Susan may have migrated to the USA, her younger sister is playing for Hungary in the now ongoing world-chess championships. Frankly, i dont mind a women winning the tournament because it doesnt prove anything in the world of chess. Its just means you are better at chess,which is about mental toughness and chess skill, which is also brain related. And Judit has quite a violent attacking style that i rather (unsuccessfully) try to employ.
The round-robin style championships also features Kasimdzhanov from Uzbekistan, which i also have no qualms if he wins. Mainly due to him being the least favourite to succeed in doing so. A respected chess statician (yes they have that too), sadly put him with a meagre 3% chance. I mean its already bad enough that he has an unspellable name and comes from an unpronouncable country. So, if he really isnt that fancied, and he wins, he must really have done something special to overcome the odds. Hence he is good for my books.
Next up is Michael Adams from England. And i quite like him because i watch English Premiere League soccer.
My most favourite though is Alexander Morozevich. Not only because his first name starts with an A. But he has a crazed, unpredictable, style that people cant define. With so much theory in chess due to technological advancements, he has been dubbed a breath of fresh air. And i think he is the most handsome of the lot too.
Basically, everyone from Asia supports Vishy Anand from India to win. But then again "Russian" states are inherently in Asia. He is the oldest contestant and has symphathy votes for only being 2nd to Kasparov, who recently retired.
Topalov from Bulgaria is the most solid attacker of the lot, which is a euphemism that he is good cause he attacks with no remorse at the right times and plays defensively also at accurate moments. This makes him cool with me too, because he has a very strong chance of winning.
That leaves Peter Leko from Hungary and Peter Svidler from Russia. Svidler is rather cute and chubby and has a earring like the ancient Agassi. You can't really be against such characters. Leko is to me too safe a player and gets lots of draws. If in principle, the winner plays Kramnik who also plays ultra defensively, it will make for a very boring spectacle. However, Leko plays soccer and is the friendliest to journalists. Furthermore, Peter is the name of Louise's dad.
This thus concludes the dilemma of chess playing. I dedicate it to Louise, who often puts up with irrelevant chess material that i bombard her with at highly inconvenient times. Like when Hippopotamuses and Orang Utans are ransacking our fridge. Jokes aside, Hippopotamus and Orang Utan are names of 2 chess openings. Which casts all doubts aside for you, the reader, that chess players are mentally disturbed.
Then again, chess is actually extremely 'huge' in Singapore, especially with a new generation of children that are being cultivated to NOT grow up with video games. Coupled with the fact the Singaporeans do not ice skate and sky dive. Furthermore, they actually find chess exciting. Yes, black and white pieces moving around a checkered board may in fact constituite fun.
America is actually promoting chess to many poorer nieghbourhoods in order to turn less fortunate children away from crime. Apparently chess relieves teenage angst in a more socially acceptable way, not to mention its highly cost-effective. I am not trying to officially sanction my "boring" lifestyle. Its just that my introduction got a bit out of hand. The lady setting up many chess schools in America goes by the name of Susan Polgar and is the elder sister of Judit, who is currently the only female in top 10 (maybe 20-30) world chess rankings.
While Susan may have migrated to the USA, her younger sister is playing for Hungary in the now ongoing world-chess championships. Frankly, i dont mind a women winning the tournament because it doesnt prove anything in the world of chess. Its just means you are better at chess,which is about mental toughness and chess skill, which is also brain related. And Judit has quite a violent attacking style that i rather (unsuccessfully) try to employ.
The round-robin style championships also features Kasimdzhanov from Uzbekistan, which i also have no qualms if he wins. Mainly due to him being the least favourite to succeed in doing so. A respected chess statician (yes they have that too), sadly put him with a meagre 3% chance. I mean its already bad enough that he has an unspellable name and comes from an unpronouncable country. So, if he really isnt that fancied, and he wins, he must really have done something special to overcome the odds. Hence he is good for my books.
Next up is Michael Adams from England. And i quite like him because i watch English Premiere League soccer.
My most favourite though is Alexander Morozevich. Not only because his first name starts with an A. But he has a crazed, unpredictable, style that people cant define. With so much theory in chess due to technological advancements, he has been dubbed a breath of fresh air. And i think he is the most handsome of the lot too.
Basically, everyone from Asia supports Vishy Anand from India to win. But then again "Russian" states are inherently in Asia. He is the oldest contestant and has symphathy votes for only being 2nd to Kasparov, who recently retired.
Topalov from Bulgaria is the most solid attacker of the lot, which is a euphemism that he is good cause he attacks with no remorse at the right times and plays defensively also at accurate moments. This makes him cool with me too, because he has a very strong chance of winning.
That leaves Peter Leko from Hungary and Peter Svidler from Russia. Svidler is rather cute and chubby and has a earring like the ancient Agassi. You can't really be against such characters. Leko is to me too safe a player and gets lots of draws. If in principle, the winner plays Kramnik who also plays ultra defensively, it will make for a very boring spectacle. However, Leko plays soccer and is the friendliest to journalists. Furthermore, Peter is the name of Louise's dad.
This thus concludes the dilemma of chess playing. I dedicate it to Louise, who often puts up with irrelevant chess material that i bombard her with at highly inconvenient times. Like when Hippopotamuses and Orang Utans are ransacking our fridge. Jokes aside, Hippopotamus and Orang Utan are names of 2 chess openings. Which casts all doubts aside for you, the reader, that chess players are mentally disturbed.
posted by efarmer at 9:40:00 PM
1 Comments:
i tried to read this entry about chess and world chess championships...haha.. but i couldnt focus and so i jumped to the last paragraph where u said u dedicate this to louise.. hehee..last part is interesting.. =P
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