Asheville Mural Project No.2

I 'mirrored' this photo so the letters on the ball player's jacket would read 'CH' instead of its mirror image. After I did this I noticed the chess board was set up incorrectly. Sometimes you can't win.

AMP Underpass 2 © Flickr user zen under Creative Commons.

While I was browsing the photographer's other AMP photos, I found the same photo I used a year ago in Chess in Asheville. Then I found both AMP chess photos combined in a single image -- AMP Asheville mural project projected -- with the ball player sitting in front of Black pieces. Somebody in Asheville likes chess.

Folkestone 1933

An eBay auction for the photo shown below caught my attention when I recognized Vera Menchik standing behind the table. Was this perhaps a pre-WWII Women's World Championship? I didn't understand the title -- 'Women play CHESS ± 1930 Outremont + Schartzmann' -- so I sent a question asking if the information was on the back of the photo. The seller, located in the Netherlands, kindly attached a scan to his reply. Written in French, it said, 'Women's chess championship. From left to right Mme Lucien D Outremont and Mlle Schartzmann, champion of the tournament. Photo Meurisse.'

On my page World Chess Championship (Women) : 1927-39 Title Tournaments, I have a scanned crosstable of Folkestone 1933, an eight-player double round robin, which Menchik won with a perfect score. The scan, from Kazic's 'International Championship Chess' (Batsford 1974), mentions both D'Autremont and Schwartzmann. It appeared to be the same event recorded in the eBay photo and I decided to bid on it if there was little interest.

The photo received nine bids from six different bidders with a winning bid of US $109.50. The price jumped from $32 to the final bid in the last minute of the auction, indicating that other bidders also recognized its historical importance. While the winning bid won't make the item a candidate for my series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price, it does show that there is serious interest in early women's events.

Garry's Story

Is there any instructional material by GMs that can equal or exceed the quality that I highlighted in Improve Your Chess with the Master Game? It's a tall order, but in the 30 years since the BBC's legendary Master Game series aired, there must have been some other chess instruction in video format that was both exceptionally interesting and exceptionally entertaining.

Like many players, I'm constantly on the watch for any such video material that I haven't seen before. Last month I was happy to find on YouTube a series of clips taken from Kasparov's 'My Story', a set of DVDs released in 2000. The first clip in the series, on the EpicChess channel, is at

• Kasparov - From The Start To The End - Episode 1

Unfortunately, the series did not seem to be complete, meaning it was probably under construction. I had the feeling I had seen the introduction on YouTube before and quickly located a similar series on the NorthernUnion channel starting with

• Kasparov, My story, part 1

This second version seemed to be complete, which I confirmed by watching all 36(!) parts in my spare time. The first 34 parts are each about 10 minutes long, while the last two parts are around 90 minutes each, totaling more than eight hours of viewing. Each part is chained to the next by the 'related' mechanism.

If you'd rather have your own real (and legal) copy of the same video, you can find it on Amazon.com: "kasparov my story", and elsewhere. The original set of five DVDs carried the following titles:-

Complete Set, Volumes 1-5
Part 1 - Teenage Prodigy
Part 2 - Joining the Elite
Part 3 - Rebels and Renegades
Part 4 - Hitting the Wall
Part 5 - Rite of Passage

I'll have more to say about this resource in future posts.

Chess Is/Isn't a Sport

That's a wrap! Adding Chess as Sport to my page on Chess for Fun brought me to the last article to be converted on the list I developed for Where to Go From Here. What's next for my old About.com articles? After I bring Taking Inventory up to date, I'll take another look at what hasn't been converted. Anything related to the material identified in Improve Your Chess Game would be an obvious candidate.

Chess Merit Badge

This video clip is from Youtube channel BSAIntComm, 'The Internal Communications Team at the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.'

The Buzz - September 23, 2011, "Chess Merit Badge" (2:16) • 'Jerry Nash from the U.S. Chess Federation shares highlights from the recent launch of the Chess merit badge.'

For the Chess Merit Badge requirements, see Introduction to Merit Badges > Chess on Scouting.org.

Capodimonte Figurines

Whenever I gather material for another post in this series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price, I try to pick something unusual. While chess playing porcelain figurines are quite common, any piece that sells for a three figure price tag is definitely unusual. The figurine pictured below was titled 'Vintage Dresden Lace; Capodimonte Figurines; Playing Chess, Mark Crown N', received 23 bids from six bidders, and sold for US $761.

Capodimonte Figurines Playing Chess

I assume that's a mirror behind the couple to show the back of the piece. The description said,

You are looking at a wonderful example of porcelain artistry at it's best!! This lovely French-looking couple dressed in Dresden Lace is playing a game of chess on an exquisite Louis XIV table. Pink porcelain roses look like they were used to catch layers of lace to make swags ~ her tiny waist is corseted ~ her hair hangs in ringlets. He is dressed in a typical 18th century outfit in beautiful dark lavender colors and gold pants. The Dresden lace can be found on the collar and sleeves of his outfit. They are seated on exquisite French chairs atop a lovely lavender and blue carpet. There are so many perfect details here, that you really have to look well or you can miss it. This must be the very top of the line Dresden Lace Capodimonte.

From what I can determine, the blue mark on the bottom of the piece ~ a crown with the letter "N" is the mark of Italian Capodimonte. I believe it is circa 1910-1950 - maybe older? • Overall, it is in lovely condition. The lace is all intact. I don't see any chips or cracks. This collector really took great care of her collection. • Measures: 10 inches wide, 6.5 inches tall, and 6.5 inches deep. This piece is quite heavy.

What makes it so valuable to collectors? I imagine the name Capodimonte has something to do with it (see Capodimonte porcelain on Wikipedia for more about the brand), but the key phrase is undoubtedly 'lovely condition, intact' etc. etc. That porcelain lace dress is easily damaged.

October Chess Improvement Carnival (Here on CFAA)

Yikes! Only two weeks to go before the next blog carnival, to be hosted here on Chess for All Ages, and I haven't a clue what to do. I don't even know what to wear. Where are the blog posts I'm supposed to exhibit?

If you want to submit a post but aren't sure what's required, see the announcement for the most recent carnival at September Carnival is up! If you want to see all previous carnivals, going back to January 2011, there's a complete list at Blog Carnival - Chess Improvement Carnival, under the tab for 'Past Posts'.

Don't leave me hanging! The submission form is here: Submit an Article to a Carnival. And somebody tell me what I'm expected to wear!