Albania find dates Europe chess to sixth century
(07/26/2002) (Agencies)
Archaeologists in Albania have found what appears to be Europe's oldest chessman, suggesting the game was played on the continent at least 500 years earlier than previously thought, a British professor said on Thursday.
The ivory piece was found in the ancient southern Albanian city of Butrint in a Roman palace dated to the fifth or sixth centuries, said archaeology professor Richard Hodges of East Anglia University.
"We are wondering if it is the king or queen because it has a little cross but we are not sure," Hodges told Reuters by phone.
Chess is believed to have originated in India in the fourth or fifth centuries, and came to Europe via the Silk Road.
Historians believe the game was played by the upper classes throughout Europe by the early 12th century, based on the walrus-ivory chessmen found in Scotland's Outer Hebrides and other pieces from as far as southern Italy.
"However, it now looks as though it was already being played in the central Mediterranean over 500 years earlier," said Hodges, scientific leader of the Burint Foundation which supports local archaeologists.
Don't move that piece! They might still be in the middle of a game! <|:)~
If they don't know what it is, how can they tell it's a chess piece?
and on it a small "made in china" decal
So many missing pieces and I am not referring to the chess set.
a.cricket
The cross did becomes a symbol of Christianity until well into the third century. It is possible this is just an icon rather than a chess piece? It seems like a short time to go from a holy symbol to an ornament on a chess piece.
But I don't know much about the history of chess so maybe I'm clueless.
Melbourne Herald Sun
1 April 1998
Robert Cowley claims he would have won a state chess championship - if his opponent's breasts had not got in the way.
Mr. Cowley, 50, claims he was unable to keep his eyes off Ngan Koshnitsky's cleavage.
Part-way through the six-round South Australian state contest he complained to organizers about the 24-year-old reigning Australian women's champion's penchant for revealing tops.
The bare flesh - plus the fact that she played "very well" - had cost him the title and prevented him from concentrating on the game, he claimed yesterday. Miss Koshnitsky beat Mr. Cowley 4-2 in last month's competition.
She said yesterday that unlike most of her chess-playing counterparts she liked wearing sexy clothes, but said "it shouldn't be an issue at all".
His complaint against her manner of dress was nothing more than a stupid excuse for losing. "It makes me angry that he didn't think I was good enough to win," she said. "I believe that most men can't accept losing a game against a woman."
Mr. Cowley, the 1978 and 1992 SA chess champion, said Miss Koshnitsky's clothes were more suited to a disco than a chess game. He had tried to avert his eyes "but it was very hard not to see it (her cleavage)".
I put my hands across my forehead but that didn't work very well, so now I may consider wearing a wide-brimmed hat," he said. The skimpy top was "a real distraction for me," he said, adding chess was "difficult enough as it is without extra problems".
Mr. Cowley, who plays for "mental exercise, social interaction, discipline and prestige", said he liked "to be able to think of the game and not be distracted by other things".
But he would not say whether he thought Miss Koshnitsky's mode of dress was a deliberate move.
Under the laws of chess, it is forbidden to distract or annoy one's opponent.
Miss Koshnitsky said she had no intention to make Mr. Cowley uncomfortable. She dressed the way she did "because I'm young, I want to wear nice cloths and be happy - and that's it".
She accused him of making a cheap excuse for losing to a woman.
Miss Koshnitsky, a professional chess player who migrated to Australia four years ago, flies to Malaysia next week to contest the Asian women's championship.
The vice-president of the SA Chess Association, Evelyn Koshnitsky, 82, said her former daughter-in-law won the title of state champion on her own merits.
It was Mr. Cowley's problem and not Miss Koshnitsky's if he was distracted by his opponent's dress.
"She's just a modern girl," she said.
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Blast from the Past, never got pinged, even though it was added to the catalog. Go figure. |
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