Astronauts and Cosmonauts who have played chess
Greetings,
I know it's been a while since I last blogged, but I am back in a good mood and ready to get rolling with this blog! This blog is actually one of my dream jobs. I want to be an astronaut. This blog is about the astronomers/cosmonauts who have played chess before. I know that the majority of you have never heard of these astronauts playing chess, but now you are going to! Now let's address the blog!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
#1. Vitaly Sevastyanov
#2. Andriyan Nikolayev
#3. Anatoly Ivanishin
#4. Neil Armstrong
#5. Frank Rubio
Vitaly Sevastyanov
Vitaly Sevastyanov (1935-2010) was a soviet cosmonaut and an engineer who flew 2 space missions, Soyuz 9 and Soyuz 18. He has spent 80 days, 16 hours, 18 minutes in space. Vitaly was not just a cosmonaut but a major chess figure. He played the first chess game with his team in space (Soyuz 9 vs. Ground Control, 1970). The chess game ended in a draw. He served as Chairman of the Soviet Chess Federation, which showed true support for chess. The space game in 1970 lasted approximately 6 hours. That is a lot of thinking and patience. He was also respected as a strong player and stabilizing presence in Soviet chess politics.
(Vitaly and his team played as white and it ended in a draw)
Andriyan Nikolayev
Andriyan Nikolayev (1929-2004) was a soviet cosmonaut who believed the same way a chessboard could: through patience, pattern, and the courage to make a move no one else saw coming. He was tought chess by his father and ever since then he has been into chess some parts of his life. During training for Vostak 3, he kept a pocket chess set in his pocket, so that he can play with his fellow cosmonauts. When he was in space he didn't had a chessboard, so he played with his mind and imagining of his younger self playing chess.
Anatoly Ivanishin
Anatoly Invanishin (1969-present) is a former russion cosmonaut. In chess, he really never bragged about being good in chess as if chess is a game of peace. He would stare at a chessboard for 10 minutes without blinking. He had nice patience in chess and he believed that good moves would come up to him the more he thinks. He and Ivan Vager played chess in the space for the 50th anniversary and he played against Grandmaster Serjey Karjamin and the game again ended in a draw. That shows that they are not a beginner but strong intermediate players.
(Anatoly and Ivan played as white)
Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) was a american astronauts from the apollo mission and known as the first human to step on the moon. As a boy in ohio, Armstrong would sit at the kitchen table with a wooden chess set in front of him and would play chess with his father. He would play slowly but his father would play fast and aggressively. Armstrong would calmly study each square and move he takes. When he joined NASA he would keep a a pocket chess set with him and once he is in space he would set up positions from memory and study it.
Frank Rubio
Frank Rubio never thought of himself as a chess player, but a problem solver. Growing up he learned chess from a fellow neighbors who told him,"Chess in life is in miniture." Frank didn't really understand it but he played a lot of chess and started to get the idea. When he had a space mission, he expected a 6 month mission, but instead a whole year in space due to coolant leak make it the longest space flight in US history. During that time, NASA's mission control sent him some chess puzzles, and other astronauts challenged him on an tablet. Ever since then he has played a lot of chess, but never was a GM.
