Hollywood Chess
Without a doubt, the most popular part of our film, Through the Mirror of Chess: A Cultural Exploration, was the segment on what we called “Hollywood Chess”—a detailed illustration of how films and television so consistently get ...
Through the Mirror of Chess is now on Amazon Prime!
Great news! Following strong demand the docuseries Through the Mirror of Chess: A Cultural Exploration is now available on Amazon Prime. Perhaps it helped that the film was the recipient of the Best Documentary Award by Chess Journalists of Americ...
The Societal Impact of Chess, Part 5: Changing the World!
By far the most surprising and noteworthy discovery for me in my intense journey throughout the chess world was the potential for transformative social impact associated with the game. I simply didn’t see that coming at all. Wh...
The Societal Impact of Chess, Part 4: Looking Critically
Below is another excerpt from Chessays: Travels Through the World of Chess, Chapter 6, Far Transfer (visit our website for more details HERE) (...) And now, I’m convinced, we’re finally onto somethin...
The Societal Impact of Chess, Part 3: Chess and Mathematics
Below is another excerpt from Chessays: Travels Through the World of Chess, Chapter 6, Far Transfer (visit our website for more details HERE) (...) And if the case of Armenia doesn’t independently win ...
The Societal Impact of Chess, Part 2: The Armenian Poster Child
Below is another excerpt from Chessays: Travels Through the World of Chess, Chapter 6, Far Transfer: (...) Whenever you encounter a “chess should be a mandatory part of the school curriculum” type, two things will become...
The Societal Impact of Chess, Part 1: Introduction
I began these blog posts with a series on FIDE, not because I am particularly FIDE-obsessed and spend every spare moment of my life fulminating against the current world chess organization (I recently made a 4-hour documentary series on the socioc...
Reforming FIDE, Part 5: Into The Light
As we scramble out of the politicized morass of the last post, it’s worth pausing for a moment to retrace our steps before moving towards the conclusion of our somewhat intense journey. I began, you may recall, with the recognition that, b...
Reforming FIDE, Part 4: Into The Darkness
To begin on a relatively upbeat note (we’re going to need it), it should be pointed out that Arkady Dvorkovich is clearly the most able president that FIDE has had in the past 40 years. But then, given that his predecessors were the notoriou...
Reforming FIDE, Part 3: Enslaved to the Past
I must confess that I have never understood why the world chess championship is so broadly considered to be as essential to the current professional chess culture as it seems to be. Of course, I definitely see the value of a competitive structure ...
Reforming FIDE, Part 2: Assessment
Now that we know what FIDE officially believes its own mission is—to be the “governing body of the sport of chess and regulate all international chess competitions”—we can move forward to address the question: Is it actuall...
Reforming FIDE, Part 1: The Big Picture
Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with the wonderfully congenial Ben Johnson for his Perpetual Chess podcast, discussing my just-released 4-part documentary Through the Mirror of Chess: A Cultural Exploration, together with Chessays, the ac...
