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Chess Olympus

@chessolympus.bsky.social

310 followers 99 following 660 posts

A daily celebration of chess marginalia. Author of this book about Alexander Alekhine: https://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/product/Chess-Villain/

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Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 20h

Happy birthday to Chevy Chase! Chess Forum's Instagram feed featured this photo of Chase killing time at the airport last year.

Chevy Chase and an unidentified man play chess in an airport terminal. They sit in a row of identical seats typical of airport gates, with a wooden chess set on a side table between them.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 1d

I’m a Rucker believer. One of my favorite concert experiences was at a music festival full of nostalgia acts. Spin Doctors played first and did a serviceable set of their hits. Then Hootie et al came on with like an 11-piece band and blew the crowd away with a cover of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”

Reposted by Chess Olympus

Marcel Duchamp @mduchamp.bsky.social · 2d

Pocket Chess Set https://www.artic.edu/artworks/210442/

Through prior gift of Mrs. Gilbert W. Chapman

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Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 1d

Sarah Churchill, born October 7, 1914, considers her move carefully in a publicity photo for Royal Wedding (1951).

Sarah Churchill holds a knight in one hand while she surveys a chess board in front of her.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 2d

50 years ago this month, the USCF policy board tries to make chess governance look fun from the cover of Chess Life & Review. They are: (front row) Bill Goichberg, George Koltanowski, Doris Thackrey, (back row) M. Lee Hyder, Frank Skoff, and Fred Townsend.

Five men and one woman, mostly in suits, pose on a set of stone steps on the cover of the October, 1975 issue of Chess Life & Review.

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Tomás Arís @littlebridgetroll.bsky.social · 3d

Image of a chess knight, white, with text bubble saying "ni."

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Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 3d

Donald Pleasence, born October 5, 1919, played chess in the movies a couple of times, including against James Garner in The Great Escape (1963).

In a scene from The Great Escape, Donald Pleasence and James Garner play chess at a wooden table in a barracks.

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Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 4d

It's 10-4, good buddy, so here's a reminder that people played chess by radio long before the internet. From Chess Review's coverage of the 1946 USA-USSR radio match.

Three women sit at a long table in front of an array of typing and radio equipment. The caption reads, "The moves of the match were transmitted to New York by these radio operators in Moscow. In the center is engineer V. Degtyareva."

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 5d

Happy birthday to Ayo Edebiri! You'll have to take my word for it that she has the black pieces in this game against her dog Gromit.

A black, white and brown chihuahua stands on a dining chair with its front paws on the table behind a chess set with a game in progress. The dog wears a chunky green collar with a bone-shaped tag that says, "Gromit." The photo originally appeared on Ayo Edebiri's Instagram account.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 6d

On October 2, 1941, the Nazi government executed prominent Czech chess player Karel Treybal for supposedly aiding the resistance. From Chess Review, November 1941.

Item from the November, 1941 issue of Chess Review, announcing that "Dr. Karel Treybal, famous Czech chess master, has been executed in Prague as the result of a recent tribunal held by the Hitler hireling Heydrich.

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Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 7d

Stanley Holloway, born October 1, 1890, posed with this chess set in 1974.

In a portrait attributed to Allen Warren, Stanley Holloway wears a suit and poses with a finger tugging at the corner of his mouth. In front of him is a stone chess set arrayed sideways, with the dark pieces to Holloway's right and the light pieces to his left.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 8d

Happy birthday to Angie Dickinson, who faced off with Anthony Quinn in a 1971 episode of The Man and the City.

In a scene from The Man and the City, Anthony Quinn and Angie Dickinson face each other across a stone chess board on a coffee table in a large living room.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 9d

Happy birthday to Ian McShane, who seemed to have trouble concentrating on the board when he played Gayle Hunnicutt during the making of Freelance (1970).

In a Getty Images photo credited to Gary Weaser, Ian McShane and Gayle Hunnicutt sit together behind a chess board. Hunnicutt moves a piece on the board while McShane leans in and looks up at her face.

Reposted by Chess Olympus

Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 10d

Trying to figure out what style of #chess pieces these are... Searching the internet hasn’t really helped.

Lineup of six chess pieces in a particular yet unknown style to me.

Lineup of six chess pieces in a particular yet unknown style to me, with the box they came in, a wooden slide-top box with “Schach” stenciled on top.

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Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 10d

Happy birthday to Brigitte Bardot!🎂 I'm sure I've posted this photo before, but it never gets old.

In a Getty Images photo taken during the making of Les Femmes (1969), Brigitte Bardot leans her head on a hand as she plays chess outdoors.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 11d

Happy birthday to Andy Lau, who played a peculiar endgame in a 2007 ad for Cyma watches.

In a black-and-white magazine advertisement for Cyma watches, Andy Lau wears a white suit coat, looks directly into the camera, and makes a move on a chess board. There are only about five pieces on the chess board, and there does not appear to be a white king.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 12d

For lovers of chess and ham.

Sickos Committee @sickoscommittee.org · 13d

TIL Chesham United’s mascot is a pig with a chess piece on its head.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 12d

Patrick O'Neal, born September 26, 1927, played chess with a wily witness on a 1972 episode of The FBI.

In a scene from a 1972 episode of The FBI, Patrick O'Neal, wearing a suit and tie, reaches to move a piece on a travel-sized chess set.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 13d

Here's Christopher Reeve, born September 25, 1952, as photographed by Eva Sereny in 1978.

Christopher Reeve sits on the floor in front of a sofa, contemplating a chess position on the coffee table in front of him.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 14d

RIP Claudia Cardinale, seen here with her son Patrick.

Claudia Cardinale sits on the floor next to a sofa and smiles at her son Patrick, who gestures with a chess piece. A chess set sits between them with pieces scattered randomly.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 14d

Don Porter, born September 24, 1912, looks like he might have literally broken his brain playing chess on Gidget.

In a scene from Gidget, Don Porter and an unidentified actor play chess in a laboratory full of anatomical diagrams and 1960s-era computing equipment. Porter has two bandage-like pieces of white tape on his forehead.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 15d

Henry Silva, born September 23, 1926, played chess in disguise in The Return of Mr. Moto (1965).

In a scene from Return of Mr. Moto, Henry Silva sits at a chess table with ornate stone pieces. He wears a tuxedo, glasses, and a false moustache and goatee.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 16d

Happy birthday to Jonny Harris, who played some high-stakes chess on a 2018 episode of Murdoch Mysteries.

In a scene from Murdoch Mysteries, Jonny Harris concentrates over a chess board. A Russian flag and a Victorian-era Canadian flag stand next to the board. Other games in progress are dimly visible in the background.

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 17d

September 21 is H.G. Wells' birthday, a good day to read his tongue-in-cheek takedown of chess and chess players. It's available at Project Gutenberg: bit.ly/4gta1kZ

Portrait of H.G. Wells by George Charles Beresford with the text, "You have, let us say, a promising politician, a rising artist, that you wish to destroy. Dagger or bomb are archaic, clumsy, and unreliable—but teach him, inoculate him with chess!"