Diego Rasskin Gutman
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drasskin.bsky.social
Diego Rasskin Gutman
@drasskin.bsky.social
Biology-Chess. Poetry. Yiddish. Univ. of Valencia. Spain.

Chess Metaphors: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Mind. MITPress.
Todos los mundos el mundo. Una imaginada memoria de la odisea del ajedrez. Editorial West Indies.

Revista PDR
Game pieces from Mohenjo-daro, one of the cities of the Indus Valley civilization (circa 3300-5300 ya), on a modern wooden board. Materials include faience, pottery, shell, marble, agate, slate, and steatite.

Along with the Başur Höyük pieces, these are the oldest game pieces ever found.
June 23, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Learn your Knight moves, Italian style, 18th century
June 20, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Most unusual pawn, made of Ivory or walrus tusk, dated late 11th – early 12th century. Found in Volkovysk, Belarus.

National Art Museum of Republic of Belarus. Photos by N. P. Melnikov.
June 17, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by Diego Rasskin Gutman
June 14, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Cornelis de Man (1621-1706), The Chess Players
June 13, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Mother and daughter playing chess; Alfonso X, Libro de juegos. 1200s. F58r
June 12, 2025 at 6:49 AM
The chess players, John Lavery 1929
June 11, 2025 at 6:28 AM
And Magnus prevails in a dramatic last round in Norway. Well fitted ending. World keeps turning.
June 7, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Diego Rasskin Gutman
June 5 being World Environment Day, here's a look at the outdoor activities the chess masters got up to at the 1926 Late Hopatcong (New Jersey) Tournament. From American Chess Bulletin, July 1926.
June 5, 2025 at 7:16 PM
There's a little town in Northern Spain with a great chess name!
June 6, 2025 at 9:18 AM
GM MagnusCarlsen (10 years ago): "I very much like the game of ideas between the two players. It's captivating, it's fun, and it keeps me going."
June 6, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Bobby Fischer describing chess moves:

aggressive
amazing
careless
contrived
crushing
cunning
dearly
desperate
devastating
doomed
effortlessly
fluid
free
hoping
ideal
impatient
melodramatic
mysterious
natural
panicking
powerful
sharper
simple
surprise
tempting
unappetizing
unfortunate
unpleasant
June 2, 2025 at 10:17 AM
More gaming treasures from my visit to the MET
May 26, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Visiting the MET, having the Nishapur chess set in front of me was an incredible experience!!
May 19, 2025 at 5:31 PM
In "The Morals of Chess", 1750, Benjamin Franklin wrote that by playing Chess , we may learn:

"1st, Foresight, which looks a little into futurity...
2d, Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action...
3d, Caution, not to make our moves too hastily..."
April 23, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Reposted by Diego Rasskin Gutman
Anthony Quinn, born April 21, 1915, used chess to inform his acting. Here's a famous image from the set of The Guns of Navarone (1961), together with Quinn's comments about his costars' playing styles.
April 21, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Magic Circles, Cardinal Points and Game Boards
April 19, 2025 at 7:09 PM
William Roberts, The Chess Players, 1930

Power chess
April 18, 2025 at 5:21 PM
The word "Rook" means "charriot" in old Persian (before conquered by Arabs). It also refers to a mighty mythological giant bird, (simurgh, sometimes phoenix) which would later appear, for example, in Sinbad's adventures... Chess is intertwined with all aspects of human culture...
April 4, 2025 at 8:17 AM
The Sandomierz ches set, c. 1100s, was found in Sandomierz, Poland. Made of antler; this set of obvious Arabic geometric design, made its way to Northern Europe at a very early time.

A magnificent set!

District Museum in Sandomierz
April 2, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Chess during the French revolution: it was suggested to change the name of the pieces to erase its royal connotations; Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau proposed these changes:

King: flag bearer
Queen: officer
Bishop: dragons
Knights: cavalry
Rooks: cannons
Pawns: infantry
March 31, 2025 at 8:56 AM
These chessmen were found at La motte de Loisy, France. From circa 10-11th century, made of deer antler.

It's a sort of hybrid set. The Rook is incredibly similar to the Afrasiab set. The Queen looks European and the pawns and King, Arabic.

Mâcon, musée des Ursulines
March 28, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Gorgeous three views of this circa late 9th-early 10th century chess King, made of rock crystal from the Middle East.

As it happened with many of this crystal pieces, it was perforated on the top to be re-used as a reliquary (to keep holy relics)

Victoria and Albert Museum
March 27, 2025 at 8:56 AM
This picture, taken en Algiers ca. 1899 is timeless.

Games, the fabric of humanity

Detroit Photographic Company, Detroit, Míchigan
March 26, 2025 at 12:19 PM