All you guys that like chess playing babes can check out the August
2003 Smithsonian article that features Jennifer Shahade in a favorable
article.

Here's a sample quote with my comments in [brackets]:

"the game of kings has unmistakably surged in popularity. Writer
Martin Amis [he as a good book on Stalin out], comedian Stephen Fry
[who?], model Carmen Kass [from
http://www.askmen.com/women/models_6...rmen_kass.html "why we like
her? She's a supermodel that plays chess"] pugilists Lennox Lewis and
Wladimir Klitschko [they dueled recently and black won ;-)], actors
Will Smith, Woody Harrelson and Sting, are all 'woodpushers'." "It's
cool to play chess" says Jennifer Shahade. "The game is finally
shedding its image as a magnet for geeks."

My question for the group (hence my post in rec.games.chess.politics):

reading Usenet/Google, I was under the impression that the US Chess
Federation (USCF) was dying, yet the article states in a caption
"Chess's popularity is at an all-time high; membership in the U.S.
Chess Federation is a record 98,700" (!)

Kevin Bachelor / Sam Sloan : can you explain?

Ray Lopez

--

"raylopez99" wrote in message

....comedian Stephen Fry [who?], ...

Excellent deadpan comic. One of his lines goes something like, "I thought
I'd be rich by now. I put all my money into a solar-flashlight company."

From: "sandirhodes"

...comedian Stephen Fry [who?], ...

Excellent deadpan comic. One of his lines goes something like, "I thought
I'd be rich by now. I put all my money into a solar-flashlight company."

You're thinking of Stephen Wright, perhaps?

"Kevin L. Bachler" wrote ...

3. Ratings and entries: USCF has an excellent rating system, which it
poorly
communicates, does nothing to simplify that communication, spends nothing
on
communication -- and then to top it off -- USCF runs the system at a loss.

It's pretty bad that USCF has a monopoly on the rating system, yet manages
to lose money on this monopoly. Kind of symbolizes the desperate mediocrity
of the whole operation.

Tim Hanke

"Briarroot" wrote in message
...
drahmiel wrote:

From: "sandirhodes"

...comedian Stephen Fry [who?], ...

Excellent deadpan comic. One of his lines goes something like, "I
thought
I'd be rich by now. I put all my money into a solar-flashlight
company."

You're thinking of Stephen Wright, perhaps?

Steven Fry is a British comic actor, who along with partner
Hugh Laurie, starred in a marvelously funny video series of
P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves & Wooster."

Great stuff! :-)

He was also the bumbling detective in Gosford Park, and has written numerous
books. But I think the above joke really is Stephen Wright, not Fry.

-T.

skoonj wrote:

"Briarroot" wrote in message
...
drahmiel wrote:

From: "sandirhodes"

...comedian Stephen Fry [who?], ...

Excellent deadpan comic. One of his lines goes something like, "I
thought
I'd be rich by now. I put all my money into a solar-flashlight
company."

You're thinking of Stephen Wright, perhaps?

Steven Fry is a British comic actor, who along with partner
Hugh Laurie, starred in a marvelously funny video series of
P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves & Wooster."

Great stuff! :-)

He was also the bumbling detective in Gosford Park, and has written numerous
books.

Right. I thought his role was out of place, though I loved
the film anyway.


But I think the above joke really is Stephen Wright, not Fry.

Oh. Ok. ;-)

Who's a supermodel that plays chess? Not Jennifer Sh? She's a babe, but not
a supermodel. Of course I'm so old that any woman who can pick up a rook and
is younger than 50 qualifies as a babe.

Angelo

Sure. This one is easy.

The USCF is not dying. The USCF is booming. It is just the nay-sayers
on this group who have been trying to kill the USCF for years and
years, like Tom Klem and Richard Peterson, who create the impression
that the USCF is dying.

Sam Sloan

Other than the 50,000 kids, what else is booming?

John Fernandez

In article ,
eepmeep says...

Sure. This one is easy.

The USCF is not dying. The USCF is booming. It is just the nay-sayers
on this group who have been trying to kill the USCF for years and
years, like Tom Klem and Richard Peterson, who create the impression
that the USCF is dying.

Sam Sloan

Other than the 50,000 kids, what else is booming?

John Fernandez

Even more to the point, what is shrinking?

Kevin L. Bachler

"Other than the 50,000 kids, what else is booming?" (John Fernandez)
=============
I don't have their numbers at my fingertip but aren't the kiddie numbers
starting to look a little toppy if you graphed them? You gotta figure that
at least some kiddie organizers will quit or slow down during a given year.
Most of the kids they signed up will not renew. So, over a given time span
more and more new kiddie organizers have to appear in order to keep the kiddie
numbers moving up. (RSHaas)