Counterplay / Readers Respond Playing to Win AUTHOR RESPONSE
Thank you so much for reviewing Playing to Win in Chess Life! While I was researching the book both Chess Life and Chess Life for Kids were invaluable resources. However, I must correct an error in the review. Abdul-
Alim writes that of the chess families in the study “none were Asian or Indian.” This is simply incorrect. Because race/ethnicity was a self-reported category to me, by those who participated in the interview portion of the study, some chose to identify as “Other” and a few who I would have thought were Indian, for example, chose to identify as “White.” Moreover, many children who some may assume are Asian or Indian based on appear- ance at a tournament may only have one parent who is Indian or Asian (so their status was reported as “Mixed”). Another demographic variable not reported in the review is that only 41 percent of the chess families I interviewed had parents who were both born in the U.S.—by far the most diverse of the three activities featured in Playing to Win (in addition to the academic case study of chess, the artistic activity of dance and the athletic activity of soccer were also included). Additionally, as described in detail in the book, within
“Metro” I conducted months of fieldwork in both “Uptown- Metro” and “Charter-Metro.” Uptown is far more affluent, whereas Charter serves the population Abdul-Alim rightly describes as so important in the scholastic chess landscape today. While their parents’ narratives are missing, they are represented throughout when I describe scenes I wit- nessed at camps and at tournaments. However, the explanation as to why interviews with their parents weren’t included, in the second to last paragraph of the review— that these less-privileged parents wouldn’t talk to me for a “variety of reasons”—glosses over the very important point, discussed on page 231, that they were not com- fortable signing consent forms necessitated by this being a study approved of by Princeton University’s Human Subjects Committee. Additionally, as I explain, they often- times were not present at events in the same way as Uptown parents, making it difficult to connect. It is true that the interview subjects were dominated
by more affluent families, who subsequently dominate chapters three and four of the book, but the beautiful diversity of chess is discussed in Playing to Win and as Abdul-Alim alludes to in other parts of the review, I do emphasize that among competitive after school activities scholastic chess is conducive to this type of inclusivity in a way that other activities—including dance and soccer, which have higher participation costs—simply aren’t. This is but one of the many reasons my own sons will start to learn the game of kings as soon as possible.
Hilary Levy Friedman via e-mail
Chess Life cover contest: CHESS IN AMERICA
Would you like to see your art work or photography featured on the cover of Chess Life magazine, reaching tens of thousands of readers across the United States and internationally? Then enter our first Chess Life cover contest! The winning entry will be our cover art on a fall 2014 or winter 2015 issue. Deadline for entry is June 2, 2014. If we have enough interesting entries, we will run a feature showcasing honorable mentions.
The decision of the editors is final. The only prize for the winning entry is the cover exposure and 20 copies of the issue in which it appears. The editors may decide not to award a winner.
THE DETAILS Theme: Chess in America.
Send entry to
chesslifecovercontest@gmail.com. Size: 81
⁄2 x 11, 300 dpi with .125 bleed
Send as a .jpg simply for our judging purposes. We can work with other formats if we decide to publish your entry.
Keep in mind our logo placement in the upper left and UPC code in the lower left! Cover text may be added by the editors.
WE FELL FOR IT
In the article “Paul Morphy Versus Rybka” by Alex Dunne (Novemberr 2013), he mentions that after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 that a laboratory Rybka using 3000 cores running for four months determined that only 3. Be2 draws and all other moves lose for White. That “news” actually came from a 2012 April Fool’s day joke article by ChessBase, which can be found here:
www.chessbase.com/post/rajlich-busting- the-king-s-gambit-this-time-for-sure. They publish April Fool’s joke articles every year, and since they’re
posted on April Fool’s Day the trick only lasts a few moments until the reader realizes what day it is. This one was a lot trickier because they used a clever plan to throw off the readers who are wary about what they read on ChessBase’s website on April 1. The article was dated April 2nd, so how could it be an April Fool’s joke? Well, two days later they came clean and said that they posted it on April 1, 23:55— in Pago Pago! That article can be found here:
www.chess-
base.com/post/the-chessbase-april-fool-s-prank.
Scott Hogfoss via e-mail
Send your letters to
letters@uschess.org or post on the Chess Life Facebook group page. If Chess Life publishes your letter, you will be sent a copy of Test, Evaluate and Improve Your Chess by Kopec and Terrie. We regret that we cannot reply to all letters.
6 January 2014 | Chess Life
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