Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Did you know that chess has a Goddess?



Caïssa - The Goddess of Chess ( wikipedia )
Caïssa originated in a poem called Caïssa, written in 1763 in latin hexameters by orientalist Sir William Jones. In the poem, Caïssa initially repels the advances of the god of war, Mars. Spurned, Mars seeks the aid of the god of sport – Euphron, brother of Venus/Aphrodite – who creates the game of chess as a gift for Mars to win Caissa's favor.

On a side note I have added the games of Mikhail Tal to www.jrobichess.com from a request from a reader. Enjoy!

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