Media comments on chess

[Rob Thompson]

Since Rogoff's most famous paper was found out to be complete garbage, I'm not going to be panicking based on his comments any time soon.

[Matthew Turner]

You might like to try reading This Time is Different (I recommend just going for the opening chapter and conclusion) before dismissing it as garbage. In very simple terms, Rogoff and Reinhardt conclude that high levels of debt have a negative impact on a country's ability to grow. I am not sure many people would disagree with that. What impact that has on economic policy going forward that is an entirely different matter.

[Paolo Casaschi]

You might like to try reading This Time is Different (I recommend just going for the opening chapter and conclusion) before dismissing it as garbage. In very simple terms, Rogoff and Reinhardt conclude that high levels of debt have a negative impact on a country's ability to grow. I am not sure many people would disagree with that. What impact that has on economic policy going forward that is an entirely different matter.

What I find questionable about Rogoff is that he published quite an amount of papers and books lecturing about the 2008 financial crisis and explaining how and why and so on, all those publications coming just few years after his tenure at very senior positions at the IMF and the American Reserve where he apparently did not show the same financial wisdom to foresee/prevent that financial crisis. Just like all those chess commentators that can explain you in great details what happened at the candidates tournament, why Anand won and why Aronian lost... but only once the event is finished.

[Matthew Turner]

Wouldn't he say that This Time is NEVER Different, so financial crises are an inherent part of the capitalist system. One just has to deal with the consequences.

[Paolo Casaschi]

Wouldn't he say that This Time is NEVER Different, so financial crises are an inherent part of the capitalist system. One just has to deal with the consequences.

I still wish he had told me in 2007 so I would have adjusted my pension plan investments accordingly.
Unfortunately he only seems very good at predicting the past.

[abi&timadams]

https://medium.com/message/78ad1034521f

'Let’s take a trip back to 1859, when our mental environment faced a dire new threat. An upstart form of entertainment was exerting a hypnotic, addictive pull on our fragile minds, forcing them to engage in a useless, pointless activity that threatened everyday cognition. Sober cultural critics patiently critiqued and denounced the new past-time, but to no avail. The population was addicted. We were doomed.

I speak, of course, of chess.'

[Stewart Reuben]

Since chess goes back to the 6th Century AD what was special about 1859?


Returning to the string:
I was watching a clip from a new hologram Michael Jackson show. I thought I briefly saw a chess board and pieces in it. But possibly I was hallucinating.

[abi&timadams]

The book is 'Bad for You: Exposing the War on Fun'; it is modern and has an interesting section about the way chess was perceived by some in 1859 so is relevant to the string, especially when the Scientific American became involved! It was of course quite a special year for chess-playing Americans. It is an entertaining article and, I thought, well worth reading.

[Mike Truran]

A bit of a mixed metaphor here ......

Mr Cameron said that the UK had been "clear, predictable and tough" in the imposition of phased sanctions on Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine, and "stands ready to do more if Ukraine's territorial integrity is not respected. ...... The aim we should have is not to grab Ukraine like a piece on a chess board and yank it towards Europe. Ukraine should be a bridge between Europe and Russia.

[Geoff Chandler]

I found this is a junk shop.



I've reproduced the story inside here:

http://www.redhotpawn.com/blog/blogread ... postid=168

[Richard James]

I found this is a junk shop.



I've reproduced the story inside here:

http://www.redhotpawn.com/blog/blogread ... postid=168

Looks like a job for Dame Vera Lynn, who is pictured with a chess set in next week's Radio Times.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I found this is a junk shop.

<snip>

I've reproduced the story inside here:

http://www.redhotpawn.com/blog/blogread ... postid=168

(Though very typical of the standard for that type of photo-story)

[David Gilbert]

Hardly a match for Geoff's classic, but I loved the beginning of last night's Futurama. The relevant clip here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtgZKwK6C3U&feature=kp

And to sidetrack, here's what the inside of a chess player's brain looks like, especially among the coffee drinkers from Harrogate. http://vimeo.com/94404877

[JustinHorton]

I found this is a junk shop.



I've reproduced the story inside here:

http://www.redhotpawn.com/blog/blogread ... postid=168

Absolutely fantastic.

[John Hodgson]

The plight of the LibDems was compared to zugzwang today by Sharon Bowles ex-MEP. Whatever move the LibDems play makes their position worse, she said (I was quite impressed by her knowledge).

However, in true zugzwang you only lose if you have to make a move. But the LibDems lose even if they stand still.