Jerusalem welcomes pawns from around the world for chess tournament
Jews might not dominate when it comes to hockey, rugby, or other contact sports, but they've always kicked butt at the intellectual ones - especially chess. The ages-old board game, wildly popular over the last century and a half among the Jews of Europe and one of the few secular pursuits widely embraced by Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodoxy, boasts a roster of all-time champions that's fully 45% Semitic - including the late, awkwardly Jew-hating wackjob Bobby Fischer.
So
it's only fitting that the Jewish capital should play host to yet another international chess competition this summer, with Jerusalem-based organization Jeru-Chess getting involved once again with the planning. Chess felps to foment good qualities among its players, insists Alon Cohen-Revivo, 2008’s Jerusalem Chess Champion and Jeru-Chess's head. "I
listen for the unmet needs of my pupils, what they need to improve. I
also try to give a feeling of self-confidence, ability to contain and
understand complexity, and, of course, pure chess knowledge," he explained to The Jerusalem Post in recent months.
This week, at 17:00 on July 15th, under the mantle of the 18th Maccabiah (the "Jewish Olympics"), competition kicks off inside City Hall at Safra Square. International Israeli chess sensation Boris Gelfand is set to face off against 31 other participants. These include local champions from many age brackets, as well as VIPs like Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital Deputy Director General Yossi Granot and celebrated kibbutznik-poet Yoram Taharlev.
If you'd like to witness, or even go up against, Israel's reigning shachmat masters - or you just want to to get your kids into more intellectual pursuits - check out the full schedule of the competition (unfortunately only available in Hebrew). It's cerebral fun for the whole family.
2000+ tips and recommendations
Alright, we'll be the first to admit it. Jerusalem's often chilly and often damp winters don't exactly exude...
In a region known for being one of the first in which early humans settled after leaving Africa, and in a city populated...
Looking for a place to begin your morning in luxury and style? Look no further than the American Colony Hotel, which offers...
Jerusalem, the city where kings ruled and sultans sat is no stranger to luxury. Today, even the visiting yeoman can find...
Jewish tradition holds that in the times of the First and Second Temples, all the Jewish people would gather in Jerusalem...
Technically, it's possible to visit Jerusalem without going to the Old City, but it would be hard to say you'd...
Looking for a place to begin your morning in luxury and style? Look no further than the American Colony Hotel, which offers...
The faithful may rhapsodize about the spiritual highs to be reached in the Old City; culture cognoscenti groove on the...
Once upon a time, options for eating out in Jerusalem were limited to local common phenomena such as falafel and schwarma,...
No results to show
|
Text text text
|
||
