My first Main Event and a chesspoker round-up July 11, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : chess, poker , 8 comments
So I am back from the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, my first live deep-stacked event. It was an incredible experience to play in the ME, as you really get the feeling that just playing in the event is a dream come true for so much of the field. Well this was true for me too, so I was nervous every time I put chips into the pot. My nerves were in direct proportion to the chips in the pot, and not at all with what I actually had-my heart stopped whether I had the nuts, a marginal hand, or absolutely nothing. I made it through the first day with about as many chips as I started with and then big DRAMA about fifteen minutes into day two.
I had scoped out the table composition and googled all my opponents. I knew that the short-stacked guy on my left was an aggressive pro who would try to make a lot of moves for the blinds and antes. The biggest stack at the table, with 60K (pretty much everyone else had between 25 and 32K), was Annie Duke’s husband, Joseph Reitman. Reitman is an actor and has also been playing a lot of poker since marrying Annie. I didn’t really know what being Annie’s Duke husband would mean about his play, but I was guessing tight-aggressive.
In our first hand of the level about ten minutes in, Joseph raised in early position to 3x the BB, 1500. I called on the button with tens. Flop is Q 2 3 rainbow. He checks. Baffling! I was ready to raise on a continuation bet and then give up to resistance but this check is confusing. I bet about 3K, which some of my poker friends said was awful (they like checking behind to keep pot small.) Others say it’s fine, or even good. Turn is a 7 or a 5. He bets 5K! I reluctantly call, thinking that there’s a decent chance he’ll give up on the river, which brings a 5 or a 7. He fires out again 12K. I fold. Kind of annoying hand to lose almost a third of my stack on. My gut told me there was a 50% chance my tens were good, but my brain told me the chances had to be much lower. Unless he’s a total savage or a mind-reader.
The very next hand I get KJs on the cutoff. Middle position limps. I raise to 2K, partly because I know the guy on my left will shove with a huge range if I also limp. I don’t want to waste 500 chips in that way. Flop is 89Q with two spades. Original limper makes it 3500. I think for a minute and shove my remaining 20K. He instacalls and turns over 99. I don’t catch. Bye to me! I had a gutshot and a flush draw, but because if the board pairs he fills up, I was just under 35% to win the hand. It was still the correct play. Against his range of hands, I have fold equity against many and then great equity against a lot of others. I’m even a slight favorite against hands like JJ or AQ. The only time I’m way way behind is against something like AT of spades.
Feel free to leave a comment if you can think of other chesspoker players I don’t know about. Going into day three, Michael Casella (still active 2300) and Randy Bruekner (no longer active, 2000) are still in. How can I forget Dan Harrington? He’s also still in at the end of day two, with 182K in chips. Keep the dream alive!
Hulachess Cover and Excerpt July 4, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : art, chess, feminism, hooping , 3 comments.jpg)
Hulachess was just featured on the cover of Chess Life Magazine! Check out an excerpt from the full video, where I played the first ever hulachess match against my childhood friend, professional dancer Gabrielle Revlock. The variations we played were based on a game I analyzed for Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess.
I also updated this post with my fox news hula chess TV appearance.
Hulachess excerpt from DIM mak films on Vimeo.
U.S. Chess Scoop June 26, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : chess , 2 commentsI started a new video blog on Chess Life Online! Here is the third episode.
Click here for the first and here for the second.
U.S. Chess Scoop Episode 3 from DIM mak films on Vimeo.
Brave Iranian Women June 22, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : chess, feminism, politics , 5 comments.jpg)
I had a dream last night that I was in Iran and that I left my building without wearing hijab. I felt terrified that I would be caught so I ran around and found a pair of leggings to cover my hair. The dream reminded me I am lucky to have the right to vote, protest, or to wear whatever sort of nail polish I desire, but as a feminist I am connected to those who don’t have the same privileges.
I am moved by the courage of Iranian women who are protesting at the risk of beatings, and even death.
I wonder about the Iranian women’s chess team and Shadi Paridar, who I profiled in Chess Bitch in the chapter "Checkmate Around the World."
Chess is one of the few sports in which Iranian women can compete abroad… (because) wearing hijab is not an impediment to play. When I ask Shadi if she likes wearing hijab, she bursts into…laugher and makes faces at me….When she finally calms down she says sarcastically, "Oh I just love it. I feel like such a star in this outfit. People look at me and know I am from Iran." Then she raises her eyebrows and informs me, "I am very bad at wearing hijab."
I also wonder about the members of the Iranian team who we hung out with in China (Shadi was not there). The Iranians were very strong in China- the men beat the American men in the bronze medal playoffs for the rapid teams and Atousa Pourkashiyan, rated just over 2200 at the time, went on a rampage to defeat a number of WGMs and IMs. Iranian arbiter, Mehrad Pahlevanzadeh who now lives in United Arab Emirates, literally gave me the vest off his back when I suggested that my father would probably love it as a souvenir from the Mind Sport Games. Mehrad also wrote a very smart article on chessbase.com about how if we want to make chess more popular, it is important to play till checkmate.
I hope that Shadi, Atousa, Elshan etc. are all safe and that the revolution will end in a way that’s positive for the Iranian people. And who knows, maybe the next time we meet the Iranian women’s chess team, they will be wearing different outfits.
Recently, I reviewed Shadi Paridar’s games while mining for material for an upcoming 9queens workbook filled with combinations of top women players. You can read a little more about the workbook here. Here’s a puzzle from one of Shadi’s games. I will publish the answer as a comment to this blog post.
Videos from the U.S. Chess Championship May 13, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : chess , 3 commentsI’m at the U.S. Chess Championship in Saint Louis, doing commentary and writing Chess Life Online articles. I also chaired the tournament committee and am also co-hosting the following nightly video recaps with Macauley Peterson:
Naked Chess April 16, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : art, chess, feminism , 25 commentsWith Dim Mak Films, I created the following video, in which I play chess against a naked man.
The video was inspired by contributing to a new book I wrote on Marcel Duchamp and chess (buy it here!) and this famous photo of Marcel Duchamp playing against a naked woman.
One great thing about playing against a naked man in chess is that there are no pockets for electronic devices, so you can be absolutely sure he is not cheating.
A few other notes on the video, shot at the new studio, Philadelphia Soundstages:
1. I am wearing a corset. I figured it was only fair to introduce a little nudity into my own outfit.
2. The chess pieces are actually naked chess pieces, borrowed for the shoot from thechesspiece.com. Check out a close up of the beauties.
3. The game from the shoot is based on a Duchamp win over E.Smith, one of the 15 games I analyzed in Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess. Contrary to the video, Smith did not play all the way to checkmate; He resigned a couple moves before in a totally lost position.
4. The naked man, Jason Bretz, is nicknamed "Smiley" and I didn’t realize why till after the shoot, as I guess being naked, cold and in a doomed chess position took away some of his natural cheer.
On Tuesday, May 5, there will be a panel discussion on Duchamp’s chess career at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, one day before the art exhibit Marcel Duchamp: Chess Master opens at the Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA). Joining me on the panel will be Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess authors Francis M.Naumann, Dr. Bradley Bailey and Larry List. Larry wrote The Imagery of Chess, Revisited and was a curator for the recent show 32 Pieces in Iceland. Susan Barrett was the mastermind behind getting the event together, and we’re planning some more spectacular art chess events for the Fall. I can only hope that Duchamp would be pleased.
Some stills from the shoot:
Nashville Talk April 1, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : art, chess , 1 comment so far
I’m off to Nashville tomorrow for SuperNationals IV. I’ll be reporting for Chess Life Online and hosting a seminar, video showing and Q+A on Saturday, April 4th at 11 AM. Hope to see you there!
Princeton Photo Gallery March 18, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : chess , 5 commentsI had a great time at the Princeton Library last weekend, where I gave a talk, showed an excerpt of hulachess and played a 25-board simultaneous exhibition. Check out the photo gallery and keep your eyes out for a report on uschess.org, which will include a video from the event.
Simul and Talk at Princeton March 7, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : art, chess , 4 commentsIf you’re in the area, check out my talk and simul at the Princeton Library on March 14 at 2 PM EST. I love the poster below that the organizers made for the event, but there are a couple errors: chess expert is a specific term for someone rated between 2000 and 2200 (I am 2300) and I created hulachess with DimMak Films. I will also be giving a talk, Writing, Chess and Art at the SuperNationals in Nashville, TN, on Saturday, April 4, 11 AM, I hope you can make one of the two. If not, come back for more event announcements for spring and the summer of 09.
I wish I was in Iceland March 6, 2009
Posted by Jennifer in : art, chess, travel , 8 commentsI have been to Iceland two times, and on the second visit, I was floored by both the beauty of the landscape—and how expensive everything was ($40 pizza anyone?). So, the bright side of the economic crisis in Iceland is that it would now be reasonable to eat, drink and shop there. When I even think about visiting Iceland, I hear the music of Bjork and Sigur Ros in my head, and I calm down. My new relaxation therapy is to just say Iceland over and over again until any anger and stress melts away. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I’d also love to visit right now to see the exhibit at the Reykjavik Art Museum, 32 Pieces: The Art of Chess in person. My friend Larry List is a co-curator of the show, and the sets look amazing. I probably won’t make it to Iceland in time to see the show live, but this has me thinking about what kind of chess set I’d create if given the task.
I am totally in love with the first set by the Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. It’s my fantasy of form and function and I actually believe that I would use it. Kusama broke the record for the highest sale for a female artist in history: 5.1 million dollars, so I guess I won’t be affording the Pumpkin set anytime soon. Check out a close up of the pieces:
This brings out some hidden phobias in me. How about Fear Factor Chess?
This set by Paul McCarthy was in Moscow for a while, and Garry Kasparov played with it!
This is my least favorite in some ways, and my favorite in another way. Most of the other sets in the exhibit make me smile, while this makes me feel sort of sick and angry, like I just lost a chess game.
Can you figure out which piece is which in the set above? I will post the answer as a comment to this blog.
Read more about the show on CLO and the Reykjavik Art Museum website.
