Ground Control: A Journey Through Chess and Space by srwatkins777

A J O U R N E Y T H R O U G H C H E S S A N D S PA C E

GROUND CONTROL

A JOURNEY THROUGH CHESS AND SPACE. 2

EMILY ALLRED AND SHANNON BAILEY

Organized in connection with the 50th

flights, and putting a person on the moon.

and earth on a life-sized board before they

anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon land-

Some of the artifacts in Ground Control

received the very first badges.

ing, Ground Control: A Journey Through

testify to the excitement of these years—a

Chess and Space showcases out of this

chessboard featuring a Soviet rocket blast-

Chess is one of the world’s oldest games,

world artifacts from the collection of the

ing into space and artifacts related to a

but it is often featured in visions of the

World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) and

game between the cosmonauts aboard

future and the far reaches of the galaxy.

lenders Duncan Pohl and Allan Savage.

Soyuz 9 (Andrian Nikolayev and Vitaly Sev-

Mr. Spock played Tri-Dimensional chess

Ground Control also examines important

astyanov) and cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko

against Captain James Kirk and Dr. Leon-

chess events from 1969 including Boris

and general Nikolai P. Kamanin, who were

ard McCoy in Star Trek, which aired from

Spassky’s victory in the World Chess

on Earth.

September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969.

Championship, Nona Gaprindashvili’s win in the Women’s World Chess Champion-

The game continued to appear in later Star Space also has a special connection to

Trek franchises. The WCHOF’s collection,

ship, important tournaments in the United

the history of the WCHOF. One highlight of

which numbers over 1000, includes sets

States and around the world as well as

our collection, acquired after the museum

related to the game’s top players as well

the births of future world chess champion

moved from Miami to Saint Louis, is the

as ones with pop culture themes taken

Viswanathan Anand and trailblazer and

chessboard flown as part of the official

from television shows and movies set in

future women’s world chess champion

flight kit on the last mission of the Space

space, including The Jetsons, Star Wars,

Susan Polgar.

Shuttle Endeavour (May 16-June 1, 2011).

and Star Trek. Many of these are included

Competitors in the U.S. and U.S. Women’s

in Ground Control. We hope that you will

Just as the 1972 world chess championship

Chess Championships, which were held

enjoy this exhibition, _______.

match between Bobby Fischer and Boris

at the Saint Louis Chess Club, signed the

Spassky is often seen as an embodiment of

board. Also, NASA astronaut Greg Cham-

the Cold War tensions between the United

itoff was present at the opening festivities

States and Soviet Union, in the space race,

of the World Chess Hall of Fame, which

the two nations competed for superiority

coincided with the launch of the Scouts

in the realms of science and technology.

BSA Chess Merit Badge (September 11,

They sought to achieve important firsts in

2011). Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield led the effort

space exploration, such as putting the first

to establish the chess merit badge. Scouts

satellite into orbit, the first manned space

reenacted a recent game between chess

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The Franklin Mint

Photographer unknown

The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Chess Set

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E.

1993

2008

King size: 3 ⅛ in.

10 x 8 in.

Board: 2 ⅞ x 17 ¾ x 17 ¾ in.

Photograph

Pewter, crystal, plastic, and sterling silver

Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

THE 4

FINAL

FRONTIER

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Paramount Pictures Advertisement for Star Trek: The Next Generation Collector’s Chess Set 1994 10 13/16 x 8 ⅛ in. Paper Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

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Playmates Star Trek 1701 Collector‘s Edition Figurines featuring Tri-D Chess 1998 Captain Jean-Luc Picard: 5 ⅛ in. Lt. Natasha Yar: 5 in. Lt. Reginald Barclay: 5 in. Box: 14 x 9 ⅛ x 2 1/2 in. Plastic Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

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The Franklin Mint The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Chess Set 1993 King size: 3 ⅛ in. Board: 2 ⅞ x 17 ¾ x 17 ¾ in. Pewter, crystal, plastic, and sterling silver Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE 8

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Yuri Garanin for Gzhel

Humans vs Alien Chess Match Date unknown 3 x 4 x 2 in. Porcelain Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

CHESS CHESS CHESS CHESS CHESS CHESS 9

Tactic Games

Thunderbirds: 50 Years Chess Set 2015 King: 2 ½ in. Board: 11 ½ x 11 ½ in. Plastic and cardboard Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

IMAGE CREDIT Cab invenieni apel id explicatem dolorpo rerio.

Summit Collection Aliens vs Humans Chess Set Date unknown King size: Commander Smith: 3 3/16 in. Jorel: 3 5/16 in. Cold cast resin Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

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Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E.

2008

10 x 8 in.

Photograph

Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

JOHN DONALDSON

1969 was an important year for chess. The Fischer Boom, with the World Championship match in Reykjavík providing front-page headlines each morning and leading off the news each evening, was three years in the future, but signs were already present the chess world would soon 12

experiencing significant changes.

Photographer unknown Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E. 2008 10 x 8 in. Photograph Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Boris Spassky dethroned the world chess champion by a score of 12½ - 10½ in a match lasting over two months to become the tenth world champion. Petrosian would continue to play at a high level the rest of his career but would never again be a participant in a World Championship match. Like many of the best players (Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal and Yefim Geller) of the 1950s and 1960s, Petrosian’s best days came to end in the late 1960s. Soon a generation of young stars would be replacing them at the top, the one exception being Viktor Korchnoi who only reached his peak in the late 1970s as he approached his 50th birthday.

GROUND CONTROL

Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E.

2008

10 x 8 in.

Photograph

Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

The challenger was not as lucky in the 1969 Women’s World Championship match with Nona Gaprindashvili successfully defending her crown against Alla Kushnir by a score of 12-7. The two rivals would meet three times for the title between 1965 and 1972 with Nona winning on each occasion. The quality of play in these matches, on the level of an international master, was significantly higher than seen in previous Women’s World Championship competitions and would continue to rise in the 1970s, the result of more women playing and increased opportunities to meet stronger opponents in mixed competitions.

Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E. 2008 10 x 8 in. Photograph Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Spassky and Gaprindashvili were not the only Soviets to triumph in 1969. Eighteen-year-old Anatoly Karpov from the Siberian city of Zlatoust won the World Junior Championship in Stockholm. Karpov’s victory ended a long drought for the Soviets in the annual competition open to players under 21 as he became their first winner since 1955. Who could have predicted in 1969 that Karpov would go on to become one of the greatest players of all time?

GROUND CONTROL

Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E.

2008

10 x 8 in.

Photograph

Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

In 1969 Women’s Olympiads were played on only two boards (with one reserve), and the Soviet Union dominated the competition. In the 1969 event held in Lublin, Poland, they scored 26 out of a possible 28 to finish well ahead of Hungary (20 1/2) and Czechoslovakia (19). Today the Open and Women’s competitions in the Olympiads have the same team composition—four players and one reserve—a reflection of not only how many more female players there are, but also how much stronger they play. Berkeley Chess School founder Elizabeth Shaughnessy made her debut for the Irish team in the 1969 Olympiad and would go on to represent her homeland in another six Olympiads. Later, her new hometown of Berkeley, California, she would build a program from scratch that would teach tens of thousands of kids to play chess, a harbinger of the scholastic boom of the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.

Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E. 2008 10 x 8 in. Photograph Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Bobby Fischer played no tournament or match games in 1969, but his presence was still strongly felt. The publication of My Sixty Memorable Games in January was a commercial as well as critical success and the hardcover and paperback editions would go through several reprintings. Even in the 21st century, this book is considered one of the greatest chess books ever written, both for its deep pre-computer analysis and Fischer’s frank comments. His 1972 match with Spassky would cause an explosion of interest in the game that would be noticed by English language publishers both in the United States and the United Kingdom. The result would be dozens and dozens of new chess books appearing in the mid-1970s with many of them published by the British firm Batsford and R.H.M. in the United States. Fischer’s 1968 victories at Netanya and Vinkovci helped make him the top-rated player on the 1969 FIDE rating list at 2720, 30 points ahead of World Champion Boris Spassky and forty points in front of GM Viktor Korchnoi. GMs Bent Larsen of Denmark and Lajos Portisch of Hungary joined Fischer as the only non-Soviets among the top ten.

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Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E.

2008

10 x 8 in.

Photograph

Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Right behind Korchnoi on the 1969 FIDE rating list was the “Patriarch of Soviet Chess”, 57-year-old World Chess Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. Rated number four in the world at 2660, he shared first place with GM Efim Geller at the annual Wijk aan Zee tournament with 10½/15, a half point ahead of GMs Portisch and Paul Keres. It was very good year for Portisch, who won at Amsterdam with 11½/15, at Monte Carlo (tied with Smyslov) on 8/11 and at Hastings (the 1969/70 edition), scoring 6/9, ahead of Vlastimil Hort, Svetozar Gligoric, and Wolfgang Uhlmann.

Photographer unknown Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E. 2008 10 x 8 in. Photograph Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

The 1969 US Chess Championship was held at the end of the year in New York City. Fifty-eight-year-old GM Sammy Reshevsky won his eighth title with an 8-3 score followed by IM William Addison at 7½ and GM Pal Benko on 7. The U.S. Championship that year being a Zonal, all three won spots in the 1970 Interzonal. This proved significant when Benko ended up giving his place to Fischer, the beginning of the latter’s journey to becoming world champion. If Benko had not done this Bobby would have had to wait another three years for a shot at the crown. Before 1972, all American players outside of Fischer and Reshevsky were at best semi-professionals. This would soon change due to increased prize funds and more teaching and writing opportunities. WIM Gisela Gresser set a record when she won her ninth U.S. Women’s Championship at the age of 63 with a score of 7½ from 9, a point ahead of her long-time rival WIM Mona May Karff. The closest any woman has come to Gresser in the last 50 is GM Irina Krush with seven titles. Today most top female players learn to play well before they are 10, but Gresser didn’t pick up the game until she was in her late 30s! She only won her first U.S. Women’s Championship title in 1944 at the age of 38 and became a US Chess rated master in 1963 at 57—an age when players are long retired.

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Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E.

2008

10 x 8 in.

Photograph

Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Contrast Gresser with GM Susan Polgar who holds the American records for highest-rated female player (2675 FIDE) and (2598 USCF). Susan was born on April 19, 1969, in Budapest, Hungary and her parents started teaching the game not long after she could walk and talk. The now Kirkwood, Missouri, resident, led the United States to its best-ever finish (second place) in the 2004 Women’s Chess Olympiad, turning in the best individual performance of the event. The former Women’s World Champion has led Texas Tech and Webster University to many collegiate titles. Future U.S. Chess Hall of Famers Pal Benko, Milan Vukcevich and Arthur Bisguier tied for first with scores of 9½ - 2½ in the 70th U.S. Open held August 10-22 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Seattle Master Viktors Pupols of Seattle was the early front runner after defeating Benko in round seven, but faded near the end to finish with 8½ points. Pupols, at the age of 85, has already played over 100 tournament games in 2019. This past February he defeated International Master Bryce Tiglon in the Washington State Championship, an event he first played in back in 1954! This example of an octogenarian playing successfully is not common, but hardly unknown as just this year 82-year International Master Anthony Saidy defeated a 2500+ FIDE rated grandmaster at the National Open.

Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E. 2008 10 x 8 in. Photograph Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

During the U.S. Open in Lincoln outgoing US Chess Federation President Marshall Rohland of Wisconsin reported the organization’s membership had increased from 11,202 to 13,488. This steady growth was typical for the US Chess Federation during the 1960s and set the table for the massive increase it experienced during the Fischer Boom—up to almost 60,000 members in 1973. This number rapidly decreased when Bobby failed to defend his title and the 1973 record total was not eclipsed until 1992. Today, thanks to a tremendous rise in the number of scholastic players, the organization is rapidly approaching 100,000 members.

The U.S. Chess Federation magazine Chess Life and U.S. Chess Hall of Famer Al Horowitz’s Chess Review (founded in 1933) merged in the fall of 1969 with the new publication adopting the name Chess Life & Review. This lasted until the early 1980s when it reverted back to Chess Life?

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THE FIRST PUBLIC EARTH VS. SPACE CHESS MATCH

22 22

EARTH VS.SPACE

Photographer unknown

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff

2008

10 x 8 in.

Photograph

Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Of all imaginable things that could have hap-

executing procedures and solving problems. Of

pened during my time in space, I had no idea

course, being involved in a spaceflight mission

that a chess match would be the most historic.

is, and was, exciting stuff! But as with anything

Officially, in the battle of the first ever public

else, the tasks of the day, in and of themselves,

Earth vs. Space chess match, the winner was

were simply that—tasks. They created little

Earth, but this is not the whole story. In fact,

opportunity for rapport between the crew and

this was not the first game. Even more, the

ground. At some point, the games began, and

winner may or may not be Earth! How could

they were typically simple and silly things,

this be? Well, the unofficial story is a little more

like guessing games and trivial pursuits. I

intriguing and a lot more amusing.

distinctly recall sitting on-console in Mission

GREG CHAMITOFF PH.D. FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT

Control thinking, “when I fly, it’s going to be a Prior to my own first mission, I was a CapCom

real game, a serious game…a chess game!”

in NASA’s Mission Control, the voice speaking to the crew onboard the International Space

As my turn to fly on ISS Expedition 17 ap-

Station (ISS). I was curious about the informal

proached, I began shopping for a chess set

games that I saw several crews ‘play’ with

that I could adapt for zero gravity. I found the

those of us on the ground. The purpose was

perfect set—a plastic-coated metallic board

to boost morale for the team and to have some

with magnetic pieces. I was in business. That

sort of engagement beyond the daily grind of

is, until NASA saw this strange personal item

GROUND CONTROL

Photographer unknown

Greg Chamitoff Plays Chess in the Harmony

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff

Node of the International Space Station during

2008

Expedition 17

10 x 8 in.

July 19, 2008

Photograph

Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

on my manifest list with magnets. “No magnets allowed,” they said. “It

would make a move in turn without kibitzing between control centers.

could interfere with electronic devices onboard.” This was just a few

Little did I know that NASA organized a small tiger team of enthusiastic

weeks before launch, and I panicked. Quarantine was a week away, it

chess players to assure that NASA won. The first game didn’t go well—for

was BUSY, and there was little time to purchase and receive something

Earth, that is!

else. My solution, of course, was Velcro! I bought a cheap set of plastic pieces and packaged them with Velcro sheets. One of my first and most

Taking turns between countries to move ended up being a serious hand-

important tasks in space was to cut out circular pieces of sticky-back

icap. So much so that I later heard that Moscow was politely furious with

Velcro and attach them to the bottom of 32 chess pieces. It worked! I had

Japan for losing the game. They demanded a Russian-only rematch,

a Zero-G chess set and was ready to challenge Mission Control to a game.

which resulted in multiple ongoing simultaneous games with each country. Playing one game was easy enough, but six simultaneous games

As part of an International Space Station program, the first Earth vs.

was a stretch. After all, the mission planners didn’t allocate time in the

Space chess game was naturally going to be a round-the-world engage-

schedule for chess!

ment with all the primary mission control centers involved—Houston, Huntsville, Moscow, Montreal, Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany), Tsukuba

Before these games could finish, however, a few special folks on planet

24 (Japan), and Toulouse. The arrangement was that each control center

Earth invented a bigger bolder version of Earth vs. Space Chess, that

Photographer unknown

EARTH VS.SPACE

Signed Photo of Astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff 2008 10 x 8 in. Photograph Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

would engage the public at large. Along with

the 3rd grade team is smarter than mission

and I maintained for much of the game, Earth

the US Chess Federation (US Chess) and the

control! Right?

vs. Space ultimately came to a stalemate. It

NASA Public Affairs Office (PAO), they created a

seems that another rematch is in order during

public game where anyone on Earth could vote

This was all so fun and inspiring that we did it

a future mission. Perhaps next time space will

for their favorite moves. A team of exceptional

again three years later during the last mission

be represented by a female moon-walking

chess experts was selected to advise. They

of Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134) (May

Eagle Scout!

were the 3rd grade national chess champions

16-June 1, 2011). It was a fast-paced game

from Stevenson Elementary School in Bellev-

with space represented by Box and Taz (my

By the way, ISS Expedition 17 and Space

ue, Washington. After each move from space,

crewmate Gregory Johnson and myself). Being

Shuttle STS-134 were spectacular missions

the students would analyze the game, pick a

a much shorter mission, the game was com-

that helped pave the way for future exploration

handful of top moves, and post them online for

pleted on the ground on September 10, 2011,

of our solar system. For more information see

public voting. This game did go well!

during the inaugural ceremony of the Scouts

(https://www.nasa.gov/content/human-mis-

BSA chess merit badge, which was spearhead-

sions-list). Special thanks to Hal Bogner (US

It was a very exciting game, with many twists

ed by Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield. With grandmas-

Chess Federation) and Kelly Humphries (NASA

and turns, but ultimately Earth was victorious.

ters leading the charge, scouts acted out the

Public Affairs Office) for making this all possi-

There is a deeper meaning to this victory. If the

game on a life-size board in the streets of Saint

ble, and to the Saint Louis Chess Club, World

3rd grade team beat me, and I beat mission

Louis. Trailing by a pawn that was sacrificed

Chess Hall of Fame, and Scouts BSA for their

control, then the inescapable conclusion is that

for an upper hand on the offensive that Box

roles in the Earth vs. Space chess competition.

IMAGE CREDIT

Cab invenieni apel id explicatem dolor-