Chessboard Curiousities

There are four center core squares, e4, e5, d5 and d4. The ring of squares surrounding them is made 12 squares, f3, f4, f5, f6, e6, d6, c6, c5, c4, c3, d3, and e3. The second ring is made up of 20 squares and the third surrounding ring out is made up of 28 squares. Four, twelve, twenty and twenty eight make up our 64 squares.

We have 32 vertebrae and at one point in our lives we had 32 teeth too. A pair of opponents at a chessboard bring 64 vertebrae to the game.

There is probably nothing astonishing about this. It is unlikely to raise or rating. This might amuse some, but will probably bore most people to tears.

If I come up with any futher arcain observations regarding chessboards I will make a point of it to let you know.

We have 24 vertebrae. 7 Cervical, 12 Thoracic, and 5 lumbar.

33 if we count the five forming the sacrum and another four forming the tailbone.

Well once upon a time I did have 32 teeth, but now with my back molars removed I am down to 28. My remaining 28 teeth are just enough to correspond the outer perimeter rim squares on the chessboard. My knowledge of anatomy is rather deficient, but with this forum it should improve.

In my efforts to see ahead and calculate I have been attempting to improve my powers of visualization. Those that can play chess blind folded such as George Koltanowski seem to have wonderful memory pegs which allows them to see things in an astonishingly unique ways.

I do hope to find myself around the chessboard in the dark eventually.

Yeah... It really just takes practice. The hard part is finding someone to practice with! But a good technique (from what I've found) is to:

A. Memorize a few famous games so that if you should so choose you can replay it in your mind's eye

B. Play "blindfolded" with an opponent but stay in a familiar opening for atleast 5 moves.

P.S. I wouldn't really consider the sacrum part of the spine so much as part of the spinal cavity. The sacral and coccygeal are fused together so they don't really opperate like vertebrae do. Plus the spinal cord has disipated in the most people long before L3 (lumbar 3) so the sacral and coccygeal don't have any of the cord in them. So yes they bear resemblences to the rest of the spine and WERE part of the spine in early developement but for all intensive purposes, they are not part of the spine.

I fully agree. They're an atavistic remain from the times when we didn't need our backbones rigid. :)

I am now in the process of selecting games to commit to memory. I'm also working with a download called "Chess Eye" whose purpose is to enhance chessboard visualization. A first cousin and a number of first cousins once removed are formidable chess players. It becomes my task to catch up with all of them. I believe that with the fine guidance here at Mentor and its forums, I am on the to doing so. Thank You.

Pick some games that have a historical or educational value. In the beginning I learned the Opera game (Morphy-Isoyard/Duke of Brunswick), then came the immortal game, evergreen game etc. The first one though was Petrosian-Spassky, from their WC match from 66 - (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1106725). Damn, that left a mark. That's when I decided to take chess on as a full time hobby, instead of just fiddling around with friends twice a year.

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he learns to live with whatever condition he's put through.

One person has 24-32 teeth (depending on age), 215~204 bones (again, age) and Trillions of cells

Congratulations on your wikipedia skills :)

There is plenty of wonderful chess biography on Wiki. I go there frequently.

I'm confused. What more did he say about the spine that I did except for that chunk about possibly having extra. I earlier mentioned my argument for why the sacrum and coccygeal are not actually vertebrae and are bones in of themselves. And no wikipedia for me, I took anatomy

33, 32, 24 ... It's all good with me. Let's go with 32 since the OP has made such an interesting comparison between our spines and chessboards.

All that hunching over the board might certainly erode one or two to oblivion.

Nothing like a good hunch to pull through a tight situation on chess board. My four back molars have been removed. Some call them wisdom teeth, but with there absence I still have twenty-eight remaining. That might be just enough to get a bite on better games. After all there are 28 squares on the outer perimeter, so maybe munch or the other 36 at lunch.

As for my back, it might be best for me to resume just enough yoga postures to keep it limber. The right asana such as bujangasan, (the cobra), the fish posture, shoulder stand, spinal twist and perhaps a few others might do wonders for chess players, especially as they age. Had Mikhail Tal and Bobby Fischer done these yoga poses for an extra decade or two.

Other Asian health practices probably do the same. Tai Chi, Akido, Nei Kung and and some form of Chi Gung could contribute to the well being of aging chess players. It is someting to consider.

Or perhaps some kung-fu after an embarrasing blunder.