Charles Krauthammer

I just read an article (HERE) in which Dr. Charles Krauthammer announced that he has only 2 weeks left to live.  This is sad news indeed about someone with a long and respected career as a political columnist and pundit.

Some people may not know that Krauthammer has been deeply interested in chess and has written columns of the subject.

Here are a few chess-related articles written about him or by him :

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/crosswords/chess/10chess.html

https://en.chessbase.com/post/krauthammer-on-che-just-how-dangerous-is-it-

http://nationalpost.com/opinion/charles-krauthammer-chess-is-not-an-olympic-sport-but-it-should-be
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2002/12/27/the-pariah-chess-club/ebf8806d-eb6b-43b6-9615-766d3e5605ef/?utm_term=.9dbeff8fc77a

This is sad. I liked him for his ethical stances. I did not know he had invested time into chess.

His USCF rating (from one tournament, the 34th Atlantic Open, 18 years ago : 16/79 with +2-1) is 1630.

No labels...Hes a human being that is dying of cancer.

Batgirl, I had no idea that Charles Krauthammer played chess.  Thanks for providing all those links.  I only clicked on one:

http://nationalpost.com/opinion/charles-krauthammer-chess-is-not-an-olympic-sport-but-it-should-be 

Because there's been quite some debate about whether Chess is a Sport or not on these forum threads.

Here's my favorite excerpts from that article:

"Old joke: how do you do the wave at a chess match? With your eyebrows."

True, chess is not an Olympic sport. But it should be. In 1984, when challenger Garry Kasparov forced that championship match into 17 draws in a row — each about five hours of unbearable, unrelenting concentration — world champion Anatoly Karpov was so physically and mentally drained (he lost 22 pounds) that the Kremlin pressured the World Chess Federation to stop the match, thereby saving Soviet-favourite Karpov from forfeiting the title to the brash, free-thinking, half-Jewish Kasparov.

My first tournament — the 2002 Atlantic Open, a weekend of all-day pressure so intense that I left in a near-catatonic Karpovian state — was also my last. I have stuck to casual five-minute “blitz” chess ever since. My winnings — a $150 cheque that remains framed and forever uncashed — hung as a reminder never to do that again.

"In explaining any puzzling Washington phenomenon, always choose stupidity over conspiracy, incompetence over cunning. Anything else gives them too much credit."
-Charles Krauthammer

i wonder how any of us would react if we knew we only had a few weeks left.

Chess: It's like alcohol. It's a drug. I have to control it, or it could overwhelm me. I have a regular Monday night game at my home, and I do play a little online.

Charles Krauthammer

Charles Krauthammer is/was a bright shining star mind, author and commentator on contemporary politics, society and culture.   Whether or not you agreed with him, he was a thoughtful, intelligent voice of reason.  Whenever I saw him on TV I always stopped to listen.  He will be missed.  He was a man who mattered...

https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Krauthammer-THINGS-THAT-MATTER/dp/1770496807/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1528512233&sr=1-3&keywords=thinks+that+matter

Wow, I just saw that too on my Yahoo feed.  They say it comes in 3's......Kate Spade....Anthony Bourdain......and now Charles. 

[COMMENT DELETED]    I don't know why it posted twice.

Spade and Bourdain committed suicide recently.  That is not the case with Krauthammer.  In fact, he is currently alive, but has been given only a few weeks to live due to his cancer.

 I know Bell......I've just been surprised 3 times this week.  I don't watch FOX but he did annouce it there.

That's extremely sad (even if he was guilty of writing a load of ill-thought out nonsense). Won't miss his words but he's a human being and it gives me no joy to see a man suffer like he has.  

This is ill thought out nonsense.

let's not go crazy here. what i highlighted is a matter of opinion.  

And your comment is not a matter of opinion?

one of the reasons he became a syndicated columnist is because, in the past, he pushed the envelope about conservative ideas. he had credibility working in politics under democrats, and, he won a pulitzer.

but, many that read him disagreed with his ideas/thoughts. i have to say that i read a few articles from him where i, also, thought it was nonsense. 

it is!

just as charles' editorials were. the "voice of reason" should have been what i highlighted.