North Koreans and chess

I wonder do North Koreans play chess? I have wanted to visit for over a year now, but it is expensive. I would love to travel with a group  throughout the country, meeting the people, seeing the towns and villages and as a focus and reason, playing challenge games as we go? A bit like the dart guys travelling all over and taking on all comers. But as I am only 1047, I probably wouldn't get picked anyway.

I bet most of the people are okay, it's just the politicians that make life difficult. Any thought or previous experience on this, anyone??

A friendly tip - If you go and get the chance to play Kim Jong-un, make sure you lose the game...

I hear that North Korean pawns promote into mushroom clouds. 

Feel the people in North Korea would be fine, but no doubt due to the propoganda feel that their President or leader or whatever they call him is the greatest chess player in the world and won the world championship after defeating a million people in a blindfold tournament, where only he was wearing the blindfold every game and the rest could of course see their moves.

All the people who have ever beaten Kim Jong Un in chess were never heard from again.  Did you know that when Mr. Kim played Dennis Rodman one-on-one in basketball, he won?  You and I can't beat the Worm in one-on-one, but Mr. Kim is an amazing athlete who would doubtless be a first-round NBA draft pick if a GM (in this case, general manager) wanted to risk a flyer on him.   

Kim Jung-il  learned chess and on the same day he checkmated a grandmaster in 4 moves 7 times in a row. Next day he picked up his first golf club.

Busy guy, no?

Funny that you should ask... because not many people know this, but yes, they do play chess. In fact, they're the best in the world at it - so good that the West, ever determined to preserve its own supposed superiority, got together and banned North Korean players from playing in international tournaments. The same thing has happened for international competitions of all kinds - the North Koreans are so good that the West doesn't allow them to participate. There are a few exceptions, for instance a handful of Olympic sports such as weightlifting... and we've all see what the North Koreans can do in that sport when they're allowed to compete.

Ha, no chance of it helping with world peace then, I guess, or seen as a good-will ambassador gesture. Still though, what a trip it would be But it sounds like I'll be going on my own 

Those look like Rockets from the Looney Toons 🤓

If you go and meet any members of the Communist party you may hear some stories about Kim's chess abilities. In 1966 the Comnunist party of China reported that Chairman Mao, then aged 73, swam 15km in 65 minutes in the Yangtze River. This is an average pace of 8 minutes per mile. Given that the world record today for 1 mile is 14 1/2 minutes this was quite the feat. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Kim has beaten Stockfish having given odds of pawn and move.

There is a Korean version of chess that is similar to the Chinese version. Don't know about the situation in North Korea.

Did you just form an original thought?  Odd.  

It's possibly of interest 😀

 So @LilBoat21 what are the great stories you have heard about the great leader there. PS - while you are there could please tell him to stop getting his eyebrows plucked. It would help with the whole mad dick-tator image thing.

Your comment reminded me of the time Chairman Mao, a strong swimmer, held a summit meeting with Leonid Brezhnev, the head of the CCCP (USSR}, who needed water wings to stay afloat, in a swimming pool.  As the story goes, the Chairman swam around the General Secretary in circles, mocking him viciously in Chinese, Russian and maybe even English. 

Funny insights, if I was to go, I'd want some of you along just for the humour. It would come in handy if we ended up in jail. Still, why dwell so much on the Great Leader, magnificent and all as I'm sure he is? I mean, there are something like 45 million souls in North Korea. It's not all about him. Think of all the mysterious, isolated towns and villages spread out all through that country. I'd love to do a road or train trip through it, drink coffee and beer and play (or introduce it), chess with the locals. Now that would be a trip to remember forever. I've started saving already by the way.