International Chess Day
Here’s the opening:
1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Nc3 Nf6
You follow?
No?
Huh….
Better brush up on your chess rules then, because International Chess Day is coming up on July 20th!
(This is my personal favorite, the Four Knights Opening! Who doesn’t like too many ponies?)
New to chess? We’ve got books for that!
Nobody to play against? We’ve got a chess board in the library!
Meanwhile, my beginner-level rank and I will be celebrating on Chess.com, where it’s free to match your skills against people all around the world.
If that doesn’t put you in checkmate, here’s a whole rank of movies, shows, cookbooks and games to celebrate one of the oldest games in our history.
KING:
The King Arthur Flour Company has a baking book just for you.
QUEEN:
I’m including the queen of the fantasy genre, Mercedes Lackey, from our very own leisure collection in Cannell Library, for purely selfish reasons of adoring the Arrows of the Queen series. Find it here.
ROOK:
In the mood for a different game? Why not borrow Rook from a neighboring library? Find it here.
BISHOP:
What bishop but Elizabeth Bishop? Poet extraordinaire! My personal favorite is The Man-Moth (not to be confused with mammoths, or Moth Man), but you can peruse a whole collection of Bishop’s work. Find it here.
KNIGHT:
Ghosts, giants, thieves, schemers — the epic poem of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has it all. And why not pair it alongside a viewing of the 2021 film, The Green Knight, for good measure? Find them here.
PAWN:
The choice for our final piece is an action-packed robbery thriller movie, Pawn. I think it’s fitting that our simplest, humble, not-to-be-underestimated little chess dude gets a bold movie! Find it here.
We hope your summer takes some unexpected gambits! Who knows? You’ll probably become a grandmaster in no time.