Author: Martin Slowik
Date: 02:04:06 07/15/04
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On July 14, 2004 at 21:56:40, steven blincoe wrote: >but i think its something more.. >in all of my years collecting the old chess computers,the vast majority of >collectors come from either the US or Germany Hi Steve, maybe it's something we call the Boris-Becker-effect, over here in Germany. After Becker (and Graf) appeared on the tennis world stage there was a great boom in tennis interest in this country. Children followed their stars and many parents became obsessed with the idea that their kids could become a second Becker or Graf. The TV and press coverage of the big tennis events did the rest. Now, that Euwe became WC in the first half of the 20th century did a great favour to the small Netherlands, I think. A big part of the chess interest in that tiny country is probably due to this fact. Timman and other great players let it simmer and at the advent of the chess computers, the rise of the very talented programmers like Ed Schroeder and Johann de Koinig seems to have been a very logical consequence. In Germany the situation is probably a tad different, since in recent years we've never had a great player (well, Huebner was not bad, granted). However, the tradition of the great pre second war masters (Anderssen, Lasker, Tarrasch and the like) was still there. Together with the German tendency to love high tech toys of all kinds (remember the first computer Z1 by the German Zuse), it seems also quite logical that companies like first Hegner & Glaser (Mephisto) and now Chessbase can be found here. Success obviously attracts people and so I think it's not very surprising that the interest in that kind of toys is still eminent. Just a few random thoughts... Mephisto regards, Martin
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