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Subject: Re: Computer Chess Worldwide

Author: steven blincoe

Date: 04:07:26 07/15/04

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>Hi Martin,
>
>maybe it's something we call the Boris-Becker-effect, over here in Germany.

>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.

yes i think perhaps this could be the reason
i always felt that having a world champion makes a very large impact on the
chess interest in General for a country and then it would follow to Chess
Programming
in the US the Fischer boom has been well documented
before Fischers single handed capture of the title from the Soviets the number
of members in the USCF(US Chess Federation)was less then 5000
the year after Fischer won the titile the membership soared to well over 40,000


in Holland the answer must be related to Euwe...

i have always maintained that Euwe was perhaps one of the most amazing champions
we ever had,because he was the only WC  that had another profession for his main
livelihood(teacher)and chess was not his main life in the years leading up to
his win against Alehkine

also i think the Dutch writers on chess are amongst the finest in the world
Donner,Hans Ree to name as few are heavily represented in my book collection

i loved the way Donner and Prins would go at each other in print
thank you for your post
Best Regards
Steve






>
>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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