The Wholesale Chess Blog

Thursday Chess Deals - 10 Quality Boards $14.90

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:18:15 +0000

Thursday Chess Deals for July 16, 2009:

10 Quality Chess Boards (Forest Green) - for only $14.90
This is a great deal for clubs - get it while you can! 10 Quality Chess Boards for only $14.90!

Colored Basic Club Special Pieces - Assortment
Brand New Product! 8 different vibrantly colored sets of 16 basic chess pieces for 50% off MSRP!

Thursday Chess Deals
Every Thursday you’ll find two great chess deals at www.WholeasaleChess.com available only for orders placed online on that Thursday. (12:00 am to 11:59 pm Pacific Time) The Thursday Chess Deals change from week to week but the savings are always significant. You can sign up for Thursday Chess Deals email notifications or follow us on Twitter or Facebook today!

A Few Things You Should understand about Thursday Chess Deals
Thursday Chess Deals are limited to stock on hand and no rain checks or back orders will be allowed. Customers may choose to purchase one or both of the Thursday Chess Deals but will be limited to a maximum of one of each item per Thursday. Orders containing a Thursday Chess Deal are not eligible for any other promotions, discounts or pricematches. Thursday Chess Deals are only available for the item listed. No substitutions of product, color, size, etc., will be allowed.

One Child’s Chess Experience

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:14:53 +0000

Written by Laura Sherman of YourChessCoach.com

The room is silent. You can literally hear the people breathing around you while you study the sixty-four checkered squares in front of you. Glancing over at the chess clock you see you have plenty of time left in your game. A move cries out to be made, but you bide your time and check for others. You know that a move made in haste could cost your dearly. Finally, confident that your initial idea is sound, you reach out a hand and grasp your knight, hopping it to its intended destination. There is an audible gasp from a few behind you.

You hit your clock signaling your opponent’s turn. Only then do you steal a glance at him. He meets your eyes with a look that speaks defeat. You see that he knows it is just a matter of time. He shakes his head and stares at the hopeless position. You lean back in your chair and watch him study the board for possible flaws to your plan. There are none. It is hard to stifle the grin that threatens to spread across your face.

You glance around at your spectators. Some recognize your opponent’s fate, while others wear puzzled expressions. Two whisper to each other and finally nod their heads in understanding. One winks at you in admiration and turns to observe a game with a less determined outcome.

The fact that you are only ten years old, playing in an adult tournament, might have intimidated some, but not you. No, you know that your dedicated study and eagerness to learn the game has paid off. You continue to improve each time you play. Your teachers at school notice a difference, writing glowing praise home to your parents on a regular basis now. You know that you can do whatever you put your mind to do and it shows in various aspects of your life.

Your opponent shakes his head, stops the clock and reaches out his hand to you, signaling his resignation. You shake his hand, smile and offer to analyze the game with him, a ritual amongst players. He returns your smile and nods. You know he doesn’t care about your age, because he knows your analysis will help him improve. How many activities are there where an adult would be eager to hear the thoughts of a child? As you set up in the next room to go over the game you notice other adults have followed. They too want to hear what you have to say. There is no better feeling.

Laura Sherman founded Your Chess Coach (YourChessCoach.com) with her husband, Dan Sherman. Together they teach children to play chess through various schools in Pinellas County, Florida, as well as privately in students’ homes and online. Your Chess Coach is devoted to teaching chess to children of all ages, giving them the many life skills that the game offers. You can learn more about YourChessCoach and other local and online chess instructors on our Chess Instructors page.

If you would like to ask Laura a question about chess, you can ask the question in the comment space below, leave your email, and Laura will respond directly to you - OR - you can always find YourChessCoach on Twitter.

Chess Software & Chess Books Ship FREE!

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:25:21 +0000

Chess software and chess books will begin to ship for FREE via USPS Media Mail on weekends only (Saturday & Sunday) starting this weekend! This is a limited time offer, so be sure to grab all the chess software and chess books you’ve been drooling over and take advantage of the WholesaleChess.com guaranteed low prices and FREE Media Mail Shipping on weekends - while you can!

The Free Media Mail Weekend Shipping Special is only eligible for online orders shipping to the United States.
In order to use USPS Media Mail as your shipping option, your order must contain ONLY media related items (software or books). Please note that shipping time using the USPS Media Mail option is much longer than our other shipping options, and delivery time can take up to 11 days.

For more information on Wholesale Chess shipping policies, please see our Shipping Policy.

Thursday Chess Deals - Three ABC CDs for $39.99

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:07:39 +0000

Thursday Chess Deals for July 9, 2009:

ABC of Chess Opening, Middle Game & End Game Combo -Chess Software - for only $39.99
Cover all three stages of your game with this top-selling ABC series from Chessbase.

Hard Cover Score Book (Blue)- $2.49 (75% off!)
Keep track of your games with this blue Hard Cover Score Book that holds 100 games.

Chess Photo Contest - Win $50 Gift Card

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:07:16 +0000

The Wholesale Chess Photo Contest last summer was a big hit - so we thought we’d bring it back around again this summer! Here’s how it works:

You email us pictures of you enjoying chess! (Send to caleb@wholesalechess.com)

We share your chess photos on our blog.

At the end of August, we’ll select a photo as a winner.

If your photo is selected as the winner - you receive a $50 WSC gift certificate, and your photo is displayed on the Wholesale Chess website. By emailing us your photo, you grant us permission to display and use your photo at our discretion anywhere on WholesaleChess.com or our official WSC Twitter and Facebook accounts.

YOU CAN VIEW CHESS PHOTOS ALREADY SUBMITTED HERE: Wholesale Chess Photo Contest

Thursday Chess Deal - Bobby Book only $3.99

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:08:16 +0000

Fourth of July Weekend Thursday Chess Deals for July 2, 2009:

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess -Chess Book - for only $3.99
Bobby Fischer’s time-tested secrets are all revealed in this masterful chess book on sale today only!

14″ Wooden Magnetic Chess Set - $29.99 (70% off!)
The finely crafted magnetic chess pieces in this set fit perfectly with the polished 14 inch folding board to create a superb chess set at an amazing price!

Thursday Chess Deals - Travel Chess Set Only $1

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:39:07 +0000

Father’s Day Weekend Thursday Chess Deals for June 18, 2009:

Intensive Tactics Course Volume 1 & 2Chess Software - for only $29.99 (Get two for the price of one!)
Work on your tactics this summer with this two volume tactics course from Chessbase. Almost 7,000 training positions between the two CDs.

Quality Magnetic Chess Set - $.99
Take your game on the road with the Quality Magnetic Chess Set. At 8” x 8” (with algebraic notation) this set is also great for analysis.

Benjamin Franklin and his Chess Set

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:46:55 +0000

Didn’t know that Benjamin Franklin was so involved with chess, did you? Read this short explanation of Ben’s life with chess, and you’ll be amazed. This information was compiled by Bill Wall.

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 (January 6, 1705 old style) in Boston.

In 1726, Franklin wrote about checkers (draughts), but did not mention chess. He had sailed to England and back, and gambled at checkers with his shipmates.

In 1727, Franklin formed a club of young workingmen. It was commonly called the Leather Apron Club, and officially dubbed the Junto. Franklin may have learned chess from this social club of enterprising tradesmen. This group helped establish the academy that later became the Univeristy of Pennsylvania. Its first rector was a chess playing companion of Franklin’s.

In 1732, he drafted an essay called “The Morals of Chess” for his Philadelphia Junto discussions and his own newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin considered chess as a metaphor for both diplomacy and life. He had learned chess about this time. In his essay on “The Morals of Chess,” Franklin attibuted chess being introduced into the United States by Spaniards, who spread chess over their part of America.

In 1733, he began to study languages. When he was learning Italian, he found a chess player who was also learning Italian. Together, they learned Italian. The winner of the chess game between them had to task the other to memorize parts of grammar or Italian translations. They were of equal strength, so he won just as many as he lost, and they both learned Italian.

In 1752, Franklin mentioned that his favorite chess playing partner, David Martin (1696-1751), had died. Franklin had written to an English publisher that he no longer needed a certain chess book because his principle antagonist was dead, and the few remaining players were very indifferent. Martin was a sheriff in New Jersey before coming to Philadelphia. He was one of the earliest members of the American Philosophical Society. He was the first rector of the Academy of Philadelphia (forerunner of the University of Pennsylvania) and a Greek and Latin professor.

In 1757, Franklin purchased a very nice chess set while in London. Franklin’s chess set was made of fruitwood. It was French in origin. The chess set design was known as the Regency form. The Regency design was named after the Cafe de Regence in Paris. The Regency chess pieces were produced from the 1750s to the 1890s. The earlier design, such as what Franklin had, made the Knight piece without the traditional horse head. It had notched collars to distinguish it from the Bishops. It was a turned piece with two cuts at right angles out of its top ruff.

In 1762, Franklin delivered a Regency chess set for a friend, John Bartram (1699-1777), which Franklin ordered while in London. Bartram is considered the “father of American botany.”

In Decmember, 1774, when Franklin was at a meeting of the Royal Society in London, he was introduced to Mrs. Caroline Howe (widow of a distant cousin, Richard Howe, and thus known as Mrs. Howe), a sister of Admiral Richard Howe (Lord Howe) and General William Howe. She challenged him to a game of chess. They played several games of chess at her house over the next few days, including Christmas. Admiral Richard Howe and General William Howe eventually ended up the commanders of England’s naval and land forces during the Revolution. Soon, Franklin was meeting secretly with Admiral Howe to talk about politics and negotiations, under the guise of visiting Mrs. Howe to play chess. Franklin used his chess connections to meet secretly with some members of Britain’s Whig opposition to stave off a revolution by the colonies.

From 1777 to 1785, Franklin lived in Passy, France.

In the spring of 1777, Franklin first met Madame Brillon de Jouy (age 33) in Passy, near Paris. She was married to a wealthy man 24 years older than her (but 14 years younger than Franklin). She spoke no English. She loved music and was a chess playing companion of Franklin for the next eight years. In July, 1777, she wrote in the third person the following to Franklin: “She is a little miffed about the six games of chess he won so inhumanly and she warns him she will spare nothing to get her revenge.” Franklin had a habit of having a late-night chess match with her in the bathroom. Madame Brillon was Franklin’s neighbor when he stayed at Passy. She was considered one of the greatest harpsichord players in Europe.

Franklin played chess almost nightly until almost dawn. During one of Franklin’s late-night chess matches, a messenger arrived with an important set of dispatches from America. Franklin waved him off until his chess game was finished.

Another time, Franklin was playing chess with the elderly Duchess of Bourbon, who made a move that exposed her king. Franklin then proceeded to capture the king. The duchess, knowing the proper rules to chess, said, “we do not take Kings so.” Franklin responded, “We do in America.” This anecdote was first told by Thomas Jefferson in his memoirs.

Franklin often played chess at the Cafe de la Regence in Paris. A letter written by Marquis de Lafayette described Franklin’s chess playing in Paris.

Franklin blamed his gout from too much sitting playing chess and not enough exercise.

In June, 1779, he wrote “The Morals of Chess” while in London.

In 1782, the wife of the Count de Segur often played chess with Franklin.

In 1783, Franklin played “The Turk” automaton at the Cafe de la Regence in Paris and lost.

One night in Passy, he was absorbed in a game of chess when the candles flickered out. Refusing to quit, he ordered someone to find more candles. It was then pointed out to Franklin that it was already light out. Franklin threw open the shutters and said, “You are right, it is daytime. Let’s go to bed.” This incident prompted him to write a letter to the Journal de Paris in April, 1784, about the concept of Daylight Savings Time. If during the summer months Parisians would shift their sleeping time seven hours earlier, a huge savings would occur by using sunshine instead of candles. Franklin’s habit was to stay up most of the night playing chess and getting up at noon.

Franklin returned to America in 1785.

In December 1786, he published an essay called “The Morals of Chess” in the Columbian Magazine in Philadelphia. He wrote: The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions. For life is a kind of Chess, in which we have points to gain, and competition or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn: First, Foresight…Second, Circumspection…Third, Caution…And lastly, We learn by Chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs the habit of hoping for a favorable chance, and that of persevering in the secrets of resources…

He died in 1790.

In 1791, a Russian translation from the French reprint of The Morals of Chess was published in St. Petersburg.

In 1999, Benjamin Franklin was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Franklin’s chess set is part of a traveling display called Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World. This exhibition contains over 250 original Franklin artifacts. The exhibition debuted in Philadelphia.

Tell Us Your Story!

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:46:57 +0000

School’s out? Tournaments slowing down a little? Have some extra time this summer? Take a few moments and tell us your story! We want to hear about your success with Chess! Tell us about your chess club, about your success as a chess instructor, about your school’s chess team - tell us about how much you love chess!

We’ll share your stories here on our blog. You can include your story as a comment below - or you can email me at caleb@wholesalechess.com with your extended story.

Share the Good News!

Chess Basics Video: Child Chess Prodigy

Caleb - Wholesale Chess — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:21:50 +0000

Here’s a great YouTube video of child chess prodigy, Kayden Troff, teaching the basic of chess. You can read all about Kayden in these other Wholesale Chess Blog articles about this young, great chess player.

Playing Tips from Chess Child Prodigies
One-on-One With Child Chess Prodigy
Blitz Chess Champion: Kayden Troff

You can also find and purchase great chess books and chess software for learning chess at our Chess Learning Center.