Coffee, Cocaine, FIDE and other nonsense
Time to Smell the Coffee
Happy Friday! A recent study from the University of Minho in Portugal indicates that your second and third cup of coffee have measureable effects on improving your brain’s efficiency and memory.
”Scientists examining MRI scans discovered differences in the makeup of the brains between regular coffee drinkers and those who don’t consume the beverage at all. Coffee drinkers had a more “efficient” brain, with quicker connectivity in the cerebellum, the right precuneus, and the right insular.
Even one cup of coffee can keep you sharp
These patterns show regularly drinking coffee may give people better motor control. Participants consuming caffeine were also less likely to let their minds wander. Study authors add the effects of this brain boost can be immediate. Results show non-coffee drinkers could start seeing benefits for a short time after a single cup of java.”
Of course, for dedicated coffee aficionados like us none of this research is very surprising. We have long suspected that there are numerous positive aspects to drinking coffee.
The Armchair Warrior is BACK!
In May 2020 the popular American chess blogger Michael Bacon — aka The Armchair Warrior — decided to take a well deserved sabbatical. I have since missed his insightful –though often controversial — commentary, analysis and humor.
FORTUNATELY, Michael is back! Yesterday he posted his first blog article since May 1, 2020, and what a GREAT post it is. Relentlessly criticizing FIDE for holding the Candidates Tournament at a time when tensions with Russia can explode at any moment.
Michael points out that just the death of the notorious Putin-critic Navalny during the tournament could have unforseen consequences. And this is not to mention other flashpoints such as Ukraine or the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
FIDE promotes chess in prisons!
I had a good laugh when the FIDE leadership recently decided to float the ‘Chess for Freedom’ program for prisons. What a joke!
”Chess improves behaviour, helping to reduce inmate violence and developing communication skills while promoting positive use of leisure time.”
There are several problems with this undertaking, apart from the obvious: the name, Chess for Freedom, sounds like some sort of Stalinist-era slogan for the gulags.
Next, prisons are places for people who have committed serious crimes. Unfortunately, a good percentage of prisoners are infact chessplayers themselves! Many murders actually take place during chess games…take a look below for just a few that I have written about here on this blog.
So much for the nonsense about how chessplaying might be useful for avoiding making the ‘bad decisions’ that got them into prison in the first place!
Other chess related crimes
Chess apps and Sex with Minors!
