Decision Time Again
By Hal Bogner, Match Director   
November 9, 2008
thumb_280609main_onpadsunrise-1600_428-321.jpgOn Nov. 14, Space Shuttle Endeavor will head up into space to help build out ISS further.  But what of our game?  What will the position - and the material balance - be when they arrive? On Nov. 14, Space Shuttle Endeavor will head up into space to help build out ISS further.  But what of our game?  What will the position - and the material balance - be when they arrive?

Endeavor will arrive with a crew of seven, and for the remainder of November, 10 astronauts will feverishly build out the International Space Station to accomodate a larger permanent crew.  In the past, between visits such as this, ISS has been home to three spacemen at a time; in the future, six astronauts will make themselves at home roughly 210 miles above Earth.

On our chessboard, will Earthlings follow suit?  Build for the future by building a strong center, or continue to go for a material advantage.  The National K-3 Champions and their chess club teammates at Stevenson Elementary School (Bellevue, WA) offer two ways to move ahead in material by a pawn, and a third alternative that instead looks to grab the entire center.

It's YOUR TURN to VOTE - choose wisely!  Voting will be open until 1:30 PM EST (10:30 AM PST, 6:30 PM GMT) on Monday.

greg_move_13_300.jpg
Greg Chamitoff vs. Earth (after 13.c4)

And after you decide how to vote, please check out the following:

Part-time Florida resident Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk - recently crowned Women's World Champion while playing for her native Russia - has provided uschess.org with a nice story about the historic significance of this Earth vs. Space match .

USCF Correspondence Chess Director Alex Dunne has been providing commentary on recent moves, which you can see when you replay the game in our Chess Viewer.

By the way, this isn't the only game Greg has in progress.  He also has games with six Mission Control Centers around the world, and you can view those games in the Chess Viewer by clicking on "Game List."

Reminder: Don't miss a moment of this historic match - add our RSS feed to keep up with the latest developments, as articles and moves are posted here, and as voting periods occur.