Notes From A Chess Tourist

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Hollywood Chess

Hollywood Chess

hsburton1
| Jul 16, 2024

Without a doubt, the most popular part of our film, Through the Mirror of Chess: A Cultural Exploration, was the segment on what we called “Hollywood Chess”—a detailed illustration of how films and television so consistently get ...

Through the Mirror of Chess is now on Amazon Prime!

Through the Mirror of Chess is now on Amazon Prime!

hsburton1
| Apr 8, 2024

Great news! Following strong demand the docuseries Through the Mirror of Chess: A Cultural Exploration is now available on Amazon Prime. Perhaps it helped that the film was the recipient of the Best Documentary Award by Chess Journalists of Americ...

The Societal Impact of Chess, Part 1: Introduction

The Societal Impact of Chess, Part 1: Introduction

hsburton1
| Mar 9, 2023

I began these blog posts with a series on FIDE, not because I am particularly FIDE-obsessed and spend every spare moment of my life fulminating against the current world chess organization (I recently made a 4-hour documentary series on the socioc...

Reforming FIDE, Part 5: Into The Light

Reforming FIDE, Part 5: Into The Light

hsburton1
| Mar 1, 2023

As we scramble out of the politicized morass of the last post, it’s worth pausing for a moment to retrace our steps before moving towards the conclusion of our somewhat intense journey. I began, you may recall, with the recognition that, b...

Reforming FIDE, Part 4: Into The Darkness

Reforming FIDE, Part 4: Into The Darkness

hsburton1
| Feb 27, 2023

To begin on a relatively upbeat note (we’re going to need it), it should be pointed out that Arkady Dvorkovich is clearly the most able president that FIDE has had in the past 40 years. But then, given that his predecessors were the notoriou...

Reforming FIDE, Part 3: Enslaved to the Past

Reforming FIDE, Part 3: Enslaved to the Past

hsburton1
| Feb 25, 2023

I must confess that I have never understood why the world chess championship is so broadly considered to be as essential to the current professional chess culture as it seems to be. Of course, I definitely see the value of a competitive structure ...

Reforming FIDE, Part 2: Assessment

Reforming FIDE, Part 2: Assessment

hsburton1
| Feb 23, 2023

Now that we know what FIDE officially believes its own mission is—to be the “governing body of the sport of chess and regulate all international chess competitions”—we can move forward to address the question: Is it actuall...

Reforming FIDE,  Part 1: The Big Picture

Reforming FIDE, Part 1: The Big Picture

hsburton1
| Feb 21, 2023

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with the wonderfully congenial Ben Johnson for his Perpetual Chess podcast, discussing my just-released 4-part documentary Through the Mirror of Chess: A Cultural Exploration, together with Chessays, the ac...

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