In the six or eight years that I've known Myron
Lieberman (from the Arizona State Chess Association, Mr. Lieberman is both
an International Arbiter and a National Tournament Director. He is presently
Chairperson of the Outreach Committee and member of the By-Laws and Women's
Chess committees for the USCF) he has been a great proponents of encouraging
the Postal Service to release a series of chess stamps starting with one
honoring Benjamin Franklin. For some reason,
while chess stamps have been issued in scores of other countries during the
last century (see Chess Stamps or
Chess Stamps), the U.S.
has never seen fit to issue any.
Reading the USCF
Committee report under the Outreach Committee headed by Mr. Lieberman, I
found a new ploy to try to get chess stamps issued - but it's rather bizarre
in my opinion:
Stamps – Tony Saidy mentioned the
possibility of a family
relationship between Harry N. Pillsbury and George H.W. Bush.
He suggested that we seek GHW Bush’s assistance in authorizing
a stamp issue with a chess theme in honor of Pillsbury, which
was done. Efforts also continued to have a chess-themed stamp
as part of a set to honor Benjamin Franklin on the occasion of his
Tercentenary in 2006. Thanks to John McCrary for writing an
essay on Franklin and chess for the Franklin Tercentenary
Commission.
In regards to John
McCrary's (former USCF president and author of the historical articles once
found at the USCF site but now reside
at the Chess Hall of Fame site)
article on Benjamin Franklin, basically just a summary of Prof. George
Allen's own article, I was immediately struck by his mention of Lewis Rou as
the first known writer on chess in America. He got this information from an
article by Daniel Willard Fiske who later
admitted it was one of his many elaborate hoaxes.
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Another report is worth mentioning - that
of the Chess and Education Committee, chaired by Tim Redman and Alexey Root.
an excerpt:
Perhaps the best news is that reported
by Dr. Alexey Root below.
The Press is a prestigious one and the book, based on her work
for her Chess and Education I course, is, I believe, unique. The
Committee Workshop will explore the funding possibilities for
chess instruction through the Federal SES program, part of the
No Child Left Behind bill.
“Children and Chess: A guide for teachers” by Dr. Alexey
Root will be published by Teacher Ideas Press (www.lu.com) in
the second half of 2006. In addition to chess lesson plans for
grades K-8, the book gives academic and humanistic theories
about why chess should have a place in schools. Reading and
math standards from each of the 50 states are cited. For more
information, or to request a pre-order form, please contact Dr.
Alexey Root, (aroot@utdallas.edu).
More on Dr. Root in my next installment.... |
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