Sadly, the big basketball game went the way everyone expected. Which is to say that we lost. Badly. Indiana 83 -- JMU 62. Ouch!
As it happens, my former academic home, Kansas State University, also lost. This one was a big upset, since, despite being the 4th seed, they lost to 13th seed La Salle. So, a bad day all around.
In more important sporting news, at the halfway point of the event, Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian have a big lead over the pack in the big chess tournament to determine the next challenger for the World Championship. The action is happening in London. The chess has actually been unusually exciting, but has the press taken any notice? Of course not! It's all basketball this and brackets that. Sigh.
More like this
Just a quick post today, so have a look at this essay by Alex Beresow, over at Real Clear Science. He is advocating for chess to be a required subject in schools:
The start of the school year, coupled with the looming deadline for the book I'm coediting, has left little time for blogging. I do, however, feel compelled to point out that six of the world's top ten chess players have gathered in St.
Time Magazine has an interesting profile of Magnus Carlsen, the youngest chess player to achieve a number one world ranking:
Writing at Slate, Ann Hulbert offers some thoughts on the use of chess as an educational tool in elementary schools: