Lim Chong
September 04, 2003
CHESS' convergence with technology continues with wireless chess. In a world's first, Russia's Alexandra Kosteniuk, who finished second in the recent women's world chess championship, will play a simultaneous exhibition match against six opponents on Saturday.
Her opponents are not going to meet her face-to-face at the playing hall in Amsterdam, but instead will be making their moves via the mobile phone.
They will start from different locations in the Netherlands, sending their moves as they make their way to the venue to finish their games.
According to the organisers, the games will be played with i- mode telephones via the new service w-chess, which means that the moves are not passed through by voice, but will be made directly via the mobile phones. The games can be followed live by i-mode users via www.w-chess.net while other chess enthusiasts can turn to the Web site www.schakers. info.
Wireless chess is currently available in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Spain. This week's event is to promote the Spanish service which was launched beginning of this month.
Mobile Excellence BV, the company behind wireless chess, says enthusiasts can now play chess anytime, anywhere and against anyone using their mobile phone. Actually, the algebraic notation being used for chess moves is facilitated by the short message service (SMS). Just tap e2-e4, c7-c5, Ng1-Nf3, Nb8-Nc6, Bf1-Bb5, e7-e6, and you have the SD (Sicilian Defence).
The chess board and pieces can be seen clearly on the phone's high- resolution display screen, and Mobile Excellence is hosting a portal to manage all the games played, including the moves and scores.
At the rate that mobile phones are being snapped, it's only a matter of time before wireless chess makes an impact worldwide.
Possibly the best move by the organisers is to get the involvement of Kosteniuk. Aged 19, she is the glamour girl of chess, often being compared to her compatriot, tennis celebrity Anna Kournikova. Perhaps an unfair comparison. While she has modelled for magazines and acted in a Russian film, Kosteniuk's achievements in chess are much more substantial than that of Kournikova in tennis. A grandmaster at 14, she has made her way up to become the women's world vice champion. She travels extensively to promote chess and was recently in Indonesia and Singapore to play against their top junior players.
(C) 2003 The New Straits Times. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
Keep up with the latest in mobile computing news with a free subscription to our mobile computing news alerts service. Each week, Synchrologic delivers a summary of the most significant mobile computing news to your inbox. To sign up for this service, click here
.
|
