The World Computer Chess Championship starts this weekend (see Elsewhere on the Web 26 June 2004). We started thinking about some articles we'd seen recently on computer chess and human chess...

• Computer Chess: The Drosophila of AI • 'The game of chess traditionally has been considered the epitome of intellectual skill and accomplishment. Will computer chess be the crowning achievement?' (April 1994)
• Searching for Bobby Fischer's Platonic Form by Kenneth Silber • 'Chess is not just a mentally challenging game to play. It is also a game that generates examples and analogies relevant to a broad range of intellectual concerns.' (April 2004)
• Speed Chess Study Proves Practice Makes Perfect • 'Watching a chess match may seem about as exciting as watching paint dry, but new research shows that a champion's brain works at lightning fast speed, making decisions in seconds that would elude a lesser player with hours to ponder each move.' (June 2004)
• Computer scores 2-0 victory over Chess Queen • 'Laptop computer "Star of Unisplendour" beat international grand master Zhu Chen by resignation here on Saturday to score a 2-0 victory over the former women's world champion in the first human vs. machine chessmatch held in China.' (June 2004)
• Why We Strive for Status : Science is revealing the biological roots of men’s persistent one-upmanship • 'When men prepare for a fight, or even a chess match, their bodies produce a surge of testosterone, a hormone known for boosting body mass and aggressiveness.' (June 2004)
• Study: Hobbies can help slow Alzheimer's • 'Adults with hobbies that exercise their brains — such as reading, jigsaw puzzles or chess — are 2.50 times less likely to have Alzheimer's disease, while leisure limited to TV watching may increase the risk, a study says.' (March 2001)

...Why in this particular order? Stream of consciousness!