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The leading Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter covered a chess game between the astronaut Christer Fuglesang, who was orbiting Earth in the International Space Station, and the Swedish public. Fuglesang was transported to the ISS by the space shuttle Discovery, which blazed into orbit on August 28 with seven astronauts on board. He returned to Earth on September 11 (Flight Day 15) at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Dagens Nyheter covered the game "move by move" in the printed version of the newspaper. Chess moderators picked out three different moves that the public, playing black, were able to choose from by voting online. The move that got the most votes is sent out to space. Two unique prizes awaited Christer Fuglesang and one lucky reader when the chess game was over. Five World Chess Champions has signed two chess games on Dagens Nyheter's behalf.
The Fritz 11 and Rybka programs were signed by Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky and Viswanathan Anand. One prize, Rybka, was for Christer Fuglesang and one for a reader who was raffled in a dedicated chess quiz launched on DN.se. There is a video of the prize-giving.
Watch
the video (in Swedish) here
Christer says that he very much enjoyed the match and that he is glad that it had so much publicity via Dagens Nyheter. He also says that he felt okay with his game, as long as he was on earth. At the time he had more time to think about his moves and work on the positions. When he was in space he was otherwise occupied and didn’t have so much time for chess. He had to make quick decisions. After the first blunder (he doesn’t mention when) he felt that the game went out of control.
Fuglesang,Christer - Dagens Nyheter readers [D23]
ISS-Sweden Zurich, 20.08.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.h3 Bh5 7.0-0 Be7 8.Nc3
0-0 9.g4 Bg6 10.Ne5 Nbd7 11.Nxg6 fxg6 12.Bxe6+ Kh8 13.f3 Nb6 14.Qb3 c6 15.Ne2
Nfd5 16.e4 Nc7 17.Be3 Nxe6 18.Qxe6 Bd6 19.Qb3 Qe7 20.Qd3 Rae8 21.Nc3 Qh4 22.Qe2
Nc4 23.Bf2 Qxh3 24.Be1 Ne3 25.Rf2 Qg3+ 26.Rg2 Qxf3 27.Qxf3 Rxf3 28.e5
Black (the readers) was a pawn up and had brought tremendous pressure to bear on White's king. With his last move the astronaut has set a little trap: capturing the rook on g2 with the knight would have lead to a recapture by the king and a double attack on the black rook and bishop. So the latter had to retreat. 28...Bc7
29.Rg3? Rf1+ 30.Kh2 Nc2 0-1. [Click to replay]
Fuglesang shows off the prize with the signatures which he has received
The student Anna Tylleskär won the reader’s prize. She says that she became interested in chess after continuously loosing against a school friend. Wanting to beat her friend she joined a club, got better, and started winning.
Christer shows us the Velcro board he had on the ISS. It was necessary to
use it in order to avoid chessmen flying around the space station. The position
on the board is the final one in the game, when he resigned.
The student and the chess playing astronaut with their prizes
There was a brief exchange between the World Champion Vishy Anand and Fuglesang, before the latter had received his prize. Anand wrote:
Dear Christer,
Wish you a safe return on Thursday (or Friday). I'll be watching on the news casts. I am following your game with interest. You seem to be in a spot of trouble. Need some help and advice? I don't know if you can save it, but you can give them a fight.
Regards
Viswanathan Anand
P.S. You have a REALLY cool job. Maybe we can trade places some day...
To which the astronaut replied:
Dear Anand,
Thanks for your nice greeting. I guess I could have made good use of your
help earlier, but now it is too late (smiley). I think I put more emphasis
on the job in space than the game, but I anyhow enjoyed both very much. It
is an honor to get greetings from world champions and I have seen the great,
signed prize waiting for me (although I lost). BTW, I was in India last year
with my wife and son and we also stayed in Chennai a couple of days. We very
much enjoyed it!
Best greetings
Christer
The International Space Station as seen from the approaching Space Shuttle
Christer Fuglesang, STS-128 mission specialist, is pictured floating freely
in the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), temporarily attached
to the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Discovery remains docked
with the station.
Astronaut Fuglesang on extravehicular activity (EVA or "space walk")
Backdropped by New Zealand and Cook Strait in the Pacific Ocean, astronaut Robert
L. Curbeam Jr. (left) and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang
participate in the first EVAs.
Christer Fuglesang on the mission's third and final EVA session
During the seven-hour spacewalk, Fuglesang and NASA astronaut John "Danny" Olivas deployed the Payload Attachment System (PAS), replaced the Rate Gyro Assembly #2, installed two GPS antennae and did some work to prepare for the installation of Node 3 next year. During connection of one of two sets of avionics cables for Node 3, one of the connectors could not be mated. This cable and connector were wrapped in a protective sleeve and saved. All other cables were mated successfully.
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Astronaut Fuglesang in trouble – in space chess game 09.09.2009 – On August 28 Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang blasted off into space, on the 128th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. He conducted a seven-hour space walk at the International Space Station, and also continued his chess game against the readers of a Swedish newspaper. Both the astronaut, who has a tough position, and his opponents have lovely prizes waiting for them. |
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Swedish Astronaut to play Chess from Space |
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Get Ready for Earth vs. Space 26.09.2008 – On Monday, September 29 Greg Chamitoff, travelling 210 miles above the earth at five miles a second, will challenge team earth to a ground-breaking Space Match. It is a unique event, pitting the International Space Station astronaut against the residents of Earth, guided by a team of schoolchildren. Rate of play is one move per day. Press release. |
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Chess in Space: Houston, we have a checkmate 29.08.2008 – How's this for an unusual chess match: US astronaut Greg Chamitoff, who is currently aboard the International Space Station, is playing against the Ground Stations. The first game was won convincingly by Chamitoff, who is a decent amateur player. Now he is playing six simultaneous games against different Ground Stations. We have pictures and an indepth interview with the astronaut. |
