Love, Metal and Jägermeister Chess
14.08.2003
– What do rock musicians do between concerts? Like in the evening, in strange cities, when they are looking for some lively entertainment. Wrong! They play chess. At least if they are Finnish Love and Metal rock stars with a taste for German herbal liquors. Confused? You will be after you read this somewhat raunchy report.
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Nigel Davies:
A busy person’s opening system
Players with interests and commitments away from the chess board often find it difficult to compete against those with more study time. Their opponents come to the board armed with the latest theory and can bash out moves well into the middle game. On this DVD Nigel Davies addresses this issue by demonstrating a simple and easy to learn opening system designed for the busy person.
More information...
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The Rock Band HIM from Finland has three albums with a combined sales of 2
million to their credit. "Love Metal" was the result of "one
and a half years worth of exploration and soul searching, as well as the time-honoured
tradition of ‘working one’s ass off’". The album was produced
and recorded in Helsinki by Hiili Hiilesmaa, noted for his work with uncompromising
metal bands. It resulted in "a piece of Helsinki winter madness thrown
onto Venice Beach". Light and darkness clashing. The end result is a vibrant
concoction of in-your-face riffs, heavy beats and sweet soulful melodies. "Harder
than titanium, softer than pure gold, quicker than silver. Red hot or cold as
steel. Love Metal."
The five HIM members: Burton, Gas, Linde, Migé, Ville Valo
HIM played for 9000 visitors at the MTV Campus Invasion in Mannheim.
 So
what do rock musicians do between concerts. You may have heard a lot of stories,
but you can forget them all. They play chess. Seriously. Read on and
believe.
During its stay in Mannheim HIM got together with members of a local chess
club for an evening of chess (and drinks and stuff). Chaos Mannheim,
founded in 1987, calls itself one of the "most serious chess clubs in Baden".
They do appear to have a strong connection to beer, but also to heavy metal
and to the aformentioned rock band.
Let us take a brief look at the goings-on at the Love Metal Chess Meeting.
There are many, many more pictures for you to enjoy, at the links given below.
They include the games, which have not yet found their way into TWIC or Mega.
Jägermeister chess
 We
remember when we visited Finland some years ago our friends there told us to
bring Jägermeister.
This is a German herbal liquor you get in supermarkets, nothing special here,
but apparently a cult drink in some countries. The pronunciation is "Yeah-ger-my-stir",
with the stress on the first syllable.
At the HIM chess festival the band introduced the German players to a new concept:
Jägermeister Chess. We do not know the exact FIDE rules, but apparently
you have to drink a glass of Jägermeister at regular intervals.
No ordinary chess match, this Jägermeister thing. We even have the two
games played at the HIM chess festival for you below.
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