Chess at Mount Everest base camp!

Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hi Everyone,

Know who's James Whittaker? Of course, the first American to climb Mount Everest as member of the American Mount Everest Expedition 1963 led by Norman Dyhrenfurth. He summited on May 1, 1963 with Sherpa Nawang Gombu (a nephew of Tenzing Norgay).

His son, Leif Whittaker also conquered the Everest this year on the 47th anniversary of his father's feat. At a special talk Whittaker Junior told an audience that they played chess at the base camp.

Now, that really makes chess cool enough!

Leif said there was a lot of waiting, as the expedition went up the mountain a little more each day before returning to base camp. Everyone had their own three-man tent, where they could get away from all the other people "and have a little mental down time," Whittaker said.

There were games such as chess, Scrabble and Horseshoes.

"I was always getting beaten at chess, and I hoped that a combination of the altitude and my improving skill would get me a win, but that took a long time," he said.

"And with Scrabble, I learned every Q-without-a-U word in existence."

You can read the full article here. You can also read Leif Whittaker's blog here.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com