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chessolympus.bsky.social
Chess Olympus
@chessolympus.bsky.social
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A daily celebration of chess marginalia. Author of this book about Alexander Alekhine: https://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/product/Chess-Villain/
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chessolympus.bsky.social
Cestmír Randa (left), born December 5, 1923, was a sometime chess player and full-time schemer in The Devil's Trap (1962).
In a scene from The Devil's Trap, Cestmír Randa plays chess with another actor in a spacious dining room. Both wear 18th century outfits.
December 5, 2025 at 2:18 PM
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shamrocknroll84.bsky.social
Wholesome content of Peter Doherty playing chess on-stage with his daughter before tonight's Babyshambles gig 😃
December 4, 2025 at 9:06 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
102 years ago today, Alekhine poses with fans in Montreal. From American Chess Bulletin, January 1924.
Group photo of twelve men in suits. The caption reads, "Alekhine among Montreal Chess Friends," and identifies the photo as "taken by Duprage, Dec. 4, 1923."
December 4, 2025 at 3:00 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Amanda Seyfried, who took down the red queen as Alice in a 2008 Vogue Italia spread.
In a photo by Mark Seliger for Vogue Italia, Amanda Seyfried, wearing a short red dress and white stockings, embraces a five-foot red chess queen and tips it toward her. She stands in a large concrete culvert surrounded by oversized white chess pieces.
December 3, 2025 at 2:48 PM
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datesinmovies.bsky.social
Dec 2nd 1941 - Ugarte asks Rick Blaine to look after his "letters of transit" before being arrested. Rick's former lover, Ilsa, enters the club with her husband, Victor Laszlo.

📽️📅 Casablanca (1943)
3 Screenshots from the movie "Casablanca" (1943): First, a close-up of a check labeled "Rick's Café Américain" being signed with the amount of 1,000 francs, dated "2 Décembre '41." Second, two men seated at a table, one playing chess while the other looks at papers, with ornate hanging lamps in the background. Third, a man in a white suit stands beside a woman in a white dress holding papers, as another man leans in to speak to them in a softly lit, elegant setting with intricate décor.
December 2, 2025 at 1:17 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
On this day in 1919, Capablanca blew through the House of Commons for a simultaneous exhibition. From American Chess Bulletin, January 1920.
Item from the January, 1920 issue of American Chess Bulletin describing J.R. Capablanca's exhibition at the British House of Commons on December 2, 1919.
December 2, 2025 at 2:55 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Akiba Rubinstein, one of the best players who never got a world title shot, was born December 1, 1880. Here he is competing with Bogolyubov in Moscow, 1925.
Efim Bogolyubov and Akiba Rubenstein sit at a table playing chess in a tournament setting.
December 1, 2025 at 2:52 PM
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scarredforlife.bsky.social
PLAY CHESS appeared in the BBC's Christmas 1980 morning schedules with an unfathomably menacing (though beautiful) title sequence. It's got real 'old-school Soviet' vibes.
November 30, 2025 at 1:09 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Richard Crenna, who wouldn't cooperate in Mark de Jonge's chess game in Rambo III (1988), was born November 30, 1926.
In a scene from Rambo III, Richard Crenna, looking dirty and haggard in a khaki shirt, sits at a table where a chess game is in progress and looks up at Mark de Jonge, who looms over the table in the extreme foreground.
November 30, 2025 at 3:08 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Tom Taylor, who wrote this matchup between Superman and The Flash.
In a panel from the Injustice: Gods Among Us comic, Superman and The Flash sit opposite each other at a chess board. Outer space is visible in the window behind them. Superman asks, "How fast can you think?" Flash says, "There's no way of knowing that," and Superman responds, "No."
November 29, 2025 at 2:54 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Alan Ritchson, who broke out the chess pieces for a Men's Health photo shoot in 2024.
An array of chess pieces is photographed from below, through a glass table. Above, Alan Ritchson reaches (no pun intended) to move a piece.
November 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Lashana Lynch, who played this suspenseful scene in Day of the Jackal (2024), where it looks like a chess game could break out at any moment.
In a scene from Day of the Jackal, Lia Williams and Lashana Lynch sit side by side in leather chairs in an office, having a conversation. A large chess board with red and white Lewis-style chessmen sits on a glass coffee table in front of them.
November 27, 2025 at 2:53 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Tina Turner, born November 26, 1939, played head games with a Typical Male in 1986.
In a scene from the music video for Typical Male, Tina Turner plays chess with a stereotypically nerdy man. As her opponent reaches to make a move, Turner gives him a sultry look.
November 26, 2025 at 2:52 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Maureen Swanson, born November 25, 1932, looks a little surprised at Robert Taylor's strategy in Knights of the Round Table (1953). From Chess Review, February 1954.
In a scene from Knights of the Round Table, Maureen Swanson stares at Robert Taylor across a table where a chess game is in progress. Taylor holds a chess piece and looks at it contemplatively. The caption reads, "Though chess was unknown in King Arthur's time, much of the Arthur Legend is anachronistic--even the formal tournaments of Malory's and Tennyson's versions. So it seems highly appropriate to depict the chivalric game of chess in a picture of the very spirit of chivalry."
November 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Katherine Heigl, who played chess poolside for GQ magazine in 2007.
In a fashion photo by Alei Hay, Katherine Heigl lounges by a pool in a short black dress, her body partly covering a large chess board with elaborately carved figurative pieces. Heigl looks at the camera and holds a piece in the air as if to move it.
November 24, 2025 at 2:49 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Harpo Marx, born November 23, 1888, was the worst kind of kibitzer in Monkey Business (1931).
In a scene from Monkey Business, two middle-aged men in suits sit at a table playing chess, each with his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands. Harpo Marx sits at the table watching the game from the side, mimicking the players' posture.
November 23, 2025 at 3:58 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Roland Winters, born November 22, 1904, was in a chess match with his conniving secretary but didn't know it in a 1965 episode of Perry Mason.
In a scene from Perry Mason, Roland Winters sits at a table where a chess set is arranged. He holds the white king contemplatively while Jeanne Bal approaches the table from the side.
November 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Michael Strahan, who had a chess set at the ready in case he wanted to play Carl Weathers in the 2009 sitcom Brothers.
In a scene from Brothers, Carl Weathers and Michael Strahan sit together on a leather couch. A chess set with a game in progress is set up on the coffee table in front of them.
November 21, 2025 at 2:50 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Gina Hiraizumi, who got to challenge Mercedes Ruehl in The Nana Project (2023).
In a scene from The Nana Project, Gina Hiraizumi lounges on a bed with a wooden chess set in front of her. Her opponent, Mercedes Ruehl, is partly visible with her back to the camera. A third person can be seen behind them, wearing pajamas.
November 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Bollywood legend Zeenat Aman!🎂 This photo of her playing chess is widely available online, but I couldn't trace it to its source.
In a photo that looks like it dates from the 1970s, Zeenat Aman looks at the camera across a chess board and lifts a piece to make a move.
November 19, 2025 at 2:42 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
November 18 is Latvian independence day, which is as good a time as any to post some Tal content.
Cover of the March, 1961 issue of Chess Review magazine, featuring a photo of Mikhail Tal concentrating over a chess board. The story inside is about Tal's upcoming attempt to defend his world championship title against Mikhail Botvinnik.
November 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Rock Hudson November 17, 1925, competes with Sandra Dee during the making of Come September (1961).
In a Getty Images photo, Sandra Dee and Rock Hudson smile and play chess with a travel set on what looks like a marble bar top.
November 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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60minutes.bsky.social
Brains meet brawn in the world of chess boxing, a sport in which competitors face off on the chess board and also in the boxing ring. 60 Minutes reports, Sunday. 60Minutes.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:00 PM
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oregonthedm.bsky.social
Part 4 of 200 in historically interesting things to inspire your ttrpg

One of Stalin’s pipes, depicting him and FDR playing chess. It was given to him in 1945 by the visiting US chess team
As said in wood?
November 13, 2025 at 4:28 AM
chessolympus.bsky.social
Burgess Meredith, whose incredibly long career included this chess game in Magnificent Doll (1946), was born November 16, 1907.
In a scene from Magnificent Doll, Burgess Meredith and another actor play chess at a table in a grand living room. David Niven stands to one side, gesturing at the board. All wear formal 18th-century clothes.
November 16, 2025 at 3:16 PM