<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoPlainText, li.MsoPlainText, div.MsoPlainText
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Plain Text Char";
margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.PlainTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Plain Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Plain Text";
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>-----Original Message-----<br>...> On Behalf Of Dan TheBookMan via extropy-chat<br><br><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>>.... I never use the term around them and I don't recall any of them calling me a 'Yank.' (Not that I'd take offense.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>Teams need nicknames. Open to suggestion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>>>… Aside not having to do with food: at the Chess Olympics, the strongest <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> two teams, or rather among the strongest teams in the world (nearly <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> always in the world top 5) are from Armenia and Azerbaijan. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Considering current events, naturally this leads to tension.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>>...Are chess participants more nationalistic than average? It'd be nice to think that many of them don't simply hate other people because they're from another nation. Maybe hate is too strong a term.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Regards,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Dan<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>I suppose they are as nationalistic as any other sport. Azerbaijan/Armenia is a very special case: that is one where two small adjacent nations somehow continue to present the world with the strongest teams. I don't know how they do it, but it has been that way for a long time: at the internationals, we understand Russia, USA, China being up there, but right up at the top five we find Armenia. If you look at the concentration of chess talent in Armenia, it is a hundred times higher than USA: they compete head to head with 1% of the population. Open to suggestion on how they do that. It creates a lot of tension when Armenia and Azerbaijan play each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>If you go back to 1924, these are the team rankings:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><img width=663 height=353 style='width:6.9062in;height:3.677in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D6A8B2.9B95F730"><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>This is 43 international competitions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>This year’s Olympics were cancelled, but there is a hell of a battle brewing between the US and China teams.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></body></html>