Mystery as gold cube worth $11.7million ‘pops up’ in NYC’s Central Park – and it has its own security guards
Frances Mulraney
Castello’s cube in Central Park on Wednesday
The cube, composed of 186 kilograms of pure 24-karat gold, was rolled out in front of a snowy Naumburg Bandshell at 5am in the morning surrounded by photographers and NYPD officers.
The hollow gold block is the creation of 43-year-old German artist Niclas Castello, who has branded it the “Castello Cube.”
The 410-pound work is not for sale but was used as publicity for the launch of accompanying cryptocurrency, the Castello Coin.
With gold currently priced at $1,788 per ounce, it is worth up to $11.7millon if it were to be put up for sale.
Castello’s team told ArtNet that the cube was made in a foundry in Aarau, Switzerland.
It was reportedly cast using a special handmade kiln as the sheer size and volume of the gold being used required extreme melting temperatures.
publisher of Elk and Ruby Publishing House sent an email after the last post in which he wrote, “Worse things are happening in Norway…” He provided a link to the Twitter account of Chess journalist Tarjei J. Svensen,
who writes (or is that ‘twits’?):
BREAKING; Norwegian Chess Federation offered a sponsorship deal of NOK 50 million (€5,1M) by online gambling operator Kindred Group, pending approval by the congress in July.
9:52 AM – 7 Jun 2019
Tarjei J. Svensen
@TarjeiJS
Jun 7
Not a traditional sponsorship deal. The chess federation will not promote gambling or advertise for gambing sites in any way, but will work with the group to allow licenses in Norway.
Tarjei J. Svensen
@TarjeiJS
Jun 7
For the record, revenues in the federation in 2018 was NOK 2,5M, (€2,55M)
Elk and Ruby
@ilan_ruby
Jun 7
Replying to @TarjeiJS
This is fundamentally wrong. Let’s not turn our kids into gambling junkies.
This is followed by:
Graham Stuart
@GraStuart
Jun 8
Replying to @TarjeiJS
The Isle of Man Chess tournament was sponsored by Pokerstars and is now funded by ex owner. But when Pokerstars sponsored this they were justva poker sight and did not have the other gambling income streams.
Rok Novak
@Rok_Novak
Jun 7
Replying to @TarjeiJS
Each and everyone reading this, and everyone who will not read this, gambles each and every day, and they gamble with their life. Most people usually do not consider the odds when making a short trip to the store, but the fact is that it is not 100% positive a person will return home safely. Read the book:
Everyone gambles in some form or another. Consider this headline:
The Gambling Nuns of Torrance, California
Thou shalt not steal…unless you’re one of the Vegas-loving nuns who allegedly took the Catholic school under their watch for every penny they could. A Southern California community reckons with an altogether new form of churchly hypocrisy.
a Grandmaster of composition, is a member of the Ukrainian team that won the 5th World Chess Composition Tournament in 1997 and which came in second in 2000. 2004, 2013, and 2017, has produced four books in which white ends up with just one pawn, knight, bishop, or rook in the finale manages to win or draw.
I think of these small books as “little jewels,” as in diamonds! These amazing and fantastic studies, some classics from bygone ages, others originally published in the Soviet Union, or ex-Soviet countries, and Sergei’s own compositions, are a feast for those who enjoy expanding their minds and improve their play.
I recall reading a story about former US Chess Champion Stuart Rachels,
from Alabama, in which his father, James Rachels, a professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama, a position in which one can now find Stuart, who followed in his father’s footsteps, said that when he came home Stuart would often greet him in the driveway while holding a Chess board with a study he had been attempting to solve. Stuart would have loved these books!
Each book contains one hundred problems. The paperback books measure four by six inches so they can be transported easily. They can also be purchased in Kindle form. Unfortunately only One Pawn and One Knight are available on Kindle now. They are free if you purchase a Kindle unlimited. How can one beat that price? In addition, the Endgame Books Available on the Forward Chess App, which can be found here: https://forwardchess.com/product-category/endgame-books/
Some examples follow:
Black to move
M.Klyatskin, 1924 (finale)
The first problem is No. 1 in the pawn book. It is one of the most well-known studies in Chess, and the solution should be known by anyone attempting to play Chess. This illustrates there are studies for everyone, from beginner to Grandmaster.
White to move and win
Authors: J. Kling and B. Horwitz, 1853
One more pawn study by the man famous for ending World Champion Jose Raul Capablanca’s
Author Richard Reti, 1925 (position after black’s first move)
From One Knight Saves the Day:
“Newbies to chess problems will also find analyzing these studies useful. The diverse set of tactical ideas involving a single knight in the finale will enable them to gain a deeper understanding of the knight’s resourcefulness. The first studies appeared in the game of shatranj, a precursor of modern chess (VII-VIII centuries). They were called mansubat (singular: mansuba), which can be translated from Arabic as “an arrangement.” Around 700 mansubat have survived, some of which involve a lone knight n the finale.”
Mansuba No. A1 from the XII century has spawned a vast number of studies:
White to move and win
Unknown author, XII century
The next is from one of the most famous Chess players in the history of the game:
White to move and win
Author Paul Keres, 1936
I had the good fortune to meet Paul Keres
A stamp released in the USSR in 1991 to mark the 75th anniversary of the birth of Paul Keres
contains a history of the development of the bishop. “In the game of shatranj, a precursor of modern chess, the bishop differed from its modern cousin. It could jump diagonally over both its own player’s and its opponent’s pieces. At the same time, this bishop was much weaker and more vulnerable: it moved diagonally only two squares at a time (no lese and no more)), which made it easy prey for more mobile pieces.” Examples are given, but you must purchase the book to see them, as I give only modern examples:
White to move and draw
Author Jan Timman, 1982 (Grandmaster Jan Timman
is the Honorary Editor of the best Chess magazine in the world, New In Chess)
“In the game of shatranj, a precursor of modern chess, the rook was the strongest piece. The rook featured frequently in ancient mansubat (singular:mansuba) – the first chess compositions. In those days, it was called a ‘rukh’ (sometimes spelt ‘roc’ or ‘rucke’), an ancient and powerful phoenix-like firebird so big that it could even carry elephants in its claws.”
Every day for I do not know how long I have gone to TWIC (http://theweekinchess.com/) every morning an attempt to solve the Daily Chess Puzzle as a way of firing my brain. Since receiving these books I attempt to solve at least one study. There have been days when I hold the position in my mind and reflect on it throughout the day. For example, yesterday I kicked back in our new recliner to rest, close my eyes, and there was the morning position. One day we were busy so I had not had time to attempt to solve the position that had been indelibly etched in my memory, but when I went to bed that night, there was the position, which I was still unable to solve. The next morning, after taking a couple of jolting slugs of coffee, I opened the book currently being read, looked at the page, and “Wa La,” there was the position! Getting up immediately I walked over to the desk graciously given to me by my friend Michael (Mulfish) Mulford when he moved to Lost Wages, set up the board, and solved the study!
Armchair Warrior 