A Chance to Checkmate the Cosmos

 Life on the International Space Station requires intense concentration, critical thinking skills, and strategic contemplation of what could come next, because hundreds of kilometers above the Earth, there is a lot at stake. With one wrong move, you could lose your queen.

 

Hal Bogner is a chess master who lives in the southwestern U.S. state of California.  Last week, shortly after U.S. astronaut Greg Chamitoff completed a seven-hour spacewalk, Bogner said he imagined the astronaut floating in space, contemplating¹ a chess board. "I don't know if he had a moment to think about it, but here he is, the first person in space to threaten to checkmate an entire planet in one move," he said.

 

Bogner is the match director for the Earth versus² Space chess match that is being waged between U.S. astronauts Greg Chamitoff and Gregory Johnson and, well, Earth.  Or anyone on Earth with access to the Internet who wants to join in the game.

 

Astronauts Chamitoff and Johnson are both crew members on the current space shuttle Endeavour mission, and they played their match against Earth until they undocked from the International Space Station Sunday. 

 

Bogner noted³ that both sides, Earth and Space, missed opportunities to make aggressive moves.  And, more than two weeks in, neither side has won.    

 

As match director, Bogner keeps track of the moves the astronauts post on Twitter and the moves people around the globe vote for on the U.S. Chess Federation⁴ website.

 

Although the game is hosted by a U.S. organization, Bogner says the Earth versus Space match has captured the attention of people all around the world. "South Africa, in Belgium, in Iraq.  Somebody in Iraq described himself as a computer repair shop manager," he said.

 

Astronauts Chamitoff and Johnson talked about the game's universal appeal in a video they produced while on the International Space Station. "One of the great things about chess is that it brings people together from all walks of life people from different cultures, [with] different languages, [from] different countries," said Johnson.

 

Floating in microgravity as they posed with a magnetic chess board before them, the astronauts said the match was both fun and challenging. Then, they issued a challenge of their own.

 

"It's your move," they said.

 

In fact, it is no longer just Earth's move, but Earth's decision. Bogner says, given that neither side won while the astronauts were in space, the public will have a chance to vote for the team that played the better game.

 

Hard to believe, but this is not the first match of its kind. Chamitoff represented Space in a similar match-up in 2008, a game Earth won.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

2 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。