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Re:Questions by foepys on Sunday September 30, 2018 @10:27AM (#18106284)
I believe to have read somewhere that this is also the reason why so many Russians (and people born in the USSR) are great mathematicians and chess players. Math and Chess are both indoor activities and also absolutely unpolitical, which is a huge plus in an authoritarian regime.
Re:Questions by icelancer on Sunday September 30, 2018 @06:13PM (#18108718)
>>Math and Chess are both indoor activities and also absolutely unpolitical, which is a huge plus in an authoritarian regime.

The history of chess is definitely very political, especially inside the Soviet Union. It was seen as the proxy for intelligence, and if Soviet players were better than Americans, it was their way of demonstrating superiority in yet another domain.

Re:Questions by meowface on Sunday September 30, 2018 @11:46PM (#18109905)
True, but ultra-authoritarian regimes will politicize almost everything imaginable.
Re:Questions by vackosar on Friday October 05, 2018 @10:47AM (#18148549)
I read somewhere that it was only way to distinguish themselfs and to travel.