Of course, chess groupies knew that this day would come, but it is still a sad day for all single male chess players (i.e., all male chess players under the age of 30): Elizabeth Vicary has gone and gotten herself married. She is no longer the Elizabeth Vicary that we knew and loved — she is now Elizabeth Zoe Spiegel.
I suggested to her that she could drop the “Elizabeth” and go by the name “Zoe Spiegel,” and that way she could go totally incognito to any chess tournament. For thirty seconds, at least. I don’t think she is going to take my suggestion. 😉
Her blog post is short on details, but it does provide links with lots of pictures. Go and take a look, and then add your congratulations if you feel so moved. Or as the Russians would say, “Gor’ko! Gor’ko!”
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Completely irrelevant footnote:
For anyone wondering why Russians would shout, “Bitter!” at a wedding, I’m not entirely sure that the article I linked to has explained it right. I’ve always thought there are three possible reasons.
- It is bitter that a beautiful young woman (the bride) or long-time drinking partner (the groom) has been lost to matrimony. (I think this is the most likely reason.)
- It’s sarcasm; they say “bitter” because it’s actually so sweet.
- Russians can’t bring themselves to be happy about anything. After all, when you ask a Russian how they are doing, the answer you will normally get is “Nichevo” (“Nothing”), as in “Nothing too terrible has happened today.” To Russian ears, the American answer, “Fine,” is like saying, “I’m insanely happy today.” They’ll probably move to the opposite side of the room.
