A Chess Game From Out Of This World

How do astronauts pass the time in between whatever it is that they do whilst they are up there in space?  There's not much room to move about, so physical activities are pretty much out.  You could listen to music or read, but what if you feel the need for a bit of friendly competition with ground control?  I think you can see where this is going...

Greg Chamitoff is a 46 year-old American astronaut currently orbiting the earth as one of the crew of the International Space Station .  He also happens to be a keen amateur chess player and didn't want a little thing like being in space to stop him playing a game or two.  He therefore took a lightweight chess set into orbit with him and challenged all the various mission control centres on earth to a joint game.

Millions of miles and 30 moves later, Greg was victorious.  Buoyed by his success, he has now challenged each mission control centre to an individual game.  Good luck Greg!  You could try letting at least one of them win, or they might not let you back down again!

You can read more about Greg at his Wikipedia page here, and an interview with him before the flight (not about chess!) here.