Imagine my surprise when I checked the mail last Saturday and found an article featuring Lindsborg in the May issue of the National Geographic. I hadn’t heard anything about the story in advance so it was quite a pleasant surprise to see our home town of Lindsborg, Kansas featured in the National Geographic’s Zip USA section.
The article focuses on the impact chess has had on Lindsborg including the Chess for Peace initiative that brought Mikhail Gorbachev to town last fall. The article also reviews the history of Lindsborg’s Anatoly Karpov International School of Chess, including Misha’s (Mikhail Korenman) immeasurable contributions in support of bringing chess to Lindsborg. A short article, but nicely written.
The National Geographic web site has a summary of the article, plus something not found in the print edition: Field Notes, from author Chris Carroll. From his Best Of Notes, he writes:
It’s a surreal sight … erstwhile leader of the Soviet Union tossing back drinks with his entourage in a Lindsborg tavern …
Later he concludes with an observation that rings true for many:
It’s certainly nothing like any of the towns around it.
