Here is my game against Andrew Michaels, a nice fellow who is or was Rarotongan born player (but he is or was - haven't seen him for some time - thus a New Zealander as Rarotongans as far as I know have automatic NZ Citizenship), one of the few. He was actually much better than he himself thought he was and he beat me twice. In fact I struggled against Andrew.

Classical Benoni

[Event "NZ Major Open 2010"]
[Site "Alexander Park, Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Andrew Michael"]
[Black "Richard Taylor"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. h3 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Bd3 b5 10. Bxb5 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 Qa5+ 12. Nfd2 Qxb5 13. Nxd6 Qa6 14. N2c4 Nd7 15. O-O Ne5 16. Qc2 Nxc4 17. Nxc4 Bf5 18. Qe2 Rfe8 19. Be3 Re4 20. Rac1 Rae8 21. g4 Bd7 22. Qc2 Qf6 23. Qd1 Qh4 24. Qf3 Bxg4 25. Qg3 Qxg3+ 26. fxg3 Be2 27. Nd6 Rxe3 28. Nxe8 Bxf1 29. Nxg7 Bxh3 30. Nh5 gxh5 31. Kf2 Rd3 32. Rxc5 Rd2+ 33. Ke3 Rxb2 34. Ra5 Rb7 35. Kd4 Kf8 36. d6 Bg4 37. Rc5 Rd7 38. Ke5 f6+ 39. Kxf6 Rxd6+ 40. Kg5 h6+ 41. Kf4 Ra6 42. Rc2 Be6 43. Rc5 Bf7 0-1

The claim he would "kill me over the board" is strange as how could we play? Actually I think you need say, Jonathan Safarti. He is an ex-NZ Champion and at one stage had a big Blindfold record....He might well take the Cup....

But tell us more, the FIDE challenge is interesting at the moment. To what age has the Hazz reached? Or is that attained -- is he about 2000 years old?

Harry Lime is a rather sad being obsessed with music. I never listen to music or very rarely these days, and when I did it was mostly Bach or say Varese.....but more because of the ideas. I quickly get bored with what is called 'popular' music. In fact I find it almost impossible to listen to music without drifting off so I simply dont listen to it these days.

Not like house arrest. For myself and my son it is pretty much the same. In Auckland and part of Northland we are on what is called level 4.

Dissenters are allowed but if it gets too bad they are fined or jailed mainly to prevent spread of the virus. The lockdown happened as soon as there was one case which is good.

Meanwhile they are trying to get sufficient vaccinated.

People are asked to stay in their "bubbles" and can go for exercise locally. Pubs, churches and much else is shut. Many supply and other businesses re open. I walk around the local streets and one good thing is the fewer cars.

People can go to the beach but shouldn't surf or sail etc or do anything that might divert emergency services.

People can go to supermarkets, local dairies, but not much else. We can buy online.

We are not really deprived of any freedoms as in exchange we are able to get on with vaccinating and reducing the risks of illness and death. My son who is 49 and lives with me doesn't believe in vaccines, and thinks it is a plot by the Illuminati. It's not like house arrest. I have never much liked social events or even pubs -- although we were both going to poetry readings at a pub once a week before lockdown.

I was also, last year, between lockdowns, going to the chess club.

But there is stress on families with children.

There is no propaganda. I study virology lectures and in fact I was interested in Biology as a teenager. I also read on cell biology, retro viruses and so on as well as reading other on various books.

I rarely travel much and my local area is good enough. We are all lucky to be alive. I have both the Pfizer injections but I still wear a mask outside. My warrant of fitness has run out on my car....but nothing I can do. Will use taxis if need be.

There are limits on what a global power with thousands of miles of land borders and 330 million people can learn from a small island nation.

The USA had somewhat of a shutdown -- never a lockdown -- last spring under Trump when COVID-19 first hit hard. The benefit of the shutdown allowed the medical profession time to get up to speed and acquire more equipment, testing, etc. Folks were scared of the unknown, which was not nearly as lethal as the 1-2 million deaths that Dr. Faucci mislead us about. https://710wor.iheart.com/featured/...

Many (not all) city mayors and state governors anointed themselves dictators and ordered businesses, ballparks, churches, any place that would encourage crowd attendance to close to the public. This included closing playgrounds and public parks when people really needed to get out, relieve stress. No can go! The schools went to on-line learning. Nursing homes were the hardest hit locations, as many elderly died in 2020 and then came the cover-ups. Family had to visit from outside the window. There was a debate as to whether prisoners should be let out free, transferred, etc. as they could not escape the virus in lock-up. "Non-essential" employees were not allowed to go to work. How do people pay their bills if they're not allowed to go to work? Crime rates did not go up initially (except in New York City), but domestic abuse and alcoholism sure did. The government did pass laws that prevented eviction of tenants who could not pay their rent.

The Delta variation renewed some of the same older arguments, but most people don't even wear masks out in public. Medical and federal buildings like the US Post Office and Court House still require masks for entry, but most places don't bother. Things are back to near normal, but the pre-COVID happy days are gone for good. Many funerals from 2020 were put-off (the government dictators tried to limit attendance to 10 people in a room), and remembrance ceremonies are now taking place a year later in 2021.

Our news in the USA is almost all propaganda (a growing trend since the days of protect Bill & Hillary Clinton scandals); important facts are constantly being omitted to portray a certain picture to the public. The news spews government talking points, which are more about party power than what's best for the people -- perception matters more than reality. In fact, one political party is literally trying to destroy normalcy in the US and is taking full advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to inflict as much change as possible.

The Pfizer vaccine is generally portrayed in a positive light to encourage vaccination, when in fact it's had it's share of medical issues. (To be clear, I generally support it's use.) The media constantly hits on the Johnson-Johnson single dose vaccine, which is shown itself to hold up well. What we almost never hear is information about reasons NOT to take the vaccine, such as pregnancy or allergies or reactions w/other medications, or the fact it is not fully approved. All these vaccines were administered while EXPERIMENTAL. Personally, IMHO we've all been conned if a vaccine is not even good for six months of safety and a booster is supposedly necessary now. Those that had a 1st and 2nd dose surely expected longer-lasting protection. The news won't say it, but many who remain unvaccinated do so because they resent the government's handling of COVID-19 and constant lying in general. Others figure that if they've gotten by thus far (more than a year's time), they're probably "safe".

I know an entire family (two middle-aged adults and two young adults, and three children) that caught COVID-19 prior to the vaccine availability and all survived. She works in a medical field, he's a teacher. The adults are all vaccinated now, after the fact, even though they probably have immunity. Who really knows?

It alarms me that individuals in government decided without consent to order it's citizens to do various steps (and took away their opportunity to work, worship, play, etc.) against their wishes without first passing laws. The government should educate, educate, educate, and pass laws as necessary, but for one person to decide what to do for all the rest of us is just wrong, wrong, wrong.

I think it is because, obviously, you have a larger population and many States. Humans are complex. We are now trying to increase the total of eligible people to be vaccinated.

But my son, who is just under 50, and lives with me, refuses to have any vaccines. So there are a lot of issues. I have had two Pfizer. Our Prime Minister is one of the best we have had which is saying a lot as most have been pretty bad. All is not well, I understand people who feel they should be free from coercion but I think that overall, we need to boost our "specific" immune system, especially with this virus for older people.

All is not well here though as there are a lot of killings and gang violence and much else. Also my own daughter (who has a PhD in the area of Health Science and Psychology) is finding it hard to get treatment for Haemachromatosis -- as hospitals are on alert for a possible big increase. We are still in lockdown however in Auckland. Northland is down to level 2.

Poor people are finding things difficult but the Government paid money to many businesses and tried to help poor people but it is very difficult.

People everywhere need to think of others. I dont think the people who are against vaccination are selfish -- for many reasons the resent Government intervention, or fear some aspect of the vaccine, or they don't understand biology very well. In the US there are still areas where I think even the State Governors are anti the vaccine.

People here are much like people elsewhere, as far as I can tell. We could have done better if we were collectively in better health. We have done OK. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/t...

I agree. There are exponential differences in a larger population with a different (not greatly but significantly) 'culture' although I have never been sure whether NZ actually has a culture, we have a way of looking at things. I would like to say mostly NZ is more humane but I cant quantify that.

I am impressed with Adern. I found Trump interesting but he wasn't much good during a Pandemic, but Biden doesn't impress me either. I critique US policy of military adventures in the World etc instead of looking to working with all nations. Strangely Trump got on well with the Korean man, but Biden is kind of operating in a wooden, rather predictable way. Taking too much advice as they do from the CIA etc who only want to keep their well paid jobs.

China is a great nation and we do a lot of trade with China so the US also should. Cooperation. China should leave Taiwan alone and look to errors it has made. All nations should.

The news media do misrepresent and forget that science is always operating at a probability so modelling is always provisional. All science is that -- a model that can effectively fail -- but most of the information seems now to show (I know that the vaccines were pushed through a bit faster but that I agree with as the approval processes take too long, here we add a local approval to international findings) ; they actually show that the majority of issues are more serious for people who ignore rules, gather inside in large numbers, ignore masking (outside it is not so bad if distance is kept) and so on. So to the degree people can keep with this and get vaccinated the quicker this and probably any future pandemics will stop. And they have learnt a lot about this. The messenger RNA system is good. But there are others.

Science is done by investigations and experiments and conclusions are then tested and evaluated whereas the news media mostly ignore or misquote the science. But the US and other nations have made vaccinations in very fast time even with the 'approvals' sped up.

The issue is now how do we get medicines of all kinds to countries in Africa, or other parts of the world where people are poor and a family can starve if even one animal dies and so on. Malaria is still a big killer (although there are two vaccines one recently developed) as are many other parasitical diseases, Ebola can be vaccinated against. HIV is still effectively incurable, influenza is fairly well controlled where people take vaccines (these are free in NZ, many medicines are free here or funded by the Government) -- as this Pandemic was going on I sent a small amount to 'Parasites without Borders'. Dr Daniel Griffin who is a virologist, medical doctor and clinician (for I think NY, New Jersey and one other State) also works when he can in Africa. Also many virologists work or worked in for example Laos where they found 'components' in bats that could mean a possible emergence from there -- zoonotically -- of a virus like Sars-Cov-2.

But there are also huge social and political issues that impact on the world situation. A lot of people have possibly died needlessly.

Well, as I am a writer as well as interested in science I quote W H Auden in his kind of 'political-Christian-ethical mode':

We must love one another or die....

But in his book 'The Orators' the preface has:

Private faces in public places
are kinder and nicer
than public faces in private faces

Reflecting the old dilemma of the private right versus the general or the public.

I think that people are people everywhere and we need to think as much as possible for others who are suffering. We don't need to let these things get us down.

I got my son to watch a Mr Bean episode the other night and he felt much better. To him there are evil people trying to do awful things in the world. But I say to stay focused on his own welfare, and mine also.

We also, as Dr Wayne Dyer used to write:
need to love ourselves in order to love others. So we need to look after ourselves as well as care also about those close to us. And then about others of other ethnicities or beliefs. We need to recall that we are all fallible -- as I know from my chess game results!

Emmanuel Lasker -- I recall loving to read his book, reading it made me feel as though I might become a great chess player (it was never going to happen) but to me it was like reading a long grown-up novel and I liked his "philosophy" of struggle etc and his statement repeated through the book that:

In Chess as in life we are all duffers.

I mean we have avoided the alliance that led to Australia getting nuclear submarines.

Australia is in many ways almost a backward nation. Years ago they grovelled to the British Government to allow them to detonate an atomic bomb in Australia!!

And many of the settlers and some of the officials even up to the I think the 70s effectively carried out a genocidal policy against their indigenous people.

We have a lot of issues in that area but Maori is recognised and spoken by many in public an other positions, Maori are improving in their acheivements and economic situation and their rights also -- all is not well of course, there is still a lot of poverty but the Treaty of Waitangi is in law and Maori have a lot of things that are improving their economic situation.

To repeat, there are still big issues of crime*, gangsterism, and violence etc among Maori and some Polynesians but by and large we have a pretty good situation in that respect.

*Not just with these ethnic groups, indeed even in the 'more affluent' classes in NZ. But a young policeman was murdered senselessly last year. The police are not always without blame either but overall things are reasonable all things being considered. To use another phrase of Lasker's:

Ceteris paribus.