User Profile: brankat

brankat
Member since Oct-10-05 · Last seen Nov-17-09

I am Branko Katic, originally from former Yugoslavia, but have been living in Vancouver, Canada for the last 26 years. Used to play chess actively when I was a teenager, and was awarded a Candidate Master title in 1970.
I "retired" a year later, mostly due to University studies and never played "actively" (tournaments) again. Instead I got a degree in History and Social Anthropology, which didn't do me much good :-)
Now, after more than 30 years of a break I am back.
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A fellow CG.com member, and a friend, WILSON HU User: CHESSMORON, organized a double round-robin tourney: <The MASTERS vs. the MACHINES>, February - April, 2007. It was my privilege and an honour to be on the Masters team with FIDE Master ERIC SCHILLER Eric Schiller and the USCF Master BILL WALL Bill Wall!
The link to the games: CG.com Masters vs. Machines Invitational (2007)
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<A few of my favourite Chess related quotes>:
"If Acoustics was a science that informed the world about sounds, then Music was an art that revealed the beauty of that science; if Logic was a science that revealed the laws of Thought, then Chess, in the form of artistic images, was an art that illuminated the logical side of thought."
<M.M.Botvinnik>
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"Right here enters the moment where the Art of Chess may be called the most tragic of arts, because the chess artist, in a measure, is dependent on an element that is totally outside the scope of his power. That element is the hostile co-workers who, through carelessness, constantly threaten to wreck a flawless mental edifice.
The chess player who tries to demonstrate the "how" of a game, will view the single point scored, a poor offset for the failure to gratify his artistic yearnings."
<A.A.Alekhine>
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"Playing Chess gives us a chance to start our life over again, and this time, no one has more money than us, no one is more beautiful, no one lives in a better neighborhood, and we all go to the same school. Other than having the first move, and this benefit is shared equally, no one starts with any unfair advantage."
<Unknown>
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"It is too beautiful to spend your life upon. Many times have I managed to break with Chess, yet I have always fallen in love with it again. I was too captivated by the conflict between ideas and opinions, attack and defence, life and death."
<Emanuel Lasker>
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"The chess player who has lost his game - who will describe him? I have seen him unable to move. The public was long gone, the lights were out, and still he sat rigidly in his chair staring at the emptied board, because he had overlooked Bg2. A case of complete petrification, with bystanders whispering and tiptoeing by.
I have heard him begging for punishment in blasphemous language. He had forgotten Nh5, and in his dismay he called down annihilation upon himself. Derisively, he rejected our words of solace, demanding insults and chastisements.
Standing afar and horror-stricken, I have witnessed him swearing in orgiastic fury to rip off his genitals, because he had played Qf6 instead of Qb6."
<Jan Hein Donner>
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The one I personally subscribe to:
"Of my 57 years, I’ve applied at least 30 to forgetting most of what I've learned or read, and since I succeeded in this I have acquired a certain ease and cheer which I should never again like to be without.
If need be, I can increase my skill in chess, if need be I can do that of which I have no idea present.
I have stored little in my memory, but I can apply that little, and it is of good use in many and varied emergencies. I keep it in order, but resist every attempt to increase its dead weight."
<Dr.Emanuel Lasker>
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And a touch of <CHESS POETRY>:
"Nf6, e6 and the Bishop to b4
That's the way we play the Nimzo
If White, he play a3
That don't bother me
I just make sure that sucker Knight go.
Coz Nf6, e6 and the Bishop to b4
That's the way we play the Nimzo.
They try to avoid it by Nf3
But then came along the QID
You can still go Nf6, e6 and Bb4
With check it becomes a Bogo.
So everybody!
Nf6, e6 and the Bishop to b4
That's the way we play the Nimzo."
<CG.com User>: User: open defence
A Picture is worth a Thousand Words... :-) http://images.google.com/imgres?img...
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CHESS related links I often use:
Game Collection: 170 Major Chess Tournaments 1882-2007 compiled by User: RonB52734
Nasruddin Hodja's Game Collections GAMES COLLECTIONS compiled by User: nasruddin hodja
Game Collection: Nf5 sac against the kingside castled fianchetto
http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/records... RECORDS games
http://www.chessville.com/Quotes/mi... Chessville-QUOTES
http://batgirl.atspace.com/index.html Sarah's <SBC> CHESS JOURNAL (P.Morphy story)
http://sbchess.sinfree.net/Encounte... Sarah's <SBC> Chess Journal - Encounters with Alekhine
http://batgirl.atspace.com/LisaLane... Sarah's <SBC> Chess Journal: The Story of LISA LANE
http://sbchess.sinfree.net/chessex.... Sarah's <SBC> Chess Journal-CHESS, LOVE, SEX
http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... CHESS NOTES by Edward Winter
http://groups.msn.com/AlekhineMemor... ..Chess sites Links, ALEKHINE Bio, Photos, etc
Petrosian-Spassky World Championship Rematch (1969) All WCC Matches
http://www.endgame.nl/match.htm HISTORY of Chess Matches from R.Lopez to V.Kramnik
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquar... M.M BOTVINNIK - Biography
http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... R.RETI - Biography
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... P.Morphy's notes: De La BOURDONNAIS-A.MCDONNELL
http://www.chessbase.com/puzzle/puz... The famous PLASKETT PUZZLE - Analysis
http://www.lasker-gesellschaft.de/s... Dr.EMANUEL LASKER SOCIETY ________________________________________________-
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PHOTO ALBUMS Links:
http://www.rogerpaige.me.uk/histori... HISTORICAL PHOTOS-19th Century, TABLES 1931-1950.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Caissa1... ALEKHINE FAMILY PHOTOS
http://picasaweb.google.com/Caissa1... S.RESHEVSKY - "The WUNDERKID" - PHOTOS
http://picasaweb.google.com/Caissa1... RUSSIAN MASTERS' PHOTOS, early 20th Century
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail... S.GLIGORIC 85th Birthday Celebration
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REMINDERS:
Complete List of BOOKS about <J.R.CAPABLANCA> and <A.A.ALEKHINE>, page 230, this Forum.
Some stories and links re. <BOBBY FISCHER>, pages 241-43, this Forum.
Links to <BOBBY FISCHER> videos, page 252, this Forum.
Links to <The BEATLES> videos, page 266, this Forum.
Link to <PETER, PAUL and MARY> videos, page 275, this Forum.
Link to <MAHALIA JACKSON> videos, page 276, this Forum.
Link to <PAVEL BURE> videos, page 271, this Forum.
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<Events organized and hosted in this Forum>: ________________________________________________-
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Consultation game: "MIXED DOUBLES"
Team White: THE BATCHIMEGS <jessicafischerqueen & Eyal>
Team Black: OPENLY DEFIANT CATS <Open Defence & Brankat>
Start: June/27/2007. - End: Aug/19/2007.
ECO: B76 - <SICILIAN, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack>
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Nc6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. g4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4* Be6 11. h4 Qa5 12. h5 Rac8 13. a3 Bc4 14. h6 Bh8 15. 0-0-0 Bxf1 16. Rhxf1 Rc4 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nd5 Qxd2 19. Kxd2 Re8 20. Nxf6+ exf6 21. b3 Rc5 22. c4 Re6 23. Ke3 f5 24. Rd5 Kf8 25. Kd4 fxe4 26. fxe4 Ke7 27. b4 Rc6 28. g5 Rc7 29. a4 Rd7 30. Ra5 b6 31. Rb5 Kd8 32. a5 == Draw offer accepted.
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Consultation Game:
<CHESSGAMES.com Members vs. MFO (mrfixitonline) Chess Club Members>
<MFO> :
(Akavall, bin, buti_oxa, Ceri, ForceMid, FusterCluck, Joshua, madcat_lives, samurai goroh, Stormboy).
<CG.com>:
(TheAlchemist, chessmoron, dakgootje, hitman84, jessicafischerqueen, Marco65, Rocafella>, Swapmeet, TTLump, Zebra, EmperorAtahualpa, mckmac, Elixir of Life).
WHITE: < MFO > ---BLACK: < CG.com >
Start: Jan/21/2007 - End: May/23/2007
ECO: B90 - <SICILIAN, Najdorf>
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bc1 Nc6 8. h3 Nf6 9. Be3 e6 10. g4 Be7 11. g5 Nd7 12. h4 O-O 13. f4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 b5 15. O-O-O Rb8 16. h5 b4 17. Na4 e5 18. Qd2 Bb7 19. g6 Bxe4 20. Bg2 Bf5 21. Bd5 Rc8 22. Bb3 Be4 23. gxf7+ Rxf7 24. fxe5 Nxe5 25. Nb6 Rc6 26. Rhf1 Qe8 27. Rxf7 Nxf7 28. Nd5 Bd8 29. h6 a5 30. Re1 a4 31. Bxa4 Bh4 32. Qd4! and Black resigns.
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Consultation game:
CG.com American kibitzers: "ISOLATED PAWNS"
<Akavall, square dance, suenteus po 147>
vs.
CG.com Canadian kibitzers: "NORTHERN KNIGHTS"
<AgentRgent, Hesam7, THE Pawn>
WHITE: <ISOLATED PAWNS> - BLACK: <NORTHERN KNIGHTS>
Start: Sep, 05/2006 - End: Nov, 11/2006.
ECO: B17 <CARO-KANN, Steinitz Variation.>
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5 e6 6. Bd3 Ngf6 7. N1f3 Bd6 8. Qe2 h6 9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 c5 11. Bd2 Nf6 12. Qe2 a6 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. 0-0 0-0 15. c4 e5 16. Bc3 Re8 17. Rad1 Qb6 18. b4 Bxb4 19. Rb1 e4 20. Rxb4 Qc5 21. Bc2 Bg4 22. Qe3 Qxe3 23. fxe3 exf3 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. c5 Be6 26. Bb3 Bxb3 27. axb3 Rac8 28. Rxf3 1/2-1/2.
Nov. 11/06: Draw offer accepted by "Northern Knights".
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Currently playing against User: Open Defence
WHITE: <Open Defence> - BLACK: <Brankat>
Start: Feb, 14/2008 - (Last move made: July/19/2008)
ECO: A67 <BENONI, Taimanov Variation.>
1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8 Bb5+ Nfd7 9 Nf3 a6 10. Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 b5 12. Kh1 c4 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Be3 b4 15. Na4 f5 16. Nd2 Qc7 17. Rc1 c3 18. Bb3 Qd8 19. bxc3 a5* 20. Re1 fxe4 21. cxb4 Ba6 22. bxa5 Qxa5 23. Nc4 Bxc4 24. Rxc4 Nf6 25. Nb6 Ra6 26. Na8 Re7 27. Bd2 Qd8 28. Qc2 Qf8 29. Rc8+ Re8 30. Rxe8 Nxe8 31. Nc7 Nxc7 32. Qxc7 Ra8 33. Qc2 Nd7 34. Rxe4 Nc5 35. Re6 Nxe6* 36. dxe6 Kh8 37. Qe4 Re8 38. h3 Qf6*

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   brankat has kibitzed 12803 times to chessgames [more...]

   Nov-07-09 malthrope chessforum

brankat: Wishing You a very Happy Birthday!

   Sep-14-09 dakgootje chessforum

brankat: Goes to show that "mechanical engineering" not only is more Useful, but also makes more sense :-)

   Sep-14-09 achieve chessforum

brankat: Hi Niels! Just dropped by to remind You, in case You forgot :-) Best wishes for Your B-Day, my friend!

   Jul-20-09 brankat chessforum

brankat: Hello all. Briefly, I have only a few moments of computer time. Have spent last 2 days on Vancouver Island, picking/gathering mushrooms! It's been a pretty good harvest. Will be back in Vancouver on Monday evening. See You then.

   Jul-18-09 tpstar chessforum

brankat: Hmmm. Hypocrisy?

   Jul-18-09 Annie K. chessforum

brankat: <Annie K.> I didn't intend to criticise RJF, just to state a fact. I did meet Bobby on three occasions: Bled, 1961, Vinkovci, 1968, and Belgrade, 1970. Of course, he was a very much different person then. Except for an inexcusable incident he caused in Bled. Which, with a ...

   Jul-18-09 Alexander Morozevich

brankat: Happy Birthday Alexander!

   Jul-16-09 Canadian Open (2009)

brankat: <cliffordgoodman> Good show! Best of luck the rest of the way.

   Jul-16-09 ahmadov chessforum

brankat: <rchczrms> Zahir had moved to Scotland. To sample Scotch, and study the Scotch Opening :-)

   Jul-16-09 positionalgenius chessforum

brankat: <positionalgenius> <<brankat> would love to have you participate in the 2010-2011 cycle.> Thank You! I feel flattered :-) Although there is still a year to go until the next cycle, in principle, I will accept the invitation.

indicates a reply to the comment.

The Court of Caissa

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 370 OF 370 · Later Kibitzing >
Aug-06-09		malthrope: <SwitchingQuylthulg: Food, mice, mushrooms and alcoholic beverages of all kind (including not only Black Najdorfs, but also Neo-Grünfeld Ultra Delayed Exchanges*) will be available at J H Donner vs Gligoric, 1960 today (any time zone). Please bring your own logs. [...] <guaranteed> to give you a "I must have drunk heavily yesterday" feeling tomorrow morning! Money back if it doesn't.> Great idea <Switch> :)) Friend of <brankat>'s - his trusty sidekick and well tempered Chess warrior (that would be me) has posted! J H Donner vs Gligoric, 1960 Hope he likes the ditty! :D - Mal PS: <myschkin: . . . sorry <mal> it didn't work out! I will have a look for some mice instead [...]> Hehehe... If you found some mice - bring them to the party. The <kat> should be very hungry by now! ;)

Aug-06-09		achieve: The <COURT OF CAISSA> has been without its Supreme Court Judge for too long now... Get your A$$ back online, Mr. KAT! ;) (I blame a combination of heat and "humidity"...;))

Aug-19-09		whiteshark: Hi <brankat>, Mikhail Botvinnik once wrote that <publishing your analytical work forces you to be accurate because it exposes you to criticism.> How deeply true. :D

Aug-26-09		SwitchingQuylthulg: <brankat> Would you not agree that one of the best things about this site is the almost complete lack of bump posts?

Aug-31-09		SwitchingQuylthulg: <brankat> I'm thinking of posting a little something at the chessgames.com forum - this is a rough outline but perhaps you can think of a couple extra points to add? <Dear <ChessGames.com> administrators, this is me and <brankat> speaking. Let us thank you a billion for all the hard work you have put into developing and maintaining this site and making it an experience worth so much more than we've paid for our premiumships. However, there's nothing so good it can't be further improved, so please listen to some modest proposals from the grass-roots kibitzer level. First of all, one of your features at the player pages is the player's winning percentage - a little bit of info saying something like: <Overall record: +23 -11 =8 (64.3%)*>. Over the years, most recently at the Keene vs Orly, 1961 page, many kibitzers have voiced the opinion that these winning percentages are in fact not very representative of the player's true strength. It is very easy to see where they're coming from - Greco, for instance, has a winning percentage of 100%, and Keene himself one of 78%. Compare the great Karpov at 63.4%. On the most obvious level, such statistics are skewed against Karpov because he has played so many games against the strongest players in the world. Specifically, he has played no less than 190 games against arguably the strongest human player ever, Garry Kasparov. Kasparov surely isn't the sort of opponent a player would typically expect to face and the exceedingly many times Karpov had to face the Ogre of Baku bias those winning percentages against him. We therefore strongly recommend that all games between Karpov and Kasparov be removed from this database. Secondly, it appears that the games kibitzers of this site in general find the most interesting are the very short ones. A draw in just a couple moves is almost certain to attract commentary, with the probability rapidly increasing as the games get shorter. Indeed, the zero-move Janosevic vs Geller, 1968 has accumulated pages after pages of commentary. Elementary opening traps, phone call losses, and correspondence "any-move", "misread notation" or "out of stamps" disasters appear even more popular. We therefore respectfully request that more extremely short GM draws be added to this database. Also, you could consider lifting the usual uploaded-game player strength and time control restrictions for online blitz and lightning catastrophes in 6 moves or less. Obviously, in addition to the other upsides, this would allow many more of the kibitzer community to contribute to your database with their own games.>

Aug-31-09		SwitchingQuylthulg: <Thirdly, regarding your revolutionary Guess-the-Move feature. It has changed the chess study methods of ChessGames.com members for ever. Many, many people on this site find this tool extremely useful and sometimes even play the same game over and over again in hope of a better result. This is an onerous and time-consuming process that even in the end doesn't bring the member in question much profit. Luckily, a very simple change would eliminate the need for this entirely. Rather than having to guess, the members could be allowed to consult the game score while playing. Since Guess-the-Move is as said above a study tool and the success and effectiveness of learning methods is judged by the results, the other and at least as profitable upside also immediately presents itself to any alert observer: this would allow members to reach extremely high scores on their first go, making further study of the game in question unnecessary. The need for rote learning that spoils Guess-the-Move as badly as other studying systems all over the world would be gone forever. For additional educational value, Toga's opinion of the move to be played and a list of other moves it has evaluated as good could also be provided. Fourthly, on the most important feature of this site, the one that truly makes it more than just an average-sized database with a couple cool explorers. The one that has attracted and kept thousands of loving members at ChessGames.com over the years. Kibitzing. As you have noticed, an increasingly popular way of kibitzing - especially at the pages of new tournaments and live broadcast games - involves the ordinal number of the new kibitz on the page in question. "First!", "Second!" and "Third!" are still relatively easy to write and count to, even for more intellectually challenged members. However, as the numbers grow higher and new kibitzes come in with ever-increasing speed, problems start to appear. What if you want to say "Thirteenth!" but find someone else claimed that spot while you were writing? What if you want to say "392nd!" but can't calculate that far? Indeed, what if you say "First!" when somebody on your ignore list had unbeknownst to you already posted? The easy solution involves a new kibitzing trick with three '#'s: ### One no longer has to count, worry about having missed somebody, even be concerned about the possibility of somebody posting half a second before one and having to delete the kibitz and post it again with a corrected number! One just types, say, "Wow I can't believe I was the ### to write here!" and ChessGames.com automatically replaces ### with "first", "Second!", or whatever is appropriate. I know this would take a little bit of coding, but it would make the life of many members here that bit easier. Yours, <brankat> and <SwitchingQuylthulg>>

Sep-14-09		dakgootje: How have you been? :o I've kind of returned! (heh, never know how long I stay though eh ;)

Sep-15-09		SwitchingQuylthulg: Have a look at brankat chessforum ;-)

Sep-15-09		dakgootje: ooooh you came back for all the birthday-wishes! how very clever ;) happy birthday once again :P how does time fly. ;) ps: seems like I came back to cg.com as well around this time previous year... maybe I should make it a habit! pps: SQ, you should make that a trail leading over the whole site! :P

Sep-15-09		achieve: Ahhh! That was the thing: Branko's and mine are one day apart??! My memory must have served me badly in that respect... It's starting to come back now... Then a Happy Birthday is in order, Branko! ;)

Sep-15-09		Pyke: Happy Birthday <Branko> !!! Seems that I, too, came back just in time for the important stuff.

Sep-15-09		Annie K.: <Brankat> Happy Birthday! :)

Sep-15-09		hms123: <brankat> Happy Birthday from me as well.

Sep-15-09		TheAlchemist: Happy Birthday!

Sep-15-09		SamAtoms1980: Birthday Kitty: http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/...

Sep-15-09		Open Defence: <Mr Kat> HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Sep-15-09		malthrope: Ah yes, the double trouble birthdays (<brankat> and <achieve>) . I just knew the string that was suppose to be wrapped around my little finger during this time of the year got seriously misplaced... Think it may have got lost on a Tennis Court somewhere back in New York... o_O Well, I'd better hop on the wagon train, or is it to join the band wagon? :P Happy Birthday BRANKO! :)) And, many more! :D Best Wishes, - Mal

Sep-15-09		parisattack: Happy Birthday, Brankat! If I had a way to get them to you securely I'd send you the three unpublished Gligo-Fischer games in the Fischer Uncensored book for a present!

Oct-09-09		ahmadov: We are visiting this web site exactly with the same frequency...

Nov-01-09		Stonehenge: <brankat> Gde si ti? Ne pricas puno vise :) Evo, pesma za tebe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wph...

Nov-07-09		parisattack: Hello, <Brankat> You have been quiet of late; I hope all is well your way. <TheFocus> and I received permission to post the Gligoric-Fischer 1992 training games. You may view them in the CG DB or on my forum, Gligoric forum or Fischer forum.

Nov-08-09		SugarDom: Why so quiet... I'm missing the "disgrace" dig...

Nov-08-09		Open Defence: <Sugar Dom> lets not get into that again....

Nov-08-09		SugarDom: Hehe O.D. Just trying to resurrect him...

Nov-14-09		Stonehenge: Talking cat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU2E...

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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 370 OF 370 · Later Kibitzing >

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