User Profile: brankat

brankat
Member since Oct-10-05 · Last seen Jun-19-13

Branko Katic. Born and raised in former Yugoslavia, I have been living in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, for the last 30 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 participated in tournaments again. Instead I got a degree in History and Social Anthropology, which didn't do me much good :-)
I had neither played chess, nor followed chess events for more than 30 years. Until, by chance, I discovered this great site: Chessgames.com in 2005.
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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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"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>
"Aspirin can prevent pregnancy. All a woman has to do is place an aspirin between her knees and not let it go."
<ThFocus>
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CHESS related links I often use:
Game Collection: 170 Major Chess Tournaments 1882-2007 compiled by User: RonB52734
http://chesstempo.com/game-database... Games DATABASE
http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/arch... Sarah's Chess JOURNAL
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://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... CHESS NOTES by Edward Winter
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.chessgames.com/perl/ches... P.Morphy's notes: De La BOURDONNAIS-A.MCDONNELL
http://www.chessbase.com/puzzle/puz... The famous PLASKETT PUZZLE - Analysis
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PHOTO ALBUMS Links:
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
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/... S.GLIGORIC, Photos
http://www.chesspro.ru/_events/2011... Tribute to Dr.M.Vidmar (in Russian)
http://www.ara.org.ar/chs/ajedrez/p... Photos of all Teams from 1939 Chess Olympiad, Argentina
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MISC:
http://www.chessintranslation.com/2... S.GLIGORIC Interview: Analyzing by the riverside with Bobby Fischer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanue... Dr.Emanuel LASKER Biography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetoz... S.GLIGORIC Biography
http://www.tri.org.au/chess/ Chess on Stamps.
http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/... B.Fischer-F.Castro, Havana, 1966 ________________________________________________-
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REMINDERS:
User: wordfunph April-24 :-)
SwitchingQuylthulg chessforum: How to link to a specific post!
User: themadhair Carl Sagan on Voyager I
Complete List of BOOKS about <J.R.CAPABLANCA> and <A.A.ALEKHINE>, page 230, 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".

   Current net-worth: 10,105 chessbucks
[what is this?]

   brankat has kibitzed 18190 times to chessgames [more...]

   Jun-19-13 brankat chessforum

brankat: Another day, another Bet :-)

   Jun-19-13 Paul Morphy

brankat: The fact that, in last couple of decades, there has been considerably more chess related activities, that chess has become more popular in the USA is mostly due to many Russian (and other) players/immigrants, not to the USCF

   Jun-18-13 Timothy Taylor

brankat: The newest gem from THE master's forum: <FOR THE RECORD. I have the money to renew, but I refuse to do so!!!!! I am being treated unfair AND being discriminated against. As far as I know, I am the ONLY player on this site to have his games shut down and no kibitzing ...

   Jun-18-13 Andrei Volokitin

brankat: Happy Birthday Andrei!

   Jun-18-13 Gyula Sax

brankat: Happy Birthday GM Sax!

   Jun-18-13 Tal Memorial (2013)

brankat: Although he has not been doing well in tournament for some time, I think it will be a different story in the match. If I remember correctly in his last 2 tourneys Anand did score +1. You can't win a tournament this way, but that's all that's needed in a match. It was quite ...

   Jun-18-13 moronovich chessforum

brankat: Sorry guys. I didn't mean to deceive You, but somehow I mis-calculated my total. I think the amount probably includes the money I had bet on the tournament winner.

   Jun-18-13 tpstar chessforum

brankat: Never a dull day on this site :-)

   Jun-18-13 SwitchingQuylthulg chessforum

brankat: Better luck in round #6!

   Jun-17-13 Steinitz vs Maurian, 1883

brankat: It is equally "insulting" to compare other "great mortals" to Morphy.

indicates a reply to the comment.

The Court of Caissa

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 433 OF 482 · Later Kibitzing>
May-14-12		SwitchingQuylthulg: <brankat> Time to come back, you're missing the most exciting WC match this year :-)

May-15-12		brankat: <MarkFinan> Hi Mark and thank You. I'm reasonably OK. For now. I'll pick up on our game (and <Meme>'s) by Wednesday. I hope I haven't lost by forfeiting :-)

May-15-12		brankat: <SwitchingQuylthulg> Hello my friend! You are right, it is time for (yet another) comeback. I've just glanced at the first 2 games of the match. Nothing much to write home about is my first impression. Two games that You and I played a few years ago were much more exciting. Probably of a better quality, too :-) In the meanwhile, since I've been absent for a while, has there been anything "worthwhile" happening around here? Flame-wars, backstabbings, gossips, scandals, suspensions? Is anti-AJism still alive? :-) Will be back tomorrow. Take care.

May-16-12		SwitchingQuylthulg: <brankat> It's been quite a boring month. As could be expected without you around :) Only two fights worth mentioning (other than the ongoing Rogoff and religion action...) One was on the Anand-Gelfand match page between supporters of various methods to assess the absolute quality of somebody's play with computer-aided analysis, but that one was pretty lame - most of the participants were too busy pointing out all the holes in everybody else's methods to have enough time to think up any really good insults. The other fight was more interesting and did involve AJ. The post that started everything is reproduced below... <DiscoJew: AJ I just wanted to say how let down I was after playing you on Chess.com today. I played a fairly equal game, and eventually won do to my queenside pawns and Dark Squared Bishop counter intuitively winning the endgame on the Queenside in a complex Benko Gambit. I was accused of cheating by you and subsequently blocked. After reading and enjoying* your comments here on the site for years I have to say I was let down, thinking all this time you had some shred of class. Look at my games, I have beaten many stronger players than you. You were not a one off, and people (potential friends!) don't deserve to be blocked just because you had a bad game. I am not trying to "start" anything here, I just saw your face on Chess.com and said "Hey I know that guy!" and then played an unbalanced game and got lucky and won, then got blocked and accused of cheating. Please reconsider. The game in question: [Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2012.05.07"] [White "FLchessplayer"] [Black "JohnnyKlever"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "1894"] [TimeControl "3\|0"] [Termination "JohnnyKlever won by resignation"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.b6 d6 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.e4 Qxb6 8.Bc4 g6 9.Nge2 Bg7 10.O-O O-O 11.Qc2 Ne5 12.b3 Nxc4 13.bxc4 Bd7 14.f3 Rfb8 15.Be3 Qb2 16.Rfc1 Rb7 17.Kf2 Rab8 18.Ke1 a5 19.Kd1 Rb4 20.Qxb2 Rxb2 21.Rab1 Ne8 22.Rxb2 Rxb2 23.Rc2 Rb4 24.a3 Rxc4 25.Kd2 Nc7 26.Kd3 Ra4 27.Nxa4 Bxa4 28.Rc1 Nb5 29.Bd2 Bb2 30.Rb1 Bxa3 31.Nc3 Nxc3 32.Bxc3 Bb4 33.Kc4 Bc2 34.Ra1 Kf8 35.Bxb4 axb4 36.Ra8+ Kg7 37.Ra7 Kf6 38.g3 g5 39.Ra2 b3 40.Rb2 h5 41.Kc3 Ke5 42.Kd2 Kd4 43.h3 c4 44.Ke2 c3 45.Rxc2 bxc2 0-1 Jordan (DiscoJew) Klever> As I'm sure you can guess, AJ deleted the original from his forum without a note, but only after quite a few people had seen it... cue the best fight in your time away, but even that one never had real spirit. Not that there wasn't one quite memorable quote :) <Life Master AJ: WARNING! Don't raise this subject with me again, its taboo. However, you may always e-mail me - IF you think you have a real complaint. Be a man, take up your disputes in private, NOT in a public forum!!! >

May-16-12		SwitchingQuylthulg: In other news, <Eyal> is back :) Also, the 1st Chessgames Thematic Challenge (Chessgames Challenge: Team White vs Team Black, 2012) has started... the Albin Countergambit was somewhat surprisingly selected as the opening, thanks largely to <Sneaky>'s endorsement.

May-16-12		moronovich: Hi <brankat< ! good to see you are back ! "Life is not a box of chocolat" see you tomorrow..and is Raoul doing fine,still !? better than Gelfand-Anand ? ;)

May-17-12		brankat: <SwitchingQuylthulg> Thanks for the review. Perceptive and to the point, as always. I find it rather shocking that the LM could actually lose a game. Must have been a case of cheating. Fritz 21, perhaps? :-) The very first tournament I ever participated in took place in the spring of 1966. In the first round I was White and faced Albin Countergambit. I had never even seen it before, and found myself in an "uncomfortable" position after about a dozen moves. Then my opponent, a good friend of mine, blundered a Knight. A few moves later it was my turned, so I obliged by losing a Rook. In the late endgame I had a Knight, Black had R + P, but then he failed to see a fork coming, and lost his Rook :-) A Draw. In the end he did win the first prize with 10/11, I ended up second with 8.5/11. Forty-six years ago. Wow! It doesn't look I've shown much progress since then :-)

May-17-12		brankat: <moronovich> Hi there Moro! Jose Raul is doing great. Didn't let me sleep last three nights in a row, so finally, totally exhausted, I had to wrap him up in a towel, cover him with a blanket, then we both slept the whole day today. He could probably play a simul against both, Anand and Gelfand :-)

May-17-12		moronovich: <He could probably play a simul against both, Anand and Gelfand :-)> Lol! this made my day just a little brighter:).Good to see you are back and kicking. I have heard something about a WCmatch in chess,but perhaps just a rumour !??? And perhaps these guys should throw in a towel and get some sleep..

May-17-12		moronovich: <The very first tournament I ever participated in took place in the spring of 1966. In the first round I was White and faced Albin Countergambit.> this is one of several reasons I play 2.Nf3 after(d4-d5)not allowing e.g.Albins.

May-17-12		Hugin: Rumors say brankat crossed antartic walking on his hands playing simply the best:)...Welcome back brankat, hopes everything swell...

May-18-12		brankat: <moronovich> I suppose a lot of people feel disappointed with the way the Match has been going so far. I, on the other hand, pretty much expected this course of events. It's not so much the Draws that bother me, there has always been many of them going back all the way to 1927. But this time we have not seen a real fight yet, while most of the times before this has not been the case. Perhaps this has to do with the players' style, with the fact that they know each other so well, that they both have an access to the same, or similar, engines and databases. It will be very hard for either of them to surprise or outplay each other. An accidental blunder may well decide the Match. I have a feeling that as the match progresses Gelfand's chances will be getting better.

May-18-12		brankat: <Hugin> Hello Panda! Actually, I traveled across the Arctic, mostly the Norwegian part :-)

May-18-12		brankat: See You guys tomorrow.

May-18-12		SwitchingQuylthulg: <brankat: <moronovich> I suppose a lot of people feel disappointed with the way the Match has been going so far. I, on the other hand, pretty much expected this course of events. > You really should have been here... you could be on the Leaderboard :-)

May-20-12		brankat: <Switchingquylthulg> <...you could be on the Leaderboard :-)> Highly unlikely. All the draw odds have been just too non-appetizing for my taste. I did bet on Gelfand in round 5 and 6 though, for a total of 200. And now again in game 7 it's c$100. Third time lucky! On the other hand I can't complain about "bad luck". Even that is better than no luck at all :-)

May-20-12		brankat: Good night.

May-20-12		moronovich: Good night and sweet dreams :)

May-20-12		Memethecat: Hi <brankat>, truly sorry to hear you've been having a hard time, all the best to you & yours.

May-20-12		brankat: <Memethecat> Thank You <Meme>. I'm sorry about the delay in our game. If it is OK with You, we can now continue the contest. I'll stop by Your forum this evening (Monday morning Your time-zone), and finally make a move. The same goes for my game against Mark.

May-21-12		brankat: Time to see the Bookie!

May-21-12		brankat: A fine mess with the "OPENING" bet in game #8. Accepted as a Gruenfeld, which it was not quite. Denied a designation of a KID, which it was much closer to. Denied as a "Other" although it was then listed as "Indian: ANTI-Gruenfeld". Could have also been a Benoni, meaning, again: "Other. Odds on KID were about 61-1. On "Other" something like 30-1. In other words a fortune either way. But, the Bookie refuses to use his own brain, and relies on some sort of a software, which doesn't have any. So, since it would be too naive to expect a cancellation of/refunds for the wager, I suggested that this kind of a Bet (OPENING) be simply discounted from now on. I do not think the suggestion will be accepted, or even appreciated.

May-22-12		brankat: I was wrong. That's what often happens when one is angry, and forgets to take a few deep breaths first. Or at least to count a 1,000 sheep :-) My apologies. The Bookie was actually prompt with the response. A fair one: <<brankat> I appreciate your input on this and as you pointed out, to make matters even more confusing, opening designation at Chessgames is really a two-step process. The more superficial step takes place automatically during a live game then the "official" designation happens afterwards. In this case it was superficially designated a KID then later refined to be a Neo-Grunfeld. In light of this event we may be more strongly inclined to bets of the simpler nature, 'First move' or even 'First two moves', to avoid any possible dispute. Thanks.> So, I say: Thank You!

May-22-12		brankat: A rest day in Moscow. May as well have one in Vancouver, too.

May-23-12		brankat: Back in action at the same time as Gelfanand :-)

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