I wonder how many of these games have theoretical relevance, anyways, this game The World vs Akobian, 2012 has it. But I guess anybody here knows it already. :-)

Great to hear from you. I wish you could spend more time here, but I hope things are going well.

A rundown of the latest. <iron maiden> and <yoozum> went to college, while <acirce> and <percyblakeney> are on hiatus. <square dance> is gone but not forgotten, then <cu8sfan> is busy for now. <refutor> got married, and <Honza Cervenka> had a baby. <Benjamin Lau> kept his word and never came back, while <CrackerSmack> finally shut up. <SBC> and <BishopBerkeley> come by rarely, while <PinkPanther> and <clocked> don't. <azaris> is here but mostly for football; <Cyphelium> is hit and miss. <zanshin> and <pulsar> are away and I really hope they return. <kvcs> took her activism act elsewhere, but <Chess Champ> got confused by the chessforum system and hit the road. Last but not least, everybody's favorite LifeMaster is on everybody's manual ignore.

We have more chess professionals visiting than before. <ray keene> remains active on his page, but <eric schiller> has real medical problems holding him back. <imlday> is around but was treated badly regarding the M61MG business. <Susan Polgar> stops by regularly, more on Wesley So's page than her own, and <Nigel Short> follows his page. <DarkNolan>/Gata Kamsky checks in sometimes, and <Wesley So> did before (long story). Natalia Pogonina and Yelena Dembo are also active.

You missed the part about the hate group, and the ill-fated teaching project, and The Seven who got suspended, and the dustup over a World contest ("spacebar masters"), and the guy who blamed me for his bowel problems, and several cyberstalking incidents. Importantly, we now know that Ace of Base is the best antidote against Carlsen Fanboyism.

<Nov-03-07 YOU HEARD IT HERE....

Opps; got to the site too late [by nine hours] to renew our Premium Membership...but will do so again in the near future!!!

BUT---the new president of U.S.A. will be Hillary Clinton with Barack Obama as V.P.

Shalom, Molly

After a 21 month hiatus, <Iron Maiden> made his last post in September 2011 in the first round of <YouRang> prediction contest.

<yoozum> <cu8sfan> <refutor> <Honza> and <acirce> post occasionally.

<percyblakeney> made this cryptic final post on 2/26/11 on the Kasparov page: <I sometimes get the feeling I am writing on the wrong site though, might be time to finally do something about that now :-) >

<square dance> last posted on 5/4/11 (and was last seen 12/13/11)<To get some sense of Morphy's incredible mind, read this story by Falkbeer. <Then imagine this mind reviewing modern chess texts at light speed and not only remembering every footnote but also understanding and improving on it.>> <square dance: it doesn't have to be imagined; his name is anand.>

<Benjamin Lau> made this innocuous post after a lot of fireworks for his last word on 5/26/04. There's even a plea for peace by you a little farther down the page. Kramnik vs Anand, 1999

<I agree, although Anand was down two pawns at that point so there wasn't very much he could do anyway. Kramnik's efficient attack in this game is very smooth and well conducted. His style is precise and fleeting, I always follow his attacking themes whenever I play a Queen's Gambit Accepted.>

1-10 are here = Game Collection: Best Games of 2012

The other 60 are listed by each voter. We usually don't put them all in order.

<drkodos> was around a few times last year. I made a comment regarding him coming back but that page has since been shut down. He does have a feisty streak. :-)

Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship (2012)

When your opponent is overly materialistic, try to set traps like Forks and Skewers so you come out ahead. If you are down material, trade Pawns and not pieces because you want to stay in the middlegame and not reach the endgame.

it is a serious matter (and potentially dangerous) and can not be taken lightly , imo.

He is a terrorist sympathizer, a terrorist, and an anarchist. He openly chooses senseless violence as some means to solve problems, without realizing how it only causes more problems. Moreover, his idea of "change" for the US and for Israel and even for Turkey would only make things worse. As was so adroitly stated, wanting missiles to attack your own country is Treason by definition. Reasoned discussion with such a violent person will make no nevermind. Except I am fully disappointed with the cognescenti who let his hateful comments pass unchallenged, and the researcher who finds his pro-terrorist views "well worth listening to" for some reason.

You and I must be cautious over the next six months. The Bad People are circling about, waiting to build some coalition to get us banned since we remember the smear campaign and the ethics violations. As international figures of intrigue, we pose a dangerous threat to free speech. Most of us law-abiding kibitzers here can accept that others have the right to post their opinions, but increasingly they want to suppress dissent rather than seek to refute it. They think they have a right to browbeat their adversaries into silence when they say things they don't care to hear, and they insist that others follow the rules even as they continually break the rules themselves.