Ante up

"Conscience warns us as a friend before it punishes us as a judge." ― King Stanisław I Leszczyński (1677-1766)

"Unfortunately, many regard the critic as an enemy, instead of seeing him as a guide to the truth." ― Wilhelm Steinitz

"My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose." ― Bette Davis

"Chess is a matter of vanity." ― Alexander Alekhine

"As a chess player one has to be able to control one's feelings, one has to be as cold as a machine." ― Levon Aronian

"Courage is as often the outcome of despair as of hope; in the one case we have nothing to lose, in the other everything to gain." ― Diane de Poitiers

"Sometimes it happens that the computer's assessment is very abstract. It's correct, but it's not useful for a practical game. You have to prove the assessment with very strong moves and if you don't find all of these strong moves you may lose very quickly. For a computer this is not a problem, but for humans it is not so easy." ― Vassily Ivanchuk

"A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit." ― John Milton

"Chess is a sport. The main object in the game of chess remains the achievement of victory." ― Max Euwe

"A sport, a struggle for results and a fight for prizes. I think that the discussion about "chess is science or chess is art" is already inappropriate. The purpose of modern chess is to reach a result." ― Alexander Morozevich

"No one man is superior to the game." ― A. Bartlett Giamatti, in reference to Pete Rose, the all-time MLB hits leader banned for gambling.

"To err is human; to forgive, divine." ― Alexander Pope

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." ― Marie Curie

"Liberty is one of the most precious gifts which heaven has bestowed on man; with it we cannot compare the treasures which the earth contains or the sea conceals; for liberty, as for honor, we can and ought to risk our lives; and, on for the other hand, captivity is the greatest evil that can befall man." ― Miguel de Cervantes

"A person hears only what they understand." ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"I consider Mr. Morphy the finest chess player who ever existed. He is far superior to any now living, and would doubtless have beaten Labourdonnais himself. In all his games with me, he has not only played, in every instance, the exact move, but the most exact. He never makes a mistake; but, if his adversary commits the slightest error, he is lost." ― Adolf Anderssen

"After white's reply to 1.e4 e5 with 2.f4 the game is in its last throes" ― Howard Staunton

"I have added these principles to the law: get the Knights into action before both Bishops are developed." ― Emanuel Lasker

"With opposite coloured bishops the attacking side has in effect an extra piece in the shape of his bishop." ― Mikhail Botvinnik

"A pawn, when separated from his fellows, will seldom or never make a fortune." ― Francois-Andre Danican Philidor

"First I play for equality (as Black), then I start to play for a win." ― Artur Yusupov

"It is a profound mistake to imagine that the art of combination depends only on natural talent, and that it cannot be learned." ― Richard Reti

"Once there is the slightest suggestion of combinational possibilities on the board, look for unusual moves. Apart from making your play creative and interesting it will help you to get better results." ― Alexander Kotov

"Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." ― Napoleon Hill

"I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying." ― Andy (Tim Robbins), "The Shawshank Redemption"

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail." — Confucius

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." — Albert Einstein

"Be warned! From Satan's viewpoint you are a pawn in his game of cosmic chess." ― Adrian Rogers

"Pawns not only create the sketch for the whole painting, they are also the soil, the foundation, of any position." ― Anatoly Karpov

"The object of the state is always the same: to limit the individual, to tame him, to subordinate him, to subjugate him." ― Max Stirner

"What's your favorite chess piece?"
Boris Spassky: "Whichever one my opponent doesn't have."

"A Queen's sacrifice, even when fairly obvious, always rejoices the heart of the chess-lover." ― Savielly Tartakower

"Life is for living and working at. If you find anything or anybody a bore, the fault is in yourself." ― Elizabeth I (1533-1603), Queen of England

"Everyone makes mistakes. The wise are not people who never make mistakes, but those who forgive themselves and learn from their mistakes." ― Ajahn Brahm

"As a rule, so-called "positional" sacrifices are considered more difficult, and therefore more praise-worthy, than those which are based exclusively on an exact calculation of tactical possibilities." ― Alexander Alekhine

"It would be idle, and presumptuous, to wish to imitate the achievements of a Morphy or an Alekhine; but their methods and their manner of expressing themselves are within the reach of all." ― Eugene Znosko-Borovsky

"The most powerful weapon in chess is to have the next move." ― David Bronstein

"If the defender is forced to give up the center, then every possible attack follows almost of itself." ― Siegbert Tarrasch

"Erudition, like a bloodhound, is a charming thing when held firmly in leash, but it is not so attractive when turned loose upon a defenseless and unerudite public." ― Agnes Repplier

"If you watch it, you should watch it with other players and try to find moves, like it was before. Now on many sites you watch together with the computer and the pleasure is gone." ― Boris Gelfand

"I believe that Chess possesses a magic that is also a help in advanced age. A rheumatic knee is forgotten during a game of chess and other events can seem quite unimportant in comparison with a catastrophe on the chessboard." ― Vlastimil Hort

"As a chess player one has to be able to control one's feelings; one has to be as cold as a machine." — Eugene A. Znosko-Borovsky

"It's funny, but many people don't understand why I draw so many games nowadays. They think my style must have changed but this is not the case at all. The answer to this drawing disease is that my favorite squares are e6, f7, g7 and h7 and everyone now knows this. They protect these squares not once but four times!" ― Mikhail Tal

"Having spent alarmingly large chunks of my life studying the white side of the Open Sicilian, I find myself asking, why did I bother?" ― Daniel J. King

"Apart from direct mistakes, there is nothing more ruinous than routine play, the aim of which is mechanical development." ― Alexey Suetin

"Not infrequently ... the theoretical is a synonym of the stereotyped. For the 'theoretical' in chess is nothing more than that which can be found in the textbooks and to which players try to conform because they cannot think up anything better or equal, anything original." ― Mikhail Chigorin

"The choice of opening, whether to aim for quiet or risky play, depends not only on the style of a player, but also on the disposition with which he sits down at the board." ― Efim Geller

"Despite the development of chess theory, there is much that remains secret and unexplored in chess." ― Vasily Smyslov

"No matter how much theory progresses, how radically styles change, chess play is inconceivable without tactics." ― Samuel Reshevsky

"Collect as precious pearls the words of the wise and virtuous." ― Abdelkader El Djezairi

"Learning is not attained by chance; it must be sought for with ardor and diligence." ― Abigail Adams

"When I was preparing for one term's work in the Botvinnik school I had to spend a lot of time on king and pawn endings. So when I came to a tricky position in my own games, I knew the winning method." ― Garry Kasparov

"As a rule, pawn endings have a forced character, and they can be worked out conclusively." ― Mark Dvoretsky

"It is a gross overstatement, but in chess, it can be said I play against my opponent over the board and against myself on the clock." ― Viktor Korchnoi

"The fact that the 7 hours time control allows us to play a great deep game is not of great importance for mass-media." ― Alexei Shirov

"For me, each game is a new challenge, which has to be dealt with rationally and systematically. At that time, every other thought fades into oblivion." ― Viswanathan Anand

"A door once opened may be stepped through in either direction." ― Madame de Pompadour

"Any fool can know. The point is to understand." ― Albert Einstein

"One bad move nullifies forty good ones."
― Israel Albert Horowitz

"It is a well-known phenomenon that the same amateur who can conduct the middle game quite creditably, is usually perfectly helpless in the end game. One of the principal requisites of good chess is the ability to treat both the middle and end game equally well." ― Aron Nimzowitsch

"My hard work and excellent training entitled me to be a better actress than some of my competitors." ― Pola Negri

"Endings of one rook and pawns are about the most common sort of endings arising on the chess board. Yet though they do occur so often, few have mastered them thoroughly. They are often of a very difficult nature, and sometimes while apparently very simple they are in reality extremely intricate." ― Jose Raul Capablanca

"Capablanca used to talk calmly and moderately about everything. However, when our conversation turned to the problems of the battle for the world championship, in front of me was a quite different person: an enraged lion, although with the fervour typical only of a southerner, with his temperamental patter, which made it hard to follow the torrent of his indignant exclamations and words." ― Alexander Koblencs

"A player is said to have the opposition when he can place his King directly in front of the adverse King, with only one square between them. This is often an important advantage in ending games." ― Howard Staunton

"A player can sometimes afford the luxury of an inaccurate move, or even a definite error, in the opening or middlegame without necessarily obtaining a lost position. In the endgame ... an error can be decisive, and we are rarely presented with a second chance." ― Paul Keres

"Never trust a government that doesn't trust its own citizens with guns." ― Benjamin Franklin

"The Soviet Union was an exception, but even there chess players were not rich. Only Fischer changed that." ― Boris Spassky

Belly buster

"Chess never has been and never can be aught but a recreation. It should not be indulged into the detriment of other and more serious avocations - should not absorb or engross the thoughts of those who worship at its shrine, but should be kept in the background, and restrained within its proper province. As a mere game, a relaxation from the severe pursuits of life, it is deserving of high commendation." ― Paul Morphy

"Incidentally, when we're faced with a "prove or disprove," we're usually better off trying first to disprove with a counterexample, for two reasons: A disproof is potentially easier (we need just one counterexample); and nitpicking arouses our creative juices. Even if the given assertion is true, our search for a counterexample often leads to a proof, as soon as we see why a counterexample is impossible. Besides, it's healthy to be skeptical." ― Ronald Graham

"it is the nature of human beings, and especially of the mediocre ones, to wish to change everything. They desire it all the more because they know popularity will accrue rather to those who disturb than to those who maintain order." ― Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), Queen of France

"Attackers may sometimes regret bad movez, but it's much worse to forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by." ― Garry Kasparov

"Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of a double check." ― Aron Nimzowitzch

"When you see a good move – WAIT! – look for a better one." ― Emanuel Lasker The Portuguese chess player and author Pedro Damiano (1480–1544) first wrote this in his book "Questo libro e da imparare giocare a scachi et de li partiti" published in Rome, Italy, in 1512.

"You may knock your opponent down with the chessboard, but that does not prove you the better player." ― English Proverb

"For a period of ten years--between 1946 and 1956--Reshevsky was probably the best chessplayer in the world. I feel sure that had he played a match with Botvinnik during that time he would have won and been World Champion." ― Bobby Fischer

"I believe that true beauty of chess is more than enough to satisfy all possible demands." ― Alexander Alekhine

"We cannot resist the fascination of sacrifice, since a passion for sacrifices is part of a chessplayer's nature." ― Rudolf Spielmann

"To play for a draw, at any rate with white, is to some degree a crime against chess." ― Mikhail Tal

"Boring? Who's boring? I am Fredthebear. My mind is always active, busy."

"He had the totally undeserved reputation of being the greatest living endgame player. His trick was to keep his openings simple and then play with such brilliance that it was decided in the middle game before reaching the ending - even though his opponent didn't always know it. His almost complete lack of book knowledge forced him to push harder to squeeze the utmost out of every position." ― Bobby Fischer (on Jose R. Capablanca)

"You cannot play chess unless you have studied his (Jose R. Capablanca) games." ― Mikhail Botvinnik

"We can compare Capablanca with Mozart, whose charming music appeared to have been a smooth flow. I get the impression that Capablanca did not even know why he preferred this or that move, he just moved the pieces with his hand. If he had worked a lot on chess, he might have played worse because he would have started to try to comprehend things. But Capablanca did not have to comprehend anything, he just had to move the pieces!" ― Vladimir Kramnik

"Leave the fishing-rod, Great General, to us sovereigns of Pharos and Canopus. Your game is cities and kings and continents." ― Cleopatra

Proverbs 29:25
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

"Winning is about commitment, discipline, hard work, dedication, determination, courage and sometimes even luck!" ― Susan Polgar

"Every defeat is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes! Every victory is a confirmation of our hard work!" ― Susan Polgar

"A chess player uses his/her knowledge to prepare for next game while a passionate coach preparez for next generation!" ― Susan Polgar

"All battles are first won or lost, in the mind." ― Joan of Arc

"Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something." ― Andrew Carnegie

"Victory belongs to the most persevering." ― Napoleon Bonaparte

French Proverb: "Ce n'est pas à un vieux singe qu'on apprend à faire la grimace." ― (There's no substitute for experience.)

I call

* Tips for Knights & More: http://www.chesssets.co.uk/blog/tip...

* Unleash the Knight: https://cardclashgames.com/blog/che...

* Ten Tips: https://www.uschess.org/index.php/L...

* AI Chess Bots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdF...

* Animal Openings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nZ...

* Art of Positional Play: Game Collection: Art of Positional Play (Reshevsky)

* A1912: Game Collection: Abbazia 1912

* Apache: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRz...

* Blackmood Openings - Just 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORY...

* Blowing Away the Castled King: Game Collection: Attack The King's Pocket

* Botez Broke Chess? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQh...

* Bizarre: Game Collection: Bizzare Chess Records

* Bruno's Problem: https://chessproblem.my-free-games....

* Common Checkmate Patterns:
http://gambiter.com/chess/Checkmate...

* Checkmate 2005: Game Collection: Checkmate 2005

* Common Sense: Game Collection: Common Sense in Chess (Lasker)

* Chessopolis: https://www.chessopolis.com/

* Chess is cold-steel calculation, not emotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-T...

* Deadly: Game Collection: pawnage

* Development: Game Collection: Development of Chess Style (Euwe)

* Doubles: Game Collection: Double Attacks but not Forks-- OTB Examples

* Deny squares: Game Collection: Use pawns to deny squares to enemy pieces

* Rajnish Das Tips: https://enthu.com/blog/chess/chess-...

* Lekhika Dhariyal Chess Ops: https://www.zupee.com/blog/category... Zucci

* Evans' Brilliancies: Game Collection: Modern Chess Brilliancies (Evans)

* EGs Kibitzed: Game Collection: Endgames Kibitzed

* Fabulous caviar:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/...

* Top Festivals: https://chess-site.com/articles/che...

* Top Fifty Principles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXV...

* Everyday people should play tabletop games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUU...

* First Book of Morphy: Game Collection: A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario

* Fischy Gambits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1M...

* FICS: https://www.freechess.org/

* Pins, Forks: Game Collection: pins and needles-knives and forks.

* Glossary P: https://www.peoriachess.com/Glossar...

* GOTD 2015: Game Collection: Game of the Day 2015

* GM Avetik Grigoryan: https://chessmood.com/blog/improve-...

* hans bouwmeesters 100 briljante partijen: Game Collection: hans bouwmeesters 100 briljante partijen

* Happy Days! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slv...

* HOF: https://worldchesshof.org/

* HOFers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixq...

* Icelandic G: Game Collection: A Scandinavian for black -Icelandic

* Illusions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjZ...

* Immortal Capa: Game Collection: Immortal Games of Capablanca, F. Reinfeld

* Improve Your Pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6a...

* It takes me back where, when and who: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh2...

* Place your knights in the center for greater mobility; avoid edges and the corners.

* Javed's way: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...

* Joe vs Ezzard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnv...

* Juniors might ask: https://www.chessforjuniors.com/

* 800 - 1100 ELO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlK...

* Kasparov - Karpov 1985: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCA...

* Capture the King: https://chessking.com/

* Limit the damage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_x...

* Mato shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ber...

* MC's Unbeaten Streak: Game Collection: Carlsen's Unbeaten Streak

* MC Move-by-Move: Game Collection: Move by Move - Carlsen (Lakdawala)

* Move-by-Move Steinitz: Game Collection: Move by Move - Steinitz (Pritchett)

* Not: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyE...

* Nunn's Course: Game Collection: John Nunn's Chess Course

* In a Nutshell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-_...

* Overworked: Game Collection: Overloaded/Overworked Tactic-- OTB Examples

* 25 Opening Traps: https://www.chess.com/blog/ChessLor...

* POTD Sicilian: Game Collection: POTD Sicilian Defense 4

* Pawns Provide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jj...

* Passed a-pawn: Game Collection: Endgame passed a-pawn in R+4:R+3

* POTD 2022: Game Collection: Puzzle of the Day 2022

* Rules: https://www.gamecolony.com/chessrul...

* Recommendations: https://chess-site.com/

* Read Chernev: http://www.chesslab.com/greatestche...

* Road to the Top: Game Collection: Road to the Top (Keres)

* Ruy Lopez Defences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeO...

* Sac on g3/g6: Game Collection: Demolition of Pawn Structure: Sac on g6 ( g3)

* Seven Deadly Chess Sins: Game Collection: Seven Deadly Chess Sins (Rowson)

* Short games: Game Collection: Blue Briefly Mostly B-C quos

* Spruce Variety: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/che...

* Subscribe for theory: https://www.chesspublishing.com/con...

* Stunner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYM...

* Surprising Chess Ops: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elr...

* Solitaire Chess: Game Collection: Solitaire Chess column in Chess Review

* Tactical Ideas: Game Collection: mastering Tactical ideas by minev

* Target f2/f7: Game Collection: Target f2/f7

* Ten Ways to Defend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUT...

* TWIC: https://theweekinchess.com/

* Top 10 MG Plans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F98...

* Top 100: https://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml

* Top Twelve Principles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcU...

* Tyler1 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gle...

* Understanding the QID: Game Collection: Understanding the Queen's Indian Defense

* Useful: https://usefulchess.com/

* USCF: https://new.uschess.org/

* Unusual: Game Collection: Unorthodox Games; Unusual Names (ECO=B,C)

* Windmills: Game Collection: Tactics: windmill

* Weirdest Chess Ops: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9t...

* World of the Weird: Game Collection: MorphyMatt's world of the weird

* White has the edge: Opening Explorer

* Zen Wishdom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn6...

* oZeRo Vol 140: Game Collection: 0ZeR0's collected games volume 140

Ace in the hole

* Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/

Mar-21-23 WTHarvey:
There once was a website named WTHarvey,
Where chess puzzles did daily delay,
The brain-teasers so tough,
They made us all huff and puff,
But solving them brought us great satisfaction today.

There once was a website named WTHarvey
Where chess puzzles were quite aplenty
With knight and rook and pawn
You'll sharpen your brain with a yawn
And become a master of chess entry

There once was a site for chess fun,
Wtharvey.com was the chosen one,
With puzzles galore,
It'll keep you in store,
For hours of brain-teasing, none done.

There once was a website named WTHarvey,
Where chess puzzles were posted daily,
You'd solve them with glee,
And in victory,
You'd feel like a true chess prodigy!

'A rising tide lifts all boats'

'Don't put the cart before the horse'

Create protected outposts for your knights.

Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
Established in: 1681

Philadelphia has a rich history that goes far back. Before European settlers arrived, Native American tribes like the Lenape hunter gatherers lived there, back in 8000 B.C.

Dutch, English and Swedish merchants came to the area in the early 1600s. In 1681, English Quaker pacifist William Penn arrived to take over. Penn was given the province of Pennsylvania by King Charles II. It quickly became the most important city in the 13 colonies.

* Chess History: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ch...

* The small intestine is longer than the large intestine.

* Three Simple Chess Tips: https://www.premierchesscoaching.co...

Apr-27-23 WTHarvey:
There once was a chess player keen
He studied each move he had seen
With tactics so clever
His games were a pleasure
His passion for chess was extreme!
There once was a chess player bright
Whose moves were a beautiful sight
He never lost hope
Or his skill, he would mope
For he believed in fighting the good fight.

There once was a chess player so keen
Whose passion for the game was extreme
He'd study and strategize
And often would visualize
His victories, in every daydream.

"Those who play the game do not see as clearly as those who watch." ~ Chinese Proverb

"The musician who is paid in advance does not play so well." ~ Catalonian Proverb

"When the cat's away, the mice will play." ~ Spanish Proverb

"In life, each of us must sometimes play the fool." ~ Yiddish Proverb

"Life ain't easy. Terrible things happen to everyone. You have to keep your sense of humor, give something of yourself to others, make friends who are younger than you, learn new things, and have fun." ― George Vaillant

The Fox and the Goat

A fox once journeyed, and for company
A certain bearded, horned goat had he;
Which goat no further than his nose could see.
The fox was deeply versed in trickery.
These travellers did thirst compel
To seek the bottom of a well.
There, having drunk enough for two,
Says fox, "My friend, what shall we do?
It's time that we were thinking
Of something else than drinking.
Raise you your feet on the wall,
And stick your horns up straight and tall;
Then up your back I'll climb with ease,
And draw you after, if you please."
"Yes, by my beard," the other said,
"It's just the thing. I like a head
Well stocked with sense, like thine.
Had it been left to mine,
I do confess,
I never should have thought of this."
So Renard clambered out,
And, leaving there the goat,
Discharged his obligations
By preaching thus on patience:
"Had Heaven put sense your head within,
To match the beard on your chin,
You would have thought a bit,
Before descending such a pit.
I'm out of it; good bye:
With prudent effort try
Yourself to extricate.
For me, affairs of state
Permit me not to wait."

Whatever way you wend,
Consider well the end.

<God gives not kings the stile of Gods in vaine, For on his throne his sceptre do they sway;
And as their subjects ought them to obey,
So kings should feare and serve their God againe.> King James I (1566-1625) of England

InkHarted wrote:

Checkmate.
I started off as an equal
I have everything that they do
my life was one and the same as my foe
childish battles of lesser
I won baring cost of a little
but as time outgrew my conscience
I found that the pieces were moving against me
with time my company reduced
they left one by one
all in time forgetting me
my castles collapsed
my religion dissuaded
my protectors in hiding
I could not run anymore
I have been cornered to a wall
as the queen left silently
without saying goodbye
I could not live any longer
she was most precious to me
I could not win without her by my side
so the king knelt down and died.

"Everyone should know how to play chess." — José Raúl Capablanca

Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow." ― Ancient Chinese Proverb

"A lie is half-way roon Scotland afore the truth has its boots oan." Meaning: Rumors spread faster than facts.

Actions speak louder than words.

Machgielis "Max" Euwe
Fifth World Chess Champion from 1935 to 1937
Birthdate: May 20, 1901
Birthplace: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died: November 26, 1981
Max Euwe scripted history when he became the first chess Grandmaster from the Netherlands. A PhD in math, he also taught both math and computer programming, apart from publishing a mathematical analysis of chess. A chess world champion, he also served as the president of FIDE. * Wikipedia: Wikipedia article: Max Euwe

The new pawn move, where pawns were allowed to advance two squares on their first move instead of one, was first introduced in Spain in 1280.

Did you know – it's impossible to lick your elbow. You're probably trying it, anyway!

Tanitoluwa Adewumi
Birthdate: September 3, 2010
Birthplace: Nigeria. Now lives in New York City. * Wikipedia: Wikipedia article: Tanitoluwa Adewumi

Acts 20:35 "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

People weigh less if they stand at the equator than if they stand at the North or South poles.

"There will be a lot of people watching who will wonder what does a true Scotsman wear under his kilt, and I can tell you a true Scotsman will never tell you what he wears under his kilt. He will show you at the drop of a hat." — Fred MacCaulay

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." ~ Portuguese Proverb

Emory Tate
(American Chess International Master)
Birthdate: December 27, 1958
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: October 17, 2015

Ribbon Falls in Yosemite is nine times taller than Niagara Falls.

You can't hum if you're holding your nose. We bet you're trying that one, too!

Vladislav Artemiev
(Russian Chess Player and Former Chess Prodigy)
Birthdate: March 5, 1998
Birthplace: Omsk, Russia

<Do these things to win a chess game:

Know the Rules of Chess - Also know how the clock works, and chess notation

Make Good Opening Moves - Control the center, move a different piece, castle, and connect the rooks

Develop All Your Pieces (not Pawns) - Occupy safe squares, extend threats about, aim at the opposing queen w/a gain of time

Limit Your Pawn Moves - Advanced pawns are slow, need support, cannot retreat. Instead, the speed and range of your pieces can do more damage.

Evaluate the Position Carefully - Was that a legal move? If so, write it down. Am I in check now; next turn? Why did s/he do that move? What will s/he do next?

Checkmate is the Goal - Always consider all possible Checks, Captures, Tactics. Aim at Immobile units, Unprotected units, or threaten once-protected units twice.

Seek Tactics: Fork, Pin & Pile on, Skewer, X-Ray, Discovery, Remove the Guard

Don't Give Away Material for Free - Guard your pieces and (re-)capture for value. Sometimes you aim at opposing units, sometimes aim at your own for protection.

Apply the Rate of Exchange - Don't trade a more valuable piece for less value.

Take Advantage of Opponent's Weakness - Cramp, Weak Pawns, Weak Squares

Coordinate An Attack on the King - Plan ahead, one piece cannot mate alone

Safeguard Your Own King (and Queen) - The opponent has similar aims. Royalty must take flight when under fire, abandoning their defensive duties.

Principles Change in the Endgame: After many trades, the Endgame arrives when there's no worry of checkmate. Now use your king, gain the opposition

Simplify, trade like pieces when ahead on material - Trade off pawns if behind

Advance the pawn majority to create and promote a passed pawn - This new piece often will give checkmate shortly

Contemplate Draws: Agreed, Insufficient, 3-Fold Repeat, Stalemate, 50-Move rule

Always Be a Good Sport, Win or Lose - Jerks and braggarts are losers by conduct. Shake hands. Don't forget to record the results for the tournament director

Prepare for next game - Analyze your last game, solve puzzles, replay GM games>

The Coming of Night by Emily Dickinson

How the old mountains drip with sunset,
And the brake of dun!
How the hemlocks are tipped in tinsel
By the wizard sun!

How the old steeples hand the scarlet,
Till the ball is full, --
Have I the lip of the flamingo
That I dare to tell?

Then, how the fire ebbs like billows,
Touching all the grass
With a departing, sapphire feature,
As if a duchess pass!

How a small dusk crawls on the village
Till the houses blot;
And the odd flambeaux no men carry
Glimmer on the spot!

Now it is night in nest and kennel,
And where was the wood,
Just a dome of abyss is nodding
Into solitude! --

These are the visions baffled Guido;
Titian never told;
Domenichino dropped the pencil,
Powerless to unfold.

Abhimanyu Mishra
(American Chess Grandmaster Who Is the Youngest Player Ever to Qualify for the Grandmaster Title) Birthdate: February 5, 2009
Birthplace: New Jersey, United States

"Life is what you make it: If you snooze, you lose; and if you snore, you lose more." — Phyllis George

Galatians 6:7 in the Bible "Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

"those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" is often cited as originating in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde written in 1385.

"Friend, you don't have to earn God's love or try harder. You're precious in His sight, covered by the priceless blood of Jesus, and indwelt by His Holy Spirit. Don't hide your heart or fear you're not good enough for Him to care for you. Accept His love, obey Him, and allow Him to keep you in His wonderful freedom." — Charles F. Stanley

Koneru Humpy
(Indian Chess Player and the Youngest Woman Ever to Achieve the Title of Grandmaster) Birthdate: March 31, 1987
Birthplace: Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Koneru Humpy is an Indian chess player and the current women's world rapid champion. At the age of 15, Humpy became the youngest female chess player to achieve the prestigious Grandmaster title. In 2003, she was honored with India's second-highest sporting honor, the Arjuna Award. In 2007, Koneru Humpy was honored with the Padma Shri Award. * Wikipedia: Wikipedia article: Koneru Humpy

The longest chess game theoretically possible is 5,949 moves.

A quote from the link: https://www.libertarianism.org/what...

"Modern day politicians on the left and right sometimes pay lip service to these ideas, but in practice they reject them. Legislation is all about imposing an order from above, rather than letting one emerge from below. And in creating their schemes, politicians all too often fail to give citizens their due as people, treating them as pawns and running roughshod over their rights to decide and plan for themselves."

"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." — Albert Einstein

Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Birthdate: September 18, 2004
Birthplace: Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Refrigeration
Until the early 20th century, ice and snow were natural elements used to help preserve foods and medicines. Ice-making machines were available but mainly used in large factories and breweries. Home refrigerators became typical household appliances in the 1920s following the development of environmentally-safe chemicals used to refrigerate.

The ability to keep food at a cold temperature revolutionized the food industry and eating habits; refrigerated trucks also made sure that all food would be delivered in desirable condition. It is certainly convenient to have easy access to fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits every single day even if there isn't a farm nearby where you live.

Andrew Tang
Birthdate: November 29, 1999
Birthplace: Naperville, Illinois, United States

<A Burnt Ship
By John Donne (1572-1631)

Out of a fired ship, which by no way
But drowning could be rescued from the flame,
Some men leap'd forth, and ever as they came
Near the foes' ships, did by their shot decay;
So all were lost, which in the ship were found,
They in the sea being burnt, they in the burnt ship drown'd.>

Maia Chiburdanidze
(Georgian Chess Grandmaster)
Birthdate: January 17, 1961
Birthplace: Kutaisi, Georgia
International grandmaster Maia Chiburdanidze made headlines after winning the Women's World Chess Championship at age 17. She is also the second female chess player to be named a grandmaster by FIDE. She has also been featured on postage stamps and documentaries. She prefers competing against male chess players.

One of the hottest temperatures on earth was recorded in 1913 in Death Valley National Park, registering 134 degrees.

The very first movie to show a toilet being flushed was Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror picture, Psycho.

Carissa Yip
(American Chess Player and a Former U.S. Women's Chess Champion) Birthdate: September 10, 2003
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States * Wikipedia: Wikipedia article: Carissa Yip

A computer called DeepThought became the first computer to beat an international grandmaster in November 1988, Long Beach, California.

No one is entirely sure why duck quacks produce no echoes.

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
Birthdate: August 10, 2005
Birthplace: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is an Indian chess player who became the fifth-youngest player in the world to achieve the prestigious Grandmaster title in 2018. A chess prodigy, Praggnanandhaa was honored with the FIDE Master title at age seven when he won the World Youth Chess Championships in 2013. In 2016, he became the youngest player to achieve the international master title.

The Gregorian calendar
Created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, the Gregorian calendar is the most widely used civil calendar today. It was intended as a revision to the Julian calendar. It jumped ahead 10 days in an effort to synchronize world time with the four seasons.

Aman Hambleton
(Canadian Chess Grandmaster)
Birthdate: December 30, 199
Birthplace: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Full boat

The King Is Dead, Long Live the King By Julian Randall

Heaven is the certainty that you will be avenged I know I know the kingdom is not fair but it's what I have a montage of red and a mitosis of knuckles I'm not sure how you could expect me to love anything Ain't no question sadness is regal like that golden and replaceable once I wanted a lineage of identical men once a mouth soft and hot as the quickest way that gold can hurt you You see a pattern yet? I practice the want of nothing and fail I've been shown how ugly I can be when I am invisible I don't believe in yesterdays The throat of loneliness? Straddled with my knife I press my hands to my face and the lament is a valley the light sags through What do you do when you have lost Everything? Rewrite the history of Everything I don't like my smile because someone told me I didn't like it Now I am gorgeous in all the languages I mothered Flex the antonym of Missing I avenge myself Stretch my hands I orphan my grief for the living and it is beauty ain't no question I monarch the lonely I my own everything now I miss my love and it is an American grief I strike the smell from nostalgia cut my memory to spite my country What is the odor of nothing but my dominion in want of excess I grin and pillars of bone flower into sawed-off crowns say I flex the light and the light flexes heat shimmer unfurling like a bicep my lust a mirage where the body is merely a congealing of the river I can feel it slowly drifting away from me The world I knew is gone and getting more gone and my anthem populating my nose with an abundance of salt I slip the shroud over the life I named and forget I belonged to someone once My soverign's face is a riot of diamonds whining This will be a beautiful death and I am free and gorgeous and desperate to never have to miss anyone again I rock the jeweled shroud become the bride of my own sad light

According to Guinness World Records, the world's longest rabbit is a Flemish giant, 4 feet 3 inches (129 cm) in length and 49 pounds (22 kg) in weight.

Riddle Question: The one who has it does not keep it. It is large and small. It is any shape. What is it?

Identify knight forks.

Riddle Answer: A gift.

One of Barry Manilow's most famous songs is ‘I Write The Songs'. Guess what? He didn't write it.

Vol. 2 of Remembrance of Things Past by C.K. Scott-Moncrieff

That men in armour may be born
With serpents' teeth the field is sown;
Rains mould, winds bend, suns gild the corn
Too quickly ripe, too early mown.

I scan the quivering heads, behold
The features, catch the whispered breath
Of friends long garnered in the cold
Unopening granaries of death,

Whose names in solemn cadence ring
Across my slow oblivious page.
Their friendship was a finer thing
Than fame, or wealth, or honoured age,

And--while you live and I--shall last
Its tale of seasons with us yet
Who cherish, in the undying past,
The men we never can forget.

<Ding Liren, 17th world chess champion Birthdate: October 24, 1992
Birthplace: Wenzhou, China
At 16, Ding Liren became the youngest Chinese Chess Champion. He was also the first player to reach the World Cup finals twice back-to-back. The Chinese chess grandmaster is also a law school graduate. He remains the highest-rated chess player from his country and has won the Chinese Championship thrice.>

According to Chessmetrics, Lasker was #1 for longer than anyone else in history: 292 different months between June 1890 and December 1926. That's a timespan of 36 1/2 years, in which Lasker was #1 for a total of 24 years and 4 months. Lasker was 55 years old when he won New York 1924.

"I keep on fighting as long as my opponent can make a mistake." ― Emanuel Lasker

'Ask no questions and hear no lies

* The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev: https://lichess.org/study/KMMrJvE1

- Sign up for free, read Chernev for free: https://archive.org/details/mostins...

In 1974, popular chess author Irving Chernev published an article titled "Who were the greatest?" in the English magazine CHESS. He followed this up with his 1976 book The Golden Dozen, in which he ranked his all-time top twelve:

1. Capablanca, 7. Tal,
2. Alekhine, 8. Smyslov,
3. Lasker, 9. Spassky,
4. Fischer, 10. Bronstein,
5. Botvinnik, 11. Rubinstein,
6. Petrosian, 12. Nimzowitsch.

* Legendary: Game Collection: The 12 Legendary Games of the Century

* Knight Power: https://fmochess.com/the-power-of-t...

'Ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer

Tania Sachdev
Birthdate: August 20, 1986
Birthplace: Delhi, India
Tania Sachdev is an Indian chess player who has been honored with such FIDE titles as Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and International Master (IM). Since 2008, Sachdev has represented India at the Women's Chess Olympiads as part of the Indian national team. In 2009, she was honored with the prestigious Arjuna Award for her contribution to chess in India.

"Ye mak a better door than a windae!" Meaning: You're blocking the view.

Chess is the most popular board game in the world. There are over 700 million chess players in the world.

Drive sober or get pulled over.

"For surely of all the drugs in the world, chess must be the most permanently pleasurable." — Assiac

Earth is composed of four main layers, starting with an inner core at the planet's center, enveloped by the outer core, mantle, and crust.

"Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs!" Meaning: Don't try to be smarty-pants with someone who is an expert.

Anna Rudolf
Birthdate: November 12, 1987
Birthplace: Miskolc, Hungary

Initially, the chess Queen could only move one square at a time, diagonally. Later, she could move two squares at a time, diagonally. It wasn't until Reconquista Spain, with its powerful queen Isabella, that the Queen became the strongest piece on the board.

Near the surface, Earth has an atmosphere that consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases such as argon, carbon dioxide, and neon.

Phiona Mutesi
(One of the First Titled Female Players in Ugandan Chess History) Birthdate: January 6, 1996
Birthplace: Kampala, Uganda
Hailed as the Chess Queen of Africa, Phiona Mutesi rose from the Kampala slums to represent Uganda at the Women's Chess Olympiads. Her rags-to-riches story inspired a book and the 2016 Disney movie Queen of Katwe. A school drop-out, she was introduced to chess by a Christian sports mission.

<Below is the acrostic poem by Mrs T.B. Rowland:

Tears now we sadly shed apart,
How keenly has death's sudden dart
E'en pierced a kingdom's loyal heart.

Dark lies the heavy gloomy pall
Upon our royal bower,
Kings, queens, and nations bow their heads,
Each mourn for England's flower.

Oh! God, to her speak peace divine,
For now no voice can soothe but thine.

Ah, why untimely snatched away,
Loved Prince – alas, we sigh –
Before thy sun its zenith reached
Athwart the noonday sky.
Noble in heart, in deed, and will,
Years hence thy name we'll cherish still.

That poem was published on pages 140-141 of Chess Fruits (Dublin, 1884)>

Trolling is cyberbullying. The troll should be banned from the website for good.

Internet trollz are people who want to provoke and upset others online for their own amusement. Here's how to spot the signz that someone is a troll, and how to handle them.

What Are Internet Trollz?
If you've been on the internet for any period of time, you've likely run into a troll at some point. An internet troll is someone who makes intentionally inflammatory, rude, or upsetting statements online to elicit strong emotional responses in people or to steer the conversation off-topic. They can come in many forms. Most trolls do this for their own amusement, but other forms of trolling are done to push a specific agenda.

Trollz have existed in folklore and fantasy literature for centuries, but online trolling has been around for as long as the internet has existed. The earliest known usage of the term can be traced back to the 1990s on early online message boards. Back then, it was a way for users to confuse new members by repeatedly posting an inside joke. It's since turned into a much more malicious activity.

Trolling is distinct from other forms of cyberbullying or harassment. It is normally not targeted towards any one person and relies on other people paying attention and becoming provoked. Trolling exists on many online platforms, from small private group chats to the biggest social media websites. Here's a list of places online where you're likely to see online trolls:

Anonymous online forums: Places like removed to prevent more trolling are prime real-estate for online trolls. Because there's no way of tracing who someone is, trolls can post very inflammatory content without repercussion. This is especially true if the forum has lax or inactive moderation. Twitter: Twitter also has the option to be anonymous, and has become a hotbed for internet trolls. Frequent Twitter trolling methods involve hijacking popular hashtags and mentioning popular Twitter personalities to gain attention from their followers.

Comment sections: The comment sections of places such as YouTube and news websites are also popular areas for trolls to feed. You'll find a lot of obvious trolling here, and they frequently generate a lot of responses from angry readers or viewers.

You'll find trollz anywhere online, including on Facebook and on online dating sites. They're unfortunately pretty common.

Signs Someone Is Trolling
It can sometimes become difficult to tell the difference between a troll and someone who just genuinely wants to argue about a topic. However, here are a few tell-tale signs that someone is actively trolling.

Off-topic remarkz: Completely going off-topic from the subject at hand. This is done to annoy and disrupt other posters.

Refusal to acknowledge evidence: Even when presented with hard, cold factz, they ignore this and pretend like they never saw it.

Dismissive, condescending tone: An early indicator of a troll was that they would ask an angry responder, "Why you mad, bro?" This is a method done to provoke someone even more, as a way of dismissing their argument altogether. Use of unrelated images or memes: They reply to others with memes, images, and gifs. This is especially true if done in response to a very long text post. Seeming obliviousness: They seem oblivious that most people are in disagreement with them. Also, trolls rarely get mad or provoked. The list above is by no means definitive. There are a lot of other ways to identify that someone is trolling. Generally, if someone seems disingenuous, uninterested in a real discussion, and provocative on purpose, they're likely an internet troll.

How Should I Handle Them?
A "Danger: Do not feed the troll" sign on a computer keyboard.

The most classic adage regarding trolling is, "Don't feed the trollz." Trollz seek out emotional responses and find provocation amusing, so replying to them or attempting to debate them will only make them troll more. By ignoring a troll completely, they will likely become frustrated and go somewhere else on the internet.

You should try your best not to take anything trollz say seriously. No matter how poorly they behave, remember these people spend countless unproductive hours trying to make people mad. They're not worth your time of day.

If a troll becomes spammy or begins to clog up a thread, you can also opt to report them to the site's moderation team. Depending on the website, there's a chance nothing happens, but you should do your part to actively dissuade them from trolling on that platform. If your report is successful, the troll may be temporarily suspended or their account might be banned entirely.

In 1996, World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov beat IBM's "Deep Blue" supercomputer 4–2 in a best-of-6 match-up. Man and machine rematched in 1997, and the computer won 3.5–2.5 after unusually poor play by Kasparov.

<This poem is dedicated to all members who have experienced the breaking of a gentleman's agreement.

He Know No Honor

Now in yonder obscurity live a bishop called Pork his tongue protruding like a two-pronged fork.
He say: nova dear, I will play you thirty/thirty then he quickly run, I say: that be little dirty. This Pork he say; sweet nova please grant me tie upon my honor as a holy man I do never lie.
He say: nova dear: I will play you thirty/thirty but he quickly run: I say that be more than little dirty to Pork this kindly nova say: I grant you draw
as Pork's time in present game all but gone he saw. he say: dear nova, I will play you thirty/thirty as he quickly run: I truly say that be fricken dirty. now always loudly to this Pork I shall tell
no more play me but evil one who live in hell.>

Where can the opponent's knight land in two moves? Would that be a problem?

* Riddle-freee-die: https://www.briddles.com/riddles/ch...

* Reuben Fine can show you the not-so-easy way. Sign up for free and you can read books for free: https://archive.org/details/chessea...

"You can't hold with the hare and run with the hounds."

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." — Mahatma Gandhi

"Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined." — Samuel Goldwyn.

"Never be bullied into silence, never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, define yourself." — Robert Frost

"An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind." — Mahatma Gandhi

"Love conquers all." ~ Italian proverb

The Words Of Socrates

A house was built by Socrates
That failed the public taste to please.
Some blamed the inside; some, the out; and all
Agreed that the apartments were too small.
Such rooms for him, the greatest sage of Greece!

"I ask," said he, "no greater bliss
Than real friends to fill even this."
And reason had good Socrates
To think his house too large for these.
A crowd to be your friends will claim,
Till some unhandsome test you bring.
There's nothing plentier than the name;
There's nothing rarer than the thing.

'Ashes to ashes dust to dust

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER

"Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy." ― Norman Vincent Peale

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ― Martin Luther King Jr.

Galatians 6:7 in the Bible "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."

"We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus!" ― John Adams

from the simpleton poet:

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.

Chess is creative.
And a journey too.

Good in the morning.
Or just before bed.

Play cheater_1, with engine.
Or OTB, all in your head.

'As you sow so shall you reap

"My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." — Billy Graham

"Nothing can bring a real sense of security into the home except true love." — Billy Graham

"Whatever you are doing in the game of life, give it all you've got." — Norman Vincent Peale

"What you do today can improve all your tomorrows." — Ralph Marston

<The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people
when they realize their relationship,
their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit,
and that this center is really everywhere,
it is within each of us. — Black Elk>

"You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose." ― Indira Gandhi

"Many have become chess masters, no one has become the master of chess." ― Siegbert Tarrasch

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ― Howard Thurman

Ah, St. Marher, 1225:
"And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ― Martin Luther King Jr.

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." ― Denis Waitley

"To be kind to all, to like many and love a few, to be needed and wanted by those we love, is certainly the nearest we can come to happiness." ― Mary (1542-1587), Queen of Scots

"I therefore concluded, and decided unhesitatingly, that there are three stars in the heavens moving about Jupiter, as Venus and Mercury about the Sun; which at length was established as clear as daylight by numerous other observations." ― Galileo Galilei

"The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth." ― Charles Spurgeon

"Those who play with fire will get burnt." ~ Portuguese Proverb

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

56xLg Opie sha na na ZshaThePriest@zshathepriest12411 subscriber142 videoo WoW RBG Disc Priest Pov! didnt Grzegorz zimpress Ziyatdinov.

"Debt is dumb. Cash is king." — Dave Ramsey

Q: What do you call a cat that likes to eat beans? A: Puss 'n' Toots!

Q: What do you call a clown who's in jail?
A: A silicon!

Q: What do you call a deer with no eyes?
A: No eye deer!!

Q: What do you call a three-footed aardvark?
A: A yardvark!

Q: What do you call a dancing lamb?
A: A baaaaaa-llerina!

Q: What do you call a meditating wolf?
A: Aware wolf!

Q: What do you call a witch who lives at the beach? A: A sand-witch!

Q: What do you call an avocado that's been blessed by the pope? A: Holy Guacamole!

"In the opening a master should play like a book, in the mid-game he should play like a magician, in the ending he should play like a machine." ― Rudolf Spielmann

How many chess openings are there?

Well, White has 20 possible 1st moves. Black can respond with 20 of its own. That's 400, and we're ready for move 2. I don't know them, but I would not be at all surprised if there was a name for each of them. People are like that. You really, really don't need to know them all.

If you follow the rules of thumb for good opening play, I promise you that you'll be playing a named opening. Just put the 1st 3 moves in google, and you'll get the opening's name. With that information you can find other games that started the way your game started, likely by some very good players. Also, with the name you can read about it on Wikipedia, and find out what people think of it, who plays it, and its particular traps and idiosyncrasies.

Once again, The Rules of Thumb for Good Opening Play:

- Develop your pieces quickly with an eye towards controlling the center. Not necessarily occupying the center but controlling it certainly. - Castle your king just as soon as it's practical to do so. - Really try not to move a piece more than once during the opening, it's a waste of valuable time. - Connect your rooks. This marks the end of the opening. Connected rooks means that only your rooks and your castled king are on the back rank. - Respond to threats appropriately, even if you have to break the rules. They're rules of thumb, not scripture, or physical laws.

If you and your opponent follow these rules of thumb, you'll reach the middle game ready to fight. If only you follow these rules of thumb, you're already winning! Good Hunting. ― Eric H.

* Opening Tree: https://www.shredderchess.com/onlin...

Road apples

Ruy Lopez
Alapin Gambit – C68 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 h5

Basque Gambit – C84 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 exd4 7.e5 Ne4 8.c3

Harksen Gambit – C80 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.c4

Karpov Gambit – C80 – 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 d4 11. Ng5

Marshall Gambit – C89 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5

Schliemann (Jaenisch) Gambit – C63 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5

* Game Collection: mastering the spanish by daniel king

* C83: Game Collection: C83 (Kortschnoi)