Compiled by Benjamin Lau

Who said 1. d4 is boring? Here are some fun and exciting 1. d4 wins and draws to dispel the old myths.

<<<Dream Weaver> by Gary Wright>

I've just closed my eyes again
Climbed aboard the dream weaver train
Driver take away my worries of today
And leave tomorrow behind
Ooh, ooh, dream weaver
I believe you can get me through the night
Ooh, ooh, dream weaver
I believe we can reach the morning light
Fly me high through the starry skies
Maybe to an astral plane
Cross the highways of fantasy
Help me to forget today's pain
Ooh, ooh, dream weaver
I believe you can get me through the night
Ooh, ooh, dream weaver
I believe we can reach the morning light
Though the dawn may be coming soon
There still may be some time
Fly me away to the bright side of the moon
Meet me on the other side
Ooh, ooh, dream weaver
I believe you can get me through the night
Ooh, ooh, dream weaver
I believe we can reach the morning light
Dream weaver
Dream weaver>

Songwriters: Gary Wright. For non-commercial use only. * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McZ...
* https://www.bing.com/videos/rivervi...

"My will is mine...I shall not make it soft for you." ― Aeschylus, Agamemnon

"Chess is life in miniature. Chess is a struggle, chess battles." ― Garry Kasparov

"After we have paid our dutiful respects to such frigid virtues as calculation, foresight, self-control and the like, we always come back to the thought that speculative attack is the lifeblood of chess." — Fred Reinfeld

"Age brings wisdom to some men, and to others chess." ― Evan Esar

"There is no jewel in the world comparable to learning; no learning so excellent both for Prince and subject, as knowledge of laws; and no knowledge of any laws so necessary for all estates and for all causes, concerning goods, lands or life, as the common laws of England." ― Sir Edward Coke

"Without integrity and honor, having everything means nothing." ― Robin Sharma

"I am no longer cursed by poverty because I took possession of my own mind, and that mind has yielded me every material thing I want, and much more than I need. But this power of mind is a universal one, available to the humblest person as it is to the greatest." ― Andrew Carnegie

"Luckily, there is a way to be happy. It involves changing the emphasis of our thinking from what we want to what we have." ― Richard Carlson

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Let a man play chess, and tell him that every pawn is his friend; Let him think both bishops are holy. Let him remember happy days in the shadows of his castles. Let him love his queen. Watch him love his queen." ― Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorn)

"...It is a proud privilege to be a soldier – a good soldier … with discipline, self-respect, pride in his unit and his country, a high sense of duty and obligation to comrades and to his superiors, and a self-confidence born of demonstrated ability." ― George S. Patton Jr.

Hay dos maneras de hermosura: una del alma y otra del cuerpo; la del alma campea y se muestra en el entendimiento, en la honestidad, en el buen proceder, en la liberalidad y en la buena crianza, y todas estas partes caben y pueden estar en un hombre feo; y cuando se pone la mira en esta hermosura, y no en la del cuerpo, suele nacer el amor con ímpetu y con ventajas. (There are two kinds of beauty: one of the soul and the other of the body; that of the soul shows and demonstrates itself in understanding, in honesty, in good behavior, in generosity and in good breeding, and all these things can find room and exist in an ugly man; and when one looks at this type of beauty, and not bodily beauty, love is inclined to spring up forcefully and overpoweringly.) ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616)

"Quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire." ― (Once the first step is taken, there's no going back.)

* Basic Rules: https://thechessworld.com/basic-che...

* Attack and Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc-...

* Chess Step-by-Step: https://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-...

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

* 10 Crazy Gambits: https://www.chess.com/blog/yola6655...

* 10 Best to Watch: https://www.chessjournal.com/best-c...

* B23-B25: Game Collection: Sicilian Closed / Grand Prix Attack

* 23 Opening Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-5...

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

* 150 Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH4...

* Alpha Glossary: https://www.chess-poster.com/englis...

* Adolf Anderssen miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Bearly Thinking: https://www.etsy.com/listing/972054...

* Be aggressive! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFl...

* How to Play Chess! http://www.serverchess.com/play.htm...

* Capablanca's Double Attack — having the initiative is important: https://lichess.org/study/tzrisL1R

* Chess in old newspapers: https://www.schach-chess.com/chess-...

* Checkmate patterns: Game Collection: Checkmate: Checkmate Patterns

* Caviar: https://www.chess.com/article/view/...

* 'Chess Praxis' by Aron Nimzowitsch: Game Collection: Chess Praxis (Nimzowitsch)

* Checkmate Art: Game Collection: Art of Checkmate

* Champion miniatures: Game Collection: Champions miniature champions

* CFN: https://www.youtube.com/@CFNChannel

* Danish Gambits: Game Collection: Danish Gambit Games 1-0

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

* Exchange sacs: Game Collection: Exchange sacs - 1

* The are exceptions: https://academicchess.com/worksheet...

* Intro to FRC: https://www.chessable.com/blog/an-i... Author A.C. Fuller
* Funny moments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mx...

* The Fireside Book of Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld: Game Collection: Fireside Book of Chess

* Glossary W: Wikipedia article: Glossary of chess

* Gambits by ECO code: https://www.jimmyvermeer.com/openin...

* Great Combinations: Game Collection: Combinations

* GPA: https://chesstier.com/grand-prix-at...

* Greatest Hits: Game Collection: Mammoth Book-Greatest Games (Nunn/Burgess/Emms)

* 62 Masterpieces: Game Collection: Instructive Games (Chernev)

* '500 Master Games of Chess' by Savielly Tartakower and Julius Du Mont: Game Collection: 500 Master Games of Chess

* Classic games by great players: Game Collection: Guinness Book - Chess Grandmasters (Hartston)

* Chessmaster 2000 Classic Games:
Game Collection: Chessmaster '86

* Diagrammed Checkmate Patterns:
Game Collection: Checkmate: Checkmate Patterns

* D4 Chess Openings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlR...

* Defend Your Pieces, Kids! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc-...

* Deflect the Defender: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DBT2...

* BDG Trix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpV...

* Lemberger Countergambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG3...

* Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz): Game Collection: Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz)

Read the book for free: https://archive.org/details/the-gol...

* A great decade of chess: Game Collection: Mil y Una Partidas 1950-1959

* Andre the Giant: Game Collection: Defensa Philidor, ese campo de minas

* Expanded Edition:
Game Collection: 125 Greatest Chess Games

* Feeling Punny? Don't tell Fredthebear. Use the Submission Page: Pun Submission Page

* Find Forcing Moves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHO...

* Fried Fox is awful: https://allchessopenings.blogspot.c...

* Gambits by ECO code: https://www.jimmyvermeer.com/openin...

* Hastings 1895: Hastings (1895)

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

* h-file attacks: Game Collection: h-file Attacks, some Greek Gifts by Fredthebear

* How to Play Chess! http://www.serverchess.com/play.htm...

* Imagination: Game Collection: Imagination in Chess

* Immortal Games: Game Collection: Immortal games

* Jackpot History: https://www.megamillions.com/About/...

* King's Pawn Theory and Practice: Game Collection: Chess Openings: Theory and Practice, Section 1

* Surprise Knockouts: Game Collection: quick knockouts of greats

* Collection assembled by Fredthebear.

* Lasker's Manual: Game Collection: Manual of Chess (Lasker)

* Miniatures: Game Collection: 200 Miniature Games of Chess - Du Mont (III)

* Monday Puzzles: Game Collection: Monday Puzzles, 2011-2017

* 'The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games' by Graham Burgess, John Nunn and John Emms. New expanded edition-now with 125 games. Game Collection: Mammoth Book-Greatest Games (Nunn/Burgess/Emms)

* Middlegame Combinations by Peter Romanovsky: Game Collection: Middlegame Combinations by Peter Romanovsky

* Murder by Email: Brendan Searson

* Notable Games: Wikipedia article: List of chess games

* Russian Ruys: Game Collection: Chess in the USSR 1945 - 72, Part 2 (Leach)

* Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters Volume II: Game Collection: Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters Volume II

* Shirov's miniatures: Game Collection: Shirov miniatures

* Sports Clichés: http://www.sportscliche.com/

* Short and Quick:
Game Collection: SHORT AND QUICK

* Starting Out 1d4: Game Collection: Starting Out: 1 d4!

* My killer chess secret - it's not what you might think: https://www.loavesanddishes.net/old...

* Variety of Traps: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/v...

* US Championships in St. Louis: US Championship (2019)

* Arjun Awakens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toK...

* Bill Wall briefs: Bill Wall

* Women: Asian Continental (Women) (2019)

* Liren 1st, Carlsen 7th?! GCT St. Louis Rapid & Blitz (2019)

* St. Louis, MO: Sinquefield Cup (2019)

* Theater chess: Grand Prix Hamburg (2019)

* Country Club chess: GCT Bucharest Rapid & Blitz (2019)

* Tie-breaker: Grand Prix Monaco (Women) (2019)

* Triple Crown Winner!!!
World Blitz Championship (2019)

* Ju Retains Her Reign!! Ju - Goryachkina Women's World Championship Match (2020)

* Caruana Tops the Stars! Tata Steel Masters (2020)

* Seven players tied for first place! Gibraltar Masters (2020)

* Nutcracker: Nutcracker Match of the Generations (2020)

* Online Nations Cup won by China: FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup (2020)

* Random Zs: Game Collection: ZHVNE

* Secrets of Combination: Game Collection: Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters Volume II

* Suba's book: Game Collection: The Hedgehog by Mihai Suba

* Top Chessgames by ECO Code: http://schachsinn.de/gamelist.htm

* The Unthinkable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9z...

* Will Power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9S...

* Wonders and Curiosities: Game Collection: Wonders and Curiosities of Chess (Chernev)

* 960Chess: https://lichess.org/variant/chess960

* 1967: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PiFW...

* Z Vol 105: Game Collection: 0ZeR0's collected games volume 105

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

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!

"Chess is played with the mind and not with the hands." ― Renaud & Kahn

"Chess is a terrific way for kids to build self-image and self-esteem." ― Saudin Robovic

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

"Life is like a chess. If you lose your queen, you will probably lose the game." ― Being Caballero

"If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure." — Garry Kasparov

"You win some, you lose some, you wreck some." — Dale Earnhardt

"In life, unlike chess the game continues after checkmate." ― Isaac Asimov

"Stick a fork in him. He's done." ― Leo Durocher

"The pin is mightier than the sword." ― Fred Reinfield

"A sacrifice is best refuted by accepting it." ― Wilhelm Steinitz

"As day is to a sword, night is to a shield." ― Anthony Liccione

New Hampshire: Dover
Established in: 1623

Dover was originally settled in 1623 by fishermen and traders. Dover is the seventh oldest settlement in the United States. It was once known as Northam, and in 1692, Northam became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Cocheco River in Dover was the first place water power was used, when a sawmill was built in 1642.

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

* Chess History: https://www.uschesstrust.org/chess-...

* World Chess Championship History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkO...

* Magnus Carlsen's 5 tips for beginners: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...

<<<poem by <B.H. Wood> which appeared in the following issues of the Chess Amateur: March 1930 (page 127).>

The Chess Cafe III – The Spectator>

Quiet in the corner sitting, not a word
He utters, but, his eyes glued on their board,
Where in oblivion the players brood,
He spends his lifetime's dearest hours.
His food
Is cold, his lighted pipe goes slowly out ….
Yet when the game ends, when they talk about
Its ins and outs, its characteristic twist,
He's seen that winning line a master missed!
You ask him for a game – ‘I never play
Myself – hardly a game a year', he'll say.>

Cash or Credit?
John-Shepherd Barron is credited with inventing the first fully-functional ATM (Automated Teller Machine). The first ATM was installed on June 27, 1967, for Barclays Bank in Enfield Town, London. The maximum withdrawal allowed was £10. Today, ATMs are just around the corner in most modern towns.

A Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Proverbes in the Englishe tongue, 1562: Some hear and see him whom he heareth nor seeth not But fields have eyes and woods have ears, ye wot And also on my maids he is ever tooting.
Can ye judge a man, (quoth I), by his looking?
What, a cat may look on a king, ye know!
My cat's leering look, (quoth she), at first show, Showeth me that my cat goeth a caterwauling;
And specially by his manner of drawing
To Madge, my fair maid.

<<<<<Henry Wadsworth Longfellow>: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" Bombardment of Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, New York, 1865>

The poet <Henry Wadsworth Longfellow>, in the middle of the Civil War, wrote this poem which has more recently been adapted as a modern Christmas classic. Longfellow wrote this on Christmas Day in 1863, after his son had enlisted in the Union's cause and had returned home, seriously wounded. The verses which he included and are still generally included, speak of the despair of hearing the promise of "peace on earth, goodwill to men" when the evidence of the world is clearly that war still exists.>

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.">

The original also included several verses referring specifically to the Civil War. Before that cry of despair and answering cry of hope, and after verses describing the long years of hearing of "peace on earth, goodwill to men" (a phrase from the Jesus birth narratives in the Christian scriptures), Longfellow's poem includes, describing the black cannons of the war:>

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!>

* Starting Out 1d4: Game Collection: Starting Out: 1 d4!

* Small collection 1d4: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Another 1d4: Game Collection: White Repertoire

* The d line: Game Collection: d line

* Reasonable 1.d4 Repertoire: Game Collection: d4 repertoire for white

* The Indian line: Game Collection: e-line

* Various Black Defenses: Game Collection: ANIL RAJ.R'S QUEEN PAWN GAMES

* Black attack!
Game Collection: Modern Defence Reversed

* Chessmaster 2000 Classic Games:
Game Collection: Chessmaster '86

* Fischer Wins: Game Collection: Bobby Fischer Wins With The King's Indian Attack

* Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz): Game Collection: Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz)

* Glossary NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/...

* How dumb is it? Game Collection: Diemer-Duhm Gambit

* King Registration: https://www.kingregistration.com/to...

* Make a Stand: https://www.history.com/topics/amer...

* Malaguena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxD...

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

* Online safety: https://www.entrepreneur.com/scienc...

* Pawn Structures: Game Collection: Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide

* Queen puzzles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfQ...

* QGD: https://www.modern-chess.com/chess-...

* Tactical Games: Game Collection: Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics

"In chess as in life, when defending or attacking, a good chess player understands that one rash, ill-conceived, bad move can worsen the position and lose the game." ― John Bain, chess author

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

"Life is like a chess. If you lose your queen, you will probably lose the game." — Being Caballero

"Chess is an infinitely complex game, which one can play in infinitely numerous & varied ways." ― Vladimir Kramnik

"I've come to the personal conclusion that while all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists." – Marcel Duchamp

The Man Who Ran After Fortune, and the Man Who Waited For Her In His Bed

Who joins not with his restless race
To give Dame Fortune eager chase?
O, had I but some lofty perch,
From which to view the panting crowd
Of care-worn dreamers, poor and proud,
As on they hurry in the search,
From realm to realm, over land and water,
Of Fate's fantastic, fickle daughter!
Ah! slaves sincere of flying phantom!
Just as their goddess they would clasp,
The jilt divine eludes their grasp,
And flits away to Bantam!
Poor fellows! I bewail their lot.
And here's the comfort of my ditty;
For fools the mark of wrath are not
So much, I'm sure, as pity.
"That man," say they, and feed their hope,
"Raised cabbages – and now he's pope.
Don't we deserve as rich a prize?"
Ay, richer? But, has Fortune eyes?
And then the popedom, is it worth
The price that must be given? –
Repose? – the sweetest bliss of earth,
And, ages since, of gods in heaven?
It's rarely Fortune's favourites
Enjoy this cream of all delights.
Seek not the dame, and she will you –
A truth which of her sex is true.

Snug in a country town
A pair of friends were settled down.
One sighed unceasingly to find
A fortune better to his mind,
And, as he chanced his friend to meet,
Proposed to quit their dull retreat.
"No prophet can to honour come,"
Said he, "unless he quits his home;
Let's seek our fortune far and wide."
"Seek, if you please," his friend replied:
"For one, I do not wish to see
A better clime or destiny.
I leave the search and prize to you;
Your restless humour please pursue!
You'll soon come back again.
I vow to nap it here till then."
The enterprising, or ambitious,
Or, if you please, the avaricious,
Betook him to the road.
The morrow brought him to a place
The flaunting goddess ought to grace
As her particular abode –
I mean the court – whereat he staid,
And plans for seizing Fortune laid.
He rose, and dressed, and dined, and went to bed, Exactly as the fashion led:
In short, he did whatever he could,
But never found the promised good.
Said he, "Now somewhere else I'll try –
And yet I failed I know not why;
For Fortune here is much at home
To this and that I see her come,
Astonishingly kind to some.
And, truly, it is hard to see
The reason why she slips from me.
It's true, perhaps, as I have been told,
That spirits here may be too bold.
To courts and courtiers all I bid adieu;
Deceitful shadows they pursue.
The dame has temples in Surat;
I'll go and see them – that is flat."
To say so was t" embark at once.
O, human hearts are made of bronze!
His must have been of adamant,
Beyond the power of Death to daunt,
Who ventured first this route to try,
And all its frightful risks defy.
It was more than once our venturous wight
Did homeward turn his aching sight,
When pirate's, rocks, and calms and storms,
Presented death in frightful forms –
Death sought with pains on distant shores,
Which soon as wished for would have come,
Had he not left the peaceful doors
Of his despised but blessed home.
Arrived, at length, in Hindostan,
The people told our wayward man
That Fortune, ever void of plan,
Dispensed her favours in Japan.
And on he went, the weary sea
His vessel bearing lazily.
This lesson, taught by savage men,
Was after all his only gain:
Contented in your country stay,
And seek your wealth in nature's way.
Japan refused to him, no less
Than Hindostan, success;
And hence his judgment came to make
His quitting home a great mistake.
Renouncing his ungrateful course,
He hastened back with all his force;
And when his village came in sight,
His tears were proof of his delight.
"Ah, happy he," exclaimed the wight,
"Who, dwelling there with mind sedate,
Employs himself to regulate
His ever-hatching, wild desires;
Who checks his heart when it aspires
To know of courts, and seas, and glory,
More than he can by simple story;
Who seeks not over the treacherous wave –
More treacherous Fortune's willing slave –
The bait of wealth and honours fleeting,
Held by that goddess, aye retreating.
Henceforth from home I budge no more!"
Pop on his sleeping friends he came,
Thus purposing against the dame,
And found her sitting at his door.

* For safe keeping until I need 2 hours of entertainment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CG...

* Looking for Unorthodox? Game Collection: 6 GumboG's Unorthodox Games-Names (ECO=A,D,

* Looking for Redemption? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykH...

* Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz): Game Collection: Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz)

https://archive.org/details/the-gol...

* Greatest Hits: Game Collection: Mammoth Book-Greatest Games (Nunn/Burgess/Emms)

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

The 20-40-40 rule in chess is a rule for players rated below 2000 that states 20% of your study should be dedicated to openings, 40% to the middlegame, and 40% to the endgame.

H.T. Bland. On page 207 of the December 1929 American Chess Bulletin he exalted the challenger in that year's world championship match:

Bravo ‘Bogol', you've shown pluck.
One and all we wish you luck.
Gee, some thought you'd barged between
Other players who'd have been
Less likely straightaway to lose
Just as friend Alekhine might choose;
Undaunted, ‘Bogol', you went in
Believing you'd a chance to win.
Or failing that, to make a fight,
Which you are doing as we write.

Thank you Qindarka!

"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

"If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure." — Garry Kasparov

"You win some, you lose some, you wreck some." — Dale Earnhardt

"Those who do not risk, do not benefit." — Portuguese Proverb

"The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal." — Criss Jami

Maximo wrote:

My Forking Knight's Mare
Gracefully over the squares, as a blonde or a brunette, she makes moves that not even a queen can imitate. Always active and taking the initiative,
she likes to fork.
She does it across the board,
taking with ease not only pawns, but also kings, and a bad bishop or two.
Sometimes she feels like making
quiet moves,
at other times, she adopts romantic moods,
and makes great sacrifices.
But, being hers a zero-sum game,
she often forks just out of spite.
An expert at prophylaxis, she can be a swindler, and utter threats,
skewering men to make some gains.
Playing with her risks a conundrum,
and also catching Kotov's syndrome.
Nonetheless, despite having been trampled
by her strutting ways
my trust in her remains,
unwavering,
until the endgame.

"When you're lonely, when you feel yourself an alien in the world, play chess. This will raise your spirits and be your counselor in war." — Aristotle

"A bad plan is better than none at all." — Frank Marshal

"To find something, anything, a great truth or a lost pair of glasses, you must first believe there will be some advantage in finding it." — Jack Burden, All The King's Men

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." — Jimmy Dean

"Chess is above all, a fight!" — Emanuel Lasker

"In chess, at least, the brave inherit the earth." — Edmar Mednis

Chessgames.com will be unavailable August 28, 2023 from 1:00AM through 1:30AM(UTC/GMT) for maintenance. We apologize for this inconvenience.

This poem is dedicated to all Caissa members who strive to checkmate their opponents.

The Aroused Bishop

Whispered the pawn to the curious knight
You jump one square up and two to the right
On the diagonal where our queen lays in wait.
I will move up from b-seven to b- eight.
On the opposite side, no, no screamed the queen
Realizing she should have been heard not seen.
Because there, only hidden partially by the walls She saw him standing juggling his little balls.
The bishop so aroused by all of this inter-play
Could not, no he could not help but howlingly say: Oh, oh sweet queen you are mine for the take

While your checkmated king will burn at the stake.

"Chess is life in miniature. Chess is a struggle, chess battles." — Garry Kasparov

"Sometimes in life, and in chess, you must take one step back to take two steps forward." — IM Levy Rozman, GothamChess

So much, much, much better to be an incurable optimist than deceitful and untrustworthy.

"Don't blow your own trumpet." — Australian Proverb

Old Russian Proverb: "Scythe over a stone." (Нашла коса на камень.) The force came over a stronger force.

"Continuing to play the victim is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Blaming others for your station in life will indeed make you a victim but the perpetrator will be your own self, not life or those around you." — Bobby Darnell

<Steinitz's Theory

1. At the beginning of the game, Black and White are equal.

2. The game will stay equal with correct play on both sides.

3. You can only win by your opponent's mistake.

4. Any attack launched in an equal position will not succeed, and the attacker will suffer.

5. You should not attack until an advantage is obtained.

6. When equal, do not seek to attack, but instead, try to secure an advantage.

7. Once you have an advantage, attack or you will lose it.>

Drive sober or get pulled over.

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

Q: What do you call something that goes up when the rain comes down? A: An umbrella.

Q: What do you call a doctor who fixes websites? A: A URL-ologist.

Q: What do you call a sleeping dinosaur?
A: A dinosnore.

Q: What do you call a Christmas tree that knows karate A: Spruce Lee.

Q: What does a triangle call a circle?
A: Pointless.

Q: What do you call a piece of sad cheese?
A: Blue cheese.

Q: What do you call a cow in an earthquake?
A: A milkshake.

Q: What do you call an M&M that went to college? A: A smarty.

* Crafty Endgame Trainer: https://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-...

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, "Don Quixote"

Old Russian Proverb: "Every sandpiper praises its own swamp. (Всяк кулик свое болото хвалит.)" People tend to have high opinion about the place where they live.

The Chess Poem by Ayaan Chettiar

8 by 8 makes 64
In the game of chess, the king shall rule
Kings and queens, and rooks and knights
Bishops and Pawns, and the use of mind

The Game goes on, the players think
Plans come together, form a link
Attacks, checks and capture
Until, of course, we reach a mate

The Pawns march forward, then the knights
Power the bishops, forward with might
Rooks come together in a line
The Game of Chess is really divine

The Rooks move straight, then take a turn
The Knights on fire, make no return
Criss-Cross, Criss-Cross, go the bishops
The Queen's the leader of the group

The King resides in the castle
While all the pawns fight with power
Heavy blows for every side
Until the crown, it is destroyed

The Brain's the head, The Brain's the King,
The Greatest one will always win,
For in the game of chess, the king shall rule,
8 by 8 makes 64!

Lichess has all the same basic offerings as Chess.com: a large community, many game types, tutorials, puzzles, and livestreams. The site has a simple appearance, and it seems built to get you where you want to go in as few clicks as possible. You can create an account, but if you're not concerned with tracking your games and finding other players at your level, there's no need to log in. Just fire up a new game, try some puzzles, or watch a chess streamer play three-minute games while listening to techno and chatting with the comments section.

The City Rat and the Country Rat

A city rat, one night,
Did, with a civil stoop,
A country rat invite
To end a turtle soup.

On a Turkey carpet
They found the table spread,
And sure I need not harp it
How well the fellows fed.

The entertainment was
A truly noble one;
But some unlucky cause
Disturbed it when begun.

It was a slight rat-tat,
That put their joys to rout;
Out ran the city rat;
His guest, too, scampered out.

Our rats but fairly quit,
The fearful knocking ceased.
"Return we," cried the cit,
To finish there our feast.

"No," said the rustic rat;
"Tomorrow dine with me.
I'm not offended at
Your feast so grand and free, –

"For I have no fare resembling;
But then I eat at leisure,
And would not swap, for pleasure
So mixed with fear and trembling."

"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

* Riddle-free-willie-keep-erdi: https://www.briddles.com/riddles/ch...

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

"In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are." — Max De Pree

This poem is dedicated to all female chessplayers on Caissa's Web.

Sweet Caissa

Oh, Sweet Caissa, Goddess of chess
in the name of this holistic game
I pray Thee: bless my noble aim
to render all my opponents lame
in my holy quest for worldly fame,
to be Supreme no more no less.
In awe I heard this Sweet Caissa say
"Daughter go forth and smite them all,
stoutly charge your knight sitting tall
while flying over the castle's wall
to slay all men in your deadly call."
Now in fear I hide and will no longer play.

French Proverb: "Il ne faut rien laisser au hasard." ― (Nothing should be left to chance.)

"There are more adventures on a chessboard than on all the seas of the world." ― Pierre Mac Orlan

"You can only get good at chess if you love the game." ― Bobby Fischer

"As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight." — The Revenant

12per Washdup flow stone hill cemete road Ah Zatonskih z Zhu oilr.

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." — Calvin Coolidge

Psalm 96: 1-3
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.'

RING AROUND THE ROSIE
Ring around the rosie
A pocket full of posies
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down.

Z72

Q: Where do cows get all their medicine?
A: The farmacy!