John Nunn's book

This collection of 100 games was compiled by Sonny Rollins (and the title was shortened by Fredthebear). Thank you Sonny Rollins!

Greco's mating pattern has many possible variations. Greco's Mate typically makes use of a distant bishop firing through the center into f2/f7, a knight up close, and a heavy piece on the h-file (or two if a sacrifice is necessary). Fredthebear will keep adding such mating patterns as they come along.

* http://eudesign.com/chessops/mate-g...

When the checkmate occurs on the king's side, note that the f-pawn has been advanced or removed, and a bishop or queen cuts off the diagonal, and a rook or queen comes to the h-file. The knight hits the king in the corner, often as a sacrifice to open the h-file. Or, the h-pawn is pinned and cannot capture the checking knight.

- % - % - % - %

At the top of the list is a Smothered Mate in just 13 moves by Gioachino Greco. When preceded by a queen sacrifice on the back rank to lock the king into the corner, it is known as Philidor's Legacy. Of course, the great player François-André Danican Philidor followed Greco by a more than a century, yet the pattern carries Philidor's name.

The point is that Giochino Greco performed a wide variety of checkmates, yet only some fit the pattern known as Greco's Mate using Bishop, Knight, and Queen (in most cases). Many of Greco's games were fabrication, for teaching purposes.

* Greco's variation w/out the queen: https://www.chesstactics.org/mating...

* Names and Places: Game Collection: Named Mates

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

* Middlegame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=261...

* Jim's Middlegame Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vC...

* What happens if...? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnS...

* Queen Endgames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxG...

* Hubner vs Kasparov 1992: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwR...

* Karpov's Immortal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUd...

* Queen's Gambit Complete: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfO...

* Queen's Gambit Fast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEm...

* Queen's Gambit According to BoJanglles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXM...

* Top 5 Queen's Gambit Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqI...

* Queen's Gambit Accepted Tricks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx2...

* Magnus opens classically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbs...

* Kostya's QGD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie_...

* Queen's Gambit Concepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYB...

* Queen's Gambit Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAt...

* QGD, Slav D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HT...

* The Slav D in 10 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs5...

* Slav Main Line dxc4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnH...

* 4...Bf5? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDY...

* 4...a6 Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcp...

* Beginner Mistakes in the Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTL...

* Cheery Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq-...

* Chessbase Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suk...

* Chameleon Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rW...

* ...a6 Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsD...

* Beat the Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeY...

* MC plays the Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAT...

* Defeat the Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQX...

* Lifetime Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGD...

* Unbreakable Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBN...

* Ben's QGD lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOW...

* Fundamentals of the Semi-Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFc...

* Kevin's Semi-Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ll...

* Kostya's Semi-Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgy...

* MC plays the Semi-Slav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqT...

* Semi-Slav Pathways: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB7...

* Semi-Slav, Meran Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykn...

* Last Play of Every Super Bowl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9J...

* Learn the Stonewall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_b...

* Pillsbury's Stonewall Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR5...

* The Stonewall Sucks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwv...

* Stonewall Alteration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzI...

* Against the Stonewall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33M...

* Black Stonewall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeW...

* Simon's Classical Dutch w/d6, not d5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt8...

* 2.Bg5 Hopton Attack vs the Dutch Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dr...

* Another 2.Bg5 destroys the Dutch Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvo...

* Crush 2.Bg5 with the Dutch Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeK...

* Prep for a Tournament: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpv...

* Never Do This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b1...

* Unnecessary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz0...

* IM Rosen Stalemate Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB_...

* How to Sicilian Taimanov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiv...

* MC goes nuclear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLo...

* Regrettable Pawn Moves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI0...

* Shortcuts: Game Collection: 21+ Too Fast French Kisses

* She's right, but there are plenty of others: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw5...

* Space Advantages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLL...

* Triangles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAA...

* Trompowsky Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrK...

* Trompowsky vs Naroditsky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILY...

* Top 10 Tactics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpl...

* Time Controls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljp...

* Tricks to Turn It Around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxV...

* Trading Pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wg...

* Trade Queens? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIG...

* Evaluate Exchanges: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNG...

* When to Exchange: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D2...

* What is YOUR study plan? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Y...

* Wild Africa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlk...

* The Opposition and Outflanking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X1...

* King and Pawn vs King: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z52...

* Knight and Pawn Endgames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHW...

* Queen vs Knight Endgames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex1...

* Principles of Rook and Pawn Endgames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXl...

* Unusual Openings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJQ...

* A trap in Grob's Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P50...

* Pulverize Grob's Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTs...

* Tricks in Grob's Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESt...

* The Grob is TERRIBLE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wB...

* Basman's / Borg's Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThK...

* Mike explains Borg's Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Res...

* Last Play of the World Series 1943-1973: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzt...

* Last Play of Every Modern World Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkD...

* Tricks to Trap the Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmU...

* Tricks to Win a Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfS...

* Queen Traps in the Scandinavian D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syr...

* Trap the Queen in the Tennison Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZt...

* Top 10 Traps of the Queens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZh...

* White, Black Trap the Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olz...

* Win the Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ8...

* More Tricks to Trap the Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd0...

* Qxb2 Poisoned Pawn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74h...

* Levy shows us more traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fot...

Q: Why did the hamster quit his exercise routine? A: He felt like he was just going in circles and not getting anywhere.

"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend." ― Robert Louis Stevenson

"Friends and good manners will carry you where money won't go." ― Margaret Walker

"Life doesn't run away from nobody. Life runs at people." ― Joe Frazier

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." ― Xunzi

"There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." ― Will Rogers

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." ― Albert Einstein

"The wind cannot shake a mountain. Neither praise nor blame moves the wise man." ― Gautama Buddha

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." ― Henry Ford

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." ― Bill Cosby

"Failure is not the opposite of success; it's part of success." ― Arianna Huffington

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space." ― Johnny Cash

"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child." ― Marie Curie

"Perception precedes reality." ― Andy Warhol

"Always stand on principle even if you stand alone." ― John Adams

"Everyone who does not agree with me is a traitor and a scoundrel." ― King George III

"To disarm the people... was the best and most effectual way to enslave them." ― George Mason

"You know why there's a Second Amendment (to the Constitution)? In case the government fails to follow the first one." ― Rush Limbaugh

"Courage is the first virtue that makes all other virtues possible." ― Aristotle

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ― Edmund Burke

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." ― Maya Angelou

"Issue the orders, sir, and I will storm hell!" ― "Mad" Anthony Wayne

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president." ― Theodore Roosevelt

"Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom." ― Francis Bacon

"Discipline is wisdom and vice versa." ― M. Scott Peck

"It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly." ― Claude Monet

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." ― Pablo Picasso

"The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." ― Douglas MacArthur

"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." ― Isaac Newton

"We receive three educations: one from our parents, one from our school-masters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us." ― Baron de Montesquieu

"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone." ― Rose Kennedy

"Without a correct strategy the victory is impossible. But even the most correct strategy cannot give the victory under unfavorable objective conditions." ― Leon Trotsky

"If it can be solved, there's no need to worry, and if it can't be solved, worry is of no use." ― Dalai Lama

"Society will develop a new kind of servitude which covers the surface of society with a network of complicated rules, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate. It does not tyrannise but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd." ― Alexis de Tocqueville

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." ― Michelangelo

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" ―Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." ― Aristotle

"A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury." ― John Stuart Mill

"An injustice committed against anyone is a threat to everyone." ― Baron de Montesquieu

"Was not necessity the plea of every illegal exertion of power or exercise of oppression?...Necessity is the plea for very infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." ― William Pitt

"There is no justification for taking away individuals' freedom in the guise of public safety." ― Thomas Jefferson

"The plea of necessity, that eternal argument of all conspirators." ― William Henry Harrison

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." ― Winston Churchill

"A friend to all is a friend to none." ― Aristotle

Q: What do you call a porcupine interviewing for a job at a balloon factory? A: Unemployed.

‘H.T.B.' (Henry Thomas Bland) managed to have published on page 64 of the March 1930 American Chess Bulletin:

Miss Menchik

Miss Menchik is of master rank,
It seems Maróczy she's to thank;
Still, there is little doubt of it
She owes a deal to native wit.
Much knowledge she has garnered in,
E'en 'gainst the giants she'll oft win
– No doubt sometimes to their chagrin –
Chess champion of the gentler sex
Here's luck to her! Should she annex
In her next venture some big prize
Keen critics will feel no surprise.

"You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore." ― William Faulkner

"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.

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

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." ― Leonardo da Vinci

Select a good chess move:

1. Is my king and queen safe? Am I absolutely sure?

2. Why did my opponent make that move?

3. What just changed?

4. What is now en prise / un/under-defended?

5. Any immediate risks / opportunities? (If no, go to default) - Opening: Develop
- Middle game: Improve, build attack, pawn breaks. - End game: Assure the best outcome

6. What are ALL the candidate moves?

7. For each, what is likely to happen? New risks/opportunities?

8. Which is best?

9. Does it improve my position?

10. Sanity check, sure it's not a mistake?

11 EG Strategies: https://enthu.com/blog/chess/chess-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZE...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9F...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxG...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-i...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilr...

This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tm...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf8...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-5...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmU...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gX...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8B...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxD...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVb...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2T...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu1...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIQ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sny...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2u...

https://chessdoctrine.com/chess-ope...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si5...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhd...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNE...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e95...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txF...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4E...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKN...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk7...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6o...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez9...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7i...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxD...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmO...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgx...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si5...

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chess...

https://chessklub.com/30-chess-open...

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

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

https://chessdoctrine.com/chess-ope...

https://thechessworld.com/articles/...

Not This:

MB: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mod...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBq...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThK...

Basman's Folly: Embracing Chaos with 1.g4!? by Cyrus Lakdawala, Carsten Hansen

There is also a g-pawn push in the napoleon attack: 1. Nc3 e5 2. Nf3 nc6 3. D4 exd4 4. Nxd4 bc5 5. Nf5 Qf6 6. G4!!

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chess...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-5...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXR...

https://chesspathways.com/chess-ope...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbr...

https://www.logicalchess.com/learn/...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t6...

https://ocfchess.org/chess-grob/

https://chesseasy.com/grob-opening-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efM...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/fo...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oh...

https://www.reddit.com/r/chessopeni...

https://www.chess.com/blog/Land0nnn...

https://gambiter.com/chess/openings...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESt...

https://www.albertochueca.com/blog/...

https://www.365chess.com/eco/A00_Gr...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7f...

https://www.reddit.com/r/chessopeni...

https://tartajubow.blogspot.com/201...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnF...

https://ocfchess.org/grob-gambit/

http://www.chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xd...

https://www.reddit.com/r/AnarchyChe...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wB...

https://www.dailychess.com/forum/on...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

https://www.dailychess.com/forum/on...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

https://books.google.com/books/abou...

https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comm...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

https://www.logicalchess.com/learn/...

https://www.thechesswebsite.com/gro...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

https://chess-teacher.com/most-unde...

https://papachess.com/openings/grob...

https://chessdoctrine.com/chess-ope...

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

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPo...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCo...

https://en.chessbase.com/post/andre...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

https://masterinchess.com/grobs-att...

https://chess.stackexchange.com/que...

https://chesspublishing.com/content...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

Death and the Woodman

A poor wood-chopper, with his fagot load,
Whom weight of years, as well as load, oppressed, Sore groaning in his smoky hut to rest,
Trudged wearily along his homeward road.
At last his wood on the ground he throws,
And sits him down to think over all his woes.
To joy a stranger, since his hapless birth,
What poorer wretch on this rolling earth?
No bread sometimes, and never a moment's rest;
Wife, children, soldiers, landlords, public tax, All wait the swinging of his old, worn axe,
And paint the veriest picture of a man unblest.
On Death he calls. Forthwith that monarch grim
Appears, and asks what he should do for him.
"Not much, indeed; a little help I lack –
To put these fagots on my back."

Death ready stands all ills to cure;
But let us not his cure invite.
Than die, it's better to endure, –
Is both a manly maxim and a right.

"A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip." — Billy Graham

"Only those who want everything done for them are bored." — Billy Graham

* Riddle-pee-free: https://www.briddles.com/riddles/ch...

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

"Never reply to an anonymous letter." ― Yogi Berra, MLB Hall of Fame catcher

"Even Napoleon had his Watergate."
― Yogi Berra, 10-time World Series champion

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.

Riddle: What word is always pronounced wrong?

FACTRETRIEVER: There are no seagulls in Hawaii.

Riddel Answer: Wrong!

Q: What do you call a fat pumpkin?
A: A pumpkin!

Q: What do you call a factory that sells OK products? A: A satisfactory!

Q: What do you call a cheese that doesn't belong to you? A: Nacho cheese!

Q: What do you call a sleeping wolf?
A: An unawarewolf!

Q: What do you call a bear that never wants to grow up? A: Peter Panda!

Q: What do you call a Jedi with one arm?
A: Hand Solo!

Q: What do you call a sad cheese?
A: A Blue cheese!

Q: What do you call an argument between two electric companies? A: A power struggle!

A piece of cake: https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/che...

Dionysius1: I had basil on the pub's potage du jour yesterday. Soup herb!

'A stitch in time saves nine'

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

"Discontent is the first necessity of progress." — Thomas A. Edison

Simonides Preserved By The Gods

Three sorts there are, as Malherbe says,
Which one can never overpraise –
The gods, the ladies, and the king;
And I, for one, endorse the thing.
The heart, praise tickles and entices;
Of fair one's smile, it often the price is.
See how the gods sometimes repay it.
Simonides – the ancients say it –
Once undertook, in poem lyric,
To write a wrestler's panegyric;
Which, before he had proceeded far in,
He found his subject somewhat barren.
No ancestors of great renown;
His sire of some unnoted town;
Himself as little known to fame,
The wrestler's praise was rather tame.
The poet, having made the most of
Whatever his hero had to boast of,
Digressed, by choice that was not all luck's,
To Castor and his brother Pollux;
Whose bright career was subject ample,
For wrestlers, sure, a good example.
Our poet fattened on their story,
Gave every fight its place and glory,
Till of his panegyric words
These deities had got two-thirds.
All done, the poet's fee
A talent was to be.
But when he comes his bill to settle,
The wrestler, with a spice of mettle,
Pays down a third, and tells the poet,
"The balance they may pay who owe it.
The gods than I are rather debtors
To such a pious man of letters.
But still I shall be greatly pleased
To have your presence at my feast,
Among a knot of guests select,
My kin, and friends I most respect."
More fond of character than coffer,
Simonides accepts the offer.
While at the feast the party sit,
And wine provokes the flow of wit,
It is announced that at the gate
Two men, in haste that cannot wait,
Would see the bard. He leaves the table,
No loss at all to "ts noisy gabble.
The men were Leda's twins, who knew
What to a poet's praise was due,
And, thanking, paid him by foretelling
The downfall of the wrestler's dwelling.
From which ill-fated pile, indeed,
No sooner was the poet freed,
Than, props and pillars failing,
Which held aloft the ceiling
So splendid over them,
It downward loudly crashed,
The plates and flagons dashed,
And men who bore them;
And, what was worse,
Full vengeance for the man of verse,
A timber broke the wrestler's thighs,
And wounded many otherwise.
The gossip Fame, of course, took care
Abroad to publish this affair.
"A miracle!" the public cried, delighted.
No more could god-beloved bard be slighted.
His verse now brought him more than double,
With neither duns, nor care, nor trouble.
Whoever laid claim to noble birth
Must buy his ancestors a slice,
Resolved no nobleman on earth
Should overgo him in the price.
From which these serious lessons flow:
Fail not your praises to bestow
On gods and godlike men. Again,
To sell the product of her pain
Is not degrading to the Muse.
Indeed, her art they do abuse,
Who think her wares to use,
And yet a liberal pay refuse.
Whatever the great confer on her,
They're honoured by it while they honour.
Of old, Olympus and Parnassus
In friendship heaved their sky-crowned masses.

Psalm 31:24
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

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.

"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." ― Voltaire

"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.

"Forget the past – the future will give you plenty to worry about." — George Allen

"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

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.

Oct-04-23 HeMateMe: I play 3/2 blitz occasionally on Lichess. I find it an excellent site, none of the delays/cancellations that ruined chess.com (for me). Oct-04-23 Cassandro: Yes, lichess is by far the best site for online chess. And you never know, apparently you may even get to play against a living legend like the highly esteemed Leonard Barden there!

FTB plays all about but has always been happy with FICS: https://www.freechess.org/

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER

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

"Sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people." ― Elizabeth Green

"It ain't over 'til it's over, no matter how over it looks." ― Yogi Berra

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress." ― Frederick Douglass

Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever.

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.'

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.

"To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?" — Queen Elizabeth II

"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

"Thirty Days Hath September" Lyrics

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone.
Which only has but twenty-eight days clear
And twenty-nine in each leap year.

* Chess Aps: https://www.wired.com/story/best-ch...

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

* Central Steamroller: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OnYU...

* Center Counter Pin & Fork: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lGN2...

* Checkmate Art: Game Collection: Art of Checkmate

* Chess Records: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/record...

* Candidates: Game Collection: Together with the Candidates (Kuzmin)

* Cola clean: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cVZi...

* Contradictory: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TkJh...

* Connected Passed Pawns: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/G3kq...

* Capa punishes copycat: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Tb3k...

* CC: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vo7x...

* Control the promotion square: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f4AY...

* Double discovered check and mate: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4qZ1...

* Do not move your key defender! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bRTM...

* Down but not out: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zt3A...

* Down the stairs: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5jSt...

* En Passant Mate: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WgLM...

* Exercises: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9-HT... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6Ikx...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GSGx...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NNLq...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TjHu...

* Starting Out: French Defense: Game Collection: Starting out : The French - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jwIM...

* Gambits against the French Defense:
Game Collection: alapin gambit -alapin diemer gambit + reti gam

* G-pawn gets too much attention: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-uBp... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_EFw...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EZCS...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tTSW...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fpIw...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5STq...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5tDm...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eLB4...

* Hold on: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Tm3k... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/D4Qp...

* Hustle doesn't ride the pine: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nqZU... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t6VK...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/comm...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9vnu...

* ICA Youth Resources: https://www.il-chess.org/index.php?...

* katar's hack attack: Game Collection: An Opium Repertoire for White - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/J8pM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/p2Gn...

* Kingpin magazine: https://www.kingpinchess.net/ - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/k7ZC...

* LG - White wins: Game Collection: Latvian Gambit-White wins - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-tcJ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dTDV...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMn... - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pl...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3a... - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLS...

* Maczuski vs Kolisch (1863)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv9...
- https://chessskill.blogspot.com/202... - https://www.chess.com/article/view/... - https://www.chess.com/article/view/... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/p8Bp...

* Malagueña: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz2... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UHgi...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGG...

* Modern Masterpieces: Game Collection: Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces ~ Stohl - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oS-2...

* Matovinsky Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF7... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Jjhq...

* MC Move-by-Move: Game Collection: Move by Move - Carlsen (Lakdawala) - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OVsy...

* Masterful: Game Collection: FRENCH DEFENSE MASTERPIECES - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AYGt...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/slnA...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yG5A...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PF7l...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Tqzz...

* Lasker's Manual: Game Collection: Manual of Chess (Lasker) - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gL0z...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ml-3...

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

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MbrL...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kSOf...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZP...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M_a2...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mj63...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4AXe...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZa...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/X8Ot...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/irpC...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4Rs5...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_h0R...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqN...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/x17e...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UCuV...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e-q7...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBs...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/38nZ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DGgu...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJa...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QePz...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkn...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/okm6...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bchb...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IUPA...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/60yM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C3_6...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aafY...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmw...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sMyx...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mted...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/doZ1...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ANFQ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C39M...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBJ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S74z...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DB7w...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3qgz...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LY0c...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-Zi-...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yrHk...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WGTC...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tS1L...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SZ6D...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cKrM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/F5jn...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XHzS...

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

* Nakhmanson Gambit: https://chesstier.com/nakhmanson-ga... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s2I1...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xl8e...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oNxo...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5dq6...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5dq6...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MRVr...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/og52...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnF...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX5...

* Natives: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nzWR... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BbP2...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yY6u...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MSDu...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cyEN...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eyJp...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QpPd...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FM2D...
- https://littlebighorn.info/Booklets... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v7Sf...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-lsK...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qQuf...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/n04n...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MxjB...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_IWY...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yWIJ...

* Nunn's Chess Course: Game Collection: Lasker JNCC - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yKqn...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-mj-...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WKQq...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CngZ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Cntg...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7dmR...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/B8Yo...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mmBB...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2glS...

* Not so simple: Game Collection: Simple Chess by Michael Stean - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ikW2...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nIiY...

* Not Unseen: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wMSL... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GyHj...

* N vs RPs: Game Collection: KNIGHTS *HATE* ROOK PAWNS! - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1Djn...

* Offhand game: Mason vs Dr. S, 1882 - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ga6v...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/r-rJ...

* One brave, trained man w/a: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cCbm... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tqH_...

* One beara job FTB sure doesn't want: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_GiF...

* Onderful 1965s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VF...

* Out! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/I3B3... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Vtwp...

* Overloaded! Game Collection: OVERLOADED! - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hWzF...

* Plenty to see: http://www.schackportalen.nu/Englis... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eCYj...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aafY...

* Pinch of... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU_... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0gDI...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eYTG...

* POTD Scotch: Game Collection: POTD Scotch Game Scotch Gambit - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pZe5...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Y5_Z...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1YbM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/padI...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cyZC...

* POTD 2023: Game Collection: Puzzle of the Day 2023 - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Bofe...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EpIN...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/smb9...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vgVP...

* QGD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b6... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/loyt...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l39...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GxmN...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OryD...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AX-B...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijw...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zp98...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MToV...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JEt3...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETG...

* RBI Record: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uzi9... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tqO6...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hoir...

* RL Minis: Game Collection: Ruy Lopez Miniatures

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e57v...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dVZM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7JSM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7_ba...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QVnO...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rkhu...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XNyO...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Q2vi...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QDPN...

* Reasonable book choices: https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell...

* Scratch where ititches: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9Fb_... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fMOn...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Cs4C...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qN5U...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lTz8...

* Scholared: 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5? Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Bg7?? 5.Qxf7# 1-0. - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-pTK...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5pv3...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GHJg...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-Bmm...

* Short Selection for White:
Game Collection: Repertoire for White - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6LRh...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88b...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VjzU...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jVTy...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rt...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0s...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cf20...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JC...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xptl...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqu...

* Sometimes you get schooled by the truth: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_3iE... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eeRJ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5vsx...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5ng_...

* Sneaky: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IJLj... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XSZW...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IqSz...

* 21st Century: Game Collection: 0

* B20s: Game Collection: Grand Prix (Ginger's Models) - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wt2Q...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQo...

* So sad: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g7qt... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tx-L...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BNVM...

* Defensive sacrifice: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sA0M... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yjT3...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfE...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/J1fS...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2i4Y...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tIAY...

* Stuff happens: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bIpz... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LbgV...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UY9S...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EY5E...

* Scotch tape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1do... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RGr9...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4xJM...

* Stoned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39K... - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbI... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EoGN...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwE...

* Suzuki: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/50qf...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IMwm...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8UKe...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XI1y...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4ip7...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Wjl1...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VVHD...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDK...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xyLH...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BFEE...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-C...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzm...

* Spassky could bring the heat: Game Collection: 0 - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/q_ZM...

* Stafford Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BDzz...

* Stunners: Game Collection: Stunners - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FQng...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YGtR...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yZNn...

* Ten books for aspiring masters: http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2023... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fn-l...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aA2a...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/G5nC...

* Bobby Fischer playing White against the Sicilian: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EdCK...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzu...

* Robert Fischer's Best Games by KingG (127 games, a ton of quotes): Game Collection: Robert Fischer's Best Games - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VGev...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOr...

* Bobby Fischer Rediscovered/Andrew Soltis (97 games): Game Collection: Bobby Fischer Rediscovered (Andy Soltis)

* 1992: Game Collection: Spassky-Fischer Match 1992

* Use all your pieces to expose the king: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ng04... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/W1-F...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/icPR...

* Viennas: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QZ_D... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7sIY...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fVFf...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1tqe...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDu...

* Weird: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OWJD... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YzDA...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3iKQ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TWDD...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2aQ3...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Nfd4...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yDO8...

* Where there's a will, there's a way: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZwSK... - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/k3xi...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hl_F...

* Wild: Game Collection: Wild Games! - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zkIo...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ba3x...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_4OY...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/58_v...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ARbi...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/O-Re...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lWQb...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WWDS...

* Wonders and Curiosities: Game Collection: Wonders and Curiosities of Chess (Chernev) - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EQU8...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vrxJ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WDgw...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JtuA...

* A great decade of chess: Game Collection: Mil y Una Partidas 1950-1959 - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ebyS...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t9qi...

* Great Attacks: Game Collection: great attack games - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yDya...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7CWm...

"Love Is A Place" by E.E. Cummings

Love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places

yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds

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.

Q: What do you call a baby polar bear?
A: An ice cub.

Q: What do you call a witch that lives at the beach? A: A sand witch.

Q: What do you call a key that opens the door on Thanksgiving? A: A turkey.

Q: What do you call a cheese that doesn't belong to you? A: Nacho cheese!

Q: What do you call a cow that plays a musical instrument? A: A moosician.

Q: What do you call shorts that clouds wear?
A: Thunderwear.

Q: What do you call milk that gets anything it wants? A: Spoiled milk.

Q: What do you call a dog magician?
A: A labracadabrador.

Q: What do you call a funny mountain?
A: Hill-arious.

Q: What do you call a cute door?
A: Adorable.

King Richard I of England

Richard I was shot through the shoulder with a crossbow outside of Chalus Castle in France in March 1199. The injury was serious, but survivable—but the infection that followed it was not. He died two weeks later on April 6. His heart was buried separately from the rest of his body.

As for the arrow that brought down Richard the Lionheart? It was a lucky shot over the side of the castle from a young boy. It became immortalized as "the lion by the ant was slain."

Richard I pardoned the archer who shot him.

"Holy Sonnet 10: Death, Be Not Proud"
by John Donne (1572-1631)

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

"They made us many promises, but they kept only one. They promised to take our land -- and they did." — Chief Red Cloud, Oglala-Lakota Sioux, 1822-1909.

"There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who are smart enough to know better." ― Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker

<<Amanda Kay> wrote:

Checkmate
You were my knight
Shining armor
Chess board was our home
Queen's fondness you garnered
A kiss sweeter than honeycomb>

"My guiding principles in life are to be honest, genuine, thoughtful and caring." ― Prince William

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.

"It is atheism and blasphemy to dispute what God can do: good Christians content themselves with His will revealed in His Word." ― King James I

"Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." ― Andy (Tim Robbins), "The Shawshank Redemption"

<<by W.A. Ballantine given on page 153 of the American Chess Journal, September 1878:>

Charming as the sweetest music;
High above the common reach,
Easy to the bright and wise;
Splendid in the hands of genius;
Such the royal game of chess.>

* Common Sense: Game Collection: Common Sense in Chess (Lasker) - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2Cne...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t9qi...

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

* Not So Good: Game Collection: The St. George Defense - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Plmf...

* Shirov's Best: Game Collection: Fire on Board 1 (Shirov)

* Handy Tricks: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/i7pe...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vJaP...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zZh2...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-A4T...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Rp6-...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/T6_W...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eB1o...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WVT6...

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

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." ― Thomas Jefferson, chess player

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.

I have many jokes about rich kids — sadly none of them work.

"The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them" ― Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

"<Love all, trust a few, Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemy
Rather in power than use; and keep thy friend
Under thy own life's key: be check'd for silence, But never tax'd for speech.>"
― William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well

"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 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

A game of chess, even played by dilettantes, is an austere metaphor of life and a struggle for life, and the chess player's virtues—reason, memory, and invention—are the virtues of every thinking man. The stern rule of chess, according to which a piece that was touched must be moved and it is not permissible to redo a move of which one repents, reproduces the inexorability of the choices of the living. When your king, as a result of your inexperience, lack of attention, imprudence, or the opponent's superiority, is ever more closely threatened … cornered and finally transfixed, you cannot fail to perceive a symbolic shadow beyond the chess board. You are living a death; it is your death, and at the same time it is a death for which you are guilty. —Primo Levi, "The Irritable Chess Players"

Proverbs 14:29-35

29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered * exalts folly.

30 A tranquil heart is life to the body, But passion is rottenness to the bones.

31 He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

32 The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing, But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.

33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, But in the hearts of fools it is made known.

34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.

35 The king's favor is toward a servant who acts wisely, But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.

"There just isn't enough televised chess." — David Letterman

"Do the things that interest you and do them with all your heart. Don't be concerned about whether people are watching you or criticizing you. The chances are that they aren't paying any attention to you. It's your attention to yourself that is so stultifying. But you have to disregard yourself as completely as possible. If you fail the first time then you'll just have to try harder the second time. After all, there's no real reason why you should fail. Just stop thinking about yourself." — Eleanor Roosevelt

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

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

wordzfun
3rdp A L Zaid WAIT! Holdon toyur horsz n camlz, thair Dzagnidze 4ward Steinitz pencls zewage pstr zitellone bythe Yogi zja. That wash illigl soit wasp retractor. Touch-move appliez 12% enter west rates 4a limitd tym onli. Cali perfornia xcluedd, so laym still to blaym fo shaym all th saym anything fo fayk faym.

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.

John 14:6
"<I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.>" ― Jesus Christ

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

<<<Harry Golombek> (1 March 1911 – 7 January 1995) was a British chess player, chess author, and wartime codebreaker. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948.>

* https://en.chessbase.com/post/harry...

* https://www.chesshistory.com/winter...

* https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CnLH...

* https://www.goodreads.com/author/li...

* https://www.365chess.com/players/Ha...>

"The first place you need to look is the last place you saw it." — Digger Manes, Moonshiners

<A wise old owl sat on an oak,

The more he saw the less he spoke,

The less he spoke the more he heard,

Why aren't we like that wise old bird?>

Give a HOOT -- don't pollute!!
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s0PO...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JFp8...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8-sJ...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Qk4B...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3sIH...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zQnN...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vkEv...

"September Tomatoes" by Karina Borowicz

The whiskey stink of rot has settled
in the garden, and a burst of fruit flies rises
when I touch the dying tomato plants.
Still, the claws of tiny yellow blossoms
flail in the air as I pull the vines up by the roots and toss them in the compost.
It feels cruel. Something in me isn't ready
to let go of summer so easily. To destroy
what I've carefully cultivated all these months. Those pale flowers might still have time to fruit. My great-grandmother sang with the girls of her village as they pulled the flax. Songs so old
and so tied to the season that the very sound
seemed to turn the weather.

"Good Bones" by Maggie Smith

Life is short, though I keep this from my children. Life is short, and I've shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I'll keep from my children. The world is at least fifty percent terrible, and that's a conservative estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird. For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real @#$%hole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful, right? You could make this place beautiful.