Compiled by tpstar
1-100 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. 0-0
100-199 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4! 5. Nxe4 d5
200-299
400-499 9. Nh3
700-799 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. ed Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dc bc 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Bc5 11. c3 Bd6
Q: How does the ocean say hi?
A: It waves!
"The game might be divided into three parts: the opening, the middle-game and the end-game. There is one thing you must strive for, to be equally efficient in the three parts." ― Jose Raul Capablanca
"Where there's a will, there's a way."
"An isolated Pawn spreads gloom all over the chessboard." ― Savielly Tartakover
"In my opinion, the King's Gambit is busted. It loses by force."
― Bobby Fischer, A bust to the King's Gambit (1960)
Zwickmuhle: to be in a quandry/predicament/ double bind/catch-22 situation, to be in a dilemma
Eyes trust themselves, ears trust others. ~ German Proverb
Ye Jiangchuan has won the Chinese Chess Championship seven times.
"Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious." ― Zhuangzi
"Touch the pawns before your king with only infinite delicacy."
― Anthony Santasiere
"A wood-pusher overlooks the ranks." ― Old Russian saying
"When your house is on fire, you can't be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in chess, if your King is under attack, don't worry about losing a pawn on the queen side." ― Garry Kasparov
"Have a good reason/explanation for each move, and know what will happen next before you make the move. <When in doubt, don't move a pawn.> A pawn move is a permanent commitment easily restricted (no retreat to safety, no capturing, jumping or side-step around an obstruction in its path) and should be made for a useful, lasting reason. A settling pawn move turns over the initiative. Play with your pieces! It's far better to play with your active pieces off the back rank, as pieces have superior mobility to escape, threaten, or defend more squares in more directions." ― Fredthebear
"You can retreat pieces… but not pawns. So always think twice about pawn moves." ― Michael Stean
"The passed pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient." ― Aron Nimzowitsch
"Pawn endings are to chess what putting is to golf." ― Cecil Purdy
"In the ending the king is a powerful piece for assisting his own pawns, or stopping the adverse pawns." ― Wilhelm Steinitz
"The eighth square at last! Oh how glad I am to get here. And what is this on my head?" ― Alice (in Through The Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll)
"A woman can beat any man; it's difficult to imagine another kind of sport where a woman can beat a man. That's why I like chess." ― Alexandra Kosteniuk
"My formula for success is rise early, work late, and strike oil." ― JP Getty
"There are two kinds of idiots - those who don't take action because they have received a threat, and those who think they are taking action because they have issued a threat." ― Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym
"Life is very much about making the best decisions you can. So I think chess is very valuable." ― Hikaru Nakamura
"If you're too open-minded; your brains will fall out." ― Lawrence Ferlinghetti
"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax."
― Albert Einstein
Galatians 6:7 in the Bible "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."
"The chess heroes nowadays should not forget that it was owing to Fischer that they are living today in four- and five-star hotels, getting appearance fees, etc." ― Lev Khariton
"Most people work just hard enough to not get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit." ― George Carlin
"Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the "gotta have it" scale." ― Zig Ziglar
"Time is the ultimate currency." ― Elon Musk
Here's a poem a dad wrote:
<ODE TO CHESS
Ten times I charged the grim, foreboding walls
and was pitched into the pit of defeat.
But, heedless of humiliating falls,
I clambered bravely back onto my feet
and charged again, again to be down thrust
onto the scrap heap of people who lose
onto the mound of mortifying dust
whilst my opponent sat without a bruise
upon his pedestal. We changed sides
and fought again, but I was defeated
whilst he with arrogant and haughty strides
took the throne upon which I had been seated.
Ha! Win or lose, it's how you play the game.
But I would like to beat him just the same.>
Alabama: Mobile
Established in: 1702
The city of Mobile is a port city on the Gulf Coast in Alabama that has a lot of French influence (which makes sense, since it was founded by the French). Mardi Gras celebrations originated there, and you can experience the history of the holiday at the Mobile Carnival Museum.
* Chess History: https://www.chessjournal.com/chess-...
"Zeitnot" is German for "time pressure."
"....his countrymen, Kolisch and Steinitz, are greatly indebted for their later success to their having enjoyed early opportunities of practicing with the departed amateur whose death is also greatly deplored amongst all who knew him personally." — Wilhelm Steinitz, regarding Karl Hamppe
The first appearance of the (John) Cochrane gambit against Petrov's defense C42 was in the year 1848 against an Indian master Mohishunder Bannerjee.
"Sorry don't get it done, Dude!" — John Wayne, Rio Bravo
"Gossip is the devil's telephone. Best to just hang up." — Moira Rose
Q: How do trees get online?
A: They just log on.
If you didn't know your age, how old would you be?
Q: What do you call a couple of chimpanzees sharing an Amazon account?
No, they're not monkeys...
A: PRIME-mates.
CITATION EDIT <JFQ> <Here is the original Alekhine quotation in full, which is actually part of an annotation of move 29 from the 4th game of the Match: Alekhine vs Bogoljubov, 1934After noting a suggested improvement on move 29... from <Dr. Lasker>, Alekhine goes on to say:
"This game – more than any other – proves how useless from the sporting point of view was the arrangement of this second match, and at the same time explains my indifferent play on a number of occasions. I felt sure that Bogoljubow was no longer able to take advantage of the opportunities my play might present to him, and – very unfortunately for the general artistic value of the present match – the score 7 to 1 in my favour after the 22nd game fully justified my sanguine outlook."
-Alexander Alekhine
"My Best Games of Chess 1908-1937"
Dover 1995 (Unabridged reprint of "Best Games" vols. 1 and 2)
p. 137>
The Camel and the Floating Sticks
The first who saw the humpbacked camel
Fled off for life; the next approached with care;
The third with tyrant rope did boldly dare
The desert wanderer to trammel.
Such is the power of use to change
The face of objects new and strange;
Which grow, by looking at, so tame,
They do not even seem the same.
And since this theme is up for our attention,
A certain watchman I will mention,
Who, seeing something far
Away on the ocean,
Could not but speak his notion
That It was a ship of war.
Some minutes more had past, –
A bomb-ketch It was without a sail,
And then a boat, and then a bale,
And floating sticks of wood at last!
Full many things on earth, I wot,
Will claim this tale, – and well they may;
They're something dreadful far away,
But near at hand – they're not.
<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.>
"The best way to learn endings, as well as openings, is from the games of the masters." ― Jose Raul Capablanca
Gambit first appeared in English in a 1656 chess handbook that was said to feature almost a hundred illustrated gambetts. Gambett traces back first to the Spanish word gambito, and before that to the Italian gambetto, from gamba meaning "leg." Gambetto referred to the act of tripping someone, as in wrestling, in order to gain an advantage. In chess, gambit (or gambett, as it was once spelled) originally referred to a chess opening whereby the bishop's pawn is intentionally sacrificed—or tripped—to gain an advantage in position. Gambit is now applied to many other chess openings, but after being pinned down for years, it also finally broke free of chess's hold and is used generally to refer to any "move," whether literal or rhetorical, done to get a leg up, so to speak.
― Merriam-Webster dictionary
* Gambit: Wikipedia article: Gambit
* Capablanca's Double Attack — having the initiative is important: https://lichess.org/study/tzrisL1R
* C53s: Game Collection: rajat21's italian game
* RL Minis: Game Collection: Ruy Lopez Miniatures
* Del's: Game Collection: Del's hidden gems
* Robert Fischer's Best Games by KingG (127 games, a ton of quotes):
Game Collection: Robert Fischer's Best Games
* Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/
Zelma Lavone King - U.S. prisoner arrested January 30, 1968 in Phoenix, AriZona.
"He who is quick to borrow is slow to pay." ― German proverb
"I have not observed men's honesty to increase with their riches."
― Thomas Jefferson
"Virtue has never been as respectable as money." ― Mark Twain
"Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway." ― Warren Buffett
"Whoever said 'money can't buy happiness' didn't know where to go shopping." ― Bo Derek
The Eagles' stadium once had a courtroom.
Veterans Stadium, where the Philadelphia Eagles once played, included a stadium courtroom and jail to handle the team's notoriously rowdy fans. As a former judge for the so-called "Eagles Court" explained, "Eagles Court was a lot of fun and it served a purpose. One of the interesting facts that came out of Eagles Court was that 95 percent of the people arrested were not from Philadelphia. But Philadelphia was getting broad-brushed as the city with horrible, horrible fans."
(Unverified as of this post.)
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.
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 (The Bishop's Opening, Berlin Defense)
Then 3.d4 (Ponziani's Gambit) and some variation thereafter. Wikipedia shows that the following are closely related:
* 3...exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 (Center Game, by transposition)
* 3...exd4 4.Nf3 (Urusov Gambit)
o 4...Bc5 5.0-0 Nc6 (Max Lange Attack, by transposition)
o 4...Nc6 (Two Knights Defense, by transposition)
o 4...Nxe4 5.Qxd4 (Urusov Gambit Accepted)
Chris Chaffin wrote:
master/piece
She moves him ‘round the chess board,
dodging bishops, pawns and rooks.
She coaxes him from square to square
without a second look.
The white knight cannot catch him.
Piece by piece, the foe now yields.
Her king is safe; the game is done.
The queen controls the field.
I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked at me surprised.
<Riddle Question: A girl fell off a 20-foot ladder. She wasn't hurt. How?Scroll down for the answer...
* Riddle-free-xp: https://chessimprover.com/chess-rid...
Answer to the Riddle above: She fell off the bottom step.>
"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
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.
The Fowler, the Hawk, and the Lark
From wrongs of wicked men we draw
Excuses for our own:
Such is the universal law.
Would you have mercy shown,
Let yours be clearly known.
A fowler's mirror served to snare
The little tenants of the air.
A lark there saw her pretty face,
And was approaching to the place.
A hawk, that sailed on high
Like vapour in the sky,
Came down, as still as infant's breath,
On her who sang so near her death.
She thus escaped the fowler's steel,
The hawk's malignant claws to feel.
While in his cruel way,
The pirate plucked his prey,
On himself the net was sprung.
"O fowler," prayed he in the hawkish tongue,
"Release me in your clemency!
I never did a wrong to you."
The man replied, "It's true;
And did the lark to you?"
"The chess heroes nowadays should not forget that it was owing to Fischer that they are living today in four- and five-star hotels, getting appearance fees, etc." ― Lev Khariton
"I've never met a checkers player I didn't like; they're all even-tempered. Chess players are egotistical. They think they're intellectuals and that everyone else is beneath them." ― Don Lafferty, draughts grandmaster
"If you can't take (constructive) criticism, consider taking up another game, perhaps solitaire." — Jeremy Silman
"Where there's a will, there's a way."
* Know the five fundamental rules of firearm safety:
- Treat every gun as if it is loaded.
- Never point a weapon at anything you don't intend to destroy.
- Never put your finger on a gun's trigger until you make a conscious decision to shoot.
- Always be sure of your target, what's beyond it, and what's between you and your target.
- When not in use, a firearm needs to be locked in some kind of secure container—a gun vault is best. If it cannot be secured in a locked location, then a trigger lock should be applied. A loaded firearm should never be unattended.
1.Nf3 is the third most popular of the twenty legal opening moves White has, behind only 1.e4 and 1.d4.
"Wise women tuck Godly wisdom into the words they speak and even more into the words they choose not to speak." — Lysa TerKeurst
"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 trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar." — Unknown
Sarah wrote:
checkmate
It's like we're playing chess.
Moving strategically, testing boundaries,
all while watching each other's expression.
We all know how this games ends…
The queen destroys you and steals your heart.
- The longest a chess game could possibly be is 5,949 moves.
* The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev = https://lichess.org/study/KMMrJvE1
* Legendary: Game Collection: The 12 Legendary Games of the Century
"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." ― Voltaire
"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
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." ― Yogi Berra
werdfun
5zshhz! Zengis Kahnn fish spawn d4 fidi zoccolo fesso zborris29 Zaitsev system, which defends the Rook, Zelic 21...Bxe5 tactics fo breakfast tuna on a troll fo lunch an aftanoon bicycle rodeo william give u game sum need edward punch.
Zelma Lavone King - U.S. prisoner arrested January 30, 1968 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Frank and his eldest daughter Nancy: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...
Gold Au 79
Charge! Wikipedia article: Charge (warfare)#:~:text=A%20charge%20is%20an%20offensive%20maneuver%20in%20battle,and%20decisive%20moment%20of%20many%20battles%20throughout%20history.
"Winning needs no explanation, losing has no alibi." ― Greg Baum.
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." ― Robert Hughes
"He who is quick to borrow is slow to pay." ― German proverb
"I have not observed men's honesty to increase with their riches."
― Thomas Jefferson
"Virtue has never been as respectable as money." ― Mark Twain
"Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway." ― Warren Buffett
"Whoever said 'money can't buy happiness' didn't know where to go shopping." ― Bo Derek
* Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/
"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
"It is the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow, and not venture all his eggs in one basket." The phrase appeared in Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, in 1615.
"I take things as they come and find that patience and persistence tend to win out in the end." ― Paul Kane
"Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." ― Napoleon Hill
Actions speak louder than words
"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ― Plato
"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." ― Lao Tzu
Galatians 6:7 in the Bible "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."
* The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev - https://lichess.org/study/KMMrJvE1
* Legendary: Game Collection: The 12 Legendary Games of the Century
Nov-28-22 pony up or die: Sorry <perf> I screwed up bad copying the data from the <Opening Tree> - mixing the frequency for 6...Qg3 instead of the scoring.
Kinda stupid - my apologies.
The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1807-1882
"There are good ships, and there are wood ships, ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, and may they always be."
– Anonymous
"It's not how you start that matters, it's how you finish."
"Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read." — Francis Bacon
The cat's play is the mouse's death. ~ German Proverb
"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground."
― Theodore Roosevelt
Ah, St. Marher, 1225:
"And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet."
2pry Zeitnot Zshaa-Tichondrius - 601 Disc Priest 226 Ilvl - 27750 RBG zek247 dint undrstnd Ziyatdinov's planto ignore the LSB on deck of the carrier.
"He examined the chess problem and set out the pieces. It was a tricky ending, involving a couple of knights.
'White to play and mate in two moves.'
Winston looked up at the portrait of Big Brother. White always mates, he thought with a sort of cloudy mysticism. Always, without exception, it is so arranged. In no chess problem since the beginning of the world has black ever won. Did it not symbolize the eternal, unvarying triumph of Good over Evil? The huge face gazed back at him, full of calm power. White always mates."
― George Orwell, 1984
"Chess is above all, a fight!" — Emanuel Lasker
"The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have points to gain, and competition or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn: First, Foresight; Second, Circumspection; Third, Caution; And lastly, We learn by Chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs; the habit of hoping for a favorable chance, and that of persevering in the secrets of resources." — Benjamin Franklin, 1779
"Of chess it has been said that life is not long enough for it, but that is the fault of life, not chess." — William Ewart Napier
"Learn from the masters, learn from your contemporaries. Always try to update yourself." ― James Stewart
"Presumption should never make us neglect that which appears easy to us, nor despair make us lose courage at the sight of difficulties." — Benjamin Banneker
"Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can." — Lowell Thomas
"If I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard." — Madam C. J. Walker
"The stock market and the gridiron and the battlefield aren't as tidy as the chessboard, but in all of them, a single, simple rule holds true: make good decisions and you'll succeed; make bad ones and you'll fail." — Garry Kasparov
"All that matters on the chessboard is good moves." — Bobby Fischer
"Nine-tenths of tactics are certain, and taught in books: but the irrational tenth is like the kingfisher flashing across the pool, and that is the test of generals." —
T. E. Lawrence
"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war." — George Hyman Rickover
"The laws of circumstance are abolished by new circumstances." — Napoleon
"No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself." — William Penn
"That's what chess is all about. One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one." — Bobby Fischer
"Chess holds its master in its own bonds, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer." — Albert Einstein
"Tough times don't last, tough people do, remember?" — Gregory Peck
"Methodical thinking is of more use in chess than inspiration." — C.J.S. Purdy.
"Telling us what to think has evolved into telling us what to say, so telling us what to do can't be far behind." — Charlton Heston
All that glitters is not gold – this line can be found in a text from c.1220: ‘ Nis hit nower neh gold al that ter schineth.'
A friend in need is a friend indeed – a proverb from c.1035 say this: ‘Friend shall be known in time of need.'
All's well that ends well – a line from the mid-13th century is similar: ‘Wel is him te wel ende mai.' Meanwhile, Henry Knighton's Chronicle from the late 14th-century one can read: ‘ If the ende be wele, than is alle wele.'
Matthew 17:20
Our faith can move mountains.
Other people's wisdom prevents the king from being called a fool. ~ Nigerian Proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean Proverb
Ingratitude is sooner or later fatal to its author. ~ Twi Proverb
The laughter of a child lights up the house. ~ Swahili proverb
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)
Cuando una puerta se cierra, otra se abre. (When one door is closed, another is opened.) ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616)
Dijo la sartén a la caldera, quítate allá ojinegra. (The frying pan said to the cauldron, "Get out of here, black-eyed one." This is believed to be the source of the phrase "the pot calling the kettle black.") ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
chess writer and poet Henry Thomas Bland.
Another example of his way with words is the start of ‘Internal Fires', a poem published on page 57 of the March 1930 American Chess Bulletin:
I used to play chess with the dearest old chap,
Whom naught could upset whatever might hap.
He'd oft lose a game he might well have won
But made no excuse for what he had done.
If a piece he o'erlooked and got it snapped up
He took it quite calmly and ne'er ‘cut up rough'.
"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
"The habit of holding a Man in the hand, and moving it first to one square and then to another, in order to engage the assistance of the eye in deciding where it shall actually be placed, is not only annoying to the adversary but a practical infraction of the touch-and-move principle." ― Howard Staunton
"A bad plan is better than none at all." ― Frank Marshall
Sailing to Byzantium
by William Butler Yeats
That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
—Those dying generations—at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.
Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
"Wise women tuck Godly wisdom into the words they speak and even more into the words they choose not to speak." — Lysa TerKeurst
"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 trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar." — Unknown
* 4 Miniz: zPonziani, zKieseritzky, zPhilidor, zFrankenstein-Dracula: z https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...
"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
"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
The Pawn Who Had to Go
The little pawn screamed: "I cannot hold it any more, get me a pot or I will do exactly what I did before." Everybody laughed with the exception of the opposing king who guessed what was on the mind of this filthy thing. But nobody had time to fetch a pot or even a plastic bag They were too busy to ensure that the game became a drag. The guys in white kept running back and forth but no change. The guys in black stayed also within the very same range. Suddenly the unhappy pawn who had screamed for a pot, did a weird little dance while moving up one slot. Now standing near the king he simply pulled his pants down and peed straight up against the king's beautiful crown.
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.
When Moses asked God, "Who shall I tell Pharaoh has sent me?" God said, "I AM THAT I AM." Jehovah or Yahweh is the most intensely sacred name to Jewish scribes and many will not even pronounce the name. When possible, they use another name." https://www.biblestudytools.com/bib...
"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
"Someday, somewhere – anywhere, unfailingly, you'll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life." ― Pablo Neruda
Philippians 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
"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
"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
"Only the rocks live forever," said Gray Wolf.
― James A. Michener, Centennial
* Mankind's Savior said it, proved it: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bib...
"Zeitnot" is German for "time pressure."
"....his countrymen, Kolisch and Steinitz, are greatly indebted for their later success to their having enjoyed early opportunities of practicing with the departed amateur whose death is also greatly deplored amongst all who knew him personally." — Wilhelm Steinitz, regarding Karl Hamppe
The first appearance of the (John) Cochrane gambit against Petrov's defense C42 was in the year 1848 against an Indian master Mohishunder Bannerjee.
"Sorry don't get it done, Dude!" — John Wayne, Rio Bravo
"Gossip is the devil's telephone. Best to just hang up." — Moira Rose
Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Drive sober or get pulled over.
"For surely of all the drugs in the world, chess must be the most permanently pleasurable." — Assia
Once I asked Pillsbury whether he used any formula for castling. He said his rule was absolute and vital: castle because you will or because you must; but not because you can.' — W.E. Napier (1881-1952)
Q: Why do we tell actors to "break a leg?"
A: Because every play has a cast.
"No one has ever won a game of chess by taking only forward moves (what about Scholar's Mate?). Sometimes you have to move backwards in order to be able to take better steps forward. That is life." — Anonymous
Drive sober or get pulled over.
"For surely of all the drugs in the world, chess must be the most permanently pleasurable." — Assiac
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 find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." ― Thomas Jefferson, chess player
An Irish Blessing:
May we all feel…
happy and contented,
healthy and strong,
safe and protected
and living with ease…
~
Oct-09-11 FSR: After 1.e4 e5, 2.Ba6?? is the worst move by a country mile. After that, probably 2.b4 and 2.Ke2 are the worst. 2.Qg4 and 2.g4 are also pretty bad. White still has equality after 2.Qh5, so it's actually not a <terrible> move.
* Glossary: Wikipedia article: Glossary of chess
Switch your pawn insurance to Promotion and you could save hundreds.
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
Switch your pawn insurance to Promotion and you could save hundreds.
"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
* Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/
"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
"It's a short trip from the penthouse to the outhouse." ― Paul Dietzel
"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
"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
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.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
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.
MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row
Frank and his eldest daughter Nancy: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...
Gold Au 79
"It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35
"Life is like a chess game. Every decision, just like every move, has consequences. Therefore, decide wisely!" ― Susan Polgar
"When people insult and disrespect you, the best revenge is to continue to win, and win, and win…." ― Susan Polgar
"The mind has no restrictions. The only restriction is what you believe you cannot do. So go ahead and challenge yourself to do one thing every day that scares you." ― Susan Polgar
* Checkmate brevities: Game Collection: Art of Checkmate
* Crouch's book: Game Collection: Chess Secrets - Attackers (Crouch)
Below is a Morphy acrostic by C.V. Grinfield from page 334 of the Chess Player's Chronicle, 1861:
Mightiest of masters of the chequer'd board,
Of early genius high its boasted lord!
Rising in youth's bright morn to loftiest fame,
Princeliest of players held with one acclaim;
Host in thyself – all-conquering in fight: –
Yankees exult! – in your great champion's might.
The Dancing Bear
by James Russell Lowell
Far over Elf-land poets stretch their sway,
And win their dearest crowns beyond the goal
Of their own conscious purpose; they control
With gossamer threads wide-flown our fancy's play,
And so our action. On my walk to-day,
A wallowing bear begged clumsily his toll,
When straight a vision rose of Atta Troll,
And scenes ideal witched mine eyes away.
'Merci, Mossieu!' the astonished bear-ward cried,
Grateful for thrice his hope to me, the slave
Of partial memory, seeing at his side
A bear immortal. The glad dole I gave
Was none of mine; poor Heine o'er the wide
Atlantic welter stretched it from his grave.
* Learn these and burn them! https://herculeschess.com/chess-tac...
* Tactics by a different Gary: https://chessdelights.com/chess-tac...
The Bird Wounded By An Arrow
A bird, with plumed arrow shot,
In dying case deplored her lot:
"Alas!" she cried, "the anguish of the thought!
This ruin partly by myself was brought!
Hard-hearted men! from us to borrow
What wings to us the fatal arrow!
But mock us not, you cruel race,
For you must often take our place."
The work of half the human brothers
Is making arms against the others.
Kibitzing
