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2 Scotch and Evans Gambit Study by Peter Trujillo - Our attitude determines our altitude. If you think you can, or you think you cannot, you're right. The man who wins is the man who thinks he can. - Always play the percentages. Don't be a riverboat gambler. - Be sound, steady. Give your opponent an opportunity to screw up and hand you the game. - Don't beat yourself. Victory favors the team that makes the fewest mistakes. - Most battles are won before they're ever fought through preparation beforehand. - Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. - Luck is when preparation and alertness, readiness to respond at a moment's notice, meets opportunity. Sometimes you find yourself in the right place at the right time because you're actively searching. - Life is 10% what happens and 90% how I respond. - Fight to the last gasp. - The difference between a champ and a chump is you. Winning is a process and an art form that includes losing on occasion1. Here are some tips on how to win with dignity and lose with grace: Own up to your mistakes, accept responsibility and commit to the process of growth and change1. Show humility in winning and dignity on losing2. Show respect to whomever or whatever has defeated you3. Bow out gracefully, praise the skills of the winner * http://wiinworldwide.com/2017/02/07... Plan for Ideal Piece Placement (Centralize, Advance) to gain material or maintain lasting pressure. How will my piece be threatened on its new square? Forked, Pinned, or Prodded? - Which units are unprotected, cannot not move? Should I aim at them, or first prevent their movement/advancement? - Crushing checks often land on unoccupied squares that seem unimportant. You must check all checks from the kings spoke outward. - Slow down, count ALL your cards carefully -- not just the obvious ones; pay attention to all maybes (don't overlook possibilities). Know the count. What is my opponent aiming at now, or next turn? Know the count. - Don't initiate a capture if the recapture improves the opponent's piece. This often occurs when knight protects knight or rook protects rook. - Maintain and pile up on pinned targets, tied defenders, any defendants. - Activate/improve/outpost your piece(s) & connect batteries/crossfire. Give every piece a job. - Consider cramping/removal pawn thrusts. However, putting the question seems threatening but may chase a piece to a better square gaining the initiative. - Gain space to crash through or avoid lateral passivity, as rescuers often come from across the way. - Inflict an isolated pawn (island). Liquidate weak pawns. “Chess is life in miniature. Chess is a struggle, chess battles.” — Garry Kasparov “Sometimes in life, and in chess, you must take one step back to take two steps forward.” — IM Levy Rozman, GothamChess So much, much, much better to be an incurable optimist than deceitful and untrustworthy. “Don’t blow your own trumpet.” — Australian Proverb Old Russian Proverb: "Scythe over a stone." (Нашла коса на камень.) The force came over a stronger force. “Continuing to play the victim is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Blaming others for your station in life will indeed make you a victim but the perpetrator will be your own self, not life or those around you.” — Bobby Darnell <“Sestrilla, hafelina Jue amourasestrilla Awou jue selaviena En patre jue Translation: Beloved one, little cat I love you for all time In this time And all others” ― Christine Feehan> <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’.> “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 <Q: How do poets say hello? A: "Hey, haven’t we metaphor?" Thank you Qindarka! Q: What do you call a cow jumping on a trampoline? A: A milkshake.> The Words Of Socrates A house was built by Socrates That failed the public taste to please. Some blamed the inside; some, the out; and all Agreed that the apartments were too small. Such rooms for him, the greatest sage of Greece! "I ask," said he, "no greater bliss Than real friends to fill even this." And reason had good Socrates To think his house too large for these. A crowd to be your friends will claim, Till some unhandsome test you bring. There's nothing plentier than the name; There's nothing rarer than the thing. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER <Shakespearean Puns Perhaps no writer is better known for the use of puns than William Shakespeare. He plays with "tide" and "tied" in Two Gentlemen of Verona: "Panthino Away, ass! You'll lose the tide if you tarry any longer. Launce It is no matter if the tied were lost; for it is the unkindest tied that ever any man tied. Panthino What's the unkindest tide? Launce Why, he that's tied here, Crab, my dog." In the opening of Richard III, the sun refers to the blazing sun on Edward IV's banner and the fact that he is the son of the Duke of York: "Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York." In this line from Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays on the different meanings of heavy (which also means sad) and light: "Give me a torch: I am not for this ambling; Being but heavy I will bear the light." Later in Romeo and Juliet, a morbid pun comes from a fatally-stabbed Mercutio, where grave means serious, but also alludes to his imminent death: "Ask for me tomorrow, you shall find me a grave man." If you open any Shakesperean play, you're likely to find at least one pun on the page! Keep an eye out for a clever play on words example the next time you read Hamlet or watch As You Like It on the stage.> Dec-12-16 DrGridlock: Q: When is a pin not a pin? A: When the piece is: (i) not pinned to the king and (ii) in moving the piece threatens either mate or greater material gain than what it was pinned to. (iii) in moving the piece now defends the unit it was pinned to, such as Nf3xd4 and protects the Be2 that was behind the knight. <The Chess Player by Howard Altmann They’ve left. They’ve all left. The pigeon feeders have left. The old men on the benches have left. The white-gloved ladies with the Great Danes have left. The lovers who thought about coming have left. The man in the three-piece suit has left. The man who was a three-piece band has left. The man on the milkcrate with the bible has left. Even the birds have left. Now the trees are thinking about leaving too. And the grass is trying to turn itself in. Of course the buses no longer pass. And the children no longer ask. The air wants to go and is in discussions. The clouds are trying to steer clear. The sky is reaching for its hands. Even the moon sees what’s going on. But the stars remain in the dark. As does the chess player. Who sits with all his pieces In position.> Zdravko or Zurab Showing respect to someone can be done in many ways. Here are some tips on how to show respect to others: Listen actively to other people and offer assistance, acknowledge their achievements, and empathize with their opinions. Disagree politely, apologize when you’re in the wrong, and follow through on your promises to build a positive connection with others. Show self-respect by treating yourself with compassion and avoiding self-destructive behaviors. Practice active listening to show you respect others. Watch and be quiet when someone else is talking, and spend time thinking about what they’re saying. Nod your head and ask follow-up questions to stay engaged in the conversation. Affirm people’s opinions. Let them know that they matter. When you’re talking to someone, reinforce and validate their opinions in your own words. Empathize with different perspectives. You might not understand it, but you can respect it. If you’re talking with someone and you disagree on something, don’t take it personally. Try to remember that everyone has a different background, and the person you’re talking to has their own reasons for thinking whatever they think. “Learn to play many roles, to be whatever the moment requires. Adapt your mask to the situation.” ― Robert Greene “Get a great education. That is something that no one can take away from you." ― Margie Hammargren, former CIA agent, 101 years old Why is England the wettest country? Because the queen reigned there for decades. Head And Tail Riddle Question: What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs? A brown trout? Riddle Answer: A Penny. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:9, 10. Conceive a man by nature and misfortune prone to a pallid hopelessness, can any business seem more fitted to heighten it than that of continually handling these dead letters and assorting them for the flames? For by the cart-load they are annually burned. Sometimes from out the folded paper the pale clerk takes a ring: - the finger it was meant for, perhaps, moulders in the grave; a bank-note sent in swiftest charity: - he whom it would relieve, nor eats nor hungers any more; pardon for those who died despairing; hope for those who died unhoping; good tidings for those who died stifled by unrelieved calamities. On errands of life, these letters speed to death. Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity! — Herman Melville “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ― Thomas A. Edison “Learning from our mistakes is critical for improving, but even I don't have patience for ranking my regrets. Regret is a negative emotion that inhibits the optimism required to take on new challenges. You risk living in an alternative universe, z where if only you had done this or that differently, things would be better. That's a poor substitute for making your actual life better, or improving the lives of others. Regret briefly, analyze and understand, and then move on, improving the only life you have.” ― Garry Kasparov You know there's no official training for trash collectors? They just pick things up as they go along. <Luke 8:16-18 New King James Version The Parable of the Revealed Light Jesus said: 16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”> “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” — Aristotle “A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior — mentally or otherwise.” — Captain Kirk “Now, I don’t pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead are worth living for!” — Edith Keeler “Live long and prosper!” — Spock “The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” — Charles Dickens Calories 160 Zardus Szalanczy &Perez butz bach When you die, what part of the body dies last? The pupils… they dilate. 29 games, 1851-2011 20 Something Who's counting? Most of Paul Morphy's games of any length in the King's Gambit are toward the bottom of this list below the games that lasted 29 moves. Other KG games that generally lasted 25-30 moves are also included. The Cock and the Fox On a tree there mounted guard A veteran cock, adroit and cunning; When to the roots a fox up running, Spoke thus, in tones of kind regard: "Our quarrel, brother, "s at an end; Henceforth I hope to live your friend; For peace now reigns Throughout the animal domains. I bear the news: come down, I pray, And give me the embrace fraternal; And please, my brother, don't delay. So much the tidings do concern all, That I must spread them far today. Now you and yours can take your walks Without a fear or thought of hawks. And should you clash with them or others, In us you'll find the best of brothers; – For which you may, this joyful night, Your merry bonfires light. But, first, let's seal the bliss With one fraternal kiss." "Good friend," the cock replied, "on my word, A better thing I never heard; And doubly I rejoice To hear it from your voice; And, really there must be something in it, For yonder come two greyhounds, which I flatter Myself are couriers on this very matter. They come so fast, they'll be here in a minute. I'll down, and all of us will seal the blessing With general kissing and caressing." "Adieu," said fox; "my errand's pressing; I'll hurry on my way, And we'll rejoice some other day." So off the fellow scampered, quick and light, To gain the fox-holes of a neighbouring height, Less happy in his stratagem than flight. The cock laughed sweetly in his sleeve; – It's doubly sweet deceiver to deceive. Question: What is considered the first reality TV show? Answer: The Real World Question: Who was Russia's first elected president? Answer: Boris Yeltsin the limerick. Here is one from page 25 of the Chess Amateur, October 1907: A solver, who lived at Devizes, Had won a great number of prizes – A dual or cook, He’d detect at a look, And his head swelled up several sizes. “Chess is the gymnasium of the mind.” — Blasie Pascal “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. In God we trust; all others pay cash. ~ American Proverb Trusting in wealth is like looking for feathers on turtles. ~ Senegalese Proverb This poem is dedicated to all members who strive to become Masters of chess. yakisoba's combination in the middle of a cold Canadian winter night a phantom creature was riding a stallion knight but lo and behold it is the man called yakisoba together with a bishop and queen chasing nova. though the old bishop was getting pooped out the merry queen in her glory was bouncing about while riding hard yakisoba grinningly thought "I know what to do with that nova when caught." there on top of the castle was nova in hiding strapped to a kite for a quick get-away gliding, then trembling he realized to his consternation: he was being killed by the bishop-queen combination. * Weird is what you're not used to: https://chessentials.com/weird-ches... limerick, entitled ‘The Solver’s Plight’ was by ‘A.J.F.’ [A.J. Fink] and was published on page 22 of Chess Potpourri by Alfred C. Klahre (Middletown, 1931): There was a man from Vancouver Who tried to solve a two-mover; But the boob, he said, ‘“Gee”, I can’t find the “Kee”, No matter HOW I manouvre.’ The Bear and the Amateur Gardener A certain mountain bear, unlicked and rude, By fate confined within a lonely wood, A new Bellerophon, whose life, Knew neither comrade, friend, nor wife, – Became insane; for reason, as we term it, Dwells never long with any hermit. It's good to mix in good society, Obeying rules of due propriety; And better yet to be alone; But both are ills when overdone. No animal had business where All grimly dwelt our hermit bear; Hence, bearish as he was, he grew Heart-sick, and longed for something new. While he to sadness was addicted, An aged man, not far from there, Was by the same disease afflicted. A garden was his favourite care, – Sweet Flora's priesthood, light and fair, And eke Pomona's – ripe and red The presents that her fingers shed. These two employments, true, are sweet When made so by some friend discreet. The gardens, gaily as they look, Talk not, (except in this my book;) So, tiring of the deaf and dumb, Our man one morning left his home Some company to seek, That had the power to speak. – The bear, with thoughts the same, Down from his mountain came; And in a solitary place, They met each other, face to face. It would have made the boldest tremble; What did our man? To play the Gascon The safest seemed. He put the mask on, His fear contriving to dissemble. The bear, unused to compliment, Growled bluntly, but with good intent, "Come home with me." The man replied: "Sir Bear, my lodgings, nearer by, In yonder garden you may spy, Where, if you'll honour me the while, We'll break our fast in rural style. I have fruits and milk, – unworthy fare, It may be, for a wealthy bear; But then I offer what I have." The bear accepts, with visage grave, But not unpleased; and on their way, They grow familiar, friendly, gay. Arrived, you see them, side by side, As if their friendship had been tried. To a companion so absurd, Blank solitude were well preferred, Yet, as the bear scarce spoke a word, The man was left quite at his leisure To trim his garden at his pleasure. Sir Bruin hunted – always brought His friend whatever game he caught; But chiefly aimed at driving flies – Those hold and shameless parasites, That vex us with their ceaseless bites – From off our gardener's face and eyes. One day, while, stretched on the ground The old man lay, in sleep profound, A fly that buzz'd around his nose, – And bit it sometimes, I suppose, – Put Bruin sadly to his trumps. At last, determined, up he jumps; "I'll stop your noisy buzzing now," Says he; "I know precisely how." No sooner said than done. He seized a paving-stone; And by his modus operandi Did both the fly and man die. A foolish friend may cause more woe Than could, indeed, the wisest foe. They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind. ― Scottish Proverb Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 'Finders keepers, losers weepers' No, turn it over to Lost and Found. 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) The Cock and the Pearl A cock scratched up, one day, A pearl of purest ray, Which to a jeweller he bore. "I think it fine," he said, "But yet a crumb of bread To me were worth a great deal more." So did a dunce inherit A manuscript of merit, Which to a publisher he bore. "It's good," said he, "I'm told, Yet any coin of gold To me were worth a great deal more." Lichess has all the same basic offerings as Chess.com: a large community, many game types, tutorials, puzzles, and livestreams. The site has a simple appearance, and it seems built to get you where you want to go in as few clicks as possible. You can create an account, but if you’re not concerned with tracking your games and finding other players at your level, there’s no need to log in. Just fire up a new game, try some puzzles, or watch a chess streamer play three-minute games while listening to techno and chatting with the comments section. The City Rat and the Country Rat A city rat, one night, Did, with a civil stoop, A country rat invite To end a turtle soup. On a Turkey carpet They found the table spread, And sure I need not harp it How well the fellows fed. The entertainment was A truly noble one; But some unlucky cause Disturbed it when begun. It was a slight rat-tat, That put their joys to rout; Out ran the city rat; His guest, too, scampered out. Our rats but fairly quit, The fearful knocking ceased. "Return we," cried the cit, To finish there our feast. "No," said the rustic rat; "Tomorrow dine with me. I'm not offended at Your feast so grand and free, – "For I have no fare resembling; But then I eat at leisure, And would not swap, for pleasure So mixed with fear and trembling." <Atterdag: Geoff - are you a descendant of Wordsworth?: There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, The earth, and every common sight, To me did seem Apparell'd in celestial light, The glory and the freshness of a dream. It is not now as it hath been of yore;— Turn wheresoe'er I may, By night or day, The things which I have seen I now can see no more. :-) Sally Simpson: Hi Atterdag, This is my tribute to Wordsworth. (Daffodils.) I wandered lonely as a pawn, o'er a field coloured brown and cream, When suddenly I ran out of squares and discovered I was now a Queen.> “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 Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. Isolated pawns require a very expensive therapy, for keeping them alive. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, approximately 3000 miles (4850 km) in diameter, hardly larger than the moon. Despite being the smallest, it’s extremely dense. In fact, it’s the second densest planet after Earth. It’s also the closest planet to the sun, making it dangerous to explore. Mercury is 48 million miles from the earth. 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 Z is for Zipper (to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) Zipper starts with letter Z, Letter Z, letter Z, Zipper starts with Letter Z, /z/, /z/, /z/, /z/! umf 500 games, 1497-2017 20th Century Highlights (Burgess) by Qindarka 'Chess Highlights of the 20th Century: The Best Chess 1900-1999 in Historical Context' by Graham Burgess. "The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games" (1998) “It doesn’t matter how strong a player you are, if you fail to register some development in the opening, then you are asking for trouble.” — John Emms “If you want everyone to believe that you really did play a fantastic combination, be sure to play it in a tournament game.” — Graham Burgess on Adams-Torre, 1920 “Knowing which pieces you want exchanged is a great help in finding the right moves.” — Graham Burgess “Stay flexible. Be ready to transform advantages from one type to another.” — John Nunn Jose Capablanca, "Chess Fundamentals" (1921) “A book cannot by itself teach how to play. It can only serve as a guide, and the rest must be learned by experience.” — Jose Capablanca “In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else. For whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and opening must be studied in relation to the end game.” — Jose Capablanca Richard Reti, "Modern Ideas in Chess" (1923) “In chess, we get a fighting game which is purely intellectual and excludes chance.” Indeed, this is what draws some of us to chess! — Richard Reti “[Wilhelm] Steinitz in his scheme of play endeavored, contrary to [Paul] Morphy, to bring about a close[d] game.” — Richard Reti “[Harry] Pillsbury in his play was a true American. His games ... show astonishingly big lines in their undertakings and have a refreshing effect upon the onlooker through the energy in their execution.” — Richard Reti “He is the greatest artist amongst chess players.” — Richard Reti, on Akiba Rubinstein “There never occurs in practice either quite an open or quite a close position, but that we get a position containing open and close elements.” — Richard Reti “After the world war, chess and the revival of chess tournaments have made a bridge for intercourse between erstwhile hostile nations and have thus done their part towards international reconciliation more quickly than science or art could do.” — Richard Reti Alexander Kotov, "Think Like a Grandmaster" (1970) “Only a severe self-critical outlook will help a player to assess his strong and weak points and so further the process of improving his play.” — Alexander Kotov “Once there is the slightest suggestion of combinational possibilities on the board, look for unusual moves. Apart from making your play creative and interesting, it will help you get better results.” — Alexander Kotov On the World Champions “He went out of his way to provoke the opponent to attack, and, reeking of contempt and crusader's zeal, devoted himself to consolidating some of the most hideously unconsolidated positions ever seen on a chessboard.” — Robert Byrne on Wilhelm Steinitz “It is no easy matter to reply correctly to [Emanuel] Lasker's bad moves.” — W.H.K. Pollock “The greatest compliment one can pay a master is to compare him with [Jose] Capablanca.” — Irving Chernev “It was impossible to win against Capablanca; against [Alexander] Alekhine it was impossible to play.” — Paul Keres “When Max Euwe of the Netherlands won the world title in 1935 and kept going in a glorious career, that country became a beehive of chess and it still is.” — Robert Byrne “[Mikhail] Botvinnik was a virtuoso of counterattack and so was adept at winning with black. He also constructed fascinating opening systems.” — Robert Byrne “The peculiarity of his style is that only rarely does he make moves which no one else would make.” — Max Euwe on Vassily Smyslov “For inspiration, I look to those great players who consistently found original ways to shock their opponents. None did this better than the eighth world champion, Mikhail Tal.” — Garry Kasparov “When his opponent forces him into wild play, his performance is stunning.” — Robert Byrne on Tigran Petrosian “He was the first really versatile player. I like his extensive and comprehensive play very much.” — Vladimir Kramnik on Boris Spassky “When having an edge, [Anatoly] Karpov often marked time and still gained the advantage! I don't know anyone else who could do that, it's incredible.” — Vladimir Kramnik “Really deep opening research has been a hallmark of [Garry] Kasparov’s domination of world chess. He does not just try to find new moves, but whole new plans and strategies.” — Graham Burgess “I don’t know exactly how many lines he’s established, but you get the impression that for the last 10 years we’ve only been using his ideas.” — Viswanathan Anand on Vladimir Kramnik “Vishy Anand is the most versatile world chess champion. After all, he won world championships in classical matches, knockouts, rapids and blitz and dominated the advanced chess in which players are able to consult the computers.” — Lubomir Kavalek “Magnus [Carlsen] has many good qualities... he is very versatile and he can play a lot of positions at a very high level. He's also very flexible. And he has this amazing talent for grinding on, as you say. So that combination I was unable to deal with.” — Viswanathan Anand after the 2013 World Championship On Bobby Fischer “What I admired most about him (Bobby Fischer) was his ability to make what was in fact so difficult look easy to us. I try to emulate him.” — Magnus Carlsen “I feel this man (Bobby Fischer) had to be the World Champion and nothing would stop him. It was a foregone conclusion. His career took a rather roundabout course but everything was already mapped out!” — Vladimir Kramnik “Fischer...is abnormally sensitive to the slightest noise in the hall...Then there are other players, among them Spassky, [Viktor] Korchnoi, and myself. For us, it is simply boring to play in an empty hall. When we appear on the stage, we are artistes.” — Mikhail Tal “Towering genius, riches, international fame and a far from normal childhood might be too heady a mix for anyone to handle. For him (Bobby Fischer) they proved fatal.” — Dick Cavett Chess in Literature, Film And Television “Amberley excelled at chess—one mark, Watson, of a scheming mind.” — Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Retired Colonelman" (1926) “Y'all can't be playing no checkers on no chessboard!” — The Wire, Season 1, Episode 3: "The Buys." “It's a game, like Monopoly.” — Josh Waitzkin, played by Max Pomeranc, in Searching for Bobby Fischer “Sorry Dave, I think you missed it.” — HAL 9000, voiced by Douglas Rain, in 2001: A Space Odyssey. HAL's two-move mating combination is not forced, but Dave believes it and resigns the game anyway. Annotations from the old Chessmaster series of computer games speculate that 2001 director Stanley Kubrick is foreshadowing HAL's mental decline with this scene. Time Management “When you play chess the idea is to make good moves, not quick ones!” — Jeremy Silman “Come on. C'mon Vishy, make a move!” — Maurice Ashley commentating during a 1995 Armageddon game in which Viswanathan Anand took nearly two minutes (out of five allotted) on his fourth move. Note, however, that Anand eventually won the game--taking your time to make sure you know what you are doing, even in blitz, can sometimes work out! Practicality “If winning, clarify; if losing, complicate.” — Bruce Pandolfini “Don't resign unless you are really sure the position is hopeless.” — John Nunn “Take care in ‘dead drawn’ positions; it only takes a few errors for the position to be ‘dead’ rather than ‘drawn’.” — John Nunn Life Lessons “We learn the most from our aches. The 2008 World Championship loss to Vishy was one of my greatest lessons.” — Vladimir Kramnik “I came through a system myself and it's my moral duty to give back to the community. What better way than working with a bunch of chess-crazy kids.” — Vladimir Kramnik “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 change, and that of persevering in the search of resources.” — Benjamin Franklin Miscellany “Pawns; they are the soul of chess: it is they alone that determine the attack and the defence, and the winning or losing of the game depends entirely on their good or bad arrangement.” — François-André Danican Philidor “Chess never has been and never can be aught but a recreation. It should not be indulged into the detriment of other and more serious avocations.” — Paul Morphy in 1859 “I feel sorry for players who are always lying awake at night, brooding over their games.” — Magnus Carlsen in 2010 “In chess, bigamy is acceptable but monarchy is absolute.” — Garry Kasparov “When you see a good move, look for a better one.” — Emanuel Lasker “When one of us first plays chess, he is like a man who has already caught a dose of microbes...Such a man walks along the street, and he does not yet know that he is ill. He is healthy, he feels fine, but the microbes are doing their work.” — Mikhail Tal “At our club, when you lose with a blunder that instantly illuminates the virtues of assisted suicide, we have a cure ... A new game, right away.” — Charles Krauthammer “Chess is not a game for dictators for numerous reasons. One, it’s transparent. It’s all information hundred percent available.” — Garry Kasparov “Even a poor plan is better than no plan at all.” — Mikhail Chigorin "I always loved complexity. With chess, one creates beautiful problems." — Marcel Duchamp “Chess is a game by its form, an art by its content and a science by the difficulty of gaining mastery in it.” — Tigran Petrosian I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils I entered ten puns in our contest to see which would win. No pun in ten did. “Above the clouds I lift my wing To hear the bells of Heaven ring; Some of their music, though my fights be wild, To Earth I bring; Then let me soar and sing!” ― Edmund Clarence Stedman Feb-13-11 keypusher: <scutigera: They give this as one of Myagmarsuren's notable games with 162 others in the database?> notable games are selected based on how many games collections they are in. The Road Not Taken Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. “Life is fun. It’s all up to the person. Be satisfied. You don’t have to be ‘happy’ all the time, you need to be satisfied.” — Lucille Boston Lewis, eternal optimist 101 years old “A man either lives life as it happens to him, meets it head-on and licks it, or he turns his back on it and starts to wither away.” — Dr. Boyce “Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” — George Adair “He who imagines himself capable should attempt to perform. Neither originality counts, nor criticism of another’s work. It is not courage, nor self-confidence, nor a sense of superiority that tells. Performance alone is the test.” — Emanuel Lasker “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” ― Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, and former U.S. Army Colonel The Deserted Village BY OLIVER GOLDSMITH (1730-1774) Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain, Where health and plenty cheared the labouring swain, Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid, And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed, Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease, Seats of my youth, when every sport could please, How often have I loitered o'er thy green, Where humble happiness endeared each scene! How often have I paused on every charm, The sheltered cot, the cultivated farm, The never-failing brook, the busy mill, The decent church that topt the neighbouring hill, The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade, For talking age and whispering lovers made! How often have I blest the coming day, When toil remitting lent its turn to play, And all the village train, from labour free, Led up their sports beneath the spreading tree, While many a pastime circled in the shade, The young contending as the old surveyed; And many a gambol frolicked o'er the ground, And slights of art and feats of strength went round; And still as each repeated pleasure tired, Succeeding sports the mirthful band inspired; The dancing pair that simply sought renown By holding out to tire each other down; The swain mistrustless of his smutted face, While secret laughter tittered round the place; The bashful virgin's side-long looks of love, The matron's glance that would those looks reprove! These were thy charms, sweet village; sports like these, With sweet succession, taught even toil to please; These round thy bowers their chearful influence shed, These were thy charms—But all these charms are fled. Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn, Thy sports are fled, and all thy charms withdrawn; Amidst thy bowers the tyrant's hand is seen, And desolation saddens all thy green: One only master grasps the whole domain, And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain; No more thy glassy brook reflects the day, But, choaked with sedges, works its weedy way; Along thy glades, a solitary guest, The hollow-sounding bittern guards its nest; Amidst thy desert walks the lapwing flies, And tires their echoes with unvaried cries. Sunk are thy bowers, in shapeless ruin all, And the long grass o'ertops the mouldering wall; And, trembling, shrinking from the spoiler's hand, Far, far away, thy children leave the land. Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay: Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade; A breath can make them, as a breath has made; But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, When once destroyed, can never be supplied. A time there was, ere England's griefs began, When every rood of ground maintained its man; For him light labour spread her wholesome store, Just gave what life required, but gave no more: His best companions, innocence and health; And his best riches, ignorance of wealth. But times are altered; trade's unfeeling train Usurp the land and dispossess the swain; Along the lawn, where scattered hamlets rose, Unwieldy wealth and cumbrous pomp repose; And every want to oppulence allied, And every pang that folly pays to pride. Those gentle hours that plenty bade to bloom, Those calm desires that asked but little room, Those healthful sports that graced the peaceful scene, Lived in each look, and brightened all the green; These, far departing seek a kinder shore, And rural mirth and manners are no more. Sweet Auburn! parent of the blissful hour, Thy glades forlorn confess the tyrant's power. Here as I take my solitary rounds, Amidst thy tangling walks, and ruined grounds, And, many a year elapsed, return to view Where once the cottage stood, the hawthorn grew, Remembrance wakes with all her busy train, Swells at my breast, and turns the past to pain. In all my wanderings round this world of care, In all my griefs—and God has given my share— I still had hopes, my latest hours to crown, Amidst these humble bowers to lay me down; To husband out life's taper at the close, And keep the flame from wasting by repose. I still had hopes, for pride attends us still, Amidst the swains to shew my book-learned skill, Around my fire an evening groupe to draw, And tell of all I felt, and all I saw; And, as an hare whom hounds and horns pursue, Pants to the place from whence at first she flew, I still had hopes, my long vexations past, Here to return—and die at home at last. O blest retirement, friend to life's decline, Retreats from care that never must be mine, How happy he who crowns, in shades like these A youth of labour with an age of ease; Who quits a world where strong temptations try, And, since 'tis hard to combat, learns to fly! For him no wretches, born to work and weep, Explore the mine, or tempt the dangerous deep; No surly porter stands in guilty state To spurn imploring famine from the gate, But on he moves to meet his latter end, Angels around befriending virtue's friend; Bends to the grave with unperceived decay, While resignation gently slopes the way; And, all his prospects brightening to the last, His Heaven commences ere the world be past! Sweet was the sound, when oft at evening's close, Up yonder hill the village murmur rose; There, as I past with careless steps and slow, The mingling notes came soften'd from below; The swain responsive as the milk-maid sung, The sober herd that lowed to meet their young, The noisy geese that gabbled o'er the pool, The playful children just let loose from school, The watch-dog's voice that bayed the whispering wind, And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind, These all in sweet confusion sought the shade, And filled each pause the nightingale had made. But now the sounds of population fail, No cheerful murmurs fluctuate in the gale, No busy steps the grass-grown foot-way tread, For all the bloomy flush of life is fled. All but yon widowed, solitary thing That feebly bends beside the plashy spring; She, wretched matron, forced in age, for bread, To strip the brook with mantling cresses spread, To pick her wintry faggot from the thorn, To seek her nightly shed, and weep till morn; She only left of all the harmless train, The sad historian of the pensive plain. Near yonder copse, where once the garden smiled, And still where many a garden-flower grows wild; There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose, The village preacher's modest mansion rose. A man he was, to all the country dear, And passing rich with forty pounds a year; Remote from towns he ran his godly race, Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change his place; Unpractised he to fawn, or seek for power, By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour; Far other aims his heart had learned to prize, More skilled to raise the wretched than to rise. His house was known to all the vagrant train, He chid their wanderings but relieved their pain; The long-remembered beggar was his guest, Whose beard descending swept his aged breast; The ruined spendthrift, now no longer proud, Claim'd kindred there, and had his claims allowed; The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay, Sate by his fire, and talked the night away; Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done, Shouldered his crutch, and shewed how fields were won. Pleased with his guests, the good man learned to glow, And quite forgot their vices in their woe; Careless their merits, or their faults to scan, His pity gave ere charity began. Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, And even his failings leaned to Virtue's side; But in his duty prompt at every call, He watched and wept, he prayed and felt, for all. And, as a bird each fond endearment tries, To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies; He tried each art, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way. Beside the bed where parting life was layed, And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns, dismayed The reverend champion stood. At his control Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul; Comfort came down the trembling wretch to raise, And his last faltering accents whispered praise. At church, with meek and unaffected grace, His looks adorned the venerable place; Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray. The service past, around the pious man, With steady zeal, each honest rustic ran; Even children followed, with endearing wile, And plucked his gown, to share the good man's smile. His ready smile a parent's warmth exprest, Their welfare pleased him, and their cares distrest: To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given, But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven. As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form, Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm, Tho' round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, Eternal sunshine settles on its head. Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way, With blossomed furze unprofitably gay, There, in his noisy mansion, skill'd to rule, The village master taught his little school; A man severe he was, and stern to view, I knew him well, and every truant knew; Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace The day's disasters in his morning face; Full well they laughed, with counterfeited glee, At all his jokes, for many a joke had he: Full well the busy whisper circling round, Conveyed the dismal tidings when he frowned; Yet he was kind, or if severe in aught, The love he bore to learning was in fault; The village all declared how much he knew; 'Twas certain he could write, and cypher too; Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage, And ev'n the story ran that he could gauge. In arguing too, the parson owned his skill, For even tho' vanquished, he could argue still; While words of learned length and thundering sound, Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around; And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew. But past is all his fame. The very spot Where many a time he triumphed, is forgot. Near yonder thorn, that lifts its head on high, Where once the sign-post caught the passing eye, Low lies that house where nut-brown draughts inspired, Where grey-beard mirth and smiling toil retired, Where village statesmen talked with looks profound, And news much older than their ale went round. Imagination fondly stoops to trace The parlour splendours of that festive place; The white-washed wall, the nicely sanded floor, The varnished clock that clicked behind the door; The chest contrived a double debt to pay, A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day; The pictures placed for ornament and use, The twelve good rules, the royal game of goose; The hearth, except when winter chill'd the day, With aspen boughs, and flowers, and fennel gay; While broken tea-cups, wisely kept for shew, Ranged o'er the chimney, glistened in a row. Vain transitory splendours! Could not all Reprieve the tottering mansion from its fall! Obscure it sinks, nor shall it more impart An hour's importance to the poor man's heart; Thither no more the peasant shall repair To sweet oblivion of his daily care; No more the farmer's news, the barber's tale, No more the woodman's ballad shall prevail; No more the smith his dusky brow shall clear, Relax his ponderous strength, and lean to hear; The host himself no longer shall be found Careful to see the mantling bliss go round; Nor the coy maid, half willing to be prest, Shall kiss the cup to pass it to the rest. Yes! let the rich deride, the proud disdain, These simple blessings of the lowly train; To me more dear, congenial to my heart, One native charm, than all the gloss of art; Spontaneous joys, where Nature has its play, The soul adopts, and owns their first-born sway; Lightly they frolic o'er the vacant mind, Unenvied, unmolested, unconfined. But the long pomp, the midnight masquerade, With all the freaks of wanton wealth arrayed, In these, ere triflers half their wish obtain, The toiling pleasure sickens into pain; And, even while fashion's brightest arts decoy, The heart distrusting asks, if this be joy. Ye friends to truth, ye statesmen who survey The rich man's joys encrease, the poor's decay, 'Tis yours to judge, how wide the limits stand Between a splendid and a happy land. Proud swells the tide with loads of freighted ore, And shouting Folly hails them from her shore; Hoards even beyond the miser's wish abound, And rich men flock from all the world around. Yet count our gains. This wealth is but a name That leaves our useful products still the same. Not so the loss. The man of wealth and pride Takes up a space that many poor supplied; Space for his lake, his park's extended bounds, Space for his horses, equipage, and hounds: The robe that wraps his limbs in silken sloth, Has robbed the neighbouring fields of half their growth; His seat, where solitary sports are seen, Indignant spurns the cottage from the green: Around the world each needful product flies, For all the luxuries the world supplies. While thus the land adorned for pleasure, all In barren splendour feebly waits the fall. As some fair female unadorned and plain, Secure to please while youth confirms her reign, Slights every borrowed charm that dress supplies, Nor shares with art the triumph of her eyes. But when those charms are past, for charms are frail, When time advances, and when lovers fail, She then shines forth, solicitous to bless, In all the glaring impotence of dress. Thus fares the land, by luxury betrayed: In nature's simplest charms at first arrayed; But verging to decline, its splendours rise, Its vistas strike, its palaces surprize; While, scourged by famine from the smiling land, The mournful peasant leads his humble band; And while he sinks, without one arm to save, The country blooms—a garden, and a grave. Where then, ah where, shall poverty reside, To scape the pressure of contiguous pride? If to some common's fenceless limits strayed, He drives his flock to pick the scanty blade, Those fenceless fields the sons of wealth divide, And ev'n the bare-worn common is denied. If to the city sped—What waits him there? To see profusion that he must not share; To see ten thousand baneful arts combined To pamper luxury, and thin mankind; To see those joys the sons of pleasure know, Extorted from his fellow-creature's woe. Here while the courtier glitters in brocade, There the pale artist plies the sickly trade; Here while the proud their long-drawn pomps display, There the black gibbet glooms beside the way. The dome where Pleasure holds her midnight reign, Here, richly deckt, admits the gorgeous train; Tumultuous grandeur crowds the blazing square, The rattling chariots clash, the torches glare. Sure scenes like these no troubles e'er annoy! Sure these denote one universal joy! Are these thy serious thoughts?—Ah, turn thine eyes Where the poor houseless shivering female lies. She once, perhaps, in village plenty blest, Has wept at tales of innocence distrest; Her modest looks the cottage might adorn Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn: Now lost to all; her friends, her virtue fled, Near her betrayer's door she lays her head, And, pinch'd with cold, and shrinking from the shower, With heavy heart deplores that luckless hour When idly first, ambitious of the town, She left her wheel and robes of country brown. Do thine, sweet Auburn, thine, the loveliest train, Do thy fair tribes participate her pain? Even now, perhaps, by cold and hunger led, At proud men's doors they ask a little bread! Ah, no. To distant climes, a dreary scene, Where half the convex world intrudes between, Through torrid tracts with fainting steps they go, Where wild Altama murmurs to their woe. Far different there from all that charm'd before, The various terrors of that horrid shore; Those blazing suns that dart a downward ray, And fiercely shed intolerable day; Those matted woods where birds forget to sing, But silent bats in drowsy clusters cling; Those poisonous fields with rank luxuriance crowned, Where the dark scorpion gathers death around; Where at each step the stranger fears to wake The rattling terrors of the vengeful snake; Where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey, And savage men, more murderous still than they; While oft in whirls the mad tornado flies, Mingling the ravaged landscape with the skies. Far different these from every former scene, The cooling brook, the grassy vested green, The breezy covert of the warbling grove, That only shelter'd thefts of harmless love. Good Heaven! what sorrows gloom'd that parting day, That called them from their native walks away; When the poor exiles, every pleasure past, Hung round their bowers, and fondly looked their last, And took a long farewell, and wished in vain For seats like these beyond the western main; And shuddering still to face the distant deep, Returned and wept, and still returned to weep. The good old sire the first prepared to go To new found worlds, and wept for others woe. But for himself, in conscious virtue brave, He only wished for worlds beyond the grave. His lovely daughter, lovelier in her tears, The fond companion of his helpless years, Silent went next, neglectful of her charms, And left a lover's for a father's arms. With louder plaints the mother spoke her woes, And blessed the cot where every pleasure rose; And kist her thoughtless babes with many a tear, And claspt them close, in sorrow doubly dear; Whilst her fond husband strove to lend relief In all the silent manliness of grief. O luxury! thou curst by Heaven's decree, How ill exchanged are things like these for thee! How do thy potions, with insidious joy, Diffuse their pleasures only to destroy! Kingdoms, by thee, to sickly greatness grown, Boast of a florid vigour not their own; At every draught more large and large they grow, A bloated mass of rank unwieldy woe; Till sapped their strength, and every part unsound, Down, down they sink, and spread a ruin round. Even now the devastation is begun, And half the business of destruction done; Even now, methinks, as pondering here I stand, I see the rural virtues leave the land: Down where yon anchoring vessel spreads the sail, That idly waiting flaps with every gale, Downward they move, a melancholy band, Pass from the shore, and darken all the strand. Contented toil, and hospitable care, And kind connubial tenderness, are there; And piety with wishes placed above, And steady loyalty, and faithful love. And thou, sweet Poetry, thou loveliest maid, Still first to fly where sensual joys invade; Unfit in these degenerate times of shame, To catch the heart, or strike for honest fame; Dear charming nymph, neglected and decried, My shame in crowds, my solitary pride; Thou source of all my bliss, and all my woe, That found'st me poor at first, and keep'st me so; Thou guide by which the nobler arts excell, Thou nurse of every virtue, fare thee well! Farewell, and O where'er thy voice be tried, On Torno's cliffs, or Pambamarca's side, Whether were equinoctial fervours glow, Or winter wraps the polar world in snow, Still let thy voice, prevailing over time, Redress the rigours of the inclement clime; Aid slighted truth with thy persuasive strain, Teach erring man to spurn the rage of gain; Teach him, that states of native strength possest, Tho' very poor, may still be very blest; That trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay, As ocean sweeps the labour'd mole away; While self-dependent power can time defy, As rocks resist the billows and the sky. Banana peels have almost no friction. Banana peels have felled many cartoon characters, Mario Kart players, and average people alike. However, what makes it so slippery in the first place? To answer this, four Japanese scientists measured the amount of friction between a shoe, a banana skin, and the floor. Turns out, the friction coefficient was at an almost nonexistent 0.07 – walking with the banana peel was 6 times slippier than normal friction between a shoe and the floor. # 259 games, 1900-1999 21+ Too Fast French Kisses Oh what a day to remember. I was just about to munch on a tuna sandwich when I met her on the subway... “Winning is about commitment, discipline, hard work, dedication, determination, courage and sometimes even luck!” ― Susan Polgar “Every defeat is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes! Every victory is a confirmation of our hard work!” ― Susan Polgar “A chess player uses his/her knowledge to prepare for next game while a passionate coach prepares for next generation!” ― Susan Polgar * Black Defends: Game Collection: Opening repertoire black Franco-Indian Defense 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb3+ French Defense 1. e4 e6 French Defense (Advance Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 French Defense (Alekhine-Chatard Attack) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 French Defense (Burn Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 French Defense (Chigorin Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. Qe2 French Defense (Classical Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 French Defense (Exchange Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 French Defense (Extended Bishop Swap) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Bb5 French Defense (Franco-Benoni) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5 3. d5 French Defense (Guimard Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 French Defense (MacCutcheon Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 French Defense (Marshall Defense) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 c5 French Defense (Milner-Barry Gambit) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 French Defense (Reti) 1. e4 e6 2. b3 French Defense (Reversed Philidor) 1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. Be2 French Defense (Rubinstein Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 French Defense (Steinitz Attack) 1. e4 e6 2. e5 French Defense (Steinitz Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 French Defense (Tarrasch Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 French Defense (Two Knights Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 French Defense (Winawer Variation) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 French Defense (Winawer Variation-Poisoned Pawn) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 French Defense (Wing Gambit) 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e5 c5 4. b4 French Defence Gambits: Milner-Barry Gambit – C02 – 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bd7 8.Nc3 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 Nimzowitsch Gambit – C02 – 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Qg4 Alapin Gambit – C00 – 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Be3 Winawer, Alekhine (Maroczy) gambit - C15 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 Winawer, Alekhine gambit - C15 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 dxe4 5.a3 Bxc3+ Winawer, Alekhine gambit, Kan variation - C15 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 dxe4 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Nxc3 Nc6 Winawer, Alekhine gambit, Alatortsev variation - C15 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 dxe4 5.a3 Be7 6.Nxe4 Nf6 7.N2g3 O-O 8.Be2 Nc6 Diemer-Duhm Gambit - C00 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4 French: Wing gambit - C00 - 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4 * Gambits against the French Defense: Game Collection: alapin gambit -alapin diemer gambit + reti gam See FRENCH DEFENCE (Advance, Exchange, Schlechter,.. compiled by gambitfan Thank you Honza Cervenka. “I've played a number of interesting novelties lately. Mostly that's because I haven't got a clue what I am doing in the opening.” ― Nigel Short “When you see a good move – WAIT! – look for a better one.” ― Emanuel Lasker The Portuguese chess player and author Pedro Damiano (1480–1544) first wrote this in his book "Questo libro e da imparare giocare a scachi et de li partiti" published in Rome, Italy, in 1512. “Against Alekhine you never knew what to expect. Against Capablanca, you knew what to expect, but you couldn't prevent it!” ― George Thomas “Whereas Anderssen and Chigorin looked for accidental positions, Capablanca is guided by the logicality of strong positions. He values only that which is well-founded: solidity of position, pressure on a weak point, he does not trust the accidental, even if it be a problem-like mate, at the required moment he discovers and carries out subtle and far-sighted combinations...” ― Emanuel Lasker “Capablanca possessed an amazing ability to quickly see into a position and intuitively grasp its main features. His style, one of the purest, most crystal-clear in the entire history of chess, astonishes one with its logic.” ― Garry Kasparov “It's a short trip from the penthouse to the outhouse.” ― Paul Dietzel “Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” ― Francis Bacon “Discipline is wisdom and vice versa.” ― M. Scott Peck “The punishment of every disordered mind is its own disorder.” ― St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions “In chess, as in life, a man is his own most dangerous opponent.” — Vasily Smyslov (1921-2010), 7th World Chess Champion “For a period of ten years--between 1946 and 1956--Reshevsky was probably the best chessplayer in the world. I feel sure that had he played a match with Botvinnik during that time he would have won and been World Champion.” ― Bobby Fischer Question: What did clocks never have before 1577? Answer: Minute hands – it was eventually invented by Jost Burgi for, it is believed, Tycho Brahe, an astronomer who needed an accurate clock for stargazing. Question: What is the most frequently sold item at Walmart? Answer: Bananas – although Walmart never disclosed how many bananas they sell each year, the number has to be immense considering that over 200 million people shop in its stores worldwide every single week. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” ― Nora Ephr Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER “The Seven Social Sins are: Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle. From a sermon given by Frederick Lewis Donaldson in Westminster Abbey, London, on March 20, 1925.” ― Frederick Lewis Donaldson * Crafty Endgame Trainer: https://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-... A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, "Don Quixote" Old Russian Proverb: "Measure seven times, cut once. (Семь раз отмерь — один отрежь.)" Be careful before you do something that cannot be changed. “I'm 58 years old and I just went through 8 back surgeries. They started cutting on me in February 2009, and I was basically bed ridden for almost two years. I got a real dose of reality that if you don't have your health, you don't have anything.” — Hulk Hogan “Old habits die hard, especially for soldiers.” ― Jocelyn Murray, The Roman General: A Novel 'Don't shut the stable door after the horse has bolted' 'Don't throw good money after bad' 'Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater' <This poem is dedicated to all female chessplayers on Caissa's Web. Sweet Caissa Oh, Sweet Caissa, Goddess of chess in the name of this holistic game I pray Thee: bless my noble aim to render all my opponents lame in my holy quest for worldly fame, to be Supreme no more no less. In awe I heard this Sweet Caissa say "Daughter go forth and smite them all, stoutly charge your knight sitting tall while flying over the castle's wall to slay all men in your deadly call." Now in fear I hide and will no longer play.> “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 InkHarted wrote: Checkmate. I started off as an equal I have everything that they do my life was one and the same as my foe childish battles of lesser I won baring cost of a little but as time outgrew my conscience I found that the pieces were moving against me with time my company reduced they left one by one all in time forgetting me my castles collapsed my religion dissuaded my protectors in hiding I could not run anymore I have been cornered to a wall as the queen left silently without saying goodbye I could not live any longer she was most precious to me I could not win without her by my side so the king knelt down and died. “Everyone should know how to play chess.” — José Raúl Capablanca "We do not remember days, we remember moments." ― Cesare Pavese "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 'Ashes to ashes dust to dust Specific Game Example: Paul Keres vs Vladimir Petrov USSR Championship (1940), Moscow URS, rd 19, Oct-02 Keres vs Petrov, 1940 FIDE Master Valeri Lilov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ts... Self-Talk: "Was that move legal?" If so, write it down. "Where/what is my opponent aiming at now? How many times?" "Am I in check now? How can I be put in check on the next turn? How would I respond to check?" Checklist - Response to the King in Check - CBA: C) CAPTURE the checker, B) interpose BETWEEN (self-pin), * If a knight gives check, interposing between is not possible. A) fly AWAY to a safe square? * Double check requires the King to move out of both checks. "What can my opponent capture?" etc. etc. GM Lilov mentions counting the material as part of the evaluation process. Do be sure to count the number of attackers against the number of defenders where checks, captures, and pawn advances/promotions are threatened. Can more attackers be added? Can defenders be removed, obstructed, pinned, etc.? This forcing assessment is vital before every move. The value of the pieces involved, and the move order in which the pieces capture and re-capture also matters. In <tpstar's diagram above>, White has three attackers aiming at the g6-pawn, that is protected by only two defenders. However, the attackers are more valuable pieces, and the defenders are lowly pawns, so capturing on g6 with a White piece will lose material value even though White has Black outnumbered there. GM Lilov does mention the unprotected a2-pawn as a weakness. Thus, it had one attacker (the Black queen) and no defender. Then he shows that White has an adequate response to the ... Qxa2 capture by counterattacking. One must not be baited into capturing for free or material gain without knowing what will happen AFTER the capture is made. “Simply plans are best. Tactics will prevail.” ― C.J.S. Purdy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil... IM Zaur Tekeyev: https://thechessworld.com/articles/... More Tactics: https://www.chessjournal.com/chess-... To improve your chess, improve your tactics: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... Become a Predator at the Chessboard: https://www.chesstactics.org/introd... Fredthebear created this collection. It has been hacked. Endgames focus on creating and promoting a passed pawn, then checkmating with the new piece, usually a queen. Endgames have reoccurring patterns too, so study your endings! Your endgame knowledge will assist your ability to assess trades in the opening and middlegame, what appears to be an even exchange. One color or the other often benefits slightly more when an even exchange is made. If your opponent knows that one doesn't know endings, s/he'll swap off the pieces (avoiding tactical play) and head for positions with greatly reduced material. For example, many young players panic without their beloved queen on board, so the experienced player will trade off the queens and some other like pieces and drag the young player into an undesired endgame. The point is, knowledge of middlegame tactics can be dissolved into an uncomfortable endgame through exchanges, so the study of endgames is also vital. Endgame knowledge will be rewarded time and time again over the course of one's chess career, particularly in hard fought games where it's been difficult to find an advantage. * Here's an easy, chatty start: Easy Endgame Strategies by Bill Robertie (Cardoza publishing, 2003). This combines his earlier books into one. https://www.abebooks.com/book-searc... * How to Beat Your Kids at Chess by David MacEnulty explains the endgame thoroughly: https://books.google.com/books/abou... Note that MacEnulty's other topical books are excellent instruction; most have been re-printed with different titles and covers -- same book, different look. * Turnabout is fair play: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/chess... Chess is chess -- it's the same game regardless of your age. If it's good for kids to know, then it's good for grown-ups to know. * Sign up for free and you can read Polgar's guide for FREE: https://archive.org/details/worldch... Section I is all about tactics, Section II is the endgame. Gotta recognize all these patterns! Her other books are good too. * Winning Chess Endings by Yasser Seirawan is easily available from used book sources: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/winni... That was my attempt at saying that I wouldn't pay $25 for the latest edition. * Openings? You worried about openings? This opening puzzle book is more than enough to get one going for a few years: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-w... If you miss these tactical opportunities, there's no point studying anything more advanced. Way too many chess players study long lines of grandmaster variations and miss the basics. It's far better for the average Joe Sixpack to never-miss-an-opportunity-to-punish-simple-mista- kes by rehearsing common patterns and blunders quickly and repeatedly. <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 “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” ― attributed to Aristotle “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 “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. 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. “Only those who want everything done for them are bored.” — Billy Graham “My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world.” — Billy Graham “Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.” ― Yogi Berra, one of the greatest Yankees of all time 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 <Hawaiin Proverbs of Love Kahuna Nui Hale Kealohalani Makua – “Love all you see, including yourself.” — Hale Makua E Hoomau Maua Kealoha – (May our love last forever.) Aloha Aku No, Aloha Mai No – (I give my love to you, you give your love to me.) `A`ohe loa i ka hana a ke aloha – (Distance is ignored by love.) Ua ola loko i ke aloha – (Love gives life within.) He kehau ho`oma`ema`e ke aloha – (Love is like a cleansing dew.) He ‘Olina Leo Ka Ke Aloha – (Joy is in the voice of love.) Ho’i Hou Ke Aloha – (Let us fall in love all over again.) No Keia La, No Keia Po, A Mau Loa – (From this day, from this night, forever more.) Hele mai ho’ohiwahiwa – (To honor.) Noho me ka hau’oli – (Be happy.) Kuhi no ka lima, hele no ka maka. – (Where the hands move, there let the eyes follow.)> 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 wordputty: 04ty ezo Zucci Darko perilous skiz rbought wone thndrstrmz two Paris uzja. Robert zanded last in Ice cycle land 4bttr weather 4casting. Hiz hed hurt. WISE OLD OWL A wise old owl lived in an oak. The more he saw the less he spoke. The less he spoke the more he heard. Why can't we all be like that wise old bird? Give a HOOT ― Don't Pollute! 500 games, 1834-2023 22 Cali Partial This collection was hacked. “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 “Chess is a fairy tale of 1,001 blunders.” ― Savielly Tartakower “Pawns are the soul of the game.” ― François-André Danican Philidor “The king pawn and the queen pawn are the only ones to be moved in the early part of the game.” ― Wilhelm Steinitz “There is no such thing as an absolutely freeing move. A freeing move in a position in which development has not been carried far always proves illusory, and vice versa, a move which does not come at all in the category of freeing moves can, given a surplus of tempi to our credit, lead to a very free game.” ― Aron Nimzowitsch “The future reshapes the memory of the past in the way it recalibrates significance: some episodes are advanced, others lose purchase.” ― Gregory Maguire, A Lion Among Men “Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” ― General Douglas MacArthur * Diagrammed Checkmate Patterns: Game Collection: Checkmate: Checkmate Patterns * KingG has collected brilliant miniatures: Game Collection: Brilliant Miniatures * Blowing Away the Castled King: Game Collection: Attack The King's Pocket lillia wrote: CHESS do you want to play chess? I would, but it's 11 pm The connection is bad ok i like it when you win i don't let you win, i don't try my hardest but even if i did, you'd win Ok I like it when you win Old Russian Proverb: "Measure seven times, cut once. (Семь раз отмерь — один отрежь.)" Be careful before you do something that cannot be changed. The Cobbler and the Financier A cobbler sang from morn till night; It was sweet and marvellous to hear, His trills and quavers told the ear Of more contentment and delight, Enjoyed by that laborious wight Than ever enjoyed the sages seven, Or any mortals short of heaven. His neighbour, on the other hand, With gold in plenty at command, But little sang, and slumbered less – A financier of great success. If ever he dozed, at break of day, The cobbler's song drove sleep away; And much he wished that Heaven had made Sleep a commodity of trade, In market sold, like food and drink, So much an hour, so much a wink. At last, our songster did he call To meet him in his princely hall. Said he, "Now, honest Gregory, What may your yearly earnings be?" "My yearly earnings! faith, good sir, I never go, at once, so far," The cheerful cobbler said, And queerly scratched his head, – "I never reckon in that way, But cobble on from day to day, Content with daily bread." "Indeed! Well, Gregory, pray, What may your earnings be per day?" "Why, sometimes more and sometimes less. The worst of all, I must confess, (And but for which our gains would be A pretty sight, indeed, to see,) Is that the days are made so many In which we cannot earn a penny – The sorest ill the poor man feels: They tread on each other's heels, Those idle days of holy saints! And though the year is shingled over, The parson keeps a-finding more!'[2] With smiles provoked by these complaints, Replied the lordly financier, "I'll give you better cause to sing. These hundred pounds I hand you here Will make you happy as a king. Go, spend them with a frugal heed; They'll long supply your every need." The cobbler thought the silver more Than he had ever dreamed before, The mines for ages could produce, Or world, with all its people, use. He took it home, and there did hide – And with it laid his joy aside. No more of song, no more of sleep, But cares, suspicions in their stead, And false alarms, by fancy fed. His eyes and ears their vigils keep, And not a cat can tread the floor But seems a thief slipped through the door. At last, poor man! Up to the financier he ran, – Then in his morning nap profound: "O, give me back my songs," cried he, "And sleep, that used so sweet to be, And take the money, every pound!" <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!! <The Man In The Glass Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr. When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day Just go to the mirror and look at yourself And see what that man has to say. For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife Whose judgment upon you must pass The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass. He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest For he’s with you, clear to the end And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test If the man in the glass is your friend. You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years And get pats on the back as you pass But your final reward will be heartache and tears If you’ve cheated the man in the glass. This poem was first published in 1934 and is still very popular today.> 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. 499 games, 1620-2020 25 C05 French: Tarrasch “If you are not big enough to lose, you are not big enough to win.” ― Walter Reuther “What gives chess its great fascination is that the K, Q, R, B, N, and P move in different ways. In consequence we get a colorful diversity of possibilities unequaled in any other board game.” ― Fred Reinfeld “Every Pawn is a potential Queen.” ― James Mason “You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, and irrational fear of the unknown. There is no such thing as the unknown. Only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood.” — Captain Kirk "It is important that you don't let your opponent impose his style of play on you. A part of that begins mentally. At the chessboard if you start blinking every time he challenges you then in a certain sense you are withdrawing. That is very important to avoid." ― Viswanathan Anand “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte “A knowledge of tactics is the foundation of positional play. This is a rule which has stood its test in chess history and one which we cannot impress forcibly enough upon the young chess player. A beginner should avoid Queen's Gambit and French Defence and play open games instead! While he may not win as many games at first, he will in the long run be amply compensated by acquiring a thorough knowledge of the game.” ― Richard Reti “Methodical thinking is of more use in chess than inspiration.” ― C.J.S. Purdy “To win against me, you must beat me three times: in the opening, the middlegame and the endgame.” ― Alexander Alekhine “He lived in and for chess like no one before him, nor any since until Fischer.” ― Taylor Kingston (on Alekhine) “I think an important lesson from the game is that once you have made a move, you cannot take it back. You really have to measure your decisions. You think a lot. You evaluate your choices very carefully. There's never any guarantee about what's going to follow once you have made a decision.” ― Viswanathan Anand “Analyze! Analyze! Analyze! That was the doctor’s motto, and his deeply ingrained habit of investigating every line was obviously unsuitable in rapid transit.” ― Arthur Dake (on Alekhine's relative weakness in rapid play) “I learned a lot about how the world champion analyzed chess positions. Alekhine taught me to sit on my hands and not to play the first move that came to mind, no matter how good it looked. He examined everything, whipping through an astonishing number of variations.” ― Arnold Denker Gerald Abrahams' dictum: "Good positions don't win games; good moves do". “It is quite an advantage to have the initiative, and once you have it you must keep it. If your opponent has it, and relinquishes it through some accident or other, you must take it.” ― Jose R. Capablanca "No man has ever listened himself out of a job." ― Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States “One man cannot summon the future. But one man can change the present!” — Spock “To all mankind — may we never find space so vast, planets so cold, heart and mind so empty that we cannot fill them with love and warmth.” — Garth * Accidents: Game Collection: Accidents in the opening * Attack: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Attacking Games (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Brilliancies: Game Collection: Modern Chess Brilliancies (Evans) * Cheating: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... * Draws: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Interesting Draws (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Endgames: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Endgames (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Fight! Game Collection: 2012-2015 Fighting Games (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Kasparov's Qkst: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/che... * Masterful: Game Collection: FRENCH DEFENSE MASTERPIECES * Positional: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Positional Games (Naiditsch/Balogh) * POTD: Game Collection: POTD French 2 * Miscellaneous: Game Collection: ! Miscellaneous games Light Switches Riddle: There Are 3 Light Bulbs In Three Separate Rooms... Riddle: There are 3 light bulbs in three separate rooms. in front of you, there is a panel with 3 separate switches. They only turn on or off. You may look inside each room only once. How can you tell which bulb belongs to which switch? Riddle Answer below. This game an Indian Brahmin did invent, The force of Eastern wisdom to express; From thence the same to busy Europe sent; The modern Lombards stil'd it pensive Chess. — Sir John Denham Riddle Answer: You turn on any two switches, leave them for a few minutes, and turn one switch off. You enter each room only once. you know that the lightbulb that is lit belongs to the switch that was left on, the bulb that is off, but hot, belongs to the switch you turned off, and the cold bulb belongs to the switch you never touched. <Shakespearean Puns Perhaps no writer is better known for the use of puns than William Shakespeare. He plays with "tide" and "tied" in Two Gentlemen of Verona: "Panthino Away, ass! You'll lose the tide if you tarry any longer. Launce It is no matter if the tied were lost; for it is the unkindest tied that ever any man tied. Panthino What's the unkindest tide? Launce Why, he that's tied here, Crab, my dog." In the opening of Richard III, the sun refers to the blazing sun on Edward IV's banner and the fact that he is the son of the Duke of York: "Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York." In this line from Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays on the different meanings of heavy (which also means sad) and light: "Give me a torch: I am not for this ambling; Being but heavy I will bear the light." Later in Romeo and Juliet, a morbid pun comes from a fatally-stabbed Mercutio, where grave means serious, but also alludes to his imminent death: "Ask for me tomorrow, you shall find me a grave man." If you open any Shakesperean play, you're likely to find at least one pun on the page! Keep an eye out for a clever play on words example the next time you read Hamlet or watch As You Like It on the stage.> THE HOOSIER'S NEST by John Finley, Mayor of Richmond, Indiana from 1852 - 1866 Untaught the language of the schools, Nor versed in scientific rules, The humble bard may not presume The literati to illume; Or classic cadences indite, Attuned "to tickle ears polite;" Contented if his strains may pass the ordeal of the common mass, And raise an anti-critic smile, The brow of labor to beguile. But ever as his mind delights To follow fancy's airy flights, Some object of terrestrial mien Uncourteously obtrudes between, And rudely scatters to the winds The tangled threads of thought he spins. Yet why invoke imagination To picture out a new creation, When nature, with a lavish hand, Has formed a more than fairy land For us - an El Dorado real, Surpassing even the idea? Then who can view the glorious West, With all her hopes for coming time, And hoard his feelings unexpressed In poetry or prose, or rhyme? What mind and matter, unrevealed; Shall unborn ages her disclose! What latent treasures, long concealed, Be disinterred from dark repose! Here Science shall impel her car* O'er blended valley, hill, and plain; While Liberty's bright natal star Shines twinkling on her own domain. Yes, land of the West! thou art happy and free! And thus evermore may thy hardy sons be, Whist thy ocean-like prairies are spread far and wide, Or a tree of thy forests shall tower in pride. Blest Indiana! in thy soil Are found the sure rewards of toil, Where honest poverty and worth May make a Paradise on earth. With feelings proud we contemplate The rising glory of our State; Nor take offense by application Of its good-natured appellation. Our hardy yeomanry can smile At tourists of "the sear-girt isle," Or wits who traveled at the gallop, Like Basil Hall or Mrs. Trollope. 'T is true among the crowds that roam To seek for fortune or a home, It happens that we often find Empiricism of a kind. A strutting fop, who boasts of knowledge, Acquired at some far eastern college, Expects to take us by surprise, And dazzle our astonished eyes. He boasts of learning, skill, and talents Which, in the scale, would Andes balance; Cuts widening swaths from day to day, And in a month he runs away. Not thus the honest son of toil, Who settles here to till the soil, and with intentions just and good, Acquires an ample livelihood: He is (and not the little-great) The bone and sinew of the State. With six-horse team to one-horse cart, We hail here from every part; And some you'll see, sans shoes or socks on, With snake-pole and a yoke of oxen; Others with pack-horse, dog, and rifle, Make emigration quite a trifle. The emigrant is soon located- In Hoosier life initiated: Erects a cabin in the woods, Wherein he stows his household goods. At first, round logs and clapboard roof, With puncheon floor, quite carpet proof, And paper windows, oiled and neat, His edifice is then complete. When four clay balls, in form of plummet, Adorn his wooden chimney's summit. Ensconced in this, let those who can Find out a truly happier man. The little youngsters rise around him, So numerous they quite astound him; Each with an ax or wheel in hand, And instinct to subdue the land. Erelong the cabin disappears, A spacious mansion next he rears; His fields seem widening by stealth, An index of increasing wealth; and when the hives of Hoosiers swarm, To each is given a noble farm. These are the seedlings of the State, The stamina to make the great. 'T is true, her population, various, Find avocations multifarious; But having said so much, 't would seem No derogation to my theme, Were I to circumscribe the space, To picture but a single case: And if my muse be not seraphic, I trust you'll find her somewhat graphic. I'm told, in riding somewhere West, A stranger found a Hoosier's Nest - In other words, a buckeye cabin, Just big enough to hold Queen Mab in; Its situation, low but airy, Was on the borders of a prairie; And fearing he might be benighted, He hailed the house, and then alighted. The Hoosier met him at the door - Their salutations soon were o'er. He took the stranger's horse aside, And to a sturdy sapling tied; Then having stripped the saddle off, He fed him in a sugar-trough. The stranger stooped to enter in - The entranced closing with a pin - And manifested strong desire To seat him by the log-heap fire, Where half-a-dozen Hoosieroons, With mush-and-milk, tin-cups, and spoons, White heads, bare feet, and dirty faces, Seemed much inclined to keep their places. But Madam, anxious to display Her rough but undisputed sway, Her offspring to the ladder led, And cuffed the youngsters up to bed. Invited shortly to partake Of venison, milk, and johnny cake, The stranger made a hearty meal, And glances round the room would steal. One side was lined with divers garments, The other spread with skins of varmints; Dried pumpkins overhead were strung, Where venison hams in plenty hung; Two rifles placed above the door; Three dogs lay stretched upon the floor - In short, the domicile was rife With specimens of Hoosier life. The host, who centered his affections On game, and range, and quarter sections, Discoursed his weary guests for hours, Till Somnus' all-composing powers Of sublunary cares bereft 'em; And then - No matter how the story ended; The application I intended Is from the famous Scottish poet, Who seemed to feel as well as know it, That "buirdley chiels and clever hizzies Are bred in sic' a way as this is." *Railroads were problematical in 1830, when this was written. “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” — Aristotle “A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior — mentally or otherwise.” — Captain Kirk “Now, I don’t pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead are worth living for!” — Edith Keeler “Live long and prosper!” — Spock “The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” — Charles Dickens 2x32z Za’Darius Smith & Wesson don't be messin' Zoltan Almasi periodic rot Suez4 $29 pasta due. 106 games, 1896-2013 29 B.O. IV Episode IV, A NEW HOPE It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy…. “Life is not a game but it's full of players (and pawns)” “My poetry is a game. My life is a game. But I am not a game.” — Federico Garcia Lorca “Life is the most amazing game. Play hard with a deep love so that you may enjoy it.” — Debasish Mridha “Whatever you are doing in the game of life, give it all you've got.” — Norman Vincent Peale “Remember you have to be comfortable. Golf is not a life or death situation. It's just a game and should be treated as such. Stay loose.” — Chi Chi Rodriguez “Life is a game, play it ... Life is too precious, do not destroy it.” — Mother Teresa “Part of playing the game of life is you're going to have some losses.” — Joe Gibbs “Football is an honest game. It's true to life. It's a game about sharing. Football is a team game. So is life.” — Joe Namath “The entire ball game, in terms of both the exam and life, was what you gave attention to vs. what you willed yourself to not.” — David Foster Wallace “For me, Chess is life and every game is like a new life. Every chess player gets to live many lives in one lifetime.” — Eduard Gufeld “If you wanted to be the best then you had to swallow your pride and become a student of the game first.” — Jon Osborne “Prereading is a game changer. It changed my life. Everyone is smarter when they have seen the material before. You will be too.” — Peter Rogers Sometime rhetoric was just another way to lie and impress persons, and he knew this — Haidji No, this isn't about Barry Soetoro's alter ego. It is about kings and pawns. Of course, Barry is no king regardless of his 400-person travel caravan, but he did sleep in a Holiday Inn and bowed down to one. Thank you MKD. This is a Fredthebear collection split. Most of the Sicilians were reassigned to make room. * Deadly Battery: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... * Adolf Anderssen miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... * Game Collection: Alekhine vs Bogolubov search "Alekhine vs Bogolubov" * Comprehensive 1929: Game Collection: Alekhine-Bogoljubov 1929 ARCHIVE * Alekhine's Defense, Krejcik Variation: Opening Explorer * Danish Gambits: Game Collection: Danish Gambit Games 1-0 * Wonders and Curiosities: Game Collection: Wonders and Curiosities of Chess (Chernev) * Walter Browne, American Champ: Game Collection: Six by Mr. Six Time * Bobby Fischer playing White against the Sicilian: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... * Freaky Fridays: https://allchessopenings.blogspot.c... Colorado: San Luis Established in: 1851 San Luis has a predominately Hispanic population of less than 700 people, and so the town features a very strong Spanish influence. It was once part of four Spanish land grants decreed by the King of Spain, and a classic adobe architecture and Spanish town layout remain. * Chess History: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ch... This poem is dedicated to all Caissa's members who understand that chess is but a game. Chess is but a Game As he secretly rode his knight out of the castle's gate, still believing that he could escape this inevitable fate, the sky broke open with an array of incredible light. and there smitten to the earth lay nova under his knight. I am who I am and always am, spoke this thundering voice and you, my friend nova, do not at all have another choice but to go forth south and north, west and east loudly proclaiming the good Word to man and beast. Thus beset by the compelling voice from the broken sky nova set about explaining through the word the how and why. He travelled north and south, west and east never losing aim to let all Caissa's members know: chess is but a game. “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 Dear Dad, $chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can’t think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you. Love, Your $on Dear Son, I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh. Love, Dad Q: What do you call a cat that likes to eat beans? A: Puss 'n' Toots! Q: What do you call a clown who's in jail? A: A silicon! Q: What do you call a deer with no eyes? A: No eye deer!! Q: What do you call a three-footed aardvark? A: A yardvark! Q: What do you call a dancing lamb? A: A baaaaaa-llerina! Q: What do you call a meditating wolf? A: Aware wolf! Q: What do you call a witch who lives at the beach? A: A sand-witch! Q: What do you call an avocado that's been blessed by the pope? A: Holy Guacamole! “Chess first of all teaches you to be objective.” — Alexander Alekhine “Among a great many other things that chess teaches you is to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good. It trains you to think before grabbing and to think just as objectively when you’re in trouble.” — Stanley Kubrick “Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules, take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.” — Garry Kasparov “Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.” — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe “To avoid losing a piece, many a person has lost the game.” — Savielly Tartakower “Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.” ― Winston S. Churchill The Use Of Knowledge Between two citizens A controversy grew. The one was poor, but much he knew: The other, rich, with little sense, Claimed that, in point of excellence, The merely wise should bow the knee To all such moneyed men as he. The merely fools, he should have said; For why should wealth hold up its head, When merit from its side has fled? "My friend," said Bloated-purse, To his reverse, "You think yourself considerable. Pray, tell me, do you keep a table? What comes of this incessant reading, In point of lodging, clothing, feeding? It gives one, true, the highest chamber, One coat for June and for December, His shadow for his sole attendant, And hunger always in the ascendant. What profits he his country, too, Who scarcely ever spends a sou – Will, haply, be a public charge? Who profits more the state at large, Than he whose luxuries dispense Among the people wealth immense? We set the streams of life a-flowing; We set all sorts of trades a-going. The spinner, weaver, sewer, vender, And many a wearer, fair and tender, All live and flourish on the spender – As do, indeed, the reverend rooks Who waste their time in making books." These words, so full of impudence, Received their proper recompense. The man of letters held his peace, Though much he might have said with ease. A war avenged him soon and well; In it their common city fell. Both fled abroad; the ignorant, By fortune thus brought down to want, Was treated everywhere with scorn, And roamed about, a wretch forlorn; Whereas the scholar, everywhere, Was nourished by the public care. Let fools the studious despise; There's nothing lost by being wise. Checkers Sam Ciel Aug 2015 You might have heard the saying, "At the end of the game, the King and the Pawn go in the same box." but depending on the moves you make, one of them is ultimately the winner. One of them stays on the board longer, does more for his team. Let's extend that phrase. "At the end of the game, the King and the Pawn go in the same box. But the game is decided by the moves they make." I assume everyone understands Chess, but for those who don't, That's okay, too. I'll explain one more thing about it. The Pawn can only move in one direction. The King can move wherever he wants. This remains true unless the Pawn decides to go on the offensive To take life by his own hands A variety of options open up to him Whereas then, the King is limited by his options. He sees nothing new, and can merely advance or Retreat In the same directions he always has. And he very well may retreat, because when he falls, it's all over. The Pawn, though? The Pawn can never retreat. He can only move forward And if he makes it to the other side, He becomes a Queen. The most prominent, powerful piece, It goes in the same box but it can determine the outcome of the entire game. A single piece can determine if, and how any other piece will fall. This is true of the Queen, of the King, of the Pawn. This is true of the Knights and the Bishops and the Rooks and every single piece, and so with every thing equally significant, let's strip away the titles and just look at our actions, because it isn't our title that defines us. It's how we play the game. Sometimes that means we have all the power. Sometimes that means we have none. Sometimes we are alone. Sometimes we are together. But at the end of the day, we all go in the same box. In the game of life, what we call ourselves really doesn't matter. "Those who approach life like a child playing a game, moving and pushing pieces, possess the power of kings." — Heraclitus "Every man needs a women, when his life in a trouble. Just like a game of chess, queen protect the king." — Anuj Kr. Thakur "He needed fresh air and sunshine. A walk in the woods and afterward a good book to read by the fire. Yeah, that was the life." — Josh Lanyon "The great thing about reading is that it broadens your life." — George R R Martin Chess History: https://boldchess.com/history/ Predator at the Chessboard (Tactics): https://www.chesstactics.org/ Learn Chess Tactics (click link and scroll down): https://www.academia.edu/43127118/L... Chess Resources: https://boldchess.com/resources/ Play free chess NOW in one click: https://ichess.com/ “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. The Chess Play by Nicholas Breton A Secret many yeeres vnseene,  In play at Chesse, who knowes the game First of the King, and then the Queene,  Knight, Bishop, Rooke, and so by name. Of euerie Pawne I will descrie The nature with the qualitie. The King. The King himselfe is haughtie Care  Which ouerlooketh all his men And when he seeth how they fare.  He steps among them now and then, Whom when his foe presumes to checke His seruants stand, to giue the necke. The Queene. The Queene is queint, and quicke Conceit,  Which makes hir walke which way she list And rootes them vp, that lie in wait  To worke hir treason, ere she wist: Hir force is such, against hir foes, That whom she meetes, she ouerthrowes. The Knight. The Knight is knowledge how to fight  Against his Princes enimies, He neuer makes his walke outright,  But leaps and skips, in wilie wise. To take by sleight a traitrous foe, Might slilie seeke their ouerthrowe. The Bishop. The Bishop he is wittie braine,  That chooseth Crossest pathes to pace. And euermore he pries with paine,  To see who seekes him most disgrace: Such straglers when he findes astraie, He takes them vp, and throwes awaie. The Rookes The Rookes are reason on both sides,  Which keepe the corner houses still. And warily stand to watch their tides.  By secret art to worke their will, To take sometime a theefe vnseene, Might mischiefe meane to King or Queene. The Paiones. The Pawne before the King, is peace  Which he desires to keepe at home, Practise the Queenes, which doth not cease  Amid the world abroad to roame. To finde, and fall vpon each foe, Whereas his mistres meanes to goe. Before the Knight, is perill plast,  Which he, by skipping ouergoes, And yet that Pawne can worke a cast  To ouerthrow his greatest foes; The Bishops, prudence; prieng still, Which way to worke his masters will. The Rookes poore Pawnes, are sillie swaines,  Which seeidome serue, except by hap, And yet those Pawnes, can lay their traines.  To catch a great man, in a trap: So that I see, sometime a groome May not be sparèd from his roome. The Nature of the Chesse men. The King is stately, looking hie: The Queene doth beare like maiestie: The Knight is hardie, valiant, wise: The Bishop, prudent and precise:  The Rookes, no raungers out of raie  The Pawnes, the pages in the plaie. Lenvoy. Then rule with care, and quicke conceit,  And fight with knowledge, as with force; So beare a braine, to dash deceit,  And worke with reason and remorse: Forgiue a fault when yoong men plaie So giue a mate and go your way And when you plaie beware of Checke Know how to saue and giue a necke: And with a Checke, beware of Mate; But cheefe, ware had I wist too late:  Loose not the Queene, for ten to one.  If she be lost, the game is gone. 500 games, 1560-2021 29 C-K Defense Life is not a game but it's full of players (and pawns) [Site "B09"] [White "Pirc"] [Black "Austrian attack, Ljubojevic Variation "] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Bc4 [Site "B10"] [White "Caro-Kann defense"] 1. e4 c6 [Site "B10"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Hillbilly attack"] 1. e4 c6 2. Bc4 [Site "B10"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Anti-Caro-Kann defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. c4 [Site "B10"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Anti-anti-Caro-Kann defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. c4 d5 [Site "B10"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Closed (Breyer) Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d3 [Site "B10"] [White "Caro-Kann defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 [Site "B10"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "GOldman (Spielmann) Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Qf3 [Site "B10"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Two knights Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 [Site "B11"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Two knights, 3...Bg4"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 [Site "B12"] [White "Caro-Kann defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 [Site "B12"] [White "de Bruycker defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 Na6 3. Nc3 Nc7 [Site "B12"] [White "Caro-Masi defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 Nf6 [Site "B12"] [White "Caro-Kann defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 [Site "B12"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Tartakower (fantasy) Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 [Site "B12"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "3.Nd2"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 [Site "B12"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Edinburgh Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Qb6 [Site "B12"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Advance Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 [Site "B12"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Advance, Short Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. c3 e6 5. Be2 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Exchange Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Exchange, Rubinstein Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik attack"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik, Gunderam attack"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. c5 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik attack"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik, Herzog defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 dxc4 7. d5 Na5 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik, normal Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik, Czerniak Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Qa5 [Site "B13"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik, Reifir (Spielmann) Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Qb6 [Site "B14"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik attack, 5...e6"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 [Site "B14"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Panov-Botvinnik attack, 5...g6"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 [Site "B15"] [White "Caro-Kann defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 [Site "B15"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Gurgenidze counter-attack"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 b5 [Site "B15"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Gurgenidze system"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 g6 [Site "B15"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Rasa-Studier gambit"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. f3 [Site "B15"] [White "Caro-Kann defense"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 [Site "B15"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Alekhine gambit"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Bd3 [Site "B15"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Tartakower (Nimzovich) Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 [Site "B15"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Forgacs Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. Bc4 [Site "B16"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Bronstein-Larsen Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 [Site "B17"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Steinitz Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 [Site "B18"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Classical Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 [Site "B18"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Classical, Flohr Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nh3 [Site "B18"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Classical, Maroczy attack"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. f4 [Site "B18"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Classical, 6.h4"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 [Site "B19"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Classical, 7...Nd7"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 [Site "B19"] [White "Caro-Kann"] [Black "Classical, Spassky Variation "] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Word on the street is that all the B19's that were in here took a road trip to California. When they return, they will be included at the bottom of the list. [Site "B20"] [White "Sicilian defense"] 1. e4 c5 Thank you Marco65. Personally, Fredthebear recommends the romantic, classical style 1.e4 e5 for amateurs (including gambits) for a natural, more active game with winning and drawing chances by Black. The active piece play and the rapid kingside attacks in the double king pawn open games makes a person fall in love with chess; often both colors enjoyed playing the aggressive 1.e4 e5 open game. Nearly all the great masters have played this way and the study of their games is highly recommended. (There is also something to be said for the lifelong tunnel-vision study of a specialist's flank opening with the White pieces, such as 1.b3 Larsen's Opening, 1.b4 Polish-Orangutan, 1.c4 English, 1.f4 Henry Bird's Opening, or 1.g3 Hungarian Opening. Black's various responses give White the variety that s/he otherwise denies one's self. These flank openings are less concerned with the exact move order necessary to play 1.e4 successfully, and depend more upon the minor piece placement within the resulting pawn structure. White can become so familiar with his responses to evolving Black pawn structures that his insight yields a middlegame advantage through shear accumulated experience if the center holds up.) After studying the Caro-Kann and Slav Defenses, Black can safely play 1...c6 and 2...d5 against ANY White response. This testimonial speaks to the sound strength of the structure. Black must care for the base of the pawn chain at b7, develop the king's bishop usefully, and wait a handful(s) of moves before an opportunity to seize the initiative is presented. Fredthebear is trying to be fair and respectful to the Caro-Kann Defense here. The Caro-Kann is a world class defense! The C-K has the approval of world champions... the likes of Capablanca and Botvinnik did not fool around with inferior openings or defenses. Petrosian was a fine defensive player who used it, as was the constrictor Anatoly Karpov. My friend, this is the supreme pedigree of a championship defense for a patient player of the Black pieces! ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( _ ) + + ( _ ) * & ^ % $ # @ ! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Caro-Kann Defense: 1.e4 c6 ECO Codes: B10–B19 The Caro-Kann is a Semi-Open Game defense where Black prepares a center pawn thrust by first supporting it with 1...c6. It has a reputation of being a solid, strong defense for Black with a good pawn structure in the endgame. It is named after the English player Horatio Caro and the Austrian's Marcus Kann. They both analyzed the opening in 1886. The Caro-Kann is popular, and the following is the varying response statistics played by White: • 2.d4 - 80%. • 2.Nc3 - 6%. • 2.c4 - 5%. • 2.d3 - 3%. • 2.Nf3 - 3%. The Caro-Kann Defense 1.e4 c6 might be the best defense to 1.e4 for the experienced, practical player as well as the professional positional player. The slow-starting Caro-Kann does not have a tactical appeal, but it is not inferior when properly played. Patience and endgame knowledge is required! The Caro-Kann is a solid, trusted defense for many Black defenders at all levels of play. It is an improvement over the immediate 1...d5 Center Counter/Scandinavian defense. Black must Must MUST know the common opening traps that lurk or s/he will be crushed out of the gates -- but this is true of any defense. If the Black defender knows what's up, the C-K is a safe, sound, generally slow but solid defense that has been played by the world's best. Overall, there's less C-K opening lines to learn compared to other defenses. If the Caro-Kann defender is patient and accurate, White can become frustrated with the lack of targets to overwhelm and the slow pace of play. It appears this collection will emphasize White victories disproportionally. The same trapping themes are over represented here because they keep popping up over and over, generation after generation in part because knight maneuvers can really fool an unsuspecting defender, and Black cannot afford to make a weakening pawn move while lagging in development. If Black does his homework and stays alert, there's no reason to get snared and a fair or better defensive game is the result. Black defenders must understand why White won. The Caro-Kann is definitely a defense of accumulated understanding. Learn from the mistakes of others because life is too short to repeat them all yourself! On the other hand, the most popular defense, the Sicilian defense 1.e4 c5, gives White a quick attack and space advantage through the center while Black must counterattack vigorously, usually on the queenside or diagonals. The speedy Sicilian is much more of a hazardous race to break through for both colors. Because the Sicilian is a double-edged sword with no time to spare, it requires much Much MUCH more study than the amiable Caro-Kann. The Sicilian is no better, no worse than the Caro-Kann, but very different. [B10] Caro-Kann Defense 1 e4 c6 [B10] Caro-Kann, Hillbilly Attack 1 e4 c6 2 Bc4 [B10] Caro-Kann, Anti-Caro-Kann Defense 1 e4 c6 2 c4 [B10] Caro-Kann, Anti-Anti-Caro-Kann Defense 1 e4 c6 2 c4 d5 [B10] Caro-Kann, Closed (Breyer) Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d3 [B10] Caro-Kann Defense 1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 [B10] Caro-Kann, Goldman (Spielmann) Variant 1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Qf3 [B10] Caro-Kann, Two Knights Variant 1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Nf3 [B11] Caro-Kann, Two Knights, 3...Bg4 1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Nf3 Bg4 [B12] Caro-Kann Defense 1 e4 c6 2 d4 [B12] De Bruycker Defense 1 e4 c6 2 d4 Na6 3 Nc3 Nc7 [B12] Caro-Masi Defense 1 e4 c6 2 d4 Nf6 [B12] Caro-Kann Defense 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 [B12] Caro-Kann, Tartakower (Fantasy) Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 f3 [B12] Caro-Kann, 3.Nd2 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 [B12] Caro-Kann, Edinburgh Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 Qb6 [B12] Caro-Kann, Advance Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 [B12] Caro-Kann, Advance, Short Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 c3 e6 5 Be2 [B13] Caro-Kann, Exchange Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 [B13] Caro-Kann, Exchange, Rubinstein Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 Bd3 Nc6 5 c3 Nf6 6 Bf4 [B13] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 [B13] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik, Gunderam Attack 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 c5 [B13] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 [B13] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik, Herzog Defense 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6 6 Bg5 dxc4 7 d5 Na5 [B13] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik, Normal Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6 6 Bg5 e6 [B13] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik, Czerniak Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6 6 Bg5 Qa5 [B13] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik, Reifir (Spielmann) Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6 6 Bg5 Qb6 [B14] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack, 5...e6 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 e6 [B14] Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack, 5...g6 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 g6 [B15] Caro-Kann Defense 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 [B15] Caro-Kann, Gurgenidze Counter Attack 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 b5 [B15] Caro-Kann, Gurgenidze System 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 g6 [B15] Caro-Kann, Rasa-Studier Gambit 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 f3 [B15] Caro-Kann Defense 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 [B15] Caro-Kann, Alekhine Gambit 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Bd3 [B15] Caro-Kann, Tartakower (Nimzovich) Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Nxf6+ exf6 [B15] Caro-Kann, Forgacs Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Nxf6+ exf6 6 Bc4 [B16] Caro-Kann, Bronstein-Larsen Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Nxf6+ gxf6 [B17] Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7 [B18] Caro-Kann, Classical Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 [B18] Caro-Kann, Classical, Flohr Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6 6 Nh3 [B18] Caro-Kann, Classical, Maroczy Attack 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6 6 f4 [B18] Caro-Kann, Classical, 6.h4 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6 6 h4 [B19] Caro-Kann, Classical, 7...Nd7 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6 6 h4 h6 7 Nf3 Nd7 [B19] Caro-Kann, Classical, Spassky Variant 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6 6 h4 h6 7 Nf3 Nd7 8 h5 Beware: As with any opening/defense, various move orders allow transpositions into different lines altogether, starting out as one and becoming another. The Caro-Kann often accommodates such transposals. Alternate ECO codes will indicate such changes. Note to self: When this collection is full, divide it in half at C13-C19 with all traps in both collections. Get those B19's back in here! * C-K Advance link: Game Collection: Caro-Kann Advance Games of Interest * Karpov B17's link: Game Collection: B17 (Karpov) Colorado: San Luis Established in: 1851 San Luis has a predominately Hispanic population of less than 700 people, and so the town features a very strong Spanish influence. It was once part of four Spanish land grants decreed by the King of Spain, and a classic adobe architecture and Spanish town layout remain. * Chess History: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ch... This poem is dedicated to all Caissa's members who understand that chess is but a game. Chess is but a Game As he secretly rode his knight out of the castle's gate, still believing that he could escape this inevitable fate, the sky broke open with an array of incredible light. and there smitten to the earth lay nova under his knight. I am who I am and always am, spoke this thundering voice and you, my friend nova, do not at all have another choice but to go forth south and north, west and east loudly proclaiming the good Word to man and beast. Thus beset by the compelling voice from the broken sky nova set about explaining through the word the how and why. He travelled north and south, west and east never losing aim to let all Caissa's members know: chess is but a game. “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 Dear Dad, $chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can’t think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you. Love, Your $on Dear Son, I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh. Love, Dad Q: What do you call a cat that likes to eat beans? A: Puss 'n' Toots! Q: What do you call a clown who's in jail? A: A silicon! Q: What do you call a deer with no eyes? A: No eye deer!! Q: What do you call a three-footed aardvark? A: A yardvark! Q: What do you call a dancing lamb? A: A baaaaaa-llerina! Q: What do you call a meditating wolf? A: Aware wolf! Q: What do you call a witch who lives at the beach? A: A sand-witch! Q: What do you call an avocado that's been blessed by the pope? A: Holy Guacamole! “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 <Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" Bombardment of Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, New York, 1865 The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in the middle of the Civil War, wrote this poem which has more recently been adapted as a modern Christmas classic. Longfellow wrote this on Christmas Day in 1863, after his son had enlisted in the Union's cause and had returned home, seriously wounded. The verses which he included and are still generally included, speak of the despair of hearing the promise of "peace on earth, goodwill to men" when the evidence of the world is clearly that war still exists. And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men." The original also included several verses referring specifically to the Civil War. Before that cry of despair and answering cry of hope, and after verses describing the long years of hearing of "peace on earth, goodwill to men" (a phrase from the Jesus birth narratives in the Christian scriptures), Longfellow's poem includes, describing the black cannons of the war: Then from each black, accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South, And with the sound The carols drowned Of peace on earth, good-will to men! It was as if an earthquake rent The hearth-stones of a continent, And made forlorn The households born Of peace on earth, good-will to men!> A Windsong by Ray Paquette (1984): As you set sail for new horizons May a brisk fair wind be with you May your journey provide that mixture of Joy, contentment, love and excitement That gives rise to zestful anticipation Of new adventures together. May you cheerfully weather the unavoidable storms together And steer as clear of all obstacles As the currents allow May God Bless and keep you Bon Voyage “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 498 games, 1879-2023 29 Httacks and Sacs of f7 Vol. III “Chess is life in miniature. Chess is a struggle, chess battles.” ― Garry Kasparov “After we have paid our dutiful respects to such frigid virtues as calculation, foresight, self-control and the like, we always come back to the thought that speculative attack is the lifeblood of chess.” ― Fred Reinfeld “Age brings wisdom to some men, and to others chess.” ― Evan Esar “There is no jewel in the world comparable to learning; no learning so excellent both for Prince and subject, as knowledge of laws; and no knowledge of any laws so necessary for all estates and for all causes, concerning goods, lands or life, as the common laws of England.” ― Sir Edward Coke “Without integrity and honor, having everything means nothing.” ― Robin Sharma “I am no longer cursed by poverty because I took possession of my own mind, and that mind has yielded me every material thing I want, and much more than I need. But this power of mind is a universal one, available to the humblest person as it is to the greatest.” ― Andrew Carnegie “Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson “We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.” ― Winston S. Churchill * C53s: Game Collection: rajat21's italian game * RL Minis: Game Collection: Ruy Lopez Miniatures * Del's: Game Collection: Del's hidden gems * 21st Century: Game Collection: 0 * Deadly Battery: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... * Creative: Game Collection: "E4 for the Creative Attacker" * Top Chessgames by ECO Code: http://schachsinn.de/gamelist.htm * Freaky Fridays: https://allchessopenings.blogspot.c... * Glossary of Chess Terms: http://www.arkangles.com/kchess/glo... * Chess Links: http://www.chessdryad.com/links/ind... * Tactical Mix: Game Collection: mastering Tactical ideas by minev * Greatest Hits: Game Collection: Mammoth Book-Greatest Games (Nunn/Burgess/Emms) * The Best of... Game Collection: World Champions' Best Games Colorado: San Luis Established in: 1851 San Luis has a predominately Hispanic population of less than 700 people, and so the town features a very strong Spanish influence. It was once part of four Spanish land grants decreed by the King of Spain, and a classic adobe architecture and Spanish town layout remain. * Chess History: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ch... This poem is dedicated to all Caissa's members who understand that chess is but a game. Chess is but a Game As he secretly rode his knight out of the castle's gate, still believing that he could escape this inevitable fate, the sky broke open with an array of incredible light. and there smitten to the earth lay nova under his knight. I am who I am and always am, spoke this thundering voice and you, my friend nova, do not at all have another choice but to go forth south and north, west and east loudly proclaiming the good Word to man and beast. Thus beset by the compelling voice from the broken sky nova set about explaining through the word the how and why. He travelled north and south, west and east never losing aim to let all Caissa's members know: chess is but a game. "With great power comes great responsibility" is an adage popularized by Spider-Man in Marvel comics “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 Dear Dad, $chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can’t think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you. Love, Your $on Dear Son, I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh. Love, Dad Q: What do you call a cat that likes to eat beans? A: Puss 'n' Toots! Q: What do you call a clown who's in jail? A: A silicon! Q: What do you call a deer with no eyes? A: No eye deer!! Q: What do you call a three-footed aardvark? A: A yardvark! Q: What do you call a dancing lamb? A: A baaaaaa-llerina! Q: What do you call a meditating wolf? A: Aware wolf! Q: What do you call a witch who lives at the beach? A: A sand-witch! Q: What do you call an avocado that's been blessed by the pope? A: Holy Guacamole! The Will Explained By Aesop If what old story says of Aesop's true, The oracle of Greece he was, And more than Areopagus he knew, With all its wisdom in the laws. The following tale gives but a sample Of what has made his fame so ample. Three daughters shared a father's purse, Of habits totally diverse. The first, bewitched with drinks delicious; The next, coquettish and capricious; The third, supremely avaricious. The sire, expectant of his fate, Bequeathed his whole estate, In equal shares, to them, And to their mother just the same, – To her then payable, and not before, Each daughter should possess her part no more. The father died. The females three Were much in haste the will to see. They read, and read, but still Saw not the willer's will. For could it well be understood That each of this sweet sisterhood, When she possessed her part no more, Should to her mother pay it over? It was surely not so easy saying How lack of means would help the paying. What meant their honoured father, then? The affair was brought to legal men, Who, after turning over the case Some hundred thousand different ways, Threw down the learned bonnet, Unable to decide on it; And then advised the heirs, Without more thought, t" adjust affairs. As to the widow's share, the counsel say, "We hold it just the daughters each should pay One third to her on demand, Should she not choose to have it stand Commuted as a life annuity, Paid from her husband's death, with due congruity." The thing thus ordered, the estate Is duly cut in portions three. And in the first they all agree To put the feasting-lodges, plate, Luxurious cooling mugs, Enormous liquor jugs, Rich cupboards, – built beneath the trellised vine, – The stores of ancient, sweet Malvoisian wine, The slaves to serve it at a sign; In short, whatever, in a great house, There is of feasting apparatus. The second part is made Of what might help the jilting trade – The city house and furniture, Exquisite and genteel, be sure, The eunuchs, milliners, and laces, The jewels, shawls, and costly dresses. The third is made of household stuff, More vulgar, rude, and rough – Farms, fences, flocks, and fodder, And men and beasts to turn the sod over. This done, since it was thought To give the parts by lot Might suit, or it might not, Each paid her share of fees dear, And took the part that pleased her. It was in great Athens town, Such judgment gave the gown. And there the public voice Applauded both the judgment and the choice. But Aesop well was satisfied The learned men had set aside, In judging thus the testament, The very gist of its intent. "The dead," Said he, "could he but know of it, Would heap reproaches on such Attic wit. What! men who proudly take their place As sages of the human race, Lack they the simple skill To settle such a will?" This said, he undertook himself The task of portioning the pelf; And straightway gave each maid the part The least according to her heart – The prim coquette, the drinking stuff, The drinker, then, the farms and cattle; And on the miser, rude and rough, The robes and lace did Aesop settle; For thus, he said, "an early date Would see the sisters alienate Their several shares of the estate. No motive now in maidenhood to tarry, They all would seek, post haste, to marry; And, having each a splendid bait, Each soon would find a well-bred mate; And, leaving thus their father's goods intact, Would to their mother pay them all, in fact," – Which of the testament Was plainly the intent. The people, who had thought a slave an ass, Much wondered how it came to pass That one alone should have more sense Than all their men of most pretence. Riddle: If you drop a yellow hat in the Red Sea, what does it become? Fredthebear created this collection. Riddle Answer: Wet, duh! Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me. I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea, But we loved with a love that was more than love— I and my Annabel Lee— With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven Coveted her and me. And this was the reason that, long ago, In this kingdom by the sea, A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee; So that her highborn kinsmen came And bore her away from me, To shut her up in a sepulchre In this kingdom by the sea. The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, Went envying her and me— Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea) That the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we— Of many far wiser than we— And neither the angels in Heaven above Nor the demons down under the sea Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride, In her sepulchre there by the sea— In her tomb by the sounding sea. “....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 "God's mercy and grace give me hope - for myself, and for our world.” — Billy Graham “Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.” — Billy Graham Q: Did you hear about the actor who fell through the floorboards? A: He was just going through a stage. Folsom 274 =* 500 games, 1620-2020 29 Learn mates on the 3rd/6th Outer File This is the second collection of these interesting mates! Any unit lurks on the outside edge near the king. (Some of these games are traps and resignations, not actual checkmates.) “Pawns are such fascinating pieces, too...So small, almost insignificant, and yet--they can depose kings.” — Lavie Tidhar, The Bookman “Parenting is a lifetime assignment.” — Ken Robinson “Life is accepting what is and working from that.” — Gloria Naylor “Life is a long lesson in humility.” — J.M. Barrie “The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of chess.” — Benjamin Franklin, 1779 "For him chess was his life. Without the game he could not exist." — Engelina Tal (on her late husband Mikhail) “The wisest mind has something yet to learn.” — George Santayana “Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.” — André Gide “Chess is 99% tactics.” — Richard Teichmann “Chess is a sport. The main object in the game of chess remains the achievement of victory.” — Max Euwe “If you are interested in improving, think of a draw offer as an offer to remain ignorant of what you would have learned in the remainder of the game.” — Dan Heisman “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” — Albert Einstein "I am not the King. Jesus Christ is the King. I'm just an entertainer." ― Elvis Presley "When it comes to health, diet is the Queen, but exercise is the King." ― Jack LaLanne “Life really does begin at forty. Up until then, you are just doing research.” ― Carl Gustav Jung “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.” ― Mother Teresa “For both professionals and amateurs, chess is a game that sharpens the mind, tests human faculties and encourages healthy competition. It has captivated the attention of players and spectators world-wide and will continue to do so as long as competition and excellence challenge mankind.” — President Gerald R. Ford “Examine moves that smite! A good eye for smites is far more important than a knowledge of strategical principles.” — C.J.S. Purdy “In chess, as in life, a man is his own most dangerous opponent.” — Vasily Smyslov “It is a profound mistake to imagine that the art of combination depends only on natural talent, and that it cannot be learned.” — Richard Reti “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” ― Albert Einstein “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” ― John Lennon “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” ― Henry David Thoreau “To find something, anything, a great truth or a lost pair of glasses, you must first believe there will be some advantage in finding it.” — Jack Burden, All The King’s Men “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” — Jimmy Dean “Chess is above all, a fight!” — Emanuel Lasker “I've played a number of interesting novelties lately. Mostly that's because I haven't got a clue what I am doing in the opening.” ― Nigel Short “When you see a good move – WAIT! – look for a better one.” ― Emanuel Lasker The Portuguese chess player and author Pedro Damiano (1480–1544) first wrote this in his book "Questo libro e da imparare giocare a scachi et de li partiti" published in Rome, Italy, in 1512. “Without technique it is impossible to reach the top in chess, and therefore we all try to borrow from Capablanca his wonderful, subtle technique.” — Mikhail Tal “I was brought up on the games of Capablanca and Nimzowitsch, and they became part of my chess flesh and blood.” — Tigran Petrosian “Capablanca was among the greatest of chess players, but not because of his endgame. His trick was to keep his openings simple, and then play with such brilliance in the middlegame that the game was decided - even though his opponent didn't always know it - before they arrived at the ending.” — Robert Fischer “If the student forces himself to examine all moves that smite, however absurd they may look at first glance, he is on the way to becoming a master of tactics.” — C.J.S. Purdy “The tactician knows what to do when there is something to do; whereas the strategian knows what to do when there is nothing to do.” — Gerald Abrahams “Examine moves that smite! A good eye for smites is far more important than a knowledge of strategical principles.” — C.J.S. Purdy “In chess, at least, the brave inherit the earth.” — Edmar Mednis “The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal.” — Criss Jami * Checkmate Patterns to Recognize Instantly: https://chessfox.com/checkmate-patt... * On-line Tutorial: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?... * Can you finish off the Italian Game with ease? https://www.bing.com/videos/search?... * Tournament Tips for Beginners: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?... * Schev for Black: Game Collection: Sicilian Scheveningen 4 Black * Short and Sweet: Game Collection: Sicilian Scheveningen 4 Black * Trends booklet: Game Collection: TRENDS Scheveningen with O-O (King) * Adults should focus on Faith, Family & Friends, Career-Education/Pay the Bills, Not Chess: https://www.chessable.com/blog/how-... * Bad bishops are...bad: https://lichess1.org/game/export/gi... * Chess in the Newspaper: https://www.schach-chess.com/chess-... * Epic: Game Collection: Epic Battles of the CB by R.N. Coles - keypusher * Fascinating: Game Collection: Fireside Book of Chess * GK: Game Collection: Kasparov - The Sicilian Sheveningen * Happy Days! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slv... * Internet tracking: https://www.studysmarter.us/magazin... * JC shows us the way: https://chessplayeratlarge.blogspot... * Mammoth: Game Collection: Mammoth Book-Greatest Games (Nunn/Burgess/Emms) * Not the same: Game Collection: Traps in Scheveningen for White * One of Pandolfini's best: Game Collection: Solitaire Chess by Bruce Pandolfini * Top Chessgames by ECO Code: http://schachsinn.de/gamelist.htm * Wikipedia on Computer Chess: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compu... Site under construction by Fredthebear. Thank you parisattack. <This poem is dedicated to all female chessplayers on Caissa's Web... Sweet Caissa Oh, Sweet Caissa, Goddess of chess in the name of this holistic game I pray Thee: bless my noble aim to render all my opponents lame in my holy quest for worldly fame, to be Supreme no more no less. In awe I heard this Sweet Caissa say "Daughter go forth and smite them all, stoutly charge your knight sitting tall while flying over the castle's wall to slay all men in your deadly call." Now in fear I hide and will no longer play.> Thank you Qindarka! “My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose.” — Bette Davis “If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure.” — Garry Kasparov “You win some, you lose some, you wreck some.” — Dale Earnhardt “Those who do not risk, do not benefit.” — Portuguese Proverb Philomel And Progne From home and city spires, one day, The swallow Progne flew away, And sought the bosky dell Where sang poor Philomel. "My sister," Progne said, "how do you do? It's now a thousand years since you Have been concealed from human view; I'm sure I have not seen your face Once since the times of Thrace. Pray, will you never quit this dull retreat?" "Where could I find," said Philomel, "so sweet?" "What! sweet?" cried Progne – 'sweet to waste Such tones on beasts devoid of taste, Or on some rustic, at the most! Should you by deserts be engrossed? Come, be the city's pride and boast. Besides, the woods remind of harms That Tereus in them did your charms." "Alas!" replied the bird of song, "The thought of that so cruel wrong Makes me, from age to age, Prefer this hermitage; For nothing like the sight of men Can call up what I suffered then." Lichess has all the same basic offerings as Chess.com: a large community, many game types, tutorials, puzzles, and livestreams. The site has a simple appearance, and it seems built to get you where you want to go in as few clicks as possible. You can create an account, but if you’re not concerned with tracking your games and finding other players at your level, there’s no need to log in. Just fire up a new game, try some puzzles, or watch a chess streamer play three-minute games while listening to techno and chatting with the comments section. The Council Held By The Rats Old Rodilard, a certain cat, Such havoc of the rats had made, It was difficult to find a rat With nature's debt unpaid. The few that did remain, To leave their holes afraid, From usual food abstain, Not eating half their fill. And wonder no one will That one who made of rats his revel, With rats passed not for cat, but devil. Now, on a day, this dread rat-eater, Who had a wife, went out to meet her; And while he held his caterwauling, The unkilled rats, their chapter calling, Discussed the point, in grave debate, How they might shun impending fate. Their dean, a prudent rat, Thought best, and better soon than late, To bell the fatal cat; That, when he took his hunting round, The rats, well cautioned by the sound, Might hide in safety under ground; Indeed he knew no other means. And all the rest At once confessed Their minds were with the dean's. No better plan, they all believed, Could possibly have been conceived, No doubt the thing would work right well, If any one would hang the bell. But, one by one, said every rat, "I'm not so big a fool as that." The plan, knocked up in this respect, The council closed without effect. And many a council I have seen, Or reverend chapter with its dean, That, thus resolving wisely, Fell through like this precisely. To argue or refute Wise counsellors abound; The man to execute Is harder to be found. 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. “Just because you know stuff doesn't mean you are smart... You have to know how to use that information.” ― Josh Keller Chessgames.com will be unavailable August 28, 2023 from 1:00AM through 1:30AM(UTC/GMT) for maintenance. We apologize for this inconvenience. <‘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.> 1 Corinthians 13 King James Version 13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. “God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.” — Billy Graham “The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course.” — Billy Graham * Riddle-stoned-scree: https://www.briddles.com/riddles/ch... “Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” ― Norman Vincent Peale “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. “Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.” ― Yogi Berra, one of the greatest Yankees of all time slaw1998: In my spine there sends a shiver When a player sends his pieces up the river Into loose en prise encapture, enrapture, Does it to my heart receive it well Yet other players bring me down Their defense sends my attack the other way around And Tal and others would be quite displeased Like I, to have the attack no hope of being released So I'll go on shedding pieces With combos, like a magic stall, And hope that some day I can beat them all. hzev160y Zulzaga luvs to hide wavey chips in the dip surf while Zeitlin skittles. <Helvetica and Times New Roman walk into a bar. “Get out of here!” shouts the bartender. “We don’t serve your type.”> Question: Which US President was the only bachelor when he was in office? Answer: James Buchanan Question: On which planet is a year longer than a day? Answer: Venus has the longest day of any planet in our solar system. Venus is unusual because it spins the opposite direction of Earth and most other planets and it’s extremely slow. It takes about 243 Earth days to spin around just once. Because it’s so close to the sun, a year goes by fast. Therefore, a day on Venus is nearly 20 Earth days longer than its year. Rated 5 stars Chess Classic ! This book is truly a gem of chess literature. The book as you may already know, is a collection of master games which demonstrate how a small advantage is exploited in the hands of masters. You will find the games very instructive and will have no problems understanding the motives behind the moves. This because Chernev does an exceptional job in his annotations. I have found no mistakes in his notes or the games themselves. Chernev worked real hard on this book and his love for the game of chess radiates from the pages. A warning to those who expect wild attacking games. This is a collection of games from the late 19th century to the 1950's, when positional and strategic style of play was more popular. These selected games show how an opening, middle game, and endgame should be treated. "The best way to learn endings as well as openings," says Capablanca in Chess Fundamentals, "is from the games of the masters." Some reviewer of this book goes on to say that "The games in this book are boring, and only won by the winner because of some mistake on the loser's part. To which I reply, what chess game is not won on the account of the opposition making a mistake. In reality all chess games if properly played out should end in a draw. There are also people who complain because the book is in descriptive notation. Something I didn't have a problem with, it just adds to the mystique of these chess games of the past. This is a great book and a must have. I have spent many pleasurable hours with this book, a cup of joe, and some Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Ludwig van Beethoven in the background. You will not regret buying this book. I didn't when I returned Pandolfini's Traps and Zaps for this copy. Rated 5 stars For Lover's Only Easily one of the best books ever written. This is one of the first books I purchased over 30 years ago. I am sure it helped start me on the road to Chess Mastery. Chernev, like Reinfeld, did NOT write chess books to impress other Chess Masters. He wrote books simply and with great care. He also put his tremendous love of the game into this book. I simply cannot convey what a wonderful book this is. This book will especially appeal to the average player, especially someone who wants to improve his game. I usually don't rave about books. This is an exception. Here is what I say about this book on my web site: "The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played." [62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy.] It contains 62 true masterpieces of chess by various different players. (Masters such as Fischer, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tal, etc. Plus, many more of the all-time greats!!) Each game is carefully and lovingly annotated. This book had a tremendous impact on me and the way that I viewed and looked at chess. I studied it many, many, many times. Chernev provides games with an almost blow-by-blow commentary. His ideas are simple, fresh, insightful, and expressed with great clarity. He explains all the basic ideas of the game in a manner that ANY chess-player can follow. The variations are perfect. Not too much to overload the senses. I have had players who were almost beginners to players who were accomplished tournament players ... tell me that they profited from a careful study of this book. I think one should study this book, as I did. Every time your rating goes up 100 points, you should work your way through this book from cover to cover! You won't regret it and you definitely will improve! Another unique thing is he finds one idea or theme in each game, and just hammers away at it. It is a VERY good study method. It also contains some of the classics of chess, and Chernev brings you a fresh insight and analysis to each game. (Indeed - his comments and analysis may differ greatly from the ones that may have been published in the chess press when the game was first played.) Chernev was one of the greatest all-time teachers and writers in the chess field. This book is a true pearl!!! I think it belongs in the library of every real chess aficionado. >><p>I also rate this in, "The Ten Best Chess Books Ever Written." Need I say more? Scottish Proverbs “Better bend than break.” ~ Scottish Proverb Never let your feet run faster than your shoes. ~ Scottish Proverb Be happy while you’re living, For you’re a long time dead. ~ Scottish Proverb What may be done at any time will be done at no time. ~ Scottish Proverb Learn young, learn fair; learn old, learn more. ~ Scottish Proverb Get what you can and keep what you have; that’s the way to get rich. ~ Scottish Proverb Willful waste makes woeful want. ~ Scottish Proverb When the heart is full the tongue will speak. ~ Scottish Proverb Be slow in choosing a friend but slower in changing him. ~ Scottish Proverb Fools look to tomorrow. Wise men use tonight. ~ Scottish Proverb Confessed faults are half mended. ~ Scottish Proverb They that will not be counselled cannot be helped. ~ Scottish Proverb They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind. ~ Scottish Proverb Luck never gives; it only lends. ~ Scottish Proverb Better be ill spoken of by one before all than by all before one. ~ Scottish Proverb Take care of your pennies and your dollars will take care of themselves. ~ Scottish Proverb * Pawn Endgames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUq... * Crafty Endgame Trainer: https://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-... A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, "Don Quixote" Cajun: Joie de vivre (Jhwa da veev) – Joy of living. “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. “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 “Risk” by Anais Nin And then the day came, when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Proverbs 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. “God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.” — Billy Graham “My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world.” — Billy Graham “Whatever you are doing in the game of life, give it all you've got.” — Norman Vincent Peale “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” — Ralph Marston * Riddle-ziggy-bean: 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 Weiord Funn: 8two After Columbia Zan Francoppa pagan ideology Zajogin free papal map to Zaza Varkondzhova for zborris63 outr space, force, time, andrew j...son K safety. This poem is dedicated to Harris my chessplayer friend and literary commentator. Chess The Final Metaphor It was in a cesspool behind the place of his cousin Nick That in this pool of sewage, was born the freak called frick. On dark nights he hysterically wailed in his pool of slimy mess: "Oh why oh why, can't I play the game that humans call chess"? As the morning sun rose, begged the queen of the mighty king: Sire, can you not order the death of this awful filthy thing"? Wisely he replied: "no, I'll let frick live forever in distress While he must watch others enjoy themselves playing chess." Folsom 274&& 500 games, 1620-2020 29 Pawn Poking, Poaching & Punching “Win with grace, lose with dignity!” ― Susan Polgar “What does it take to be a champion? Desire, dedication, determination, personal and professional discipline, focus, concentration, strong nerves, the will to win, and yes, talent!” ― Susan Polgar “No matter how successful you are (or will be), never ever forget the people who helped you along the way, and pay it forward! Don’t become arrogant and conceited just because you gained a few rating points or made a few bucks. Stay humble and be nice, especially to your fans!” ― Susan Polgar * FTB says "Pawns are overrated until you reach an endgame (lost in the middlegame by acquiring a worse pawn structure). Then they become the focus. Of course, one should not play giveaway chess without compensation, so coddle your pawns (or get them the heck out of the way)." FTB would not expect GMs to agree completely. * Pawn practice for beginners after they know the squares, rules: http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/... * Tip: Blockade weak pawns. Penetrate weak squares. (Research these chess terms until well-understood! Winners do such concepts over and over.) Blockade weak pawns. Penetrate weak squares. That's what Fredthebear does! * Basic fundamentals of a pawn break: https://chess-teacher.com/theory-of... * Tip: Pawns and pawn structures are an acquired taste. (Fredthebear does not hesitate to recommend gambit openings to amateur players, as gambits often lead to lively games full of action because lines open quickly. Gambits are fun to play! Can you grab and maintain the initiative?) Do not buy a chess book all about pawns until you are a master candidate. Instead, check out chess books and videos on the middlegame. Middlegame books and videos will explain pawn basics and piece coordination; the two go hand-in-hand. Consistently apply what you already know, and don't worry so much about what you don't know yet. The better player often begins to dominate in the middlegame regardless of opening. IMHO, it's better to understand various MIDDLEGAME aspects than various pawn structures as long as you occupy the open lines in the pawn structure. While he's fiddling w/his pawns, you grip the center and pound 'em w/your pieces! Of course, you must seize open lines, avoid bad bishops, centralize your knight(s) and connect your rooks, form batteries and crossfires, etc. * The pawn structure serves as a skeleton (road map?) for piece movement. Your pawns must allow your pieces to get out, but not allow the opponent in. * What would you do against the Diemer-Duhm Gambit? Opening Explorer * Unverified Blogger Comment from another site: Axel Smith's 'Pump Up Your Rating' has a wonderful section dedicated to pawn levers. Such a great book! 'Applying Logic in Chess' by Erik Kislik is gaining attention too. * FTB has heard more than once that the book to get is "Soviet Middlegame Technique" by Peter Romanovsky. FTB has so many books that he has not gotten to Romanovsky yet. Before this should come "The Soviet Chess Primer" by Ilya Maizelis. Some of the world's best players say it is simply the best. FTB suspects you won't need any of his unsolicited advice after reading these two Soviet classics now available in English. Practical Chess Endings by Paul Keres, The Art of the Middle Game by Keres and Kotov, One Hundred Selected Games by Mikhail Botvinnik, and Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 surely fits with these studies. * Tips: Pawns are slow. Generally play w/your pieces much more than your pawns! Pieces are faster, threaten more squares to gain material; superior force should win. For example, the Bishop in the center threatens 14 squares, while a pawn threatens only two squares! Every pawn move should be necessary, for a useful lasting purpose, as the pawn cannot retreat to where it came from. The advanced pawn often requires passive protection for several moves. Pawns are often safest on their original square, or within two moves of their original square (this side of the frontier line). Strive to play aggressively. Use your minor pieces in the opening, and give all your pieces a job to do in the middlegame. Leave your castled king safely behind a compact pawn shield until the endgame arrives. Yes, make luft when necessary. The king and the outside pawns get moving in the endgame after so many pieces have been traded off. Perhaps a good time to advance pawns at any stage is when the opponent cannot seriously threaten your own king. * Scholastic Curriculum: http://ilchess.org/non_joom/youthpd... Beginners should have read a few general instruction books from the library, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, Kevin Starke, David McEnulty, Murry Chandler, etc. to gain some experience before Heisman straightens out your random, haphazard play and gives you something to think about. * Some algebraic notation books for studies up through Intermediates roughly in order of difficulty, top to bottom: - Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Fischer, et al. - Chess (Collins Need to Know?) by Tony Gillam. All the basics, too much so for younger readers. - Beginner's Guide to Winning Chess; Revised Edition w/Algebraic Notation by Fred Reinfeld. It's 213 pages with quizzes at the end of each chapter. - Simple Chess Tactics (and Checkmates) by Tony Gillam or A.J. Gillam. Reprints altered the cover title a bit. There's a basic thought process that's always applicable. - The Right Way to Play Chess by D.B. Pritchard. A best-seller. - Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson. It's OK to use the Queen? Fred Wilson is a good chess teacher who makes his point clear without distractions. - Chess Basics by David Levins. The writing is informative but the king symbol needs a clear cross instead of a fountain pen look. - The Winning Way by Bruce Pandolfini. Activate your pieces to win. - Everyone's Second Chess Book by Dan Heisman. The title is too ambitious, but the material is must-know. Gain some experience before Heisman straightens out your random, haphazard play and gives you something to think about. - Your First Chess Games by A.J. Gillam or Tony Gillam. Lots of short examples, blunders, what not to do. It's better to read general instruction books as listed above before hurrying into this one. It's really not too wise to jump into lots of opening play too soon. - How to Beat (anyone) Your Dad at Chess by Murray Chandler. This hard cover book covers 50 deadly checkmate and stalemate patterns w/additional examples. FTB has recommended elsewhere that you speed skim each number diagram on the LEFT side of the page only, 1-50 in 5-10 minutes like flash cards for quick review of each pattern on a daily/weekly basis. You read/solve the additional examples on the right side another time after you have already speed mastered the 1-50 on the left side. This should yield significant improvement in a very time efficient manner for the dedicated self-trainer. Checkmate is checkmate; this one is good for kids and grown-up club players. You're training your mind for instant pattern recognition. When you can visualize so many different finishes, it assists your ability to create attacks to arrive there at a winning position. - Guide to Good Chess by CJS Purdy. He covers all the basics briefly in his own unique way, including pawns. Purdy, Lasker, Tarrasch, Marshall, Koltanowski, Minev, Neishtadt are heavy influences on FTB's thinking. We're ready to pounce on our prey! A sound, solid, equal position without misplaced pieces is nothing to sneeze at, because it remains ready to roll like a German Panzer division! - Instructive Chess Miniatures by Alper Efe Ataman. - Winning Chess: How to Improve Your Attacking Play by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld. Revised by Batsford Chess into Algebraic Notation, ISBN# 9781849941563. - Attacking the King in the Center by Tony Gillam or A.J. Gillam. Set up a board and rehearse these games by hand! - Chess Made EASY by Milton Hanauer. This one is long form algebraic, a small nugget. Excellent examples for training! http://www.mpowers.com/books/chessm... - Chess for Everyone by Al Lawrence. Don't let the pictures of kids fool you into thinking it's too simple. It's 244 pages, so it's no kid book but an earnest kid certainly can read it. FTB did the average club player a real favor by recommending this one. - A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario. Stick with the king's pawn 1.e4 for awhile. - The Chess Doctor by Bruce Pandolfini. Easy lessons to clean up your own playing mistakes. - Improve Your Chess in Seven Days by Gary Lane. Lane writes interesting books. - Attacks on the Castled King by Tony Gillam. He breaks it down by file. - Common Sense in Chess by Emanuel Lasker, 21st Century Edition. Some of this book is basic material, some of it is more involved. - Endgame Play by Chris Ward. How'd this EG book make the list? Half the book is all about pawns in simple positions; it's a fairly easy read. This book will make you realize FTB is full of it and pawns are important because it's easy to win with an extra queen on a bare board. Snag a few extra pawns, trade off the like pieces, and promote a pawn, then checkmate w/the new queen. This is one winning approach that should function like clockwork. - Learn Chess Tactics by John Nunn. - Power Mates by Bruce Pandolfini. King hunts in all types of openings. Fredthebear believes in knowing how to FINISH first, and then learning all the different ways to get there. - Honest to goodness, anyone who has read this list thus far a couple times each and included another book of tactics and checkmates should be able to reach Class B or A rating level. The reader has been spoon fed all three phases of a chess game, and then some. It's a matter of playing soundly and consistently applying basic fundamental concepts like controlling the center and protecting your pieces without moving a handful of pawns. - 101 Chess Questions Answered by Steve Giddins has a wide variety of topics. Club players will be enlightened in some aspects. - Practical Middlegame Techniques by Danny Kopec. That pawn stuff is in here. - End Games in Chess by Theo Schuster. It's only 64 pages. Don't you want to know "how one more pawn wins"? - Best Lessons of a Chess Coach by Sunil Weeramantry. His son proved Sunil knows what he's talking about. So does Fredthebear. - The Art of Mastering Chess: A Complete Course for Beginners by GM Eduard Gufeld and others. It's better to have prior knowledge before tackling this one. "Art of Mastering" and "Beginners" really don't go together. - Better Chess for Average Players by Tim Harding. An underappreciated writer this side of the Atlantic. - Rudolph Spielmann: Master of Invention by Neil McDonald. Chapters by themes will help you get the big picture. There's a chapter on pawn power. - Chess Training by Nigel Povah. It's loaded with essentials. However, FTB does not think like a tree. FTB thinks about gripping the center, rapid development, and inflicting pain w/each and every piece (while avoiding pain by each and every opposing piece). What's the best move available for this piece? That piece? The major mistake in chess is simply overlooking what a certain piece can do next. Can it check, cut-off, capture, aim at/through 2, pile on to outnumber, blockade, etc. Then FTB compares each of the best possibilities of the pieces for the one best line of play. A good active move usually suggests follow-up moves if allowed. - FCO - Fundamental Chess Openings by Paul Van Der Sterren. After you play over a game -- your own game or a published game, you should look up the proper line of play. This will save you a TON of grief in future games by not messing up the opening (as long as you are disciplined enough to continue playing the same openings for familiarity). You don't have to get a winning position in the opening; just avoid making the wrong move and landing in a bad position. You should always know what will occur after an exchange in the opening, what line opens and who will seize it. - Chess The Art of Logical Thinking by Neil McDonald. Observe, think, plan, compare, decide, blunder check, then move. - The Giant Chess Puzzle Book by Zenon Franco. This has 1001 puzzles divided by themes with explanations and self-quizzes, ranging from easy to difficult. You'll have a good idea where you stand after this. When the positions get too difficult, move ahead to the next chapter and save the toughest material for next year. - ABCs of Chess by Bruce Pandolfini. It's not a starter book by any means. These are diverse magazine articles combined into a book. - Chess Fundamentals by Jose R. Capablanca. Not my favorite, but the concept of switching from targeting one weakness to another weakness is vital. - Pawn Power by Angus Dunnington. Yes, an uncomplicated book about pawns! Dunnington sticks to the same level of writing for his targeted audience. He does not jump around from club to GM level material like other authors sometimes do. - Pro Chess Videos 1&2 by Yasser Seirawan. More about pawns. - Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev. It's descriptive notation, but use this website to make the moves in algebraic notation as you read from the book. - From Beginner to Expert in 40 Lessons by Aleksander Kostyev. No, this book will not make you an expert by itself. This book would be world famous if it did that. You have to continue to study middlegames and endgames. - 101 Attacking Ideas in Chess by Joe Gallagher. Time is a crucial element in chess. Attack when and if it's available -- seize the moment, before the opponent makes corrections. Otherwise, make positional improvements for increased pressure and flexibility. - The Game of Chess by Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch, 21st Century Edition. This book sets the old standard for instructional excellence!! Don't get too caught up in the opening variations though. - Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom by Eric Schiller. How much of this do you KNOW by now? How much of this do you read and UNDERSTND by now? You don't have to memorize it, but do reference it. - Pawn Sacrifice by Timothy Taylor. Some daring play in here. - 300 Games of Chess by Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch. Delightful! The more common Dover edition is descriptive notation, as most Dover books are. Get the Hayes Publisher's edition for algebraic. - Back to Basics Series fits about here. Mastering this material certainly should make one a candidate master. - Richard Reti's Masters of the Chessboard and Modern Ideas in Chess are classics, reprinted as 21st Century Editions. - Why You Lose at Chess by Tim Harding. Don't take losing so hard. Do ask a strong player to analyze your recorded games with you. - 50 Essential Chess Lessons by Steve Giddens. Each lesson is a master game. The games range from 1935 to 2005. I thought Mr. Giddens' annotations were very good. - Modern Chess Openings: 15th Edition by Nick De Firmian. This is a reference book; you don't read it from cover-to-cover. - Carlsbad International Chess Tournament 1929 by Aron Nimzowitsch. Yeah, FTB avoided Nimzowitsch because Tarrasch is a better writer language-wise. - New Ideas in Chess by Larry Evans. These ideas are not new anymore. Focus on the diagrams, the diagrams. Visualize how the game unfolds from there. The diagrams are underrated. - (The Petroff): Move by Move (Everyman Chess) by Cyrus Lakdawala. It does not have to be this specific book, but pick something by this author and read it! However, you'd better have a rock-solid Black defense to 1.e4 if you want to score well in tournaments. - 365 Chess Master Lessons by GM Andrew Soltis. FTB has previewed this one, but has not read it all. Soltis is a most experienced author. - The Art of Attack by Vladimir Vukovic, revised algebraic edition. It's loaded. - Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal by Raymond Keene. - Understanding Chess Move by Move by John Nunn. (FTB left out book suggestions for tactics, combinations, checkmates, and endgames, all of which are more important than pawns. Did you research Weak Pawns and Weak Squares? No, you don't need Silman's books to understand that.) - FTB says "Yes, pawns are the soul of chess. However, pins are the prick of chess. Don't get pricked by a pin. Tactics usually hit swifter than pawns do." * There's a flip side to the coin... Peligroso Patzer: [from Aug-24-05] Chess is not so simple that it can be reduced to the application of reliable maxims (such as “all rook endings are drawn”). There are exceptions, such as this game: Alekhine vs Reti, 1922 In which Reti realized that exchanging rooks (with <57. … Rxg4!>) would assure him of a draw. (FTB recommends learning the maxims anyway, and make note of the exceptions. Over the years, FTB has noticed that when a maxim does not apply, one player or the other usually has violated a maxim prior to. Violations beget exceptions of maxims; threats take precedence.) <Below is the acrostic poem by Mrs. T.B. Rowland: Tears now we sadly shed apart, How keenly has death’s sudden dart E’en pierced a kingdom’s loyal heart. Dark lies the heavy gloomy pall Upon our royal bower, Kings, queens, and nations bow their heads, Each mourn for England’s flower. Oh! God, to her speak peace divine, For now no voice can soothe but thine. Ah, why untimely snatched away, Loved Prince – alas, we sigh – Before thy sun its zenith reached Athwart the noonday sky. Noble in heart, in deed, and will, Years hence thy name we’ll cherish still. That poem was published on pages 140-141 of Chess Fruits (Dublin, 1884)> “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 St. Marher, 1225: "And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet." 3L z Belgrade Zdanovs split Zelinsky, Yuri Zhuravliov pepperminced candy. “Debt is dumb. Cash is king.” — Dave Ramsey A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town markets, and the discipline continues into the modern day, where jesters perform at historical-themed events. During the Middle Ages, jesters are often thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. Their modern counterparts usually mimic this costume. Jesters entertained with a wide variety of skills: principal among them were song, music, and storytelling, but many also employed acrobatics, juggling, telling jokes (such as puns, stereotypes, and imitation), and performing magic tricks. Much of the entertainment was performed in a comic style. Many jesters made contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences. Anyone can make you smile. But not everyone can make you happy. ― Joker Leadership doesn’t depend on your size. It depends on your Attitude. ― Joker Folsom 274@$ 494 games, 1620-2020 29 Service for a Purpose Speaking strictly in chess terms, "queening" isn't always best! This file was originally about underpromotions instead of queening a pawn. It was neglected. Henceforth the title, and Fredthebear was quick to recall it's existence. The file is now full up! When promoting a pawn to the opponent's back rank, first consider replacing the pawn with a knight check. The knight check could be checkmate, or a royal fork that gains the opposing queen. Don't just automatically make your pawn into a new queen. Also, be concerned that a new heavy piece (queen or rook) inflicts stalemate, perhaps by establishing a pin on the back rank while pawns block pawns. Promotions into stalemate occasionally occur in endgames with the opposing king stuck on the outer file. Also, before promoting to queen, you'd better ask "Does she stalemate my opponent?" FTB once caught himself grasping the new queen to replace the promoted f8-pawn -- the pawn had not been removed yet -- and saw the looming stalemate. So, FTB set the queen back down, grabbed the new rook instead, and replaced the promoted pawn with the rook, which gave the opposing Kh7 a legal move to make. Touch-move does not apply until the promoted pawn has been touched for replacement! All was well, and checkmate was served shortly thereafter with the replacement rook. Games at the top of the list tend to be underpromotions. Underpromotions have become more common in the computer era, as the computer will foolishly under promote, often in hopes the new minor piece will not be captured since it is of less value than a new queen would be worth. (Yes, Fredthebear just suggested the unemotional computer is "foolish" and "hopeful".) There are some silly examples in here, but they are included nonetheless as it is a part of the game we love. Underpromotions are rare, so examples (useful or otherwise) are hard to come by. Fredthebear's silly title helped his recall when an underpromotion was eventually found! The majority of these games are interesting battles to create, advance and promote a passed pawn. In most cases, the passed pawn becomes a new queen. Some passers are successful, or will be successful and resignation is in order, and some are violently thwarted. The side with the passer can inflict some wicked combinations to deflect or destroy the defender of the promotion square. These fighting promotions are below the underpromotions. Fredthebear says chess teachers need to show a few examples of Nimzowitsch-like blockades and sacrificial clearing of the path to their students; give a piece to gain more material. Be careful -- promotion takes time to advance the pawn and attempts to do so can give away the initiative! Pushing pawns with no threat to capture an opposing unit is probably not the correct approach if the opposing queen and a back rank rook are still on the board. Thank you cu8sfan for so many rinky dink underpromotions to bishop. The bishop usually gets munched anyway, but very computer-like nonetheless. * Underpromotions by Sneaky: Game Collection: Underpromotions * Underpromotions to Knight: Game Collection: Promotion: Knight * Records: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/record... This collection was originally created by Fredthebear. The suffix "Elsass" is a pseudonym. In chess circles he was known as "Hans Gebhard". 'April showers bring forth May flowers 'An army marches on its stomach 'As thick as thieves 'As you make your bed, so you must lie upon it 'As you sow so shall you reap 'Ashes to ashes dust to dust 'Ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer 'Ask no questions and hear no lies 'Attack is the best form of defence Nicole wrote: I'm not a piece in your chess game... I'm not a pawn in your chess game, I'm not the person who takes the blame, I'm not a person who can use for fame, You act like i'm an embarrassment of shame. But I realise my worth now, The leader of the pack: a crowd, The turning revolution of endow, The piece in your game who steals the king's crown. I'm not a piece in your chess game, Instead, I'm you addiction which you will try to reclaim, Whilst I light my furious flames. “The successful farmer is said to have a "green thumb" since everything he touches spring into fruitful bloom. In chess, (Miguel) Najdorf has a similar gift. Combinations blossom in his games like buds in a fertile garden.” — Hans Kmoch The Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot An iron pot proposed To an earthen pot a journey. The latter was opposed, Expressing the concern he Had felt about the danger Of going out a ranger. He thought the kitchen hearth The safest place on earth For one so very brittle. "For you, who art a kettle, And have a tougher skin, There's nothing to keep you in." "I'll be your body-guard," Replied the iron pot; "If anything that's hard Should threaten you a jot, Between you I will go, And save you from the blow." This offer him persuaded. The iron pot paraded Himself as guard and guide Close at his cousin's side. Now, in their tripod way, They hobble as they may; And eke together bolt At every little jolt, – Which gives the crockery pain; But presently his comrade hits So hard, he dashes him to bits, Before he can complain. Take care that you associate With equals only, lest your fate Between these pots should find its mate. 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.” — Assiac 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) <Tips to calm down Here are some helpful, actionable tips you can try the next time you need to calm down. 1. Breathe “Breathing is the number one and most effective technique for reducing anger and anxiety quickly,” says Scott Dehorty, LCSW-C, of Delphi Behavioral Health. When you’re anxious or angry, you tend to take quick, shallow breaths. Dehorty says this sends a message to your brain, causing a positive feedback loop reinforcing your fight-or-flight response. That’s why taking long, deep calming breaths disrupts that loop and helps you calm down. There are various breathing techniques to help you calm down. One is three-part breathing. Three-part breathing requires you to take one deep breath in and then exhale fully while paying attention to your body. Once you get comfortable with deep breathing, you can change the ratio of inhalation and exhalation to 1:2 (you slow down your exhalation so that it’s twice as long as your inhalation). Practice these techniques while calm so you know how to do them when you’re anxious. 2. Admit that you’re anxious or angry Allow yourself to say that you’re anxious or angry. When you label how you’re feeling and allow yourself to express it, the anxiety and anger you’re experiencing may decrease. 3. Challenge your thoughts Part of being anxious or angry is having irrational thoughts that don’t necessarily make sense. These thoughts are often the “worse-case scenario.” You might find yourself caught in the “what if” cycle, which can cause you to sabotage a lot of things in your life. When you experience one of these thoughts, stop and ask yourself the following questions: Is this likely to happen? Is this a rational thought? Has this ever happened to me before? What’s the worst that can happen? Can I handle that? After you go through the questions, it’s time to reframe your thinking. Instead of “I can’t walk across that bridge. What if there’s an earthquake, and it falls into the water?” tell yourself: “There are people that walk across that bridge every day, and it has never fallen into the water.” 4. Release the anxiety or anger Dehorty recommends getting the emotional energy out with exercise. “Go for a walk or run. [Engaging] in some physical activity [releases] serotonin to help you calm down and feel better.” However, you should avoid physical activity that includes the expression of anger, such as punching walls or screaming. “This has been shown to increase feelings of anger, as it reinforces the emotions because you end up feeling good as the result of being angry,” Dehorty explains. 5. Visualize yourself calm This tip requires you to practice the breathing techniques you’ve learned. After taking a few deep breaths, close your eyes and picture yourself calm. See your body relaxed, and imagine yourself working through a stressful or anxiety-causing situation by staying calm and focused. By creating a mental picture of what it looks like to stay calm, you can refer back to that image when you’re anxious. 6. Think it through Have a mantra to use in critical situations. Just make sure it’s one that you find helpful. Dehorty says it can be, “Will this matter to me this time next week?” or “How important is this?” or “Am I going to allow this person/situation to steal my peace?” This allows the thinking to shift focus, and you can “reality test” the situation. “When we’re anxious or angry, we become hyper-focused on the cause, and rational thoughts leave our mind. These mantras give us an opportunity to allow rational thought to come back and lead to a better outcome,” Dehorty explains. 7. Change your focus Leave the situation, look in another direction, walk out of the room, or go outside. Dehorty recommends this exercise so you have time for better decision making. “We don’t do our best thinking when anxious or angry; we engage in survival thinking. This is fine if our life is really in danger, but if it isn’t life threatening, we want our best thinking, not survival instincts,” he adds. 8. Have a centering object When you’re anxious or angry, so much of your energy is being spent on irrational thoughts. When you’re calm, find a “centering object” such as a small stuffed animal, a polished rock you keep in your pocket, or a locket you wear around your neck. Tell yourself that you’re going to touch this object when you’re experiencing anxiety or frustration. This centers you and helps calm your thoughts. For example, if you’re at work and your boss is making you anxious, gently rub the locket around your neck. 9. Relax your body When you’re anxious or angry, it can feel like every muscle in your body is tense (and they probably are). Practicing progressive muscle relaxation can help you calm down and center yourself. To do this, lie down on the floor with your arms out by your side. Make sure your feet aren’t crossed and your hands aren’t in fists. Start at your toes and tell yourself to release them. Slowly move up your body, telling yourself to release each part of your body until you get to your head. 10. Drop your shoulders If your body is tense, there’s a good chance your posture will suffer. Sit up tall, take a deep breath, and drop your shoulders. To do this, you can focus on bringing your shoulder blades together and then down. This pulls your shoulders down. Take a few deep breaths. You can do this several times a day. 11. Identify pressure points to calm anger and anxiety Going for a massage or getting acupuncture is a wonderful way to manage anxiety and anger. But it’s not always easy to find time in your day to make it happen. The good news is, you can do acupressure on yourself for instant anxiety relief. This method involves putting pressure with your fingers or your hand at certain points of the body. The pressure releases the tension and relaxes your body. One area to start with is the point where the inside of your wrist forms a crease with your hand. Press your thumb on this area for two minutes. This can help relieve tension. 12. Get some fresh air The temperature and air circulation in a room can increase your anxiety or anger. If you’re feeling tense and the space you’re in is hot and stuffy, this could trigger a panic attack. Remove yourself from that environment as soon as possible and go outside — even if it’s just for a few minutes. Not only will the fresh air help calm you down, but also the change of scenery can sometimes interrupt your anxious or angry thought process. 13. Fuel your body Being hangry never helps. If you’re hungry or not properly hydrated, many relaxation techniques won’t work. That’s why it’s important to slow down and get something to eat — even if it’s just a small snack. Try nibbling on some dark chocolate. ResearchTrusted Source shows it can help boost brain health and reduce stress. Wash it down with a cup of green tea and honey. Studies show green tea can help reduce the body’s stress response. Research has found that honey can help relieve anxiety. 14. Chew gum Chewing on a piece of gum can help reduce anxiety (and even boost mood and productivity). In fact, research shows people who chew gum regularly are typically less stressed than non-gum chewers. 15. Listen to music The next time you feel your anxiety level cranking up, grab some headphones and tune in to your favorite music. Listening to music can have a very calming effect on your body and mind. 16. Dance it out Get moving to your favorite tunes. Dancing has traditionally been used as a healing art. ResearchTrusted Source shows it’s a great way to combat depression and anxiety and increase quality of life. 17. Watch funny videos Sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. Research has found that laughing provides therapeutic benefits and can help relieve stress and improve mood and quality of life. Do a quick internet search to find funny videos for an instant mood boost. 18. Write it down If you’re too angry or anxious to talk about it, grab a journal and write out your thoughts. Don’t worry about complete sentences or punctuation — just write. Writing helps you get negative thoughts out of your head. 19. Squeeze a stress ball When you’re feeling stress come on, try interacting with a stress-relief toy. Options include: stress ball magnetic balls sculpting clay puzzles Rubik’s cube fidget spinner 20. Try aromatherapy Aromatherapy, or the use of essential oils, may help alleviate stress and anxiety and boost mood. Those commonly used in aromatherapy include: bergamot cedarwood chamomile geranium ginger lavender lemon tea tree Add a few drops of essential oil to a diffuser, or mix it with a carrier oil (like coconut oil) and apply to your skin for quick relief. 21. Seek social support Venting to a trusted friend, family member, or coworker can do wonders. Even if you don’t have time for a full play-by-play phone call, a quick text exchange can help you let it all out and help you feel heard. Bonus points if you engage with a funny friend who can help you laugh for added stress relief. 22. Spend time with a pet Interacting with your favorite furry friend can decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol and lower blood pressure. Quality time with a pet can also help you feel less alone and boost your overall mood.> “....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 pages 24-25 of The Year Book of the United States Chess Federation 1944 (Chicago, 1945), which published ‘Brave Heart’, Anthony Santasiere’s tribute to Frank J. Marshall. Written in August 1942 for Marshall’s 65th birthday, it began: Brave Heart – We salute you! Knowing neither gain nor loss, Nor fear, nor hate –; But only this – To fight – to fight – And to love. Santasiere then gushes on in a similar vein for another 40 lines or so, and we pick up the encomium for its final verse: For this – dear Frank – We thank you. For this – dear Frank – We love you! Brave heart – Brave heart – We love you! The Wolf Accusing The Fox Before The Monkey A wolf, affirming his belief That he had suffered by a thief, Brought up his neighbour fox – Of whom it was by all confessed, His character was not the best – To fill the prisoner's box. As judge between these vermin, A monkey graced the ermine; And truly other gifts of Themis Did scarcely seem his; For while each party plead his cause, Appealing boldly to the laws, And much the question vexed, Our monkey sat perplexed. Their words and wrath expended, Their strife at length was ended; When, by their malice taught, The judge this judgment brought: "Your characters, my friends, I long have known, As on this trial clearly shown; And hence I fine you both – the grounds at large To state would little profit – You wolf, in short, as bringing groundless charge, You fox, as guilty of it." Come at it right or wrong, the judge opined No other than a villain could be fined. 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. “Just because you know stuff doesn't mean you are smart... You have to know how to use that information.” ― Josh Keller The Three Kings By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Three Kings came riding from far away, Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar; Three Wise Men out of the East were they, And they travelled by night and they slept by day, For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star. The star was so beautiful, large and clear, That all the other stars of the sky Became a white mist in the atmosphere, And by this they knew that the coming was near Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy. Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows, Three caskets of gold with golden keys; Their robes were of crimson silk with rows Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows, Their turbans like blossoming almond-trees. And so the Three Kings rode into the West, Through the dusk of the night, over hill and dell, And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast, And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest, With the people they met at some wayside well. “Of the child that is born,” said Baltasar, “Good people, I pray you, tell us the news; For we in the East have seen his star, And have ridden fast, and have ridden far, To find and worship the King of the Jews.” And the people answered, “You ask in vain; We know of no King but Herod the Great!” They thought the Wise Men were men insane, As they spurred their horses across the plain, Like riders in haste, who cannot wait. And when they came to Jerusalem, Herod the Great, who had heard this thing, Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them; And said, “Go down unto Bethlehem, And bring me tidings of this new king.” So they rode away; and the star stood still, The only one in the grey of morn; Yes, it stopped—it stood still of its own free will, Right over Bethlehem on the hill, The city of David, where Christ was born. And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard, Through the silent street, till their horses turned And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard; But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred, And only a light in the stable burned. And cradled there in the scented hay, In the air made sweet by the breath of kine, The little child in the manger lay, The child, that would be king one day Of a kingdom not human, but divine. His mother Mary of Nazareth Sat watching beside his place of rest, Watching the even flow of his breath, For the joy of life and the terror of death Were mingled together in her breast. They laid their offerings at his feet: The gold was their tribute to a King, The frankincense, with its odor sweet, Was for the Priest, the Paraclete, The myrrh for the body’s burying. And the mother wondered and bowed her head, And sat as still as a statue of stone, Her heart was troubled yet comforted, Remembering what the Angel had said Of an endless reign and of David’s throne. Then the Kings rode out of the city gate, With a clatter of hoofs in proud array; But they went not back to Herod the Great, For they knew his malice and feared his hate, And returned to their homes by another way. The first chess legend, called the wheat and chessboard problem, illustrates the power of exponential growth. The first chess movie, called Chess Fever, was a silent comedy released in 1925 in the Soviet Union. The word checkmate comes from the Persian phrase shah mat, meaning "the king is helpless". The Lion Beaten By The Man A picture once was shown, In which one man, alone, On the ground had thrown A lion fully grown. Much gloried at the sight the rabble. A lion thus rebuked their babble: "That you have got the victory there, There is no contradiction. But, gentles, possibly you are The dupes of easy fiction: Had we the art of making pictures, Perhaps our champion had beat yours!" Fools look to tomorrow. Wise men use tonight. ~ Scottish Proverb “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” ― Denis Waitley “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 WordZeerch: 2Zz Drove 500 she to Anapolis indy toydakota. Zdanovs split Zelinsky, Yuri Zhuravliov “Debt is dumb. Cash is king.” — Dave Ramsey A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town markets, and the discipline continues into the modern day, where jesters perform at historical-themed events. During the Middle Ages, jesters are often thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. Their modern counterparts usually mimic this costume. Jesters entertained with a wide variety of skills: principal among them were song, music, and storytelling, but many also employed acrobatics, juggling, telling jokes (such as puns, stereotypes, and imitation), and performing magic tricks. Much of the entertainment was performed in a comic style. Many jesters made contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences. A Honest Enemy is better than a Friend who Lies. ― Joker I prefer to smile in my darkest hours. Just to show life that it messed with the wrong one. ― Joker Why did the rooster cross the road? He had something to cock-a-doodle dooo! 498 games, 1810-2018 29C g-pawn/file demolition Those who want to learn how to pry open the g-file to get at the castled king from other openings should hop down to Joseph Henry Blackburne's games. They called him "The Black Death" for good reason!! The gates could not keep his army out. (Unfortunately, editing tore up his block of games; they're scattered throughout.) “Chess first of all teaches you to be objective.” ― Alexander Alekhine “Among a great many other things that chess teaches you is to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good. It trains you to think before grabbing and to think just as objectively when you’re in trouble.” ― Stanley Kubrick “Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules, take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.” ― Garry Kasparov “Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.” ― Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe “You can never relax. I keep the same amount of energy and concentration during the tournament.” ― 13-year-old FM Brewington Hardaway from New York “To avoid losing a piece, many a person has lost the game.”― Savielly Tartakower “Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.” ― Winston S. Churchill * Classic games by great players: Game Collection: Guinness Book - Chess Grandmasters (Hartston) * 100+ Scandinavian Miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... * 610_Back rank mating tactics: Game Collection: 610_Back rank mating tactics * Fork OVerload (Remove the Defender): Game Collection: FORK-OVERLOAD OR HOOK-AND-LADDER TRICK * Impact of Genius: 500 years of Grandmaster Chess: Game Collection: Impact of Genius : 500 years of Grandmaster Ches * Chess Prehistory Compiled by Joe Stanley: Game Collection: Chess Prehistory * Organized Steinitz collection: Game Collection: Steinitz Gambits * Best (Old) Games of All Time: Game Collection: Best Games of All Time * 'Great Brilliancy Prize Games of the Chess Masters' by Fred Reinfeld: Game Collection: 0 * bengalcat47's favorite games of famous masters: Game Collection: bengalcat47's favorite games * Mil y Una Partidas 1914-1931: Game Collection: Mil y Una Partidas 1914-1931 * Fire Baptisms Compiled by Nasruddin Hodja: Game Collection: Fire Baptisms * maxruen's favorite games III: Game Collection: maxruen's favorite games III * some famous brilliancies: Game Collection: brilliacies * Brilliant games Compiled by madhatter5: Game Collection: Brilliant games * The Fireside Book of Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld: Game Collection: Fireside Book of Chess * 'Chess Praxis' by Aron Nimzowitsch: Game Collection: Chess Praxis (Nimzowitsch) * '500 Master Games of Chess' by Savielly Tartakower and Julius Du Mont: Game Collection: 500 Master Games of Chess * Great Combinations Compiled by wwall: Game Collection: Combinations * Middlegame Combinations by Peter Romanovsky: Game Collection: Middlegame Combinations by Peter Romanovsky * Exchange sacs – 1 Compiled by obrit: Game Collection: Exchange sacs - 1 * 38 Tactics: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... * Wei Yi spent 48 minutes on a move: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF8... * Prize Games: Game Collection: Great Brilliancy Prize Games of the ChessMasters * Happy Days! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slv... * Roger that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9S... “The only way to change anything in Russia is a revolution” ― Daniil Dubov https://en.chessbase.com/post/dubov... * Vladimir Bagirov Attacks: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... * Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/ * Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters Volume II: Game Collection: Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters Volume II * Ne5 Holler of a Tree in Fredthebear Country: Game Collection: 5 Ne5 Holler of a Tree in Fredthebear Country * 'The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games' by Graham Burgess, John Nunn and John Emms. New expanded edition-now with 125 games. Game Collection: Mammoth Book-Greatest Games (Nunn/Burgess/Emms) * Best of the British Compiled by Timothy Glenn Forney: Game Collection: Best of the British * The Best Chess Games (part 2): Game Collection: The Best Chess Games (part 2) * Annotated Games: Game Collection: Annotated Games * sapientdust's favorite games: Game Collection: sapientdust's favorite games * shakman's favorite games – 2: Game Collection: shakman's favorite games - 2 * Reti Opening Compiled by KingG: Game Collection: Reti Opening * Veliki majstori saha 16 RETI (Slavko Petrovic): Game Collection: Veliki majstori saha 16 RETI (Petrovic) * Richard Réti's Best Games by Golombek: Game Collection: Richard Réti's Best Games by Golombek * ray keene's favorite games: Game Collection: ray keene's favorite games * (Variety Pack) Compiled by Nova: Game Collection: KID games * JonathanJ's favorite games 4: Game Collection: JonathanJ's favorite games 4 * jorundte's favorite games: Game Collection: jorundte's favorite games * elmubarak: my fav games: Game Collection: elmubarak: my fav games * assorted Good games Compiled by rbaglini: Game Collection: assorted Good games * Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz): Game Collection: 0 * LAST COLLECTION Compiled by Jaredfchess: Game Collection: LAST COLLECTION * Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/ WTHarvey: There once was a website named WTHarvey, Where chess puzzles did daily delay, The brain-teasers so tough, They made us all huff and puff, But solving them brought us great satisfaction today. There once was a website named WTHarvey Where chess puzzles were quite aplenty With knight and rook and pawn You'll sharpen your brain with a yawn And become a master of chess entry There once was a site for chess fun, Wtharvey.com was the chosen one, With puzzles galore, It'll keep you in store, For hours of brain-teasing, none done. There once was a website named wtharvey, Where chess puzzles were posted daily, You'd solve them with glee, And in victory, You'd feel like a true chess prodigy! “Chess is played with the mind and not with the hands.” ― Renaud & Kahn “Chess is a terrific way for kids to build self-image and self-esteem.” ― Saudin Robovic “Chess is a sport. The main object in the game of chess remains the achievement of victory.” ― Max Euwe “Life is like a chess. If you lose your queen, you will probably lose the game.” ― Being Caballero “If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure.” — Garry Kasparov “You win some, you lose some, you wreck some.” — Dale Earnhardt “In life, unlike chess the game continues after checkmate.” ― Isaac Asimov <The Fooles Mate Black Kings Biſhops pawne one houſe. White Kings pawne one houſe. Black kings knights pawne two houſes White Queen gives Mate at the contrary kings Rookes fourth houſe — Beale, The Royall Game of Chesse-Play Beale's example can be paraphrased in modern terms where White always moves first, algebraic notation is used, and Black delivers the fastest possible mate after each player makes two moves: 1.f3 e6 2.g4 Qh4# There are eight distinct ways in which Fool's Mate can be reached in two moves. White may alternate the order of f- and g-pawn moves, Black may play either e6 or e5, and White may move their f-pawn to f3 or f4.> “Chess is life in miniature. Chess is a struggle, chess battles.” — Garry Kasparov “Sometimes in life, and in chess, you must take one step back to take two steps forward.” — IM Levy Rozman, GothamChess So much, much, much better to be an incurable optimist than deceitful and untrustworthy. “Don’t blow your own trumpet.” — Australian Proverb Old Russian Proverb: "Scythe over a stone." (Нашла коса на камень.) The force came over a stronger force. “Continuing to play the victim is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Blaming others for your station in life will indeed make you a victim but the perpetrator will be your own self, not life or those around you.” — Bobby Darnell Feb-09-12 ray keene: nimzos best endgames v lasker zurich 1934 v spielmann carlsbad 1929 v lundin stockholm 1934 v maroczy bled 1931 v henneberger winterthur 1931 v thomas frankfurt 1930 v sultan khan liege 1930 v marshall berlin 1928 v reti berlin 1928 v alehine ny 1927 v tchigorin carlsbad 1907 and for a joke entry duras v nimzo san sebastian 1912 !! People believe what they want to believe, truth or not. “Search for the grain of truth in other opinions.” ― Richard Carlson “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). The Bear ~ Author Unknown ~ Here is a cave, (make a fist) Inside is a bear. (put a thumb inside fist) Now he comes out To get some fresh air. (pop out thumb) He stays out all summer In sunshine and heat. He hunts in the forest For berries to eat. (move thumb in circle) When snow starts to fall, He hurries inside His warm little cave, And there he will hide. (put thumb back inside fist) Snow covers the cave Like a fluffy white rug. Inside the bear sleeps All cozy and snug. (cover fist with other hand) Old Russian Proverb: Чему́ быть, того́ не минова́ть Pronunciation: ChiMU BYT’, taVOH ni mihnoVAT’ Translation: You can’t avoid that which is meant to happen Meaning: Whatever shall be, will be. Engineer Ralph Baer is often held to be the "father of video games." His "Brown Box" video game system, designed in 1967, paved the way for all future consoles. “mãos frias, coração quente“. In English, it means “a cold hand, a warm heart” Drive sober or get pulled over. “For surely of all the drugs in the world, chess must be the most permanently pleasurable.” — Assiac “mais vale um passarinho na mão do que dois a voar“ Contrary to popular belief, the first video game was not Pong. It was preceded by Tennis for Two in 1958 and Spacewar! in 1962. 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. “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 <Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" Bombardment of Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, New York, 1865 The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in the middle of the Civil War, wrote this poem which has more recently been adapted as a modern Christmas classic. Longfellow wrote this on Christmas Day in 1863, after his son had enlisted in the Union's cause and had returned home, seriously wounded. The verses which he included and are still generally included, speak of the despair of hearing the promise of "peace on earth, goodwill to men" when the evidence of the world is clearly that war still exists. And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men." The original also included several verses referring specifically to the Civil War. Before that cry of despair and answering cry of hope, and after verses describing the long years of hearing of "peace on earth, goodwill to men" (a phrase from the Jesus birth narratives in the Christian scriptures), Longfellow's poem includes, describing the black cannons of the war: Then from each black, accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South, And with the sound The carols drowned Of peace on earth, good-will to men! It was as if an earthquake rent The hearth-stones of a continent, And made forlorn The households born Of peace on earth, good-will to men!> *At some time or other tournament player learns a few opening lines, some tactical ideas, the most basic mating patterns, and a few elementary endgames. As he gets better and more experienced, he significantly adds to this knowledge. However, the one thing that just everybody has problem is planning. From Z to class E (under 1200) D to Master, I get blank stares when asking what plan they had in mind in a particular position. Usually the choice of a plan (if they had any plan at all) is based on emotional rather than chess-specific considerations. By emotional, I mean that the typical player does what he feels like doing rather than the board "telling him what to do. This is somewhat cryptic sentence leads us to the following extremely important concept: if you want to be successful, you have to base your moves and plans on the specific imbalance-oriented criteria that exist in that given position, not your mood, taste and/or feared. Literally every non-master's games are filled with examples of "imbalance avoidance". Beginners, of course, simply don't know what imbalances are. Most experienced players have heard of the term and perhaps even tried to make use of them from time to time, however once the rush of battle takes over, isolated moves and raw aggression (or terror, if you find yourself defending) push any and all thoughts of imbalances out the door. In this case, chess becomes empty move-by-move, threat-by-threat (either making them or responding to them) affair. What is this mysterious allusion of the chessboard's desires (i.e., doing what the chess board wants you to do)? What is this "imbalance-oriented criteria? ― How To Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman The Two Friends Two friends, in Monomotapa, Had all their interests combined. Their friendship, faithful and refined, Our country can't exceed, do what it may. One night, when potent Sleep had laid All still within our planet's shade, One of the two gets up alarmed, Runs over to the other's palace, And hastily the servants rallies. His startled friend, quick armed, With purse and sword his comrade meets, And thus right kindly greets: "You seldom com'st at such an hour; I take you for a man of sounder mind Than to abuse the time for sleep designed. Have lost your purse, by Fortune's power? Here's mine. Have suffered insult, or a blow, I have here my sword – to avenge it let us go." "No," said his friend, "no need I feel Of either silver, gold, or steel; I thank you for your friendly zeal. In sleep I saw you rather sad, And thought the truth might be as bad. Unable to endure the fear, That cursed dream has brought me here." Which think you, reader, loved the most! If doubtful this, one truth may be proposed: There's nothing sweeter than a real friend: Not only is he prompt to lend – An angler delicate, he fishes The very deepest of your wishes, And spares your modesty the task His friendly aid to ask. A dream, a shadow, wakes his fear, When pointing at the object dear. “To a good listener, half a word is enough” ~ Portuguese Proverb Collected by Fredthebear The Old Man And His Sons All power is feeble with dissension: For this I quote the Phrygian slave. If anything I add to his invention, It is our manners to engrave, And not from any envious wishes; – I'm not so foolishly ambitious. Phaedrus enriches often his story, In quest – I doubt it not – of glory: Such thoughts were idle in my breast. An aged man, near going to his rest, His gathered sons thus solemnly addressed: "To break this bunch of arrows you may try; And, first, the string that binds them I untie." The eldest, having tried with might and main, Exclaimed, "This bundle I resign To muscles sturdier than mine." The second tried, and bowed himself in vain. The youngest took them with the like success. All were obliged their weakness to confess. Unharmed the arrows passed from son to son; Of all they did not break a single one. "Weak fellows!" said their sire, "I now must show What in the case my feeble strength can do." They laughed, and thought their father but in joke, Till, one by one, they saw the arrows broke. "See, concord's power!" replied the sire; "as long As you in love agree, you will be strong. I go, my sons, to join our fathers good; Now promise me to live as brothers should, And soothe by this your dying father's fears." Each strictly promised with a flood of tears. Their father took them by the hand, and died; And soon the virtue of their vows was tried. Their sire had left a large estate Involved in lawsuits intricate; Here seized a creditor, and there A neighbour levied for a share. At first the trio nobly bore The brunt of all this legal war. But short their friendship as It was rare. Whom blood had joined – and small the wonder! – The force of interest drove asunder; And, as is wont in such affairs, Ambition, envy, were co-heirs. In parcelling their sire's estate, They quarrel, quibble, litigate, Each aiming to supplant the other. The judge, by turns, condemns each brother. Their creditors make new assault, Some pleading error, some default. The sundered brothers disagree; For counsel one, have counsels three. All lose their wealth; and now their sorrows Bring fresh to mind those broken arrows. 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. “Only those who want everything done for them are bored.” — Billy Graham “My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world.” — Billy Graham “Whatever you are doing in the game of life, give it all you've got.” — Norman Vincent Peale “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” — Ralph Marston * Riddle-z-dee: 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 Riddle: What invention lets you look right through a wall? In a match between Mason-Mackenzie in London in 1882, there were 72 consecutive Queen Moves. Riddle Answer: A window! "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 <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’.> “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 Q: How do poets say hello? A: "Hey, haven’t we metaphor?" Thank you Qindarka! Q: What do you call a cow jumping on a trampoline? A: A milkshake. 'Ask no questions and hear no lies * The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev - https://lichess.org/study/KMMrJvE1 * Legendary: Game Collection: The 12 Legendary Games of the Century * Knight Power: https://fmochess.com/the-power-of-t... 'Ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer The Words Of Socrates A house was built by Socrates That failed the public taste to please. Some blamed the inside; some, the out; and all Agreed that the apartments were too small. Such rooms for him, the greatest sage of Greece! "I ask," said he, "no greater bliss Than real friends to fill even this." And reason had good Socrates To think his house too large for these. A crowd to be your friends will claim, Till some unhandsome test you bring. There's nothing plentier than the name; There's nothing rarer than the thing. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER <The Chess Player by Howard Altmann They’ve left. They’ve all left. The pigeon feeders have left. The old men on the benches have left. The white-gloved ladies with the Great Danes have left. The lovers who thought about coming have left. The man in the three-piece suit has left. The man who was a three-piece band has left. The man on the milkcrate with the bible has left. Even the birds have left. Now the trees are thinking about leaving too. And the grass is trying to turn itself in. Of course the buses no longer pass. And the children no longer ask. The air wants to go and is in discussions. The clouds are trying to steer clear. The sky is reaching for its hands. Even the moon sees what’s going on. But the stars remain in the dark. As does the chess player. Who sits with all his pieces In position.> Capitonyms are words which change their meaning if the first letter is capitalized. For example: Turkey (the country) and turkey (the bird). “The future reshapes the memory of the past in the way it recalibrates significance: some episodes are advanced, others lose purchase.” ― Gregory Maguire, A Lion Among Men “Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” ― Douglas MacArthur “Old habits die hard, especially for soldiers.” ― Jocelyn Murray, The Roman General: A Novel On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Ye Jiangchuan has won the Chinese Chess Championship seven times. 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 I have a fear of speed bumps. But I am slowly getting over it. KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA, becomes the first radio station to offer regular broadcasts on November 2, 1920. It’s no time to play chess when the house is on fire. ~ Italian Proverbs If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time. ~ Chinese Proverb The one who wins plays best. ~ German Proverbs “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35 "You must play boldly to win." ― Arnold Palmer "Champions keep playing until they get it right." ― Billie Jean King Fred Wellmuth was a strong amateur from California Proverbs 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Кто не рискует, тот не пьет шампанского Pronunciation: KTOH ni risKUyet, tot ni pyot shamPANSkava) Translation: He who doesn’t take risks doesn’t drink champagne Meaning: Fortune favours the brave "Tal has a terrifying style. Soon even grandmasters will know of this." - Vladimir Saigin (after losing to 17-year-old Tal in a qualifying match for the master title) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5S... “I like to grasp the initiative and not give my opponent peace of mind.” — Mikhail Tal * 50 Soviet Attacks: Game Collection: Chernev: The Russians Play Chess * 2008 POTD: Game Collection: Puzzle of the Day 2008 * 2012-2015 Attacks: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Attacking Games (Naiditsch/Balogh) * 2016 Stunners: Game Collection: 2016 Stunning Victories (Naiditsch/Balogh/Maze) * Capablanca's Double Attack — having the initiative is important: https://lichess.org/study/tzrisL1R * One of Pandolfini's Best: Game Collection: Solitaire Chess by Bruce Pandolfini * Two Great Attackers: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/che... * Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz): Game Collection: 0 * Chessmaster 2000 Classic Games: Game Collection: Chessmaster '86 * MC Move-by-Move: Game Collection: Move by Move - Carlsen (Lakdawala) * 100+ Scandinavian Miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... * Collection assembled by Fredthebear. * Miniatures: Game Collection: 200 Miniature Games of Chess - Du Mont (III) * Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/ * Glossary: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/... F. Scott Fitzgerald publishes The Great Gatsby in 1925. <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/ California: San Diego Established in: 1769 San Diego is the second largest city in the state and sits just north of Mexico. Back in the 16th century, the Diegueño, Luiseño, Cahuilla, and Cupeño peoples were some of the first settlers in the area. It was named after explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, but later was renamed for Spanish monk San Diego de Alcalá de Henares in 1602. The numbers 19 and 20 got into a fight. 21. FACTRETRIEVER 2020: Gummy bears were originally called "dancing bears." Sea otters have the thickest fur of any mammal, at 1 million hairs per square inch. Q: What do you get if you cross a cow and rooster? A: Roost beef. Thank you, Qindarka! Q: What kind of shows do cows like best? A: Moosicals. <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’.> “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 William Faulkner publishes The Sound and the Fury in 1929. Q: How do poets say hello? A: "Hey, haven’t we metaphor?" On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified prohibiting any U.S. citizen from being denied the right to vote based on sex. Q: What do you call a cow jumping on a trampoline? A: A milkshake. Charles Lindbergh lands "Spirit of St. Louis" in Paris on May 21, 1927, successfully completing the first trans-Atlantic flight. 'Ask no questions and hear no lies * The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev - https://lichess.org/study/KMMrJvE1 * Legendary: Game Collection: The 12 Legendary Games of the Century * Knight Power: https://fmochess.com/the-power-of-t... 'Ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer The Words Of Socrates A house was built by Socrates That failed the public taste to please. Some blamed the inside; some, the out; and all Agreed that the apartments were too small. Such rooms for him, the greatest sage of Greece! "I ask," said he, "no greater bliss Than real friends to fill even this." And reason had good Socrates To think his house too large for these. A crowd to be your friends will claim, Till some unhandsome test you bring. There's nothing plentier than the name; There's nothing rarer than the thing. Tennessee schoolteacher John T. Scopes' trial for teaching Darwin's "Theory of Evolution" begins July 1925. “Funny, funny Jude (The Man in the Red Beret). You play with little pieces all day long, and you know what? You’ll live to be an old, old man someday. And here I am.” — Janis Joplin Jude Acers set a Guinness World Record for playing 117 people in simultaneous chess games on April 21, 1973 at the Lloyd Center Mall in Portland, Oregon. On July 2-3, 1976 Jude played 179 opponents at Mid Isle Plaza (Broadway Plaza) in Long Island, New York for another Guinness record. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER A. A. Milne publishes his first collection of stories about the character Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926. <The Chess Player by Howard Altmann They’ve left. They’ve all left. The pigeon feeders have left. The old men on the benches have left. The white-gloved ladies with the Great Danes have left. The lovers who thought about coming have left. The man in the three-piece suit has left. The man who was a three-piece band has left. The man on the milkcrate with the bible has left. Even the birds have left. Now the trees are thinking about leaving too. And the grass is trying to turn itself in. Of course the buses no longer pass. And the children no longer ask. The air wants to go and is in discussions. The clouds are trying to steer clear. The sky is reaching for its hands. Even the moon sees what’s going on. But the stars remain in the dark. As does the chess player. Who sits with all his pieces In position.> Audiences see the first motion picture with sound The Jazz Singer in 1927. Q: Why can’t you explain puns to kleptomaniacs? A: They always take things, literally. Ford Motor Company celebrates as the 15 millionth Model T rolls off its Highland Park, MI, assembly line on May 26, 1927. The fear of running out of something to read is called "abibliophobia." Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' Researchers from India recently discovered a new species of green pit vipers. They named the snake after Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter universe. Question: What’s the brightest star in the sky? Answer: Sirius – also known as the Dog Star or Sirius A, Sirius is the brightest star in Earth’s night sky. The star is outshone only by several planets and the International Space Station. Question: What’s the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard? Answer: Graveyards are attached to churches while cemeteries are stand-alone. Patty Loveless "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" https://www.bing.com/videos/rivervi... * Opening Tree: https://www.shredderchess.com/onlin... 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) The Triple Muzio Gambit starts with 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. O8. Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. d4 Qxd4+ 10. Be3 – it’s a sequence that looks like you’re deliberately giving up pawns, but in reality, you’re setting up for a quick strike against your opponent’s king while they are still trying to coordinate their forces. The Nakmanson Gambit is as follows: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Nc3 dxc3 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qd5+ The beauty of this gambit lies in its aggression and unpredictability. It forces your opponent to think on their feet right from the get-go. By sacrificing pieces early on, it may seem like you’re falling behind but don’t be fooled! The goal is not necessarily material gain but rather seizing control of the board and leaving your opponent with tough decisions to make under pressure. The Lucchini Gambit: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 f5 5. Ng5 f4 – an aggressive sequence of moves designed to unsettle any adversary right from the get-go. But don’t be fooled by its audacious start; this gambit isn’t for the faint-hearted or inexperienced player! The Lucchini Gambit requires careful planning and sharp tactical vision to navigate through its complex mazes, using each piece efficiently while maintaining a strong position on the board. The Stafford Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6. The beauty of the Stafford Gambit lies not in material gain but in seizing control over the center board swiftly and launching an unyielding attack against unsuspecting opponents. Even if they manage to cope with initial pressure, they must continuously be on guard for tactical blows throughout the middle game phase. The Orthoschnapp Gambit: 1. e4 e6 2. c4 d5 3. cxd5 exd5 4. Qb3 dxe4 5. Bc4 – adding a thrilling twist to your arsenal that’ll leave your opponents stunned! The Hyper Accelerated Dragon is like stepping onto a high-speed roller coaster. It offers thrilling turns and tactical maneuvers that’ll keep your opponent on their toes. It’s an aggressive yet flexible opening for black. It comes into play when you make the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6. This chess opening derives its strength from its versatility in creating a solid positional game while also allowing explosive counterplay opportunities. The key to mastering this opening lies in understanding the pawn structures and knowing exactly when to strike back against your opponent. The fianchettoed Bg7 applies pressure on the center and prepares for d7-d5 in one go if possible. This allows you to break open your opponent’s central control early in the game, leading to dynamic positions that often catch them off guard. Moreover, this unique setup gives you greater flexibility with your knights. They can be developed according to how white responds. What sets this opening apart is how quickly it drives at white’s center without committing too many pieces early on. The accelerated development not only provides an element of surprise but also forces white into defensive mode right out of the gate. So next time you’re looking for an adventurous ride through complex tactical terrains while maintaining a secure position, don’t hesitate – hop onto the Hyper Accelerated Dragon! With practice and careful study, you’ll soon become adept at navigating its twists and turns to outmaneuver your opponents. “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” ― Aristotle Old Russian Proverb: A good laugh is sunshine in a house. “Don't just follow your dreams; chase them down, grab hold and don't let go.” ― Kellie Elmore <In Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.> “When you have the better of it, play simply. When the game is going against you, look for complications.” — Frank J. Marshall * Pawn Endgames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUq... * Crafty Endgame Trainer: https://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-... A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, "Don Quixote" Cajun: Joie de vivre (Jhwa da veev) – Joy of living. The Chess Play by Nicholas Breton A Secret many yeeres vnseene,  In play at Chesse, who knowes the game First of the King, and then the Queene,  Knight, Bishop, Rooke, and so by name. Of euerie Pawne I will descrie The nature with the qualitie. The King. The King himselfe is haughtie Care  Which ouerlooketh all his men And when he seeth how they fare.  He steps among them now and then, Whom when his foe presumes to checke His seruants stand, to giue the necke. The Queene. The Queene is queint, and quicke Conceit,  Which makes hir walke which way she list And rootes them vp, that lie in wait  To worke hir treason, ere she wist: Hir force is such, against hir foes, That whom she meetes, she ouerthrowes. The Knight. The Knight is knowledge how to fight  Against his Princes enimies, He neuer makes his walke outright,  But leaps and skips, in wilie wise. To take by sleight a traitrous foe, Might slilie seeke their ouerthrowe. The Bishop. The Bishop he is wittie braine,  That chooseth Crossest pathes to pace. And euermore he pries with paine,  To see who seekes him most disgrace: Such straglers when he findes astraie, He takes them vp, and throwes awaie. The Rookes The Rookes are reason on both sides,  Which keepe the corner houses still. And warily stand to watch their tides.  By secret art to worke their will, To take sometime a theefe vnseene, Might mischiefe meane to King or Queene. The Paiones. The Pawne before the King, is peace  Which he desires to keepe at home, Practise the Queenes, which doth not cease  Amid the world abroad to roame. To finde, and fall vpon each foe, Whereas his mistres meanes to goe. Before the Knight, is perill plast,  Which he, by skipping ouergoes, And yet that Pawne can worke a cast  To ouerthrow his greatest foes; The Bishops, prudence; prieng still, Which way to worke his masters will. The Rookes poore Pawnes, are sillie swaines,  Which seeidome serue, except by hap, And yet those Pawnes, can lay their traines.  To catch a great man, in a trap: So that I see, sometime a groome May not be sparèd from his roome. The Nature of the Chesse men. The King is stately, looking hie: The Queene doth beare like maiestie: The Knight is hardie, valiant, wise: The Bishop, prudent and precise:  The Rookes, no raungers out of raie  The Pawnes, the pages in the plaie. Lenvoy. Then rule with care, and quicke conceit,  And fight with knowledge, as with force; So beare a braine, to dash deceit,  And worke with reason and remorse: Forgiue a fault when yoong men plaie So giue a mate and go your way And when you plaie beware of Checke Know how to saue and giue a necke: And with a Checke, beware of Mate; But cheefe, ware had I wist too late:  Loose not the Queene, for ten to one.  If she be lost, the game is gone. 499 games, 1590-2019 2A Legend on the Road (I) Fischer's 1964 simultaneous tour of North America. “Chess is a fairy tale of 1,001 blunders.” ― Savielly Tartakower “The pawns are the soul of chess.” ― Francois-Andre Danican Philidor “A pawn, when separated from his fellows, will seldom or never make a fortune.” ― Francois-Andre Danican Philidor “Remember us, Should any free soul come across this place, In all the countless centuries yet to be, May our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones, Go tell the Spartans, passerby: That here by Spartan law, we lie.” ― Frank Miller, 300 “Chess is a war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.” ― Bobby Fischer “The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country.” ― George S. Patton Jr. "The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people." ― Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, and former U.S. Army Colonel * Assorted Good games Compiled by rbaglini: Game Collection: assorted Good games * GK's Scheveningen: Game Collection: Kasparov - The Sicilian Sheveningen And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:9, 10. “You can only get good at chess if you love the game.” ― Bobby Fischer "Be active. I do things my way, like skiing when I’m 100. Nobody else does that even if they have energy. And I try to eat pretty correctly and get exercise and fresh air and sunshine.” ― Elsa Bailey, first time skier at age 100 "Don't look at the calendar, just keep celebrating every day." ― Ruth Coleman, carpe diem at age 101 <Shakespearean Puns Perhaps no writer is better known for the use of puns than William Shakespeare. He plays with "tide" and "tied" in Two Gentlemen of Verona: "Panthino Away, ass! You'll lose the tide if you tarry any longer. Launce It is no matter if the tied were lost; for it is the unkindest tied that ever any man tied. Panthino What's the unkindest tide? Launce Why, he that's tied here, Crab, my dog." In the opening of Richard III, the sun refers to the blazing sun on Edward IV's banner and the fact that he is the son of the Duke of York: "Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York." In this line from Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays on the different meanings of heavy (which also means sad) and light: "Give me a torch: I am not for this ambling; Being but heavy I will bear the light." Later in Romeo and Juliet, a morbid pun comes from a fatally-stabbed Mercutio, where grave means serious, but also alludes to his imminent death: "Ask for me tomorrow, you shall find me a grave man." If you open any Shakesperean play, you're likely to find at least one pun on the page! Keep an eye out for a clever play on words example the next time you read Hamlet or watch As You Like It on the stage.> The Chess Play by Nicholas Breton A Secret many yeeres vnseene,  In play at Chesse, who knowes the game First of the King, and then the Queene,  Knight, Bishop, Rooke, and so by name. Of euerie Pawne I will descrie The nature with the qualitie. The King. The King himselfe is haughtie Care  Which ouerlooketh all his men And when he seeth how they fare.  He steps among them now and then, Whom when his foe presumes to checke His seruants stand, to giue the necke. The Queene. The Queene is queint, and quicke Conceit,  Which makes hir walke which way she list And rootes them vp, that lie in wait  To worke hir treason, ere she wist: Hir force is such, against hir foes, That whom she meetes, she ouerthrowes. The Knight. The Knight is knowledge how to fight  Against his Princes enimies, He neuer makes his walke outright,  But leaps and skips, in wilie wise. To take by sleight a traitrous foe, Might slilie seeke their ouerthrowe. The Bishop. The Bishop he is wittie braine,  That chooseth Crossest pathes to pace. And euermore he pries with paine,  To see who seekes him most disgrace: Such straglers when he findes astraie, He takes them vp, and throwes awaie. The Rookes The Rookes are reason on both sides,  Which keepe the corner houses still. And warily stand to watch their tides.  By secret art to worke their will, To take sometime a theefe vnseene, Might mischiefe meane to King or Queene. The Paiones. The Pawne before the King, is peace  Which he desires to keepe at home, Practise the Queenes, which doth not cease  Amid the world abroad to roame. To finde, and fall vpon each foe, Whereas his mistres meanes to goe. Before the Knight, is perill plast,  Which he, by skipping ouergoes, And yet that Pawne can worke a cast  To ouerthrow his greatest foes; The Bishops, prudence; prieng still, Which way to worke his masters will. The Rookes poore Pawnes, are sillie swaines,  Which seeidome serue, except by hap, And yet those Pawnes, can lay their traines.  To catch a great man, in a trap: So that I see, sometime a groome May not be sparèd from his roome. The Nature of the Chesse men. The King is stately, looking hie: The Queene doth beare like maiestie: The Knight is hardie, valiant, wise: The Bishop, prudent and precise:  The Rookes, no raungers out of raie  The Pawnes, the pages in the plaie. Lenvoy. Then rule with care, and quicke conceit,  And fight with knowledge, as with force; So beare a braine, to dash deceit,  And worke with reason and remorse: Forgiue a fault when yoong men plaie So giue a mate and go your way And when you plaie beware of Checke Know how to saue and giue a necke: And with a Checke, beware of Mate; But cheefe, ware had I wist too late:  Loose not the Queene, for ten to one.  If she be lost, the game is gone. 114 games, 1964 2j Dirty Didactic Dozen Compiled by sorokahdeen Didactic Games for Lorelei in attack General chess advice from Joe Brooks: https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comm... “On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culmination in checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite.” — Emanuel Lasker "Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.” — Buddha "Fact and fable are commonly intermingled, and chess historians have a hard time disentangling them, for the game’s literature is particularly blighted by untrustworthy assertions, rickety anecdotes and dubious quotes. The intention of the Chess Notes series, which began in 1982, is to sort out fact from fable and to present fresh, accurate material.” — Edward Winter "My main purpose is to gain recognition for myself by means of a new idea of which no one has conceived, or perhaps has been unable to practice; that is, good play of the pawns; they are the soul of chess: it is they alone that determine the attack and the defense, and the winning or losing of the game depends entirely on their good or bad arrangement.” — François-André Danican Philidor "Memory is the mother of all wisdom.” — Aeschylus "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” — Thomas Jefferson “Compassion is the basis of morality.” — Arthur Schopenhauer "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” — Isaac Newton 23 1475689 0 “Life is like a chess. If you lose your queen, you will probably lose the game.” — Being Caballero “Chess is life in miniature. Chess is a struggle, chess battles.” — Garry Kasparov “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill “Your only task in the opening is to reach a playable middlegame.” — Lajos Portisch “Age brings wisdom to some men, and to others chess.” — Evan Esar C.J.S. Purdy (Five times Australian Champion, IM, and the first World Champion of Correspondence Chess) summed up the answer to your question in one simple phrase: "Look for moves that smite!" “I see only one move ahead, but always the best move.” — Charles Jaffe “The beauty of a move lies not in its appearance but in the thought behind it.” — Aron Nimzowitsch “Almost immediately after Kasparov played the magic move g4, the computer started to self-destruct.” — Sam Sloan “During a chess competition a chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk.” — Alekhine “In action a great heart is the chief qualification. In work, a great head.” — Arthur Schopenhauer “Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” — Buddha “It is a well-known phenomenon that the same amateur who can conduct the middle game quite creditably, is usually perfectly helpless in the end game. One of the principal requisites of good chess is the ability to treat both the middle and end game equally well.” — Aron Nimzowitsch “In the endgame, it's often better to form a barrier to cut-off the lone king and keep shrinking the barrier than to give check. The mistaken check might give the lone king a choice move toward the center when the idea is to force the lone king to the edge of the board and then checkmate.” — Fredthebear “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” — William Shakespeare “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” — Henry David Thoreau “Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece.” — Ralph Charell “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” — Rabindranath Tagore “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” — Jesus Christ * Good Historical Links: https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/in... * Attack: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Attacking Games (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Cheating: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... * Draws: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Interesting Draws (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Endgames: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Endgames (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Fight! Game Collection: 2012-2015 Fighting Games (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Internet troll: https://www.howtogeek.com/465416/wh.... * Positional: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Positional Games (Naiditsch/Balogh) * Miscellaneous: Game Collection: ! Miscellaneous games * Stein: Game Collection: Move by Move - Stein (Engqvist) * YS Tactics: Game Collection: Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics “Chess is a sport. The main object in the game of chess remains the achievement of victory.” — Max Euwe “Life is like a game of chess. To win you need to make a move. Knowing which move to make comes with insight and knowledge and by learning the lessons that are accumulated along the way. We become each and every piece within the game called LIFE.” — Alan Rufus “As proved by evidence, it (chess) is more lasting in its being and presence than all books and achievements; the only game that belongs to all people and all ages; of which none knows the divinity that bestowed it on the world, to slay boredom, to sharpen the senses, to exhilarate the spirit.” — Stefan Zweig “One gets to know people well when playing at chess and on journeys.” — Russian Proverb “The ability to work hard for days on end without losing focus is a talent. The ability to keep absorbing new information after many hours of study is a talent.” — Garry Kasparov “You must work and do good, not be lazy and gamble, if you wish to earn happiness. Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.... I can’t understand people who don’t like work ...” — Anne Frank (1929–1945) “I go over many games collections and pick up something from the style of each player.” — Mikhail Tal “Attack! Always Attack!” — Adolf Anderssen “Attackers may sometimes regret bad moves, but it’s much worse to forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by.” — Garry Kasparov “Avoid exposing your king to check.” — Yasser Seirawan, paraphrased “Protect your pieces.” “Safety first is fine, but first, last and always is fatal.” — Al Horowitz “Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.” — Buddha “Those who think that it’s easy to play chess are mistaken. During a game, a player lives on his nerves, and at the same time he must be perfectly composed.” — Victor Kortchnoi “Chess does not drive people mad, it keeps mad people sane.” — Bill Hartston “A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.” — Emo Philips “Chess is rarely a game of ideal moves. Almost always, a player faces a series of difficult consequences whichever move he makes.” — David Shenk “After a bad opening, there is hope for the middle game. After a bad middle game, there is hope for the endgame. But once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth has arrived.” — Edmar Mednis “Pawns are born free, yet they are everywhere in chains.” — Rick Kennedy “Half the variations which are calculated in a tournament game turn out to be completely superfluous. Unfortunately, no one knows in advance which half.” — Jan Timman “He who has a slight disadvantage plays more attentively, inventively and more boldly than his antagonist who either takes it easy or aspires after too much. Thus a slight disadvantage is very frequently seen to convert into a good, solid advantage.” – Emanuel Lasker “The shortcoming of hanging pawns is that they present a convenient target for attack. As the exchange of men proceeds, their potential strength lessens and during the endgame they turn out, as a rule, to be weak.” — Boris Spassky <Riddle: Two people are playing chess. They play five games. They both win three games. Without any ties, draws, or surrenders, how is this possible? Riddle Answer: They are playing with different people.> "The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom." -- Arthur Schopenhauer "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted." -- Jesus Christ The Stag and the Vine A stag, by favour of a vine, Which grew where suns most genial shine, And formed a thick and matted bower Which might have turned a summer shower, Was saved from ruinous assault. The hunters thought their dogs at fault, And called them off. In danger now no more The stag, a thankless wretch and vile, Began to browse his benefactress over. The hunters, listening the while, The rustling heard, came back, With all their yelping pack, And seized him in that very place. "This is," said he, "but justice, in my case. Let every black ingrate Henceforward profit by my fate." The dogs fell to – 'twere wasting breath To pray those hunters at the death. They left, and we will not revile "em, A warning for profaners of asylum. “What we think, we become.” — Buddha “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” — Confucius "It is only after our basic needs for food and shelter have been met that we can hope to enjoy the luxury of theoretical speculations.” — Aristotle “Chess is like life. To succeed in either one takes patience, planning, concentration, the willingness to set goals, and an inclination to see deeply into things. You have to go for the thing beyond. Chess is about seeing the underlying reality.” — Maurice Ashley “Play the opening like a book, the middlegame like a magician, and the endgame like a machine.” — Rudolph Spielmann “I don’t believe in psychology. I believe in good moves.” — Bobby Fischer “I used to attack because it was the only thing I knew. Now I attack because I know it works best.” — Garry Kasparov “Strategy requires thought, tactics require observation.” — Max Euwe “It is my style to take my opponent and myself on to unknown grounds. A game of chess is not an examination of knowledge; it is a battle of nerves.” — David Bronstein “I’m convinced, the way one plays chess always reflects the player’s personality. If something defines his character, then it will also define his way of playing.” — Vladimir Kramnik “Unlike other games in which lucre is the end and aim, [chess] recommends itself to the wise by the fact that its mimic battles are fought for no prize but honor. It’s eminently and emphatically the philosopher’s game.” — Paul Morphy "To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born, is to remain always a child.” — Cicero <Shakespearean Puns Perhaps no writer is better known for the use of puns than William Shakespeare. He plays with "tide" and "tied" in Two Gentlemen of Verona: "Panthino Away, ass! You'll lose the tide if you tarry any longer. Launce It is no matter if the tied were lost; for it is the unkindest tied that ever any man tied. Panthino What's the unkindest tide? Launce Why, he that's tied here, Crab, my dog." In the opening of Richard III, the sun refers to the blazing sun on Edward IV's banner and the fact that he is the son of the Duke of York: "Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York." In this line from Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays on the different meanings of heavy (which also means sad) and light: "Give me a torch: I am not for this ambling; Being but heavy I will bear the light." Later in Romeo and Juliet, a morbid pun comes from a fatally-stabbed Mercutio, where grave means serious, but also alludes to his imminent death: "Ask for me tomorrow, you shall find me a grave man." If you open any Shakesperean play, you're likely to find at least one pun on the page! Keep an eye out for a clever play on words example the next time you read Hamlet or watch As You Like It on the stage.> “If you wish to succeed you must brave the risk of failure.” — Garry Kasparov “Life is like a game of chess. I cannot undo the moves but I can make the next step better.” — Edwin Tan “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” — Cesare Pavese “Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.” — Buddha “Chess is a matter of delicate judgment, knowing when to punch and how to duck.” — Bobby Fischer “If you don’t know what to do, find your worst piece and look for a better square.” — Gerald Schwarz “You can’t overestimate the importance of psychology in chess, and as much as some players try to downplay it, I believe that winning requires a constant and strong psychology not just at the board but in every aspect of your life.” — Garry Kasparov “… I have always been an erratic player, even when I was at my best. At that time, when Marshall and myself entered a tournament, the general opinion was that we could as well finish at the top as at the tail of it.” — Jacques Mieses, BCM, October 1944, page 232. “There are two types of sacrifices: Correct ones and mine.” — Mikhail Tal “My style is somewhere between that of Tal and Petrosian.” — Samuel Reshevsky “There are two classes of men; those who are content to yield to circumstances and who play whist; those who aim to control circumstances, and who play chess.” — Mortimer Collins "There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” — Buddha "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” — Mark Twain “Chess is a great game. It’s a lot of fun, but sometimes you wonder what else is out there.” — Hikaru Nakamura Aristotle once asked "What is it about a thing that makes a thing what it is?" “A great man quotes bravely, and will not draw on his invention when his memory serves him with a word as good. What he quotes, he fills with his own voice and humour, and the whole cyclopedia of his table-talk is presently believed to be his own.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) <Riddle: How many squares are in a chessboard? Riddle Answer: 204 squares. 64 one-by-one squares, 49 two-by-two, 36 three-by-three, 25 four-by-four, 16 five-by-five, 9 six-by-six, 4 seven-by-seven, and 1 eight-by-eight.> * Old P-K4 Miniatures: Game Collection: Games for Classes * Paul Morphy Miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... * Many gambits from all openings by ECO code: https://www.jimmyvermeer.com/openin... * Glossary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloss... InkHarted wrote: Checkmate. I started off as an equal I have everything that they do my life was one and the same as my foe childish battles of lesser I won baring cost of a little but as time outgrew my conscience I found that the pieces were moving against me with time my company reduced they left one by one all in time forgetting me my castles collapsed my religion dissuaded my protectors in hiding I could not run anymore I have been cornered to a wall as the queen left silently without saying goodbye I could not live any longer she was most precious to me I could not win without her by my side so the king knelt down and died. * FIDE Laws of Chess (2018): https://www.schachschiri.de/fide_18... * Records: http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/records... * Wikipedia on Computer Chess: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compu... * Susan Polgar Daily: https://chessdailynews.com/ * Prep for Ivan: http://gettingto2000.blogspot.com/ * John's brother Lee: https://hotoffthechess.com/ * Children's Chess: https://chessimprover.com/category/... * Amateur / Pins: http://amateur-chess.blogspot.com/ * Improver: https://chessimprover.com/author/br... * Jimmy's place: http://www.jimmyvermeer.com/ Jimmy is a CGs member. <Chess has six different kinds of pieces, and they all interact in myriad ways. Your opponent’s own pieces can often be used against him. While the Queen is the strongest piece, it is the weakest defender; and while the pawn is the weakest piece, it is the strongest defender. José Raúl Capablanca used the principle "Cutting off pieces from the scene of action."> “Chess first of all teaches you to be objective.” — Alexander Alekhine “To avoid losing a piece, many a person has lost the game.” — Savielly Tartakower “Among a great many other things that chess teaches you is to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good. It trains you to think before grabbing and to think just as objectively when you’re in trouble.” —Stanley Kubrick “Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules, take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.” — Garry Kasparov “Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.” — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe “Confidence is very important – even pretending to be confident. If you make a mistake but do not let your opponent see what you are thinking then he may overlook the mistake.” — Viswanathan Anand “Life is a gameboard. Time is your opponent. If you procrastinate, you will lose the game. Make a move to be victorious.” — Napolean Hill "Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.” — Sai Baba “Chess is a miniature version of life. To be successful, you need to be disciplined, assess resources, consider responsible choices, and adjust when circumstances change.” — Susan Polgar “The task of the positional player is systematically to accumulate slight advantages and try to convert temporary advantages into permanent ones, otherwise the player with the better position runs the risk of losing it.” – Wilhelm Steinitz <Steinitz's Theory 1. At the beginning of the game, Black and White are equal. 2. The game will stay equal with correct play on both sides. 3. You can only win by your opponent's mistake. 4. Any attack launched in an equal position will not succeed, and the attacker will suffer. 5. You should not attack until an advantage is obtained. 6. When equal, do not seek to attack, but instead, try to secure an advantage. 7. Once you have an advantage, attack or you will lose it.> "Simple plans are best. Tactics will prevail." -- C.J.S. Purdy "To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." -- Buddha "Creating little plans. Now, when we think about plans in chess, we think about [grand] grandmaster plans. You have to calculate ten moves deep. You have to know what's going to happen in ten moves, know that strong. What Jonathan Hawkins talks about [IM Hawkins book: Amateur to IM] is you have to create small plans which are doable which you can execute easily. One, two, three move plans which your opponent is not going to be able to prevent, which are easy to visualize and execute." -- @HangingPawns “All things being equal, the player will prevail who first succeeds in uniting the efforts of both rooks in an important direction.” – Eugene Znosko-Borovsky “People who want to improve should take their defeats as lessons, and endeavor to learn what to avoid in the future. You must always have the courage of your convictions. If you think your move is good, make it.” – Jose Raul Capablanca “Life is a chess match. Every decision you make has a consequence to it.” – P.K. Subban "Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill." -- Buddha “Chess is rarely a game of ideal moves. Almost always, a player faces a series of difficult consequences whichever move he makes.” – David Shenk “We should praise, rather, the courage of the player who, relying only on his intuition, plunges into a brilliant combination of which the issue does not appear to him too clear.” – Eugene Znosko-Borovsky "The beauty of a game of chess is usually assessed according to the sacrifices it contains." -- Rudolf Spielmann "I can comprehend Alekhine's combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances from and how he infuses such life into the very opening - that is beyond me." -- Rudolf Spielmann “Self-confidence is very important. If you don’t think you can win, you will take cowardly decisions in the crucial moments, out of sheer respect for your opponent. You see the opportunity but also greater limitations than you should. I have always believed in what I do on the chessboard, even when I had no objective reason to. It is better to overestimate your prospects than underestimate them.” – Magnus Carlsen "Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind." -- Buddha "For God so loved the World that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." -- Jesus Christ “Chess, it’s the struggle against error.” – Johannes Zukertort “Every chess master was once a beginner.” – Irving Chernev “Chess holds its master in its own hand, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer.” – Albert Einstein “Nobody ever won a chess game by resigning.” – Savielly Tartakower "However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?" -- Buddha “The blunders are all there on the board, waiting to be made.” – Savielly Tartakower “It’s always better to sacrifice your opponent’s men.” – Savielly Tartakower “One doesn’t have to play well, it’s enough to play better than your opponent.” – Siegbert Tarrasch “Up to this point, White has been following well-known analysis. But now he makes a fatal error: he begins to use his own head.” – Siegbert Tarrasch “Of chess, it has been said that life is not long enough for it, but that is the fault of life, not chess.” – William Napier / Irving Chernev "The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness." -- Arthur Schopenhauer “Chess is beautiful enough to waste your life for.” – Hans Ree "Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule." -- Buddha “A chess game in progress is… a cosmos unto itself, fully insulated from an infant’s cry, an erotic invitation, or war.” – David Shenk “It will be cheering to know that many people are skillful chess players, though in many instances their brains, in a general way, compare unfavorably with the cognitive faculties of a rabbit.” – James Mortimer “The pin is mightier than the sword.” – Fred Reinfeld “The defensive power of a pinned piece is only imaginary.” – Aaron Nimzovich "In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves." -- Buddha “There is no remorse like the remorse of chess.” — H. G. Wells “By all means examine the games of the great chess players, but don’t swallow them whole. Their games are valuable not for their separate moves, but for their vision of chess, their way of thinking.” – Anatoly Karpov “The only thing chess players have in common is chess.” – Lodewijk Prins “Those who say they understand chess, understand nothing.” – Robert Hübner “One bad move nullifies forty good ones.” – Bernhard Horwitz “If your opponent offers you a draw, try to work out why he thinks he’s worse off.” – Nigel Short “Chess is the gymnasium of the mind.” – Blaise Pascal "The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." -- Buddha The Boy and the Schoolmaster Wise counsel is not always wise, As this my tale exemplifies. A boy, that frolicked on the banks of Seine, Fell in, and would have found a watery grave, Had not that hand that plants never in vain A willow planted there, his life to save. While hanging by its branches as he might, A certain sage preceptor came in sight; To whom the urchin cried, "Save, or I'm drowned!" The master, turning gravely at the sound, Thought proper for a while to stand aloof, And give the boy some seasonable reproof. "You little wretch! this comes of foolish playing, Commands and precepts disobeying. A naughty rogue, no doubt, you are, Who thus requite your parents" care. Alas! their lot I pity much, Whom fate condemns to watch over such." This having coolly said, and more, He pulled the drowning lad ashore. This story hits more marks than you suppose. All critics, pedants, men of endless prose, – Three sorts, so richly blessed with progeny, The house is blessed that does not lodge any, – May in it see themselves from head to toes. No matter what the task, Their precious tongues must teach; Their help in need you ask, You first must hear them preach. Drive sober or get pulled over. “For surely of all the drugs in the world, chess must be the most permanently pleasurable.” — Assiac “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 “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 <Question: What did the chess player say to the waiter? Answer: Check, please.> “Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of a double check.” – Aron Nimzowitsch "It is never safe to take the queen knight pawn with the queen – even when it is safe." -- Hungarian proverb “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 “Modern chess is too much concerned with things like pawn structure. Forget it, checkmate ends the game.” – Nigel Short “Pawn endings are to chess what putting is to golf.” – Cecil Purdy “Chess is a fairy tale of 1,001 blunders.” – Savielly Tartakower "Man's nature is as thin as sheets of tissue paper; the world is like a game of chess, varying at every move." -- Chinese proverb “If you see a good move, look for a better one.” – Emanuel Lasker “The winner of the game is the player who makes the next to last mistake.” –Savielly Tartakower “The hardest game to win is a won game.” – Emanuel Lasker “Many has become chess masters, no one has become the master of chess.” – Siegbert Tarrasch “A sacrifice is best refuted by accepting it.” – Wilhelm Steinitz "A good sacrifice is one that is not necessarily sound but leaves your opponent dazed and confused." -- Rudolf Spielmann "We cannot resist the fascination of sacrifice, since a passion for sacrifices is part of a chess player’s nature." -- Rudolf Spielmann "Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement." -- Henry Ford "No legacy is so rich as honesty." -- William Shakespeare “Enormous self-belief, intuition, the ability to take a risk at a critical moment and go in for a very dangerous play with counter-chances for the opponent it’s precisely these qualities that distinguish great players” – Garry Kasparov "To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent." -- Buddha “Too many times, people do not try their best. They do not have the keen spirit, the winning spirit. And once you make it you have got to guard your reputation – every day go in like an unknown to prove yourself. That is why I don’t clown around. I do not believe in wasting time. My goal is to win the World Chess Championship; to beat the Russians. I take this very seriously.” – Bobby Fischer The single most important thing in life is to believe in yourself regardless of what everyone else says”. – Hikaru Nakamura "A man of high principles is someone who can watch a chess game without passing comment." -- Chinese Proverb "Chess can be described as the movement of pieces eating one another." -- Marcel Duchamp "The stomach is an essential part of the chessmaster." – Bent Larsen "The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground." -- Buddha "If your opponent cannot do anything active, then don’t rush the position. Instead you should let him sit there, suffer, and beg you for a draw." – Jeremy Silman “If you’re going to make your mark among masters, you’ve to work far harder and more intensively, or, to put it more exactly, the work is far more complex than that needed to gain the title of Master.” – Mikhail Botvinnik "What is the object of playing a gambit opening?… To acquire a reputation of being a dashing player at the cost of losing a game." -- Siegbert Tarrasch "Many Chess players were surprised when after the game, Fischer quietly explained: ‘I had already analyzed this possibility’ in a position which I thought was not possible to foresee from the opening." -- Mikhail Tal "I consider Fischer to be one of the greatest opening experts ever." -- Keith Hayward "Adequate compensation for a sacrifice is having a sound combination leading to a winning position. Adequate compensation for a blunder is having your opponent snatch defeat from the jaws of victory." -- Bruce A. Moon “Chess payers are an impecunious lot.” -- Samuel Reshevsky "It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways." -- Buddha "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." -- Jesus Christ "In chess the important thing is to apply what you know…it is important to understand that during a game of chess we do not learn things...we apply things we know (I keep stressing this)." -- Tartajubow "It doesn’t require much for misfortune to strike in the King’s Gambit – one incautious move, and Black can be on the edge of the abyss." -- Anatoly Karpov "It is no secret that any talented player must in his soul be an artist, and what could be dearer to his heart and soul than the victory of the subtle forces of reason over crude material strength! Probably everyone has his own reason for liking the King`s Gambit, but my love for it can be seen in precisely those terms." -- David Bronstein "It would be as naive to study the song of the nightingale, as it would be ridiculous to try and win a King’s Gambit against a representative of the old chess guard." -- David Bronstein "Why are not more King’s Gambits played nowadays? Well, in the first place, if you offered the King’s Gambit to a master, eight times out of ten he would decline it, either with 2. … d5 or 2. … Bc5." -- Frank Marshall "By what right does White, in an absolutely even position, such as after move one, when both sides have advanced 1. e4, sacrifice a pawn, whose recapture is quite uncertain, and open up his kingside to attack? And then follow up this policy by leaving the check of the black queen open? None whatever!" -- Emanuel Lasker "Theory regards this opening as incorrect, but it is impossible to agree with this. Out of the five tournament games played by me with the King’s Gambit, I have won all five." -- David Bronstein “First-class players lose to second-class players because second-class players sometimes play a first-class game” -- Siegbert Tarrasch “Weak points or holes in the opponent’s position must be occupied by pieces not Pawns” -- Siegbert Tarrasch “It is not enough to be a good player… you must also play well.” – Siegbert Tarrasch “Tactics flow from a superior position.” – Bobby Fischer “In chess, as it is played by masters, chance is practically eliminated” -- Emanuel Lasker “The passion for playing chess is one of the most unaccountable in the world” --H.G. Wells "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." -- Jesus Christ “The older I grow, the more I value Pawns” -- Paul Keres The sign of a great Master is his ability to win a won game quickly and painlessly” -- Irving Chernev “One bad move nullifies forty good ones” -- Bernhard Horwitz “Every Pawn is a potential Queen” -- James Mason “Chess is 99 percent tactics” -- Richard Teichmann “Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponents mind” -- Bobby Fischer “Chess demands total concentration” -- Bobby Fischer “Chess is everything: art, science and sport” -- Anatoly Karpov “Chess is the art which expresses the science of logic” -- Mikhail Botvinnik) “I quote another man’s saying; unluckily, that other withdraws himself in the same way, and quotes me.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) “Boxing is like a chess. You encourage your opponent to make mistakes so you can capitalize on it. People think you get in the ring and see the red mist, but it is not about aggression. Avoiding knockout is tactical.” – Nicola Adams “Drawing is rather like playing chess. Your mind races ahead of time that you eventually make.” – David Hockney "No fantasy, however rich, no technique, however masterly, no penetration into the psychology of the opponent, however deep, can make a chess game a work of art, if these qualities do not lead to the main goal – the search for truth." – Vasily Smyslov "When my opponent’s clock is going I discuss general considerations in an internal dialogue with myself. When my own clock is going I analyze concrete variations." – Mikhail Botvinnik “In life, as in chess, one’s own pawns block one’s way. A man’s very wealth, ease, leisure, children, books, which should help him to win, more often checkmate him. – Charles Buxton "Life is like a game of chess. To win you have to make a move. Knowing which move to make comes with IN-SIGHT and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are acculated along the way. We become each and every piece within the game called life!" -- Allan Rufus “Chess is a war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.” – Bobby Fischer "Women, by their nature, are not exceptional chess players: they are not great fighters." -- Gary Kasparov The most powerful weapon in chess is to have the next move.” – David Bronstein “Chess is the art of analysis.” – Mikhail Botvinnik “Chess makes a man wiser & clear-sighted.” – Vladimir Putin “You can only get good at chess if you love the game.”– Bobby Fischer “The essence of chess is thinking about what CHESS is.” – David Bronstein “Chess isn’t for the timid.” – Irving Chernev “Chess is a sea in which a gnat may drink and an elephant may bathe.” – Proverb (Indian) "The history of chess is largely a chronicle of self-imposed intimidation and untimely excitement." -- W.E. Napier “If you have made a mistake or committed an inaccuracy there is no need to become annoyed and to think that everything is lost. You have to reorientate yourself quickly and find a new plan in the new situation.” – David Bronstein “You need to have that edge, you need to have that confidence, you need to have that absolute belief you’re the best, and that you’ll win every time.” -- Magnus Carlsen “Without error there can be no brilliancy.” – Emanuel Lasker “Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzu. “The blunders are all there on the board, waiting to be made.” – Savielly Tartakower “Things often did not reach the endgame!” – Boris Spassky “After a bad opening, there is hope for the middle game. After a bad middle game, there is hope for the endgame. But once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth has arrived.” – Edmar Mednis “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 “Sometimes the hardest thing to do in a pressure situation is to allow the tension to persist. The temptation is to make a decision, any decision, even if it is an inferior choice.” -- Garry Kasparov “Chess is a game where all different sorts of people can come together, not a game in which people are divided because of their religion or country of origin.” – Hikaru Nakamura “Chess is life and every game is like a new life. “ – Eduard Gufeld “Chess is as much a mystery as women.” – C.J.S. Purdy “Chess is an infinitely complex game, which one can play in infinitely numerous & varied ways.” – Vladimir Kramnik “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 “In life, unlike chess the game continues after checkmate.” - Isaac Asimov “Chess isn’t always about winning. Sometimes, it is simply about learning and so is life.” – Anonymous "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." --Confucius "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." -- Nelson Mandela "It is by loving and not by being loved that one can come nearest to the soul of another." -- George MacDonald "Dream big, stay positive, work hard, and enjoy the journey." -- Urijah Faber “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 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. “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” — Eleanor Roosevelt “Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.” — Martha Graham “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain “Satisfaction consists in freedom from pain, which is the positive element of life.” — Arthur Schopenhauer “When your house is on fire, you cannot be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in chess, if your King is under attack, do not worry about losing a pawn on the queenside.” — Garry Kasparov “Learn to play many roles, to be whatever the moment requires. Adapt your mask to the situation.” — Robert Greene “Tactics is knowing what to do when there’s something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there’s nothing what to do.” — Savielly Tartakower “Some part of a mistake is always correct.” — Savielly Tartakower “It’s always better to sacrifice your opponent’s men.” — Savielly Tartakower “The most important feature of the chess position is the activity of the pieces. This is absolutely fundamental in all phases of the game: Opening, Middlegame and especially Endgame. The primary constraint on a piece’s activity is the Pawn structure.” — Michael Stean “That’s what chess is all about. One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one.” — Bobby Fischer “Winning is not a secret that belongs to a very few, winning is something that we can learn by studying ourselves, studying the environment, and making ourselves ready for any challenge that is in front of us.” — Garry Kasparov “The highest part of the chess player lies in not allowing your opponent to show you what he can do.” — Garry Kasparov “To play for a draw, at any rate with white, is to some degree a crime against chess.” — Mikhail Tal “Sometimes it’s better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.” — Tony Blair “Life is like a chess game. If you play the right move, at the right time you’ll win the game.” — Sruti “I prefer to lose a really good game than to win a bad one.” — David Levy “A bad plan is better than none at all.” — Frank Marshal “Even a poor plan is better than no plan at all.” — Mikhail Chigorin “So I say to you, Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” — Jesus Christ “Chess is a simple game, but it is that very simplicity that makes the player’s personalities come out.” — Gamou Jirou “Let a man play chess, and tell him that every pawn is his friend; Let him think both bishops are holy. Let him remember happy days in the shadows of his castles. Let him love his queen. Watch him love his queen.” — Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorn) “Alekhine is a player I’ve never really understood. He always wanted a superior centre; he maneuvered his pieces toward the kingside, and around the 25th move, began to mate his opponent. He disliked exchanges, preferring to play with many pieces on the board. His play was fantastically complicated, more so than any player before or since.” — Bobby Fischer “The beauty of chess is it can be whatever you want it to be. It transcends language, age, race, religion, politics, gender, and socioeconomic background. Whatever your circumstances, anyone can enjoy a good fight to the death over the chess board.” — Simon Williams “For in the idea of chess and the development of the chess mind we have a picture of the intellectual struggle of mankind.” — Richard Réti “You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player.” — José Raúl Capablanca Kevin Spraggett talks about his thoughts on what it takes to reach the magic 2200 level. “A chess master is a very competent player who has not only achieved the firm UNDERSTANDING that the game of chess is actually a series of 'mini-games' (i.e. opening, middlegame, endgame), each with its own very distinct characteristics, but has also achieved the ABILITY to construct his own chess game from these very same elements.” “In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.” — Isaac Asimov “If you are not big enough to lose, you are not big enough to win.” — Walter Reuther “In chess, just as in life, today’s bliss may be tomorrow’s poison.” — Assaic “People who claim they understand chess actually don’t.” — Robert Hübner. “At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.” ~ Italian proverb “The game of chess is not just an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it… Life is a kind of chess, in which we have often pointed to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with.” — Benjamin Franklin “I’ve come to the personal conclusion that while all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists.” — Marcel Duchamp “Chess is an infinitely complex game, which one can play in infinitely numerous & varied ways.” — Vladimir Kramnik “Wisdom comes alone through suffering.” — Aeschylus “And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” — Jesus Christ “Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.” — Martin Luther “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou “Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” — Tony Robbins “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” — Steve Jobs “From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.” — Aeschylus “Charity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is like good seed sown on a good soil that yields an abundance of fruits. But alms given to those who are yet under the tyrannical yoke of the passions are like seed deposited in a bad soil. The passions of the receiver of the alms choke, as it were, the growth of merits.” — Buddha “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” — Jesus Christ Do You Have It? Riddle Question: Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it? Thank you, Qindarka! Riddle Answer: Nothing. The Road Not Taken Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. “I have always a slight feeling of pity for the man who has no knowledge of chess.” — Siegbert Tarrasch “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” — Buddha “When the chess game is over, the pawn and the king go back to the same box.” — Irish Saying “Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.” — Democritus “Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people.” — Arthur Schopenhauer “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” — Buddha “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” — Winston Churchill “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” — Jesus Christ Black resigns. Lay your sleeping head, my love, Human on my faithless arm; Time and fevers burn away Individual beauty from Thoughtful children, and the grave Proves the child ephemeral: But in my arms till break of day Let the living creature lie, Mortal, guilty, but to me The entirely beautiful. “The words of truth are simple.” — Aeschylus “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” — Arthur Schopenhauer “The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.” — Buddha “I quote another man’s saying; unluckily, that other withdraws himself in the same way, and quotes me.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) “Young people of high school age can actually feel themselves changing. Progress is almost tangible. It’s exciting. It stimulates more progress. Nevertheless, growth is not constant and smooth. Erik Erikson quotes an aphorism to describe the formless forming of it. “I ain’t what I ought to be. I ain’t what I’m going to be, but I’m not what I was.”” — Stella Chess (20th century) “Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks; When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one.” — Anonymous. Late 19th century ballad. “Are sailors, frequenters of fiddlers’ greens, without vices? No; but less often than with landsmen do their vices, so called, partake of crookedness of heart, seeming less to proceed from viciousness than exuberance of vitality after long constraint: frank manifestations in accordance with natural law.” — Herman Melville (1819–1891) “It’s a great huge game of chess that’s being played—all over the world—if this is the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun it is! How I wish I was one of them! I wouldn’t mind being a Pawn, if only I might join—though of course I should like to be a Queen, best.” — Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898) “I do wish you’d stop reading my mind.... It’s so frightfully disconcerting—like being followed up one’s trousers.” — Abraham Polonsky, U.S. screenwriter, Frank Butler, and Helen Deutsch. Mitchell Leisen. Col. Deniston (Ray Milland) The Ill-Married If worth, were not a thing more rare Than beauty in this planet fair, There would be then less need of care About the contracts Hymen closes. But beauty often is the bait To love that only ends in hate; And many hence repent too late Of wedding thorns from wooing roses. My tale makes one of these poor fellows, Who sought relief from marriage vows, Send back again his tedious spouse, Contentious, covetous, and jealous, With nothing pleased or satisfied, This restless, comfort-killing bride Some fault in every one descried. Her good man went to bed too soon, Or lay in bed till almost noon. Too cold, too hot, – too black, too white, – Were on her tongue from morn till night. The servants mad and madder grew; The husband knew not what to do. "Twas, "Dear, you never think or care;" And, "Dear, that price we cannot bear;" And, "Dear, you never stay at home;" And, "Dear, I wish you would just come;" Till, finally, such ceaseless dearing On her husband's patience wearing, Back to her sire's he sent his wife, To taste the sweets of country life, To dance at will the country jigs, And feed the turkeys, geese, and pigs. In course of time, he hoped his bride Might have her temper mollified; Which hope he duly put to test. His wife recalled, said he, "How went with you your rural rest, From vexing cares and fashions free? Its peace and quiet did you gain, – Its innocence without a stain?" "Enough of all," said she; "but then To see those idle, worthless men Neglect the flocks, it gave me pain. I told them, plainly, what I thought, And thus their hatred quickly bought; For which I do not care – not I." "Ah, madam," did her spouse reply, "If still your temper's so morose, And tongue so virulent, that those Who only see you morn and night Are quite grown weary of the sight, What, then, must be your servants' case, Who needs must see you face to face, Throughout the day? And what must be the harder lot Of him, I pray, Whose days and nights With you must be by marriage rights? Return you to your father's cot. If I recall you in my life, Or even wish for such a wife, Let Heaven, in my hereafter, send Two such, to tease me without end!" “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. “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 "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 Conceive a man by nature and misfortune prone to a pallid hopelessness, can any business seem more fitted to heighten it than that of continually handling these dead letters and assorting them for the flames? For by the cart-load they are annually burned. Sometimes from out the folded paper the pale clerk takes a ring: - the finger it was meant for, perhaps, moulders in the grave; a bank-note sent in swiftest charity: - he whom it would relieve, nor eats nor hungers any more; pardon for those who died despairing; hope for those who died unhoping; good tidings for those who died stifled by unrelieved calamities. On errands of life, these letters speed to death. Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity! — Herman Melville "God's mercy and grace give me hope - for myself, and for our world.” — Billy Graham “Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.” — Billy Graham “Whatever you are doing in the game of life, give it all you've got.” — Norman Vincent Peale “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” — Ralph Marston * Riddle-soap-free: https://www.briddles.com/riddles/ch... “Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” ― Yogi Berra, 10-time World Series champion poem by B.H. Wood, entitled ‘The Drowser’: Ah, reverie! Ten thousand heads I see Bent over chess-boards, an infinity Of minds engaged in battle, fiendishly, Keenly, or calmly, as the case may be: World-wide, the neophyte, the veteran, The studious problemist, the fairy fan ... “What’s that? – I’m nearly sending you to sleep? Sorry! – but this position’s rather deep.” Source: Chess Amateur, September 1929, page 268. Feb-13-11 keypusher: scutigera: They give this as one of Myagmarsuren's notable games with 162 others in the database? notable games are selected based on how many games collections they are in. “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” — Aristotle “A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior — mentally or otherwise.” — Captain Kirk “Now, I don’t pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead are worth living for!” — Edith Keeler “Live long and prosper!” — Spock “The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” — Charles Dickens 037 zb2dr: aply 25. zooner Fritz z drool Kh7? from stayit chump 2boozer lozer Kieseritzky felixd hez musclz, wiggld hez towz, then an ounce of mate innate. 49 games, 1851-2023 2j French Defences “Chess is intellectual gymnastics.” ― Wilhelm Steinitz “The first requisite for success is to develop the ability to focus.” ― Thomas A. Edison “Analysis is a glittering opportunity for training: it is just here that capacity for work, perseverance and stamina are cultivated, and these qualities are, in truth, as necessary to a chess player as a marathon runner.” ― Lev Polugaevsky “Chess is like body-building. If you train every day, you stay in top shape. It is the same with your brain - chess is a matter of daily training.” ― Vladimir Kramnik “In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middlegame and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.” ― Jose Raul Capablanca “Even in the heat of a middlegame battle the master still has to bear in mind the outlines of a possible future ending.” ― David Bronstein “He can be regarded as the great master of simplification. The art of resolving the tension at the critical moment and in the most effacious way so as to clarify the position as desired is Capablanca's own.” ― Max Euwe General chess advice from Joe Brooks: https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comm... “It is ... impossible to keep one's excellence in a little glass casket, like a jewel, to take it out whenever wanted. On the contrary, it can only be conserved by continuous and good practice.” ― Adolf Anderssen “Chess never has been and never can be aught but a recreation. It should not be indulged in to the detriment of other and more serious avocations - should not absorb or engross the thoughts of those who worship at its shrine, but should be kept in the background, and restrained within its proper province. As a mere game, a relaxation from the severe pursuits of life, it is deserving of high commendation.” ― Paul Morphy “On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culmination in checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite.” ― Emanuel Lasker “Chess is a fairy tale of 1,001 blunders.” ― Savielly Tartakower “In chess the most unbelievable thing for me is that it's a game for everybody: rich, poor, girl, boy, old, young. It's a fantastic game which can unite people and generations! It's a language which you'll find people "speak" in every country. If you reach a certain level you find a very rich world! Art, sport, logic, psychology, a battlefield, imagination, creativity not only in practical games but don't forget either how amazing a feeling it is to compose a study, for example (unfortunately that's not appreciated these days but it's a fantastic part of chess!).” ― Judit Polgar “Nowadays tournaments are for nurseries. Look at those kiddies.” ― Miguel Najdorf “Young players calculate everything, a requirement of their relative inexperience.” ― Samuel Reshevsky “When I start to play a game I try to forget about previous games and try to concentrate on this game. This game is now the most important to me. But of course I am not a computer and you cannot simply press a button, delete, and everything you want to forget disappears automatically. But if you want to play well, it's important to concentrate on the now.” ― Vassily Ivanchuk “The pawns are the soul of chess.” ― Francois-Andre Danican Philidor “A pawn, when separated from his fellows, will seldom or never make a fortune.” ― Francois-Andre Danican Philidor “It so often happens that, after sacrificing a pawn, a player aims not to obtain the initiative for it, but to regain sacrificed material.” ― Efim Geller “Remember us, Should any free soul come across this place, In all the countless centuries yet to be, May our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones, Go tell the Spartans, passerby: That here by Spartan law, we lie.” ― Frank Miller, 300 “Chess is a war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.” ― Bobby Fischer “However hopeless the situation appears to be there yet always exists the possibility of putting up a stubborn resistance.” ― Paul Keres “A sport, a struggle for results and a fight for prizes. I think that the discussion about "chess is science or chess is art" is already inappropriate. The purpose of modern chess is to reach a result.” ― Alexander Morozevich “You can become a big master in chess only if you see your mistakes and short-comings. Exactly the same as in life itself.” ― Alexander Alekhine “It is a gross overstatement, but in chess, it can be said I play against my opponent over the board and against myself on the clock.” ― Viktor Korchnoi “Alekhine's real genius is in the preparation and construction of a position, long before combinations or mating attacks come into consideration at all.” ― Max Euwe “The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country.” ― George S. Patton Jr. “I won't be lectured on gun control by an administration that armed the Taliban.” ― voter “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” ― Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, and former U.S. Army Colonel “As a chess player one has to be able to control one's feelings, one has to be as cold as a machine.” ― Levon Aronian “Chess mastery essentially consists of analyzing chess positions accurately.” ― Mikhail Botvinnik “For beginning chess players, studying a Carlsen game is like wanting to be an electrical engineer and beginning with studying an iPhone.” ― Garry Kasparov “When Grand Masters play, they see the logic of their opponent's moves. One's moves may be so powerful that the other may not be able to stop him, but the plan behind the moves will be clear. Not so with Fischer. His moves did not make sense - at least to all the rest of us they didn't. We were playing chess, Fischer was playing something else, call it what you will. Naturally, there would come a time when we finally would understand what those moves had been about. But by then it was too late. We were dead.” ― Mark Taimanov “It is impossible to ignore a highly important factor of the chess struggle - psychology.” ― Yuri Averbakh “Almost immediately after Kasparov played the magic move g4, the computer started to self destruct.” — Sam Sloan “In the endgame, it's often better to form a barrier to cut-off the lone king and keep shrinking the barrier than to give check. The mistaken check might give the lone king a choice move toward the center when the idea is to force the lone king to the edge of the board and then checkmate.” — Fredthebear “The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls.” ― Edgar Allan Poe “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” ― Henry Ford “First, we are born in the same galaxy. Born of the same spe­cies. Our life­times over­lap. The meet­ings between humans are so unlikely as to be mira­cu­lous. To laugh, to cry, and to fall in love. Every­one is made up of a col­lec­tion of 1% chances. Thus, I am dazzled by the fact that there are so many mir­acles in this world.” ― Hikaru Nakamura “I don't really watch too many movies. I don't have the patience usually to watch one, one and a half or two hours in a row.” ― Magnus Carlsen. A nice way of saying that most movie content is unrealistic, foolish, contrived, immoral, not intellectually stimulating. “We can compare classical chess and rapid chess with theatre and cinema - some actors don't like the latter and prefer to work in the theatre.” ― Boris Spassky “In my opinion, the style of a player should not be formed under the influence of any single great master.” ― Vasily Smyslov * Assorted Good games Compiled by rbaglini: Game Collection: assorted Good games * Cheating: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... * GK's Scheveningen: Game Collection: Kasparov - The Sicilian Sheveningen * Poisoned Pawn: Game Collection: FRENCH DEFENCE-WINAWER “The laws of nature are written by the hand of God in the language of mathematics.” ― Galileo Galilei And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:9, 10. “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” ― Alexander Graham Bell “You can only get good at chess if you love the game.” ― Bobby Fischer “Be active. I do things my way, like skiing when I’m 100. Nobody else does that even if they have energy. And I try to eat pretty correctly and get exercise and fresh air and sunshine.” ― Elsa Bailey, first time skier at age 100 “Don't look at the calendar, just keep celebrating every day.” ― Ruth Coleman, carpe diem at age 101 “Your will shall decide your destiny.” ― Charlotte Bronte <You: What cartoon mouse walks on two feet? Them: Mickey Mouse You: What duck walks on two feet? Them: Donald Duck You: No, all ducks do!> * Positional: Game Collection: 2012-2015 Positional Games (Naiditsch/Balogh) * POTD: Game Collection: POTD French 2 * Killer Dutch: Game Collection: Bowen Island Dutch Killer Dutch * Miscellaneous: Game Collection: ! Miscellaneous games Light Switches Riddle: There Are 3 Light Bulbs In Three Separate Rooms... Riddle: There are 3 light bulbs in three separate rooms. in front of you, there is a panel with 3 separate switches. They only turn on or off. You may look inside each room only once. How can you tell which bulb belongs to which switch? Answer: You turn on any two switches, leave them for a few minutes, and turn one switch off. You enter each room only once. you know that the lightbulb that is lit belongs to the switch that was left on, the bulb that is off, but hot, belongs to the switch you turned off, and the cold bulb belongs to the switch you never touched. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils “The more I work with the powers of Nature, the more I feel God's benevolence to man; the closer I am to the great truth that everything is dependent on the Eternal Creator and Sustainer; the more I feel that the so-called science, I am occupied with, is nothing but an expression of the Supreme Will, which aims at bringing people closer to each other in order to help them better understand and improve themselves.” ― Guglielmo Marconi What did the Buddhist ask the hot dog vendor? “Make me one with everything.” A Psalm of Life Henry Wadsworth Longfellow What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist. Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world’s broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,— act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead! Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait. “To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge.” — Nicolaus Copernicus You know why you never see elephants hiding up in trees? Because they’re really good at it. The Road Not Taken Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” — Aristotle “A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior — mentally or otherwise.” — Captain Kirk “Now, I don’t pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead are worth living for!” — Edith Keeler “Live long and prosper!” — Spock “The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” — Charles Dickens 32z Nimzo Za’Darius Smith & Wesson don't be messin' Zoltan Almasi periodic rot Maroczy binge drinking ccoffee from's gambit thermos. 77 games, 1886-2019 2W Alexander Alekhine's Best Games The best games of Alekhine's career. “Alekhine is a poet who creates a work of art out of something that would hardly inspire another man to send home a picture post card.” ― Max Euwe “During a chess competition a chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk.” ― Alexander Alekhine When asked, "How is that you pick better moves than your opponents?", I responded: “I'm very glad you asked me that, because, as it happens, there is a very simple answer. I think up my own moves, and I make my opponent think up his.” ― Alexander Alekhine “Oh! this opponent, this collaborator against his will, whose notion of Beauty always differs from yours and whose means (strength, imagination, technique) are often too limited to help you effectively! What torment, to have your thinking and your phantasy tied down by another person!” ― Alexander Alekhine “I study chess eight hours a day, on principle.” ― Alexander Alekhine “I am Alekhine, chess champion of the world. I need no passport.” ― Alexander Alekhine “What I do is not play but struggle.” ― Alexander Alekhine “I have had to work long and hard to eradicate the dangerous delusion that, in a bad position, I could always, or nearly always, conjure up some unexpected combination to extricate me from my difficulties.” ― Alexander Alekhine “Chess for me is not a game, but an art. Yes, and I take upon myself all those responsibilities which an art imposes on its adherents.” ― Alexander Alekhine “To win against me, you must beat me three times: in the opening, the middlegame and the endgame.” ― Alexander Alekhine “He lived in and for chess like no one before him, nor any since until Fischer.” ― Taylor Kingston (on Alekhine) “No master before or since sank himself with greater gusto into what Vladimir Nabokov called Caissa’s “abysmal depths.” ― Larry Parr (on Alekhine) “I just can’t win in such a way!” ― Jose R. Capablanca (on an Alekhine combination in the 11th game of their title match) “It was impossible to win against Capablanca; against Alekhine it was impossible to play.” ― Paul Keres “Against Alekhine you never knew what to expect. Against Capablanca, you knew what to expect, but you couldn't prevent it!” ― George Thomas “Alekhine's chess is like a god's.” ― Chess World Magazine “In playing through an Alekhine game one suddenly meets a move which simply takes one's breath away.” ― C. H. O'D. Alexander “Alekhine is a poet who creates a work of art out of something that would hardly inspire another man to send home a picture post card.” ― Max Euwe “Capablanca never took his eyes off the chorus; Alekhine never looked up from his pocket chess set.” ― A patron who took both players to a show in 1922 “Capablanca was the greatest talent, but Alekhine was the greatest in his achievements.” ― Mikhail Botvinnik “Sir, I am the book! – Alexander Alekhine (to a player who, not realizing who Alekhine was, had commented on each of Alekhine's moves with, "The book says…") “The openings consist of Alekhine's games with a few variations. – Source Unknown “While he was hospitalized (during WW I) after being wounded (a contusion of the spine), he became the strongest blindfold chess player in the world. That's how great this guy was. I mean, when normal people go to the hospital, they are totally sad and in pain. Instead, he devoted himself to blindfold chess and became the best in the world in an extremely short period of time. You have to love this guy.” ― Terry Crandall (on Alekhine) “Since we are, of course, the two best blindfold players in the world, I think it would be better if we had recourse to a chessboard and men.” ― Alexander Alekhine (to Reti when they disagreed during a blindfold analysis session) “Analyze! Analyze! Analyze! That was the doctor’s motto, and his deeply ingrained habit of investigating every line was obviously unsuitable in rapid transit.” ― Arthur Dake (on Alekhine's relative weakness in rapid play) “I learned a lot about how the world champion analyzed chess positions. Alekhine taught me to sit on my hands and not to play the first move that came to mind, no matter how good it looked. He examined everything, whipping through an astonishing number of variations.” ― Arnold Denker Gerald Abrahams' dictum: "Good positions don't win games; good moves do". “Alekhine's attacks came suddenly, like destructive thunderstorms that erupted from a clear sky.” ― Garry Kasparov “I can comprehend Alekhine's combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances from and how he infuses such life into the very opening - that is beyond me.” ― Rudolf Spielmann “I can see the combinations as well as Alekhine, but I cannot get into the same positions.” ― Rudolf Spielmann “Somehow the match will never take place.” ― Alexander Alekhine (on his avoidance of a rematch with Capablanca) “It is bad to be a self-centered manipulative alcoholic liar who seduces women for their money.” ― Taylor Kingston (on Alekhine, of course) “Alexander Alekhine may have been a drunk and anti-Semite, but he certainly had manners: he showed up for the last game of his losing match in 1935 wearing a tuxedo, and gave his "Hurrah to the new World Champion!” ― Alex Yermolinsky “Alekhine grew out of the combination. He is in love with it. Everything strategic is only a preparation for him, almost a necessary evil. The stunning blow, the unexpected thrust - this is his element... His imagination catches fire in the attack on the king.” ― Emanuel Lasker “Alekhine evidently possesses the most remarkable chess memory that has ever existed. It is said that he remembers by heart all the games played by the leading masters during the past 15-20 years.” ― Jose Raul Capablanca “Alekhine is dear to the chess world, mainly as an artist. Typical of him are deep plans, far-sighted calculation and inexhaustible imagination. However, his main strength, which developed from year to year, was his combinative vision: he saw combinations with great ease and accuracy. For this reason Alekhine's combinations possessed such staggering, crushing force... Yes, this truly was an amazing gift!” ― Mikhail Botvinnik “The name of Alekhine is illuminated by the brilliance of his chess combinations. Alekhine possessed an exceptionally rich chess imagination, and his skill in creating combinativ ve complications is incomparable. it should be mentioned that Alekhine had a mastery of technique, and his striving for combinations was not an end to itself, but stemmed logically from the demands of the position.” ― Vasily Smyslov “In Alekhine we are captivated by his exceptional combinative talent and his whole-hearted love for chess.” ― Mikhail Tal “I consider Alexander Alekhine to be a very great player. Possibly, because for me and for many he remains an enigma. He considered that chess was closest to an art, and he was able to demonstrate this with his optimistic, eternally youthful play.” ― Boris Spassky “Alekhine is a player I've never really understood; yet, strangely, if you've seen one Alekhine game you've seen them all. He always wanted a superior center; he maneuvered his pieces towards the King's-side, and around the twenty-fifth move began to mate his opponent.” ― Robert Fischer “Alekhine has never been a hero of mine, and I've never cared for his style of play. There is nothing light or breezy about it; it worked for him, but it could scarcely work for anybody else.” ― Robert J. Fischer “His conceptions were gigantic, full of outrageous and unprecedented ideas. It's hard to find mistakes in his games, but in a sense his whole method was a mistake.” ― Robert J. Fischer (on Alekhine) “He had great imagination; he could see more deeply into a situation than any other player in chess history... Many consider Alekhine a great opening theoretician, but I don't think he was. He played book lines, but didn't know them very well. He always felt that his natural powers would get him out of any dilemma.” ― Robert J. Fischer “The next (after Steinitz) changes were outlined by Alekhine, but applied and developed by Botvnnik - the scientific approach to chess... Alekhine worked a great deal at home. He won a number of well-known games, by right from the opening holding his opponent in a vice prepared at home. And his grip was strong: after seizing his victim, he would no longer release him.” ― Anatoly Karpov “In contrast to Fischer with his propensity for clarity, and to Karpov who grew up on Capablanca's games, from my early years I was enormously influenced by Alekhine's play and won over by his unprecedented feat in the 1927 match. I admired the refinement of his ideas, and I tried as far as possible to imitate his furious attacking style, with its sudden and thunderous sacrifices.” ― Garry Kasparov “Alekhine definitely was a workaholic. He had a strategic talent and was the first player who had a conscious feel for dynamics.” ― Vladimir Kramnik “Fortune favors the bold, especially when they are Alekhine.” ― Lodewijk Prins “His fantastic combinative vision was based on a sound positional foundation, and was the fruit of strong, energetic strategy. Therefore Alekhine can safely be called the pioneer of the universal style of play, based on a close interweaving of stategic and tactical motifs.” ― Garry Kasparov I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils Apr-05-23 WannaBe: Can a vegan have a 'beef' with you? Or Vegans only have 'beet' with you? I am confused. Apr-05-23 Cassandro: Vegan police officers should be exempt from doing steak-outs. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” — Fanny Fern All The World’s A Stage William Shakespeare All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side; His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” — Aristotle “A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior — mentally or otherwise.” — Captain Kirk “Now, I don’t pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead are worth living for!” — Edith Keeler “Live long and prosper!” — Spock “The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” — Charles Dickens Est. 1885 120 games, 1907-1943 2W B20-B39 Sicilians Compiled by cgrob Apr-05-23 WannaBe: Can a vegan have a 'beef' with you? Or Vegans only have 'beet' with you? I am confused. Apr-05-23 Cassandro: Vegan police officers should be exempt from doing steak-outs. General chess advice from Joe Brooks: https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comm... "On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culmination in checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite." -- Emanuel Lasker I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils "Be active. I do things my way, like skiing when I’m 100. Nobody else does that even if they have energy. And I try to eat pretty correctly and get exercise and fresh air and sunshine.” ― Elsa Bailey, first time skier at age 100 "Don't look at the calendar, just keep celebrating everyday." ― Ruth Coleman, carpe diem at age 101 REMOD: Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now. * Assorted Good games Compiled by rbaglini: Game Collection: assorted Good games * Cheating: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... * GK's Scheveningen: Game Collection: Kasparov - The Sicilian Sheveningen I was kidnapped by mimes once. They did unspeakable things to me. <First And Last Author Riddle: What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you? By 2024 India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country China currently has 1.4 billion inhabitants, closely followed by India with 1.3 billion. Together they make up 37% of the world’s population. Riddle Answer: Your name.> Is it ignorance or apathy that's destroying the world today? I don't know, and I don't care. It's not the quantity that counts; it's the quality. What do you call a woman who sets fire to all her bills? Bernadette. This game an Indian Brahmin did invent, The force of Eastern wisdom to express; From thence the same to busy Europe sent; The modern Lombards stil'd it pensive Chess. — Sir John Denham Why is England the wettest country? Because the queen reigned there for decades. What did the full glass say to the empty glass? "You look drunk." Drive sober or get pulled over. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:9, 10. The Chess Poem by Ayaan Chettiar 8 by 8 makes 64 In the game of chess, the king shall rule Kings and queens, and rooks and knights Bishops and Pawns, and the use of mind The Game goes on, the players think Plans come together, form a link Attacks, checks and capture Until, of course, we reach a mate The Pawns march forward, then the knights Power the bishops, forward with might Rooks come together in a line The Game of Chess is really divine The Rooks move straight, then take a turn The Knights on fire, make no return Criss-Cross, Criss-Cross, go the bishops The Queen’s the leader of the group The King resides in the castle While all the pawns fight with power Heavy blows for every side Until the crown, it is destroyed The Brain’s the head, The Brain’s the King, The Greatest one will always win, For in the game of chess, the king shall rule, 8 by 8 makes 64! "Be active. I do things my way, like skiing when I’m 100. Nobody else does that even if they have energy. And I try to eat pretty correctly and get exercise and fresh air and sunshine.” ― Elsa Bailey, first time skier at age 100 "Don't look at the calendar, just keep celebrating every day." ― Ruth Coleman, carpe diem at age 101 When you die, what part of the body dies last? The pupils… they dilate. <Luke 8:16-18 New King James Version The Parable of the Revealed Light Jesus said: 16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”> %. What sits at the bottom of the sea and twitches? A nervous wreck. A bear walks into a restaurant. He tells his waiter, "I want a grilled… cheese." The waiter says, "What's with the pause?" "Whaddya mean?" the bear replies. "I'm a bear!" Why were they called the Dark Ages? Because there were a lot of knights. Which branch of the military accepts toddlers? The infantry. Did you know you can actually listen to the blood in your veins? You just have to listen varicosely. Where do young trees go to learn? Elementree school. Did you hear about the cheese factory that exploded in France? There was nothing left but de-Brie. Why don't math majors throw house parties? Because it's not good to drink and derive. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta. What washes up on very small beaches? Micro-waves. Why don't male ants sink? Because they're boy-ant. How much space will free up in the EU after Brexit? Approximately one GB. Why do oranges wear sunscreen? So they don't peel. Where are average things manufactured? The Satisfactory. What do you call a hippie's wife? A Mississippi. Why do birds fly south? Because it's faster than walking! What's a baby bear with no teeth called? A gummy bear! What's orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot! What's a pirate's favorite letter? Arrrrrrrr! “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” — Aristotle “A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior — mentally or otherwise.” — Captain Kirk “Now, I don’t pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead are worth living for!” — Edith Keeler “Live long and prosper!” — Spock “The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” — Charles Dickens Why did the dinosaur cross the road? Because the chicken wasn't born yet! Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? Answer: Marie Curie (1903) 46 games, 1858-2013 3 C snares There's somethin' goin' on there. This is NOT meant to be a collection of Ryder Gambits, alien sightings, trolls or British rock-n-roll bands. “Chess is a fairy tale of 1,001 blunders.” ― Savielly Tartakower “Pawns are the soul of the game.” ― François-André Danican Philidor “The king pawn and the queen pawn are the only ones to be moved in the early part of the game.” ― Wilhelm Steinitz “There is no such thing as an absolutely freeing move. A freeing move in a position in which development has not been carried far always proves illusory, and vice versa, a move which does not come at all in the category of freeing moves can, given a surplus of tempi to our credit, lead to a very free game.” ― Aron Nimzowitsch “The future reshapes the memory of the past in the way it recalibrates significance: some episodes are advanced, others lose purchase.” ― Gregory Maguire, A Lion Among Men “Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” ― Douglas MacArthur * YS Tactics: Game Collection: Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO) codes: Anderssen's Opening: 1. a3 Anderssen's Opening, Polish Gambit: 1. a3 a5 2. b4 Anderssen's Opening, Creepy Crawly Formation: 1. a3 e5 2. h3 d5 Anderssen's Opening, Andersspike: 1. a3 g6 2. g4 Ware Opening: 1. a4 Ware Opening, Wing Gambit: 1. a4 b5 2. axb5 Bb7 Ware Opening, Ware Gambit: 1. a4 e5 2. a5 d5 3. e3 f5 4. a6 Ware Opening, Crab Variation: 1. a4 e5 2. h4 Durkin Opening: 1. Na3 Sokolsky Opening: 1. b4 Sokolsky Opening, Birmingham Gambit: 1. b4 c5 Sokolsky Opening, Outflank Variation: 1. b4 c6 Sokolsky Opening, Schuhler Gambit: 1. b4 c6 2. Bb2 a5 3. b5 cxb5 4. e4 Sokolsky Opening, Myers Variation: 1. b4 d5 2. Bb2 c6 3. a4 Sokolsky Opening, Bugayev Attack: 1. b4 e5 2. a3 Sokolsky Opening, Wolferts Gambit: 1. b4 e5 2. Bb2 c5 Saragossa Opening: 1.c3 Dunst Opening: 1. Nc3 Van 't Kruijs Opening: 1.e3 Mieses Opening: 1. d3 Barnes Opening: 1. f3 Benko's Opening: 1. g3 Grob's Attack: 1. g4 Clemenz Opening: 1. h3 Desprez Opening: 1. h4 Amar Opening: 1. Nh3 A01 Larsen's Opening A02 Bird's Opening A03 Bird's Opening, 1...d5 A04 Réti Opening, 1. Nf3 A05 Reti Opening, 2...Nf6 A06 Reti Opening, 2...d5 A07 Reti Opening, King's Indian attack (Barcza system) A08 Reti Opening, King's Indian attack A09 Reti Opening, 2...d5 3.c4 A10 English Opening A11 English, Caro-Kann defensive system A12 English, Caro-Kann defensive system A13 English Opening A14 English, Neo-Catalan declined A15 English, 1...Nf6 (Anglo-Indian defence) A16 English Opening A17 English Opening, Hedgehog Defence A18 English, Mikenas-Carls variation A19 English, Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian variation A20 English Opening A21 English Opening A22 English Opening A23 English Opening, Bremen system, Keres variation A24 English Opening, Bremen system with 3...g6 A25 English Opening, Sicilian Reversed A26 English Opening, Closed system A27 English Opening, Three knights system A28 English Opening, Four knights system A29 English Opening, Four knights, kingside Fianchetto A30 English Opening, Symmetrical variation A31 English Opening, Symmetrical, Benoni formation A32 English Opening, Symmetrical A33 English Opening, Symmetrical A34 English Opening, Symmetrical A35 English Opening, Symmetrical A36 English Opening, Symmetrical A37 English Opening, Symmetrical A38 English Opening, Symmetrical A39 English Opening, Symmetrical, Main line with d4 A40 Queen's Pawn Game (including English Defence, Englund Gambit, Queen's Knight Defence, Polish Defence and Keres Defence) A41 Queen's Pawn Game, Wade Defence A42 Modern defence, Averbakh system also Wade Defence A43 Old Benoni defence A44 Old Benoni defence A45 Queen's Pawn Game A46 Queen's Pawn Game A47 Queen's Indian Defence A48 King's Indian, East Indian defence A49 King's Indian, Fianchetto without c4 A50 Queen's Pawn Game, Black Knights' Tango A51 Budapest Gambit declined A52 Budapest Gambit A53 Old Indian Defence A54 Old Indian, Ukrainian variation A55 Old Indian, Main line A56 Benoni Defence A57 Benko gambit A58 Benko gambit accepted A59 Benko gambit, 7.e4 A60 Benoni defence A61 Benoni defence A62 Benoni, Fianchetto variation A63 Benoni, Fianchetto variation, 9...Nbd7 A64 Benoni, Fianchetto variation, 11...Re8 A65 Benoni, 6.e4 A66 Benoni, pawn storm variation A67 Benoni, Taimanov variation A68 Benoni, Four pawns attack A69 Benoni, Four pawns attack, Main line A70 Benoni, Classical with e4 and Nf3 A71 Benoni, Classical, 8.Bg5 A72 Benoni, Classical without 9.O-O A73 Benoni, Classical, 9.O-O A74 Benoni, Classical, 9...a6, 10.a4 A75 Benoni, Classical with ...a6 and 10...Bg4 A76 Benoni, Classical, 9...Re8 A77 Benoni, Classical, 9...Re8, 10.Nd2 A78 Benoni, Classical with ...Re8 and ...Na6 A79 Benoni, Classical, 11.f3 A80 Dutch Defence A81 Dutch defence A82 Dutch, Staunton gambit, also includes Balogh Defence A83 Dutch, Staunton gambit, Staunton's line A84 Dutch defence A85 Dutch with 2.c4 & 3.Nc3 A86 Dutch with 2.c4 & 3.g3 A87 Dutch, Leningrad, Main variation A88 Dutch, Leningrad, Main variation with 7...c6 A89 Dutch, Leningrad, Main variation with Nc6 A90 Dutch defence A91 Dutch defence A92 Dutch defence A93 Dutch, Stonewall, Botwinnik variation A94 Dutch, Stonewall with Ba3 A95 Dutch, Stonewall with Nc3 A96 Dutch, Classical variation A97 Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky variation A98 Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky variation with Qc2 A99 Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky variation with b3 B00 King's pawn Opening without 1... e5, 1... d5, 1... Nf6, 1... g6, 1... d6, 1... c6, 1... c5. (includes Nimzowitsch Defence, St. George Defence, Owen's Defence, Hippopotamus Defence, Fred Defence and others) B01 Scandinavian Defence (Center Counter Defence) B02 Alekhine's Defence B03 Alekhine's Defence 3.d4 B04 Alekhine's defence, Modern variation B05 Alekhine's defence, Modern variation, 4...Bg4 B06 Robatsch (Modern) defence, including Monkey's Bum B07 Pirc defence B08 Pirc, Classical (Two knights) system B09 Pirc, Austrian attack B10 Caro-Kann Defence B11 Caro-Kann, Two knights, 3...Bg4 B12 Caro-Kann defence B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange variation B14 Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik attack, 5...e6 B15 Caro-Kann defence B16 Caro-Kann, Bronstein-Larsen variation B17 Caro-Kann, Steinitz variation B18 Caro-Kann, Classical variation B19 Caro-Kann, Classical, 7...Nd7 B20 Sicilian defence B21 Sicilian, Grand Prix attack and Smith-Morra Gambit, including the Siberian Trap B22 Sicilian Defence, Alapin Variation (2.c3) B23 Sicilian, Closed B24 Sicilian, Closed B25 Sicilian, Closed B26 Sicilian, Closed, 6.Be3 B27 Sicilian defence B28 Sicilian, O'Kelly variation B29 Sicilian, Nimzovich-Rubinstein variation B30 Sicilian defence B31 Sicilian, Nimzovich-Rossolimo attack (with ...g6, without ...d6) B32 Sicilian defence B33 Sicilian, Sveshnikov (Lasker-Pelikan) variation B34 Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Fianchetto, Exchange variation B35 Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Fianchetto, Modern variation with Bc4 B36 Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Fianchetto, Maroczy bind B37 Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Fianchetto, Maroczy bind, 5...Bg7 B38 Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Fianchetto, Maroczy bind, 6.Be3 B39 Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Fianchetto, Breyer variation B40 Sicilian defence B41 Sicilian, Kan variation B42 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Bd3 B43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3 B44 Sicilian defence B45 Sicilian, Taimanov variation B46 Sicilian, Taimanov variation B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) variation B48 Sicilian, Taimanov variation B49 Sicilian, Taimanov variation B50 Sicilian B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky attack B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky attack, 3...Bd7 B53 Sicilian, Chekhover variation B54 Sicilian B55 Sicilian, Prins variation, Venice attack B56 Sicilian B57 Sicilian, Sozin (not Scheveningen) including Magnus Smith Trap B58 Sicilian, Classical B59 Sicilian, Boleslavsky variation, 7.Nb3 B60 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer B61 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Larsen variation, 7.Qd2 B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, 6...e6 B63 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer attack B64 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer attack, 7...Be7 defence, 9.f4 B65 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer attack, 7...Be7 defence, 9...Nxd4 B66 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer attack, 7...a6 B67 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer attack, 7...a6 defence, 8...Bd7 B68 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer attack, 7...a6 defence, 9...Be7 B69 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer attack, 7...a6 defence, 11.Bxf6 B70 Sicilian, Dragon variation B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish variation B72 Sicilian, Dragon, 6.Be3 B73 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical, 8.O-O B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical, 9.Nb3 B75 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav attack B76 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav attack, 7...O-O B77 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav attack, 9.Bc4 B78 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav attack, 10.O-O-O B79 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav attack, 12.h4 B80 Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation B81 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Keres attack B82 Sicilian, Scheveningen, 6.f4 B83 Sicilian, Scheveningen, 6.Be2 B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen (Paulsen), Classical variation B85 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Classical variation with ...Qc7 and ...Nc6 B86 Sicilian, Sozin attack B87 Sozin with ...a6 and ...b5 B88 Sicilian, Sozin, Leonhardt variation B89 Sicilian, Sozin, 7.Be3 B90 Sicilian, Najdorf B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) variation B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) variation B93 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4 B94 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.Bg5 B95 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6...e6 B96 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7.f4 B97 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Qb6 including Poisoned Pawn Variation B98 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 B99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line C00 French Defence C01 French, Exchange Variation, Kingston Defence C02 French, Advance Variation C03 French, Tarrasch C04 French, Tarrasch, Guimard Main line C05 French, Tarrasch, Closed Variation C06 French, Tarrasch, Closed Variation, Main line C07 French, Tarrasch, Open Variation C08 French, Tarrasch, Open, 4.exd5 exd5 C09 French, Tarrasch, Open Variation, Main line C10 French, Paulsen Variation C11 French Defence C12 French, MacCutcheon Variation C13 French, Classical C14 French, Classical Variation C15 French, Winawer (Nimzovich) Variation C16 French, Winawer, Advance Variation C17 French, Winawer, Advance Variation C18 French, Winawer, Advance Variation C19 French, Winawer, Advance, 6...Ne7 C20 King's Pawn Game (includes Alapin's Opening, Lopez Opening, Napoleon Opening, Portuguese Opening and Parham Attack) C21 Center Game (includes Danish Gambit) C22 Center Game C23 Bishop's Opening C24 Bishop's Opening, Berlin Defence C25 Vienna Game C26 Vienna Game, Falkbeer Variation C27 Vienna Game, Frankenstein-Dracula Variation C28 Vienna Game C29 Vienna Gambit, Kaufmann Variation including Würzburger Trap C30 King's Gambit C31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Countergambit C32 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer, 5. dxe4 C33 King's Gambit Accepted C34 King's Gambit Accepted, including Fischer Defence C35 King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham Defence C36 King's Gambit Accepted, Abbazia Defence (Classical Defence, Modern Defence) C37 King's Gambit Accepted, Quaade Gambit C38 King's Gambit Accepted C39 KGA, Allagier & Kiesertisky Gambits including Rice Gambit C40 King's Knight Opening (includes Gunderam Defence, Greco Defence, Damiano Defence, Elephant Gambit, and Latvian Gambit.) C41 Philidor Defence C42 Petrov's Defence, including Marshall Trap C43 Petrov's Defence, Modern (Steinitz) Attack C44 King's Pawn Game (includes Ponziani Opening, Inverted Hungarian Opening, Irish Gambit, Konstantinopolsky Opening and some Scotch Game) C45 Scotch Game C46 Three Knights Game including Müller-Schulze Gambit C47 Four Knights Game, Scotch Variation C48 Four Knights Game, Spanish Variation C49 Four Knights Game, Double Ruy Lopez C50 King's Pawn Game (includes Blackburne Shilling Gambit, Hungarian Defence, Italian Gambit, Légal Trap, Rousseau Gambit and Giuoco Pianissimo) C51 Evans Gambit C52 Evans Gambit with 4...Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 C53 Giuoco Piano C54 Giuoco Piano C55 Two Knights Defence C56 Two Knights Defence C57 Two Knights Defence, including the Fried Liver Attack C58 Two Knights Defence C59 Two Knights Defence C60 Ruy Lopez C61 Ruy Lopez, Bird's Defence C62 Ruy Lopez, Old Steinitz Defence C63 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defence C64 Ruy Lopez, Classical (Cordel) Defence C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence including Mortimer Trap C66 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, 4.O-O, d6 C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open variation C68 Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation C69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation, 5.O-O C70 Ruy Lopez C71 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defence including Noah's Ark Trap C72 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defence 5.0-0 C73 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defence, Richter variation C74 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defence C75 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defence C76 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defence, Fianchetto (Bronstein) variation C77 Ruy Lopez, Morphy Defence C78 Ruy Lopez, 5.O-O C79 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defence Deferred (Russian Defence) C80 Ruy Lopez, Open (Tarrasch) Defence C81 Ruy Lopez, Open, Howell Attack C82 Ruy Lopez, Open, 9.c3 C83 Ruy Lopez, Open, Classical Defence C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed Defence C85 Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation Doubly Deferred C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack C87 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Averbach Variation C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed C89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall Counterattack C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed (with ...d6) C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed, 9.d4 C92 Ruy Lopez, Closed, 9.h3 C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defence C94 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer Defence C95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer, 10.d4 C96 Ruy Lopez, Closed, 8...Na5 C97 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin Defence C98 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 12...Nc6 C99 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 12...c5d4 D00 Queen's Pawn Game (including Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, Halosar Trap and others) D01 Richter-Veresov Attack D02 Queen's Pawn Game, 2. Nf3 D03 Torre Attack, Tartakower variation D04 Queen's Pawn Game D05 Queen's Pawn Game, Zukertort variation (including Colle system) D06 Queen's Gambit (including the Baltic Defence, Marshall Defence and Symmetrical Defence) D07 QGD; Chigorin defence D08 QGD; Albin Countergambit and Lasker Trap D09 QGD; Albin Countergambit, 5.g3 D10 QGD; Slav Defence D11 QGD; Slav defence, 3.Nf3 D12 QGD; Slav defence, 4.e3 Bf5 D13 QGD; Slav defence, Exchange variation D14 QGD; Slav defence, Exchange variation D15 QGD; Slav, 4.Nc3 D16 QGD; Slav accepted, Alapin variation D17 QGD; Slav defence, Czech defence D18 QGD; Dutch variation D19 QGD; Dutch variation D20 Queen's Gambit Accepted D21 QGA, 3.Nf3 D22 QGA; Alekhine defence D23 Queen's gambit accepted D24 QGA, 4.Nc3 D25 QGA, 4.e3 D26 QGA; classical variation D27 QGA; classical variation D28 QGA; Classical variation 7.Qe2 D29 QGA; Classical variation 8...Bb7 D30 Queen's Gambit Declined D31 QGD, 3.Nc3 D32 QGD; Tarrasch Defence D33 QGD; Tarrasch, Schlechter-Rubinstein system D34 QGD; Tarrasch, 7...Be7 D35 QGD; Exchange Variation D36 QGD; Exchange, positional line, 6.Qc2 D37 QGD; 4.Nf3 D38 QGD; Ragozin variation D39 QGD; Ragozin, Vienna variation D40 QGD; Semi-Tarrasch defence D41 QGD; Semi-Tarrasch, 5.cd D42 QGD; Semi-Tarrasch, 7.Bd3 D43 QGD; Semi-Slav Defence D44 QGD; Semi-Slav 5.Bg5 dxc4 D45 QGD; Semi-Slav 5.e3 D46 QGD; Semi-Slav 6.Bd3 D47 QGD; Semi-Slav 7.Bc4 D48 QGD; Meran, 8...a6 D49 QGD; Meran, 11.Nxb5 D50 QGD; 4.Bg5 D51 QGD; 4.Bg5 Nbd7 (Cambridge Springs Defence and Elephant Trap) D52 QGD D53 QGD; 4.Bg5 Be7 D54 QGD; Anti-neo-Orthodox variation D55 QGD; 6.Nf3 D56 QGD; Lasker defence D57 QGD; Lasker defence, Main line D58 QGD; Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) system D59 QGD; Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) system, 8.cd Nxd5 D60 QGD; Orthodox defence D61 QGD; Orthodox defence, Rubinstein variation D62 QGD; Orthodox defence, 7.Qc2 c5, 8.cd (Rubinstein) D63 QGD; Orthodox defence, 7.Rc1 D64 QGD; Orthodox defence, Rubinstein attack (with Rc1) D65 QGD; Orthodox defence, Rubinstein attack, Main line D66 QGD; Orthodox defence, Bd3 line including Rubinstein Trap D67 QGD; Orthodox defence, Bd3 line, Capablanca freeing manoeuver D68 QGD; Orthodox defence, Classical variation D69 QGD; Orthodox defence, Classical, 13.dxe5 D70 Neo-Grünfeld Defence D71 Neo-Grünfeld, 5.cd D72 Neo-Grünfeld, 5.cd, Main line D73 Neo-Grünfeld, 5.Nf3 D74 Neo-Grünfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O D75 Neo-Grünfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O c5, 8.Nc3 D76 Neo-Grünfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O Nb6 D77 Neo-Grünfeld, 6.O-O D78 Neo-Grünfeld, 6.O-O c6 D79 Neo-Grünfeld, 6.O-O, Main line D80 Grünfeld Defence D81 Grünfeld; Russian variation D82 Grünfeld 4.Bf4 D83 Grünfeld gambit D84 Grünfeld gambit accepted D85 Grünfeld, exchange variation D86 Grünfeld, Exchange, Classical variation D87 Grünfeld, Exchange, Spassky variation D88 Grünfeld, Spassky variation, Main line, 10...cd, 11.cd D89 Grünfeld, Spassky variation, Main line, 13.Bd3 D90 Grünfeld, Three knights variation D91 Grünfeld, Three knights variation D92 Grünfeld, 5.Bf4 D93 Grünfeld with 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 D94 Grünfeld, 5.e3 D95 Grünfeld with 5.e3 O-O 6.Qb3 D96 Grünfeld, Russian variation D97 Grünfeld, Russian variation with 7.e4 D98 Grünfeld, Russian, Smyslov variation D99 Grünfeld Defence, Smyslov, Main line E00 Queen's Pawn Game (including Neo-Indian Attack, Trompowski Attack, Catalan Opening and others) E01 Catalan, closed E02 Catalan, open, 5.Qa4 E03 Catalan, open, Alekhine variation E04 Catalan, Open, 5.Nf3 E05 Catalan, Open, Classical line E06 Catalan, Closed, 5.Nf3 E07 Catalan, Closed, 6...Nbd7 E08 Catalan, Closed, 7.Qc2 E09 Catalan, Closed, Main line E10 Queen's Pawn Game 3.Nf3 E11 Bogo-Indian Defence E12 Queen's Indian Defence E13 Queen's Indian, 4.Nc3, Main line E14 Queen's Indian, 4.e3 E15 Queen's Indian, 4.g3 E16 Queen's Indian, Capablanca variation E17 Queen's Indian, 5.Bg2 Be7 E18 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 7.Nc3 E19 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 9.Qxc3 E20 Nimzo-Indian Defence E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three knights variation E22 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann Variation E23 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann, 4...c5, 5.dc Nc6 E24 Nimzo-Indian, Saemisch variation E25 Nimzo-Indian, Saemisch variation, Keres variation E26 Nimzo-Indian, Saemisch variation, 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 E27 Nimzo-Indian, Saemisch variation, 5...0-0 E28 Nimzo-Indian, Saemisch variation, 6.e3 E29 Nimzo-Indian, Saemisch variation, Main line E30 Nimzo-Indian, Leningrad variation, E31 Nimzo-Indian, Leningrad variation, main line E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation E33 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation, 4...Nc6 E34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation E35 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation, 5.cxd5 exd5 E36 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation, 5.a3 E37 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation, Main line, 7.Qc2 E38 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, 4...c5 E39 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Pirc variation E40 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 E41 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 c5 E42 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 c5, 5.Ne2 (Rubinstein) E43 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer variation E44 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer variation, 5.Ne2 E45 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Bronstein (Byrne) variation E46 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O E47 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O, 5.Bd3 E48 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O, 5.Bd3 d5 E49 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Botvinnik system E50 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 e8g8, 5.Nf3, without ...d5 E51 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 e8g8, 5.Nf3 d7d5 E52 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with ...b6 E53 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with ...c5 E54 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Gligoric system with 7...dc E55 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Gligoric system, Bronstein variation E56 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 7...Nc6 E57 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 8...dxc4 and 9...Bxc4 cxd4 E58 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 8...Bxc3 E59 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line E60 King's Indian Defence E61 King's Indian Defence, 3.Nc3 E62 King's Indian, Fianchetto variation E63 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Panno variation E64 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Yugoslav system E65 King's Indian, Yugoslav, 7.O-O E66 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Yugoslav Panno E67 King's Indian, Fianchetto with ...Nd7 E68 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical variation, 8.e4 E69 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Main line E70 King's Indian, 4.e4 E71 King's Indian, Makagonov system (5.h3) E72 King's Indian with e4 & g3 E73 King's Indian, 5.Be2 E74 King's Indian, Averbakh, 6...c5 E75 King's Indian, Averbakh, Main line E76 King's Indian Defence, Four Pawns Attack E77 King's Indian, Four pawns attack, 6.Be2 E78 King's Indian, Four pawns attack, with Be2 and Nf3 E79 King's Indian, Four pawns attack, Main line E80 King's Indian, Sämisch variation E81 King's Indian, Sämisch, 5...O-O E82 King's Indian, Sämisch, double Fianchetto variation E83 King's Indian, Sämisch, 6...Nc6 E84 King's Indian, Sämisch, Panno Main line E85 King's Indian, Sämisch, Orthodox variation E86 King's Indian, Sämisch, Orthodox, 7.Nge2 c6 E87 King's Indian, Sämisch, Orthodox, 7.d5 E88 King's Indian, Sämisch, Orthodox, 7.d5 c6 E89 King's Indian, Sämisch, Orthodox Main line E90 King's Indian, 5.Nf3 E91 King's Indian, 6.Be2 E92 King's Indian, Classical variation E93 King's Indian, Petrosian system, Main line E94 King's Indian, Orthodox variation E95 King's Indian, Orthodox, 7...Nbd7, 8.Re1 E96 King's Indian, Orthodox, 7...Nbd7, Main line E97 King's Indian, Orthodox, Aronin-Taimanov variation (Yugoslav attack / Mar del Plata variation) E98 King's Indian, Orthodox, Aronin-Taimanov, 9.Ne1 E99 King's Indian, Orthodox, Aronin-Taimanov, Main By ManUtdForever12 Thank you ManUtdForever12! * Black Defends: Game Collection: Opening repertoire black * Brutal Attacking Chess: Game Collection: Brutal Attacking Chess * Cheating: https://www.chess.com/article/view/... It's not the quantity that counts; it's the quality. * Lasker's 200 Hours: https://chessimprover.com/emanuel-l... * Danish treats: Game Collection: 200 Miniature Games of Chess - Du Mont (I) * Mato shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ber... * Chess cooking video - Fry the Two Knights Defense? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTL... * Vienna Gambit: Game Collection: Vienna Gambit Repertoire Amateurs Internet Game: 1.e3 e5 2.Qf3 Nf6 3.g4 Nc6 (perhaps 3...d5 or 3...h6 instead) 4.g5 Nd5 5.Bc4 Ndb4?? (5...e5 6.Qf5 Nce7 saves the game) 6.Qxf7# 1-0 Scholar's Mate “Chess is a sea in which a gnat may drink and an elephant may bathe.” ― Indian Proverb “For beginning chess players, studying a Carlsen game is like wanting to be an electrical engineer and beginning with studying an iPhone.” ― Garry Kasparov “All warfare is based on deception.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War Adapt on the fly. “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” — General George S. Patton The Animals Sending Tribute To Alexander A fable flourished with antiquity Whose meaning I could never clearly see. Kind reader, draw the moral if you're able: I give you here the naked fable. Fame having bruited that a great commander, A son of Jove, a certain Alexander, Resolved to leave nothing free on this our ball, Had to his footstool gravely summoned all Men, quadrupeds, and nullipeds, together With all the bird-republics, every feather, – The goddess of the hundred mouths, I say, Thus having spread dismay, By widely publishing abroad This mandate of the demigod, The animals, and all that do obey Their appetite alone, mistrusted now That to another sceptre they must bow. Far in the desert met their various races, All gathering from their hiding-places. Discussed was many a notion. At last, it was resolved, on motion, To pacify the conquering banner, By sending homage in, and tribute. With both the homage and its manner They charged the monkey, as a glib brute; And, lest the chap should too much chatter, In black on white they wrote the matter. Nothing but the tribute served to fash, As that must needs be paid in cash. A prince, who chanced a mine to own, At last, obliged them with a loan. The mule and ass, to bear the treasure, Their service tendered, full of pleasure; And then the caravan was none the worse, Assisted by the camel and the horse. Forthwith proceeded all the four Behind the new ambassador, And saw, erelong, within a narrow place, Monseigneur Lion's quite unwelcome face. "Well met, and all in time," said he; "Myself your fellow traveller will be. I wend my tribute by itself to bear; And though It's light, I well might spare The unaccustomed load. Take each a quarter, if you please, And I will guard you on the road; More free and at my ease – In better plight, you understand, To fight with any robber band." A lion to refuse, the fact is, Is not a very usual practice: So in he comes, for better and for worse; Whatever he demands is done, And, spite of Jove's heroic son, He fattens freely from the public purse. While wending on their way, They found a spot one day, With waters hemmed, of crystal sheen; Its carpet, flower-besprinkled green; Where pastured at their ease Both flocks of sheep and dainty heifers, And played the cooling breeze – The native land of all the zephyrs. No sooner is the lion there Than of some sickness he complains. Says he, "You on your mission fare. A fever, with its thirst and pains, Dries up my blood, and bakes my brains; And I must search some herb, Its fatal power to curb. For you, there is no time to waste; Pay me my money, and make haste." The treasures were unbound, And placed on the ground. Then, with a look which testified His royal joy, the lion cried, "My coins, good heavens, have multiplied! And see the young ones of the gold As big already as the old! The increase belongs to me, no doubt;" And eagerly he took it out! It was little staid beneath the lid; The wonder was that any did. Confounded were the monkey and his suite. And, dumb with fear, betook them to their way, And bore complaint to Jove's great son, they say – Complaint without a reason meet; For what could he? Though a celestial scion, He could but fight, as lion versus lion. When corsairs battle, Turk with Turk, They're not about their proper work. * Wikipedia on Computer Chess: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compu... So much, much, much better to be an incurable optimist than deceitful and untrustworthy. Zhavaed Haemaed wrote: Zugzwang My little game of Chess That I played, with you Making subtle moves Hinting all too softly Allowing impasses Offering a pawn Renouncing knights Denouncing a bishop Even giving up my Queen That trying game of Chess It appears, has come to a stale Without one word spoken, without An idea or intellect having being shared My dear, I have not tried hard enough, and I shall never be the wiser for not having made a move <There are distinct situations where a bishop is preferred (over a knight). For example, two bishops are better than two knights or one of each. Steven Mayer, the author of Bishop Versus Knight, contends, “A pair of bishops is usually considered to be worth six points, but common sense suggests that a pair of active bishops (that are very involved in the formation) must be accorded a value of almost nine under some circumstances.” This is especially true if the player can plant the bishops in the center of the board, as two bishops working in tandem can span up to 26 squares and have the capacity to touch every square. Bishops are also preferable to knights when queens have been exchanged because, Grandmaster Sergey Erenburg, who is ranked 11th in the U.S., explains, “[Bishops and rooks] complement each other, and when well-coordinated, act as a queen.” Conversely, a knight is the preferred minor piece when the queen survives until the late-middlegame or the endgame. Mayer explains, “The queen and knight are [able] to work together smoothly and create a greater number of threats than the queen and bishop.” When forced to say one is better than the other, most anoint the bishop. Mayer concludes, “I think it’s true that the bishops are better than the knights in a wider variety of positions than the knights are better than the bishops.” He continues, “Of course, I’m not sure this does us much good, as we only get to play one position at a time.”> * Crafty Endgame Trainer: https://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-... A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, "Don Quixote" * Riddle-z-pee: https://chessimprover.com/chess-rid... “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” ― Cesare Pavese "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 “Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” ― Norman Vincent Peale Anne Boleyn Thought She Caught the Prize in King Henry the 8th by PinkFaerie5 Anne Boleyn, you set your sights high, you deviously bold sly fox Your interest was the end of Catherine’s head and locks Mary was declared a bastard, Henry the Eighth’s wife slain. You were singing prettily through this torment, a refrain. Anne Boleyn, you enticed a dangerous king, indeed. Henry the Eighth, who smashed wives like a mustard seed. You thought you would give him sons but alas, it did not happen. So now here you are in the tower, being visited by a chaplain. Anne Boleyn, your three years as a queen was not a record. Although Henry’s next wife Jane will not last assured Sir Rutherford. All of Catherine’s sons died in infancy, and you were beheaded too. Your French fashions and pretty singing voice could not save the likes of you. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. 64xp Tylenal zap Kelz rapped the map of Zahedifar got capd buy blu peril OCFT expensive itchy Levitsky and history student Alburt isn't so fat. 500 games, 1606-2022 3 Gino tried to play the piano but the keys stic “Venice is incredible. Although you may have seen it in pictures, you can't grasp how beautiful it is until you visit.” ― Gino D'Acampo * Let's see Venice! https://www.earthtrekkers.com/20-ph... * Historical images: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/ve... The Italian Game: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 3...Bc5 is the Giuoco Piano. 3...Nf6 is the Two Knights Defense. Gioachino Greco (c. 1600 – c. 1634) * Starter Guide w/PGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aM... * Kevins shows us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWH... * Don't fall for the Blackburne Shilling Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXh... * Multiple Traps;-) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/irpC... * Multiple Mates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVq... * Italian Game Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g0... Use the Timestamps to go directly to specific lines. * Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXI... * Solomon covers 3 variations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRE... * Giuoco Piano Game: Center Attack Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcR... * An easy Two Knights Defense against the Fried Liver Attack: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Nnp0... * Surprise! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQB... * Take the EG seriously - Black gets rapid development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syv... * Destroy Black's Elephant Gambit 1e4 e5 2Nf3 d5?!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0F... * Nakamura gambits w/both colors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLl... * PLENTY of Italian Options! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w9... * Narrow your approach? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPA... * Mistakes? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ6... * Unsound gambit for speed games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9j... * 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5W... * 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHb... * More Max Lange Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMc... * Sharp Double Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kf... * The Scotch Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYP... * Kevin explains Black's 4 main replies to the Scotch Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgj... * Alternate moves in the Scotch Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeo... * Quickstarter Guide to the Scotch Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00h... * Scotch Gambit Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgx... * Molton's Scotch Gambit Repertoire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aT... * Playlists - Win w/1.e4: https://www.youtube.com/@alexastane... * AlphaZero likes the Italian Game, Evans Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbe... * Mistakes in the Evans Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4y... * Computers battle in the Evans Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEy... * Magnus plays the Evans Gambit in blitz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0N... * Bobby Fischer Amazes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYu... * Bullet chess in the Evans Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsr... * Molton's repertoire in the Evan's Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynb... * Don't forget the Philidor Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wz... * Beat the Philidor Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS2... * Philidor Defense Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAS... * Petrov's Defense Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zi... * Watch out for the Stafford Gambit in Petrov's Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReF... * 30 Days, or 30 Years? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-n... Saying is one thing, actually doing is another. * The London System is slower, simpler to learn (not better) than 1.e4 e5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvZ... * Be aware of 2...h5?!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnL... * The London System Greek Gift Sacrifice Bxh7+: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwc... * Black plays an early ...Qb6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgn... * The London System against a ...Nf6 Indian Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3K... 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14 Do everything in love. <Knock-Knock Knock Knock Who's there? Gino! Gino who? Gino me, now open the door!> Parking Violations: 1e4d5 2exdQxd 3Nc3Qd8 4d4Nc6 5.Nf3Bg4 5d5Ne5 6NxNBxQ 7Bb5+c6 8dxc6Qc7 9cxb7+Ke8 10Nxf7# 1-0 2Ns 4d4exd 5NxdNxe 6Bxf7+KxB 7Qh5+g6 8Qd5+Kg7 9.NxNNf6 10Bg6+KxB 11Qd2+Kg7 12NxQ 1-0 1e4e5 2Nf3Nc6 3d4exd 4Ng5?h6? 5Nxf7KxN 6Bc4+Ke8 7Qh5+Ke7 8Qf7+Kd6 9Bf4+Ne5 10Qd5Ke7 11QxNe5# 1-0 4Ns 4d4exd 5Ne5NxN 6exNd5Nb4 7Bc5Qe7 8.Kd2g6 9Re1Bh6+ 10Re3BxR+ 11fxBe3 Qxe3# 0-1 I used to wonder what it would be like to read other people's minds. Then I got a Facebook account, and now I'm over it. <L'Infinito (The Infinite ) by Giacomo Leopardi (Translated by Henry Reed ) Sempre caro mi fu quest’ermo colle, E questa siepe, che da tanta parte Dell’ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude. Ma sedendo e rimirando, interminati Spazi di là da quella, e sovrumani Silenzi, e profondissima quieteIo nel pensier mi fingo, ove per poco Il cor non si spaura. E come il vento Odo stormir tra queste piante, io quello Infinito silenzio a questa voce Vo comparando: e mi sovvien l’eterno, E le morte stagioni, e la presente E viva, e il suon di lei. Così tra questa Immensità s’annega il pensier mio: E il naufragar m’è dolce in questo mare. Always to me beloved was this lonely hillside And the hedgerow creeping over and always hiding The distances, the horizon's furthest reaches. But as I sit and gaze, there is an endless Space still beyond, there is a more than mortal Silence spread out to the last depth of peace, Which in my thought I shape until my heart Scarcely can hide a fear. And as the wind Comes through the copses sighing to my ears, The infinite silence and the passing voice I must compare: remembering the seasons, Quiet in dead eternity, and the present, Living and sounding still. And into this Immensity my thought sinks ever drowning, And it is sweet to shipwreck in such a sea.> “If you are not big enough to lose, you are not big enough to win.” ― Walter Reuther “Every Pawn is a potential Queen.” ― James Mason “I'm the king of napping. I can nap and I snore. Then I wake up, go to the toilet, wash my face, have a coffee and it's like a brand new day.” ― Gino D'Acampo “What gives chess its great fascination is that the K, Q, R, B, N, and P move in different ways. In consequence we get a colorful diversity of possibilities unequaled in any other board game.” ― Fred Reinfeld “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte Gerald Abrahams' dictum: "Good positions don't win games; good moves do". “It is quite an advantage to have the initiative, and once you have it you must keep it. If your opponent has it, and relinquishes it through some accident or other, you must take it.” ― Jose R. Capablanca “There is no remorse like the remorse of chess.” ― H. G. Wells. “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” ― Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, and former U.S. Army Colonel “I won't be lectured on gun control by an administration that armed the Taliban.” ― voter “My mum and dad weren't wealthy people. We used to have pasta every day, meat once a week, fish was once every two weeks, presents only at Christmas and birthday.” ― Gino D'Acampo You don’t have to be a polymath like Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit to improve your game by Stephen Moss The first thing to say about chess is that we are not all natural geniuses like Beth Harmon, the star of The Queen’s Gambit, who is taught the game by grumpy but lovable janitor Mr Shaibel at the age of nine and is very soon beating him. The daughter of a maths PhD, she sees the patterns and movement in chess immediately, can visualise effortlessly – being able to memorise moves and play without a board is the sign of chess mastery – and sees whole games on the ceiling of her orphanage dormitory. She is a prodigy, just like world champion Bobby Fischer, on whom Walter Tevis based the novel from which the TV series is drawn. We are mere mortals. So how do we get good? First, by loving chess. “You can only get good at chess if you love the game,” Fischer said. You need to be endlessly fascinated by it and see its infinite potential. Be willing to embrace the complexity; enjoy the adventure. Every game should be an education and teach us something. Losing doesn’t matter. Garry Kasparov, another former world champion, likes to say you learn far more from your defeats than your victories. Eventually you will start winning, but there will be a lot of losses on the way. Play people who are better than you, and be prepared to lose. Then you will learn. If you are a beginner, don’t feel the need to set out all the pieces at once. Start with the pawns, and then add the pieces. Understand the potential of each piece – the way a pair of bishops can dominate the board, how the rooks can sweep up pawns in an endgame, why the queen and a knight can work together so harmoniously. Find a good teacher – your own Mr Shaibel, but without the communication issues. Once you have established the basics, start using computers and online resources to play and to help you analyse games. lichess.org, chess.com and chess24.com are great sites for playing and learning. chessbomb.com is a brilliant resource for watching top tournaments. chessgames.com is a wonderful database of games. chesspuzzle.net is a great practice program. decodechess.com attempts to explain chess moves in layperson’s language. There are also plenty of sophisticated, all-purpose programs, usually called chess engines, such as Fritz and HIARCs that, for around £50, help you deconstruct your games and take you deeply into positions. But don’t let the computer do all the work. You need to engage your own brain on the analysis. And don’t endlessly play against the computer. Find human opponents, either online or, when the pandemic is over, in person. Bobby Fischer was stripped of his world title in 1975 after he refused to defend the title due to a row over the format. Photograph: RFS/AP Study the games of great masters of the past. Find a player you like and follow their careers. Fischer is a great starting point – his play is clear and comprehensible, and beautifully described in his famous book My 60 Memorable Games. Morphy (Harmon’s favourite), Alekhine, Capablanca, Tal, Korchnoi and Shirov are other legendary figures with whom the aspiring player might identify. They also have fascinating life stories, and chess is about hot human emotions as well as cold calculation. Modern grandmaster chess, which is based heavily on a deep knowledge of opening theory, is more abstruse and may be best avoided until you have acquired deep expertise. The current crop of leading grandmasters are also, if we are brutally honest, a bit lacking in personality compared with the giants of the past. Children will often find their school has a chess club, and that club may even have links with Chess in Schools and Communities, which supplies expert tutors to schools. Provision tends to be much better at primary than secondary level, and after 11 children will probably be left to their own devices if they want to carry on playing. If a player is really serious, she or he should join their local chess club. There is likely to be one meeting nearby, or there will be once the Covid crisis is over. At the moment, clubs are not meeting and there is very little over-the-board chess being played. Players are keeping their brains active online, where you can meet players from all over the world. That is fun, but be aware that some players are likely to be cheating – using chess engines to help them, making it hard for you to assess how good your play is. And you also get some abuse online from players who want to trash-talk. You are also likely to be playing at very fast time controls – so-called blitz chess – and that is no way to learn to really think about chess. If you want to start playing over-the-board tournaments (when they resume), you will need to join the chess federation in your respective country. After you’ve played the requisite number of official games, you will get a rating – a bit like a handicap in golf – and can then start being paired with players of your own strength in matches. But until then, the key is to keep enjoying chess and searching for the elusive “truth” in a position. If you see a good move, look for a better one. You can always dig a little deeper in the pursuit of something remarkable and counterintuitive. Beauty and truth: the essence of chess. Stephen Moss is the author of The Rookie: An Odyssey through Chess (and Life), published by Bloomsbury Apr-05-23 WannaBe: Can a vegan have a 'beef' with you? Or Vegans only have 'beet' with you? I am confused. Apr-05-23 Cassandro: Vegan police officers should be exempt from doing steak-outs. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” — Fanny Fern Did you hear about the first restaurant to open on the moon? It had great food, but no atmosphere. “The problem many people have with Italian food is they over-complicate it. Italian food is extremely simple.” — Gino D'Acampo <Soldati (Soldiers) written during World War I by Giuseppe Ungaretti (Translated by Matilda Colarossi) Si sta come d'autunno sugli alberi le foglie We are as in autumn on branches the leaves> This game an Indian Brahmin did invent, The force of Eastern wisdom to express; From thence the same to busy Europe sent; The modern Lombards stil'd it pensive Chess. — Sir John Denham “In chess the most unbelievable thing for me is that it's a game for everybody: rich, poor, girl, boy, old, young. It's a fantastic game which can unite people and generations! It's a language which you'll find people "speak" in every country. If you reach a certain level you find a very rich world! Art, sport, logic, psychology, a battlefield, imagination, creativity not only in practical games but don't forget either how amazing a feeling it is to compose a study, for example (unfortunately that's not appreciated these days but it's a fantastic part of chess!).” ― Judit Polgar “Nowadays tournaments are for nurseries. Look at those kiddies.” ― Miguel Najdorf “Young players calculate everything, a requirement of their relative inexperience.” ― Samuel Reshevsky “When I start to play a game I try to forget about previous games and try to concentrate on this game. This game is now the most important to me. But of course I am not a computer and you cannot simply press a button, delete, and everything you want to forget disappears automatically. But if you want to play well, it's important to concentrate on the now.” ― Vassily Ivanchuk “The pawns are the soul of chess.” ― Francois-Andre Danican Philidor “A pawn, when separated from his fellows, will seldom or never make a fortune.” ― Francois-Andre Danican Philidor “It so often happens that, after sacrificing a pawn, a player aims not to obtain the initiative for it, but to regain sacrificed material.” ― Efim Geller “Remember us, Should any free soul come across this place, In all the countless centuries yet to be, May our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones, Go tell the Spartans, passerby: That here by Spartan law, we lie.” ― Frank Miller, 300 “Italy is a hot country. Wherever you feel heat, your excitement and passion come out. We're hot-blooded, and where there's passion there's love, but also anger, hunger, excitement.” ― Gino D'Acampo <Alla Sera (To Evening ) by Ugo Foscolo (Translated by Nick Benson) Forse perché della fatal quiete tu sei l’immago, a me si cara vieni, o Sera! E quando ti corteggian liete le nubi estive e i zeffiri sereni, Perhaps because you are the image of that fatal quiet so dear to me, you have come, O Evening! And when happy summer clouds and the gentle west wind are your escort, e quando dal nevoso aere inquiete tenebre e lunghe all’universo meni, sempre scendi invocata, e le secrete vie del mio cor soavemente tieni. and when from snowy restless heights you send shadows and darkness into the world, you descend summoned always, and gently hold the secret ways of my heart. Vagar mi fai co’ miei pensier su l’orme che vanno al nulla eterno; e intanto fugge questo reo tempo, e van con lui le torme You make my thoughts wander forms that vanish into eternal nothing; meanwhile this cursed time flees, and with it, the throng delle cure onde meco egli si strugge; e mentre guardo la tua pace, dorme quello spirto guerrier ch’entro mi rugge. of cares with which it me destroys; and while I gaze on your peace, that warlike spirit sleeps, that yet within me roars.> “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” — Aristotle “A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior — mentally or otherwise.” — Captain Kirk “I thought, 'This is not going to drag me down, this is going to make me a better man.' So I came out of prison a man with a plan, determined to set up a business importing Italian ingredients.” — Gino D'Acampo “Now, I don’t pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead are worth living for!” — Edith Keeler “Live long and prosper!” — Spock “The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” — Charles Dickens 38 z2bcr: move 27. zootter Frat z dumbo drops Qa2? trollie pokd hiz cputer Q: What gets wetter the more it dries? "Don't cry over spilled milk" is an idiom that means there's no point in being upset over something that has already happened and cannot be changed. A: A towel. <Rimani (Stay) by Gabriele D’Annunzio Rimani! Riposati accanto a me. Non te ne andare. Io ti veglierò. Io ti proteggerò. Ti pentirai di tutto fuorchè d’essere venuto a me, liberamente, fieramente. Ti amo. Non ho nessun pensiero che non sia tuo; non ho nel sangue nessun desiderio che non sia per te. Lo sai. Non vedo nella mia vita altro compagno, non vedo altra gioia. Rimani. Riposati. Non temere di nulla. Dormi stanotte sul mio cuore… Stay! Rest beside me. Do not go. I will watch you. I will protect you. You'll regret anything but coming to me, freely, proudly. I love you. I do not have any thought that is not yours; I have no desire in the blood that is not for you. You know. I do not see in my life another companion, I see no other joy Stay. Rest. Do not be afraid of anything. Sleep tonight on my heart…> How did the hipster burn his mouth? He ate his pizza before it was cool. REMOVE BELOW: “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?” ― Martin Luther King, Jr. “When life is too easy for us, we must beware or we may not be ready to meet the blows which sooner or later come to everyone, rich or poor.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt “There is no passion to be found playing small--in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” ― Nelson Mandela “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 “In contrast to Fischer with his propensity for clarity, and to Karpov who grew up on Capablanca's games, from my early years I was enormously influenced by Alekhine's play and won over by his unprecedented feat in the 1927 match. I admired the refinement of his ideas, and I tried as far as possible to imitate his furious attacking style, with its sudden and thunderous sacrifices.” ― Garry Kasparov “Alekhine definitely was a workaholic. He had a strategic talent and was the first player who had a conscious feel for dynamics.” ― Vladimir Kramnik “Fortune favors the bold, especially when they are Alekhine.” ― Lodewijk Prins “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” — Fanny Fern Did you hear about the first restaurant to open on the moon? It had great food, but no atmosphere. “If you wait for luck to turn up, life becomes very boring.” ― Mikhail Tal “No man has ever listened himself out of a job.” ― Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States Why did the bullet end up losing his job? He got fired. “One man cannot summon the future. But one man can change the present!” — Spock “To all mankind — may we never find space so vast, planets so cold, heart and mind so empty that we cannot fill them with love and warmth.” — Garth “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War “The game of chess is not just an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it… Life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often pointed to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with.” ― Benjamin Franklin “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte “It is important that you don't let your opponent impose his style of play on you. A part of that begins mentally. At the chessboard if you start blinking every time he challenges you then in a certain sense you are withdrawing. That is very important to avoid.” ― Viswanathan Anand “A knowledge of tactics is the foundation of positional play. This is a rule which has stood its test in chess history and one which we cannot impress forcibly enough upon the young chess player. A beginner should avoid Queen's Gambit and French Defence and play open games instead! While he may not win as many games at first, he will in the long run be amply compensated by acquiring a thorough knowledge of the game.” ― Richard Reti “Methodical thinking is of more use in chess than inspiration.” ― C.J.S. Purdy “To win against me, you must beat me three times: in the opening, the middlegame and the endgame.” ― Alexander Alekhine “He lived in and for chess like no one before him, nor any since until Fischer.” ― Taylor Kingston (on Alekhine) “I think an important lesson from the game is that once you have made a move, you cannot take it back. You really have to measure your decisions. You think a lot. You evaluate your choices very carefully. There's never any guarantee about what's going to follow once you have made a decision.” ― Viswanathan Anand “Analyze! Analyze! Analyze! That was the doctor’s motto, and his deeply ingrained habit of investigating every line was obviously unsuitable in rapid transit.” ― Arthur Dake (on Alekhine's relative weakness in rapid play) “I learned a lot about how the world champion analyzed chess positions. Alekhine taught me to sit on my hands and not to play the first move that came to mind, no matter how good it looked. He examined everything, whipping through an astonishing number of variations.” ― Arnold Denker Gerald Abrahams' dictum: "Good positions don't win games; good moves do". The Hare and the Tortoise To win a race, the swiftness of a dart Avails not without a timely start. The hare and tortoise are my witnesses. Said tortoise to the swiftest thing that is, "I'll bet that you'll not reach, so soon as I The tree on yonder hill we spy." "So soon! Why, madam, are you frantic?" Replied the creature, with an antic; "Pray take, your senses to restore, A grain or two of hellebore.' "Say," said the tortoise, "what you will; I dare you to the wager still." It was done; the stakes were paid, And near the goal tree laid – Of what, is not a question for this place, Nor who it was that judged the race. Our hare had scarce five jumps to make, Of such as he is wont to take, When, starting just before their beaks He leaves the hounds at leisure, Thence till the kalends of the Greeks, The sterile heath to measure. Thus having time to browse and doze, And list which way the zephyr blows, He makes himself content to wait, And let the tortoise go her gait In solemn, senatorial state. She starts; she moils on, modestly and lowly, And with a prudent wisdom hastens slowly; But he, meanwhile, the victory despises, Thinks lightly of such prizes, Believes it for his honour To take late start and gain on her. So, feeding, sitting at his ease, He meditates of what you please, Till his antagonist he sees Approach the goal; then starts, Away like lightning darts: But vainly does he run; The race is by the tortoise won. Cries she, "My senses do I lack? What boots your boasted swiftness now? You're beat! and yet, you must allow, I bore my house on my back." “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War “Intuition in chess can be defined as the first move that comes to mind when you see a position.” ― Viswanathan Anand ] “God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.” ― Voltaire When does a joke become a ‘dad’ joke? When it becomes apparent. “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?” ― Martin Luther King, Jr. "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." ― Harry S Truman, 33rd President of the United States, and former Colonel in the U.S. Army EG Tactics: Game Collection: End game tactics * First of each ECO: Game Collection: First of Each ECO * How to Analyze: https://thechessworld.com/articles/... * Recommendations: https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/wiki... What did one ocean say to the other ocean? Nothing, it just waved. Did you hear about the fire at the circus? It was in tents! What’s the difference between a hippo and a zippo? One is really heavy and the other’s a little lighter. Why should you never trust stairs? They’re always up to something. What kind of shorts do clouds wear? Thunderpants I entered ten puns in our contest to see which would win. No pun in ten did. How do you measure a snake? In inches—they don’t have feet. Where does a waitress with only one leg work? IHOP. What does a house wear? Address! Why are toilets always so good at poker? They always get a flush Why is Peter Pan always flying? Because he Neverlands. (I love this joke because it never grows old.) You heard the rumor going around about butter? Never mind, I shouldn’t spread it. Two windmills are standing on a wind farm. One asks, ‘What’s your favorite kind of music?’ The other replies, ‘I’m a big metal fan.’ Q: What gets wetter the more it dries? "Don't cry over spilled milk" is an idiom that means there's no point in being upset over something that has already happened and cannot be changed. A: A towel. The first rule of the Alzheimer’s club is… Wait, where are we again? I took the shell off of my racing snail, thinking it would make him faster. But if anything, it made him more sluggish. What do you get from a pampered cow? Spoiled milk. How does NASA organize a party? They planet. What’s the best thing about Switzerland? I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus. You know, it was so cold in D.C. the other day, I saw a politician with his hands in his own pockets. How many tickles does it take to get an octopus to laugh? Ten tickles Why doesn’t Dracula have any friends? Well, honestly, he’s a real pain in the neck. My teachers told me I’d never amount to much since I procrastinate so much. I told them, “Just you wait!” Why were they called the “dark ages?” Because there were a lot of knights. Why aren’t koalas considered bears? They don’t have the right koala-fications. <You: What cartoon mouse walks on two feet? Them: Mickey Mouse You: What duck walks on two feet? Them: Donald Duck You: No, all ducks do!> Want to hear a joke about a roof? The first one’s on the house. What’s a pirate’s favorite letter? You probably think it’s “R” but it be the “C”. Why teddy bears never want to eat anything? Because they’re always stuffed. There’s a fine line between a numerator and a denominator. (…Only a fraction of people will get this clean joke.) I entered ten puns in our contest to see which would win. No pun in ten did. Did you hear about the cheese factory that exploded in France? There was nothing left but de Brie. Where should you go in the room if you’re feeling cold? The corner—they’re usually 90 degrees. I can never take my dog to the park because the ducks keep trying to bite him. I guess that’s what I get for buying a pure bread dog. What’s the difference between a poorly dressed man on a unicycle and a well-dressed man on a bicycle? Attire. What did the Buddhist ask the hot dog vendor? “Make me one with everything.” You know why you never see elephants hiding up in trees? Because they’re really good at it. A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Why the long face?” How did the hipster burn his mouth? He ate his pizza before it was cool. “Venice is incredible. Although you may have seen it in pictures, you can't grasp how beautiful it is until you visit.” — Gino D'Acampo <Luke 8:16-18 New King James Version The Parable of the Revealed Light Jesus said: 16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”> 43 games, 1620-2023

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