<Jan-26-04 technical draw: After reviewing the games of Magnus Carlsen from Corus 2004, I'm going to dare and say the following: The search for Bobby Fischer is over.>

Do you know what happened 159 years ago this Fall?

California became a state.
The state had no money.
Almost everyone spoke Spanish.
There were gunfights in the streets.

Some people took some time to get used to <jackmandoo> (me included).

A selected quote from it:

<siamesedream: <Some Tal's quotes in connection with his Memorial:> * "Later, I began to succeed in decisive games. Perhaps because I realized a very simple truth: not only was I worried, but also my opponent".

* "There are two kinds of sacrifices: sound ones, and mine."

* "To play for a draw, at any rate with White, is to some degree a crime against chess."

* "If Black is going for victory, he is practically forced to allow his opponent to get some kind of well-known positional advantage."

* "It is also important to remember that Bobby Fischer was a real chess gentleman during games. He was always very fair and very correct."

* "I drink, I smoke, I gamble, I chase girls – but postal chess is one vice I don't have."

* "They compare me to Lasker, which is an exaggerated honor. He made mistakes in every game and I only in every second one!"

* Nevertheless, when asked about his opinion on who was the greatest player of all time, he answered: "Lasker, for he made miracles on the chessboard."

* Referring to his piece sacrifices: "They can only take them one at a time!"

* "If playing chess were made illegal by law, I would become an outlaw."

* "You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one."

* "If you wait for luck to turn up, life becomes very boring."

<And about Tal:>

* "If Tal had really studied Chess in the late fifties and early sixties he would have been impossible to play against" - Botvinnik.

* "How does Tal win? - He develops all his pieces in the centre and then sacrifices them somewhere" - Bronstein.

<Suenteus po 147:

Taoism: Draws happen.

Hinduism: These draws have been played before.

Islam: Draws happen when you submit to Allah.

Zen: What is the sound of a game being drawn?

Buddhism: When a game is agreed drawn, is it really drawn?

Confucianism: Confucius says (with Rybka assistance), "This game is even = (+0.00) Depth: 42"

7th Day Adventist: Games are drawn on Saturdays.

Protestantism: These games won't be drawn if they play on!

Catholicism: We're not good enough for decisive games.

Jehovah's Witness: Knock, knock, "Do you know of the coming of all games being drawn?"

Unitarian: Why are all these games drawn?

Mormon: The next round of games will be drawn and the next and the next and the next etc.

Judaism: Why are all the best tournaments drawfests?

Southern Baptist: If we put more money into tournaments, games won't be drawn.

Calvinism: These draws happened because the players don't take enough chances.

Hedonism: We LOVE draws!

Stoicism: Well played draws are good enough for us.

Zoroastrianism: Half the games in tournaments are draws.

Christian Science: You're thinking about drawing this game right now.

Environmentalism: Draws are natural so we must learn to live with the draws.

Marxism: Decisive games are the result of the elite GMs oppressing the working player.

Feminism: There would be more decisive games if women had been invited to this tournament.

Agnosticism: Why isn't Topalov playing here?

Atheism: Draws don't count.

Fascism: Draws are the most efficient outcome.

Reaganomics: The theory from these draws will trickle down.

Mysticism: Petrosian played these games!

Shintoism: Games are drawn everywhere.

<Ulhumbrus>: Perhaps Carlsen is dreaming of erecting a magnificent central monument by f3 and e4 to be followed later by as splendid looking an attack which makes use of the moves g4 and g5. The trouble is that Black may find a way to vandalize such a plan. In which case Carlsen may have to settle for something more realistic.

<Mateo>: <Ulhumbrus: Perhaps Carlsen is dreaming of erecting a magnificent central monument> If this is true, it would be an interesting case for Dr. Freud.

<achieve>: <Mateo: <Ulhumbrus: Perhaps Carlsen is dreaming of erecting a magnificent central monument> If this is true, it would be an interesting case for Dr. Freud.> hmmm - With <g4> Carlsen seems to have put the monumental erection on hold....

On the Mikhail Chigorin page:

<fred lennox: Chigorin's playing is robust, clear and transparent. Rubinstein praised his games for creating a sound position before attacking.>

And right after it on the Odd Lie page:

<arnaud1959>: Are they allowed to continue with only Kings on the board or the refree has the right to stop them?

Stonehenge: <Are they allowed to continue with only Kings on the board or the refree has the right to stop them?> No, the referee is not allowed to do that. Maybe one of them has an invisible queen and thus has still winning chances.

<TheFocus>: You can win with a King and an invisible Queen. I have done it several times. I got a draw though with a King and an invisible Rook. I didn't see his invisible Knight. Imagine how I felt when he forked both my pieces.

Stonehenge: <TheFocus> How could he have forked you when he couldn't see your rook? Or was it pure luck?

1. Have you ever replied to comments by Ed Trice or Joshka?

2. Have you ever sent $20 to Technical Draw?

3. Have you ever used the term "fanboy"?

4. Have you ever read five consecutive frogbert posts from beginning to end? 4a. Did you understand them?

5. Have you posted more than five times on Rybka-Nakamura?

6. Have you kibitzed more than twice about the physical attractiveness of female players?

7. Do you search through the player database searching for names fit for humorous remarks? (Oops, scratch that one.)

<GoSo>: God bless you brothers, our prayers and page count increases have not been in vain, and our Mighty Chairman Wesley has absorbed our faith to knock down that pagan Ukrainian with one swift punch. In the name of our Victorious Glorious Nation, I pray, brothers, that you do not abandon your duties now. We are only about 2000 pages ahead of Heathen Ivanchuk on the page count, and we know that the enemy forces are strong and want bitter revenge against our young, Beloved Chairman. They will try hard to catch up in the page count, so my brothers, you must follow my example and maintain our lead at all costs.

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Remember that Insolent Ivanchuk is bigger than our skinny Chairman, and he may throw a punch if he is losing, so we send up our prayers for Apparatchik Pacquiao to accompany our chairman to his game. Doctor Ivanchuk is bigger than Pacquiao, and his page count is higher, but our Wise Apparatchik would have an advantage in speed (though not speed chess) and mustache and could try to protect our Immortal Chairman.

Don't forget your prayers, Kindly Brothers of Clan So.

Goobledooba gookseedoo walala mikitiki roo aama pa po pi ka na la na na na hey hey hey oh oh. Saka naka chitty chitty bang bang, rokolog mukudng yako taco mahi mahi oh bitsimitsi badoing doing ermats ignatz chumbawamba cheeeeeeeyokasa! God bless our Glorious Chairman!

<Dec-02-09
Bruce Lee vs Muhammad Ali
Although both are legends and taking into account that in comic book form Ali defeated Superman I still would have to pick Bruce Lee over Ali by a TKO and a leg!!>

Dec-10-09 Pjalle: <Jonzi> Not sure how this relates to Carlsen vs Kramnik 2009 but yes it was a fantastic display visible over an area of Northern Norway stretching more than 1000 kilometers. It was a failed launch of the new Bulava ballistic missile fired from a Russian submarine in the White Sea north of Murmansk.

Dec-10-09 Aiuta: Yep, a failed russian icbm.

Pics:

http://www.vg.no/uploaded/image/bil...

http://www.vg.no/uploaded/image/bil...

<Ulhumbrus: 15 Qh5 makes what is in fact in fact a double attack . It attacks the Black KB on g5 directly but also- and this is less less obvious- it attacks the e6 pawn indirectly by pinning the f7 pawn and so threatening f5xe6 as well as Qxg5. On 15...Qd8 instead of playing 16 fxe6 at once, Bronstein delays this by the skewer 16 Rg1! attacking the Bg5 again and the g7 pawn behind it. This induces 16...h6 defending the Bg5 again but also weakening the g6 pawn and exposing the 7th rank to attack, and only now does Bronstein play fxe6. The choice of 16 Rg1! instead of 16 fxe6 at once can be called, for this brief moment in the game, a miniature lesson in attacking play. On 26 Rc6! instead of 26 Rb6 induces 26...Rfc8 which blocks this square for the attacked B on f5. Now on 27 Rb6 The black QB cannot go to c8 and 27...Bd7 invites the skewer 28 Rd7 in reply, and 27...Bd8 does not help as on 28 Rd6 Be7 29 Rd4 Black's QB is still short of squares. Another small lesson in attacking play. 27...Rxc3 looks like an act of desperation, seeing no other way to save the Black QB. Bronstein declines to recapture the Rc3 but takes the B on f5 instead, starting an attack on the point g6 with tempo, as Black's R is attacked on c3. 29 Bd3 delays a capture on g6 and instead develops the KB towards the attack on the b1-h7 diagonal. This is another small lesson in attacking play. Whereas Black can do nothing useful in reply, the move Bd3 increases the power of the attack in addition to developing the B, so it does more than Black's reply which does nothing useful. The 31 a4 delays the thrust f6 in order to remove the threat of a back rank mate by ...Rd1. Then 32 f6 resumes the attack and once again Browne offers the exchange by 32...Rxd3, seeing no other way to answer it. Once again Bronstein declines the offer and continues the attack by 33 Rg7+ Kh8 and Bronstein delays the capture cxd3 to threaten mate instead by 34 Rh1! threatening 35 Rxh6 mate. After 34...Be3 35 cxd3 White threatens Re7 as well as f7. Browne resigned at this point. As well as being entertaining, this game contains several small lessons in the art of attacking play. One lesson given twice in the game is to delay a recapture in order to threaten something which then extracts a further concession from the opponent Thus Bronstein delays 16 fxe6 by 16 Rg1 in order to threaten the Bg5 by 16 Rg1, extracting the concession of 16...f6. He delays 26 Rb6 by 26 Rc6, extracting the further concession of 26..Rfc8. He delays the recapture Another lesson, given twice, is to decline material and play an attacking move instead. Thus instead of the recapture 28 bxc3 Bronstein plays the attacking move 28 exf5 and instead of 33 cxd3 he plays the attacking move 33 Rg7+. Another lesson is to delay a recapture in order to play a move which does more than to develop if the opponent has nothing useful in reply. Thus 29 Bd3 delays a recapture on g6 in order to do more than to just make a developing move with the Bishop, as the bishop makes a contribution to the King side attack as well. Black has, it seems, no useful reply. It occurs to me that this game is packed with instruction as well as being entertaining. To repeat what Seirawan said, this was played by a 65 year old man against an expert in the Najdorf.>