just curious, your shortest game was 17 moves, what was your longest? Did you secretly yearn for the days of adjournments at any point?

How??...

Careful, now. I was watching that game. In fact it's all probably my fault for arriving at the critical moment. But I saw the look on mack's face as he went around mentally head-butting the walls and letting his clock tick.

The murderous tendencies were directed inwards, I think. We wouldn't want him doing anything rash, would we?

I have even slapped myself in the face before a couple of times (I mean really full on POW!) but I always excuse myself to a quiet area to do so (the nearest bathroom...maybe that is what Kramnik was doing in there...but then 55 times would cost teeth heh heh)

And you don't have to be symmetrical to be symmetrical.

George Boole invented Boolean algebra and modern symbolic logic just across the street from where I am writing this. Doubtless my first proposition would have him turning in his grave.

His wife, Mary Everest Boole, came from a distinguished English family. Her uncle George somehow managed to attach his name to the world's highest mountain.

And next week another of my heroes, Peter Greenaway, is due to give a talk in the Boole Lecture Theatre on the campus.

There's a neat super-symmetry to all of this. And I haven't even mentioned the great Evariste Galois -- revolutionary, math prodigy, and inventor of group theory: he'd have eaten that other 'marvelous boy', Chatterton, for breakfast.

Galois, of course, is also the only mathematician to have a brand of cigarette named after him.

My apologies for not bashing out my customary replies to your last couple of posts, btw. I was planning a combination with a great big hole in it ...

I've posted this before somewhere, but I once offered a draw because I was feeling ill. My opponent declined, and I agreed to play on. He then had a long think, calculating a combination which lost him a whole rook when he eventually played it. He then offered a draw, knowing I didn't really want to play.

I declined, played on, and won quickly. I really was ill (2-3 days in bed afterwards), but I also felt guilty for possible bad sportsmanship in not accepting his draw offer, having previously told him I didn't really want to play.

What makes it worse is that he outgraded me by about 350 points.

It's a crumpled n-dimensional manifold that Rybka once slept in.

Unsymmetrical <<<IRISHMAN>>> forced to play Symmetrical English>...

<"Dom" has the White pieces>

After

<1. Nf3 c5
2. c4 Nc6
3. Nc3 g6
4. g3 Bg7
5. Bg2 d6
6. d3 e5
7. O-O f5 >

click for larger view

OK clearly it's Black's very early <f5> that is controversial.

A super aggressive move in an OTB tussle, no doubt calculated to strike fear in the White player. Future <e4s> and <f4s> may look scary to the eye, but in reality what the move mostly does is create too much air around the Black King. There is no quick knockout here for Black on White's kingside, so <7....f5>, properly apprehended, hands White a tempo and compromises Black's king safety.

Dom's response is a subtle, patient, and fearless move--

<8.a3>

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Apart from the delicious fact that those "in the know" about <Gerry McCarthy> should FEAR his perverse love of the shocking <a3!> and, of course, <a6!> with the black pieces-- this is a very strong move.

It might look at first eye that White is wasting time "Sviddling around" on the Queenside while Black mounts a quick attack on the Kingside--

but NOT SO. Here are some concrete advantages to this Quixotic manoeuver:

1.It psychologically says "screw your <7...f5>" to the Black player

2. It begins preparations for a <Rb1> and a <b4> followed by a <Bb2>, a set up that would surely force Black not to castle Kingside-- especially given the <7...f5?> gaffe.

3. It takes away the <b4 square> for Black's Queen Knight, a prophylactic function that will allow a potentially very useful <Qc2> later-- The Knight will not be able to Kick the White Queen off of the <c2> square now.

<8...Nf6 Rb1>

Logical-- carries out the plan for Queenside expansion and development typical of many variations for White in the <English>...

I might have considered <9.Bg5> here in order to tempt/provoke Black to Kick the Bishop-- he really doesn't want it sitting there-- as it pins the King Knight to the Black Queen and White threatens to hop his Knight into that GAPING HOLE on <d5>-- beautifully co-ordinating Bishop and Knight deep in Black territory with multiple threats---

If Black were provoked to play <9...h6> to kick the Bishop, White simply plays <10.Bd2> with advantage, as now there's even more air around the Black king and Black's <g6> square would now be permanently, and dangerously, weak.

But the actual game continues

<9...Be6
10.b4 Qd7>

Giving us this--

click for larger view

<Dom> gives <10...Qd7> a <?>, and rightly so.

Black must take care of the subtle threats to his Queenside first-- prophylaxis is necessary, but Black does not see it--

In fact, from this position, an immediate <11.bxc5!> can be played since the White pawn on <c5> would be immune, with Black forced to play a very ugly <11...Rb8> and allow the simple <12.cxd4> just to hold his position together. You see, after <11.bxc5> the IMMENSE POWER of the White LSB working in concert with the White rook on the <b-file> is unleashed.

<<<SAMPLE VARIATION--->>>

If

<11.bxc5 dxc5??> then <12.Nxe5!> and it's all unravelling for Black now--

<<<SAMPLE VARIATION FEN--->>>

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Here, the White knight on e4 is immune because if <12...Nxe5?> then WHAMMO <13.Rxb7> Queen check! and after the Queen moves, White picks up the Black Bishop <14.Rxg7!> with tempo, as the DSB capture also unleashes a discovered attack on the <a8 Rook>.

<However, in the ACTUAL GAME <<<Dom>>> played a fine move as well>:

<11.Ng5!>

Prompting a now skittish and panicky Black to play the ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL AND UGLY <11...Bg8>, after which he surely began weeping inside. <Dom> is right to say that <11...0-0> is better-- actually almost anything is better than the demoralizing and clumsy <11...Bg8>...

The psychological blow to Black upon looking at THIS position has to have been devastating in an OTB encounter...

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So now <Dom> continues with a VICIOUS QUEENSIDE ASSAULT-- the DASHING and terrifying

<12.Qa4 h6?>

This attempt to kick away the powerful White Knight is a mistake-- the Knight is immune, as <Dom> points out--

<"The <<<Ng5>>> is untouchable because of the threat of Rxb7 and Bxc6+ etc.">

So NOW

<13.bxc5>

And Black again is forced to play a hopelessly passive move to keep his entire position from cracking...

<13...Rc8>

The gates of the city are about to be kicked in and now <Dom> piles on the pressure with

<14.Nb5!>

Giving us this--

click for larger view

Note the HORRIBLE, horrible pressure on Black's hopeless backwards <d-pawn> now.. not to mention the pressure on his <a-pawn> as well--and note the excrutiating pressure on the center that White's Knight pair and LSB are exerting.. What is Black doing here? What can he do?

In a quite literal sense, THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD any longer, and Black fatalistically plays

<14...dxc5>, but this will not solve any of his problems...

Now <Dom> unleashes this snappy Combo--

<15.Nxa7 Nxa7
16.Qxa7 Rc7>

And I'm not surprised Black resigns after having to watch the last move of this game--

The simple White Knight retreat to <f3>

<17.Nf3> and Black is left looking at this unmitigated NIGHTMARE...

<Dom> is <immodestely modest-- or, possibly, modestly immodest--> when he opines that he is happy to see an opponent have the respect to resign when down only a pawn in material..

click for larger view

Here, the White King is safe as houses, while the Black king is NAKED IN THE CENTER OF THE BOARD...

White has multiple targets and plans here-- Black's Bishops are pointed the "wrong way", punching at air-- the King Rook is hopeless in the corner-- White has an embarrassment of riches--

<Be3> (connecting rooks), <Nh4>, are in the air--

Black is "only" a pawn down, but this is a "won game" for White--

CONGRATULATIONS to "Gerry McCarthy", and to all of the Irish who refused to become English...