Hi <Deffi>!!

Not so, actually. There is a "Roman defence".

1.e4 e5
2.Nf3

2...GO OVER TO THE GUY'S VILLAGE AND KILL EVERY MAN, WOMAN CHILD FARM ANIMAL AND PET AND BURN IT TO THE GROUND AND PUT SALT ALL OVER IT.

Needless to say, this is a particularly powerful reply to the tried and true <2.Nf3>.

You don't see it very often these days though, it's gone out of style.

Hi <Dr. Euwe>!!

Yes, we <Englishwomen> are very polite. Have you been watching <free streaming pirated totally illegal movies/TV> on the Internet?

<Deffi> super score!! I agree. Especially since we can't find a <Asterix> avatar anywheres.

I've never seen that@@

If that's his name shouldnt he find a <Getafix> avatar???

<Dr. Euwe>!

I just noticed that the <Center> is closed down?

Everything OK?

BEEMULE away if anything's up.

I will re-open the Center at the appropriate time... (silly answer but it's true - I'm taking at least a week off)

I hope everything's going smooth at school.

Believe it or not but the Dutch schoolsystem has had quite a beating over the last 15 years because of governmental interference... "They (the responsible politicians) did everything wrong/had tunnelvision" etc etc -- was the main outcome following an investigation...

Well, take care of your kids overthere-- you have one of the most honorable jobs on the planet, in my opinion.

Well if any one knows "what the Doctor ordered," it has to be the great Dutch legend <Dr. Max Euwe>, that's all I have to say on the matter.

Everything's fine here, very happy to be back at work-- but I miss chess a lot. However, If I had to choose between the two it would be teaching hands down. It makes me feel happier. Ideally, chess could remain a lifelong hobby/love affair, but who knows what the future will bring.

I can't see myself dropping it altogether. I'm not even sure why I love it so much-- but I do truly love chess- everything about it. It fascinates me no end. And there is no feeling like the opening moves in a classical time limit game against a player who is as strong or stronger than you. The "rush" I get is HUGE. And in an OTB chess club, the rush is even HUGER. Like 100 times more. Plus I play better, way, way better, OTB.

I believe that studying and playing full time would be an amazing job--

But as you said, it could lead to human isolation.

Many of the GMs in history and today seem to have somewhat "awkward" social skills, and can you blame them?

Most of the time they are working alone, in their own minds.

However, I will always love chess and miss it.

Stupid computer. I'm playing it one Rapid game after work and I"ve got up to 1300 level but it's just ridiculous losing to a program set at a level 5-600 points under my real playing strength.

Oh well. My goal is two-fold:

1. Satisfy my urge to play
2. Overcome my psychological block about playing engines. Mainly, so that I can take a given position and play it out on my Engine to learn better from my mistakes and to explore better my opportunities from given positions.

Good Morning.

Please take care of yourself! We need you.

Exactly!

I play out positions from games from the Database, where one of the players has resigned... Then I try and proof the win against the 2600 rated machine, which means I have to play technically sound chess, prohibiting any possibilities for tactical complications, and exchange to a won endgame... 20% of the time I manage to run into complications and give away some or all the advantage. Then I take back a few moves and try again, while first analysing what I did oversee//escaped my attention...

Works very well for me I must say.

I recently downloaded all Bobby's Black Najdorfs to my engine, and then went on to find the winning way where the opponent resigned...

It helped me get over a large part of the mental block, Because the chances for a win are 80+%, hence you build confidence. There's nothing like seeing "it" say <I resign>.

PS. I tried to watch "The Dead Girl" via VEOH-- but all that was found by the search was the TRAILER...

I have to work on my Pirate-skills I suppose...

Dear <Doctor Fischer-Najdorf investigator>.

When the <VEOH trailer screen> comes on, if you have downloaded the VEOH player to your hard drive, you can watch the full version of anything.

first, here is the link to the free n' easy VEOH player download. You need it to watch many of the VEOH posts on the vid websites:

http://www.download.com/Veoh-Player...

Once you have downloaded the software, you just register a user name and password on it.

THEN.

When the "five minute preview" links come up, there is an orange box at the top that says <watch veoh tv>.

Just click on it.

A new screen will come up.

ON the new screen, there will be another orange <watch veoh tv> bar, just click on that.

Then the full movie will load into your VEOH player and you can snap it to full screen as well.

You can do "step one" just by double clicking anywhere on the five minute preview screen as well.

I need myself too!

Thanks <Jess>. Appreciated. (a lot)

Hi <Doctor Euwe>!!

heh you'll be pleased to know I won my post-work Rapid match against "Griffin", a feisty <and terrible> fake human on my chessmaster.

I played very poorly and noticed that he missed three moves that won on the spot.

but the important thing is I'm very slowly overcoming my fear of playing against Engines.

WHACKA

btw I posted some "important contributions" to <chess opening theory> today in Kibbutzer Kafe...

I once interviewed a very pleasant film director, Zelda Barron, who made a movie, <Shag> about a 1960s dance craze. We had a nice chat over a cup of tea, very civilized -- but then I went off and reviewed the movie and, well, you know me ... I just couldn't resist certain shag-related puns that had no relation to the film.

Zelda - I think 'feisty' is the best word for her - read it and wrote to my editor, saying I was a nice young man, but if she'd known what I was up to she'd have clobbered me with her handbag.

This all came back because I just found out today that Zelda died over a year ago. I'd heard she was very ill longterm - she had Alzheimer's - but I didn't know she had died.

Her son Steve Barron has made a couple of good films, and her daughter Siobhan is also in the business.

I'm sorry about the Shag, Zelda, okay?

Well, you can't keep upto date with everyone you once innerviewed.

I love women as much as I hate 'em, but then I too have that same dynamic going on with a lot of "personal items", regardless of gender...

I'd love to be clobbed with a handbag at this point... might beat some sense into me, you know?

Words only carry that far.

May Zelda rest in peace. I have a HUGE respect for woman Film Directors.

"Dance Craze" kicks ass. Music too. And Film.

Thanks.

*............* heh

I was a nice young man too.

I wonder....