A lesser known anecdote- (although yours is excellent)--

The fine western <The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance>, starring <Jimmy Stewart>, is actually an allegory about the "home life" of <Ghengis Khan>.

"Nobody kills Jimmy Stewart's brother and gets away with it..."

John Wayne's "pilgrim" obviously a code word for "nomad". Love that movie. Lee Marvin was great in it.

<TALES FROM THE <<<Las Palmas 1996 Supertournament>>>, featureing "KKK" v. "VVV"- the top six FIDE rated players in thw word at the time>

Chapter 1: The <not so novel novelty>

Round 1, Anand v. Kramnik

Here is the position in a well known <Richter Rauzer> variation after 12 moves.

At this point, <Anand> springs what <a noted chesswriter> called a "novelty" on <Kramnik>!!

However, the "novelty" had in fact already been played by <GM Shabalov> some five years earlier.

But it is not clear whether <Kramnik> or <Anand> were aware of this move when it was played here. Certainly, <The noted chesswriter> was unaware of it.

YOUR TASK?

<Spot the "novelty"!>

NO USING ANY REFERENCE MATERIAL ESPECIALLY THE OPENING EXPLORER--

White <Anand> to play- Prizes to the first to guess the "not really novel novelty":

click for larger view

After SIX HOURS and 65 MOVES.....

With 2 minutes left on his clock (no increments!), <Kramnik> misses a forced win against <Topalov>...

<Kramnik> (White) to move:

In all variations Black's moves are forced-- he must either allow mate or sac the exchange into a clearly lost endgame.

To score points-- Explain WHY all the moves are forced in the winning variation.

click for larger view

Prize to the winner!

Resent, retreated, reduxed, redundant.

IS this the answer to your puzzle "KKK" vs "VVV" above.. <h4!!> by White (Anand).

Black to play: 20 ... ?

click for larger view

Here Botvinnik (Black) snatches a pawn in broad daylight with 20 ... ♘f5xh4!, using the tactic <DISCOVERED DEFLECTION>.

Position after 20 ... ♘f5xh4!

click for larger view

<DISCOVERED DEFLECTION>: Use the masking piece (Black f5-knight) to exploit the <LOOSENESS> (White f4-knight) created by the unmasking of the rear line piece (Black f6-queen) by taking what the newly <OVERWORKED> defender (White g3-pawn) no longer defends (White h4-pawn, 20 ... ♘f5xh4!).

Botvinnik saw in the first position that without his Black f5-knight <BLOCKING> the f-file from the Black f6-queen to the White f4-knight, that the White f4-knight would be <LOOSE>, with two Black attackers (Black f6-queen and h6-bishop) versus two White defenders (White d2-queen and g3-pawn). Since there would be an equal number of Black attackers (2) as White defenders (2), these two White defenders would be automatically <OVERWORKED>, <<<meaning that some squares would only -appear- to be <DEFENDED> (--)>>>.

So, since the White g3-pawn would have to <DEFEND> the White f4-knight if the Black f5-knight were not <BLOCKING> the f-file, the White g3-pawn could not then -also- <DEFEND> the h4-pawn, hence 20 ... ♘f5xh4!.

Yes, I got your TOP SECRET BEEMULE!!

I just read your message here in my house though. Ok after work tomorrow, i's the <Bee Man Reverse Stallion> game.

I'll also post the link explaining the second puzzle.

It's actually simpler than what you might be thinking...

I worked backwards from the actual explanation-- the posted Fritz line from the <Hans Ree> article.

I checked "this and that" with my Engine-- thinking-- hey why is that forced? Can't black just do this or that?

And discovered he can't...

heh...

I spent my 2 hours study today with <Majnu> analyzing <end game techniques>.

veeeery slowly.....

I think <Majnu> is easily as great a teacher as <Kingfscruiser>...

He also has a delightful accent too.

OK I'll report back on the <Brigham Young Reversed Scranton> ploy tomorrow after work...

Watching <Monk> right now...

Each offers something the other doesn't...

<Majnu> has a wonderful clarity of vision-- the ability to draw the viewer into the truth of a position.

Half-way through a <Majnu> video, my eyes become drawn to the right moves just before he reveals them.

It's almost like magic.

The Crusher has a wild enthusiasm, giggling, oohing and ahhing... infectious- and he uses his <Rybka> like a scalpel...

Whipping out mates in 9 and showing them to us in seconds..

Majnu, on the other hand, meditates on a position-- usually near or at the endgame...

Calm, patient...

I wish <Majnu> had time to make more videos.

<Canstein> has been translating a chess book for months so he's even more busy.

As a trio, they are the best Video coaches on the Net.

Amazing resource, and all for free...

I find that using the pause button frequently is a good strategy with these studies.

I generally take at least 30 minutes to finish a 10 minute video...

They are sharpening my instincts and intuitive grasp of positions.

In a game, sometimes there's no escape from having to knuckle down and do brute calculation-- or you could lose or throw away a win.

But you don't have 900 hours to play-- so sometimes the move that feels best-- sometimes the first one that "came" to you-- has to be played.

<Majnu> said that chess is beautiful because people make mistakes. He said that's what might make people so interested in playing-- the <mystery>, as he put it, of not knowing what's going to happen in a human v human chess game.

Depending on the position-- it may be a player's advantage to try to turn chaos into clarity-- and in a different position, it may be to a player's advantage to do exactly the opposite...

I've got to play with the Black pieces on Saturday so I might very well run into it again.

In the course of researching and building my KID games collection, I see that the KID "fianchetto" variation is quite popular, and multifarious--

It can lead to an open or closed center--

Main thing is that Black cannot ignore the White LSB diagonal-- but it seems there are many ways to deal with this threat-- both prophylactic setups and more aggressive set ups...

Hi <Doggimus>!!

CASSOWARY = EMU brother.

I call "emails" Emus.

So then I started calling "emails" by all Emu brothers:

OSTRICH, CASSOWARY, EXTINCT GIANT MOA.

Sometimes I call them BEEMUS too.

<aggressive Cassowaries>

heh...

HELP THERE'S A CASSOWARY IN MY KITCHEN

(Monk, after he has accidentally received a rave review for his acting job in a local theatre production)==

<Benjy> "Are you really going to become an actor, Mr. Monk?"

<Monk> "Well anything's possible, Benjy....

Except that."

Disher: We're on foot, heading south towards Prospect!

Dispatcher: Is there a description?

Disher: He's wearing grey sneakers!

Dispatcher: Is there anything else?

Disher: He's not Jewish!

<WHERE'S MY HELLO BUSTER!!> (From my humble abode) Here it is: HELLO BUSTER!!

I do hope you are well. I am hoping to get back into <Chessgames.com> rhythm again real soon.

Have you seen the latest theory concerning the Patterson-Gimlin film? Some guy has decided/determined that the bulge in Patty's right thigh, usually identified as a hernia, is, in fact, a gunshot wound (!). This wound, he has decided, is the result of Bob Gimlin's having opened fire on the poor bipedal dear as she walked through the riverbed. Why would he shoot her? Well, our theorist theorizes, a day or two before, Roger and Bob were Bigfooting, and they encounterd a whole horde of bigfoots (bigfeet?), which they killed in self-defense. They then buried them all (said theorist bases this on the fact that Patterson did, apparently, rent a large mechanical digger of some kind during the October time of the filming, though John Green has said that this was to help get his truck unstuck.) Returning to the site the next day, Rog and Bob encounter Patty, and shoot her as well.

Anyway, quite a feces-fling has erupted throughout Bigfoot-alooza remiscent of some of the memorable ordure-hurls here on good old Chessgames.com. (Funny, but some of the Bogfoot sites I have visted have regular posters (Bigfoot kibitzers?) who eerily resemble some of our own more colorful characters--they bicker with and snipe at one another with old familiarity, cast sarcastic apsersions on one another's intelligence, and so on. It's hilarious!)

Anyway, that's the latest on that. More on chess to come!

Best, Bill

Movsesian vs Morozevich, 2008