You're right there. It's precisely the kind of puzzle I should be good at. I'm embarrassed it took me this long.

<Z v A, 1988> is a reference to A Zapata vs Anand, 1988.

Every square on the chessboard matches a pair of initials. Thus, someone killed because of 'a8' will have the initials HO.

Every person is killed for one ply of Zapata-Anand. Next up is the eleventh person, matching the 11th (and last) ply, Qe2. Thus, 'e2'.

"First 128 of 128" refers to the first 128 letters of Shakespeare's Sonnet 128. So, fill the chessboard with Shakespeare's Sonnet 128 starting from a8.

HO WO FT WH EN TH OU MY
MU SI CM US IC PL AY ST
UP ON TH AT BL ES SE DW
OO DW HO SE MO TI ON SO
UN DS WI TH TH YS WE ET
FI NG ER SW HE NT HO UG
EN TL YS WA YS TT HE WI
RY CO NC OR DT HA TM IN

Heh-- I was watching the <Belmont Stakes> race I posted at your place and the announcer called it 25 lengths although of course that was wrong.

Plus I got the heart size the wrong way!!

heh

If you look at the top of my profile you'll see my <youtube account> link.

I have three subscriptions to horse racing channels because I adore the "Sport of Kings".

<Brankat> also knows a great deal about the history of thoroughbred racing.

You should find the movie <Pharlap> if you can.

It's better than <Seabuicuit>, and Seabuiscuit is a great movie.

Also, I didn't realize till I saw your <secretariat trivia page> link that both Secretariat and Phar Lap had the same nickname!!

BIG RED

I think a "checklist" of considerations before you move is a good idea to limit mistakes.

Although it's easier said than done in real games-

Anyways I find <Life Master AJ Goldsby's> checklist to be quite a valuable resource.

THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS COPIED AND PASTED FROM <LifeMaster AJ Goldsby's> fine chess website:

"Here it is:

Without further ado, I present my ... CHESS CHECKLIST ***

1.Material - Always check the material balance before commencing analysis! (The strategical implications here are very clear. If the material is even, you can pretty much do what you want. If you are behind in material, you must play for tactics, traps, and avoid exchanges. If you are ahead in material, then you must avoid excessive complications and try to exchange.)

2.Pawn Structure - This is an extremely important step, and has long-term consequences! Where are the open files? (Your Rooks go on these.) Etc. You need to think about things like Knight out-posts, strong points, etc. Where are your key pawn breaks and levers? (Are you getting the idea?)

3.ISOLATE The Primary Tactical Threat - Without this step, all of your efforts are doomed to failure. You really cannot make any concrete plans - of any kind - until you have assessed what your opponent's plans, ideas, and THREATS are!!! (I define the primary tactical threat as: "The move that your opponent would most likely play if you gave him - or her - an extra move, and the move that hurts you the most.") This has to be seriously considered when calculating your next move. Make sure that all the replies that you are considering take the threat into account. ("Kotov's - Candidate Moves.")

4.CHECK all CHECKS ... Check all captures! - You should take about 30 seconds and look at every possible check and capture every single move. With practice, this should only take a couple of minutes. (This step has saved my bacon - and helped me spot my opponent's threats - more times than I care to count!!) Do NOT leave this step out ... or think you can do without it! (One student deleted this step, he thought it was too much repetition. As a result he missed a key check or capture in key losses in several straight tournaments!) This is VERY key step in helping you see the board. (During this phase - I often "map" the board. I mentally highlight every square that my opponent controls, I usually do this piece-by-piece.)

5.Determine the KING SAFETY (Both Kings.) - Another critical step. Look for a simple mate in one or two for either player. Look for things like weak squares near the King or back-rank problems. (It is good to know the basic mating patterns here. Please consult the excellent book: "Practical Middlegame Techniques," by IM Danny Kopec.) I tell all my students ... NEVER miss a simple mate in a serious chess tournament!! You may NEVER get a second chance at it! (It is also good to memorize the basic mates!)

6.Strategy ... Make a PLAN and stick to it!! - Here is one of the most important steps ... something that will make you a BETTER player. (A good example of a plan is: "I am playing a Yugoslav Dragon variation. I have completed my development. I cannot recall the lines, but I will simply push my RP to h5, sacrificing it if necessary. Then I will attack my opponent's King!!") DO NOT constantly change (flip-flop) your plan! Change your plan - - - ONLY if you see it is failing miserably!!

I didn't think so.

on the other hand it would be good to look at alternate moves and actually calculate a variation.

I think i'm going to take up boxing instead.

heh

Actually <AJ Goldsby>, like me, takes his chess very very seriously.

Blitz and Rapid is not serious chess.

CASE CLOSED

Unlike <AJ Goldsby>, however, I am a poor, poor player.

IE- I couldn't beat a really good player if I had seven hours on my clock and he had five minutes on his.

However-

Here is another checklist:

Bullet (1/0) = a jelly bean
Blitz (5/0) = a Jam Doughnut
Rapid (30/0) = large bag of chips

heh

Missing you at the Center today, my dear, with Howard off for his tennis game, following an enjoyable conversation, including his visit to the Pan Amarican Youth Qualifying Championship held in his hometown Nashville!

Details in my forum.

Who knew??

I was contemplating this this morning...

You can't possibly imagine the pleasure I took this afternoon torturing a man- slowly, slowly crushing the life out of him--

He was rude. I like it when they are rude. The more rude they are, the better I like it.

Maybe Grandmasters can get away with keeping their kings in the center and flinging flank pawns at me.

Not him though.

I destroyed him. He insulted me. He whined. He repeatedly begged for a draw.

This caused me to feel an almost unbearable pleasure.

I love chess <mack> and what I love most about it is destroying another human.

This is indeed news of great import.

As you know, I take the "avatar issue" very seriously.

At the end of the day- and also at the start of the day- it is my view that ONLY THE PERSON HIMSELF should be the judge of what avatar he wants, and when he wants to change it.

I enjoy changing myself- but I've kept one of my old avatars I like "in reserve" as <Mrs. Alekhine> so no one can take it.

I'm afraid someone will take one of my Old Standards and then when I see it I will think it's me and grow frightened.

I loved the chess silhouette you had before-- and I love the Elephant.

I won't vote though.

I will support your decision.

Even if you pick the goofy cartoon owl I had before.

Do you have a <Max Euwe> photo on deck?

This my motto as well, and I knew you'd take the same road. You passed with flying colors.

Just gotta make my mind up (funny expression), and wander through the free avatar pages, like 4 or 5 of them I noticed...

It's fairly easy -- make a 48x48 pixel GIF and email it to cg. There are any number of people who would do that for you if that's beyond your grasp at the moment.