User Profile: offramp

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offramp
Member since Aug-16-03 · Last seen Jan-15-26

Some chess books that I think are outstanding:
1. <Fundamental Chess Endgames>, by Müller & Lamprecht, reprinted 2020. 400pp+, £25.
2. <Secrets of Practical Chess>, by Dr Nunn. 256pp (the USUAL 256pp!, i.e. the usual 2^8). £20.
3. <Capablanca's Best Chess Endings>, Irving Chernev's best work. 300pp. £15.
4. <107 Great Chess Battles 1939-1945>, written by Alexander Alekhine, but edited by Edward Winter. 256pp, £15.
5 (a) <Petrosian Year by Year Volume 1 (1942-1962)>, and - Karolyi & Gyozalyan, 484pp.
(b) <Petrosian Year by Year Volume 2 (1963-1984)> - Karolyi & Gyozalyan, 516pp.
They are £34 each. I bought one, then a few months later, the other volume.
They are available in Kindle format!

6. <The Queen's Gambit Accepted: A Sharp and Sound Response to 1. d4> by Chris Ward.
Ward wrote a superb book about the QGD, many years ago. I think this is useful for a book about the QGA. A total antidote to 1. d4, 2. c4.
And now some total clinkers. NOT those well-known garbage chess books.
The following are really bad chess books.
1. <Capablanca: A Compendium of Games, Notes, Articles, Correspondence, Illustrations and Other Rare Archival Materials on the Cuban Chess Genius Jose Raul Capablanca, 1888-1942> by Edward Winter. 360pp. c. £35. The title is the best thing.
2. <Larsen: Move by Move> - Cyrus Lakdawala
Paperback, 488pp.
3. <Emanuel Lasker Volumes 1, 2 & 3 - Forster, Negele & Tischbierek>. £55 each.
This book is unbelievably boring and tedious. Just look through it, then forget about it.
AT THIS SAME TIME a totally superb book has just come out: <Emanuel Lasker All Games Volume 1 & 2: 1889-1940 (2 books)>, £55 for two books:
Volume 1 covers the time Lasker became World Champion and played matches against Steinitz (twice for the World Championship), Bird and Blackburne amongst others. He also took part several famous tournaments including Hastings 1895, St Petersburg 1895-96 and Nuremberg 1896.
Volume 2 covers the time Lasker played matches against Marshall, Tarrasch, Janowski, Schlechter and Capablanca for the World Championship. He also took part several famous tournaments including St Petersburg 1914, New York 1924, Moscow 1935 & 1936 and Nottingham 1936.
Hardbacks, 388 and 342 pages, Russian Chess House. A real bargain.
4. <Pal Benko : My Life, Games and Compositions>, £140. Who is the most famous chess player out of Benko and Fischer? Who published the most plush, most opulent book? Benko.
.....
Here are another 7 books:

<He received a letter from his bookseller, informing him that only seven copies had been sold, and concluding with a polite request for the balance.
Scythrop <[SKI-throp]> did not despair. <Seven copies,> he thought, <have been sold. Seven is a mystical number, and the omen is good. Let me find the seven purchasers of my seven copies, and they shall be the seven golden candlesticks with which I will illuminate the world.>.>

>> Click here to see offramp's game collections.

   Current net-worth: 1,436 chessbucks
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   offramp has kibitzed 25202 times to chessgames [more...]

   Jan-15-26 Julien Song

offramp: The first game is dead level. I reckon Song will win this match easily.

   Jan-15-26 Tata Steel Masters (2026)

offramp: This tournament is going to be one of the best <EVER>. I suddenly had an idea that the World Champion, <Gukesh>, would win it. I think he is going to fully show his huge mettle. I think that he really has gird up his loins to show the Indians, and the whole world, that ...

   Jan-15-26 Giri vs Niemann, 2025

offramp: Giri said... <"Before the game I visualized a victory against Niemann. There's this technique.... I saw myself win. Then I went a bit too far and I started thinking about who would be in my team for the Candidates' - and that's when I realized I had gone too far."

   Jan-15-26 offramp chessforum

offramp: <𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗣 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 is taking place HERE from 14:00, 17th January 2026 to 1st February 2026. ...

   Jan-15-26 Dickson

offramp: Someone asked, "What the dickens??" The answer is "No."

   Jan-15-26 S Rosenthal vs Count Isouard, 1871

offramp: "Is You Is or Is You Ain't Isouard?"

   Jan-14-26 Keymer vs Carlsen, 2023

offramp: Keymer Rouge.

   Jan-14-26 Garry Kasparov

offramp: <Petrosianic>. I dislike stories about the 3rd Reich... Kasparov was expounding about Molotov and Stalin and the Germans. I could have followed the details but I <hate> checking WWII facts on Google because you get sucked into a whirlwind of right-wing horror. So I am ...

   Jan-14-26 J Puccini vs J P Gomez, 2015

offramp: Good pun and a good game. The final move is hard-to-spot! I was expecting some hay-maker final blow, but it is a quiet move. In fact, that last move, 19. Qd2, could be a <CREEPING MOVE>. Creeping moves can only made by queens; Spassky specialised in them.

   Jan-13-26 C Gilberg vs Dickson, 1866

offramp: That's a great pun, and the game has a really good ending! BTW, Sally Simpson, instead of referencing the Washington Bridge, would you be interested in buying the Brooklyn Bridge?

indicates a reply to the comment.

Ye Olde Offrampe Predicktions

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 56 OF 86 · Later Kibitzing>
Jan-05-19		offramp: It is Polynesian for Merry New Year!

Jan-06-19		offramp: There has been a scandalous alteration to the home page at this site!! The degree of difficulty of the daily chess puzzle is now ABOVE the diagram!! Do we have to tolerate this??

Jan-07-19		offramp: LiChess recently tweeted this: <Lichess user german11 just became the first user to reach <300,000> games! Congrats!> Can you imagine that?? They also tweeted this: <New record: 31 million standard rated games played in December 2018. All available for download on https://database.lichess.org . Quite the gap from November's 26 million.> That reminded me to update my database of internet games. Previously this was... <... 17.4 Yottabytes in total size (unzipped). It contains a huge number of games. 62,924,902,034,844,309.> However, recent research, as well as three months of internet chess and computer tournaments, have swollen that number alarmingly. Stay tuned!

Jan-09-19		WinKing: Hi offramp, <<>Tata Steel Masters 2019<>> 2 more days! Countdown to the Tata Steel Masters 2019: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdo... ♘Alkmaar♘Wijk aan Zee♗Leiden♗ https://www.tatasteelchess.com/# This tournament will run from January 12th thru January 27th 2019. (13 Rounds) Participants include: Carlsen, Mamedyarov, Ding Liren, Giri, Kramnik, Anand, Nepomniachtchi, Radjabov, Duda, Rapport, Shankland, Fedoseev, Vidit & Van Foreest Average rating: 2753 (as of 1/7/19) - Category XXI *** * <<>Tata Steel Masters 2019<>> Schedule - https://www.tatasteelchess.com/play... Round 1 is Saturday, January 12th & it starts @ 13:30hrs(1:30pm) Wijk aan Zee time(7:30am chessgames time) < 3 Prediction Contests: (Win virtual medals - Gold, Silver & Bronze) > User: lostemperor (FINAL STANDINGS PREDICTIONS) - Predict the order the players will finish. Run & hosted by <lostemperor>. (3 categories to medal in) User: Golden Executive - (The Game Prediction Contest) - Predict the result 1-0, 1/2, or 0-1. Run & hosted by <Golden Executive>. (3 categories to medal in) This year will be the 11th Anniversary for this contest! (from 2007 to 2018 - 11 years running) User: OhioChessFan (Moves Prediction Contest) - Predict the result 1-0, 1/2, or 0-1 & the number of moves. (4 categories to medal in) This contest is run by <chessmoron> & hosted by <OhioChessFan>. * * Also, don't forget about <chessgames> ChessBookie game for this event. He can't wait to take some or all of your chessbucks. ;) ChessBookie Game Don't miss out on the fun for this Super Event!!! ***

Jan-10-19		offramp: I am not a big gambler, but I have found a site that does chess betting: https://www.unibet.co.uk/betting#fi... E.g., Year-end World Number 1 (Classical Chess 2019) Carlsen, Magnus 3/10 Caruana, Fabiano 5/1 Liren Ding 11/1.

Jan-10-19		offramp: <The A0 Memorandum.> People have been saying for about 10 years that top level chess has become as dry as a Baptist's bollocks. We've had years and years of that poxy Berlin Defence. There has not been a piece sacrifice in a World Ch match since 2010! (Anand Nh6! v Topalov.) In the past, after very arid periods, a new supernova of sacrifice has come along: Morphy after Staunton, Alekhine after Capablanca, Tal after Botvinnik, Kasparov after Karpov. AND NOW we have α0! She gives up 2, 3, 4 pawns without missing a screech on its cassette-tape program. Is it possible that hu-mans will follow the example of ro-man? Will this be chess's latest or even last resurgence?

Jan-11-19		OhioChessFan: Coming In a Few Hours! Tata Steel 2019 Moves Prediction Contest. Conducted by the Legendary <chessmoron> and hosted at Graceland, home of Elvis. Click on Elvis for details.

Jan-12-19		morfishine: Dear <offramp> The most recent World Chess championship displayed that the players are getting closer and closer to playing just like computers. This has added an element of Desert dryness not seen before. There are two directions to go to avoid this: (1) Shorten time controls, which adds errors, which adds wins, which ultimately adds excitement, or (2) Trend towards Chess960 where variable starting positions rules out memorizing a mind-numbing list of openings 20+ moves in length. This too will add errors, add wins and ultimately adds excitement. So, we see the common denominator is 'excitement' which sadly tells me, humans just want to be entertained To hell with who actually wins *****

Jan-16-19		offramp: I made a New Year’s resolution to play more chess on Lichess. Yesterday there was a period where I <actually> had some spare time. I thought, <“I don’t feel like playing chess, but I’ve got 10 spare minute, so let’s DO IT!!”> I played very badly and I was wiped off the board very quickly. These chess ♟professionals, there must be many days when they do not want to play chess, but they must, it’s their job, and they go down like a sack of spuds 🥔 in 20 moves and everyone laughs and the game goes into anthologies etc. Harsh! There is one good thing about being Chessgames’s resident joker: if I do my job badly no one laughs.

Jan-19-19		offramp: [Event "Rated Blitz game"] [Site "https://lichess.org/V8Ac1bG6"] [Date "2019.01.19"] [Round "-"] [White "offramp"] [Black "word20"] [Result "1-0"] [UTCDate "2019.01.19"] [UTCTime "18:00:01"] [WhiteElo "1338"] [BlackElo "1342"] [WhiteRatingDiff "+10"] [BlackRatingDiff "-10"] [Variant "Standard"] [TimeControl "180+2"] [ECO "A10"] [Opening "English Opening"] [Termination "Normal"] 1. c4 [%clk 0:03:00] d6 [%clk 0:03:00] 2. b4 [%clk 0:02:58] g6 [%clk 0:03:02] 3. Bb2 [%clk 0:02:47] Nf6 [%clk 0:03:03] 4. Nf3 [%clk 0:02:45] Bg7 [%clk 0:03:04] 5. Qb3 [%clk 0:02:41] e5 [%clk 0:03:03] 6. Ng5 [%clk 0:02:39] Nfd7 [%clk 0:02:55] 7. Nxf7 [%clk 0:02:15] Kxf7 [%clk 0:02:54] 8. c5+ [%clk 0:02:16] Kf8 [%clk 0:02:46] 9. cxd6 [%clk 0:02:05] cxd6 [%clk 0:02:46] 10. e4 [%clk 0:01:51] Nf6 [%clk 0:02:46] 11. h4 [%clk 0:01:28] Qe7 [%clk 0:02:44] 12. h5 [%clk 0:01:26] Be6 [%clk 0:02:46] 13. Qf3 [%clk 0:01:21] Bf7 [%clk 0:02:27] 14. Bd3 [%clk 0:01:11] a6 [%clk 0:02:20] 15. Qh3 [%clk 0:01:00] Nbd7 [%clk 0:02:19] 16. h6 [%clk 0:00:58] Be6 [%clk 0:02:14] 17. hxg7+ [%clk 0:00:57] Kf7 [%clk 0:02:15] 18. gxh8=N+ [%clk 0:00:54] Rxh8 [%clk 0:02:13] 19. Qf3 [%clk 0:00:51] Bg4 [%clk 0:02:10] 20. Qg3 [%clk 0:00:47] Nb6 [%clk 0:02:05] 21. Bc3 [%clk 0:00:47] h5 [%clk 0:01:51] 22. Na3 [%clk 0:00:46] Na4 [%clk 0:01:46] 23. Nc4 [%clk 0:00:44] Nxc3 [%clk 0:01:44] 24. dxc3 [%clk 0:00:45] Qd7 [%clk 0:01:41] 25. Ne3 [%clk 0:00:44] Qa4 [%clk 0:01:40] 26. Nd5 [%clk 0:00:42] Qa3 [%clk 0:01:32] 27. O-O [%clk 0:00:41] Nd7 [%clk 0:01:24] 28. Qe3 [%clk 0:00:38] Qa4 [%clk 0:01:20] 29. Qg5 [%clk 0:00:37] Qc6 [%clk 0:01:17] 30. f4 [%clk 0:00:37] exf4 [%clk 0:01:09] 31. Qe7+ [%clk 0:00:37] Kg8 [%clk 0:01:05] 32. Rxf4 [%clk 0:00:37] Rh7 [%clk 0:01:02] 33. Qe8+ [%clk 0:00:36] 1-0

Jan-22-19		offramp: CAPTION COMPETITION #11 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxgKKJk... Simply provide a sensible, SERIOUS English sentence to accompany that picture of Leave Alonian and a human in a type of room. The guest judge is Britain's Theresa May. The winner, as usual, will receive a single wheelchair-enabled step. This will build week-by-week into a complete set of wheelchair-enabled steps AND if you reply within the next half hour, you may be eligible for 1% off my autobiography (see my profile). ALSO, every time you include the hashtag #potemkin, the Ukrainian government-in-exile will donate one brass kopek towards my campaign to make the Potemkin Steps fully wheelchair accessible. So have a punt. Winners will be announced at 3:17am on 29th January 2022 or earlier.

Jan-22-19		offramp: Today is the birthday of that great man, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.

Jan-23-19		offramp: It is worth looking up the Kingdom of Ourania, and including “chess” in the search. It’s another one of Stan Vaughan’s thingies.

Jan-23-19		offramp: BOSTER: If our legends make such mistakes, what expect from players who have not been on the top.

Jan-25-19		Sargon: One reason the Holiday Present Hunt has dragged on so long is because of the MASSIVE cheating that has been uncovered—not just <prohibited attempts>, which are forbidden by the contest rules, but also the <illegitimate winning> of actual prizes. It's rather discouraging to spend hours writing a challenging <clue> only to have it <ruined by a dirty cheater> who for some reason believes that fraudulently obtaining a four-month or one-year premium membership is worth engaging in patently shameful acts, as well as running the risk of ruining their reputation. We'll wrap the Present Hunt up soon, and there will be more clues posted; but the efforts by some villains to <rook> their fellow users have been extensive enough to justify taking the additional time necessary to ensure that nobody who has "solved" a clue by flouting the rules will benefit from their contemptible actions...

Jan-25-19		offramp: Dear <Sargon>. Firstly, thanks for choosing my pun today. I have had a few chosen but nothing in a long time. I am amazed and saddened that people have obviously been <taking the mick> at the Present Hunt. I look at EVERY clue and read EVERY answer with total bewilderment and admiration. Admiration for both setter and solver. I have never come close to winning a prize, not even in the early years, when they were a bit easier. Next year the Present Hunt should expand way beyond the chessgames pages. Either the clue or the answer should be chess related, and the answer would be a specific URL that the solver enters on the Hunt page and clicks a button, and is then told if he is wrong or right. That URL could come from anywhere on the internet. BTW, I wasn’t complaining about the Hunt dragging on, I was IN FACT gloating because I know the kvetches at Kibitzers Café dislike it because it impugns the dignity of the fabric of that august institution. All I thought was that clues could have been released faster; but remember I am not a solver, just a browser. Solvers would need more time. Possibly the cheating caused the deceleration. That bloody clue 38 seems to have been around for years. Give it to <Posoo> by default and forget about it.

Jan-25-19		disasterion: With regard to the reliably-bonkers Stan Vaughan, it's disappointing to find that the micronations wiki has removed the page for the Kingdom of Ourania http://micronations.wikia.com/wiki/... - the reason for deletion being, "Unrelated to micronationalism: Fantasy." And this despite the offer of four acres of Ouranian land for anyone who would represent them in the 2018 chess Olympiad. (Did anyone take up this generous offer?)

Jan-25-19		disasterion: Re clue 38, I second the proposal to give it to <posoo> and have done.

Jan-26-19		thegoodanarchist: Well done on the Pliss pun! (Hey, that rhymes!)

Jan-28-19		offramp: <TGA> I genuinely only made a pun for that game because, if you glance at the kibitzing, you’ll see that <tout le monde et sa femme> had a go at that one. Hopefully there will be others. Sargon has to spend 5 minutes a day looking at that Pun Submission page and pick a good one.

Jan-28-19		offramp: One look at me will tell you that I am of Irish background. I went grey very young, a sure sign. I’ve grown a stupid little beard now. My son, like me, has a name that to another Irishman will instantly reveal Irish Republican roots. My mum was English, though, from a place NEAR Manchester which is now IN Manchester. I went to what is called a grammar school in south London. It was run by Xaverian priests, who were very good.

Jan-30-19		offramp: Here is something that would make police work more colourful: a kaleidetector. I'm not sure how it would work, though.

Jan-30-19		offramp: I am watching something really good: Kafka's Castle, a 90-min Russian film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm-... It is in Russian with English subtitles.

Jan-30-19		morfishine: Dear <offramp> 'Kafka's Castle' is spell binding at the beginning with that elongated face man eating a pretzel in Siberia, just wondrous

Jan-31-19		offramp: <morfishine> It was really good! A bit wordy but so was the novel. The director also took the book very seriously, there were no funny bits: Arthur and Jeremiah were meant to be comic relief in the novel, but they do nothing in the film. There was no castle! No castle in The Castle. Not even a special effect. And a modern SUV car makes an appearance - I thought that little scene should have been changed. But I thought it was very well done; so much of the novel was included that it could be used to help students with visualisation problems.

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