Oh what a day to remember. I was just about to munch on a tuna sandwich when I met her on the subway...

Road apples

"Knowledge is a garden. If it isn't cultivated, you can't harvest it." ~ African Proverb

"As they prepared themselves to go ashore no one doubted in theory that at least a certain percentage of them would remain on the island dead, once they set foot on it. But no one expected to be one of these. Still it was an awesome thought and as the first contingents came struggling up on deck in full gear to form up, all eyes instinctively sought out immediately this island where they were to be put, and left, and which might possibly turn out to be a friend's grave." ― James Jones, The Thin Red Line

"The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience." ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

"Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time." ― Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living

"How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?" ― Dr. Seuss

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." ― William Penn

"Never waste a minute thinking about people you don't like." ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run." ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

"Life is a funny thing. We only get so many years to live it, so we have to do everything we can to make sure those years are as full as they can be. We shouldn't waste time on things that might happen someday, or maybe even never." ― Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us

"It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy;—it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others." ― Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

"Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone." ― Alan Watts

"There is more to life than simply increasing its speed." ― Mahatma Gandhi

"Lost Time is never found again."
― Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack

"Time spent with a cat is never wasted." ― Colette

"A wise man's goal shouldn't be to say something profound, but to say something useful." ― Criss Jami, Healology

"The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds." ― Teck Foo Check, The Autobiography of Sun Tzu

"Behind every move I make on the chess board lies a story of calculation, intuition, and passion. With every game, I discover more about myself and the endless possibilities of the game." ― medicosaurabh

"Ecco, sai giocare a scacchi. Adesso devi diventare un giocatore. Ci vorrà un po' di più." ― Guenassia Jean-Michel, Le Club des incorrigibles optimists

"People are like chess pieces!" ― Deyth Banger

"The only easy day was yesterday." ― US Navy SEALs

"Gameplay is all our life. Either we guard, attack or develop pieces." ― Vineet Raj Kapoor, UNCHESS: Untie Your Shoes and Walk on the Chessboard of Life

"The is a secret for greater self-control, the science points to one thing: the power of paying attention." ― Kelly McGonigal, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It

"As we encounter new experiences with a mindful and wise attention, we discover that one of three things will happen to our new experience: it will go away, it will stay the same, or it will get more intense. whatever happens does not really matter." ― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life

"Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories." ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

"I'll play baseball for the Army or fight for it, whatever they want me to do." ― Mickey Mantle

"Chess is a miniature version of life. To be successful, you need to be disciplined, assess resources, consider responsible choices and adjust when circumstances change." ― Susan Polgar

"We are like chess players who are trying to predict the opponent's future moves, but in this case, we are dealing with life itself. True masters do not play the game on a single chessboard, but on multiple chessboards at the same time. And what's the difference between grandmasters and masters? Surprises. The moves that cannot be predicted by the opponent. Life can play a simultaneous game with seven billion people at the same time and it can take each and every one of us by surprise. And we still believe we are capable of winning, because we can predict three of four moves ahead. We are insignificant." ― Jaka Tomc, 720 Heartbeats

"The cherished dream of every chessplayer is to play a match with the World Champion. But here is the paradox: the closer you come to the realization of this goal, the less you think about it." ― Mikhail Tal

"I mean a man whose hopes and aims may sometimes lie (as most men's sometimes do, I dare say) above the ordinary level, but to whom the ordinary level will be high enough after all if it should prove to be a way of usefulness and good service leading to no other. All generous spirits are ambitious, I suppose, but the ambition that calmly trusts itself to such a road, instead of spasmodically trying to fly over it, is of the kind I care for." ― Charles Dickens, Bleak House

"Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley." ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

"But I find something compelling in the game's choreography, the way one move implies the next. The kings are an apt metaphor for human beings: utterly constrained by the rules of the game, defenseless against bombardment from all sides, able only to temporarily dodge disaster by moving one step in any direction." ― Jennifer duBois, A Partial History of Lost Causes

"The move is there, but you must see it." ― Savielly Tartakower

"You may delay, but time will not." ― Benjamin Franklin

"Chess is all about maintaining coherent strategies. It's about not giving up when the enemy destroys one plan but to immediately come up with the next. A game isn't won and lost at the point when the king is finally cornered. The game's sealed when a player gives up having any strategy at all. When his soldiers are all scattered, they have no common cause, and they move one piece at a time, that's when you've lost." ― Kazuo Ishiguro, A Pale View of Hills

"The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds." ― Teck Foo Check, The Autobiography of Sun Tzu

"War is not just the shower of bullets and bombs from both sides, it is also the shower of blood and bones on both sides." ― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

"The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field." ― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

"Technique has taken over the whole of civilization. Death, procreation, birth all submit to technical efficiency and systemization." ― Jacques Ellul

"Time is an illusion." ― Albert Einstein

"Time isn't precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is." ― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

"It's being here now that's important. There's no past and there's no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can't relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don't know if there is one." ― George Harrison

"Life is like a chess game. If you play the right move, at the right time you'll win the game." ― Sruti

"I prefer to lose a really good game than to win a bad one." ― David Levy

"Chess is a very logical game and it is the man who can reason most logically and profoundly in it that ought to win." ― Jose Raul Capablanca

"Those who think that it's easy to play chess are mistaken. During a game, a player lives on his nerves, and at the same time he must be perfectly composed" ― Victor Kortchnoi

"Boxing is like a chess. You encourage your opponent to make mistakes so you can capitalize on it. People think you get in the ring and see the red mist, but it is not about aggression. Avoiding knockout is tactical." ― Nicola Adams

"In my opinion, the King's Gambit is busted. It loses by force." ― Bobby Fischer, A bust to the King's Gambit (1960)

"Touch the pawns before your king with only infinite delicacy." ― Anthony Santasiere

"A wood-pusher overlooks the ranks." ― Old Russian saying

"You can retreat pieces… but not pawns. So always think twice about pawn moves." ― Michael Stean

"Life is like a chess game. Every decision, just like every move, has consequences. Therefore, decide wisely!" ― Susan Polgar

"When people insult and disrespect you, the best revenge is to continue to win, and win, and win…." ― Susan Polgar

"The mind has no restrictions. The only restriction is what you believe you cannot do. So go ahead and challenge yourself to do one thing every day that scares you." ― Susan Polgar

"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." ― Walt Disney

On the river

This poem is dedicated to all female chessplayers on Caissa's Web...

Sweet Caissa

Oh, Sweet Caissa, Goddess of chess
in the name of this holistic game
I pray Thee: bless my noble aim
to render all my opponents lame
in my holy quest for worldly fame,
to be Supreme no more no less.
In awe I heard this Sweet Caissa say
"Daughter go forth and smite them all,
stoutly charge your knight sitting tall
while flying over the castle's wall
to slay all men in your deadly call."
Now in fear I hide and will no longer play.

Koneru Humpy
(Indian Chess Player and the Youngest Woman Ever to Achieve the Title of Grandmaster) Birthdate: March 31, 1987
Birthplace: Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Koneru Humpy is an Indian chess player and the current women's world rapid champion. At the age of 15, Humpy became the youngest female chess player to achieve the prestigious Grandmaster title. In 2003, she was honored with India's second-highest sporting honor, the Arjuna Award. In 2007, Koneru Humpy was honored with the Padma Shri Award. * Wikipedia: Wikipedia article: Koneru Humpy

Carissa Yip
(American Chess Player and a Former U.S. Women's Chess Champion) Birthdate: September 10, 2003
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States * Wikipedia: Wikipedia article: Carissa Yip

"He who sees the face does not see the heart." — Portuguese Proverb

Thank you Qindarka!

"My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose." — Bette Davis

"If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure." — Garry Kasparov

"You win some, you lose some, you wreck some." — Dale Earnhardt

"Those who do not risk, do not benefit." — Portuguese Proverb

"The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal." — Criss Jami

Franco-Indian Defense
1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb3+

French Defense
1. e4 e6

French Defense (Advance Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5

French Defense (Alekhine-Chatard Attack)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4

French Defense (Burn Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4

French Defense (Chigorin Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. Qe2

French Defense (Classical Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7

French Defense (Exchange Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5

French Defense (Extended Bishop Swap)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Bb5

French Defense (Franco-Benoni)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5 3. d5

French Defense (Guimard Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6

French Defense (MacCutcheon Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4

French Defense (Marshall Defense)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 c5

French Defense (Milner-Barry Gambit)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4

French Defense (Reti)
1. e4 e6 2. b3

French Defense (Reversed Philidor)
1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. Be2

French Defense (Rubinstein Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4

French Defense (Steinitz Attack)
1. e4 e6 2. e5

French Defense (Steinitz Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5

French Defense (Tarrasch Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2

French Defense (Two Knights Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3

French Defense (Winawer Variation)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4

French Defense (Winawer Variation-Poisoned Pawn) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4

French Defense (Wing Gambit)
1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e5 c5 4. b4

A different listing:

French Defence Gambits:

Milner-Barry Gambit – C02 – 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bd7 8.Nc3 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4

Nimzowitsch Gambit – C02 – 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Qg4

Alapin Gambit – C00 – 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Be3

Winawer, Alekhine (Maroczy) gambit - C15 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2

Winawer, Alekhine gambit - C15 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 dxe4 5.a3 Bxc3+

Winawer, Alekhine gambit, Kan variation - C15 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 dxe4 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Nxc3 Nc6

Winawer, Alekhine gambit, Alatortsev variation - C15 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 dxe4 5.a3 Be7 6.Nxe4 Nf6 7.N2g3 O-O 8.Be2 Nc6

Diemer-Duhm Gambit - C00 - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4

French: Wing gambit - C00 - 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4

See FRENCH DEFENCE (Advance, Exchange, Schlechter,.. compiled by gambitfan

Thank you Honza Cervenka.

Maximo wrote:

My Forking Knight's Mare
Gracefully over the squares, as a blonde or a brunette, she makes moves that not even a queen can imitate. Always active and taking the initiative,
she likes to fork.
She does it across the board,
taking with ease not only pawns, but also kings, and a bad bishop or two.
Sometimes she feels like making
quiet moves,
at other times, she adopts romantic moods,
and makes great sacrifices.
But, being hers a zero-sum game,
she often forks just out of spite.
An expert at prophylaxis, she can be a swindler, and utter threats,
skewering men to make some gains.
Playing with her risks a conundrum,
and also catching Kotov's syndrome.
Nonetheless, despite having been trampled
by her strutting ways
my trust in her remains,
unwavering,
until the endgame.

Call

"When you're lonely, when you feel yourself an alien in the world, play Chess. This will raise your spirits and be your counselor in war." ― Aristotle

"A bad plan is better than none at all." ― Frank Marshal

Confessed faults are half mended. ~ Scottish Proverb

* Glossary P: https://www.peoriachess.com/Glossar...

* Starting Out: French Defense: Game Collection: Starting out : The French

* Gambits against the French Defense:
Game Collection: alapin gambit -alapin diemer gambit + reti gam

* French Onion Dip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edx...

* Ideas: Game Collection: Ideas In The French Defense

* Additional French Defense games: Game Collection: French Defense

* Well-rounded coverage: Game Collection: French Defense

* Hans On French: Game Collection: French Defense

* TFD: https://chessentials.com/category/l...

* Therio what? Game Collection: Theriomorphic French Games

* Emre: https://chessdoctrine.com/chess-ope...

Event "Rated Bullet game"
Site "https://lichess.org/nlrrOnSO"
Date "2021.12.14"
White "taskampomou"
Black "Isaykin_Artem"
Result "1-0"
WhiteElo "2206"
BlackElo "2361"
UTCDate "2022.10.29"
UTCTime "17:07:34"
Variant "Standard"
ECO "C01"
Opening "French Defense: Exchange Variation, Monte Carlo Variation" Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Remote_Chess_..." Source "https://lichess.org/study/XbHbOKiN/..." Orientation "white"

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Re8+ 9. Be3 Ng4 10. O-O Nxe3 11. fxe3 Rxe3 12. Bxf7+ Kxf7 13. Ne5+ Kg8 14. Qb3+ Kh8 15. Nf7+ Kg8 16. Nxd8+ Kh8 17. Nf7+ Kg8 18. Nh6+ Kh8 19. Qg8# 1-0 White wins. 1-0

* The Fireside Book of Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld: Game Collection: Fireside Book of Chess

Dum spiro, spero

"The game might be divided into three parts: the opening, the middle-game and the end-game. There is one thing you must strive for, to be equally efficient in the three parts." ― Jose Raul Capablanca

"Unfortunately, many regard the critic as an enemy, instead of seeing him as a guide to the truth." ― Wilhelm Steinitz

"My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose." ― Bette Davis

"Chess is a matter of vanity." ― Alexander Alekhine

"As a chess player one has to be able to control one's feelings, one has to be as cold as a machine." ― Levon Aronian

"Sometimes it happens that the computer's assessment is very abstract. It's correct, but it's not useful for a practical game. You have to prove the assessment with very strong moves and if you don't find all of these strong moves you may lose very quickly. For a computer this is not a problem, but for humans it is not so easy." ― Vassily Ivanchuk

"A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit." ― John Milton

"Chess is a sport. The main object in the game of chess remains the achievement of victory." ― Max Euwe

"A sport, a struggle for results and a fight for prizes. I think that the discussion about "chess is science or chess is art" is already inappropriate. The purpose of modern chess is to reach a result." ― Alexander Morozevich

"No one man is superior to the game." ― A. Bartlett Giamatti, in reference to Pete Rose, the all-time MLB hits leader banned for gambling.

"To err is human; to forgive, divine." ― Alexander Pope

"I consider Mr. Morphy the finest chess player who ever existed. He is far superior to any now living, and would doubtless have beaten Labourdonnais himself. In all his games with me, he has not only played, in every instance, the exact move, but the most exact. He never makes a mistake; but, if his adversary commits the slightest error, he is lost." ― Adolf Anderssen

"After white's reply to 1.e4 e5 with 2.f4 the game is in its last throes" ― Howard Staunton

"I have added these principles to the law: get the Knights into action before both Bishops are developed." ― Emanuel Lasker

"With opposite coloured bishops the attacking side has in effect an extra piece in the shape of his bishop." ― Mikhail Botvinnik

"A pawn, when separated from his fellows, will seldom or never make a fortune." ― Francois-Andre Danican Philidor

"Be warned! From Satan's viewpoint you are a pawn in his game of cosmic chess." ― Adrian Rogers

"Pawns not only create the sketch for the whole painting, they are also the soil, the foundation, of any position." ― Anatoly Karpov

"The object of the state is always the same: to limit the individual, to tame him, to subordinate him, to subjugate him." ― Max Stirner

"It is a profound mistake to imagine that the art of combination depends only on natural talent, and that it cannot be learned." ― Richard Reti

"A Queen's sacrifice, even when fairly obvious, always rejoices the heart of the chess-lover." ― Savielly Tartakower

"Everyone makes mistakes. The wise are not people who never make mistakes, but those who forgive themselves and learn from their mistakes." ― Ajahn Brahm

"As a rule, so-called "positional" sacrifices are considered more difficult, and therefore more praise-worthy, than those which are based exclusively on an exact calculation of tactical possibilities." ― Alexander Alekhine

"It would be idle, and presumptuous, to wish to imitate the achievements of a Morphy or an Alekhine; but their methods and their manner of expressing themselves are within the reach of all." ― Eugene Znosko-Borovsky

"The most powerful weapon in chess is to have the next move." ― David Bronstein

"Get there firstest with the mostest." ― Nathan Bedford Forrest

"If the defender is forced to give up the center, then every possible attack follows almost of itself." ― Siegbert Tarrasch

"Erudition, like a bloodhound, is a charming thing when held firmly in leash, but it is not so attractive when turned loose upon a defenseless and unerudite public." ― Agnes Repplier

"If you watch it, you should watch it with other players and try to find moves, like it was before. Now on many sites you watch together with the computer and the pleasure is gone." ― Boris Gelfand

"I believe that Chess possesses a magic that is also a help in advanced age. A rheumatic knee is forgotten during a game of chess and other events can seem quite unimportant in comparison with a catastrophe on the chessboard." ― Vlastimil Hort

"It's funny, but many people don't understand why I draw so many games nowadays. They think my style must have changed but this is not the case at all. The answer to this drawing disease is that my favorite squares are e6, f7, g7 and h7 and everyone now knows this. They protect these squares not once but four times!" ― Mikhail Tal

"Having spent alarmingly large chunks of my life studying the white side of the Open Sicilian, I find myself asking, why did I bother?" ― Daniel J. King

"Apart from direct mistakes, there is nothing more ruinous than routine play, the aim of which is mechanical development." ― Alexey Suetin

"Not infrequently ... the theoretical is a synonym of the stereotyped. For the 'theoretical' in chess is nothing more than that which can be found in the textbooks and to which players try to conform because they cannot think up anything better or equal, anything original." ― Mikhail Chigorin

"The choice of opening, whether to aim for quiet or risky play, depends not only on the style of a player, but also on the disposition with which he sits down at the board." ― Efim Geller

"Despite the development of chess theory, there is much that remains secret and unexplored in chess." ― Vasily Smyslov

"No matter how much theory progresses, how radically styles change, chess play is inconceivable without tactics." ― Samuel Reshevsky

"Collect as precious pearls the words of the wise and virtuous." ― Abdelkader El Djezairi

"Learning is not attained by chance; it must be sought for with ardor and diligence." ― Abigail Adams

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." ― Winston Churchill

"When I was preparing for one term's work in the Botvinnik school I had to spend a lot of time on king and pawn endings. So when I came to a tricky position in my own games, I knew the winning method." ― Garry Kasparov

"As a rule, pawn endings have a forced character, and they can be worked out conclusively." ― Mark Dvoretsky

"It is a gross overstatement, but in chess, it can be said I play against my opponent over the board and against myself on the clock." ― Viktor Korchnoi

"The fact that the 7 hours time control allows us to play a great deep game is not of great importance for mass-media." ― Alexei Shirov

"For me, each game is a new challenge, which has to be dealt with rationally and systematically. At that time, every other thought fades into oblivion." ― Viswanathan Anand

Ne kadar bilirsen bil, o kadar azdır.

"Any fool can know. The point is to understand." ― Albert Einstein

"One bad move nullifies forty good ones." ― Israel Albert Horowitz

"It is a well-known phenomenon that the same amateur who can conduct the middle game quite creditably, is usually perfectly helpless in the end game. One of the principal requisites of good chess is the ability to treat both the middle and end game equally well." ― Aron Nimzowitsch

"My hard work and excellent training entitled me to be a better actress than some of my competitors." ― Pola Negri

"Endings of one rook and pawns are about the most common sort of endings arising on the chess board. Yet though they do occur so often, few have mastered them thoroughly. They are often of a very difficult nature, and sometimes while apparently very simple they are in reality extremely intricate." ― Jose Raul Capablanca

"Capablanca used to talk calmly and moderately about everything. However, when our conversation turned to the problems of the battle for the world championship, in front of me was a quite different person: an enraged lion, although with the fervour typical only of a southerner, with his temperamental patter, which made it hard to follow the torrent of his indignant exclamations and words." ― Alexander Koblencs

"A player is said to have the opposition when he can place his King directly in front of the adverse King, with only one square between them. This is often an important advantage in ending games." ― Howard Staunton

"A player can sometimes afford the luxury of an inaccurate move, or even a definite error, in the opening or middlegame without necessarily obtaining a lost position. In the endgame ... an error can be decisive, and we are rarely presented with a second chance." ― Paul Keres

"Never trust a government that doesn't trust its own citizens with guns." ― Benjamin Franklin

"The Soviet Union was an exception, but even there chess players were not rich. Only Fischer changed that." ― Boris Spassky

"Chess never has been and never can be aught but a recreation. It should not be indulged in to the detriment of other and more serious avocations - should not absorb or engross the thoughts of those who worship at its shrine, but should be kept in the background, and restrained within its proper province. As a mere game, a relaxation from the severe pursuits of life, it is deserving of high commendation." ― Paul Morphy

"Incidentally, when we're faced with a "prove or disprove," we're usually better off trying first to disprove with a counterexample, for two reasons: A disproof is potentially easier (we need just one counterexample); and nitpicking arouses our creative juices. Even if the given assertion is true, our search for a counterexample often leads to a proof, as soon as we see why a counterexample is impossible. Besides, it's healthy to be skeptical." ― Ronald Graham

"Even though chess isn't the toughest thing that computers will tackle for centuries, it stood as a handy symbol for human intelligence. No matter what human-like feat computers perform in the future, the Deep Blue match demands an indelible dot on all timelines of AI progress." ― Steven Levy

"Attackers may sometimes regret bad movez, but it's much worse to forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by." ― Garry Kasparov

"Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of a double check." ― Aron Nimzowitzch

"When you see a good move – WAIT! – look for a better one." ― Emanuel Lasker The Portuguese chess player and author Pedro Damiano (1480–1544) first wrote this in his book "Questo libro e da imparare giocare a scachi et de li partiti" published in Rome, Italy, in 1512.

Proverbs 29:25
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

"Winning is about commitment, discipline, hard work, dedication, determination, courage and sometimes even luck!" ― Susan Polgar

"Every defeat is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes! Every victory is a confirmation of our hard work!" ― Susan Polgar

"A chess player uses his/her knowledge to prepare for next game while a passionate coach preparez for next generation!" ― Susan Polgar

French Proverb: "Ce n'est pas à un vieux singe qu'on apprend à faire la grimace." ― (There's no substitute for experience.)

* Alekhine's French Def: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/che...

* A few KIAs: Game Collection: Opening Ideas

* Advance French: Game Collection: Attacking with the French

* Black Defends: Game Collection: Opening repertoire black

* Masterful: Game Collection: FRENCH DEFENSE MASTERPIECES

* TFD: https://chessentials.com/category/l...

* Top Festivals: https://chess-site.com/articles/che...

* Rules: https://www.gamecolony.com/chessrul...

* Juniors might ask: https://www.chessforjuniors.com/

* Bruno's Problem: https://chessproblem.my-free-games....

* FICS: https://www.freechess.org/

* HOF: https://worldchesshof.org/

* USCF: https://new.uschess.org/

* Recommendations: https://chess-site.com/

* TWIC: https://theweekinchess.com/

* Top 100: https://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml

* Useful: https://usefulchess.com/

* Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/

"First I play for equality (as Black), then I start to play for a win." ― Artur Yusupov

"It is a profound mistake to imagine that the art of combination depends only on natural talent, and that it cannot be learned." ― Richard Reti

"Once there is the slightest suggestion of combinational possibilities on the board, look for unusual moves. Apart from making your play creative and interesting it will help you to get better results." ― Alexander Kotov

"I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying." ― Andy (Tim Robbins), "The Shawshank Redemption"

Grzegorz

Machgielis "Max" Euwe
Fifth World Chess Champion from 1935 to 1937
Birthdate: May 20, 1901
Birthplace: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died: November 26, 1981
Max Euwe scripted history when he became the first chess Grandmaster from the Netherlands. A PhD in math, he also taught both math and computer programming, apart from publishing a mathematical analysis of chess. A chess world champion, he also served as the president of FIDE. * Wikipedia: Wikipedia article: Max Euwe

Tanitoluwa Adewumi
(American Chess Player)
Birthdate: September 3, 2010
Birthplace: Nigeria
* Wikipedia: Wikipedia article: Tanitoluwa Adewumi

Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever.

"A God you understood would be less than yourself." ― Flannery O'Connor

Psalms 31:24 - Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

* Red States: https://www.redhotpawn.com/

* The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev - https://lichess.org/study/KMMrJvE1

* Legendary: Game Collection: The 12 Legendary Games of the Century

FACTRETRIEVER: Even though dragonflies have six legs, they cannot walk.

'A stitch in time saves nine'

"You can't hold with the hare and run with the hounds."

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves"- J.M. Barrie (1860 - 1937)

A man who spent his life delighting the masses with his words, perfectly understood that you reap what you sow, and that when we make other people happy, we often find happiness ourselves.

"Whatever you are doing in the game of life, give it all you've got." — Norman Vincent Peale

"What you do today can improve all your tomorrows." — Ralph Marston

Psalm 96: 1-3
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

<<<High Flight> BY JOHN GILLESPIE MAGEE JR.>

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,—and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air ....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark nor ever eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.>

"No one has ever won a game of chess by taking only forward moves (What about Scholar's Mate?). Sometimes you have to move backwards in order to be able to take better steps forward. That is life." — Anonymous

Drive sober or get pulled over.

"For surely of all the drugs in the world, chess must be the most permanently pleasurable." — Assiac

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." ― Thomas Jefferson, chess player

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." ― Mahatma Gandhi

According to Chessmetrics, Emanuel Lasker was #1 for longer than anyone else in history: 292 different months between June 1890 and December 1926. That's a timespan of 36 1/2 years, in which Lasker was #1 for a total of 24 years and 4 months. Lasker was 55 years old when he won New York 1924.

"The great thing about chess is it's a game for oneself. You don't work on what you can't control, you just work on yourself. And I think if more people did that, we'd all be a lot better off." — Daniel Naroditsky

<Writing from his experience of the devastation of World War I, Edwardian poet <Alfred Noyes>' well-known "On the Western Front" speaks from the perspective of soldiers buried in graves marked by simple crosses, asking that their deaths not be in vain. Praise of the dead was not what the dead needed, but peace made by the living. An excerpt:

We, who lie here, have nothing more to pray.
To all your praises we are deaf and blind.
We may not ever know if you betray
Our hope, to make earth better for mankind.>

"Rooks need each other in the middlegame. This is why one should keep their rooks connected until the opposing queen is off the board. She'll snare 'em (usually from a centralized square on an open diagonal or perhaps a poisoned pawn approach of the unprotected b2/b7 and g2/g7 square next to the occupied corner) if the two rooks aren't protecting each other." ― Fredthebear

"In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted; if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end." ― Tom Seaver

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name! ― Fort Minor

Deuteronomy 6:6-9: "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Isaiah 66:24
24 "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."

Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'

<<<chess writer and poet <Henry Thomas Bland>

Another example of his way with words is the start of ‘Internal Fires', a poem published on page 57 of the March 1930 American Chess Bulletin:>

I used to play chess with the dearest old chap,
Whom naught could upset whatever might hap.
He'd oft lose a game he might well have won
But made no excuse for what he had done.
If a piece he o'erlooked and got it snapped up

He took it quite calmly and ne'er ‘cut up rough'.>

"You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore." ― William Faulkner

"Sometimes in life, and in chess, you must take one step back to take two steps forward." — IM Levy Rozman, GothamChess

So much, much, much better to be an incurable optimist than deceitful and untrustworthy.

Old Russian Proverb: "Scythe over a stone." (Нашла коса на камень.) The force came over a stronger force.

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." ― Leonardo da Vinci

Raise
* Bowman's Beginner's Guide:
http://chess.jliptrap.us/BowmanBegi... Not perfect but dedicated, passionate.

* Capablanca's Double Attack — having the initiative is important: https://lichess.org/study/tzrisL1R

* Red States: https://www.redhotpawn.com/

* Blowing Away the Castled King: Game Collection: Attack The King's Pocket

* Brutal Attacking Chess: Game Collection: Brutal Attacking Chess

* Common Checkmate Patterns:
http://gambiter.com/chess/Checkmate...

* Caviar:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/...

* Cool Math/Board Games: https://www.coolmathgames.com/1-boa...

* Deadly Battery: https://www.chess.com/article/view/...

* Evans / Boris Gambit Guide: Game Collection: Evans Gambit

* Famous Chess Photos: https://tr.pinterest.com/pin/585256...

* Fried Fox is awful: https://allchessopenings.blogspot.c...

* Gambits against the French Defense:
Game Collection: alapin gambit -alapin diemer gambit + reti gam

* ICA Youth Resources: https://www.il-chess.org/index.php?...

* katar's hack attack: Game Collection: An Opium Repertoire for White

* Kingpin magazine: https://www.kingpinchess.net/

* LG - White wins: Game Collection: Latvian Gambit-White wins

* Overloaded! Game Collection: OVERLOADED!

* Plenty to see: http://www.schackportalen.nu/Englis...

* POTD Scotch: Game Collection: POTD Scotch Game Scotch Gambit

* RL Minis: Game Collection: Ruy Lopez Miniatures

* Reasonable book choices: https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell...

* Spassky could bring the heat: Game Collection: Spassky's Best Games (Cafferty)

* Ten books for aspiring masters: http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2023...

* Bobby Fischer playing White against the Sicilian: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Wild: Game Collection: Wild Games!

* Wonders and Curiosities: Game Collection: Wonders and Curiosities of Chess (Chernev)

* Stunners: Game Collection: Stunners

* A great decade of chess: Game Collection: Mil y Una Partidas 1950-1959

* Great Attacks: Game Collection: great attack games

PRF

Lord Dunsany wrote what is perhaps the finest chess poem ever written. It marked the death of R.H.S. Stevenson and was published on page 74 of the April 1943 BCM:

One art they say is of no use;
The mellow evenings spent at chess,
The thrill, the triumph, and the truce
To every care, are valueless.

And yet, if all whose hopes were set
On harming man played chess instead,
We should have cities standing yet
Which now are dust upon the dead.

"Life is what you make it: If you snooze, you lose; and if you snore, you lose more." — Phyllis George

Galatians 6:7 in the Bible "Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

"those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" is often cited as originating in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde written in 1385.

Chessgames.com will be unavailable January 16, 2024 from 12:15PM through 12:45PM(UTC/GMT) for maintenance. We apologize for this inconvenience.
^Dudz 5zshhz! fish spawn

Chris Chaffin wrote:

master/piece
She moves him ‘round the chess board,
dodging bishops, pawns and rooks.
She coaxes him from square to square
without a second look.

The white knight cannot catch him.
Piece by piece, the foe now yields.
Her king is safe; the game is done.
The queen controls the field.

"Sometimes in life, and in chess, you must take one step back to take two steps forward." — IM Levy Rozman, GothamChess

So much, much, much better to be an incurable optimist than deceitful and untrustworthy.

In 2016, a Michigan-based priest named Gerald Johnson suffered a heart attack. He says he had a near-death experience that sent him somewhere he never thought he'd visit: Hell.

Johnson says that immediately after his heart attack in February 2016, his spirit left his physical body and went down to hell, entering through "the very center of the Earth." Though he says "the things I saw there are indescribable," he did his best.

Johnson claims he saw a man walking on all fours like a dog and getting burned from head to toe:

"His eyes were bulging and worse than that: He was wearing chains on his neck. He was like a hellhound. There was a demon holding the chains."

Psalm 8 King James Version

8 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Overbet

<<Hush-a-bye, Baby>

Hush-a-bye, Baby, upon the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock;
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
Down tumbles cradle and Baby and all.>

Acts 20:35 "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

According to Chessmetrics, Emanuel Lasker was #1 for longer than anyone else in history: 292 different months between June 1890 and December 1926. That's a timespan of 36 1/2 years, in which Lasker was #1 for a total of 24 years and 4 months. Lasker was 55 years old when he won New York 1924.

"Just because you know stuff doesn't mean you are smart... You have to know how to use that information." ― Josh Keller

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

* Know the five fundamental rules of firearm safety:

- Treat every gun as if it is loaded.

- Never point a weapon at anything you don't intend to destroy.

- Never put your finger on a gun's trigger until you make a conscious decision to shoot.

- Always be sure of your target, what's beyond it, and what's between you and your target.

- When not in use, a firearm needs to be locked in some kind of secure container—a gun vault is best. If it cannot be secured in a locked location, then a trigger lock should be applied. A loaded firearm should never be unattended.

A tiny chameleon discovered in northern Madagascar and measuring just 28.9 millimeters is believed to be the smallest reptile on Earth. The itty bitty chameleon was recently discovered and reported in the January 2021 issue of Scientific Reports.

1.Nf3 is the third most popular of the twenty legal opening moves White has, behind only 1.e4 and 1.d4.

With an equatorial diameter of 7926 miles (12,760 kilometers), Earth is the biggest of the terrestrial planets and the fifth largest planet in our solar system.

God our Father, Lord, and Savior

Thank you for your love and favor

Bless this food and drink we pray

And all who share with us today.

In our Savior Jesus name,
Amen.

"Only those who want everything done for them are bored." — Billy Graham

"My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." — Billy Graham

* Riddle-zapapa-dee: https://www.briddles.com/riddles/ch...

"Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy." ― Norman Vincent Peale

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ― Martin Luther King Jr.

"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours." ― Yogi Berra, one of the greatest Yankees of all time

Dick Cavitt: "And you like that moment of just crushing the guy?"

RJ Fischer: "Right *nodding and smiling*, yeah."

St. Marher, 1225:
"And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet."

woordfuun:
08her Abou TZojer permafrost Z Fresca Bloody chanted good nurserey rhyemes abuve Zazoni Narkundzhiya fore zborris67 rode thru countrside attk.

Chessgames.com will be unavailable January 16, 2024 from 12:15PM through 12:45PM(UTC/GMT) for maintenance. We apologize for this inconvenience.

This poem is dedicated to PhillA, who sparked off the seed for this poem.

The Stark Naked King

When the challenge arrived from the ax wielding Philla "I must hurry and offer a bribe to his queen, thought nova, to avoid a merciless onslaught ending in bloody gore". Alas, the challenge had been secretly sent the day before. There he stood with ax and all at the castle's gate, While teasingly sending in a not-so-holy bishop as bait. High on the castle's wall nova bellowed: dump the boiling oil, To force the ax-man with his troops to screamingly recoil. To no avail, Philla hurled his castle straight upon the king, Who standing stark naked, tried to hide his private thing. So nova quickly conceded out of shameful desperation and Philla gently lowering the ax accepted nova's resignation.

This poem is dedicated to Harris my chessplayer friend and literary commentator.

Chess The Final Metaphor

It was in a cesspool behind the place of his cousin Nick

That in this pool of sewage, was born the freak called frick.

On dark nights he hysterically wailed in his pool of slimy mess:

"Oh why oh why, can't I play the game that humans call chess"?

As the morning sun rose, begged the queen of the mighty king:

Sire, can you not order the death of this awful filthy thing"?

Wisely he replied: "no, I'll let frick live forever in distress

While he must watch others enjoy themselves playing chess."

"There just isn't enough televised chess." — David Letterman

"Do the things that interest you and do them with all your heart. Don't be concerned about whether people are watching you or criticizing you. The chances are that they aren't paying any attention to you. It's your attention to yourself that is so stultifying. But you have to disregard yourself as completely as possible. If you fail the first time then you'll just have to try harder the second time. After all, there's no real reason why you should fail. Just stop thinking about yourself." — Eleanor Roosevelt

"Many have become chess masters, no one has become the master of chess." — Siegbert Tarrasch

"True power is expressed in quiet confidence; it was the sea's very calmness that epitomized its mighty force." ― Emile Habiby

"Remember that there are two kinds of beauty: one of the soul and the other of the body. That of the soul displays its radiance in intelligence, in chastity, in good conduct, in generosity, and in good breeding, and all these qualities may exist in an ugly man. And when we focus our attention upon that beauty, not upon the physical, love generally arises with great violence and intensity. I am well aware that I am not handsome, but I also know that I am not deformed, and it is enough for a man of worth not to be a monster for him to be dearly loved, provided he has those spiritual endowments I have spoken of." ― Miguel Cervantes

Z is for Zipper (to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb")

Zipper starts with letter Z,
Letter Z, letter Z,
Zipper starts with Letter Z,
/z/, /z/, /z/, /z/!

Deuce

Q: What do you call someone who draws funny pictures of cars? A: A car-toonist.

Q: What do you call a magician on a plane?
A: A flying sorcerer.

Q: What do you call fruit playing the guitar?
A: A jam session.

Q: What do you call the shoes that all spies wear? A: Sneakers.

Q: What do you call something you can serve, but never eat? A: A volleyball.

Q: What did the alien say to the garden?
A: Take me to your weeder.

Q: What do you call a skeleton who went out in freezing temperatures? A: A numb skull.

Q: What do you call a farm that grows bad jokes? A: Corny.