The Name of France
by Henry Van Dyke

Give us a name to fill the mind
With the shining thoughts that lead mankind,
The glory of learning, the joy of art, —
A name that tells of a splendid part
In the long, long toil and the strenuous fight
Of the human race to win its way
From the feudal darkness into the day
Of Freedom, Brotherhood, Equal Right, —
A name like a star, a name of light.
I give you France!

Give us a name to move the heart
With a warmer glow and a swifter flood, —
A name like the sound of a trumpet, clear,
And silver-sweet, and iron-strong,
That calls three million men to their feet,
Ready to march, and steady to meet
The foes who threaten that name with wrong, —
A name that rings like a battle-song.
I give you France!

Give us a name to move the heart
With the strength that noble griefs impart,
A name that speaks of the blood outpoured
To save mankind from the sway of the sword, —
A name that calls on the world to share
In the burden of sacrificial strife
Where the cause at stake is the world's free life And the rule of the people everywhere, —
A name like a vow, a name like a prayer.
I give you France!

Black initiates the exchange d5 for e4. Some crumbs fell in here too.

See Action Chess: Purdy's 24 hour opening repertoire compiled by Takqueen. Game Collection: Action Chess :Purdy's 24 hour opening repertoire

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

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

Fredthebear created this collection.

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

"My centre is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking." French General Marshal Ferdinand Jean Marie Foch ( 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929 )

* ABCs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJE...

* Basic Tactics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10I...

* Assault & Battery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhG...

* Avoid blunders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tis...

* Avoid blunders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx3...

* A/B Method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5_...

* Bang, Bang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr_...

* Beginner Chess Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o74...

* Stop blundering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4G...

* Bishop sacrifices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_t...

* ChessCafe.com column, The Openings Explained: Abby Marshall

* Closed: Game Collection: Closed Sicilian Structures

* Common Mistakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI1...

* Chess Club Guide: https://new.uschess.org/guide-succe...

* Chess is cold-steel calculation, not emotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-T...

* Sam Cooke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APu...

* Craziez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAM...

* Dancing Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFr...

* Dish it out: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/...

* Dominance, Hunger, Opportunity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDb...

* Easy checkmate w/2 bishops: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPY...

* Earn how to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN7...

* Garry gets 'em quick: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* List of gambits: https://detailedpedia.com/wiki-List...

* Unleash the Knight: https://cardclashgames.com/blog/che...

* KIA vs French Defense: Game Collection: KIA vs French Defense

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

* Glossary of Chess Terms: http://www.arkangles.com/kchess/glo...

* Golden: Game Collection: Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz)

* Good Vibes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eab...

* Good ole country boys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt2...

* So Goode!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf4...

* Mammoth: Game Collection: Mammoth Book-Greatest Games (Nunn/Burgess/Emms)

* Glossary: https://www.chess-poster.com/englis...

* IECC: https://www.chess-iecc.com/

* Improvement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R19...

* KP Beauties: Game Collection: Beautiful mates

* Miniatures of the Champs: Game Collection: Champions miniature champions

* Masterful: Game Collection: FRENCH DEFENSE MASTERPIECES

* Middlegames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkO...

* Names and Places: Game Collection: Named Mates

* Brazil Nuts: Game Collection: 2...De7 !

* Notable Games: Game Collection: List of Notable Games (wiki)

* Neon Moon, smooth and easy: https://www.bing.com/search?q=Neon+...

* French Lit Classics: https://leoncechenal.com/classic-fr...

* Opening Names: https://allchessopenings.blogspot.c...

* Online safety: https://www.entrepreneur.com/scienc...

* Oskar plays 1e4: Oskar Oglaza

* 10-4 Good Buddy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5...

* Prize Games: Game Collection: Great Brilliancy Prize Games of the ChessMasters

* Pie in the sky: https://www.old-mill.com/oldmill-re...

* Pawn storms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skh...

* Cracklin Rozie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGe...

* Spruce Variety: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/che...

"We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus!" ― John Adams

* But do they play chess? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG7...

* No visitorz allowed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwA...

* Oh, Roy saw the play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KF...

* It's the way to go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh2...

* Everyday people should play tabletop games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUU...

* Flirts will give you the runaround: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NQ...

* Before lip sinking was invented: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTU...

* Los Lobos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfA...

* Cara Mia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sF...

* No shirt, no shoes, no sale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThB...

* Nobody knows the trouble I've seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvG...

* The checkmate song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG7...

* TJ played with gusto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8G...

* Another TJ groovin' it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdr...

* I eat Buttercups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0k...

* The Lonely Bull: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYJ...

* Never been to Southbeach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7m...

* Instantly recognizable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szb...

* Six million was a whole lotta moola back then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CP...

* Dizzy means take a bye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arp...

* Who are you dreamin' of? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOJ...

* Win with 1.e4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8r...

* Wimoweh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7M...

* Tips to keep your head together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNi...

* Do Waht? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ui...

* Don't call Bob. Bob is rough and gruff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyr...

* Otis once ran for mayor but wasn't registered to vote! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dot...

* Luckenbach, Texas has a dance hall and a post office, that's all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EK...

* Pawn themes: Game Collection: Aurora

* Minority Attacks: Game Collection: Minority attack

Game Collection: Anti-minority attack capturing with the Knight.

* Queen Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM8...

* Rachel's Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTr...

* Random Zs: Game Collection: ZHVNE

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

* <Rubinstein>: Game Collection: Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces

* Rook Lift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQ...

* Short Selection for White:
Game Collection: Repertoire for White

* Splits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRa...

* Tactical Mix: Game Collection: mastering Tactical ideas by minev

* The Best of... Game Collection: World Champions' Best Games

* The Unthinkable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9z...

* Top Chessgames by ECO Code: http://schachsinn.de/gamelist.htm

* Vladimir Bagirov Attacks: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Weapons against the London System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVX...

* Wicked Good: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes...

* Will Power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9S...

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

* Z Vol 105: Game Collection: 0ZeR0's collected games volume 105

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

WTHarvey:
There once was a website named WTHarvey,
Where chess puzzles did daily delay,
The brain-teasers so tough,
They made us all huff and puff,
But solving them brought us great satisfaction today.

There once was a website named WTHarvey
Where chess puzzles were quite aplenty
With knight and rook and pawn
You'll sharpen your brain with a yawn
And become a master of chess entry

There once was a site for chess fun,
Wtharvey.com was the chosen one,
With puzzles galore,
It'll keep you in store,
For hours of brain-teasing, none done.

There once was a website named WTHarvey,
Where chess puzzles were posted daily,
You'd solve them with glee,
And in victory,
You'd feel like a true chess prodigy!

'A rising tide lifts all boats'

'Don't put the cart before the horse'

"Examine what is said, not who is speaking." ~ African Proverb

Sleeper straddle "Try again. Fail again. Fail better." ― Samuel Beckett

Idaho: Franklin
Established in: 1860

Franklin was founded in the spring of 1860 by a small group of Mormon pioneers and was named for Apostle Franklin D. Richards. As early settlers began building cabins and farming, they believed they were still in Utah. It wasn't until 1872 that an official boundary survey placed a border between the two states.

* Chess History: https://www.uschesstrust.org/chess-...

* World Chess Championship History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkO...

* History of Chess: https://boldchess.com/history/

* Chess Aps: https://www.wired.com/story/best-ch...

The Kings of Chess: A History of Chess, Traced Through the Lives of Its Greatest Players by William Hartston William Hartson traces the development of the game from its Oriental origins to the present day through the lives of its greatest exponents - men like Howard Staunton, who transformed what had been a genteel pastime into a competitive science; the brilliant American Paul Morphy, who once played a dozen simultaneous games blindfold; the arrogant and certified insane Wilhelm Steinitz; the philosopher and mathematician Emanual Lasker; Bobby Fischer, perhaps the most brilliant and eccentric of them all; and many other highly gifted individuals. Hartson depicts all their colorful variety with a wealth of rare illustrations.

Format: Hardcover
Language: English
ISBN: 006015358X
ISBN13: 9780060153588
Release Date: January 1985
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Length: 192 Pages
Weight: 1.80 lbs.

Eilfan ywmodryb dda
Meaning: A good aunt is a second mother

This poem is dedicated to all members
who strive to become Masters of chess.

yakisoba's combination

in the middle of a cold Canadian winter night
a phantom creature was riding a stallion knight
but lo and behold it is the man called yakisoba
together with a bishop and queen chasing nova.
though the old bishop was getting pooped out
the merry queen in her glory was bouncing about
while riding hard yakisoba grinningly thought
"I know what to do with that nova when caught."
there on top of the castle was nova in hiding
strapped to a kite for a quick get-away gliding,

then trembling he realized to his consternation: he was being killed by the bishop-queen combination.

Jokers wild "Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong."― Winston Churchill

Kang said:
My brother taught me how to play at the age of 10. He brought me my first book, which was <Bobby Fisher Teaches Chess>.

"Grandmaster games are said to begin with novelty, which is the first move of the game that exits the book. It could be the fifth, it could be the thirty-fifth. We think about a chess game as beginning with move one and ending with checkmate. But this is not the case. The games begins when it gets out of book, and it end when it goes into book. And this is why Game 6 between Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue didn't count...Tripping and falling into a well on your way to the field of battle is not the same thing as dying in it...Deep Blue is only itself out of book; prior to that it is nothing. Just the ghosts of the game itself." ― Brian Christian, The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive

'Don't let the cat out of the bag'

'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth'

'Don't throw good money after bad'

'Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater'

<There once was a fly on the wall,

I wonder why didn't it fall.

Because its feet stuck,

Or was it just luck,

Or does gravity miss things so small?>

"Many people perceive the merit of a manuscript which is read to them, but will not declare themselves in its favor until they see what success it has in the world when printed, or what intelligent men will say about it. They do not like to risk their opinion, and they want to be carried away by the crowd and dragged along by the multitude. Then they say that they were amongst the first who approved of that work, and the general public shares their opinion. Such men lose the best opportunities of convincing us that they are intelligent, clever, and first-rate critics, and can really discover what is good and what is better. A fine work falls into their hands; it is an author's first book before he has got any great name; there is nothing to prepossess anyone in his favor, and by applauding his writings one does not court or flatter the great. Zelotes, you are not required to cry out: "This is a masterpiece; human intelligence never went farther; the human speech cannot soar higher; henceforward we will judge of no one's taste but by what he thinks of this book." Such exaggerated and offensive expressions are only employed by postulants for pensions or benefices and are even injurious to what is really commendable and what one wishes to praise. Why not merely say—"That's a good book?" It is true you say it when the whole of France has approved of it, and foreigners as well as your own countrymen, when it is printed all over Europe and has been translated into several languages, but then it is too late." ― Jean de La Bruyère

Little strokes fell great oaks. ~ Swiss Proverb

The devil hides himself in details. ~ Swiss Proverb

Big fish eat little fish. ~ Swiss Proverb

The apple does not fall far from the tree. ~ Swiss Proverb

Think first, start later. ~ Swiss Proverb

"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader." ― Margaret Fuller

"A great man is hard on himself; a small man is hard on others." ― Confucius

"Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized." ― Albert Einstein

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence." ― George Washington

<A tutor who taught on the flute,

tried to teach two young tooters to toot.

Said the two to the tutor,

"Is it harder to toot or,

to tutor two tooters to toot?">

The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1807-1882

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

"There are good ships, and there are wood ships, ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, and may they always be." – Anonymous

American flags left on the moon will eventually get bleached white by the sun.

While they are hibernating, bears do not urinate. Their bodies convert waste into protein.

"Be your own Sunshine. Always." ― Purvi Raniga

"Most promises featuring the word 'always' are unkeepable." ― John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed

"You should never say never. Just like you should never say always; because, always and never are always never true." ― J. R. Krol

"<Never and Always>

Never take advantage of someone whom loves you
Never avoid someone whom needs you
Never betray anyone whom has trust in you
Never forget the people that always remember you Never speak ill of a person who is not present
Never support something you know is wrong or unethical Always speak to your parents on their birthday and anniversary Always defend those who cannot defend themselves Always forgive those you love whom have made mistakes Always give something to those less fortunate than you Always remember to look back at those who helped you succeed Always call your parents and siblings on New Year's Eve." ― R.J. Intindola

Engineer Ralph Baer is often held to be the "father of video games." His "Brown Box" video game system, designed in 1967, paved the way for all future consoles.

"mãos frias, coração quente". In English, it means "a cold hand, a warm heart"

Drive sober or get pulled over.

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

"mais vale um passarinho na mão do que dois a voar"

Contrary to popular belief, the first video game was not Pong. It was preceded by Tennis for Two in 1958 and Spacewar! in 1962.

People believe what they want to believe, truth or not.

"Search for the grain of truth in other opinions." ― Richard Carlson

The Bear
~ Author Unknown ~

Here is a cave, (make a fist)
Inside is a bear. (put a thumb inside fist)
Now he comes out
To get some fresh air. (pop out thumb)
He stays out all summer
In sunshine and heat.
He hunts in the forest
For berries to eat. (move thumb in circle)
When snow starts to fall,
He hurries inside
His warm little cave,
And there he will hide. (put thumb back inside fist) Snow covers the cave
Like a fluffy white rug.
Inside the bear sleeps
All cozy and snug. (cover fist with other hand)

Old Russian Proverb:
Чему́ быть, того́ не минова́ть Pronunciation: ChiMU BYT', taVOH ni mihnoVAT' Translation: You can't avoid that which is meant to happen Meaning: Whatever shall be, will be.

"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.

James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

* Learn these and burn them! https://herculeschess.com/chess-tac...

* Tactics by a different Gary: https://chessdelights.com/chess-tac...

* Wicked Good: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes...

<Steinitz's Theory
1. At the beginning of the game, Black and White are equal.

2. The game will stay equal with correct play on both sides.

3. You can only win by your opponent's mistake.

4. Any attack launched in an equal position will not succeed, and the attacker will suffer.

5. You should not attack until an advantage is obtained.

6. When equal, do not seek to attack, but instead, try to secure an advantage.

7. Once you have an advantage, attack or you will lose it.>

InkHarted wrote:

Checkmate.
I started off as an equal
I have everything that they do
my life was one and the same as my foe
childish battles of lesser
I won baring cost of a little
but as time outgrew my conscience
I found that the pieces were moving against me
with time my company reduced
they left one by one
all in time forgetting me
my castles collapsed
my religion dissuaded
my protectors in hiding
I could not run anymore
I have been cornered to a wall
as the queen left silently
without saying goodbye
I could not live any longer
she was most precious to me
I could not win without her by my side
so the king knelt down and died.

"Everyone should know how to play chess." — José Raúl Capablanca

Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

'Finders keepers, losers weepers'
No, turn it over to Lost and Found.

Drive sober or get pulled over.

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

Once I asked Pillsbury whether he used any formula for castling. He said his rule was absolute and vital: castle because you will or because you must; but not because you can.' — W.E. Napier (1881-1952)

No Man Is An Island By John Donne
1624

John Donne (1572-1631) was an English poet whose time spent as a cleric in the Church of England often influenced the subjects of his poetry. In 1623, Donne suffered a nearly fatal illness, which inspired him to write a book of meditations on pain, health, and sickness called Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. "No Man is an Island" is a famous section of "Meditation XVII" from this book.

Modern Version
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Early Modern English Version
No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe
is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine
owne were; any mans death diminishes me,
because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend." ― Robert Louis Stevenson

"Friends and good manners will carry you where money won't go." ― Margaret Walker

"Life doesn't run away from nobody. Life runs at people." ― Joe Frazier

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." ― Xunzi

"There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." ― Will Rogers

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." ― Albert Einstein

"The wind cannot shake a mountain. Neither praise nor blame moves the wise man." ― Gautama Buddha

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." ― Henry Ford

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." ― Bill Cosby

"Failure is not the opposite of success; it's part of success." ― Arianna Huffington

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space." ― Johnny Cash

"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child." ― Marie Curie

"Perception precedes reality." ― Andy Warhol

"Always stand on principle even if you stand alone." ― John Adams

"Everyone who does not agree with me is a traitor and a scoundrel." ― King George III

"To disarm the people... was the best and most effectual way to enslave them." ― George Mason

"You know why there's a Second Amendment (to the Constitution)? In case the government fails to follow the first one." ― Rush Limbaugh

"Courage is the first virtue that makes all other virtues possible." ― Aristotle

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ― Edmund Burke

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." ― Maya Angelou

"Issue the orders, sir, and I will storm hell!" ― "Mad" Anthony Wayne

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president." ― Theodore Roosevelt

"Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom." ― Francis Bacon

"Discipline is wisdom and vice versa." ― M. Scott Peck

"It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly." ― Claude Monet

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." ― Pablo Picasso

"The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." ― Douglas MacArthur

"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." ― Isaac Newton

"We receive three educations: one from our parents, one from our school-masters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us." ― Baron de Montesquieu

"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone." ― Rose Kennedy

"Without a correct strategy the victory is impossible. But even the most correct strategy cannot give the victory under unfavorable objective conditions." ― Leon Trotsky

"If it can be solved, there's no need to worry, and if it can't be solved, worry is of no use." ― Dalai Lama

"Society will develop a new kind of servitude which covers the surface of society with a network of complicated rules, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate. It does not tyrannise but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd." ― Alexis de Tocqueville

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." ― Michelangelo

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" ―Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." ― Aristotle

"A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury." ― John Stuart Mill

"An injustice committed against anyone is a threat to everyone." ― Baron de Montesquieu

"Was not necessity the plea of every illegal exertion of power or exercise of oppression?...Necessity is the plea for very infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." ― William Pitt

"There is no justification for taking away individuals' freedom in the guise of public safety." ― Thomas Jefferson

"The plea of necessity, that eternal argument of all conspirators." ― William Henry Harrison

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." ― Winston Churchill

"A friend to all is a friend to none." ― Aristotle

I call

Bless Us, O Lord
Traditional Catholic Prayer

Bless us, O Lord,

And these Thy gifts

Which we are about to receive,

Through Thy bounty

Through Christ our Lord we pray.

<Sarah wrote:

checkmate
It's like we're playing chess.
Moving strategically, testing boundaries,
all while watching each other's expression.

We all know how this games ends…
The queen destroys you and steals your heart.>

According to Chessmetrics, 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

There are 16 FIDE member federations that are not members of the United Nations.

Some of them are countries that are part of larger nation states, like Scotland, Wales, and England in the United Kingdom. All three countries are separately part of FIDE, but are represented together in the United Nations.

Others, like Puerto Rico, are unincorporated territory of a larger nation state, but with a distinct culture, heritage, history, and chess federation.

"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

<Journey
by Sara Barkat, at age 12

The sails unfurl
the cries ring in the air,
the ship is on the waves of curls.

Ship rides o'er seas of pearl
while dragon rests in lair,
the sails unfurl.

Setting off to lands of kings and earls
the sailors eat some pears,
the ship is on the waves of curls.

One seaman's known to love a girl
one boy climbs up a mount, on dare,
the sails unfurl.

Some on the ship have seen Arur,
a family has a small pet bear,
the sails unfurl
the ship is on the waves of curls.>

You can't catch skunks with mice. ~ Canadian proverb

* Riddle-e-dee: https://chessimprover.com/chess-rid...

Racing Riddle:
If you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?

Fredthebear created this collection. The underhanded Chessgames operator hacked this collection, as is often the case.

Riddle Answer: You would be in the 2nd place. You thought first place, right? Well, you passed the guy in second place, not first.

‘May your Departures equal your Landfalls!'

*At some time or other tournament player learns a few opening lines, some tactical ideas, the most basic mating patterns, and a few elementary endgames. As he gets better and more experienced, he significantly adds to this knowledge. However, the one thing that just everybody has problem is planning. From Z to class E (under 1200) D to Master, I get blank stares when asking what plan they had in mind in a particular position. Usually the choice of a plan (if they had any plan at all) is based on emotional rather than chess-specific considerations. By emotional, I mean that the typical player does what he feels like doing rather than the board "telling him what to do. This is somewhat cryptic sentence leads us to the following extremely important concept: if you want to be successful, you have to base your moves and plans on the specific imbalance-oriented criteria that exist in that given position, not your mood, taste and/or feared. Literally every non-master's games are filled with examples of "imbalance avoidance". Beginners, of course, simply don't know what imbalances are. Most experienced players have heard of the term and perhaps even tried to make use of them from time to time, however once the rush of battle takes over, isolated moves and raw aggression (or terror, if you find yourself defending) push any and all thoughts of imbalances out the door. In this case, chess becomes empty move-by-move, threat-by-threat (either making them or responding to them) affair. What is this mysterious allusion of the chessboard's desires (i.e., doing what the chess board wants you to do)? What is this "imbalance-oriented criteria? ― How To Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman

"To a good listener, half a word is enough"
– Portuguese Proverb

I never thought I would live to see the day a GOTD was named in honor of chrisowen.

Jegar's comment was made to A Braun vs S Siebrecht, 2005, after it became GOTD using the pun <Braun Over Brain>. The genesis of the pun was evidently an uncharacteristically lucid comment <chrisowen> had made on December 27, 2009 that began <Sad case of Braun over brain.>

This episode, it seems, inspired <Jegar Sahadutha>. His aforementioned comment <I never thought I would live to see the day a GOTD was named in honor of chrisowen.> was the first and last "normal" one he has made.

Mar-12-23 Jegar Sahadutha: True — we shall not return to the heartland, for the heartland hath forsaken us. Rise! Rise, vaunted shipmen; your time is come, and with it sacral vestments. Slay the serpent, moor the ship; repast on all gifts divine. But in your exultation, may your heart hold fast; forsake not the heartland whence you came.

The Boy and the Schoolmaster

Wise counsel is not always wise,
As this my tale exemplifies.
A boy, that frolicked on the banks of Seine,
Fell in, and would have found a watery grave,
Had not that hand that plants never in vain
A willow planted there, his life to save.
While hanging by its branches as he might,
A certain sage preceptor came in sight;
To whom the urchin cried, "Save, or I'm drowned!" The master, turning gravely at the sound,
Thought proper for a while to stand aloof,
And give the boy some seasonable reproof.
"You little wretch! this comes of foolish playing, Commands and precepts disobeying.
A naughty rogue, no doubt, you are,
Who thus requite your parents" care.
Alas! their lot I pity much,
Whom fate condemns to watch over such."
This having coolly said, and more,
He pulled the drowning lad ashore.

This story hits more marks than you suppose.
All critics, pedants, men of endless prose, –
Three sorts, so richly blessed with progeny,
The house is blessed that does not lodge any, – May in it see themselves from head to toes.
No matter what the task,
Their precious tongues must teach;
Their help in need you ask,
You first must hear them preach.

"One more dance along the razor's edge finished. Almost dead yesterday, maybe dead tomorrow, but alive, gloriously alive, today." ― Robert Jordan, Lord of Chaos

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." ― Denis Waitley

Psalm 31:24
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

"The wind cannot defeat a tree with strong roots." — The Revenant

The Winds of Fate
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow.
Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales
Which tells us the way to go.
Like the winds of the seas are the ways of fate, As we voyage along through the life:
Tis the set of a soul
That decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

"Chess is life in miniature. Chess is a struggle, chess battles." — Garry Kasparov

"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.

"Don't blow your own trumpet." — Australian Proverb

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

"Continuing to play the victim is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Blaming others for your station in life will indeed make you a victim but the perpetrator will be your own self, not life or those around you." — Bobby Darnell

The Frogs Asking A King

A certain commonwealth aquatic,
Grown tired of order democratic,
By clamouring in the ears of Jove, effected
Its being to a monarch's power subjected.
Jove flung it down, at first, a king pacific.
Who nathless fell with such a splash terrific,
The marshy folks, a foolish race and timid,
Made breathless haste to get from him hid.
They dived into the mud beneath the water,
Or found among the reeds and rushes quarter.
And long it was they dared not see
The dreadful face of majesty,
Supposing that some monstrous frog
Had been sent down to rule the bog.
The king was really a log,
Whose gravity inspired with awe
The first that, from his hiding-place
Forth venturing, astonished, saw
The royal blockhead's face.
With trembling and with fear,
At last he drew quite near.
Another followed, and another yet,
Till quite a crowd at last were met;
Who, growing fast and strangely bolder,
Perched soon on the royal shoulder.
His gracious majesty kept still,
And let his people work their will.
Clack, clack! what din beset the ears of Jove?
"We want a king," the people said, "to move!"
The god straight sent them down a crane,
Who caught and slew them without measure,
And gulped their carcasses at pleasure;
Whereat the frogs more wofully complain.
"What! what!" great Jupiter replied;
"By your desires must I be tied?
Think you such government is bad?
You should have kept what first you had;
Which having blindly failed to do,
It had been prudent still for you
To let that former king suffice,
More meek and mild, if not so wise.
With this now make yourselves content,
Lest for your sins a worse be sent."

Fromper said:
<When my sister and I were kids, chess was one of several board games that our parents gave us. The set we had was one of those cheapy plastic sets with the instructions in the box top that didn't cover everything. That's how I learned how to move the pieces and what checkmate is, but it didn't cover things like castling, pawn promotion, en pessant, etc. I played a couple of times with that over the years, but never really seriously.

I became somewhat of a "gamer" in high school, back when D&D was big in the 80's. The concept that there were books on chess strategy and people took it so seriously always fascinated me, but I didn't know where to start in looking into it, so it was a little intimidating, too. So I never got around to looking into it seriously until I was an adult. One day, I played a casual game of chess against a friend, and it reminded me of my earlier curiousity. Wanting to make sure I knew all the rules of the game and learn something about the strategy, I checked a local used bookstore and found an old copy of "An Invitation to Chess" by Chernev and Harkness for under $2, which is pretty much the 1948 version of Chess for Dummies. I started playing on the internet, eventually joined USCF, and the rest is history. --Fromper >

Bears have a high IQ
Perhaps one of the lesser-known facts about bears is that they are among the most intelligent land animals in North America. They have the largest and most complex brains compared to other land mammals their size, and they rely on this brain for a number of behaviors.

For example, grizzly bears can remember hotspots for food even after ten years, and some have even been observed covering their tracks or hiding behind rocks and trees to avoid detection by hunters. Grizzly bears have also learned to camouflage their scent by rolling around in rotting flesh to sneak up on prey.

littleman said:
<I learned chess from an old chess book called Hoffers if i remember correctly because i asked my brother to teach me since he was the best at it my family and he just gave me a chess set travel one and that book and said here u go if u want to learn go for it and then i went from there played in a chess club 6mths later and of course got beaten a lot and i just kept learning from my mistakes and studying the game and playing against pc's and all that stuff u do to get better and that's basically it from my story anyway.>

Reference: https://www.bing.com/images/search?... and: Wikipedia article: Leopold Hoffer

Read <Leopold Hoffer's "Chess"> book for free w/your free sign-up: https://archive.org/details/chess00... Note: A lengthy explanation of the Giuoco Piano, Evans Gambit, Hungarian Defense and Two Knights Defense from pages 57-101. Each of these openings begins 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, the Italian Game. The Spanish Game/Ruy Lopez is also prominent. (FTB preferred to use the enlarged single page option/one rectangle on the lower right, and scroll down while reading.)

Two artists had an art contest. It ended in a draw.

FACTRETRIEVER: Gummy bears were originally called "dancing bears." Sea otters have the thickest fur of any mammal, at 1 million hairs per square inch.

Bigfoot was worried one of his feet looked wrong... because he knew they both couldn't be right.

Song of the Storm-Swept Plain
William D. Hodjkiss

The wind shrills forth
From the white cold North
Where the gates of the Storm-god are;
And ragged clouds,
Like mantling shrouds,
Engulf the last, dim star.

Through naked trees,
In low coulees,
The night-voice moans and sighs;
And sings of deep,
Warm cradled sleep,
With wind-crooned lullabies.

He stands alone
Where the storm's weird tone
In mocking swells;
And the snow-sharp breath
Of cruel Death
The tales of its coming tells.

The frightened plaint
Of his sheep sound faint
Then the choking wall of white—
Then is heard no more,
In the deep-toned roar,
Of the blinding, pathless night.

No light nor guide,
Save a mighty tide
Of mad fear drives him on;
‘Till his cold-numbed form
Grows strangely warm;
And the strength of his limbs is gone.

Through the storm and night
A strange, soft light
O'er the sleeping shepherd gleams;
And he hears the word
Of the Shepherd Lord
Called out from the bourne of dreams.

Come, leave the strife
Of your weary life;
Come unto Me and rest
From the night and cold,
To the sheltered fold,
By the hand of love caressed.

The storm shrieks on,
But its work is done—
A soul to its God has fled;
And the wild refrain
Of the wind-swept plain,
Sings requiem for the dead.

"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.

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

"To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?" — Queen Elizabeth II

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." ― Benjamin Franklin

Holy Idioms!

‘You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear'

The proverb 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear' means you can't create a fine product from inferior materials.

It originated in Scotland, according to its first recorded instance, in A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew (1699), by "B. E. Gent.":

Luggs, Ears: Hence to Lug by the Ears. Ye can ne make a Silk-Purse of a Sowe's Luggs, a Scotch Proverb. To Lug out, to draw a Sord.

In Female coercion, from the collection of poems Pansies (1929), the English novelist, poet and essayist David Herbert Lawrence (1885-1930) reversed the order of the clauses:

<If men only fought outwards into the world

women might be devoted and gentle.

The fight's got to go in some direction.

But when men turn Willy wet-legs

women start in to make changes;

only instead of changing things that might be changed

they want to change the man himself

and turn the poor silk glove into a lusty sow's ear.

And the poor Willy wet-legs, the soft silk gloves,

how they hate the women's efforts to turn them

into sow's ears!

The modern Circe-dom!>

"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

Z is for Zaccheus

Zaccheus was a wee little man,
And a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see.

And when the Savior passed that way
He looked up in the tree.
And he said, "Zaccheus, you come down!
For I'm going to your house today!
For I'm going to your house today!"

Zaccheus was a wee little man,
But a happy man was he.
For he had seen the Lord that day,
And a happy man was he.
And a very happy man was he!

Why did Adele cross the road?
To say hello from the other side!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQH...

Why did the clown cross the road?
To retrieve his rubber chicken.

Yttrium Y 39 88.9059 1.2