The various Black INDIAN defenses and move orders can be a mess to sort out.

This is GMVA's (no longer) recent opening repertoire with black pieces:

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 <French, Classical>

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 <French, Tarrasch, Closed Variation>

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 <Czech (Pribil) system>

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 or
1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 <Queen's Gambit Declined>

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 <Tarrasch Defense>

1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 <Czech system>

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4 <Wade Defense>

1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 <English Rat> The list above is mostly not included in this collection.

Cogito, ergo sum

"A passed pawn increases in strength as the number of pieces on the board diminishes." ― 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

"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

"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

"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.

"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 make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." ― Winston Churchill

"I spend hours playing chess because I find it so much fun. The day it stops being fun is the day I give up." ― Magnus Carlsen

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." ― Mark Twain

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." ― Eleanor Roosevelt

"I may not be where I want to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be." ― Joyce Meyer

"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

"More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity. It will steal you blind." ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

"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

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

"Chess is a constant learning process. You can always improve, no matter how good you are." — Magnus Carlsen

"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 prepares for next generation!" ― Susan Polgar

The team with the best players wins. ~ Jack Welch

"A rolling stone gathers no moss."

"Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come." — Robert H. Schuller

"Where there's a will, there's a way."

"Champions keep playing until they get it right." ― Billie Jean King

Bearly Thinking: https://www.etsy.com/listing/972054...

The thought crossed my gentle mind that CGs needs some additional avatar variance of figures like Emory and Andrew Tate, Tani Adewumi, James Black Jr., Ambakisye Osayaba, Tom "Murph" Murphy, and Pontus Carlsson, Taahir Levi, Praggy and Pentala Harikrishna, Nihal Sarin, Adhiban Baskaran, Manuel Aaron, and Juan Carlos González Zamora, María Teresa Mora Iturralde, Daniela De la Parra, Alejandra Guerrero Rodríguez, Azarya Jodi Setyaki, Medina Warda Aulia, Errol Tiwari, Elshan Moradiabadi, Joey Razo, Collette McGruder, Diamond Shakoor, Phiona Mutesi, Jessica Hyatt, Jean-Pierre and Koneru Humpy, Tania Sachdev, Rout Padmini and Hou Yifan and Zhao Xue, Medhat Moheb, Yao Ming and Awonder Liang, Jeffery Xiong and Liem Le, Li Chao and the like. Our avatars are rather lily silly; not everybody looks like Smith, Jones, Thomas, or Mikhail.

On the other hand, we definitely need some redheads too (Anna Rudolf, Isla Fisher, Jude Acers, Prince Harry, Ed Sheeran)!! I'd say at least a dozen redheads, some with and without beards. Some Canadians too!

Road apples

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

* Basic Rules: https://thechessworld.com/basic-che...

* Common Phrases and Terms: https://www.ragchess.com/chess-basi...

* Chess Step-by-Step: https://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-...

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

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

* 1.a4? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VI...

* 1.g4? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESt...

* 10 Best to Watch: https://www.chessjournal.com/best-c...

* 13 years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn-...

* 23 Opening Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-5...

* 30 Concepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amr...

* 50 Games to Know: https://en.chessbase.com/post/50-ga...

* Anderssen - Steinitz Match: Anderssen - Steinitz (1866)

* Art: Game Collection: Art of Checkmate

* Attack: Game Collection: Chess Secrets - Attackers (Crouch)

* Ataman's Minis: Game Collection: Instructive Chess Miniatures (Ataman)

* A07, B23-B25: Game Collection: Sicilian Closed / Grand Prix Attack

* 107 battles: Game Collection: 107 Great Chess Battles: 1939-45 Alekhine

* Best Games of 2018: Game Collection: Best Games of 2018

* Bearly Thinking: https://www.etsy.com/listing/972054...

* Beginning Chess: https://gambiter.com/chess/

* Post-Beginners Book: Game Collection: Chess training for post-beginners

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

* Center Game miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Checkmate patterns: Game Collection: Checkmate: Checkmate Patterns

* Chess in old newspapers: https://www.schach-chess.com/chess-...

* C53s: Game Collection: rajat21's italian game

* C-K Examples: Game Collection: Caro Kann Lines

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

* Del's: Game Collection: Del's hidden gems

* The Donner Party of Misery: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/che...

* Don't Steal: https://www.openbible.info/topics/s...

* 1.e4 e5 flavor flav: Game Collection: The Open Games: 1.e4 e5

* 21st Century: Game Collection: 21st Century Masterpieces - First decade (2000)

* French According to... Game Collection: The French According to ...

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

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

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

* Fischer Wins: Game Collection: Bobby Fischer Wins With The King's Indian Attack

* Fortress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3s...

* fran's favs: Game Collection: franskfranz's favorite games as white

* Free Chess Curriculum: https://www.chess.com/article/view/...

* Films: https://www.smarthousecreative.com/...

* Common Gambits Video: https://saintlouischessclub.org/blo...

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

https://archive.org/details/the-gol...

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

* Lasker's Manual: Game Collection: Manual of Chess (Lasker)

* Miniatures: Game Collection: 200 Miniature Games of Chess - Du Mont (III)

* Monday Puzzles: Game Collection: Monday Puzzles, 2011-2017

* Nunn's Chess Course: Game Collection: Lasker JNCC

* Pinch of... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU_...

* POTD 2023: Game Collection: Puzzle of the Day 2023

* Minority Attacks: Game Collection: Minority attack

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

* Brazilian nuts are good for you: Game Collection: 2...De7 !

* Nakhmanson Gambit: https://chesstier.com/nakhmanson-ga...

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

* Happy Days! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slv...

* Various miniatures: Game Collection: MINIATURES

* Bill Wall miniatures: Bill Wall

* Opening Ideas/Novelties: Game Collection: Great opening ideas

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

* Pawn themes: Game Collection: Aurora

* Quash the Queen's Hack Terrorist Attack 2.Qh5?! Game Collection: The Monticelli Trap

* Queen Pawn Games: Game Collection: ANIL RAJ.R'S QUEEN PAWN GAMES

* QGD: Game Collection: QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED

* Reasonable 1.d4 Repertoire: Game Collection: d4 repertoire for white

* Random: Game Collection: Random Stuff

* Read The Planet Greenpawn - https://www.redhotpawn.com/

* Results: https://chess-results.com/TurnierSu...

* RL Minis: Game Collection: Ruy Lopez Miniatures

* Queen vs Rook Ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJn...

* Simple EG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejj...

* GM Endgames: Game Collection: Grandmaster Preparation - Endgame Play

* Use your King: Game Collection: ABC Games for Lessons

* Sacs on f7/f2: Game Collection: Demolition of Pawn Structure: Sac on f7 (f2)

* Sports Clichés: http://www.sportscliche.com/

* Starting Out 1d4: Game Collection: Starting Out: 1 d4!

* She's a Stonewaller: Eneida Astolfi Perez

* GK Sicil: Game Collection: Kasparov - The Sicilian Sheveningen

* Extinguish the Dragon: Game Collection: 1.e4 explorations

* Sicilian styles: https://thechessworld.com/articles/...

* Santeramo's Sicilian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q8...

* Can you whip Taimanov's Sicilian? http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Bg2 vs Sicilian: Game Collection: Grand Prix Attack without early Bc4

* So True: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/gre...

* Sports Clichés: http://www.sportscliche.com/

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

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

* Top Games by Year: Wikipedia article: List of chess games

* Terminology: https://www.angelfire.com/games5/ch...

* That's a lot of counting: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/st...

* U12: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cTJB...

* Underpromotion to B or Hyena? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2JA5...

* Vienna 1903 KG games: Game Collection: Vienna 1903

* VP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncH...

* Wall's APCT Miniatures:
http://billwall.phpwebhosting.com/c...

* Six Ways: https://takelessons.com/blog/6-tips...

* Washington Square Park: https://greenwichvillagehistory.wor...

* Watch out: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FK1s...

* Wikipedia on Computer Chess: Wikipedia article: Computer chess

* Women: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/wom...

* 0ZeR0's Favs Vol 269: Game Collection: 0ZeR0's collected games volume 269

Кто не рискует, тот не пьет шампанского Pronunciation: KTOH ni risKUyet, tot ni pyot shamPANSkava) Translation: He who doesn't take risks doesn't drink champagne Meaning: Fortune favours the brave

"Tal has a terrifying style. Soon even grandmasters will know of this." - Vladimir Saigin (after losing to 17-year-old Tal in a qualifying match for the master title) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5S...

"I like to grasp the initiative and not give my opponent peace of mind." — Mikhail Tal

* 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!

"Chess can be described as the movement of pieces eating one another." — Marcel Duchamp

"Life is like a chess. If you lose your queen, you will probably lose the game." — Being Caballero

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

"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." — Ernest Hemingway

"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." ― Albert Einstein

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

"Chess is played with the mind and not with the hands." ― Renaud & Kahn

"Chess is a terrific way for kids to build self-image and self-esteem." ― Saudin Robovic

"In life, unlike chess the game continues after checkmate." ― Isaac Asimov

"When in doubt, don't." ― Benjamin Franklin

Alabama: Mobile
Established in: 1702

The city of Mobile is a port city on the Gulf Coast in Alabama that has a lot of French influence (which makes sense, since it was founded by the French). Mardi Gras celebrations originated there, and you can experience the history of the holiday at the Mobile Carnival Museum.

* Chess History: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ch...

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

* Short history: Game Collection: A history of chess

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

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

* Chess Timeline: https://wegochess.com/an-easy-to-re...

* Early chess history: https://www.peoriachess.com/Chess%2...

Picture History of Chess
by Fred Wilson

This classic photo-history offers up hundreds of photos of all the great players along with many outstanding adversaries who helped fashion the immortals. Excellent captions throughout. Hours of fascinating reading and a book I return to again and again. Many of these photos are quite old and hard to find, but collected here under one cover, in an oversized (10x12") format, printed on high-quality glossy paper.

Publisher‏: ‎ Dover Pubns; First Edition (January 1, 1981) Language: ‎ English
Paperback: ‎ 182 pages
ISBN-10: ‎ 0486238563
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0486238562
Item Weight: ‎ 1.23 pounds
Dimensions: ‎ 8.75 x 0.5 x 11.5 inches

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

Here's a poem a dad wrote:

<<ODE TO CHESS

Ten times I charged the grim, foreboding walls

and was pitched into the pit of defeat.

But, heedless of humiliating falls,

I clambered bravely back onto my feet

and charged again, again to be down thrust

onto the scrap heap of people who lose

onto the mound of mortifying dust

whilst my opponent sat without a bruise

upon his pedestal. We changed sides

and fought again, but I was defeated

whilst he with arrogant and haughty strides

took the throne upon which I had been seated.

Ha! Win or lose, it's how you play the game.

But I would like to beat him just the same.>>

It takes about eight minutes for light from the Sun to reach our planet.

Riddle Question: If you drop a yellow hat in the Red Sea, what does it become?

The Persian epic Explanation of Chatrang and the Invention of Nard tells the story of chess being introduced to the royal court by an envoy from India.

Riddle Answer: Wet, duh!

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, is the largest USA national park, covering 13,000 square miles or 13.2 million acres.

Ellison wrote:

Kamikaze
Two rows of a faceless infantry
fall into line;
I am their general
for this callous battle.

Overlords awaken;
their mirrored armies in meager shadow
to these giants that have played
the game of winning before.

The front rank advances slowly,
private by private; caressing the
battlefield as if never to return again.
The cavalry cry out into the night,
A horse's metallic neigh that pierces through
to the other side's defenses,
and the surrounding warriors join in for the hunt.

A piece for a piece;
The desperate deal is made
between the masters of their
horrified soldiers.
Do I dare repeat
such insidious acts within my fleet?

The crown shakes with fear,
for the opposing ranks are drawing near.
Towering higher than the castles upon the deck,
I make my way to the monarch in check;
Swords left littered across the field
as the fires of carnage have dwindled low,
but trampling through grief, groans, and woe,
The other side is forced to yield.

<Fundamental Chess Principles according to <<CJS Purdy>>

On Combinations

One simultaneous double threat is better than a great many successive single threats. That is the main lesson of chess. A double threat is a combination of two threats. (pg. 31)

A combination (threat plus restraint or threat plus obstruction) may be called a "net". It is the most important kind of combination because every mate, without exception, is a "net". (pg. 32)

Watch out for pieces of limited mobility, especially pieces without retreat. Remember that one retreat may not be enough. (pg. 32 / 33)

On Tied Pieces

An important rule for avoiding a trap is this:
Where feasible, avoid using a piece to defend something that is attacked. Either protect the attacked unit with a pawn or move it away. (pg. 34)

A knight is the worst defender because he cannot possibly maintain the defense if forced to move. (pg. 34)

The best protector is a pawn - for three reasons:

There is no possibility of it being attacked by a unit of lesser value; It is a complete defense against any piece bigger than the one attacked; above all, a menial task is suited to it, whereas a piece used for defending one particular thing is wasting its talents. (pg. 35)

If you must use pieces to protect something, perhaps because it cannot move away, try to use one more than necessary! You are then free to moe any one of the protectors; not a single one is absolutely tied to its defensive task. (pg. 35)

On Position Play

Position play is the art of improving your position in small ways when no sound combination is possible. (pg. 40)

One can say that an endgame has arrived when neither side has more pieces than the equivalent of Queen plus pawn (with of course, the Kings, who are always with us). (pg. 41)

Combinations are of primary importance, position play of secondary importance. (pg. 41)

Pages refer to where content can be found in Purdy's book "Guide to Good Chess". Posted by Chessbuzz>

* Weird is what you're not used to: https://chessentials.com/weird-ches...

limerick, entitled ‘The Solver's Plight' was by ‘A.J.F.' A.J. Fink and was published on page 22 of Chess Potpourri by Alfred C. Klahre (Middletown, 1931):

There was a man from Vancouver
Who tried to solve a two-mover;
But the boob, he said, ‘"Gee",
I can't find the "Kee",
No matter HOW I manouvre.'

<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.>

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), two out of three motorists will be involved in an injury accident during their life!

Drive sober or get pulled over.

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

Switch your pawn insurance to Promotion and you could save hundreds.

"There are more adventures on a chessboard than on all the seas of the world." ― Pierre Mac Orlan

"Chess is an infinitely complex game, which one can play in infinitely numerous & varied ways." ― Vladimir Kramnik

A GAME OF CHESS
by T S (Thomas Stearns) Eliot

The Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne, Glowed on the marble, where the glass
Held up by standards wrought with fruited vines From which a golden Cupidon peeped out 80 (Another hid his eyes behind his wing)
Doubled the flames of sevenbranched candelabra Reflecting light upon the table as
The glitter of her jewels rose to meet it,
From satin cases poured in rich profusion;
In vials of ivory and coloured glass
Unstoppered, lurked her strange synthetic perfumes, Unguent, powdered, or liquid— troubled, confused And drowned the sense in odours; stirred by the air That freshened from the window, these ascended 90 In fattening the prolonged candle-flames,
Flung their smoke into the laquearia,
Stirring the pattern on the coffered ceiling.

Huge sea-wood fed with copper
Burned green and orange, framed by the coloured stone, In which sad light a carved dolphin swam.

Above the antique mantel was displayed
As though a window gave upon the sylvan scene
The change of Philomel, by the barbarous king
So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale 100 Filled all the desert with inviolable voice
And still she cried, and still the world pursues, "Jug Jug" to dirty ears.

And other withered stumps of time
Were told upon the walls; staring forms
Leaned out, leaning, hushing the room enclosed.

Footsteps shuffled on the stair.

Under the firelight, under the brush, her hair Spread out in fiery points
Glowed into words, then would be savagely still. 110

"My nerves are bad to-night.
Yes, bad.
Stay with me.

"Speak to me.
Why do you never speak.
Speak.

"What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? "I never know what you are thinking.
Think.
"

I think we are in rats' alley
Where the dead men lost their bones.

"What is that noise?"
The wind under the door.

"What is that noise now? What is the wind doing?" Nothing again nothing. 120
"Do "You know nothing? Do you see nothing? Do you remember "Nothing?"

I remember
Those are pearls that were his eyes.

"Are you alive, or not? Is there nothing in your head?" But O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag—
It's so elegant
So intelligent 130 "What shall I do now? What shall I do?"
I shall rush out as I am, and walk the street
"With my hair down, so.
What shall we do to-morrow?
"What shall we ever do?"
The hot water at ten.

And if it rains, a closed car at four.

And we shall play a game of chess,
Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door.

When Lil's husband got demobbed, I said—
I didn't mince my words, I said to her myself, 140 HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
Now Albert's coming back, make yourself a bit smart.

He'll want to know what you done with that money he gave you To get yourself some teeth.
He did, I was there.

You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set, He said, I swear, I can't bear to look at you.

And no more can't I, I said, and think of poor Albert, He's been in the army four years, he wants a good time, And if you don't give it him, there's others will, I said.

Oh is there, she said.
Something o' that, I said.
150
Then I'll know who to thank, she said, and give me a straight look.

HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
If you don't like it you can get on with it, I said.

Others can pick and choose if you can't.

But if Albert makes off, it won't be for lack of telling.

You ought to be ashamed, I said, to look so antique.

(And her only thirty-one.
) I can't help it, she said, pulling a long face, It's them pills I took, to bring it off, she said.

(She's had five already, and nearly died of young George. ) 160
The chemist said it would be alright, but I've never been the same.

You are a proper fool, I said.

Well, if Albert won't leave you alone, there it is, I said, What you get married for if you don't want children? HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
Well, that Sunday Albert was home, they had a hot gammon, And they asked me in to dinner, to get the beauty of it hot— HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
Goonight Bill.
Goonight Lou.
Goonight May.
Goonight.
170
Ta ta.
Goonight.
Goonight.

Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night.

"In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else. For whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and opening must be studied in relation to the end game." ― Jose Raul Capablanca

"I always play carefully and try to avoid unnecessary risks. I consider my method to be right as any superfluous ‘daring' runs counter to the essential character of chess, which is not a gamble but a purely intellectual combat conducted in accordance with the exact rules of logic." ― Jose Raul Capablanca

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.

<Cheyenne Prayer for Peace Let us know peace.
For as long as the moon shall rise,
For as long as the rivers shall flow,
For as long as the sun shall shine,
For as long as the grass shall grow,
Let us know peace.

— Cheyenne Prayer>

"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.

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

In God we trust; all others pay cash. ~ American Proverb

The Man and the Flea

Impertinent, we tease and weary Heaven
With prayers which would insult mere mortals even. "Twould seem that not a god in all the skies
From our affairs must ever turn his eyes,
And that the smallest of our race
Could hardly eat, or wash his face,
Without, like Greece and Troy for ten years' space, Embroiling all Olympus in the case.

A flea some blockhead's shoulder bit,
And then his clothes refused to quit.
"O Hercules," he cried, "you ought to purge
This world of this far worse than hydra scourge! O Jupiter, what are your bolts about,
They do not put these foes of mine to rout?"

To crush a flea, this fellow's fingers under,
The gods must lend the fool their club and thunder! This collection compiled by Fredthebear

<Amanda Kay wrote:

Checkmate
You were my knight
Shining armor
Chess board was our home
Queen's fondness you garnered
A kiss sweeter than honeycomb>

'A stitch in time saves nine'

"My guiding principles in life are to be honest, genuine, thoughtful and caring." ― Prince William

<<Romans 8:38-39> For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.>

"It is atheism and blasphemy to dispute what God can do: good Christians content themselves with His will revealed in His Word." ― King James I

"Friend, you don't have to earn God's love or try harder. You're precious in His sight, covered by the priceless blood of Jesus, and indwelt by His Holy Spirit. Don't hide your heart or fear you're not good enough for Him to care for you. Accept His love, obey Him, and allow Him to keep you in His wonderful freedom." — Charles F. Stanley

<<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.>

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

"He examined the chess problem and set out the pieces. It was a tricky ending, involving a couple of knights. 'White to play and mate in two moves.'
Winston looked up at the portrait of Big Brother. White always mates, he thought with a sort of cloudy mysticism. Always, without exception, it is so arranged. In no chess problem since the beginning of the world has black ever won. Did it not symbolize the eternal, unvarying triumph of Good over Evil? The huge face gazed back at him, full of calm power. White always mates." ― George Orwell, 1984

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." ― Yogi Berra, 10-time World Series champion

<<Psalm 27:1> The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?>

"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

<<Proverbs 12:1 > Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.>

Snow White & the Huntsman by Evan Daugherty

"Who will you be when faced with the end?
The end of a kingdom,
The end of good men,
Will you run?
Will you hide?
Or will you hunt down evil with a venomous pride?

Rise to the ashes,
Rise to the winter sky,
Rise to the calling,
Make heard the battle cry.
Let it scream from the mountains
From the forest to the chapel,
Because death is a hungry mouth
And you are the apple.

So who will you be when faced with the end?
When the vultures are circling
And the shadows descend
Will you cower?
Or will you fight?
Is your heart made of glass?
Or a pure Snow White?"
― Lily Blake, Snow White & the Huntsman

Apr-21-23 GonzaloCalvoPerez: My name is Gonzalo Calvo Pérez. I am Ricardo Calvo's son. There are a number of things that have to be said here, in order to honour truth and the legacy of my father: 1- There is obviously not a hint of racism in the article by my late father, as anyone can check, which proves the corrupt behaviour of FIDE, and the illegitimacy of the declaration of persona non grata. In this point I would be happier if the present FIDE responsibles were brave enough to acknowledge this, and to restore his public image, and therefore FIDE's honour.

2- My father always fought against corruption, both in chess and in medicine, as well as in politics (in the 80s he was not only the delegate of Kasparov for Spain and South America, but also the responsible of the international section of the spanish journal El Independiente), and there is an important information that should be known. My father, as medical doctor and chess expert, conducted the first real-time medical survey of chess players. He was the first person to scientifically measure the extreme levels of stress in the human body while playing chess. I know he made a film documentary on this, that received an international prize, in Switzerland, I think. -If anyone knows how to find a copy of it, and publish it in YouTube, it would be cool!- Also, before passing, he suggested that during Cold War doping with amphetamines was common at top-level competition, that it was implemented by political decisions, and that he had direct evidence and knowledge of it. This is obviously the main reason why he was, and still is, attacked by FIDE and others, even after almost 20 years of his passing. The context of Cold War, and the career of Bobby Fischer, among others, must be relativised under this light. Other games with societal/political relevance, such as football/soccer, are also clearly corrupted by doping, and we never have notice of any scandal about it, which is a clear indicator of a wider conspiracy, as anyone can understand.

3- The greatest discovery my father made, and he should be recognized for it, was that modern chess was invented in medieval Valencia. He dedicated the last decades of his life to perform what has probably been the deepest research ever made not only on the History of chess, but also on other aspects of the pure game itself, including complex geometrical studies on the abstract movements of the pieces, etc..

4- As a medical doctor, when he worked in the spanish Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Sanidad), he was responsible for prohibiting a list of more than 300 medicines. These medicines were proven more harmful than beneficial to patients. Of course, the powerful international pharmaceutical lobby never forgot it. And linked to that corrupt lobby are/were other corrupt institutions, including the CIA, the KGB, and, of course, the FIDE.

As we say in Spain: Truth hurts, but it does not offend.

A final truth that should be mentioned more often is that chess itself also has downsides. It develops intelligence, but it does it towards a mentality of war. Therefore, it harms the minds of players, just as war does. War between human beings is the greatest of all evils, so it should avoided. Games of collaboration exist. Why not play them more instead?

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.

<<Alireza Firouzja> (Persian: علی‌رضا فیروزجا, Persian pronunciation: æliːɾeˈzɑː fiːɾuːzˈdʒɑː; born 18 June 2003) is an Iranian and French chess grandmaster. Firouzja is the youngest ever 2800-rated player, beating the previous record set by Magnus Carlsen by more than five months.

A chess prodigy, Firouzja won the Iranian Chess Championship at age 12 and earned the Grandmaster title at 14. At 16, Firouzja became the second youngest 2700-rated player and won a silver medal at the 2019 World Rapid Chess Championship. In November 2021, at 18, he won the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament and an individual gold medal at the European Team Chess Championship. He won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Blitz Chess Championship. In 2022, Firouzja won the Grand Chess Tour.

Firouzja left the Iranian Chess Federation in 2019 because of the country's longstanding policy against competing with Israeli players.4 He played under the FIDE flag until mid-2021, when he became a French citizen and began representing France, where he had already been living.> — Wikipedia

The 20-40-40 rule in chess is a rule for players rated below 2000 that states 20% of your study should be dedicated to openings, 40% to the middlegame, and 40% to the endgame.

Feb-02-21 fisayo123: As can be seen, the chessgames.com database is not the end all and be all database for "vs" matchups. In fact, its known for not really being as complete as some other game databases, especially for modern era games. https://2700chess.com/

Proverbs 14:29-35

29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered * exalts folly.

30 A tranquil heart is life to the body, But passion is rottenness to the bones.

31 He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

32 The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing, But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.

33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, But in the hearts of fools it is made known.

34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.

35 The king's favor is toward a servant who acts wisely, But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.

Lichess has all the same basic offerings as Chess.com: a large community, many game types, tutorials, puzzles, and livestreams. The site has a simple appearance, and it seems built to get you where you want to go in as few clicks as possible. You can create an account, but if you're not concerned with tracking your games and finding other players at your level, there's no need to log in. Just fire up a new game, try some puzzles, or watch a chess streamer play three-minute games while listening to techno and chatting with the comments section.

"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

"Thirty Days Hath September" Lyrics

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone.
Which only has but twenty-eight days clear
And twenty-nine in each leap year.

wordputty:
R18 Editor Steinitz perjury iz worse than danidze surgery becuz an op fixes yu up. 04wks Z Darko perilous skiz rbought thndrstrmz to Istanbul.

"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

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ― Howard Thurman

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

Z is for Zookeeper (to the tune of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?")

Oh do you know the zookeeper,
The zookeeper, the zookeeper?
Oh, do you know the zookeeper
Who works down at the zoo?

* 2024 was a lousy year for traditional CM: https://countrynow.com/top-10-count...

* Luke Combs crossover remake of his favorite song growing up (Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car") was THE duo performance of the year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_B...

* Reaction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U8...

Q: Why did the cow cross the road?
A: To get to the udder side.