London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, with residents speaking over 300 languages and made up of almost every known ethnic group on the planet.

London is the only city in the world that has hosted the Olympics three times – in 1908, 1948 and most recently in 2012.

Over 10,000 foxes live in London.

The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square has been a gift from Norway since 1947.

Great Ormond Street Hospital owns the copyright to Peter Pan.

London is among the oldest of the world's great cities, with a history spanning nearly two millennia.

London is Britain's largest metropolis, and is also the country's economic, transportation, and cultural centre.

* Nigel Davies' DVD on the London System: Game Collection: X Games from N. Davies "London-System" DVD

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0Eme...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t7YN...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ltu2...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIw...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dks...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftA...

* Attack w/the London System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmq...

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9Q...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwi...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sw...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ-...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcf...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1T...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZf...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgQ...

* London System vs KID: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU2...

* Rosen's London System vs KID: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W2...

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g1...

* Anti-London System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUB...

* Beat the London System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U-...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P6Ix...

* Bombs away: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sgOf...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Bofe...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bv21...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xl_t...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jN1a...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NH9F...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C0W8...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/G3BD...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BqmE...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PVG0...

* Crush the London System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qg...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YteL...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dKI4...

* Fundamentals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao9...

* GM favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgN...

* London System Traps & Miniatures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTu...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4b9F...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M072...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EB-C...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zfja...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OpaM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kykr...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMM...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lm...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9t...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DLtV...

* Beginner Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR-...

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5b...

* BoteZ receiving instruction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VII...

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG-...

* Bad Gambit for Black: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1c...

* Don't Blunder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jO...

* Doctor J makin' house calls: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mkgx...

* Blunder Less: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYy...

* Ichiro, Pete, & Gronk: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/q1CF...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YcV_...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5GHu...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PSYd...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iYQA...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/loFI...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gD5Z...

* H2P the Opening by principles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0d...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TcFu...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPI...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiT...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECM...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/z-Ga...

* Positional Chess: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM2...

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0O...
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-K...

* She aint paying attention to the word: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7UwL...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5uDv...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/COUv...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KFWu...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iKmP...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/APSj...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VMiD...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K-Yp...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_51Q...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bViA...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HI-V...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fgnp...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9XoN...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vUCC...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-ZT6...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/h4jR...

* She never: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uUS-...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/61Kn...
- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/alv8...

* London Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bU...

* GM Naroditsky's Speed Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzf...

* The Tomb Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5b...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/V0dF...

* Enders: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QQ69...

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CgP4...

* Z agadmator's lectures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GED...

This queen pawn system featuring Bf4 (leaving the b2-pawn undefended) gives White a slow, easy developmental start. The Bf4 games typically do not produce smashing miniatures in 25 moves or less. The Bf4 generates a safe, solid but slightly passive position; games are more strategical in nature, less tactical (tactics can break out at any time in any opening) so plenty of chess playing experience is not only helpful but necessary. (Rapid development is important, but simply setting minor pieces on certain squares does not win a game of chess!)

The Sarratt Attack/London System functions fairly well against the Indian defenses as well as classical d5, e6 defenses. It's not so hot against the Dutch Defense, but it's playable. Just be aware that any White opening that refrains from placing two pawns in the center along the fourth rank gives Black great leeway for a wide selection of defenses. After Bf4, White is allowing Black the liberty to paint tiger stripes and pin donkey tails on a skunk if s/he wishes!

Note that the Barry Attack places a Nc3 blocking the c2-pawn, whereas the Sarratt Attack 2.Bf4 and London System 3.Bf4 place a pawn on c3 (or c4). Some games in the database are occasionally miss-categorized (which occurs in all opening variations).

The Torre Attack 2.Nf3 3.Bg5 and the Richter-Veresov Attack 2.Nc3 3.Bg5 are more aggressive than the Bf4 openings above. Unfortunately, the Torre Attack does not work so well if Black refrains from an early e6 or g6. The Richter-Veresov Attack yearns to play e4 and more closely resembles 1.e4 openings, often transposing against a French, Caro-Kann, Pirc or Nimzowitsch defense. These two Bg5 White openings require more theoretical knowledge and are not included in this collection.

Personally, Fredthebear recommends 1.e4 lines, gambits, the King's Indian Attack, or 1.d4 Colle Systems for beginners and intermediates. Such openings strive for some type of specific central pawn advance or exchange to clarify the strategic aims. Their "built-in" pawn thrust plans might generate a more clear-cut approach in the early middle game that is easier for the amateur player to conduct.

It's best to learn any new opening off a professionally produced video and chess repertoire book (books cover way more ground than videos) AFTER you've replayed a 50-100 master games in a particular new opening and have decided you want to commit to studying it more in depth. Notice that nothing was said about you playing the opening...but you have watched OTHERS play the opening many times to get a feel for it through their handling! Human beings learn most by imitating others. Then let the published author give his/her expertise to show you the way for specific situations that will arise. Most good repertoire books have an opening index in the back that can be rehearsed for quick familiarization as to different branches.

If you're going to play the Sarratt Attack anyway, you'd better read this (and set out a glass of milk and a plate of cookies for ol' FTB): https://www.chesspublishing.com/con...

-- Fredthebear

Rudiv wrote:
Combining the London System, Barry Attack, Tarzan Attack, and Veresov with Bf4. Personally, I recommend starting 1.d4 and 2.Bf4, which allows for maximum flexibility.

Good books on the London and related lines with Bf4 include:

--Sverre Johnsen and Vlatko Kovacevic, Win with the London System (Gambit 2007, 2010). A really excellent guide to playing the London in an aggressive way as White. However, this is not a complete repertoire.

--Cyrus Lakdawala, Play the London System (Everyman 2010). A complete d4 repertoire built around the London system, which is a lot more consistent than Lane's repertoire and full of interesting ideas. Many games are not available in databases (some are blitz games of the author's).

--Marcus Schmuecker, The London System (123Chess 2009). Originally in German. An English translation appears to be posted online. Offers very thorough coverage of the opening, including minor lines.

--Gary Lane, Ideas Behind the Chess Openings (Batsford 2003). Useful more as a repertoire guide than for analysis as the games are full of errors by Black. But I like that it covers the Barry Attack and the 150 Attack vs. the Pirc, which make a great fit with the London repertoire.

--Mark van der Werf, "Bishops First: 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4" in SOS #5 (New in Chess 2006): 98-106. This article offers interesting suggestions for starting via this move order, including 2...c5 3.e4!?

--Arthur Kogan, "The Tarzan Attack" in SOS #6 (New in Chess 2007): 51-58. A complete analysis of 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.Qd2!? which may represent an improvement over the Barry Attack with 5.e3.

--Aaron Summerscale and Sverre Johnsen, A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire, enlarged edition (Gambit 2010). Summerscale's original 1999 book is where most players learned the Barry Attack. Parts of the repertoire might also work with the London system, as Lane shows.

--Richard Palliser, Starting Out: d-Pawn Attacks: The Colle-Zukertort, Barry and 150 Attacks (Everyman 2008). This book offered an update to Summerscale's then out-of-print repertoire, until Sverre Johnsen came along to update and enlarge the "Killer" repertoire book. Palliser covers the Tarzan Attack but otherwise follows Summerscale.

--Jimmy Liew, The Veresov, Move by Move (Everyman 2015). The first Veresov book I know to discuss the lines with Bf4 played by Jobava and Rapport.

-- Geza Maroczy, London 1922, 21st Century Edition (Russell Enterprises 2009). It's always fun to go back to the source. Many of Maroczy's annotations can be found right here at Chessgames.com, but the book is still nice. Game Collection: London 1922 London (1922)

-- Eric Prie, "No-one Knows the Neo-London." New in Chess Yearbook 83 (2007): 222-230. Discusses the range of possibilities for both players following 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5, starting with the game Van der Werf - Krudde, Netherlands 2006-2007.

--Alon Greenfeld, "What Do You Do with an Extra Tempo?" New in Chess Yearbook 78 (2006): 216-222. Focuses mostly on 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.e4!?

"Si vis pacem, para bellum" ― Cicero

"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

"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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The Bat and the Two Weasels

A blundering bat once stuck her head
Into a wakeful weasel's bed;
Whereat the mistress of the house,
A deadly foe of rats and mice,
Was making ready in a trice
To eat the stranger as a mouse.
"What! do you dare," she said, "to creep in
The very bed I sometimes sleep in,
Now, after all the provocation
I have suffered from your thievish nation?
Are you not really a mouse,
That gnawing pest of every house,
Your special aim to do the cheese ill?
Ay, that you are, or I'm no weasel."
"I beg your pardon," said the bat;
"My kind is very far from that.
What! I a mouse! Who told you such a lie?
Why, ma'am, I am a bird;
And, if you doubt my word,
Just see the wings with which I fly.
Long live the mice that cleave the sky!"
These reasons had so fair a show,
The weasel let the creature go.

By some strange fancy led,
The same wise blunderhead,
But two or three days later,
Had chosen for her rest
Another weasel's nest,
This last, of birds a special hater.
New peril brought this step absurd;
Without a moment's thought or puzzle,
Dame weasel oped her peaked muzzle
To eat the intruder as a bird.
"Hold! do not wrong me," cried the bat;
"I'm truly no such thing as that.
Your eyesight strange conclusions gathers.
What makes a bird, I pray? Its feathers.
I'm cousin of the mice and rats.
Great Jupiter confound the cats!"
The bat, by such adroit replying,
Twice saved herself from dying.

And many a human stranger
Thus turns his coat in danger;
And sings, as suits, wherever he goes,
"God save the king!" – or "save his foes!'

<Atterdag: Geoff - are you a descendant of Wordsworth?: There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, The earth, and every common sight, To me did seem
Apparell'd in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;—
Turn wheresoe'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more. :-)

Sally Simpson: Hi Atterdag,
This is my tribute to Wordsworth. (Daffodils.)

I wandered lonely as a pawn,
o'er a field coloured brown and cream,
When suddenly I ran out of squares
and discovered I was now a Queen.>

"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 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?

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Isolated pawns require a very expensive therapy, for keeping them alive.

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.

* 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.'>

Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, approximately 3000 miles (4850 km) in diameter, hardly larger than the moon. Despite being the smallest, it's extremely dense. In fact, it's the second densest planet after Earth. It's also the closest planet to the sun, making it dangerous to explore. Mercury is 48 million miles from the earth.

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.

"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 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?

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