"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." — Aristotle

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." — Lao Tzu

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." — Albert Einstein

"You have enemies? Good; that means you have stood up for something, sometime in your life." — Winston Churchill

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." — Plato

"Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it comes and sits softly on your shoulder." — Henry David Thoreau

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." — Ellen Goodman

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow." — Ancient Chinese Proverb

<Voyage of the Heart
A voyage not just of maps and charts,
But a journey of the heart.
Where every wave and every tide,
Brings stories of the ocean wide.>

"There is no jewel in the world comparable to learning; no learning so excellent both for Prince and subject, as knowledge of laws; and no knowledge of any laws so necessary for all estates and for all causes, concerning goods, lands or life, as the common laws of England." ― Sir Edward Coke

"Without integrity and honor, having everything means nothing." ― Robin Sharma

"I am no longer cursed by poverty because I took possession of my own mind, and that mind has yielded me every material thing I want, and much more than I need. But this power of mind is a universal one, available to the humblest person as it is to the greatest." ― Andrew Carnegie

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

"We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us." ― Winston S. Churchill

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ― Edmund Burke was an Irish statesman, philosopher, and writer who lived from 1729 to 1797

"It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters." ― Edmund Burke was an Irish statesman, philosopher, and writer who lived from 1729 to 1797

"If you're playing with the best, you just rise up to that level." ― Tony Goldwyn

"There is nothing that disgusts a man like getting beaten at chess by a woman." ― Charles Dudley Warner

"No one ever won a chess game by betting on each move. Sometimes you have to move backward to get a step forward." ― Amar Gopal Bose

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well." ― Jack London

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." ― Jesus Christ

"Life is like a game in which God shuffles the cards, the devil deals them and we have to play the trumps." ― Yugoslavian Proverb

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages." ― William Shakespeare

"In life, as in chess, forethought wins." ― Charles Buxton

"I consider myself to be a genius who happens to play chess." ― Bobby Fischer

"Help (ALL) your pieces help you." ― Paul Morphy (That means no sleeping pieces on original back row squares, and don't make so many slow pawn moves that leave behind weak squares easily penetrated.)

"If you don't know what to do, find your worst piece and look for a better square." ― Gerald Schwarz

- Ask yourself "Which army is better off if the queens come off the board?" It might be time to simplify, trade off like pieces to enter the endgame (or avoid such trades when down material) and then activate thy king as a fighting piece.

"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.

"You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas." ― Stanley Kubrick

Always do a blunder check before you move. Many a good threatening move that seemed forcing has been counterattacked, negated. Did that move set a pin? Can it be counter pinned? What squares were left behind now unprotected?

"The best way to get a feeling for your pieces is to talk to them. Before you make a move, just ask each piece how happy it is. The one which is most unhappy you will improve, until every piece you have is happy." ― chess coach for GM Noël Studer, then age 10.

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

"What we play is life." ― Louis Armstrong

Sea of Dreams
On waves of dreams, sailors ride,
With hopes as vast as the ocean wide.
Each journey unique, a tale to tell,
In the heart of the sea, where wonders dwell.

"As long as I can focus on enjoying what I'm doing, having fun, I know I'll play well." ― Steffi Graf

"Capablanca was among the greatest of chess players, but not because of his endgame. His trick was to keep his openings simple, and then play with such brilliance in the middlegame that the game was decided - even though his opponent didn't always know it - before they arrived at the ending." ― Robert J. Fischer

"The ideal in chess can only be a collective image, but in my opinion it is Capablanca who most closely approaches this... His book was the first chess book that I studied from cover to cover. Of course, his ideas influenced me." ― Anatoly Karpov

"With his death, we have lost a very great chess genius who's like we shall never see again." ― Alexander Alekhine (on Capablanca)

"Alekhine was the rock-thrower, Capablanca the man who made it all seem easy." ― Hans Ree

Fig trees eat wasps by forcing them inside the fruit. A fig tree tricks a certain species of wasps to pollinate it, sending it down a small passage in the fruit where its wings are ripped off, after which it is digested by enzymes. 73YDM&t=3s

* Introduction: Wikipedia article: Torre Attack

* 90 second video, no analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoZ... Of course, video makes matters seem easier than they really are.

* Follow Good Directions: https://chesspathways.com/chess-ope...

* Torre Attack: Classical Defense, Nimzowitsch Variation, 4.Bh4 g5 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 h6 4.Bh4 g5

* Read, don't purchase: https://thechessworld.com/articles/...

* Read this too: https://thechessworld.com/articles/...

* Meet Harry the h-pawn? https://en.chessbase.com/post/becom...

* The NID: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRZ...

* What else is there? https://github.com/Destaq/chess_gra...

* En passant: Wikipedia article: En passant

* He would dominate today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf0...

* Internet tracking: https://www.studysmarter.us/magazin...

* Lock out opposing pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enC...

* Petar Trifunović (31 August 1910 – 8 December 1980) was a five-time Yugoslav champion: https://players.chessbase.com/en/pl...

* Pirc Defense, Byrne: Game Collection: Pirc Defence - Byrne Variation

* Fool's Mate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oR...

* 1st Chess Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVp...

* 1st Chess Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuw...

* 1st Chess Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIM...

* Smith-Morra Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOZ...

* Two Great Attackers: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/che...

* Ladder Checkmate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXz...

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

* Amazing talent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2V...

* Analog clocks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZY...

* A10 King Hunt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H0...

* Opening Tactics 4B: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJS...

* Top 3 Easiest Endgames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbP...

* Top 5 En Passant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWA...

* Ten famous checkmates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z-...

* Top 10 plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxB...

* 12-year-old PM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhG...

* 15-year-old BF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jc...

* 15 facts? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVg...

* Vienna 1903 KG games: Game Collection: Vienna 1903

* One of Pandolfini's Best: Game Collection: Solitaire Chess by Bruce Pandolfini

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

* Beauty Prize: Game Collection: Les Prix de Beauté aux Echecs (I)

* Bishop pair checkmate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPY...

* Bad Bishops: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7w...

* Bad habits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubu...

* Body language: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0fUg...

* Brutal Attacking Chess: Game Collection: Brutal Attacking Chess

* Brilliancies: Game Collection: brilliacies

* CG Biography: Aryan Tari

* Radmilla Cody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu2...

* Chessmaster Games: Game Collection: Chessmaster '86

* C11 French, Steinitz, Boleslavsky variation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUO...

* C53s: Game Collection: rajat21's italian game

* Italian Games: Game Collection: Italian Game

* Italian, Giuoco Piano by Alexander Petroff (not his Russian Game): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhL...

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

* Cross-check: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih6...

* Crush the Sicilian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jf...

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

* C21-C22 miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Danish Gambits: Game Collection: Danish Gambit Games 1-0

* Dance partner: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HpPP...

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

* Don't forget...? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAi...

* DYI bubbles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGT...

* Elo Rating System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLX...

* Everything? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igd...

* Fastest checkmates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMe...

* It's a Fake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz2...

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

* Aggressive Gambits: https://thechessworld.com/articles/...

* Against strange openings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3p...

* Game changer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKL...

* Hans On French: Game Collection: French Defense

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

* How to play by the rules: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydn...

* How to play chess! http://www.serverchess.com/play.htm...

* How to play your first moves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mb...

* How to play the center fork trick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms4...

* How to castle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dL...

* How to play against the Vienna Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVS...

* How to find tactics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4c...

* How to attack the Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liq...

* How to play touch-move OTB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPM...

* How to trap pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaz...

* How to beat the London system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DU...

* How to simplify: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fk...

* How to blunder less: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tis...

* How to break out of jail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gs...

* How to defend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIq...

* How to draw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neb...

* How to draw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDg...

* How to play the C-K: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE5...

* How to calculate deeper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaU...

* How to create a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMu...

* How to exchange sacrifice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYG...

* How to convert EG advantages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91L...

* How dumb is it? Game Collection: Diemer-Duhm Gambit

* How to play the Englund Gambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCK...

* How to spot Knight forks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB6...

* How to play fast chess reasonably: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xi...

* How to play the French Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6b...

* How to combine your pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyj...

* How Fischer beat the French Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr5...

* How to give back material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYd...

* How to play the Kitchen Sink Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qky...

* How to surprise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzq...

* How to play the Scandinavian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMS...

* How to trick 'em: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtR...

* How to win: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_z...

* How to win in 12 moves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP7...

* How to lose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpL...

* How to squeeze like Karpov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eM...

* How high? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M2...

* 1.h4?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mva...

* h-file attacks: Game Collection: h-file Attacks, some Greek Gifts by Fredthebear

* Humans are smarter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d42...

* Imagination: Game Collection: Imagination in Chess

* Immortal Games: Game Collection: Immortal games

* Javed's way: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...

* Just appetizers, fighter jets: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YiQv...

* Kostya Tszyu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0n...

* King to King: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5R...

* King's Indian Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr5...

* King Pawn Theory and Practice: Game Collection: Chess Openings: Theory and Practice, Section 1

* Surprise Knockouts: Game Collection: quick knockouts of greats

* King's Gambit start-up: Game Collection: Batsford's MCO 14 King's Gambit

* King Bishop's Gambit: Game Collection: rajat21's kings gambit

* KG Video: Game Collection: Foxy Openings - King's Gambit

* GM Gallagher is an author:
Game Collection: 0

* Uncommon KP Gambits: Game Collection: Unusual Gambits

* Volo plays the KP faithfully: Volodymyr Onyshchuk

* List of records: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/record...

* Loser: User: ljfyffe

* Same Loser: User: Larryfyffe

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

* The Lion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgI...

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

* Lasker-Pelikan: https://www.expert-chess-strategies... The Sveshnikov Sicilian is a popular chess variation of the Sicilian Defense and starts as follows: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 This variation was originally called the Lasker-Pelikan Variation but was researched and revitalized from Evgeny Sveshnikov and Gennadi Timoshchenko and is now named after Sveshnikov.

* Mona Lisa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJi...

* Nelson Mandela: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj0...

* Collection assembled by Fredthebear.

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

* Mosquitoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKu...

* Most common tactic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgA...

* Magic rubbers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=001...

* Masaka kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRm...

* Mountain Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st9...

* Names and Places: Game Collection: Named Mates

* Nuremberg 1896: Nuremberg (1896)

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

* NM Alice Lee's palace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO5...

* New 7 wonders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcH...

* No more fraction confusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hG...

* Opening Traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZm...

* Old P-K4 Miniatures: Game Collection: Games for Classes

* Top 5 Attacking Principles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9v... me part of my chess flesh and blood. - Tigran Petrosian

* Become a Predator at the Chessboard: https://www.chesstactics.org/

* Predator On-line: https://www.bustedmugshots.com/ohio...

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

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

* Popeye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCZ...

* Poisoned Pawn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGV...

* Ponziani Games: Game Collection: PONZIANI OPENING

* Pawn Promotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGI...

* Pressure Points: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnh...

* Queen puzzles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfQ...

* Chess Records: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/record...

* Reach 1800: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrK...

* Katar's Repertoire: Game Collection: An Opium Repertoire for White

* 5 Ruy Lopez traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG_...

* RL Minis: Game Collection: Ruy Lopez Miniatures

* Rook endgame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkM...

* Kasparov talks Strategy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l_...

* Smothered Mate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxJ...

* Sacrificing your bishop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_t...

<Sea's Serenade
A serenade of waves and wind,
A melody that's ever been.
In every sailor's heart it plays,
A song of seas, of olden days.>

* Stafford Gambit tricks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM9...

* Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iDUA...

* Sidewalk playin': https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...

* Scandinavian Miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Seven Minutes: French Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRU...

* Sicilian Alapins: Game Collection: Alapin

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

* Sicilian Trix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2V...

* Slime recipes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_V...

* Save the endgame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGz...

* Terms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6b...

* Tartakower Defense: https://www.chess.com/blog/MatBobul...

* TIP: Click on the e8 square to see a computer engine analysis of the position.

* Triangulation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH3...

* Top 5 Bishop Endgames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wX...

* 5 Pawn endings U must know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdU...

* Uni Knot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xu...

* Ultimate K&P endings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jab...

* Underpromotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvW...

* UnderStanding: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dfvi...

* Psychic Uri Geller? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3v...

* Best Walkoffs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBt...

* Wedgiez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNG...

* When to not castle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cto...

* Women defend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbF...

* World Records: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTz...

* Yaz vs Tiant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oci...

* Zwischenzug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U9...

* 21st Century: Game Collection: 0

* Chess History: https://www.chessjournal.com/chess-...

* 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!

"The Great Escape" by Charles Bukowski

listen, he said, you ever seen a bunch of crabs in a bucket?
no, I told him.
well, what happens is that now and then one crab will climb up on top of the others
and begin to climb toward the top of the bucket, then, just as he's about to escape
another crab grabs him and pulls him back
down.
really? I asked.
really, he said, and this job is just like that, none of the others want anybody to get out of
here. that's just the way it is
in the postal service!
I believe you, I said.
just then the supervisor walked up and said,
you fellows were talking.
there is no talking allowed on this
job.
I had been there for eleven and one-half
years.
I got up off my stool and climbed right up the
supervisor
and then I reached up and pulled myself right
out of there.
it was so easy it was unbelievable.
but none of the others followed me.
and after that, whenever I had crab legs
I thought about that place.
I must have thought about that place
maybe 5 or 6 times
before I switched to lobster.

Your feet contain a quarter of your bones.
Human feet contain 52 bones (26 for each foot). That's nearly a quarter of all the bones in your whole body! Each also contains 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Are your dogs barking?

Je ne suis pas d'accord avec ce que vous dites, mais je d‚fendrai jusqu'... la mort le droit que vous avez de le dire/ I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. — Voltaire

The smallest bone in your body is in your ear.
No named bone in your body is smaller (or lighter) than the stapes, a bone in the middle ear that's actually shaped like a stirrup. It's complete with a base and an oval window, which is covered with a membrane that measures sound vibrations.

<Page 166 of The Personality of Chess by I.A. Horowitz and P.L. Rothenberg (New York, 1963) gave ‘a hitherto unpublished limerick-acrostic:

Caissa, the goddess of Chess,
Has this task, no more and no less;
Every game, match and damn bit,
Sicilian and gambit
She must ever be ready to bless.>

"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 Jay In The Feathers of the Peacock

A peacock moulted: soon a jay was seen
Bedecked with Argus tail of gold and green,
High strutting, with elated crest,
As much a peacock as the rest.
His trick was recognized and bruited,
His person jeered at, hissed, and hooted.
The peacock gentry flocked together,
And plucked the fool of every feather.
Nay more, when back he sneaked to join his race, They shut their portals in his face.

There is another sort of jay,
The number of its legs the same,
Which makes of borrowed plumes display,
And plagiary is its name.
But hush! the tribe I'll not offend;
It's not my work their ways to mend.

"Customers don't expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong." — Donald Porter

"It is so much easier to be nice, to be respectful, to put yourself in your customer's' shoes and try to understand how you might help them before they ask for help, than it is to try to mend a broken customer relationship." — Mark Cuban

"Only once customer service has become habitual will a company realize its true potential." — Than Merrill

"Customers don't care about your policies. Find and engage the need. Tell the customer what you can do." — Alice Sesay Pope

"Always keep in mind the old retail adage: Customers remember the service a lot longer than they remember the price." — Lauren Freedman

"Here is a powerful yet simple rule. Always give people more than they expect to get." — Nelson Boswell

"Every contact we have with a customer influences whether or not they'll come back. We have to be great every time or we'll lose them." — Kevin Stirtz

"The customer is always right." — Harry Gordon Selfridge (Not hardly says FTB.)

"Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia." ― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

"Always carry champagne! In victory You deserve it & in defeat You need it!" ― Napoléon Bonaparte

"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

*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

<"Sestrilla, hafelina
Jue amourasestrilla
Awou jue selaviena
En patre jue

Translation:

Beloved one, little cat
I love you for all time
In this time
And all others"
> ― Christine Feehan>

Riddle Question: The leaves are on the fruit, The fruits is on the leaves. What is it?

There are no muscles in your fingers.
Your fingers do countless important things throughout the day, from opening jars to opening doors. But don't chalk up those feats of strength to your fingers. Any movement that happens in your fingers is due to tendons and bones, with a lot of help from the muscles in the palms of your hands and at the base of each individual digit.

Riddle Answer: A pineapple.

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Why not give credit to the book that made you the player that you are? Your First Move: Chess For Beginners by Alexei Sokolsky defines Al. https://archive.org/details/yourfir...

Sokolsky also wrote one of the all-time great opening manuals: https://archive.org/details/moderno...

1.b4? Not so much: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UK1b...

Edmar Mednis espoused the Caro-Kann for the ordinary player, because it was structurally sound and a lot less memorization. If a player is patient and has a strong endgame, the Caro-Kann is a good choice, but one must know all those opening traps (often relying upon ...Qe2 or ...h6) that lean toward White. Yep, Fredthebear took up Bobby Fischer's studious habit years ago and is extremely well-read, although Fischer gave bad advice to "read" MCO not once, but twice. (Of course, BF had a photographic memory, so the affect on him would be pronounced.) Before the internet, there were no great chess instructors in FTB's area that I knew of. The no-nonsense writing of Edmar Mednis certainly helped my endgame.

If a player is theoretically lazy, the Sicilian Najdorf is a bad choice. This opening is for professional players IMHO.

"Know your enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles, you will never be in peril." — Sun Tzu

Perhaps the best advice an aspiring FTB received from an older master that he competed against was to read Fred Reinfeld's Complete Chess Course: https://archive.org/details/complet... In fact, the master walked over to the selection of books, pulled out Reinfeld's brick out, and handed it to me saying "By this one. It explains what you need to know to be successful." The course really does cover so many aspects of chess in an applied way. Unfortunately, FTB never grew to love the book, saw it more as laborious. The Complete Chess PLAYER by Reinfeld has more appeal. Smaller in size, yet 300 pages packed plenty of information: https://archive.org/details/complet...

The contemporary player might prefer this complete course dandy by Antonio Gude: https://archive.org/details/complet... A "Gude" book (in algebraic notation), but not better than Reinfeld's complete course.

Fredthebear got great mileage out of Learn Chess: A Complete Course by Alexander and Beach: https://archive.org/details/learnch... Unfortunately, the diagrams in some of the older editions (two separate books) were a bit faded, but FTB had young, fresh eyes back then and such was not bothersome.

For a novice struggling to understand what to do in chess, this beginner's book by Reinfeld (written for his wife as I recall) certainly fills the bill: https://archive.org/details/howtobe... No, it's not a complete course by any means, but it will set your chess mind on the straight and narrow path of search and seizer. Fredthebear has not read the algebraic edition, but it looks to have included more diagrams than the original.

The novice (player or instructor) might want to read A.J. Gillam's book first of all: https://archive.org/details/startin...

This Batsford book provides some good game examples once the fundamentals are learned elsewhere: https://archive.org/details/batsfor... Having a diagram in every column is very helpful. To be clear, FTB prefers the other mentioned books above before this one of application.

A complimentary follow up to Alexander and Beach is The Art of Mastering Chess: A Complete Course for Beginners by radio shack/GM Eduard Gufeld : https://archive.org/details/artofma... The strength of this book is the famous complete game examples worthy of memorization and technical opening theory not emphasized by Alexander and Beach. Beware that Gufeld's book has been published in English Descriptive and Algebraic notation. The serious student would be wise to read both forms without hesitation.

Here's Larry Evan's practical openings puzzle book that uses both forms of notation: https://archive.org/details/whatsbe... Instead of trying to figure it out as you go from the very beginning, wouldn't your chances dramatically improve if you got off to a good start every game by following the tried-and-true paths of a master?

These miniatures are more advanced, but it's arranged by opening making it easy to compare with Evan's puzzle book: https://archive.org/details/modernc...

Raymond Keene's meaty book is also useful for intermediates (far too much work for the novice): https://archive.org/details/keeneon... Keene recommends the King's Indian Attack for White ala Bobby Fischer.

Is this Keene's most popular book? https://archive.org/details/duelsof...

Here's twelve more brilliant games where Yasser Seirawan explains every move: https://archive.org/details/winning...

The study of tactics through complete game examples has great appeal: https://archive.org/details/acourse...

Perhaps the single most famous chess book: https://archive.org/details/my-syst...

This instructive book is hard to beat: https://archive.org/details/capabla... Solve some tactical puzzles and rehearse one game per night and you're done in two months (60 games). Rinse and repeat.

Nunn's monster is for experienced players after the above-mentioned books have been read at least a few times: https://archive.org/details/johnnun...

All about American champion Frank J. Marshall: https://archive.org/details/marshal...

A great broad games collection of an aggressive world champion: https://archive.org/details/mybestg...

If you go ape crazy over miniatures: https://archive.org/details/1000bes...

No - Haste, they great enemy! Slow down, look around - be disciplined, use your checklist and consider ALL the possibilities: https://archive.org/details/movefir... Masterful combinations with interesting commentary.

Fredthebear likes those words of wisdom: https://archive.org/details/2013The...

Who's Mark Reinfeld? https://archive.org/details/30minut...

Sign up for free there at the archives, and you can read/reference the entire book(s) on-line.

Newcomers, don't take this post lightly. Much improvement goes to the student that follows through on the recommended books above, and they are free to read if you sign up for free!

An all-time introductory best seller: https://archive.org/details/beginch... One might need to zoom in on the mini diagrams, but they do serve as excellent example of the subject at hand.

This beginner book (English Descriptive notation) gives easy lessons until Lesson 9 on Combinations: https://archive.org/details/chessin... The Giuoco Piano opening is discussed on page 71. Some of the best chess advice you will ever receive is on page 73, followed by your first theoretical openings.

This beginner book (English Descriptive notation) is not well known, but it gives good introductions to staples like control of the center, the Giuoco Piano, Ruy Lopez, tactics, the Opposition, and passing pawns, so it's rather useful: https://archive.org/details/chessba...

Printed in 1846, ten years after the Battle of the Alamo and before the gold rush near Sacramento, California: https://archive.org/details/chessfo... FTB looked at a few positions, but has not read the entire book.

Garry gives good chess lessons for beginners: https://archive.org/details/lessons...

A robust book for advanced beginners that already understand moves and captures: https://archive.org/details/frombeg...

Here's robust Volume I that starts from scratch: https://archive.org/details/learnch...

One for the coaches: https://archive.org/details/1997Che... Does this move along too slow for youthful attentions?

For those who'd rather watch a beginner's video: https://archive.org/details/cosmaca... Joe Payne has provided additional videos below on the initial page. Don't wait back and play passively -- become an attacker searching for checkmate!

Does your kid like Fried Liver? I wouldn't move that knight twice so soon when so many other soldiers are itching to get into the game. Still, it's a plan of action. https://archive.org/details/firstch...

This book looks like overkill, but the associated on-line videos are useful: https://archive.org/details/the-six...

75 brief lessons for intermediate players: https://archive.org/details/betterc... Don't be one of those common people who learn the moves and rules but never study again after they've started playing. Teach yourself better chess, and you'll have much more success!

For experienced players who well understand the 75 lessons given above: https://archive.org/details/practic...

Understanding the Sicilian Defense 1.P-K4 P-QB4 for serious intermediates and candidate masters: https://archive.org/details/practic...

For players with strong combinational skills: https://archive.org/details/chessle... Don't hurry; get the answer correct! Far better to be right than fast.

One incorrect move is all it takes.

Zhavaed Haemaed wrote:

Zugzwang
My little game of Chess
That I played, with you
Making subtle moves
Hinting all too softly
Allowing impasses
Offering a pawn
Renouncing knights
Denouncing a bishop
Even giving up my Queen
That trying game of Chess
It appears, has come to a stale
Without one word spoken, without
An idea or intellect having being shared
My dear, I have not tried hard enough, and
I shall never be the wiser for not having made a move

<There are distinct situations where a bishop is preferred (over a knight). For example, two bishops are better than two knights or one of each. Steven Mayer, the author of <<Bishop Versus Knight>>, contends, "A pair of bishops is usually considered to be worth six points, but common sense suggests that a pair of active bishops (that are very involved in the formation) must be accorded a value of almost nine under some circumstances." This is especially true if the player can plant the bishops in the center of the board, as two bishops working in tandem can span up to 26 squares and have the capacity to touch every square.

Bishops are also preferable to knights when queens have been exchanged because, Grandmaster Sergey Erenburg, who is ranked 11th in the U.S., explains, "Bishops and rooks complement each other, and when well-coordinated, act as a queen." Conversely, a knight is the preferred minor piece when the queen survives until the late-middlegame or the endgame. Mayer explains, "The queen and knight are able to work together smoothly and create a greater number of threats than the queen and bishop."

When forced to say one is better than the other, most anoint the bishop. Mayer concludes, "I think it's true that the bishops are better than the knights in a wider variety of positions than the knights are better than the bishops."

He continues, "Of course, I'm not sure this does us much good, as we only get to play one position at a time.">

This old photo belongs in my favorites: https://images.chesscomfiles.com/pr...

‘The Way through the Woods' by Rudyard Kipling

They shut the road through the woods
Seventy years ago.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
And now you would never know
There was once a road through the woods
Before they planted the trees.
It is underneath the coppice and heath,
And the thin anemones.
Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods,
And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods.

Yet, if you enter the woods
Of a summer evening late,
When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools Where the otter whistles his mate,
(They fear not men in the woods,
Because they see so few.)
You will hear the beat of a horse's feet,
And the swish of a skirt in the dew,
Steadily cantering through
The misty solitudes,
As though they perfectly knew
The old lost road through the woods.
But there is no road through the woods.

* Crafty Endgame Trainer: https://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-...

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, "Don Quixote"

"We do not remember days, we remember moments." ― Cesare Pavese

<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.

Anne Boleyn Thought She Caught the Prize in King Henry the 8th by PinkFaerie5

Anne Boleyn, you set your sights high, you deviously bold sly fox Your interest was the end of Catherine's head and locks Mary was declared a bastard, Henry the Eighth's wife slain. You were singing prettily through this torment, a refrain.

Anne Boleyn, you enticed a dangerous king, indeed. Henry the Eighth, who smashed wives like a mustard seed. You thought you would give him sons but alas, it did not happen. So now here you are in the tower, being visited by a chaplain.

Anne Boleyn, your three years as a queen was not a record. Although Henry's next wife Jane will not last assured Sir Rutherford. All of Catherine's sons died in infancy, and you were beheaded too. Your French fashions and pretty singing voice could not save the likes of you.

They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind. ~ Scottish Proverb

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

"You can only get good at chess if you love the game." ― Bobby Fischer

"As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight." — The Revenant

64sqz St. Lewis Zajogin cldnt login but Nez cpresoz sumhou managd tosign outr space, fourseeable few sure, tyme or basil, android K safety council. Twuz dat Duz-Khotimirsky er Znosko-Borovsky? Wheat or Rye? Swiss or Peppajakc?

Heb/

"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

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BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
One for the master
And one for the dame.
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Q: What do you call a bacon-wrapped comet?
A: A meat-eor.

Q: What do stars say when they apologize to one another? A: I'm starry.

Q: Why did the star decide to take a vacation?
A: It needed some space.

Q: What's Donkey's favorite film?
A: Star Shrek.

Q: What was the tree's favorite thing about Star Trek? A: The Captain's log.

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