A pin can take place along a rank, file, or diagonal occupied simultaneously by three or more units; one aims through two opposing units. A pin occurs when a long range attacker (queen, rook, or bishop) aims through two opposing units, with the less valuable unit threatened with capture in front of the more valuable unit. The less valuable unit is caught in the middle of a pickle between the attacker and it's more valuable teammate. A short range attacker (king, knight, or pawn) in unable to set a pin.

An Absolute Pin of a lesser unit that shields the king cannot move out-of-the-way by rule (the king cannot be exposed to check).

A Relative Pin means the lesser unit in front can move, but should not move else loss of material is the result.

A Terminal Pin is against a checkmate threat, such as a unit pinned to the back rank mating square.

To take advantage of a pin, maintain the pin as long as possible. Don't relieve the pin prematurely by capturing too soon. Force the opponent to make an effort/use a tempo to get out of the pin.

If the opponent remains stuck in the pin, then pile up on the pinned unit with addition attackers, especially attackers of less value such as an advancing pawn. However, in a practical sense, when a bishop sets a pin along the diagonal, the rooks are often used to pile up on the pinned unit to arrange discovered attacks because the rooks can get there quicker than a less valuable unit. This was the case in Paul Morphy's famous Opera House game, where Morphy maintained an Absolute Pin by his bishop and piled up on the pin with rooks after 0-0-0.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." ― Lao Tzu

"God has given you one face, and you make yourself another." ― William Shakespeare

"I started chess around the age of seven. I was inspired by the game, but soon legends like Kasparov, Karpov, Fischer, Anand and many other world champions captivated me." ― Anish Giri

"Chess is a game where all different sorts of people can come together, not a game in which people are divided because of their religion or country of origin." ― Hikaru Nakamura

"In chess, you have to bring all the pieces into the game. It is about development. In writing, you have to develop the story." ― Gza

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." ― Albert Einstein

Richard the Lionheart only spent six months of his ten-year reign in England.

"Chess is a lot of fun for me. Football is a physical game, and in chess you can just beat someone mentally - you outwit somebody, outmaneuver them, think ahead of them." ― Larry Fitzgerald

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." ― Archimedes

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

"Young men preen. Old men scheme." ― Mason Cooley

"Chess and me, it's hard to take them apart. It's like my alter ego." ― Bobby Fischer

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ― Henry David Thoreau

"Chess is the art of analysis." ― Mikhail Botvinnik

"Patience is the companion of wisdom." ― Saint Augustine

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

"There are no adequate substitutes for father, mother, and children bound together in a loving commitment to nurture and protect. No government, no matter how well-intentioned, can take the place of the family in the scheme of things." ― Gerald R. Ford

"My biggest competitor was my mum. I used to try to beat her at Chinese chequers, chess, carrom, volleyball, badminton, football, wrestling." ― Sunil Chhetri

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances." ― Thomas Jefferson

"Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak." ― Alan Dundes

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

"The human element, the human flaw and the human nobility - those are the reasons that chess matches are won or lost." ― Viktor Korchnoi

"In chess, you should be as cool as a cucumber." ― Yuliya Snigir

"O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!" ― Walter Scott

"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

"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift." ― Steve Prefontaine

"I love to play chess. The last time I was playing, I started to really see the board. I don't mean just seeing a few moves ahead - something else. My game started getting better. It's the patterns. The patterns are universal." ― Forest Whitaker

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?' " ― William Arthur Ward

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." ― Epictetus

"I think a gentleman is someone who holds the comfort of other people above their own. The instinct to do that is inside every good man, I believe. The rules about opening doors and buying dinner and all of that other 'gentleman' stuff is a chess game, especially these days." ― Anna Kendrick

Never judge a book by its cover.

"You cannot say, 'Go! Go! Rah! Rah! Good move!' People want some emotion. Chess is an art and not a spectator sport." ― Garry Kasparov

"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

"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

Napoleon took 187,600 horses with his army as he rode into Russia in 1812, only 1,600 came back.

"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

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." ― Jim Rohn

"I have a scheme for stopping war. It's this - no nation is allowed to enter a war till they have paid for the last one." ― Will Rogers

"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 prepares for next generation!" ― Susan Polgar

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

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

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

* Black attack!
Game Collection: Modern Defence Reversed

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

* Checkmate patterns: Game Collection: Checkmate: Checkmate Patterns

* Chessmaster 2000 Classic Games:
Game Collection: Chessmaster '86

* C53s: Game Collection: rajat21's italian game

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

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

* 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...

* Failing is a part of life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nja...

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

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

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

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

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

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

* King Registration: https://www.kingregistration.com/to...

* Make a Stand: https://www.history.com/topics/amer...

* Malaguena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxD...

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

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

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

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

* RL Minis: Game Collection: Ruy Lopez Miniatures

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* She's a Stonewaller: Eneida Astolfi Perez

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

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

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

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

‘May your Departures equal your Landfalls!'

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

In 1913 Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky, Tito all lived in Vienna for a couple of months.

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...

* Short history: Game Collection: A history of chess

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

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.>

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

"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

"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

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

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

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

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

A Fallen Leaf
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

A trusting little leaf of green,
A bold audacious frost;
A rendezvous, a kiss or two,
And youth for ever lost.
Ah, me!
The bitter, bitter cost.

A flaunting patch of vivid red,
That quivers in the sun;
A windy gust, a grave of dust,
The little race is run.
Ah, me!
Were that the only one.

Of the eight planets in the Solar System, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were observed by Babylonian astronomers as early as the 2nd millennium BC. The Greek Aristarchus of Samos (310–230 bc) also correctly observed the position of Earth in relation to the planets – known as the heliocentric model.

H.T. Bland. On page 207 of the December 1929 American Chess Bulletin he exalted the challenger in that year's world championship match:

Bravo ‘Bogol', you've shown pluck.
One and all we wish you luck.
Gee, some thought you'd barged between
Other players who'd have been
Less likely straightaway to lose
Just as friend Alekhine might choose;
Undaunted, ‘Bogol', you went in
Believing you'd a chance to win.
Or failing that, to make a fight,
Which you are doing as we write.

<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.>

The Swarm
by Sylvia Plath

Somebody is shooting at something in our town -- A dull pom, pom in the Sunday street.

Jealousy can open the blood,
It can make black roses.

Who are the shooting at?

It is you the knives are out for
At Waterloo, Waterloo, Napoleon,
The hump of Elba on your short back,
And the snow, marshaling its brilliant cutlery
Mass after mass, saying Shh!

Shh! These are chess people you play with,
Still figures of ivory.

The mud squirms with throats,
Stepping stones for French bootsoles.

The gilt and pink domes of Russia melt and float off

In the furnace of greed.
Clouds, clouds.

So the swarm balls and deserts
Seventy feet up, in a black pine tree.

It must be shot down.
Pom! Pom!
So dumb it thinks bullets are thunder.

It thinks they are the voice of God
Condoning the beak, the claw, the grin of the dog Yellow-haunched, a pack-dog,
Grinning over its bone of ivory
Like the pack, the pack, like everybody.

The bees have got so far.
Seventy feet high!
Russia, Poland and Germany!
The mild hills, the same old magenta
Fields shrunk to a penny
Spun into a river, the river crossed.

The bees argue, in their black ball,
A flying hedgehog, all prickles.

The man with gray hands stands under the honeycomb Of their dream, the hived station
Where trains, faithful to their steel arcs,

Leave and arrive, and there is no end to the country.

Pom! Pom! They fall
Dismembered, to a tod of ivy.

So much for the charioteers, the outriders, the Grand Army! A red tatter, Napoleon!

The last badge of victory.

The swarm is knocked into a cocked straw hat.

Elba, Elba, bleb on the sea!
The white busts of marshals, admirals, generals
Worming themselves into niches.

How instructive this is!
The dumb, banded bodies
Walking the plank draped with Mother France's upholstery Into a new mausoleum,
An ivory palace, a crotch pine.

The man with gray hands smiles --
The smile of a man of business, intensely practical.

They are not hands at all
But asbestos receptacles.

Pom! Pom! 'They would have killed me.
'

Stings big as drawing pins!
It seems bees have a notion of honor,
A black intractable mind.

Napoleon is pleased, he is pleased with everything.

O Europe! O ton of honey!

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!

Maximo wrote:

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

In 2016, the iconic sparkly dress that Marilyn Monroe wore to serenade President John F. Kennedy on his birthday sold for a staggering $4.8 million at auction. This remains the world record for the most expensive article of clothing ever sold, beating out the record previously held by… another one of Monroe's dresses, her costume from The Seven Year Itch.

The Wolf Turned Shepherd

A wolf, whose gettings from the flocks
Began to be but few,
Bethought himself to play the fox
In character quite new.
A shepherd's hat and coat he took,
A cudgel for a crook,
Nor even the pipe forgot:
And more to seem what he was not,
Himself on his hat he wrote,
"I'm Willie, shepherd of these sheep."
His person thus complete,
His crook in upraised feet,
The impostor Willie stole on the keep.
The real Willie, on the grass asleep,
Slept there, indeed, profoundly,
His dog and pipe slept, also soundly;
His drowsy sheep around lay.
As for the greatest number,
Much blessed the hypocrite their slumber,
And hoped to drive away the flock,
Could he the shepherd's voice but mock.
He thought undoubtedly he could.
He tried: the tone in which he spoke,
Loud echoing from the wood,
The plot and slumber broke;
Sheep, dog, and man awoke.
The wolf, in sorry plight,
In hampering coat bedight,
Could neither run nor fight.

There's always leakage of deceit
Which makes it never safe to cheat.
Whoever is a wolf had better
Keep clear of hypocritic fetter.

Is Queen + Knight really stronger than Queen + Bishop? The Queen + Knight does not seem to be an advantage of itself. In order to be considered advantageous, there must always be a second element influencing the position. The most common factors are weakness of the opposing king, passed pawns, and weak squares that can be accessed.

Mr. H. H. Strand wrote: "There is no true answer to this, but here are some general observations that are commonly agreed upon by strong players:

Bishops are stronger in open positions with few pawns on the board, especially if you have the bishop pair and especially in endgames.

Knights are stronger in closed positions, where the pawns are locked against each other.

Having the bishop pair against a knight and a bishop is usually a slight advantage in middle games. Against the knight pair it is less clear.

A knight that can be anchored in the center of the board (protected by a pawn) is often stronger than a bishop.

A knight anchored in an advanced position in the enemy camp (typically on squares like e6, d6, d3 or e3) is often very strong, even as strong as a rook.

A bishop is usually stronger than a knight in an open endgame, especially if the side with the bishop has a passed wing pawn.

A knight is often stronger than a bishop in endgames with static pawn structures. This theme is called "good knight versus bad bishop."

Knights on the edge of the board, or even worse, a corner, can be quite weak. "A knight on the rim is dim."

Bishops on long diagonals are often very strong, especially on an open diagonal.

The value of knights go up in blitz games or in time trouble, as their movements are harder to calculate and predict.

Rooks cooperate better with a bishop than a knight.

Queens cooperate better with a knight than a bishop."

Such hypothetical conceptions are difficult to answer. Chess requires analysis of a specific position to determine who is better. There are simply too many variables to generalize with any degree of accuracy. Thus, the value of the pieces can change during a game.

Underface
By Shel Silverstein

Underneath my outside face
There's a face that none can see.
A little less smiley,
A little less sure,
But a whole lot more like me

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

Let's pause so free pie thief can look up who Alexander Kotov is. free pie thief will research it and be an expert on Kotov tomorrow. Will we get another lecture on Philidor's Gate?

A penguin achieved knighthood.
In 2008, a penguin living in the Edinburgh Zoo was knighted. The penguin is the mascot of the King of Norway's Guard, making it a special figure for the country's military—and the knighting of this particular one, named Nils Olav III, was an opportunity to celebrate the relations between Norway and Scotland. The knighting went over so well that in 2016, he was promoted to Brigadier.

<The Man In The Glass
Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass.

He's the fellow to please – never mind all the rest For he's with you, clear to the end
And you've passed your most difficult, dangerous test If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears If you've cheated the man in the glass.

This poem was first published in 1934 and is still very popular today.>

"Zeitnot" is German for "time pressure."

"....his countrymen, Kolisch and Steinitz, are greatly indebted for their later success to their having enjoyed early opportunities of practicing with the departed amateur whose death is also greatly deplored amongst all who knew him personally." — Wilhelm Steinitz, regarding Karl Hamppe

The first appearance of the (John) Cochrane gambit against Petrov's defense C42 was in the year 1848 against an Indian master Mohishunder Bannerjee.

"Sorry don't get it done, Dude!" — John Wayne, Rio Bravo

"Gossip is the devil's telephone. Best to just hang up." — Moira Rose

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.'

Zwischenschach is German for in-between-check which is an important technique in the rook endgame.

You can't make bricks without straw

You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds

You can't take it with you when you die

You can't teach an old dog new tricks

You can't judge a book by its cover

You can't win them all

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

You pays your money and you takes your choice

You reap what you sow

You win some, you lose some

Youth is wasted on the young

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'A stitch in time saves nine'

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

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

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

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

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

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

High Flight
BY JOHN GILLESPIE MAGEE JR.

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

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

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

Drive sober or get pulled over.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

chess writer and poet Henry Thomas Bland.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

^Dudz

5zshhz! fish spawn

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

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

"Win with grace, lose with dignity!" ― Susan Polgar

"What does it take to be a champion? Desire, dedication, determination, personal and professional discipline, focus, concentration, strong nerves, the will to win, and yes, talent!" ― Susan Polgar

"No matter how successful you are (or will be), never ever forget the people who helped you along the way, and pay it forward! Don't become arrogant and conceited just because you gained a few rating points or made a few bucks. Stay humble and be nice, especially to your fans!" ― Susan Polgar

The Use Of Knowledge

Between two citizens
A controversy grew.
The one was poor, but much he knew:
The other, rich, with little sense,
Claimed that, in point of excellence,
The merely wise should bow the knee
To all such moneyed men as he.
The merely fools, he should have said;
For why should wealth hold up its head,
When merit from its side has fled?
"My friend," said Bloated-purse,
To his reverse,
"You think yourself considerable.
Pray, tell me, do you keep a table?
What comes of this incessant reading,
In point of lodging, clothing, feeding?
It gives one, true, the highest chamber,
One coat for June and for December,
His shadow for his sole attendant,
And hunger always in the ascendant.
What profits he his country, too,
Who scarcely ever spends a sou –
Will, haply, be a public charge?
Who profits more the state at large,
Than he whose luxuries dispense
Among the people wealth immense?
We set the streams of life a-flowing;
We set all sorts of trades a-going.
The spinner, weaver, sewer, vender,
And many a wearer, fair and tender,
All live and flourish on the spender –
As do, indeed, the reverend rooks
Who waste their time in making books."
These words, so full of impudence,
Received their proper recompense.
The man of letters held his peace,
Though much he might have said with ease.
A war avenged him soon and well;
In it their common city fell.
Both fled abroad; the ignorant,
By fortune thus brought down to want,
Was treated everywhere with scorn,
And roamed about, a wretch forlorn;
Whereas the scholar, everywhere,
Was nourished by the public care.

Let fools the studious despise;
There's nothing lost by being wise.

Question: What is the oldest authenticated age ever for a human? Answer: 122

Question: Which two cities represent letters in the phonetic alphabet? Answer: Lima and Quebec

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." ― Nora Ephr

"The Seven Social Sins are:

Wealth without work.
Pleasure without conscience.
Knowledge without character.
Commerce without morality.
Science without humanity.
Worship without sacrifice.
Politics without principle.

From a sermon given by Frederick Lewis Donaldson in Westminster Abbey, London, on March 20, 1925." ― Frederick Lewis Donaldson

* 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"

Old Russian Proverb: "Measure seven times, cut once. (Семь раз отмерь — один отрежь.)" Be careful before you do something that cannot be changed.

"I'm 58 years old and I just went through 8 back surgeries. They started cutting on me in February 2009, and I was basically bed ridden for almost two years. I got a real dose of reality that if you don't have your health, you don't have anything." — Hulk Hogan

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

'Don't shut the stable door after the horse has bolted'

'Don't throw good money after bad'

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

InkHarted wrote:

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

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

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

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

Drive sober or get pulled over.

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

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

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

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.

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

The City Rat and the Country Rat

A city rat, one night,
Did, with a civil stoop,
A country rat invite
To end a turtle soup.

On a Turkey carpet
They found the table spread,
And sure I need not harp it
How well the fellows fed.

The entertainment was
A truly noble one;
But some unlucky cause
Disturbed it when begun.

It was a slight rat-tat,
That put their joys to rout;
Out ran the city rat;
His guest, too, scampered out.

Our rats but fairly quit,
The fearful knocking ceased.
"Return we," cried the cit,
To finish there our feast.

"No," said the rustic rat;
"Tomorrow dine with me.
I'm not offended at
Your feast so grand and free, –

"For I have no fare resembling;
But then I eat at leisure,
And would not swap, for pleasure
So mixed with fear and trembling."

French Proverb: "Il ne faut rien laisser au hasard." ― (Nothing should be left to chance.)

"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

32Rp Zukharmony Zeppa XL sent Ziryab past zydeco5 Dzagnidze Zhongyi fantastic Ezzy Whooz ben eeting mia poorage?