Jun-13-09 technical draw: My first "advise" is to learn to spell "advice".

* Apple cider vinegar has been used in folk medicine remedies for centuries. It contains acetic acid which has antibacterial properties.

• An old horse, an old dog, and an old farmer have much in common: they are slow but wise.

* There are around 5,000 commercial airplanes flying over the United States at any given time.

* It would take you more than 400 years to spend a night in all of Las Vegas's hotel rooms.

* http://www.slp58.com/Lefty-Wrights-...

* People are really good at self-sabotage. We consistently behave in ways that contradict our goals and ideals. This is incongruence. As Mahatma Gandhi has said, "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." The smaller the gap between what you should do, and what you actually do—the happier you will be.

* Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, "The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone." As my wife, Lauren, tells our children daily, "The secret to happiness is to make everyone around you happy." By default, you will get the satisfaction of bringing joy to others and their positive energy will come back to you.

* Don't Wait Til Tomorrow For What You Can Do Today "When I was around thirteen and my brother ten, Father had promised to take us to the circus. But at lunchtime there was a phone call; some urgent business required his attention downtown. We braced ourselves for disappointment. Then we heard him say into the phone, ‘No, I won't be down. It'll have to wait.' "When he came back to the table, Mother smiled. ‘The circus keeps coming back, you know,' she said. "‘I know,' said Father. ‘But childhood doesn't.'"—Arthur Gordon Happiness comes from embracing the now. Not letting those moments pass you by. Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism, tells of the story of missing his child being born to be at an "important meeting." He thought the potential client would be impressed with his commitment to work. Instead, they saw his decision to miss such a monumental moment as a flaw in character. That moment was a turning point for Greg. In fact, it spurred him to change everything about his life. He now removes everything from his life that is not vital and essential. Nothing in life is permanent. Kids grow up. Friends move away. Our loved ones pass on from this life. Let's live in the present and appreciate the most important things in our lives before it's too late.

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

"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

"The most powerful weapon in Chess is to have the next move." – David Bronstein

Dec-14-20
Biographer Bistro
Tabanus: chessgames.com chessforum (kibitz #21841) <20/20 Technologies is one of the first web development companies, founded in 1995 by Daniel Freeman and Lee Cummings. In 2001 we were commissioned by Albert Artidiello to create a chess site. Albert had limited-funding but big dreams, so in the early years (2002, 2003) 20/20 agreed to do extensive work on Chessgames in exchange for a stake in the website's business (which at the time was zero, as there wasn't even such a thing as a premium membership, and the advertising didn't even cover the hosting fees.)

For a while it seemed like a really fun side-project but not a business per se. But then, around 2004-2005, the site launched its premium membership and turned profitable. At that stage, Chessgames was capable of actually paying for its development work, hiring GM commentators, etc. Chessgames could have gone to any web development company in the world at that point, but obviously it was in everybody's best interest to keep working with 20/20 Technologies.

In gratitude for all they've done, Chessgames continues to put a link to 20/20 Technologies at the bottom of every page.>

The Stag Seeing Himself In The Water

Beside a placid, crystal flood,
A stag admired the branching wood
That high on his forehead stood,
But gave his Maker little thanks
For what he called his spindle shanks.
"What limbs are these for such a head! –
So mean and slim!" with grief he said.
"My glorious heads overtops
The branches of the copse;
My legs are my disgrace."
As thus he talked, a bloodhound gave him chase.
To save his life he flew
Where forests thickest grew.
His horns, – pernicious ornament! –
Arresting him wherever he went,
Did unavailing render
What else, in such a strife,
Had saved his precious life –
His legs, as fleet as slender.
Obliged to yield, he cursed the gear
Which nature gave him every year.

Too much the beautiful we prize;
The useful, often, we despise:
Yet oft, as happened to the stag,
The former does to ruin drag.

Proverbs of Solomon 1
The Beginning of Knowledge

1These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David,

king of Israel,

2for gaining wisdom and discipline,

for comprehending words of insight,

3and for receiving instruction in wise living

and in righteousness, justice, and equity.

4To impart prudence to the simplea

and knowledge and discretion to the young,

5let the wise listen and gain instruction,

and the discerning acquire wise counsel

6by understanding the proverbs and parables,

the sayings and riddles of the wise.

7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

A Windsong by Ray Paquette (1984):

As you set sail for new horizons
May a brisk fair wind be with you
May your journey provide that mixture of
Joy, contentment, love and excitement
That gives rise to zestful anticipation
Of new adventures together.
May you cheerfully weather
the unavoidable storms together
And steer as clear of all obstacles
As the currents allow
May God Bless and keep you
Bon Voyage

Romans 12:2, King James Bible
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The laughter of a child lights up the house. ~ Swahili proverb

"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

"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

All that glitters is not gold – this line can be found in a text from c.1220: ‘ Nis hit nower neh gold al that ter schineth.'

A friend in need is a friend indeed – a proverb from c.1035 say this: ‘Friend shall be known in time of need.'

All's well that ends well – a line from the mid-13th century is similar: ‘Wel is him te wel ende mai.' Meanwhile, Henry Knighton's Chronicle from the late 14th-century one can read: ‘ If the ende be wele, than is alle wele.'

Cuando una puerta se cierra, otra se abre. (When one door is closed, another is opened.) ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616)

Dijo la sartén a la caldera, quítate allá ojinegra. (The frying pan said to the cauldron, "Get out of here, black-eyed one." This is believed to be the source of the phrase "the pot calling the kettle black.") ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

"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

"It is a gross overstatement, but in chess, it can be said I play against my opponent over the board and against myself on the clock." ― Viktor Korchnoi

"The fact that the 7 hours time control allows us to play a great deep game is not of great importance for mass-media." ― Alexei Shirov

"For me, each game is a new challenge, which has to be dealt with rationally and systematically. At that time, every other thought fades into oblivion." ― Viswanathan Anand

Ne kadar bilirsen bil, o kadar azdır.

"Any fool can know. The point is to understand." ― Albert Einstein

"One bad move nullifies forty good ones."
― Israel Albert Horowitz

"It is a well-known phenomenon that the same amateur who can conduct the middle game quite creditably, is usually perfectly helpless in the end game. One of the principal requisites of good chess is the ability to treat both the middle and end game equally well." ― Aron Nimzowitsch

"My hard work and excellent training entitled me to be a better actress than some of my competitors." ― Pola Negri

"Endings of one rook and pawns are about the most common sort of endings arising on the chess board. Yet though they do occur so often, few have mastered them thoroughly. They are often of a very difficult nature, and sometimes while apparently very simple they are in reality extremely intricate." ― Jose Raul Capablanca

"Capablanca used to talk calmly and moderately about everything. However, when our conversation turned to the problems of the battle for the world championship, in front of me was a quite different person: an enraged lion, although with the fervour typical only of a southerner, with his temperamental patter, which made it hard to follow the torrent of his indignant exclamations and words." ― Alexander Koblencs

"A player is said to have the opposition when he can place his King directly in front of the adverse King, with only one square between them. This is often an important advantage in ending games." ― Howard Staunton

"A player can sometimes afford the luxury of an inaccurate move, or even a definite error, in the opening or middlegame without necessarily obtaining a lost position. In the endgame ... an error can be decisive, and we are rarely presented with a second chance." ― Paul Keres

"Never trust a government that doesn't trust its own citizens with guns." ― Benjamin Franklin

"The Soviet Union was an exception, but even there chess players were not rich. Only Fischer changed that." ― Boris Spassky

"Chess never has been and never can be aught but a recreation. It should not be indulged in to the detriment of other and more serious avocations - should not absorb or engross the thoughts of those who worship at its shrine, but should be kept in the background, and restrained within its proper province. As a mere game, a relaxation from the severe pursuits of life, it is deserving of high commendation." ― Paul Morphy

"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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Art: Game Collection: Art of Checkmate

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

* Black Defends: Game Collection: Opening repertoire black

* Black attack!
Game Collection: Modern Defence Reversed

* Book: Game Collection: Dismantling the Sicilian (Jesus de la Villa)

* How did Spassky handle it? Game Collection: Spassky's Best Games (Cafferty)

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

* Chess - The Art of the Mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3P...

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

* CFN: https://www.youtube.com/@CFNChannel

* Lekhika Dhariyal Chess Ops: https://www.zupee.com/blog/category... Zucci

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

* 1.d4 some Panov Attack: Game Collection: Rick Prep

* 1.d4 various: Game Collection: d2-d4 and win

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

* Winning w/1.d4: Game Collection: Winning with 1 d4!

* Against 1.d4: Game Collection: Against d4 favs

* Didn't stand a chance: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QPMj...

* Dr. Edmund Adam Miniatures: Edmund Adam

* En passant: Wikipedia article: En passant

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

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

* Famous Chess Photos: https://tr.pinterest.com/pin/585256...

* Famous players and their chess quotes: https://www.azquotes.com/author/310...

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

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

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

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

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

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

* GM Avetik Grigoryan: https://chessmood.com/blog/improve-...

* GPA: https://chesstier.com/grand-prix-at...

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

* Glossary: Wikipedia article: Glossary of chess

* Greats: Game Collection: These were the greatest...

* Hotel: https://www.chesshotel.com/

* ICC: https://www.chessclub.com/

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

* A few KIAs: Game Collection: Opening Ideas

* KID 0-1s: Game Collection: K.I.D B wins E98

* Tips for Knights & More: http://www.chesssets.co.uk/blog/tip...

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

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

* MC Move-by-Move: Game Collection: Move by Move - Carlsen (Lakdawala)

* Overloaded! Game Collection: OVERLOADED!

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

* Pawn Instruction: http://www.logicalchess.com/learn/l...

* Pawn Structures: Game Collection: Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide

* Pirc Defense, Classical: Game Collection: Pirc, Classical Variation

* The Chess Portal will broaden your horizons: http://schackportalen.nu/English/es...

* Passive, but playable in the Russian Game: Game Collection: Alpha Russian (White)

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

* QGD: Game Collection: QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED

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

* Rajnish Das Tips: https://enthu.com/blog/chess/chess-...

* Raise up: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UrUn...

* Roger that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9S...

"The only way to change anything in Russia is a revolution" ― Daniil Dubov https://en.chessbase.com/post/dubov...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* tacticmania - Game Collection: tacticmania

* Tactical Games: Game Collection: Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics

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

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

* It takes me back where, when and who: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh2...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Chess 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

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

"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

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

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

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

Idaho: Franklin
Established in: 1860

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

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

* Chess History: https://www.uschesstrust.org/chess-... Medieval period: http://billwall.phpwebhosting.com/a...

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

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

Picture History of Chess
by Fred Wilson

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

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

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

"In chess as in life, when defending or attacking, a good chess player understands that one rash, ill-conceived, bad move can worsen the position and lose the game." ― John Bain, chess author

"For a period of ten years--between 1946 and 1956--Reshevsky was probably the best chessplayer in the world. I feel sure that had he played a match with Botvinnik during that time he would have won and been World Champion." ― Bobby Fischer

Oct-04-23 HeMateMe: I play 3/2 blitz occasionally on Lichess. I find it an excellent site, none of the delays/cancellations that ruined chess.com (for me). Oct-04-23 Cassandro: Yes, lichess is by far the best site for online chess. And you never know, apparently you may even get to play against a living legend like the highly esteemed Leonard Barden there!

FTB plays all about but has always been happy with FICS: https://www.freechess.org/

Road apples

Experiments in universities have actually been carried out to figure out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a <Tootsie Pop>, both with machine and human lickers (because this is important scientific knowledge!). The results ranged from 252 to 411. https://tootsie.com/howmanylick-exp...

<the limerick. Here is one from page 25 of the Chess Amateur, October 1907:

A solver, who lived at Devizes,
Had won a great number of prizes –
A dual or cook,
He'd detect at a look,
And his head swelled up several sizes.>

The More You Take, The More You Leave Behind Riddle Riddle Question: The more you take, the more you leave behind. "What am I?"

Thank you, Qindarka!

Riddle Answer: Footsteps.

"Chess is the gymnasium of the mind." — Blasie Pascal

"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.

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

Trusting in wealth is like looking for feathers on turtles. ~ Senegalese Proverb

This poem is dedicated to all Caissa members
who strive to checkmate their opponents.

The Aroused Bishop

Whispered the pawn to the curious knight
You jump one square up and two to the right
On the diagonal where our queen lays in wait.
I will move up from b-seven to b- eight.
On the opposite side, no, no screamed the queen
Realizing she should have been heard not seen.
Because there, only hidden partially by the walls She saw him standing juggling his little balls.
The bishop so aroused by all of this inter-play
Could not, no he could not help but howlingly say: Oh, oh sweet queen you are mine for the take

While your checkmated king will burn at the stake.

Riddle: What is at the end of a rainbow?

The oldest person ever to have lived (whose age could be authenticated), a French woman named <Jeanne Louise Calment>, was 122 years old when she died in 1997.

Riddle Answer: The letter W.

Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love— I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride, In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

"....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

"and a most curious country it was. There were a number of tiny little brooks running straight across it from side to side, and the ground between was divided up into squares by a number of little green hedges, that reached from brook to brook. I declare it's marked out just like a large chessboard!' Alice said at last. 'There ought to be some men moving about somewhere--and so there are!' she added in a tone of delight, and her heart began to beat quick with excitement as she went on. 'It's a great huge game of chess that's being played--all over the world--if this is the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun it is!" ― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

Question: Which USA presidents share the same date of birth? Answer: Only one date, November 2, has been the birthday of more than one President– 11th President James K. Polk (born on November 2, 1795) and Warren G. Harding (born on November 2, 1865).

"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

* Endgame position to study: D Jacimovic vs V Trkaljanov, 2001

* 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)

The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox

A lion, old, and impotent with gout,
Would have some cure for age found out.
Impossibilities, on all occasions,
With kings, are rank abominations.
This king, from every species, –
For each abounds in every sort, –
Called to his aid the leeches.
They came in throngs to court,
From doctors of the highest fee
To nostrum-quacks without degree, –
Advised, prescribed, talked learnedly;
But with the rest
Came not Sir Cunning Fox, M.D.
Sir Wolf the royal couch attended,
And his suspicions there expressed.
Forthwith his majesty, offended,
Resolved Sir Cunning Fox should come,
And sent to smoke him from his home.
He came, was duly ushered in,
And, knowing where Sir Wolf had been,
Said, "Sire, your royal ear
Has been abused, I fear,
By rumours false and insincere;
To wit, that I have been self-exempt
From coming here, through sheer contempt.
But, sire, I have been on pilgrimage,
By vow expressly made,
Your royal health to aid,
And, on my way, met doctors sage,
In skill the wonder of the age,
Whom carefully I did consult
About that great debility
Termed in the books senility,
Of which you fear, with reason, the result.
You lack, they say, the vital heat,
By age extreme become effete.
Drawn from a living wolf, the hide
Should warm and smoking be applied.
The secret's good, beyond a doubt,
For nature's weak, and wearing out.
Sir Wolf, here, won't refuse to give
His hide to cure you, as I live."
The king was pleased with this advice.
Flayed, jointed, served up in a trice,
Sir Wolf first wrapped the monarch up,
Then furnished him whereon to sup.

Beware, you courtiers, lest you gain,
By slander's arts, less power than pain;
For in the world where you are living,
A pardon no one thinks of giving.

Q: What do you call something that goes up when the rain comes down? A: An umbrella.

Q: What do you call a doctor who fixes websites? A: A URL-ologist.

Q: What do you call a sleeping dinosaur?
A: A dinosnore.

Q: What do you call a Christmas tree that knows karate A: Spruce Lee.

Q: What does a triangle call a circle?
A: Pointless.

Q: What do you call a piece of sad cheese?
A: Blue cheese.

Q: What do you call a cow in an earthquake?
A: A milkshake.

Q: What do you call an M&M that went to college? A: A smarty.

The underhanded CGs operator slashed this collection like so many other FTB collections that he has vandalized. Ownership has failed to thoroughly investigate the problem.

Jonathan Moya wrote:
The King's Rumination

Befuddled with thought
the king sought the oracle.

"Count the sands,
calculate the seas,"
she said.

Of the king's future,
she spoke nothing.

Henceforth he
contented only
in his nightmares.

Can you still daydream at night?
We know you have some great ideas for your nighttime dreaming. But if you're awake and trying to give your brain some suggestions for dream time, is it daydreaming or just backseat driving?

Riddle: What word is always pronounced wrong?

The first American Chess Congress, organized by Daniel Willard Fiske and held in New York, October 6 to November 10, 1857, was won by Paul Morphy. It was a knockout tournament in which draws did not count. The top sixteen American players were invited (William Allison, Samuel Robert Calthrop, Daniel Willard Fiske, William James Fuller, Hiram Kennicott, Hubert Knott, Theodor Lichtenhein, Napoleon Marache, Hardman Philips Montgomery, Alexander Beaufort Meek, Paul Morphy, Louis Paulsen, Frederick Perrin, Benjamin Raphael, Charles Henry Stanley, and James Thompson). First prize was $300. Morphy refused any money, but accepted a silver service consisting of a pitcher, four goblets, and a tray. Morphy's prize was given to him by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. ― Wikipedia

Riddle Answer: Wrong!

<Below is a Morphy acrostic by C.V. Grinfield from page 334 of the Chess Player's Chronicle, 1861: Mightiest of masters of the chequer'd board,
Of early genius high its boasted lord!
Rising in youth's bright morn to loftiest fame, Princeliest of players held with one acclaim;
Host in thyself – all-conquering in fight: – Yankees exult! – in your great champion's might.>

The Italian flag is based on the French flag, from the time that Napoleon brought troops and his flag into Italy in 1797. https://www.bing.com/images/search?...

Question: On average, most people have fewer friends than their friends have; this is known as what? Answer: Friendship paradox – you are more likely to be friends with someone who has more friends than someone who has fewer friends than you.

The first commercial passenger flight lasted only 23 minutes In 1914, Abram Pheil paid $400 (which would be $8,500 today) for a 23-minute plane ride. The Florida flight flew between Saint Petersburg and Tampa, where only 21 miles of water separate the cities. Pheil, a former mayor of Saint Petersburg, and the pilot, Tony Jannus, were the only passengers.

Question: What is the shortest complete English sentence? Answer: Go.

Ravenna
by Oscar Wilde

To my friend George Fleming author of 'The Nile Novel' and 'Mirage')

I.

A year ago I breathed the Italian air, -
And yet, methinks this northern Spring is fair,- These fields made golden with the flower of March, The throstle singing on the feathered larch,
The cawing rooks, the wood-doves fluttering by,
The little clouds that race across the sky;
And fair the violet's gentle drooping head,
The primrose, pale for love uncomforted,
The rose that burgeons on the climbing briar,
The crocus-bed, (that seems a moon of fire
Round-girdled with a purple marriage-ring);
And all the flowers of our English Spring,
Fond snowdrops, and the bright-starred daffodil.

Up starts the lark beside the murmuring mill,
And breaks the gossamer-threads of early dew;
And down the river, like a flame of blue,
Keen as an arrow flies the water-king,
While the brown linnets in the greenwood sing.

A year ago! - it seems a little time
Since last I saw that lordly southern clime,
Where flower and fruit to purple radiance blow,
And like bright lamps the fabled apples glow.

Full Spring it was - and by rich flowering vines, Dark olive-groves and noble forest-pines,
I rode at will; the moist glad air was sweet,
The white road rang beneath my horse's feet,
And musing on Ravenna's ancient name,
I watched the day till, marked with wounds of flame, The turquoise sky to burnished gold was turned.

O how my heart with boyish passion burned,
When far away across the sedge and mere
I saw that Holy City rising clear,
Crowned with her crown of towers! - On and on
I galloped, racing with the setting sun,
And ere the crimson after-glow was passed,
I stood within Ravenna's walls at last!

II.

How strangely still! no sound of life or joy
Startles the air; no laughing shepherd-boy
Pipes on his reed, nor ever through the day
Comes the glad sound of children at their play:
O sad, and sweet, and silent! surely here
A man might dwell apart from troublous fear,
Watching the tide of seasons as they flow
From amorous Spring to Winter's rain and snow,
And have no thought of sorrow; - here, indeed,
Are Lethe's waters, and that fatal weed
Which makes a man forget his fatherland.

Ay! amid lotus-meadows dost thou stand,
Like Proserpine, with poppy-laden head,
Guarding the holy ashes of the dead.

For though thy brood of warrior sons hath ceased, Thy noble dead are with thee! - they at least
Are faithful to thine honour:- guard them well,
O childless city! for a mighty spell,
To wake men's hearts to dreams of things sublime, Are the lone tombs where rest the Great of Time.

III.

Yon lonely pillar, rising on the plain,
Marks where the bravest knight of France was slain, - The Prince of chivalry, the Lord of war,
Gaston de Foix: for some untimely star
Led him against thy city, and he fell,
As falls some forest-lion fighting well.

Taken from life while life and love were new,
He lies beneath God's seamless veil of blue;
Tall lance-like reeds wave sadly o'er his head,
And oleanders bloom to deeper red,
Where his bright youth flowed crimson on the ground.

Look farther north unto that broken mound, -
There, prisoned now within a lordly tomb
Raised by a daughter's hand, in lonely gloom,
Huge-limbed Theodoric, the Gothic king,
Sleeps after all his weary conquering.

Time hath not spared his ruin, - wind and rain
Have broken down his stronghold; and again
We see that Death is mighty lord of all,
And king and clown to ashen dust must fall

Mighty indeed THEIR glory! yet to me
Barbaric king, or knight of chivalry,
Or the great queen herself, were poor and vain,
Beside the grave where Dante rests from pain.

His gilded shrine lies open to the air;
And cunning sculptor's hands have carven there
The calm white brow, as calm as earliest morn,
The eyes that flashed with passionate love and scorn, The lips that sang of Heaven and of Hell,
The almond-face which Giotto drew so well,
The weary face of Dante; - to this day,
Here in his place of resting, far away
From Arno's yellow waters, rushing down
Through the wide bridges of that fairy town,
Where the tall tower of Giotto seems to rise
A marble lily under sapphire skies!

Alas! my Dante! thou hast known the pain
Of meaner lives, - the exile's galling chain,
How steep the stairs within kings' houses are,
And all the petty miseries which mar
Man's nobler nature with the sense of wrong.

Yet this dull world is grateful for thy song;
Our nations do thee homage, - even she,
That cruel queen of vine-clad Tuscany,
Who bound with crown of thorns thy living brow,
Hath decked thine empty tomb with laurels now,
And begs in vain the ashes of her son.

O mightiest exile! all thy grief is done:
Thy soul walks now beside thy Beatrice;
Ravenna guards thine ashes: sleep in peace.

IV.

How lone this palace is; how grey the walls!
No minstrel now wakes echoes in these halls.

The broken chain lies rusting on the door,
And noisome weeds have split the marble floor:
Here lurks the snake, and here the lizards run
By the stone lions blinking in the sun.

Byron dwelt here in love and revelry
For two long years - a second Anthony,
Who of the world another Actium made!
Yet suffered not his royal soul to fade,
Or lyre to break, or lance to grow less keen,
'Neath any wiles of an Egyptian queen.

For from the East there came a mighty cry,
And Greece stood up to fight for Liberty,
And called him from Ravenna: never knight
Rode forth more nobly to wild scenes of fight!
None fell more bravely on ensanguined field,
Borne like a Spartan back upon his shield!
O Hellas! Hellas! in thine hour of pride,
Thy day of might, remember him who died
To wrest from off thy limbs the trammelling chain: O Salamis! O lone Plataean plain!
O tossing waves of wild Euboean sea!
O wind-swept heights of lone Thermopylae!
He loved you well - ay, not alone in word,
Who freely gave to thee his lyre and sword,
Like AEschylos at well-fought Marathon:

And England, too, shall glory in her son,
Her warrior-poet, first in song and fight.

No longer now shall Slander's venomed spite
Crawl like a snake across his perfect name,
Or mar the lordly scutcheon of his fame.

For as the olive-garland of the race,
Which lights with joy each eager runner's face,
As the red cross which saveth men in war,
As a flame-bearded beacon seen from far
By mariners upon a storm-tossed sea, -
Such was his love for Greece and Liberty!

Byron, thy crowns are ever fresh and green:
Red leaves of rose from Sapphic Mitylene
Shall bind thy brows; the myrtle blooms for thee, In hidden glades by lonely Castaly;
The laurels wait thy coming: all are thine,
And round thy head one perfect wreath will twine.

V.

The pine-tops rocked before the evening breeze
With the hoarse murmur of the wintry seas,
And the tall stems were streaked with amber bright; - I wandered through the wood in wild delight,
Some startled bird, with fluttering wings and fleet, Made snow of all the blossoms; at my feet,
Like silver crowns, the pale narcissi lay,
And small birds sang on every twining spray.

O waving trees, O forest liberty!
Within your haunts at least a man is free,
And half forgets the weary world of strife:
The blood flows hotter, and a sense of life
Wakes i' the quickening veins, while once again
The woods are filled with gods we fancied slain.

Long time I watched, and surely hoped to see
Some goat-foot Pan make merry minstrelsy
Amid the reeds! some startled Dryad-maid
In girlish flight! or lurking in the glade,
The soft brown limbs, the wanton treacherous face Of woodland god! Queen Dian in the chase,
White-limbed and terrible, with look of pride,
And leash of boar-hounds leaping at her side!
Or Hylas mirrored in the perfect stream.

O idle heart! O fond Hellenic dream!
Ere long, with melancholy rise and swell,
The evening chimes, the convent's vesper bell,
Struck on mine ears amid the amorous flowers.

Alas! alas! these sweet and honied hours
Had whelmed my heart like some encroaching sea,
And drowned all thoughts of black Gethsemane.

VI.

O lone Ravenna! many a tale is told
Of thy great glories in the days of old:
Two thousand years have passed since thou didst see Caesar ride forth to royal victory.

Mighty thy name when Rome's lean eagles flew
From Britain's isles to far Euphrates blue;
And of the peoples thou wast noble queen,
Till in thy streets the Goth and Hun were seen.

Discrowned by man, deserted by the sea,
Thou sleepest, rocked in lonely misery!
No longer now upon thy swelling tide,
Pine-forest-like, thy myriad galleys ride!
For where the brass-beaked ships were wont to float, The weary shepherd pipes his mournful note;
And the white sheep are free to come and go
Where Adria's purple waters used to flow.

O fair! O sad! O Queen uncomforted!
In ruined loveliness thou liest dead,
Alone of all thy sisters; for at last
Italia's royal warrior hath passed
Rome's lordliest entrance, and hath worn his crown In the high temples of the Eternal Town!
The Palatine hath welcomed back her king,
And with his name the seven mountains ring!

And Naples hath outlived her dream of pain,
And mocks her tyrant! Venice lives again,
New risen from the waters! and the cry
Of Light and Truth, of Love and Liberty,
Is heard in lordly Genoa, and where
The marble spires of Milan wound the air,
Rings from the Alps to the Sicilian shore,
And Dante's dream is now a dream no more.

But thou, Ravenna, better loved than all,
Thy ruined palaces are but a pall
That hides thy fallen greatness! and thy name
Burns like a grey and flickering candle-flame
Beneath the noonday splendour of the sun
Of new Italia! for the night is done,
The night of dark oppression, and the day
Hath dawned in passionate splendour: far away
The Austrian hounds are hunted from the land,
Beyond those ice-crowned citadels which stand
Girdling the plain of royal Lombardy,
From the far West unto the Eastern sea.

I know, indeed, that sons of thine have died
In Lissa's waters, by the mountain-side
Of Aspromonte, on Novara's plain, -
Nor have thy children died for thee in vain:
And yet, methinks, thou hast not drunk this wine From grapes new-crushed of Liberty divine,
Thou hast not followed that immortal Star
Which leads the people forth to deeds of war.

Weary of life, thou liest in silent sleep,
As one who marks the lengthening shadows creep,
Careless of all the hurrying hours that run,
Mourning some day of glory, for the sun
Of Freedom hath not shewn to thee his face,
And thou hast caught no flambeau in the race.

Yet wake not from thy slumbers, - rest thee well, Amidst thy fields of amber asphodel,
Thy lily-sprinkled meadows, - rest thee there,
To mock all human greatness: who would dare
To vent the paltry sorrows of his life
Before thy ruins, or to praise the strife
Of kings' ambition, and the barren pride
Of warring nations! wert not thou the Bride
Of the wild Lord of Adria's stormy sea!
The Queen of double Empires! and to thee
Were not the nations given as thy prey!
And now - thy gates lie open night and day,
The grass grows green on every tower and hall,
The ghastly fig hath cleft thy bastioned wall;
And where thy mailed warriors stood at rest
The midnight owl hath made her secret nest.

O fallen! fallen! from thy high estate,
O city trammelled in the toils of Fate,
Doth nought remain of all thy glorious days,
But a dull shield, a crown of withered bays!

Yet who beneath this night of wars and fears,
From tranquil tower can watch the coming years;
Who can foretell what joys the day shall bring,
Or why before the dawn the linnets sing?
Thou, even thou, mayst wake, as wakes the rose
To crimson splendour from its grave of snows;
As the rich corn-fields rise to red and gold
From these brown lands, now stiff with Winter's cold; As from the storm-rack comes a perfect star!

O much-loved city! I have wandered far
From the wave-circled islands of my home;
Have seen the gloomy mystery of the Dome
Rise slowly from the drear Campagna's way,
Clothed in the royal purple of the day:
I from the city of the violet crown
Have watched the sun by Corinth's hill go down,
And marked the 'myriad laughter' of the sea
From starlit hills of flower-starred Arcady;
Yet back to thee returns my perfect love,
As to its forest-nest the evening dove.

O poet's city! one who scarce has seen
Some twenty summers cast their doublets green
For Autumn's livery, would seek in vain
To wake his lyre to sing a louder strain,
Or tell thy days of glory; - poor indeed
Is the low murmur of the shepherd's reed,
Where the loud clarion's blast should shake the sky, And flame across the heavens! and to try
Such lofty themes were folly: yet I know
That never felt my heart a nobler glow
Than when I woke the silence of thy street
With clamorous trampling of my horse's feet,
And saw the city which now I try to sing,
After long days of weary travelling.

VII.

Adieu, Ravenna! but a year ago,
I stood and watched the crimson sunset glow
From the lone chapel on thy marshy plain:
The sky was as a shield that caught the stain
Of blood and battle from the dying sun,
And in the west the circling clouds had spun
A royal robe, which some great God might wear,
While into ocean-seas of purple air
Sank the gold galley of the Lord of Light.

Yet here the gentle stillness of the night
Brings back the swelling tide of memory,
And wakes again my passionate love for thee:
Now is the Spring of Love, yet soon will come
On meadow and tree the Summer's lordly bloom;
And soon the grass with brighter flowers will blow, And send up lilies for some boy to mow.

Then before long the Summer's conqueror,
Rich Autumn-time, the season's usurer,
Will lend his hoarded gold to all the trees,
And see it scattered by the spendthrift breeze;
And after that the Winter cold and drear.

So runs the perfect cycle of the year.

And so from youth to manhood do we go,
And fall to weary days and locks of snow.

Love only knows no winter; never dies:
Nor cares for frowning storms or leaden skies
And mine for thee shall never pass away,
Though my weak lips may falter in my lay.

Adieu! Adieu! yon silent evening star,
The night's ambassador, doth gleam afar,
And bid the shepherd bring his flocks to fold.

Perchance before our inland seas of gold
Are garnered by the reapers into sheaves,
Perchance before I see the Autumn leaves,
I may behold thy city; and lay down
Low at thy feet the poet's laurel crown.

Adieu! Adieu! yon silver lamp, the moon,
Which turns our midnight into perfect noon,
Doth surely light thy towers, guarding well
Where Dante sleeps, where Byron loved to dwell.

Nov-02-21 bone spleen to die:
Obviously I'm involved in several on-going "controversies" here on CG, so take my advice with a grain of salt. FTB sayz never trust a troll; stay far away.

The Earl of Sandwich, <John Montagu>, who lived in the 1700s, reportedly invented the sandwich so he wouldn't have to leave his gambling table to eat. (pbs.org)

Question: What is considered the first reality TV show? Answer: The Real World

The tallest man ever recorded was American giant <Robert Wadlow> (1918–1940), who stood 8 feet 11 inches. Wadlow's size was the result of an abnormally enlarged pituitary gland. (guinnessworldrecords.com)

Question: Who was Russia's first elected president? Answer: Boris Yeltsin

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

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

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

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

CHESS WORDS of WISDOM
The Principles, Methods and
Essential Knowledge of Chess
MIKE HENEBRY
2011

You should not trade pieces if you have the initiative

Opening the position helps to exploit weak squares

The best number of pawn islands to have is two

Exchanges increase the chances of mobilizing the majority wing

When behind in pieces, trade pawns, but not pieces

Calculate wide, not deep

Space is usually more important than time (Fredthebear disagrees)

Releasing the tension reduces your options

The player playing against the IQP should usually exchange all of the knights

You should not mobilize pawn structures that have doubled pawns

If a move looks bad on general principles, the plan is probably bad

The side with a positional advantage has no need to complicate

Knights are often better than bishops in blitz

A plan is made up of ideas, not moves

Trying to play the best move and playing to win are not the same

When faced with a critical position, you have to calculate variations

A gambited pawn is equal to three tempi

With the initiative, miracles can happen

Do not ignore your intuition

The weak point of the fianchetto position is the h3 (h6) square

Complications are good for the side that is losing

Long analysis, wrong analysis

If the move feels wrong, it usually is

The fianchettoed bishop is not as good as a pawn is in guarding holes

Do not win a pawn if it costs you more than two tempi

Sharp openings are best in blitz

The initiative is especially important in blitz

To play chess at a strong level, it is essential to play according to sound principles

To increase the influence of your fianchettoed bishop, open the center

A temporary advantage must be exploited at once

When you fianchetto one bishop, the other bishop automatically loses a little of its mobility

Rooks attack best from a distance

You should not change openings because the opponent is higher-rated

Passive defense can work against rook and knight pawns, but it does not work against inner pawns

An imbalance is a double-edged sword

Pawns gain in strength as the power of the pieces left on the board decreases

There is a difference between blitz and time-trouble

Exchange your redundant rook for your opponent's only rook

When ahead pieces, trade pieces, when behind pieces, trade pawns

When you are ahead on pieces, trade pieces (but not necessarily pawns)

Connected passed pawns on the 6th rank beat a Rook

The more redundant two pieces are, generally the weaker they are together

A lead in development is less important in closed positions

An advantage in development leads to other advantages

Poor development is a key breeding ground for opening traps

It is usually a good strategy to put your pawns on the color opposite of your bishop

He who fears an isolated queen's pawn should give up chess

Space is not an advantage unless you can use it beneficially for maneuvering and for piece play

A three-to-two majority is easier to convert into a passed pawn than is a four to-three majority

Plan your action on the side of your pawn majority

A central pawn majority favors the attacker

The fewer pawn islands you have the stronger the structure is

The square in front of the backward pawn is the main factor

Having a rook on the seventh rank is worth about a pawn

It is best to leave active pieces where they are

The initiative is above everything

Tactics flow from superior positions

Only calculate when it is essential

Bishops gain in strength as the endgame approaches

Calculate the moves that are forcing and tactical first

The player with an advantage must attack

Only the player with the initiative has the right to attack

If an attack can succeed with pieces alone, then leave the pawns where they are

It is usually better to have the rook in front of the queen when playing on an open file

If there are no weaknesses, you do not have an attack

Queen exchanges are usually better for the player who is attacking on the queenside

Take the minimum risk and use the maximum in economy to stop an attack

Only defend against direct threats

Bishops and knights rarely coordinate well with each other (Fredthebear says the knight can pile on the diagonal aim of the bishop for a numbers advantage, such as the Fried Live Attack striking together on f7. The bishop lurking behind the knight makes for excellent discovered attacks.)

A sudden change into an endgame can throw an attacker off his game

Three useable diagonals are worth a pawn

Plans are usually made for just a few moves at a time

Any imbalance should give the stronger player an edge

Wing pawns become more valuable relative to central pawns as material diminishes

There is no room for mistakes in a king and pawn endgame

It is usually a mistake to move a pawn on the side where your opponent is attacking

Try to meet short-term threats with long-term moves

The first player in an open position to control an open central file will generally get the initiative

It is usually wrong to remove a piece from an open file to avoid exchanges

Play where you have the advantage

You can usually allow weaknesses in your position in return for good piece activity

The move g3 is usually a more weakening move than h3

A weak square for one player is potentially a strong square for the other

You cannot consider the white and black squares in isolation when analyzing a position

Color Complex weaknesses are not as important when the minor pieces are gone

A support point is only valuable if it is near the action When your pieces are coordinated, they develop extraordinary power

If you have the bishop pair, put your pawns on the same color as your opponent's remaining bishop

If you are facing a double fianchetto, try to close the position and gain control of the center

The knight pair is not a good combination

Never use a rook to defend a pawn
(Never say never.)

If you have a dynamic advantage, but a static weakness, it might be better to keep your queen

If the rooks cannot penetrate, it is often worth the sacrifice of the ex-change to force penetration

"Life is what you make it: If you snooze, you lose; and if you snore, you lose more." — Phyllis George

Galatians 6:7 in the Bible "Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

"those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" is often cited as originating in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde written in 1385.

"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

Oct-04-10
I play the Fred: said...
You're distraught
because you're not
able to cope
feel like a dope
when Lasker hits
Puttin on (the Fritz)

"God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with." — Billy Graham

"I've read the last page of the Bible. It's all going to turn out all right." — Billy Graham

"A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip." — Billy Graham

"Only those who want everything done for them are bored." — Billy Graham

"My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." — Billy Graham

"Nothing can bring a real sense of security into the home except true love." — Billy Graham

"The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course." — Billy Graham

"God's mercy and grace give me hope - for myself, and for our world." — Billy Graham

"Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness." — Billy Graham

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER

The Blossom
by William Blake

Merry, merry sparrow!
Under leaves so green
A happy blossom
Sees you, swift as arrow,
Seek your cradle narrow,
Near my bosom.
Pretty, pretty robin!
Under leaves so green
A happy blossom
Hears you sobbing, sobbing,
Pretty, pretty robin,
Near my bosom.

"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

"True power is expressed in quiet confidence; it was the sea's very calmness that epitomized its mighty force." ― Emile Habiby

"Remember that there are two kinds of beauty: one of the soul and the other of the body. That of the soul displays its radiance in intelligence, in chastity, in good conduct, in generosity, and in good breeding, and all these qualities may exist in an ugly man. And when we focus our attention upon that beauty, not upon the physical, love generally arises with great violence and intensity. I am well aware that I am not handsome, but I also know that I am not deformed, and it is enough for a man of worth not to be a monster for him to be dearly loved, provided he has those spiritual endowments I have spoken of." ― Miguel Cervantes

4$zzzeeee

Dinner Prayer Hymn

Lord, bless this food and grant that we

May thankful for thy mercies be;

Teach us to know by whom we're fed;

Bless us with Christ, the living bread.

Lord, make us thankful for our food,

Bless us with faith in Jesus' blood;

With bread of life our souls supply,

That we may live with Christ on high.
Amen.