How many chess openings are there?

Well, White has 20 possible 1st moves. Black can respond with 20 of its own. That's 400, and we're ready for move 2. I don't know them, but I would not be at all surprised if there was a name for each of them. People are like that. You really, really don't need to know them all.

If you follow the rules of thumb for good opening play, I promise you that you'll be playing a named opening. Just put the 1st 3 moves in google, and you'll get the opening's name. With that information you can find other games that started the way your game started, likely by some very good players. Also, with the name you can read about it on Wikipedia, and find out what people think of it, who plays it, and its particular traps and idiosyncrasies.

Once again, The Rules of Thumb for Good Opening Play:

- Develop your pieces quickly with an eye towards controlling the center. Not necessarily occupying the center but controlling it certainly. - Castle your king just as soon as it's practical to do so. - Really try not to move a piece more than once during the opening, it's a waste of valuable time. - Connect your rooks. This marks the end of the opening. Connected rooks means that only your rooks and your castled king are on the back rank. - Respond to threats appropriately, even if you have to break the rules. They're rules of thumb, not scripture, or physical laws.

If you and your opponent follow these rules of thumb, you'll reach the middle game ready to fight. If only you follow these rules of thumb, you're already winning! Good Hunting. -- Eric H.

St. Thomas is full of Toms but has few Gerry's.

<<<Below is the acrostic poem by <Mrs T.B. Rowland:>

Tears now we sadly shed apart,
How keenly has death's sudden dart
E'en pierced a kingdom's loyal heart.

Dark lies the heavy gloomy pall
Upon our royal bower,
Kings, queens, and nations bow their heads,
Each mourn for England's flower.

Oh! God, to her speak peace divine,
For now no voice can soothe but thine.

Ah, why untimely snatched away,
Loved Prince – alas, we sigh –
Before thy sun its zenith reached
Athwart the noonday sky.
Noble in heart, in deed, and will,
Years hence thy name we'll cherish still.>

That poem was published on pages 140-141 of Chess Fruits (Dublin, 1884)>

"Chess first of all teaches you to be objective." Source: "The Soviet School of Chess" Book by Alexander Kotov, p. 42, 2001.

"Among a great many other things that chess teaches you is to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good. It trains you to think before grabbing and to think just as objectively when you're in trouble." — Stanley Kubrick

"Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules, take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment." — Garry Kasparov

"Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game." — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"To avoid losing a piece, many a person has lost the game." — Savielly Tartakower

"Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter." ― Winston S. Churchill

"Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him." ― Napoleon Bonaparte

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

"The journey is its own reward." — Homer

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." ― George Orwell

"In chess, as in life, a man is his own most dangerous opponent." ― Vasily Smyslov

"I always plan for long-term; life to me is a never-ending chess match." ― James D. Wilson

"Tis action moves the world....in the game of chess, mind that: ye cannot leave your men to stand unmoving on the board and hope to win. A soldier must first step upon the battlefield if does mean to cross it." ― Susanna Kearsley, The Winter Sea

"It's an entire world of just 64 squares. I feel safe in it. I can control it; I can dominate it. And it's predictable. So, if I get hurt, I only have myself to blame." ― Walter Tevis, The Queen's Gambit

"In life, as in chess, it is always better to analyze one's motives and intentions." ― Vladimir Nabokov

"Never play to win a pawn while your development is yet unfinished!" ― Aron Nimzowitsch

"Check your moves well, because it can
cost one pawn or losing a lot of just from three moves!" ― Deyth Banger

"What is a weak pawn? A pawn that is exposed to attack and also difficult to defend is a weak pawn. There are several varieties: isolated, doubled, too advanced, retarded backward." ― Samuel Reshevsky, Art of Positional Play (Note: A weak pawn cannot be defended by another pawn; it's protection must come from a piece of the back rank that might rather be more aggressively active.)

"The game gives us a satisfaction that Life denies us. And for the Chess player, the success which crowns his work, the great dispeller of sorrows, is named 'combination'." ― Emanuel Lasker

"The move is there, but you must see it." ― Savielly Tartakower

"Of course, errors are not good for a chess game, but errors are unavoidable and in any case, a game without errors, or as they say 'flawless game' is colorless." ― Mikhail Tal

"Whereas a novice makes moves until he gets checkmated (proof), a Grand Master realizes 20 moves in advance that it's futile to continue playing (conceptualizing)." ― Bill Gaede

"Chess is not a game, it's a war." ― Joshua the poetic penguin

"The King in chess is indeed a symbol of unity and wholeness and the other pieces are not separate entities but rather parts of "the One Thing", as Campbell put it." ― Roumen Bezergianov, Character Education with Chess

"In chess, without the king, the other pieces would all be "dead", so their existence is supported by the king, but they need to serve the king with their capacity for action in order to have a good game." ― Roumen Bezergianov

"...That is my biography from the first day of my chess life to the present.

JOURNALIST. And your plans?
PLAYER. To play!"
― Mikhail Tal, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal

"There had been a few times over the past year when she felt like this, with her mind not only dizzied but nearly terrified by the endlessness of chess." ― Walter Tevis, The Queen's Gambit

"Но человек существо легкомысленное и неблаговидное и, может быть, подобно шахматному игроку, любит только один процесс достижения цели, а не самую цель." ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground Russian

"But man is a frivolous and unseemly creature and, perhaps, like a chess player, loves only one process of achieving a goal, and not the goal itself." ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground English translation

"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness." ― Albert Einstein

"Le jeu dechec, say the French, n'est pas assez jeu: That is, chess games and others of the same importance, are not Spill, but a Study. Such may be presented to those who have nothing to order, and who fear, out of idleness, for the rust of Hiernen, but not industrious people who seek recreation in Spill and Company." ― Ludvig Holberg, Epistles

"An advantage could consist not only in a single important advantage but also in a multitude of insignificant advantages." ― Emanuel Lasker, "Lasker's Manual of Chess", p.464

"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

"Giving doesn't always involve money." ― Charmaine J. Forde

"She had heard of the genetic code that could shape an eye or hand from passing proteins. Deoxyribonucleic acid. It contained the entire set of instructions for constructing a respiratory system and a digestive one, as well as the grip of an infant's hand. Chess was like that. The geometry of a position could be read and reread and not exhausted of possibility. You saw deeply into the layer of it, but there was another layer beyond that, and another, and another." ― Walter Tevis, The Queen's Gambit

"Chess, like love, is infectious at any age - Salo Flohr" ― Irving Chernev, The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy

"Life is short, precious, and should not be wasted. Everyone has a chance at it. We're equals after all. There are no pawns, no kings, and no queens.
We're all humans and we all have the same value." ― Cristelle Comby, Blind Chess

"Life is a mysterious and witty intermingling of fate and events." ― Alexandra Kosteniuk

"Zugzwang. It's when you have no good moves. But you still have to move." ― Michael Chabon

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." ― Galileo Galilei

"Everyone wants to be wanted and if all people wait for someone else to invest in them, the world will be stuck in an eternal stalemate: nobody moves and nobody wins." ― Laura L.

"If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because He Himself is the way." ― Thomas Aquinas

"У нас есть шахматы с собой, Шекспир и Пушкин, с нас довольно." ― Vladimir Nabokov, Стихотворения Russian

"We have chess with us,
Shakespeare and Pushkin, we've had enough." English translation ― Vladimir Nabokov, Poems

"I put my hand on a bishop, my would be assassin, and thought of my father's heights when he won, how he galloped around. The depths of his despair at losing, I expected, would be equal to the peaks. He'd mope about, his face fallen and miserable, his posture stooped as if his back ached. I took my hand from the piece and leaned back in deliberation." ― Rion Amilcar Scott, Insurrections: Stories

"We are men who find chess fascinating. Did you expect our lives to be secretly interesting?" ― Noah Boyd, Agent X

"I keep on fighting as long as my opponent can make a mistake." ― Emanuel Lasker

"Pick a leader who is strong and confident, yet humble. Intelligent, but not sly. A leader who encourages diversity, not racism. One who understands the needs of the farmer, the teacher, the welder, the doctor, and the environmentalist -- not only the banker, the oil tycoon, the weapons developer, or the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyist." ― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

"Question the answers, I repeated every class. Reevaluate your conclusions when the evidence changes." ― Craig M. Mullaney, The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education

"O it's Tommy this, and Tommy that, and Tommy 'ow's your soul/But it's thin red line of heroes when the drums begin to roll." ― Rudyard Kipling, Barrack Room Ballads & Departmental Ditties and Ballads

"I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any treat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within." ― Douglas MacArthur

"America's finest - our men and women in uniform, are a force for good throughout the world, and that is nothing to apologize for." ― Sarah Palin

"I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy." ― John F. Kennedy

"Civilians are like beans; you buy 'em as needed for any job which merely requires skill and savvy. But you can't buy fighting spirit."
― Robert A. Heinlein

"There were many, many times thereafter that Don regretted having enlisted - but so has every man who ever volunteered for military service." ― Robert A. Heinlein, Between Planets

Alas, heed Lasker's observation: "More chess games are lost by not applying what you already know, than by what you don't know." (FTB is paraphrasing the original quote.)

"Heroism doesn't always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history. Sometimes a chicken can save a man's life." ― Mary Roach, Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

"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

"A tie is like kissing your sister." ― Navy football coach Eddie Erdelatz after a scoreless tie against Duke in 1953

"If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing you grandmother with her teeth out." ― George Brett, All-star baseball player

"Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts." ― Dan Gable, all-time winningest wrestler

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

"In chess, as in life, a man is his own most dangerous opponent." — Vasily Smyslov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Be your own Sunshine. Always." ― Purvi Raniga

"Most promises featuring the word 'always' are unkeepable." ― John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed

"You should never say never. Just like you should never say always; because, always and never are always never true." ― J. R. Krol

"<Never and Always>

Never take advantage of someone whom loves you
Never avoid someone whom needs you
Never betray anyone whom has trust in you

Never forget the people that always remember you

Never speak ill of a person who is not present

Never support something you know is wrong or unethical

Always speak to your parents on their birthday and anniversary

Always defend those who cannot defend themselves

Always forgive those you love whom have made mistakes

Always give something to those less fortunate than you

Always remember to look back at those who helped you succeed

Always call your parents and siblings on New Year's Eve." ― R.J. Intindola

В ти́хом о́муте че́рти во́дятся Pronunciation: v TEEham Omutye CHYERtee VOdyatsya Translation: The devil lives in the still waters Meaning: Still waters run deep; beware of a silent dog and still water

Fools look to tomorrow. Wise men use tonight. ~ Scottish Proverb

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

* 11 sides: https://www.inspiremalibu.com/blog/...

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

* Adolf Anderssen miniatures: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

* Champion miniatures: Game Collection: Champions miniature champions

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

* Capture results vary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t2...

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

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

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

* Diagrammed Checkmate Patterns:
Game Collection: Checkmate: Checkmate Patterns

* Bill Wall should have been on beer commercials crushing empty beer cans with his bare hands: Bill Wall

"Why don't you play checkers with Bill anymore?" "Would you play with a person who cheats and moves his men around when you are not looking?" "No."
"Well, neither would Bill."

* Candidates 2014: World Championship Candidates (2014)

* Carlsen's Minis: Game Collection: Carlsen's winning miniatures

* C-K, 2 Knts games:
Game Collection: Caro-Kann Two Knights

* Classic games by great players: Game Collection: Guinness Book - Chess Grandmasters (Hartston)

* Chess Links: http://www.chessdryad.com/links/ind...

* Defend Your Pieces, Kids! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc-...

* Don't crow: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iDUA...

* D4 chess openings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlR...

* BDG trix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpV...

* Lemberger Countergambit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG3...

* A great decade of chess: Game Collection: Mil y Una Partidas 1950-1959

* Expanded Edition:
Game Collection: 125 Greatest Chess Games

* Feeling Punny? Don't tell Fredthebear. Use the Submission Page: Pun Submission Page

* Find Forcing Moves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHO...

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

* Gambit against the Dutch: Game Collection: 1.Nf3 f5 2.d3!

* Gambits by ECO code: https://www.jimmyvermeer.com/openin...

* Gerry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7k...

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

* Andre the Giant: Game Collection: Defensa Philidor, ese campo de minas

* Good Historical Links:
https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/in...

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

* Hastings 1895: Hastings (1895)

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

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

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

* Illegal move: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oI...

* Imagination: Game Collection: Imagination in Chess

* Immortal Games: Game Collection: Immortal games

* Jackpot History: https://www.megamillions.com/About/...

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

* Surprise Knockouts: Game Collection: quick knockouts of greats

* Collection assembled by Fredthebear.

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

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

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

* Nuremberg 1896: Nuremberg (1896)

* Nunn's Course: Game Collection: Lasker JNCC

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

* Occupy the Open File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_w...

* Overloaded! Game Collection: OVERLOADED!

* Oskar plays 1e4: Oskar Oglaza

* Opening Explorer: Opening Explorer

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

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

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

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

* Petrosian's Best: Game Collection: P.H.Clarke: Petrosian's Best games

* Rare gambits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_r...

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

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

* Solitaire: Game Collection: Solitaire Chess by I. A. Horowitz

* Stunners: Game Collection: Stunners

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

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

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

* Trap the Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmU...

* QGD: Game Collection: QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED

* When to Trade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGa...

* UK: https://chesscircuit.substack.com/

* Wishful Thinking, Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlN...

* Zukertort System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcN...

* 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

"The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens." ― Jimmy Carter, 39th U.S. President

Connecticut: Windsor
Established in: 1633

Settlers from Plymouth Colony built the first trading house in Windsor in 1633 on an expanse of land they bought from Native Americans who were living there. Windsor was Connecticut's first English settlement, with a perfect location on the water. Today, the city uses its "first town" status to create a historical atmosphere ideal for tourism.

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

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

* Three Simple Chess Tips: https://www.premierchesscoaching.co...

* History of Chess: https://boldchess.com/history/

The Kings of Chess: A History of Chess, Traced Through the Lives of Its Greatest Players by William Hartston William Hartson traces the development of the game from its Oriental origins to the present day through the lives of its greatest exponents - men like Howard Staunton, who transformed what had been a genteel pastime into a competitive science; the brilliant American Paul Morphy, who once played a dozen simultaneous games blindfold; the arrogant and certified insane Wilhelm Steinitz; the philosopher and mathematician Emanual Lasker; Bobby Fischer, perhaps the most brilliant and eccentric of them all; and many other highly gifted individuals. Hartson depicts all their colorful variety with a wealth of rare illustrations.

Format: Hardcover
Language: English
ISBN: 006015358X
ISBN13: 9780060153588
Release Date: January 1985
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Length: 192 Pages
Weight: 1.80 lbs.

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

"I do not know how old I was when I learned to play chess. I could not have been older than eight, because I still have a chessboard on whose side my father inscribed, with a soldering iron, "Saša Hemon 1972." I loved the board more than chess—it was one of the first things I owned. Its materiality was enchanting to me: the smell of burnt wood that lingered long after my father had branded it; the rattle of the thickly varnished pieces inside, the smacking sound they made when I put them down, the board's hollow wooden echo. I can even recall the taste—the queen's tip was pleasantly suckable; the pawns' round heads, not unlike nipples, were sweet. The board is still at our place in Sarajevo, and, even if I haven't played a game on it in decades, it is still my most cherished possession, providing incontrovertible evidence that there once lived a boy who used to be me." ― Aleksandar Hemon, The Book of My Lives

Petrosian's mastery of a closed position:
<In what appears to be perfectly equal positions, Petrosian consistently finds seemingly innocuous moves that gradually overwhelm his opponent. He accomplishes his objective simply by exchanging pieces and manoeuvring for victory without taking unnecessary risks. This essentially defensive technique has the virtue, when it doesn't utterly succeed, of producing a draw.> ― Larry Evans, introduction to game 3 from My 60 Memorable Games by Robert James Fischer.

<lillia wrote:

CHESS
do you want to play chess?
I would, but it's 11 pm
The connection is bad
ok i like it when you win
i don't let you win, i don't try my hardest but
even if i did, you'd win
Ok I like it when you win>

Chess has six different kinds of pieces, and they all interact in myriad ways. Your opponent's own pieces can often be used against him.

While the Queen is the strongest piece, it is the weakest defender; and while the pawn is the weakest piece, it is the strongest defender.

José Raúl Capablanca used the principle "Cutting off pieces from the scene of action."

<Like new-laid eggs Chess Problems are, Though very good, they may be beaten;
And yet, though like, they're different far,
They may be cooked, but never eaten.

Source: page 58 of Poems and Chess Problems by J.A. Miles (Fakenham, 1882).>

If Dracula can't see his reflection in the mirror, how come his hair is always so neatly combed?

Giggling caricatures often make good elves if you feed them lucky charmz.

Trolling is cyberbullying. The troll should be banned from the website for good.

Internet trollz are people who want to provoke and upset others online for their own amusement. Here's how to spot the signz that someone is a troll, and how to handle them.

What Are Internet Trollz?
If you've been on the internet for any period of time, you've likely run into a troll at some point. An internet troll is someone who makes intentionally inflammatory, rude, or upsetting statements online to elicit strong emotional responses in people or to steer the conversation off-topic. They can come in many forms. Most trolls do this for their own amusement, but other forms of trolling are done to push a specific agenda.

Trollz have existed in folklore and fantasy literature for centuries, but online trolling has been around for as long as the internet has existed. The earliest known usage of the term can be traced back to the 1990s on early online message boards. Back then, it was a way for users to confuse new members by repeatedly posting an inside joke. It's since turned into a much more malicious activity.

Trolling is distinct from other forms of cyberbullying or harassment. It is normally not targeted towards any one person and relies on other people paying attention and becoming provoked. Trolling exists on many online platforms, from small private group chats to the biggest social media websites. Here's a list of places online where you're likely to see online trolls:

Anonymous online forums: Places like removed to prevent more trolling are prime real-estate for online trolls. Because there's no way of tracing who someone is, trolls can post very inflammatory content without repercussion. This is especially true if the forum has lax or inactive moderation. Twitter: Twitter also has the option to be anonymous, and has become a hotbed for internet trolls. Frequent Twitter trolling methods involve hijacking popular hashtags and mentioning popular Twitter personalities to gain attention from their followers.

Comment sections: The comment sections of places such as YouTube and news websites are also popular areas for trolls to feed. You'll find a lot of obvious trolling here, and they frequently generate a lot of responses from angry readers or viewers.

You'll find trollz anywhere online, including on Facebook and on online dating sites. They're unfortunately pretty common.

Signs Someone Is Trolling
It can sometimes become difficult to tell the difference between a troll and someone who just genuinely wants to argue about a topic. However, here are a few tell-tale signs that someone is actively trolling.

Off-topic remarkz: Completely going off-topic from the subject at hand. This is done to annoy and disrupt other posters.

Refusal to acknowledge evidence: Even when presented with hard, cold factz, they ignore this and pretend like they never saw it.

Dismissive, condescending tone: An early indicator of a troll was that they would ask an angry responder, "Why you mad, bro?" This is a method done to provoke someone even more, as a way of dismissing their argument altogether. Use of unrelated images or memes: They reply to others with memes, images, and gifs. This is especially true if done in response to a very long text post. Seeming obliviousness: They seem oblivious that most people are in disagreement with them. Also, trolls rarely get mad or provoked. The list above is by no means definitive. There are a lot of other ways to identify that someone is trolling. Generally, if someone seems disingenuous, uninterested in a real discussion, and provocative on purpose, they're likely an internet troll.

How Should I Handle Them?
A "Danger: Do not feed the troll" sign on a computer keyboard.

The most classic adage regarding trolling is, "Don't feed the trollz." Trollz seek out emotional responses and find provocation amusing, so replying to them or attempting to debate them will only make them troll more. By ignoring a troll completely, they will likely become frustrated and go somewhere else on the internet.

You should try your best not to take anything trollz say seriously. No matter how poorly they behave, remember these people spend countless unproductive hours trying to make people mad. They're not worth your time of day.

If a troll becomes spammy or begins to clog up a thread, you can also opt to report them to the site's moderation team. Depending on the website, there's a chance nothing happens, but you should do your part to actively dissuade them from trolling on that platform. If your report is successful, the troll may be temporarily suspended or their account might be banned entirely.

In 1996, World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov beat IBM's "Deep Blue" supercomputer 4–2 in a best-of-6 match-up. Man and machine rematched in 1997, and the computer won 3.5–2.5 after unusually poor play by Kasparov.

<<This poem is dedicated to all members who have experienced the breaking of a gentleman's agreement.>

He Know No Honor

Now in yonder obscurity live a bishop called Pork his tongue protruding like a two-pronged fork.
He say: nova dear, I will play you thirty/thirty then he quickly run, I say: that be little dirty. This Pork he say; sweet nova please grant me tie upon my honor as a holy man I do never lie.
He say: nova dear: I will play you thirty/thirty but he quickly run: I say that be more than little dirty to Pork this kindly nova say: I grant you draw
as Pork's time in present game all but gone he saw. he say: dear nova, I will play you thirty/thirty as he quickly run: I truly say that be fricken dirty. now always loudly to this Pork I shall tell
no more play me but evil one who live in hell.>

Birthday boy
I was administering an achievement test to David, a precocious six-year-old, and I began by asking him when his birthday was.

"February 20," was his quick response.

Next I asked him, "What year, David?"

He looked at me quizzically at first and then hit upon the obvious answer. "Every year," he said.

My Wage
by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;

For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have paid.

<<<Below is a <Paul 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.>

Runnin' on empty...
Question: You're in a race and you pass the person in second place. What place are you in now?

The chess-playing supercomputer Deep Blue could calculate 100 to 200 billion different positions in under 3 minutes.

Answer: Second place.

M.Hassan: <Eggman>: Scarborough Chess Club which is said to be the biggest chess club in Canada, arranges tournaments under the name of "Howard Rideout" tournaments. Is he the same Rideout that you are mentioning?. I only know that this is to commemorate "Rideout" who has been a player and probably in that club because the club is over 40 years old. This tournament is repeated year after year and at the beginning of the season when the club resumes activity after summer recession in September. Zxp

PeterB: Eggman and Mr. Hassan - you are right, Howard Ridout was a long time member of the Scarborough Chess Club! He was very active even when I joined in 1969, and was still organizing tournaments at the time of his death in the 1990s. This game is a good memorial to him! Theodorovitch was a Toronto master rated about 2250 back then, perhaps about 2350 nowadays.

The Two Friends

Two friends, in Monomotapa,
Had all their interests combined.
Their friendship, faithful and refined,
Our country can't exceed, do what it may.
One night, when potent Sleep had laid
All still within our planet's shade,
One of the two gets up alarmed,
Runs over to the other's palace,
And hastily the servants rallies.
His startled friend, quick armed,
With purse and sword his comrade meets,
And thus right kindly greets:
"You seldom com'st at such an hour;
I take you for a man of sounder mind
Than to abuse the time for sleep designed.
Have lost your purse, by Fortune's power?
Here's mine. Have suffered insult, or a blow,
I have here my sword – to avenge it let us go." "No," said his friend, "no need I feel
Of either silver, gold, or steel;
I thank you for your friendly zeal.
In sleep I saw you rather sad,
And thought the truth might be as bad.
Unable to endure the fear,
That cursed dream has brought me here."

Which think you, reader, loved the most!
If doubtful this, one truth may be proposed:
There's nothing sweeter than a real friend:
Not only is he prompt to lend –
An angler delicate, he fishes
The very deepest of your wishes,
And spares your modesty the task
His friendly aid to ask.
A dream, a shadow, wakes his fear,
When pointing at the object dear.

"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

The Old Man And His Sons

All power is feeble with dissension:
For this I quote the Phrygian slave.
If anything I add to his invention,
It is our manners to engrave,
And not from any envious wishes; –
I'm not so foolishly ambitious.
Phaedrus enriches often his story,
In quest – I doubt it not – of glory:
Such thoughts were idle in my breast.
An aged man, near going to his rest,
His gathered sons thus solemnly addressed:
"To break this bunch of arrows you may try;
And, first, the string that binds them I untie." The eldest, having tried with might and main,
Exclaimed, "This bundle I resign
To muscles sturdier than mine."
The second tried, and bowed himself in vain.
The youngest took them with the like success.
All were obliged their weakness to confess.
Unharmed the arrows passed from son to son;
Of all they did not break a single one.
"Weak fellows!" said their sire, "I now must show What in the case my feeble strength can do."
They laughed, and thought their father but in joke, Till, one by one, they saw the arrows broke.
"See, concord's power!" replied the sire; "as long As you in love agree, you will be strong.
I go, my sons, to join our fathers good;
Now promise me to live as brothers should,
And soothe by this your dying father's fears."
Each strictly promised with a flood of tears.
Their father took them by the hand, and died;
And soon the virtue of their vows was tried.
Their sire had left a large estate
Involved in lawsuits intricate;
Here seized a creditor, and there
A neighbour levied for a share.
At first the trio nobly bore
The brunt of all this legal war.
But short their friendship as It was rare.
Whom blood had joined – and small the wonder! – The force of interest drove asunder;
And, as is wont in such affairs,
Ambition, envy, were co-heirs.
In parcelling their sire's estate,
They quarrel, quibble, litigate,
Each aiming to supplant the other.
The judge, by turns, condemns each brother.
Their creditors make new assault,
Some pleading error, some default.
The sundered brothers disagree;
For counsel one, have counsels three.
All lose their wealth; and now their sorrows
Bring fresh to mind those broken arrows.

Rated 5 stars
Chess Classic !
This book is truly a gem of chess literature. The book as you may already know, is a collection of master games which demonstrate how a small advantage is exploited in the hands of masters. You will find the games very instructive and will have no problems understanding the motives behind the moves. This because Chernev does an exceptional job in his annotations. I have found no mistakes in his notes or the games themselves. Chernev worked real hard on this book and his love for the game of chess radiates from the pages. A warning to those who expect wild attacking games. This is a collection of games from the late 19th century to the 1950's, when positional and strategic style of play was more popular. These selected games show how an opening, middle game, and endgame should be treated. "The best way to learn endings as well as openings," says Capablanca in Chess Fundamentals, "is from the games of the masters." Some reviewer of this book goes on to say that "The games in this book are boring, and only won by the winner because of some mistake on the loser's part. To which I reply, what chess game is not won on the account of the opposition making a mistake. In reality all chess games if properly played out should end in a draw. There are also people who complain because the book is in descriptive notation. Something I didn't have a problem with, it just adds to the mystique of these chess games of the past. This is a great book and a must have. I have spent many pleasurable hours with this book, a cup of joe, and some Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Ludwig van Beethoven in the background. You will not regret buying this book. I didn't when I returned Pandolfini's Traps and Zaps for this copy.

Rated 5 stars
For Lover's Only
Easily one of the best books ever written. This is one of the first books I purchased over 30 years ago. I am sure it helped start me on the road to Chess Mastery. Chernev, like Reinfeld, did NOT write chess books to impress other Chess Masters. He wrote books simply and with great care. He also put his tremendous love of the game into this book. I simply cannot convey what a wonderful book this is. This book will especially appeal to the average player, especially someone who wants to improve his game. I usually don't rave about books. This is an exception. Here is what I say about this book on my web site: "The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played." 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy. It contains 62 true masterpieces of chess by various different players. (Masters such as Fischer, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tal, etc. Plus, many more of the all-time greats!!) Each game is carefully and lovingly annotated. This book had a tremendous impact on me and the way that I viewed and looked at chess. I studied it many, many, many times. Chernev provides games with an almost blow-by-blow commentary. His ideas are simple, fresh, insightful, and expressed with great clarity. He explains all the basic ideas of the game in a manner that ANY chess-player can follow. The variations are perfect. Not too much to overload the senses. I have had players who were almost beginners to players who were accomplished tournament players ... tell me that they profited from a careful study of this book. I think one should study this book, as I did. Every time your rating goes up 100 points, you should work your way through this book from cover to cover! You won't regret it and you definitely will improve! Another unique thing is he finds one idea or theme in each game, and just hammers away at it. It is a VERY good study method. It also contains some of the classics of chess, and Chernev brings you a fresh insight and analysis to each game. (Indeed - his comments and analysis may differ greatly from the ones that may have been published in the chess press when the game was first played.) Chernev was one of the greatest all-time teachers and writers in the chess field. This book is a true pearl!!! I think it belongs in the library of every real chess aficionado. >><p>I also rate this in, "The Ten Best Chess Books Ever Written." Need I say more?

The underhanded CGs hacker stalking FTB's account stripped the book title and links (as well as some opening theory) from the reviews above, so here it is again: The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev. Game Collection: The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played and https://lichess.org/study/w2JcfP5K

Here is the Batsford reprint of Chernev's book in algebraic notation! https://archive.org/details/mostins...

Reuben Fine can show you the not-so-easy way. Sign up for free and you can read books for free: https://archive.org/details/chessea...

Never let your feet run faster than your shoes. ~ Scottish Proverb

The chess piece that looks like the turret of a castle is called a "rook," from the original Persian name for the piece, ruhk, meaning "chariot."

Be happy while you're living, For you're a long time dead. ~ Scottish Proverb

from the simpleton poet:

<Roses are red.
Violets are blue.

Chess is creative.
And a journey too.

Good in the morning.
Or just before bed.

Play cheater_1, with engine.
Or OTB, all in your head.>

Acts 20:35 "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction"

Cartref yw cartref, er tloted y bo
Meaning: A beautiful Welsh saying that translates as ‘home is home, no matter how poor it is'

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." ~ Portuguese Proverb

"So if you think that when you are better, it means that you can smash ahead and mate the guy, you are wrong; that is not what better means. What better means is that your position has the potential, if played correctly, to turn out well. So do not think that when you are better and when you are attacking that you can just force mate. That is not what it is about. Often the way to play best, the way to play within the position, is to maintain it." ― Josh Waitzkin

Ephesians 6:4: "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

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."

Ecclesiastes 9:9: "Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun."

< <<Charlotte Chess Center Tuesday Night Action> Charlotte Chess Center>

EVENT OVERVIEW
Tuesday Night Action-Weekly Rated Play
The CCC conducts a weekly US Chess rated game every Tuesday night. This is a great way for players to get weekly practice without committing a whole weekend to play a tournament. The Top Section also FIDE-rated - offering the only free weekly FIDE-rated game in the country! In addition, there is a free lecture before the games begin.

HOW IT WORKS
CCC opens Tuesdays at 5:45pm

Lecture with FM Peter Giannatos prior to rated games from 6:00pm-6:45pm

Players must register weekly and in advance using the online registration system

Each Tuesday evening will be limited to the first 62 players to register

TNA registration will close at 6:30pm if not already full

Once spots are filled, players may email events@charlottechesscenter.org to be placed on the waitlist.

​
REQUIREMENTS
Players must be members of the CCC

Players must have a US Chess membership

Open to all players in grades 9-12 and adults

Students in grades K-8 must be rated over 1000

​K-8 players rated under 1000 - See Wednesday Action Quads and Friday Action Quads

​
START TIME
Lecture: 6:00pm

Game: 7:00pm

GAMES
1 Round Weekly, Rated After 4 Rounds/Weeks

​
SECTIONS
TOP (1600+)

Under 1600

Under 1200

"Playing up" not permitted in TNA

TIME CONTROL
Top Section: G/85 mins; inc/5 - FIDE and US Chess Rated

U1600 & U1200 Sections: G/60 mins; inc/5 - US Chess Rated

ENTRY FEE
Free, must be a CCC Member​ - CCC membership only $40/year - join today!​

OTHER NOTES​​
Top Section is FIDE-rated - FIDE rules apply, except for US Chess penalties for cell phone infractions.

Tournament Directors will accelerate pairings to pair players close in rating when possible

Most recent "live" US Chess regular ratings used for all sections to ensure close matchups

Open to high schoolers and adults of any rating, including unrated

Students in grades K-8 must be rated 1000

Players in grades K-8 and rated under 1000 - see Wednesday Action Quads and Friday Action Quads

For all CCC events, bookmark our events calendar

All players must use CCC equipment - wooden sets and digital clocks provided

<Address:
10700 Kettering Drive
Unit E
Charlotte, NC 28226 >>

Current chess engines like Stockfish are capable of easily beating Deep Blue, the IBM supercomputer that defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997, as well as all human contenders.

"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." ― Satchel Paige

"Risk" by Anais Nin

And then the day came,
when the risk
to remain tight
in a bud
was more painful
than the risk
it took
to blossom.

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

Riddle Question: I'm a mobile fortress; straight is my path. When it comes to castling, I'm part of the craft. What am I?

The name "coronavirus" is derived from the Latin word "corona," meaning "crown" or "halo." This refers to the appearance of a crown or a solar corona around the virus particles.

Riddle Answer: Rook

California's Sequoia National Park is home to the largest living single-stem tree in the world, the wonderfully named General Sherman. The tree is approximately 275 feet tall and weighs approximately 1,900 metric tons.

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run—
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!

"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

<God is great and God is good,

Let us thank Him for our food;

By His blessings, we are fed,

Give us Lord, our daily bread.
Amen.>

"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

* Riddle-xp-free: https://www.briddles.com/riddles/ch...

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ― Martin Luther King Jr.

"De Ludo Scachorum" was first translated into French in 1347. In 1474, 2 years before it was printed in French, William Caxton translated the text from the French (of Jean de Vignay) into English and printed it under the title, "The Game of Chess." "The Game of Chess" was the second book ever printed in the English language. The first book, also printed by Claxton was "The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye," also translated from French (of Raoul le Fèvre) and also in 1474. Caxton printed almost 100 books, and of these 20 were translations from French or Dutch into English. — batgirl, chess.com

Centenarian Adrine Lee's key to longevity lies in four simple steps:

01. "Keep going and never give up."
02. "Make yourself walk."
03. "I drink the faucet water."
04. "Don't just die all because you want to."

1 Corinthians 13 King James Version

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

When Moses asked God, "Who shall I tell Pharaoh has sent me?" God said, "I AM THAT I AM." Jehovah or Yahweh is the most intensely sacred name to Jewish scribes and many will not even pronounce the name. When possible, they use another name." https://www.biblestudytools.com/bib...

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

"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

"Someday, somewhere – anywhere, unfailingly, you'll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life." ― Pablo Neruda

"Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face." ― Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. President

Philippians 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

"Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays." — Soren Kierkegaard

<<<poem by <B.H. Wood> which appeared in the following issue of the Chess Amateur: December 1929 (page 56)>

The Chess Cafe I>

Here is the life of Chess! – What's master play But its post-mortem? Scattered far and near
Are business men at leisure, youths and grey
Ancients, immersed in mental rivalry.
Here
How happily I'm come, for here, to me,
All life is peace; my roll and coffee seem
Food of the gods; the games I play and see
Lit with the hazy luminance of a dream.
Though champions still make a toil of chess,
We revel in unsound contentedness.>

"Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy." ― Norman Vincent Peale

Adar o'r un lliw ehedant i'r un lle
Meaning: Similar to the saying ‘birds of a feather flock together', it means ‘birds of the same colour fly to the same place'

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ― Martin Luther King Jr.

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Zappah's bad at chess

And horrible at checkers too

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 world chess champion to hold the title longest was Dr. Emanuel Lasker of Germany, who was champion for just under 27 consecutive years, although there was not a title match played during most of those years.

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

Largest rating lead
On the July 1972 FIDE rating list, Bobby Fischer's rating of 2785 was 125 points ahead of the second-highest rated player, then-reigning World Champion Boris Spassky (2660). Kasparov's biggest lead at his peak was 82 points in January 2000. In both the January and July 1990 rating lists, Kasparov was rated 2800 while Karpov was the only player rated 2700+, with third place being at 2680 although the identity of the third-place player changed. Magnus Carlsen's biggest lead was 74 points in October 2013.

<<Daisies and Dance>

In gardens where the daisies sway,
The butterflies come out to play.
With colors bold, they twirl and glide,
In springtime's warmth, they dance with pride.
Their graceful loops, a blissful sight,
Among the blooms, so pure and bright.>

"Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education." ― Martin Luther King Jr.

"We made too many wrong mistakes."
― Yogi Berra, 18-time American League All-Star

"Even Napoleon had his Watergate."
― Yogi Berra, 10-time World Series champion

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

The Pawn Who Had to Go

The little pawn screamed: "I cannot hold it anymore, get me a pot or I will do exactly what I did before." Everybody laughed with the exception of the opposing king who guessed what was on the mind of this filthy thing. But nobody had time to fetch a pot or even a plastic bag They were too busy to ensure that the game became a drag. The guys in white kept running back and forth but no change. The guys in black stayed also within the very same range. Suddenly the unhappy pawn who had screamed for a pot, did a weird little dance while moving up one slot. Now standing near the king he simply pulled his pants down and peed straight up against the king's beautiful crown.

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

"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor." — Seneca

"The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back." ― Abigail Van Buren

"A wise man never knows all; only a fool knows everything." — African Proverb

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

Wordzy Phun:
16xp zpoofi! varnish prejudices aghast Zim, Nazi Paikidze blow by wind attic Bucharest a bit b4 Zhuravliov arrivez to discussion Zdravko M's cartwheel.

"Debt is dumb. Cash is king." — Dave Ramsey

Z is for Zipper (to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb")

Zipper starts with letter Z,
Letter Z, letter Z,
Zipper starts with Letter Z,
/z/, /z/, /z/, /z/!

Benoni Defense, Modern Variation: https://www.chess.com/openings/Beno...

Drawbacks of the offbeat Grob opening: https://www.chess.com/openings/Grob...

Learn the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack: https://www.chess.com/openings/Nimz...

Learn the KIA and Reti Openings: https://www.chess.com/lessons/learn...

50 Chess Principles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXV...

11 sides: https://www.inspiremalibu.com/blog/...

Rare gambits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_r...

Refute the Budapest Gambit: https://www.chess.com/video/player/...

Refute the Hennig-Schara Gambit: https://www.chess.com/video/player/...

Refute the Belgrade Gambit: https://www.chess.com/video/player/...

Refute the Milner-Barry Gambit: https://www.chess.com/video/player/...

Refute the Vienna Gambit: https://www.chess.com/video/player/...

Tactical Improvement: https://www.chess.com/video/player/...