All the 75 games from the Botvinnik's book (1966, Spanish version) with the same name.
Pioneers! O Pioneers
by Walt Whitman
1
COME, my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready;
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp edged axes? Pioneers! O pioneers!
2
For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We, the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend, Pioneers! O pioneers!
3
O you youths, western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you, western youths, see you tramping with the foremost, Pioneers! O pioneers!
4
Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied, over there beyond the seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden, and the lesson, Pioneers! O pioneers!
5
All the past we leave behind;
We debouch upon a newer, mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march, Pioneers! O pioneers!
6
We detachments steady throwing,
Down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing, as we go, the unknown ways, Pioneers! O pioneers!
7
We primeval forests felling,
We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;
We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers!
8
Colorado men are we,
From the peaks gigantic, from the great sierras and the high plateaus,
From the mine and from the gully, from the hunting trail we come, Pioneers! O pioneers!
9
From Nebraska, from Arkansas,
Central inland race are we, from Missouri, with the continental blood intervein'd;
All the hands of comrades clasping, all the Southern, all the Northern, Pioneers! O pioneers!
10
O resistless, restless race!
O beloved race in all! O my breast aches with tender love for all!
O I mourn and yet exult—I am rapt with love for all, Pioneers! O pioneers!
11
Raise the mighty mother mistress,
Waving high the delicate mistress, over all the starry mistress, (bend your heads all,)
Raise the fang'd and warlike mistress, stern, impassive, weapon'd mistress, Pioneers! O pioneers!
12
See, my children, resolute children,
By those swarms upon our rear, we must never yield or falter,
Ages back in ghostly millions, frowning there behind us urging, Pioneers! O pioneers!
13
On and on, the compact ranks,
With accessions ever waiting, with the places of the dead quickly fill'd,
Through the battle, through defeat, moving yet and never stopping, Pioneers! O pioneers!
14
O to die advancing on!
Are there some of us to droop and die? has the hour come?
Then upon the march we fittest die, soon and sure the gap is fill'd, Pioneers! O pioneers!
15
All the pulses of the world,
Falling in, they beat for us, with the western movement beat;
Holding single or together, steady moving, to the front, all for us, Pioneers! O pioneers!
16
Life's involv'd and varied pageants,
All the forms and shows, all the workmen at their work,
All the seamen and the landsmen, all the masters with their slaves, Pioneers! O pioneers!
17
All the hapless silent lovers,
All the prisoners in the prisons, all the righteous and the wicked,
All the joyous, all the sorrowing, all the living, all the dying, Pioneers! O pioneers!
18
I too with my soul and body,
We, a curious trio, picking, wandering on our way,
Through these shores, amid the shadows, with the apparitions pressing, Pioneers! O pioneers!
19
Lo! the darting bowling orb!
Lo! the brother orbs around! all the clustering suns and planets,
All the dazzling days, all the mystic nights with dreams, Pioneers! O pioneers!
20
These are of us, they are with us,
All for primal needed work, while the followers there in embryo wait behind,
We to-day's procession heading, we the route for travel clearing, Pioneers! O pioneers!
21
O you daughters of the west!
O you young and elder daughters! O you mothers and you wives!
Never must you be divided, in our ranks you move united, Pioneers! O pioneers!
22
Minstrels latent on the prairies!
(Shrouded bards of other lands! you may sleep—you have done your work;)
Soon I hear you coming warbling, soon you rise and tramp amid us, Pioneers! O pioneers!
23
Not for delectations sweet;
Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious;
Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment, Pioneers! O pioneers!
24
Do the feasters gluttonous feast?
Do the corpulent sleepers sleep? have they lock'd and bolted doors?
Still be ours the diet hard, and the blanket on the ground, Pioneers! O pioneers!
25
Has the night descended?
Was the road of late so toilsome? did we stop discouraged, nodding on our way?
Yet a passing hour I yield you, in your tracks to pause oblivious, Pioneers! O pioneers!
26
Till with sound of trumpet,
Far, far off the day-break call—hark! how loud and clear I hear it wind;
Swift! to the head of the army!—swift! spring to your places, Pioneers! O pioneers.
Patience is a virture.
* C-K, 2 Knts games:
Game Collection: Caro-Kann Two Knights
* Candidates 2014: World Championship Candidates (2014)
* Carlsen's Minis: Game Collection: Carlsen's winning miniatures
* Expanded Edition:
Game Collection: 125 Greatest Chess Games
* Hastings 1895: Hastings (1895)
* Petrosian's Best: Game Collection: P.H.Clarke: Petrosian's Best games
* Solitaire: Game Collection: Solitaire Chess by I. A. Horowitz
* Fabulous brilliancies:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/...
* Good Historical Links:
https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/in...
* Many gambits from all openings by ECO code: https://www.jimmyvermeer.com/openin...
* Oskar plays 1e4: Oskar Oglaza
* Feeling Punny? Don't tell Fredthebear. Use the Submission Page: Pun Submission Page
* Common checkmate patterns:
http://gambiter.com/chess/Checkmate...
* Chess Records: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/record...
* Famous Chess Photos: https://tr.pinterest.com/pin/585256...
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." ― George Orwell
* Chess Step-by-Step: https://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-...
* Pawn Instruction: http://www.logicalchess.com/learn/l...
Oct-09-11 FSR: After 1.e4 e5, 2.Ba6?? is the worst move by a country mile. After that, probably 2.b4 and 2.Ke2 are the worst. 2.Qg4 and 2.g4 are also pretty bad. White still has equality after 2.Qh5, so it's actually not a <terrible> move.
* Glossary: Wikipedia article: Glossary of chess
* Paul Morphy Miniatures:
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...
* 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...
* 4 Miniz: zPonziani, zKieseritzky, zPhilidor, zFrankenstein-Dracula: z https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...
* Forney's Brutes: Game Collection: Brutal Attacking Chess
* Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/
WTHarvey:
There once was a website named WTHarvey,
Where chess puzzles did daily delay,
The brain-teasers so tough,
They made us all huff and puff,
But solving them brought us great satisfaction today.
There once was a website named WTHarvey
Where chess puzzles were quite aplenty
With knight and rook and pawn
You'll sharpen your brain with a yawn
And become a master of chess entry
There once was a site for chess fun,
Wtharvey.com was the chosen one,
With puzzles galore,
It'll keep you in store,
For hours of brain-teasing, none done.
There once was a website named WTHarvey,
Where chess puzzles were posted daily,
You'd solve them with glee,
And in victory,
You'd feel like a true chess prodigy!
* Mr. Harvey's Puzzle Challenge: https://wtharvey.com/
* Murder by Email: Brendan Searson
"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
<"From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
― William Shakespeare, Henry V>
"They made us many promises, but they kept only one. They promised to take our land -- and they did." — Chief Red Cloud, Oglala-Lakota Sioux, 1822-1909.
"There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who are smart enough to know better."
― Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker
"If you open it, close it. If you turn it on, turn it off. If you take it out, put it back. If you empty it, fill it. If you fill it, empty it." — Kathryn Malter, St. Paul, MN
* Dec-12-20 MissScarlett: My advice to <acapo> is to close the pop-up ads by clicking on the little <x> in the top right corner.
Filomena wrote:
A Tactical Appeal
On this one bit I will not yield:
When on a modern battlefield
Where not one thought can be concealed
As hidden things can be revealed
You Shouldn't Wield a Wooden Shield
"If you want it, work for it."
"Tough times don't last, tough people do, remember?" — Gregory Peck
Old Russian Proverb: "If you are given something, take it; if you are being beaten, run. (Дают — бери, а бьют — беги.)"
"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
'Don't keep a dog and bark yourself'
'Don't cast your pearls before swine'
'Don't count your chickens before they are hatched'
Fortune and the Boy
Beside a well, uncurbed and deep,
A schoolboy laid him down to sleep:
(Such rogues can do so anywhere.)
If some kind man had seen him there,
He would have leaped as if distracted;
But Fortune much more wisely acted;
For, passing by, she softly waked the child,
Thus whispering in accents mild:
"I save your life, my little dear,
And beg you not to venture here
Again, for had you fallen in,
I should have had to bear the sin;
But I demand, in reason's name,
If for your rashness I'm to blame?"
With this the goddess went her way.
I like her logic, I must say.
There takes place nothing on this planet,
But Fortune ends, whoever began it.
In all adventures good or ill,
We look to her to foot the bill.
Has one a stupid, empty pate,
That serves him never till too late,
He clears himself by blaming Fate!
You can make a small fortune in farming-provided you start with a large one.
Riddle Question: If there are four sheep, two dogs and one herds-men, how many feet are there?
Agriculture: You Can't Live Without It! Does your soil have what it takes?
Riddle Answer: Two. Sheep have hooves; dogs have paws; only people have feet.
"Zeitnot" is German for "time pressure."
"....his countrymen, Kolisch and Steinitz, are greatly indebted for their later success to their having enjoyed early opportunities of practicing with the departed amateur whose death is also greatly deplored amongst all who knew him personally." — Wilhelm Steinitz, regarding Karl Hamppe
The first appearance of the (John) Cochrane gambit against Petrov's defense C42 was in the year 1848 against an Indian master Mohishunder Bannerjee.
"Sorry don't get it done, Dude!" — John Wayne, Rio Bravo
"Gossip is the devil's telephone. Best to just hang up." — Moira Rose
Q: What do you call the lights on Noah's Ark?
A: Flood lights.
Q: What do you call a snobby criminal walking down the steps?
A: A condescending con descending!
Q: What do you call a dollar frozen in a block of ice?
A: Cold hard cash.
Q: What do you call a dead pine tree?
A: A nevergreen.
Q: What do you call a pencil that is broken?
A: Pointless.
Q: What do you call two birds in love?
A: Tweethearts!
Q: What do you call a sad coffee?
A: Depresso.
Q: What do you call a priest that becomes an attorney?
A: Father-in-Law.
Q: What do you call a man with a toilet on his head?
A: John.
Fortune and the Boy
Beside a well, uncurbed and deep,
A schoolboy laid him down to sleep:
(Such rogues can do so anywhere.)
If some kind man had seen him there,
He would have leaped as if distracted;
But Fortune much more wisely acted;
For, passing by, she softly waked the child,
Thus whispering in accents mild:
"I save your life, my little dear,
And beg you not to venture here
Again, for had you fallen in,
I should have had to bear the sin;
But I demand, in reason's name,
If for your rashness I'm to blame?"
With this the goddess went her way.
I like her logic, I must say.
There takes place nothing on this planet,
But Fortune ends, whoever began it.
In all adventures good or ill,
We look to her to foot the bill.
Has one a stupid, empty pate,
That serves him never till too late,
He clears himself by blaming Fate!
Lichess has all the same basic offerings as Chess.com: a large community, many game types, tutorials, puzzles, and livestreams. The site has a simple appearance, and it seems built to get you where you want to go in as few clicks as possible. You can create an account, but if you're not concerned with tracking your games and finding other players at your level, there's no need to log in. Just fire up a new game, try some puzzles, or watch a chess streamer play three-minute games while listening to techno and chatting with the comments section.
A piece of cake: https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/che...
Dionysius1: I had basil on the pub's potage du jour yesterday. Soup herb!
"Mony a mickle maks a muckle" - Old Scots proverb
Very loosely translated as "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves", it is an expression which is aimed at educating people on the wisdom of saving and really means "many little things add up to a lot".
The Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot
An iron pot proposed
To an earthen pot a journey.
The latter was opposed,
Expressing the concern he
Had felt about the danger
Of going out a ranger.
He thought the kitchen hearth
The safest place on earth
For one so very brittle.
"For you, who art a kettle,
And have a tougher skin,
There's nothing to keep you in."
"I'll be your body-guard,"
Replied the iron pot;
"If anything that's hard
Should threaten you a jot,
Between you I will go,
And save you from the blow."
This offer him persuaded.
The iron pot paraded
Himself as guard and guide
Close at his cousin's side.
Now, in their tripod way,
They hobble as they may;
And eke together bolt
At every little jolt, –
Which gives the crockery pain;
But presently his comrade hits
So hard, he dashes him to bits,
Before he can complain.
Take care that you associate
With equals only, lest your fate
Between these pots should find its mate.
Collected by Fredthebear, harassed by editor cyberstalker perhidious.
"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
<Steinitz's Theory
1. At the beginning of the game, Black and White are equal.2. The game will stay equal with correct play on both sides.
3. You can only win by your opponent's mistake.
4. Any attack launched in an equal position will not succeed, and the attacker will suffer.
5. You should not attack until an advantage is obtained.
6. When equal, do not seek to attack, but instead, try to secure an advantage.
7. Once you have an advantage, attack or you will lose it.>
"There are more adventures on a chessboard than on all the seas of the world."
― Pierre Mac Orlan
"You can only get good at chess if you love the game." ― Bobby Fischer
Switch your pawn insurance to Promotion and you could save hundreds.
"In chess, as in life, the best moves are often the ones you don't play."
― Savielly Tartakower
"A wise man will know what game to play to-day, and play it. We must not be governed by rigid rules, as by the almanac, but let the season rule us. The moods and thoughts of man are revolving just as steadily and incessantly as nature's. Nothing must be postponed. Take time by the forelock. Now or never! You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this, or the like of this. Where the good husbandman is, there is the good soil. Take any other course, and life will be a succession of regrets. Let us see vessels sailing prosperously before the wind, and not simply stranded barks. There is no world for the penitent and regretful." — Henry David Thoreau
"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
"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.
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever.
"To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?" — Queen Elizabeth II
"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." ― Benjamin Franklin
Q: Why did it get so hot in the baseball stadium after the game?
A: All of the fans left.
"In chess, as in life, the best moves are often the ones you don't play."
― Savielly Tartakower
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.
"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
"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
"It's not life or death. It's a game, and at the end of the game there is going to be a winner and a loser." — Bernhard Langer
Why did the turtle cross the road?
To get to the Shell station.
<A wise old owl sat on an oak,The more he saw the less he spoke,
The less he spoke the more he heard,
Why aren't we like that wise old bird?>
Give a HOOT -- don't pollute!!
"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground."
― Theodore Roosevelt
Retail
Charge! Wikipedia article: Charge (warfare)#:~:text=A%20charge%20is%20an%20offensive%20maneuver%20in%20battle,and%20decisive%20moment%20of%20many%20battles%20throughout%20history.
"Chess is a fairy tale of 1,001 blunders." ― Savielly Tartakower
"Pawns are the soul of the game." ― François-André Danican Philidor
"The king pawn and the queen pawn are the only ones to be moved in the early part of the game." ― Wilhelm Steinitz
"I believe that it is best to know a 'dubious' opening really well, rather than a 'good' opening only slightly." ― Simon Williams
"There is no such thing as an absolutely freeing move. A freeing move in a position in which development has not been carried far always proves illusory, and vice versa, a move which does not come at all in the category of freeing moves can, given a surplus of tempi to our credit, lead to a very free game."
― Aron Nimzowitsch
"The future reshapes the memory of the past in the way it recalibrates significance: some episodes are advanced, others lose purchase."
― Gregory Maguire, A Lion Among Men
"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons." ― Douglas MacArthur
Matthew 17:20
Our faith can move mountains.
Other people's wisdom prevents the king from being called a fool. ~ Nigerian Proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean Proverb
Ingratitude is sooner or later fatal to its author. ~ Twi Proverb
The laughter of a child lights up the house. ~ Swahili proverb
* One of Pandolfini's Best: Game Collection: Solitaire Chess by Bruce Pandolfini
* Two Great Attackers: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/che...
Кто не рискует, тот не пьет шампанского
Pronunciation: KTOH ni risKUyet, tot ni pyot shamPANSkava)
Translation: He who doesn't take risks doesn't drink champagne
Meaning: Fortune favours the brave
"Tal has a terrifying style. Soon even grandmasters will know of this."
- Vladimir Saigin (after losing to 17-year-old Tal in a qualifying match for the master title)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5S...
"I like to grasp the initiative and not give my opponent peace of mind."
— Mikhail Tal
* Golden Treasury of Chess (Wellmuth/Horowitz): Game Collection: 0
* Glossary: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/...
* Chessmaster 2000 Classic Games:
Game Collection: Chessmaster '86
* MC Move-by-Move: Game Collection: Move by Move - Carlsen (Lakdawala)
* Indians: Game Collection: adichess' Indian
* Were you looking for these ol' timers? Game Collection: Old Indian
* Freaky Fridays: https://allchessopenings.blogspot.c...
* Glossary: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/...
* Javed's way: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...
* Prep for San Antonio? Game Collection: magnus carlsen
* Wikipedia on Computer Chess: Wikipedia article: Computer chess
* Rip 'em to shreds! https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/m...
* Bit Collection: Game Collection: Special Gambit Collection
* B20s: Game Collection: Grand Prix (Ginger's Models)
* GPA: https://chesstier.com/grand-prix-at...
"Sometimes in life, and in chess, you must take one step back to take two steps forward." — IM Levy Rozman, GothamChess
So much, much, much better to be an incurable optimist than deceitful and untrustworthy.
"Don't trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar." — Unknown
"He examined the chess problem and set out the pieces. It was a tricky ending, involving a couple of knights.
'White to play and mate in two moves.'
Winston looked up at the portrait of Big Brother. White always mates, he thought with a sort of cloudy mysticism. Always, without exception, it is so arranged. In no chess problem since the beginning of the world has black ever won. Did it not symbolize the eternal, unvarying triumph of Good over Evil? The huge face gazed back at him, full of calm power. White always mates."
― George Orwell, 1984
Patience is a virtue.
Dec-26-23 hemy: I sent email messages to <jessicafischerqueen> and <Tabanus>. I was contacted by email to both of them for many years. Responses from the mail servers were:
"Sorry, your message to <her email address> cannot be delivered. This mailbox is disabled" and "Recipient address rejected: Access denied".
Credits for Robert Bergersen aka <Tabanus>, include his picture, for his contribution to "Lithuanian chess history" project, you can find on page 45 of this project. He also mentioned on page 141 (with one more picture), pages 166, 1315, 1383-1386, 1823, 2807 and 3423.
"Make peace with imperfection." ― Richard Carlson
Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'
* The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev - https://lichess.org/study/w2JcfP5K
* Legendary: Game Collection: The 12 Legendary Games of the Century
The Sofia Rules forbid agreed draws before 30 moves. The "Bilbao" scoring system awards 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss.
"You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose." ― Indira Gandhi
Psalm 96: 1-3
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
"To a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment." — Richard Carlson
* 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: "The elbow is close but you cannot bite it. (Близок локоток, да не укусишь.)" Close is no cigar.
Ya might be ah redneck if'n ya thunk "lol" means low on liquor.
"If you ain't the lead dog, the view never changes."
"Here's a two-step formula for handling stress...
Step number one: Don't sweat the small stuff.
Step number two: Remember it's all small stuff."
― Tony Robbins
The science of repetition is clear: consistent practice is essential to mastering any skill. The 10,000-Hour Rule, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, states that achieving world-class expertise in any field requires roughly 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. While this number may vary depending on the individual, the principle remains true: mastery requires time and effort focused on meaningful activities.
Chessgames.com will be unavailable January 16, 2024 from 12:15PM through 12:45PM(UTC/GMT) for maintenance.
We apologize for this inconvenience.
The swastika was known across the world from ancient times.
The swastika's earliest appearance in Europe was in what became Ukraine. But as a symbol of religious significance, it was known throughout Eurasia. It became a significant religious icon in Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. It was sacred to the Greeks and the Romans. Early Christian churches used the icon in both the Eastern and Roman branches. It can be found in floor mosaics, ceilings, friezes, stained glass windows, artwork, and altars in churches of the Gothic period. The nobility in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, used the symbol in their coats of arms and as decorative flourishes in their great houses. In the Nordic regions, the symbol was indicative of Thor's hammer. It still decorates the elephants at Carlsberg's in Copenhagen.
Ancient North American Indian tribes also used the swastika as symbol from the Passamaquoddy in Maine to the Navajo in the southwest. How the swastika spread around the world, in virtually every portion of the world, remains a mystery, as the symbol has no equivalent in nature nor the night sky. Since its use by the Nazi Party in Germany it has been banned from being displayed publicly in both Germany and Austria, and its use even for scholarly purposes is subject to restrictions. Around the world, the swastika is still displayed, sometimes as a symbol of hate, and in others, with the religious significance it has always conveyed.
The longest official chess game lasted 20 hours and included 269 moves.
Chess is a required school subject in Armenia.
The rook piece is named from the Persian word "ruhkh," meaning "chariot".
There are 400 possible moves after each move played in a single game of chess.
"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.--Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd!"
― William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Riddle of the Day:
Mary's mother had four children: April, May and June.
What's the name of the fourth child?
Thank you, Qindarka!
Answer to the Riddle of the Day above:
The name of the fourth child is Mary.
Proof of Ratings Inflation:
A criminal named Claude Bloodgood managed to achieve the second highest rating in the USA at the time through either scamming the system or (as he states it) simply playing the only opposition he was allowed. Since he was in prison for life, the only opponents available to him were other inmates, several of whom he had taught to play. As well as playing correspondence games, he was far and away the strongest chess player within the prison system and as such his rating continued to rise.
It reached such a level that had he not been incarcerated, he would have to have been invited to the highest-level chess tournament in the country at the time. Bloodgood insisted he had not cheated his rating in any way and instead pointed out that the current system was prone to exploitation in circumstances like his own.
The ratings system was altered to account for situations like his. Bloodgood died in 2004, still behind bars.
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The Night
BY HENRY VAUGHAN
John 3.2
Through that pure virgin shrine,
That sacred veil drawn o'er Thy glorious noon,
That men might look and live, as glowworms shine,
And face the moon,
Wise Nicodemus saw such light
As made him know his God by night.
Most blest believer he!
Who in that land of darkness and blind eyes
Thy long-expected healing wings could see,
When Thou didst rise!
And, what can never more be done,
Did at midnight speak with the Sun!
O who will tell me where
He found Thee at that dead and silent hour?
What hallowed solitary ground did bear
So rare a flower,
Within whose sacred leaves did lie
The fulness of the Deity?
No mercy-seat of gold,
No dead and dusty cherub, nor carved stone,
But His own living works did my Lord hold
And lodge alone;
Where trees and herbs did watch and peep
And wonder, while the Jews did sleep.
Dear night! this world's defeat;
The stop to busy fools; care's check and curb;
The day of spirits; my soul's calm retreat
Which none disturb!
Christ's progress, and His prayer time;
The hours to which high heaven doth chime;
God's silent, searching flight;
When my Lord's head is filled with dew, and all
His locks are wet with the clear drops of night;
His still, soft call;
His knocking time; the soul's dumb watch,
When spirits their fair kindred catch.
Were all my loud, evil days
Calm and unhaunted as is thy dark tent,
Whose peace but by some angel's wing or voice
Is seldom rent,
Then I in heaven all the long year
Would keep, and never wander here.
But living where the sun
Doth all things wake, and where all mix and tire
Themselves and others, I consent and run
To every mire,
And by this world's ill-guiding light,
Err more than I can do by night.
There is in God, some say,
A deep but dazzling darkness, as men here
Say it is late and dusky, because they
See not all clear.
O for that night! where I in Him
Might live invisible and dim!
Chess Question: What is the maximum number of captures that any chess unit can make in a game?
Coral reefs are called the rain forests of the sea and enjoy an extraordinarily biologically diverse ecosystem, providing food and shelter to millions of species like fish, sponges, sea anemones, bryozoans, worms, sea stars, crustaceans, and snails, to name a few. The three primary categories of coral reefs are atoll reefs in the Indo-pacific, barrier reefs that parallel land, and fringing reefs which physically attach to the shore or close to it.
Chess Answer: 15 by the K, Q, R, or N. 14 by the B. 6 by the pawn.
Dinner Prayer Hymn
Traditional 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.
ALFAVE: https://chessmood.com/forum/main-ch...
Australia Chess: https://theconversation.com/the-que...
Stop Blundering: https://chessmood.com/blog/stop-blu...
C.J.S. Purdy writes: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show...
The Grandmaster's Mind: https://www.chess.com/blog/GMBethHa...
Play now: https://lichess.org/
Tata Steel 2025: https://tatasteelchess.com/en
What does it take (Judit Polgar and Hou Yifan): https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3cs...
"Unlike other games in which lucre is the end and aim, chess recommends itself to the wise by the fact that its mimic battles are fought for no prize but honor. It is eminently and emphatically the philosopher's game." ― Paul Morphy
"Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other's little failings." ― Jean de La Bruyère
"Out of difficulties, grow miracles" ― Jean de La Bruyère
"Not to be able to bear with all bad-tempered people with whom the world is crowded, shows that a man has not a good temper himself."
― Jean de La Bruyère
"The same principle leads us to neglect a man of merit that induces us to admire a fool." ― Jean de La Bruyère
"A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted that riches, office, fortune, and favor cannot satisfy him." ― Jean de La Bruyère
"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." ― Will Rogers
"Things ain't what they used to be and probably never was." ― Will Rogers
"Everything is funny as long as it is happening to someone else." ― Will Rogers
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
― Will Rogers
"The beauty of chess is it can be whatever you want it to be. It transcends language, age, race, religion, politics, gender, and socioeconomic background. Whatever your circumstances, anyone can enjoy a good fight to the death over the chess board." ― Simon Williams
PinkFaerie5 wrote:
Leopard King Coronation
bird of paradise flew in
briefing the leopard king
a candle was tossed
but isn't he disguised? a pheasant asked
Yes, wearing a butterfly mask
and one of your feathers
the pheasant was pleased
which is why I left, said the bird
I thought he would be wearing my feather
feelings are always being hurt
at coronations of leopard kings
this was no exception
"When you're lonely, when you feel yourself an alien in the world, play Chess. This will raise your spirits and be your counselor in war." ― Aristotle
"The habit of holding a Man in the hand, and moving it first to one square and then to another, in order to engage the assistance of the eye in deciding where it shall actually be placed, is not only annoying to the adversary but a practical infraction of the touch-and-move principle." ― Howard Staunton
"A bad plan is better than none at all." ― Frank Marshall
<Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
Bombardment of Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, New York, 1865The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in the middle of the Civil War, wrote this poem which has more recently been adapted as a modern Christmas classic. Longfellow wrote this on Christmas Day in 1863, after his son had enlisted in the Union's cause and had returned home, seriously wounded. The verses which he included and are still generally included, speak of the despair of hearing the promise of "peace on earth, goodwill to men" when the evidence of the world is clearly that war still exists.
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
The original also included several verses referring specifically to the Civil War. Before that cry of despair and answering cry of hope, and after verses describing the long years of hearing of "peace on earth, goodwill to men" (a phrase from the Jesus birth narratives in the Christian scriptures), Longfellow's poem includes, describing the black cannons of the war:
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!>
"Drawing is rather like playing chess. Your mind races ahead of time that you eventually make." ― David Hockney
"There are more adventures on a chessboard than on all the seas of the world."
― Pierre Mac Orlan
"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
Dec-26-23 hemy: I sent email messages to <jessicafischerqueen> and <Tabanus>. I was contacted by email to both of them for many years. Responses from the mail servers were:
"Sorry, your message to <her email address> cannot be delivered. This mailbox is disabled" and "Recipient address rejected: Access denied".
Credits for Robert Bergersen aka <Tabanus>, include his picture, for his contribution to "Lithuanian chess history" project, you can find on page 45 of this project. He also mentioned on page 141 (with one more picture), pages 166, 1315, 1383-1386, 1823, 2807 and 3423.
Patience is a virtue.
"Whatever you are doing in the game of life, give it all you've got."
— Norman Vincent Peale
"What you do today can improve all your tomorrows." — Ralph Marston
Psalm 96: 1-3
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
"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!
"If you're too open-minded; your brains will fall out." ― Lawrence Ferlinghetti
"Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education."
― Martin Luther King Jr.
"It ain't over 'til it's over, no matter how over it looks." ― Yogi Berra
You can make a small fortune in farming-provided you start with a large one.
"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
Ah, St. Marher, 1225:
"And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet."
"Many have become chess masters, no one has become the master of chess." ― Siegbert Tarrasch
"In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are." — Max De Pree
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ― Martin Luther King Jr.
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ― Howard Thurman
Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
JACK AND JILL
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
HUMPTY DUMPTY
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses
And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty
Together again.
Q: What is money called in space?
A: Star bucks.
Q: Where do the stars go to get their milk?
A: The Milky Way.
Q: Why didn't the Dog Star laugh at the joke?
A: It was too Sirius.
]
Give a HOOT ― Don't Pollute!
Kibitzing
