Thursday, October 7, 2010

Tidbits

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS



TODAY'S WISDOM FROM RONALD REAGAN:


''Don't be afraid to see what you see.''-R.R

(God, this is so deep! No wonder America elected him president!) 
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ACE OF MUDDLES


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Real Art (cerca 1929). (Before there was the internet and free porn)

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'' I am from XGH176.482.457   Take me to your leader, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov!''

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Is this a moon orbiting Uranus?






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ARE YOU SOCIALLY ADEQUATE?



THEY DON'T MAKE 'SOCIALLY ADEQUATE' ANYMORE...







UFFIE - Difficult from Uffie on Vimeo.

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

Posted by at 1:23 PM Links to this post

Oops! A zwischenzug...

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS




''The zwischenzug (German for "intermediate move") is a chess tactic in which a player, instead of playing the expected move (commonly a recapture of a piece that the opponent has just captured) first interpolates another move, posing an immediate threat that the opponent must answer, then plays the expected move . Ideally, the zwischenzug changes the situation to the player's advantage, such as by gaining material or avoiding what would otherwise be a strong continuation for the opponent.''  Wiki



''Didn't see this coming, did you!''


An excellent example of a missed opportunity for zwischenzug occurred in the game Vladimir Akopian vs Laurent Fressinet in the last round of the Khanty Mansiysk Olympiad, in the powerful Armenia -- France matchup.  Had Akopian played the zwischenzug, Armenia would have still had some chances of a medal.


POSITION AFTER BLACK'S 25th MOVE (25...Bxa4)


GM FRESSINET
GM AKOPIAN

Black had just captured a piece on a4. Akopian, normally one of the best tacticians in the world, simply recaptured the Bishop and after 26...Rxc5 the dangerous passed c-pawn was swallowed up and Black took the advantage (Fressinet won a dozen moves later).


INSTEAD, WHITE COULD HAVE KEPT THE ADVANTAGE WITH A ZWISCHENZUG:

26. c6!


With the advance of the White pawn the Black Queen finds herself under attack.  After the virtually forced exchange of Queens  26...QxQ 27.NxQ Black finds himself in a very difficult situation, and will likely soon lose material because of the far advanced White pawn.  After the plausible 27...Ba3 White has 28.c7! and Black must start praying for salvation from above.

As it was, Black won the game and Armenia finished in 7th place.  France finished in 10th place.






Vladimir Akopian (born 1971)

Akopian is one of Armenia's strongest grandmasters and is a leading opening theoretician. He has a long and distinguished playing career, winning many international tournaments and titles.  The closest Akopian ever got (so far!) to winning the world championship was reaching the finals against Khalifman in 1999, Las Vegas, but losing 3.5 to 2.5

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Posted by at 4:57 AM Links to this post

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

I guess you had to be there....

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS



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THE PARKING TICKET



Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for my wife and I, for example, the other day we went into town and went into a shop. We were only in there for about 5 minutes....

When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. We slowly went up to him and said, 'Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?'

He ignored us and continued writing the ticket.  I kind of lost my cool...I called him a Nazi turd.

He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires.

So my wife called him a sh*t-head.   He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket.

This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, we didn't care. We came into town by bus and the car had a Quebec plate. We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It'simportant at our age.

Thx Karen!
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Posted by at 5:46 PM Links to this post

A few laughs to keep you fit

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS


WILLIAM LAWSON'S: KUNG FU (director's cut) from Anze Persin on Vimeo.

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HOW TO STAY FIT WHEN YOU HAVE AN OFFICE JOB:



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SOUNDS LIKE THE CFC:


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THE GAY-INTERSTELLAR  PIRATE

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SLEEPING BEAUTY

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I CONFESS!  I AM A BIG BRITNEY SPEARS FAN...


...CAN YOU BLAME ME?
(And she sings too!!)







I think you might have a problem developing at home...




What a party!






Meat head




VERY ORIGINAL ADVERTISEMENT! 
 (Though I doubt if any couples with children would be impressed!)
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Posted by at 5:36 AM Links to this post

Wednesday's training tactics

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS


TODAY'S TRAINING SESSION!


''Do you want to look back on life and say "I wish I had," or "I'm glad I did"?''
Zig Ziglar


IN THE EXAMPLES BELOW, THE SIDE WITH THE TRIANGLE (right) IS TO MOVE AND WIN, OR DRAW, AS THE CASE MAY WARRANT.  GIVE YOURSELF 5 MINUTES FOR EACH.  GOOD LUCK!  IF YOU SCORE 100% YOU HAVE  STRONG MASTER POTENTIAL.


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SPRAGGETT ON CHESS


Solutions upon request
Posted by at 3:38 AM Links to this post

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Potpourri

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

THE FIRE




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Katherine Neville (born April 4, 1945) is an American author who writes adventure novels. Her novels include The Eight, A Calculated Risk, and The Magic Circle. In 2008, she released The Fire, the sequel to The Eight.

Katherine Neville was born in St. Louis, Missouri. After college, she moved to New York City and began a career in the computer field.

In the 1970s, Neville was an international consultant to the Algerian government, and in the late 1970s, she went to work at the Department of Energy's nuclear research site in Idaho. In between jobs and during school, she supported herself as a portrait painter and a model. These side jobs lead to her developing her own photography skills and eventually starting a photography business, which she ran for several years.

In 1980, she moved to San Francisco and eventually became the vice president of the Bank of America.

After living in Europe for some time, Neville now resides in Washington, DC. The neuroscientist Karl H. Pribram is her significant other. She is currently working on a new novel about painters.

(wiki)


You might also want to check out Katherine's website
http://www.katherineneville.com/
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TODAY'S MARILYN QUOTE

''Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered. ''  --Marilyn Monroe
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TODAY'S NAUGHTY LAUGH


A young man married a beautiful woman who had previously divorced 10 husbands. On their wedding night, she told her new husband to "Please be gentle; I'm still a Virgin". 

"What?" said the puzzled groom. "How can that be if you've been married ten times?"

"Well, husband #1 was a Sales Representative; he kept telling me how great it was going to be.

"Husband # 2 was in Software Services; he was never really sure how it was supposed to function; but he said he'd look into it and get back to me.

"Husband # 3 was from Field Services; he said that everything checked out diagnostically but he just couldn't get the system up.

"Husband # 4 was in Telemarketing; even though he knew he had the order, he didn't know when he would be able to deliver.

"Husband # 5 was an Engineer, he understood the basic process but he wanted three years to research, implement, and design a new state of the-art method.

"Husband #6 was from Administration; he thought he knew how but he wasn't sure whether it was his job or not.

"Husband # 7 was in Marketing; although he had a product, he was never sure how to position it...

"Husband # 8 was a Psychiatrist; all he did was talk about it.

"Husband # 9 was a Gynacologist; all he did was look at it.

"Husband # 10 was a Stamp Collector; all he ever did was lick it..... God I miss him.

" But now that I've married you, I'm so excited".

"Wonderful", said the husband, "but why?

"You're with the Labor "GOVERNMENT" This time I KNOW I'M gonna get screwed."

Thx KRL!

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POSITION AFTER WHITE'S 22nd MOVE


GM McNab
Ahmed


It seems as though the position is unclear, as White can post a Rook on the f-line and combined with Bb3 bear great pressure on Black's King side.  However, in these sharp positions it is of utmost importance who has the initiative. Black finds an idea based on the potential strength of his Black Bishop, and sacrifices a Rook inorder to be able to create direct threats.

22... Rxc3!


Taking this Rook will bring about a winning attack in short order:  23. bxc3 Qxc3 24. e5 Bxe5 25. Kc1 Qb2 26. Kd2 Rc8 etc.   No doubt White had forseen Black's last move and had prepared a small finesse:


23. Rhf1!?  Now if Black moves the Queen White can take the Rook as the increased pressure on the f7-square limits Black's attacking chances.  However, a big surprise awaits him!

23...  Rxc2 !!  Brilliant!


It is not often that we see a Rook sacrifice followed by a Queen sacrifice!  It is very pretty.  If now 24. Rxf3 Rxb2 25. Kc1 Rc8 26. Rc3 Bxc3 Black has an unstoppable and winning attack.  White instead played the pedestrian 25.KxR  but after 25...Qe2ch! the game soon ended.





SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Posted by at 4:13 PM Links to this post

Monday, October 4, 2010

Post FIDE-ELECTION blues....

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS




I have spent the past few days decompressing from 6 action-packed months following the 2010 FIDE presidential campaign/election.  What a relief for all of this to be now over!  Isn't democracy great?  I am just so happy that I live in a time when the little people amongst us can decide who wins and who loses; who rules and who goes home; who celebrates and who must dream of another day...





The FIDE incumbent for the past 15 years, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has won a huge majority and was re-elected to serve yet another term!  The Kalmykian leader wasted no time to consolidate his victory infront of the entire world....



Immediately following the vote, infact, within an hour of the result being made public, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov invited his challenger for a drink.  The next day a joint press conference was quickly arranged as a surprised world media looked on....


The Irish Chess Union (http://www.icu.ie/articles/display.php?id=282) wrote :


''The word here after the vote was that the Karpov campaign had been too focused on negativity, basically claiming that the current regime was not effective and needed to be changed without clearly defining an alternative vision of where FIDE should be heading. It would appear that "negative campaigning" backfired and that the Karpov camp underestimated the task of attempting to unseat a President who was able to use all the resources at the disposal of his office to garner support.
After the election results were announced I witnessed a TV interview of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Although I couldn't understand what was said at the interview, Ilyumzhinov had all the hallmarks of a media savvy political performer. He was immaculately turned out in a dark suit and white shirt. He also had a permanent and reassuring smile broken occasionally by a more serious expression presumably to demonstrate a level of gravitas required by the topic under discussion.

Indeed the election literature he provided took the form of a glossy magazine with numerous photos of our hero meeting such luminaries as the pope and the Dalai Llama interspersed with chess playing children demonstrating that Ilyumzhinov was at the centre of events and had influence with world figures. He reminds me of how the former prime minister of the UK Tony Blair used to appear in his early days in Downing Street before the self delusion set in!

 After what was clearly a ferocious political battle, Ilyumzhinov has acted quickly to further consolidate his position by offering his electoral rival Anatoly Karpov the position of vice president of FIDE so that they can cooperate in the interests of chess worldwide. Winston Churchill suggested it was advisable in politics to keep "your friends close and your enemies closer" so Ilyumzhinov is clearly a fan of this particular dictum!



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On October 2nd, the FIDE congress appointed Karpov to be the FIDE representative for all international organizations:

'' Karpov appointed FIDE representative''
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/10/02/23673075.html

''Russia’s chess grandmaster Anatoly Karpov has been appointed to represent the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in international organizations.

 The relevant decision was passed at the 81st FIDE Congress in the oil city of Khanty-Mansiisk in Western Siberia on Saturday.

 A report placed on the official Website of the World Chess Olympics, underway in this Siberian city, cites FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as saying that Anatoly Karpov’s popularity worldwide makes him top choice to represent chess in such organizations as the International Olympic Committee, UNESCO and UNISEF. ''


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KIRSAN HAS EMERGED AS A GLOBAL WINNER!



In his first interview with the media after his election victory, Kirsan profusely thanked both Karpov and Kasparov for deciding to run against him!  He cleverly pointed out that because of their involvement, both he and FIDE had gained enormously , both in prestige and in public stature.  Truer words have never been spoken...
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Just today, several days after the end of the election, Karpov's campaign managers--realizing the extent of Karpov's defeat and submissive humiliation in the immediate aftermath of the election count--countered with an article that tried to save what little credibility that Karpov's campaign had left, and hurried to backtrack on Karpov's post-election capitulation:

''Setting the Record Straight''
http://www.karpov2010.org/2010/10/setting-the-record-straight/

''After five months of immersion into the world of FIDE and federation politics, Anatoly Karpov, his ticket, our team, and our supporters remain more convinced than ever that the chess world is in dire need of a major transformation.''

I invite my readers to study the article. In it  Karpov's campaign managers refuse to accept defeat and poignantly dis-associate themselves from Karpov's actions and behaviour immediately following his election defeat....




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But the bullshit does not stop there!  Chessbase carries an article from Steve Giggins entitled ''An offer he couldn't refuse''  (http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6720) where Karpov is painted as a hostage by Ilyumzhinov at the post election press conference:




''As for his public rapprochement and friendliness towards Illumzhinov after the vote, Karpov claims that this was something he felt forced to do, to protect his supporters from personal reprisals, with which they were threatened by Illumzhinov cronies....In the end, Karpov did a deal with Kirsan, under which he agreed to end crtiticism of the latter and to appear with him at the press conference the following day, in return for an end to legal actions against his supporters.''

http://stevegiddins.blogspot.com/


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Ofcourse, all of this is just pure nonsense!  Absolutely 100% unadulterated bullshit nonsense that only us semi-paranoid, ego-crazy chess players could invent!

Just ask your dog!  Explain the whole story to him and see if he believes you...

Fortunately for us, the election is over.  Finished. Concluded. Done. Gone. Ended. Completed. History...

Now, Steve....give your dog a bone. Woof!  Woof!




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What does one really expect when we repeat the same mistakes as the past? In 2006  Bessel Kok ran a campaign based on political polarization and the dominance of Europe in chess in the 21st century.  Three quarters of the world population rejected him.   He was crushed by (virtually) the same vote margin as was Karpov in 2010, running on  the same platform.



WHAT DO THE ABOVE TWO PHOTOS HAVE IN COMMON?





And that is all there is to it...the election is over.  There was (predictably) a winner and a loser.  Not everyone is happy,  ofcourse, but at least the MAJORITY got its way.  And that is supposed to be a happy ending, isn't it??  At least, in theory...



Karpov and Kasparov are celebrities and superstars in their own right.  Just like Britney Spears...But do you really think that Britney could win any election based solely only on her bust size and her celebrity status or fame??  No, I do not think so either...

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Posted by at 8:36 PM Links to this post
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