FAYETTE COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Alligator sightings are becoming more common in Tennessee as the ancient creatures make their way north from the Deep South.
“It crossing the road is kind of what you would see in Florida but you are seeing it in Tennessee,” Amy Spencer with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency told News 2. Multiple tornadoes confirmed from Wednesday’s storms
A gator quickly became the center of attention Monday afternoon on Boothe Road in northern Fayette County.
The title sounds like an oxymoron. The May 1 2024 issue the Marshall Spectator was in the inbox, which is always a treat. There is nothing like Chess and Poker for the children.
Across the Table, with Kai Chu- Why a Chess Dad Designed a Notation Book
Unlock 20% Off: Elevate Your Chess Journey with Chess Cannon Notation Book
As a novice chess player and dedicated chess dad, I originally learned chess just to teach my son the basics. My elder son, Leon, started playing in tournaments about three years ago and has been playing at The Marshall Chess Club for a year and a half. My younger daughter, Caroline, has been playing chess for less than a year and is also a member at The Marshall Chess Club.
Developing good notation habits and conducting post-game reviews are essential for any serious chess player. I previously bought hardcover notation books for my children, but found the options limited, the designs monotonous, the quality average, and the prices high. Therefore, I decided to design a better notation book. A superior notation book can encourage players to take the game more seriously, as has been the case for my children.
The Chess Cannon notation book stands out from other products on the market in several ways:
Inspiration: Every eight games, the book features an inspiring chess quote to motivate players. The first quote is “All I want to do, ever, is play chess” by Bobby Fischer. I’ve carefully selected quotes that resonate with young players and reflect the right approach to the game. For example, to discourage rash gameplay, one quote reads “When you play chess, the idea is to make good moves, not quick ones!” As players improve, they find quotes like “Good positions don’t win games, good moves do.” Some quotes are also meant to connect with chess parents, like myself. The last quote, “Chess is a great game. No matter how good one is, there is always somebody better,” reminds us that it’s normal for our children to lose to lower-rated players as they also need to challenge higher-rated players to grow.
Thoughtfulness: The book includes a clear board chart with notation explanations at the beginning, a dedicated time column for new players to track their pace, an hourglass icon next to move 40 as many tournaments use the 40/80 time control, 65 instead of 60 moves per game for longer games, and a journal page every eight games for recording chess thoughts.
Fun and Engagement: Players can express their feelings by circling out different face emojis about each game in a stats table and track their USCF rating progress in a chart at the end of the book.
Quality: The cover is made of synthetic leather and the inner pages uses 120gsm high quality paper. It features a pen holder, a concealed sheet compartment on the back cover, a ribbon bookmark, and a book band.
I am selling this notation book in limited quantities at ChessCannon.com. An exclusive 20% discount is available to all Marshall Chess Club members. You can purchase directly through this link. Simply add the product to your cart and use the coupon code ‘MARSHALL’ at checkout. Additionally, you can choose free local pickup at the Marshall Chess Club.
Kai Chu, Marshall Chess Club Member
Is that cool or what? There is more, much more, in the issue. I urge you to check it out!
Knowing there is a Tunnelvision in the Great State of South Carolina I clicked onto it after reading this:
Round 1 May 11, 2024, 10:30 AM Columbia Tunnelvision XX May 11th | 4-round Swiss | Classical time control
I would like to bring your attention to the “Classical time control” part of the above. After clicking onto the above one sees another page in which this is written:
The Columbia Tunnelvision XX is a 4-round Swiss, held on 11th of May in Columbia, SC, USA.
It is more than a little obvious things are rapidly changing in Chess these daze, but does only 45 minutes for the entire game qualify as a “Classical time control?”
I don’t recall pain, or joy, only the blue dress I wore, and the door open to the sea, and the liquid sun across the floor beside the bed, and our crooning sense of having climbed Everest, undaunted, undeceived.
I didn’t know who I was or who you were, or even what we hoped for, in that slow, rushed, soft, harsh, pretend, real, world. Even now, I don’t know how to devour love like a golden apple stolen from a teacher who gives too many tests.
So tell me what you remember, and who you think we were, and I will nod and agree, though I doubt it happened— beyond the sea, the sun, the open door, the blue dress, and the dream.
A regular reader in another country posed the question, “Do you still chess?” Thank you sir for putting a smile on my face!
The answer is “Yes.” I just do not “Chess” as much these daze, but it is still part of my life. Your question reminded me of something recently read in an EXCELLENT book by GM Larry Kaufman, Chess Board Options. There will be more written about Larry’s book in the future.
On the last page, 219, in chapter 32: The future, Larry writes, “As for myself, although I’m generally in good health, I don’t know if I’ll resume serious over the board play once that is possible, as back trouble and poor vision make this problematic.”
Like Larry this writer also has a problematic back. Sitting for many hours can be injurious for anyone with a bad back. It is simply no longer possible for me to play two games a day, unless at a dramatically reduced time control. If, for example, the time control were G/2 and there was a break of at least one hour between rounds, and only two games were played that day, I might consider playing. Think about it for a moment… If there were two rated games played each day, and each game went the distance, that would mean two four hour games, which would be like working an eight hour job. ‘Back in the day’ I once played Chess beginning on Saturday morning at ten am. The third round game ended the NEXT DAY at two am, Sunday. My losing the fourth round game, which began at ten am, horribly and withdrawing will come as no surprise.
Most of my Chess these daze is watching games on Lichess.org, such as the recently completed Candidates tournament, which was again marred by having an unqualified player in the tournament, just like the last Candidates tournament. If Abasov, a player with whom I was completely unaware, had not participated Nepo would have finished with 71/2 points, a half point more than Gukesh, Nakamura, and Caruana. Nevertheless, I watched some of the action because two Americans, Fabby and Naka, were playing for what possibly would be there last chance to become World Champ, even if they would not be the best Chess player on the planet.
I do, though, enjoy reading about Chess. Occasionally I will check out the action around the world, with a focus on Senior events, and players with which I am familiar, and openings, many now discredited, such as the following game, played in the Grenke Chess Open 2024, which featured the Dutch opening, which has rapidly fallen out of favor, especially at the top, so it is invariably nice to see the opening played by a player the caliber of Gata Kamsky.
After replaying the game rather quickly I returned to Lichess.co and the real time game…learning the game had been agreed drawn at the very spot I had left to check out the opening at 365Chess.com. The so-called “game” and I use the word loosely, can be located here: (https://lichess.org/broadcast/grenke-chess-open-2024–boards-1-60/round-7/kEy29TXZ/j7agjk3e)
After seeing the truncated game I will admit to having wondered why my time had been wasted watching Chess.
FIDE’s Call For World Championship Bids Sparks Reactions
TarjeiJS
May 4, 2024
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has made a call for bids for the 2024 World Championship match with budget figures that have stirred a debate in the chess community.
A few weeks after the conclusion of the Candidates Tournament, FIDE has already turned its attention to the next world championship match. The reigning champion, GM Ding Liren, will face the challenger, GM Gukesh Dommaraju. The match is scheduled to take place between November 20 and December 15, and now the hunt for an organizer has begun.
Last week, the governing chess body issued the first call for bids for the match. Compared to FIDE’s call for bids for the 2023 match, this one had some new requirements:
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. (https://www.fide.com/fide/about-fide)
The above is what most call “Theory”. In “Practice” FIDE stands for, “Federation International Dollar Exchange. The unOfficial FIDE song is:
Although I try not to emend a post this is being done because the Discman (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/the-discman/) left a comment concerning possible songs that could have gone with the post, one of which is one of my all-time favorite songs. The other was completely new to me.
I like receiving questions from readers and try to reply to each and every one, such as the one above. This writer has enjoyed spending time watching, and reading about, the game of Go, or what is called Weiqi in most of our world. Yesterday the intention was to travel to visit the Atlanta May the 4th Tournament (https://www.usgo.org/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=454497&item_id=2268284) but the back was barkin’ at me this morning, and that old dog will not stop barkin’ so the plan had to be changed.
I am not a good player and have grown old. Nevertheless, I am a firm believer in the axiom, “Use it or lose it.” I believe spending time with Go has had a beneficial effect on my brain. It is almost as if I can feel the synapses making new connections in my brain. Videos have been watched and much time has been spent watching games played online, most of it at this website (https://online-go.com/). One of the things I have noticed is that my brain has been seeing patterns, which caused me to consider something recently read in this book:
“That ability to discern patterns is still useful, but it can also make us think we see things that are not actually there.” Anyone who has sat at any kind of game board will immediately get my drift… Sometimes late at night when watching the chosen Go game I marvel at the beauty of the patterns.
I have gotten better and my understanding has become deeper enough to be able so see a “must” move. The following diagram is an illustration:
Black has just played a stone at L17, which is the black stone containing the white circle. Where would you place a stone if playing the white stones?
When the next stone was played it was exactly where I would have played if it were my turn to play:
Upon seeing the white stone played at J15 my fist was PUMPED as I exclaimed, “YES!”
For some reason I have found myself attracted to playing a stone a Chess “knight move” away for a set of two opponents stones, as in the following example:
Do you suppose all those years playing Chess has had something to do with my thought processes?
Armchair Warrior 