was at the Sports Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The Motor City Madman was with the Amboy Dukes and wearing only a loincloth. For some reason the crazed maniac decided to jump off the stage and into the crowd. That was, as Boris Kogan was so fond of saying when analyzing one of my Chess games, a “BEEG mistake.” The crowd began pummeling the poor dude, with the audience, including the fellow with whom I had attended the show, Richard Dalrymple, shouting, “KILL HIM!” If there was any security they were most definitely not going to attempt going into the crowd that had turned into a blood thirsty mob; Ted was on his own…Fortunately, he was returned to the stage, bloodied, but unbowed, and he picked up the guitar and continued playing as if nothing had happened. The crowd went WILD, yelling and screaming in appreciation.
“The debut album by the Amboy Dukes should be high on collectors’ lists. Fusing the psychedelia of the early Blues Magoos with Hendrix riffs and British pop, the band which launched the legend of Ted Nugent has surprises galore in these lost grooves. As essential to the Amboy Dukes’ catalog as the non-hit material on Psychedelic Lollipop was to the Blues Magoos, the first album from the Amboy Dukes is a real find and fun listening experience. “The Lovely Lady” almost sounds like the Velvet Underground meets the Small Faces by way of Peanut Butter Conspiracy. This is a far cry from Cat Scratch Fever, and that’s why fans of psychedelia and ’60s music should cherish this early diamond.” AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ted-nugent-mn0000749970/biography)
Ted left The Dukes and set out on his own. The title of one of his albums seemed to have Chess players in mind:
Fast forward several decades and the Madman transformed himself into the Wildman and a television show filled with the blood and gore of animals he killed to prove it:
Tune in Tuesdays at 3:00 pm, 8:30 pm & Sundays at 12 am, exclusively on the Outdoor Channel! All Times EST!
Turns out there is such a thing as a dumb question.
In a viral video shared via Facebook Live on April 7, “Cat Scratch Fever” rocker Ted Nugent claimed he wasn’t afraid of the big bad coronavirus.
“I ain’t scared. I ain’t scared of nothing,” Nugent, 72, began in the 12-minute clip recorded, presumably from his home near Jackson, Michigan, where he runs a 340-acre hunting ranch called Sunrize Acres.
After waxing on about regional “songbirds,” the outspoken conservative then launched into a rant about his canceled tour plans due to pandemic restrictions.
“Are you kidding me? The production companies won’t let us tour again this year,” said Nugent in the meandering rant. “Dirty, bastards, lying, scam, smoke and mirrors, COVID-19 freaks.”
“Why weren’t we shut down for COVID one through 18?” the “Stranglehold” singer then asked in the video, which contains some PG-13 language.
In a video shared via Facebook Live on April 7, an uninformed Ted Nugent asked why pandemic restrictions weren’t mandated for “COVID one through 18?”Getty Images
The musician recently went viral for asking why there were no lockdowns for ‘COVID 1-18’
“So I was officially tested positive for COVID-19 today.” — Ted Nugent
That was singer Ted Nugent, 72, who has called COVID-19 “not a real pandemic” as well as a “scammy pandemic,” revealing in a Facebook Live post on Monday that he now has the virus.
“Everybody told me that I should not announce this, but I have had flu symptoms for the past 10 days. I thought I was dying,” he says in the almost nine-minute video. “Just a clusterf—.”
The “Just What the Doctor Ordered” singer describes suffering symptoms such as “body aches” and “a stuffed-up head.”
“My god, what a pain in the ass. I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days,” he says.
Nugent’s fans wished him a speedy recovery beneath his post, especially as his age puts him in a high-risk group for severe COVID-19 illness. His critics, on the other hand, reveled in the news that Nugent was infected with the very disease he has denied and spread misinformation about.
His name was trending on Twitter on Tuesday morning — just a week after he went viral for appearing to be confused about what “COVID-19” actually means.
In fact, the name notes the fact that the virus was discovered in 2019 — not that it’s the 19th coronavirus. Specifically, COVID-19 is the disease caused by a new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, which the World Health Organization first learned of on Dec. 31, 2019. The WHO notes that coronavirus disease 2019 has been called “COVID-19” for short.
Ted Nugent revealed he’s tested positive for COVID-19 in a Facebook Live post. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The United States has vaccinated more than half of its adults against Covid-19, but it could be months until the country has vaccinated enough people to put herd immunity within reach (and much of the world is still desperately waiting for access to vaccines).
Places with rising vaccination rates, like the United States, can look forward to case numbers coming down a lot in the meantime. And sooner than you might think. That’s because cases decline via the principle of exponential decay.
Many people learned about exponential growth in the early days of the pandemic to understand how a small number of cases can quickly grow into a major outbreak as transmission chains multiply. India, for example, which is in the grips of a major Covid-19 crisis, is in a phase of exponential growth.
Exponential growth means case numbers can double in just a few days. Exponential decay is its opposite. Exponential decay means case numbers can halve in the same amount of time.
Understanding exponential dynamics makes it easier to know what to expect in the coming phase of the pandemic: Why things will improve quickly as vaccination rates rise and why it’s important to maintain some precautions even after case numbers come down.
Exponential decay will cause infections to plummet
Editors’ Picks
Every case of Covid-19 that is prevented cuts off transmission chains, which prevents many more cases down the line. That means the same precautions that reduce transmission enough to cause a big drop in case numbers when cases are high translate into a smaller decline when cases are low. And those changes add up over time. For example, reducing 1,000 cases by half each day would mean a reduction of 500 cases on Day 1 and 125 cases on Day 3 but only 31 cases on Day 5.
The end of the pandemic will therefore probably look like this: A steep drop in cases followed by a longer period of low numbers of cases, though cases will rise again if people ease up on precautions too soon.
Reaching herd immunity is a key goal. It drives cases toward zero by slowing the spread of the virus through a combination of vaccination and infection-acquired immunity to maintain exponential decay — even as society resumes normal activities.
By Zoë M. McLaren
Dr. McLaren is an associate professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, who studies policies to combat infectious disease epidemics, including Covid-19.
“Mathematics”
[Mos Def:] Bucka-bucka-bucka-bucka-bucka-bucka, haha! You know the deal: it’s just me, yo Beats by Su-Primo for all of my people, Negroes and Latinos And even the gringos
Yo, check it 1 for Charlie Hustle, 2 for Steady Rock 3 for the forthcoming live future shock It’s 5 dimensions, 6 senses 7 firmaments of heaven and hell, 8 million stories to tell 9 planets faithfully keep in orbit with the probable 10th The universe expands length The body of my text possess extra strength Power-lift the powerless up out of this towering inferno My ink so hot it burn through the journal I’m blacker than midnight on Broadway and Myrtle Hip-Hop passed all your tall social hurdles Like the nationwide project-prison-industry complex Working-class poor: better keep your alarm set Streets too loud to ever hear freedom ring Say evacuate your sleep, it’s dangerous to dream For ch-ching, cats get the “cha-pow!” You dead now Killing fields need blood to graze the cash cow It’s a numbers game, but shit don’t add up somehow Like I got 16 to 32 bars to rock it But only 15% of profits ever see my pockets like 69 billion in the last 20 years Spent on national defense but folks still live in fear like Nearly half of America’s largest cities is one-quarter black That’s why they gave Ricky Ross all the crack 16 ounces to a pound, 20 more to a ki A 5-minute sentence hearing and you’re no longer free 40% of Americans own a cell phone So they can hear everything that you say when you ain’t home I guess Michael Jackson was right: you are not alone Rock your hardhat, black, cause you in the Terrordome Full of hard niggas, large niggas, dice-tumblers Young teens and prison greens facing life numbers Crack mothers, crack babies and AIDS patients Young bloods can’t spell but they could rock you in PlayStation This New Math is whipping motherfuckers’ ass You want to know how to rhyme you better learn how to add It’s mathematics
[Chorus: scratched by DJ Premier:] “The Mighty Mos Def” “It’s simple mathematics” “Check it out” “I revolve around science..” “What are we talking about here?” “The Mighty Mos Def” “It’s simple mathematics” “Check it out” “I revolve around science..” “What are we talking about here?” “Do your math, do your math” “1, 2, 3, 4” “What are we talking about here?”
[Mos Def:] Yo, it’s 1 universal law but 2 sides to every story 3 strikes and you biddin’ for life, mandatory 4 MCs murdered in the last 4 years I ain’t trying to be the 5th when the millennium is here Yo it’s 6 million ways to die, from the 7 deadly thrills 8-year-olds getting found with 9mils It’s 10 PM, where your seeds at? What’s the deal? He on the hill pumping krills to keep they bellies filled Light in the ass with heavy steel, sights on the pretty shit in life Young soldiers trying to earn their next stripe When the average minimum wage is $5.15 You best believe you’ve got to find a new grind to get cream The white unemployment rate is nearly more than triple for black Some front-liners got their gun in your back Bubbling crack, jewel theft and robbery to combat poverty And end up in the global jail economy Stiffer stipulations attached to each sentence Budget cutbacks but increased police presence And even if you get out of prison still living Join the other 5 million under state supervision This is business: no faces, just lines and statistics From your phone, your Zip Code to SSI digits The system break man, child, and women into figures 2 columns for “who is” and “who ain’t niggas” Numbers is hard and real and they never have feelings But you push too hard, even numbers got limits Why did one straw break the camel’s back? Here’s the secret The million other straws underneath it It’s all mathematics (math)
“The Mighty Mos Def” “It’s simple mathematics” “Check it out” “I revolve around science..” “What are we talking about here?” “The Mighty Mos Def” “It’s simple mathematics” “Check it out” “I revolve around science..” “What are we talking about here?” “Do your math, do your math” “1, 2, 3, 4” “What are we talking about here?”
The AW received his first shot of vaccine yesterday. The next follows in 27 daze. I had wanted to receive the Jannsen, or Johnson, or Johnson & Johnson, whatever…because it was one shot, like the movie, The Deer Hunter:
After asking if they had the Jannsen vaccine I was informed, “We are not giving the J&J.” I did not ask if they were giving it, but rather let it drop and took the shot. I’ve played the odds most of my life, and even though there have been situations in which I was a big underdog, I’m still sitting here punching & poking, so I must have made some good moves on the Chessboard of life.
In the immortal words of Eric Clapton, If you want to hang out/You’ve got to take her out/Vaccine…If you want to get down/down on the ground/Vaccine
OK, the word Eric used is “cocaine”. OK, I was considered a “hippie” back in the day, but what the hell do I know about cocaine, something about which, in the immortal words of Sgt. Schultz…
That’s
Watching events evolve while nutted-up the last year has been amazing. Who’d ever thunk, huh? I mean, we protested against the Viet Nam “police action” (That’s right, youngsters, Viet Nam was not a “war”), and some of we hippies may have looked odd, and even strange, to the mainstream viewers, but we never attempted an insurrection in a vain attempt to take over the US Capital and over throw the government. I mean, seriously, if the leader, or “guru” of your movement looks like this:
maybe you oughta reconsider joining the “movement.” The dude has become a cult hero:
The attempted coup d’etat was about as ridiculous as the Presidency of the Trumpster. The participants will have plenty of time to consider how absurd were their actions.
Many have written negatively about the vaccines developed to fight the Coronavirus. A woman, known earlier in my life, who lives in Indiana and “loves” the sycophantic former VeeP, Mike Pence, calls the pandemic the “fauci hoax.” The crazed woman is completely against any vaccination. Period. She doesn’t trust the government, or at least the current government. She trusted the former government, of which the renowned and highly esteemed Doctor Anthony Fauci
was a part. Go figure…
People like her do not understand the history of pandemic flu. In 1918 the Spanish flu killed a reported 500,000 Americans from 1918 to 1920, and more than 50 million worldwide. From reading the history of POTUS Woodrow Wilson decades ago I recalled a story about the city of San Francisco donning masks, then thinking the disease had left the scene they had been struck again, so they put the masks back on, and did this time and again until, finally, they took them off and were able to keep them off. Here are two articles about San Fran in 1918: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-s-1918-Spanish-flu-debacle-A-15191518.php
In addition, my memory contains something about a monastery in the Bay area during that time that had no cases because they closed their doors and did not open them until the coast was clear, so to speak. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate anything about a monastery, but I did find an article about the United States Naval Training Station on Yerba Buena Island that is extremely interesting:
“While the flu was devastating for an unprepared public in San Francisco, just off the shoreline a completely different story emerged at the Naval Training Station on Yerba Buena Island. Home to over 6,000 military soldiers, officers, and family members at the time, the island was only accessible by boat and was protected from the virus by a strict quarantine. For 62 days, officials locked down Yerba Buena from the rest of the world.
Not one person was infected or killed by influenza during that period.”
An emergency flu hospital staffed by US Navy Hospital corpsman has been set up in Civic Center to help care for those stricken by the influenza outbreak, San Francisco, California, 1918.Underwood Archives/Getty Images
When the Trumpster stole the election, just like Tricky Dick Nixon in ’68
by using assistance from another country, Russia, which is illegal because it is treason, I had been living with a woman for about half a year. She was in the habit of going to bed with the chickens, as we say down South, and getting up with the birds, so she was in for what my father constantly informed me I would be in for one day, a “rude awakening.” After learning the Trumpster won, she changed completely as a person. She refused to talk about him, calling him an “idiot” and leaving it at that…I have talked with a number of men who said the same thing about their significant others, one of whom was a Republican, but voted for Hillary Clinton because she wanted to see a woman in the White House before she died. She will not get the chance, I am sorry to hafta write…In an election between the, arguably, most qualified candidate and the least qualified candidate of all time, the less qualified in every respect, won the election and became POTUS, to the detriment of We The People. There was blood on Nixxon’s hands as he kept the Viet Nam “conflict” ragin’ for seven more years, and there is blood on the Trumpster’s hands because, while he and his wife were secretly vaccinated, and received the best treatment available at the time when they contracted the coronavirus, he refused to wear a mask, leading maybe half a million people to their deaths on his way out the door. From all the history you read you will learn that if only everyone wore a mask…if only…it was as simple as that in 1918
Red Cross volunteers wore face masks during the flu pandemic of 1918. (CNN)
and the same holds true for today. The major difference is that today we are fortunate enough to have a vaccine, or more properly, several vaccines. You do not hafta trust the “gov’mint” but you can trust SCIENCE! Yet the virus still rages and is growing exponentially, like wildfire, all over the globe because of “idiots,” or as I’ve come to think of them, Fools In Power.
In round twelve of the Candidates tournament Kirill Alekseenko
decided to play the Caro-Kann against MVL. On his third move MVL must have stunned the young player when he moved his f-pawn up one square to f3. The opening then became what is known as the “Fantasy” variation.
It is also known as the Tartakover variation, having first been played in a top level event by the inventive Dr. Savielly Tartakover.
Tartakover is known for some great Chess quotes. One of the best is, “A master can sometimes play badly, a fan never!”
One of the best Chess books you will ever read is, 500 Master Games of Chess, by Tartakover.
We devoured the book ‘back in the day’. I was known for playing “off beat” openings and many came from the mind of Dr. Tartakover, and this book.
MVL v Alekseenko
1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 f3
I played this against The Man in the Red Beret, Jude Frazer Acers
he had traveled with Jerry Wheeler from Nashville, Tennessee, to play in an American Chess Promotions tournament in Atlanta. Brian was wearing a Metallica tee-shirt while sporting wild, frizzy hair, as was the custom ‘back in the day’. He was full of nervous energy and full of “in your face” confidence and bluster.
I defeated Brian the first two times we faced off over the board but lost the third game. We never played another rated game. For years I was under the impression Brian had won the game by projecting an overwhelming, massive amount of energy. I played the B16 Caro-Kann, Bronstein-Larsen variation, and had a decent position until being overwhelmed on the queen-side. Decades later we looked at the game and it was obvious I had at least an even position until making a rather weak move. “Hey man,” I said, “I’m in good shape if’n I play this!” Brian just grinned…
While on the road playing Chess, Brian invited me to spend a week in between tournaments at his parents house. After a few days I heard his folks talking. His father asked his wife, “How long is this guy gonna be here?” I immediately went into the kitchen saying, “Brian asked me to spend a week saying he had discussed it with you, and you said it would be OK.” They were very nice and understanding. I’ve no idea what was said to Brian, though I would have liked to have been a “fly on the wall.”
That was the most intense week I have ever spent, Chess wise. It was like Brian sucked out all the Chess knowledge my brain contained. The only time we left the house was to play in a nightly Backgammon tournament. I had stopped playing professionally some time earlier when the boom went bust. At least the tournament got us away from Chess for a few hours…Decades later this came up in conversation and Brian shot out, “Yeah Bacon, you got knocked out in the first round. I played two matches!” What could I do but smile? Another player said, “Come on Brian, Bacon won the Atlanta and Georgia Backgammon titles. How many Backgammon titles do you hold?” That shut Brain up, at least for a little while, which was not something that happened often.
Brian moved to New York, working a day job at Merrill Lynch, playing Chess at night. If you can make it there…
Brian made it in New York. He had some great stories about that time and about the people, like Jay Bonin,
someone Brian held in high regard. He regaled us with the inside story of famous players, like the one famous guy who earned his IM title fraudulently.
During this time Brian visited a tournament in which I participated in up north near New York. I cannot recall if Brian played in the event or only visited. What I do vividly recall is that Brian missed his ride into the city and needed a place to spend the night. I had met a fellow at a tournament on the road before the event who had advertised for a roommate. We agreed to share the room. It must have been a weekend night, so Brian did not have to be at work the following day. I offered to share my bed with Brian. We returned to the room late, as is to be expected. My roommate, a US Army soldier, a supply sergeant, was asleep. We were awakened at o’dark thirty by a clapping sound. Army was up and at’em early, doing push-ups while clapping his hands.
“What the Fork you doing, G.I. Joe?!” I inquired.
“I gotta lose some weight or they’ll boot me outta the service,” he said.
“How about doing it OUTSIDE, man; anywhere but HERE!”
We laughed about it later after a few more hours of sleep. When Brian laughed his face scrunched up and lit up like a Christmas tree.
Later I was eating when two players sat behind me and started talking about the roommates who did not know one another until meeting at a tournament before this one. “One of the guys is in the Army and the other one was an old hippie,” I heard one say. “It must be tough not having enough money to have your own room,” said the other. Then the first one said, “Seems the hippie invited a stranded friend to spend the night and let him sleep in his bed!”
“No way!” said the other.
“Yeah,” said the first one. “It gets better. The Army guy got up real early and began doing the kinda push-ups where you clap your hands, which awakened the old hippie, who was none to pleased to be rudely awakened!”
“I’ll bet,” said the other. “Then what happened?”
The old hippie guy ordered the Army soldier out of the room!”
“No way?”
“Way!”
After eating I paid the tab before walking by and stopping at their table. “Hello gentlemen, in which section are you playing?” I asked. One was in a lower section, the other in an even lower section.
“I could not help but overhear your conversation. I’m the old hippie.” As the saying goes, you shoulda seen the looks on their mugs! “I was the Atlanta, Georgia, Chess Champion from 1974-1976 and topped out as an expert. The fellow I invited to share my bed is a fellow Road Warrior, Brian McCarthy, who topped out as a Senior Master, rated over 2400. He works for Merrill Lynch and was stranded, so I took him in because he is a friend. I split the room with G.I. Joe because I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Splitting the room means having more cash to get to the round on time at another tournament. Have a good day.” They watched incredulously as I walked away.
Brian developed brain cancer over a decade ago and received treatment via the Gamma Knife. It seemed to work, fortunately. Then the cancer returned, this time it was his spine.
Brian intended on defeating cancer just as he had defeated Chess opponents. His father was a high school basketball coach and one of Brian’s favorite expressions was, “Don’t leave the gym on a missed hoop.”
Brian met the Emory doctors in downtown Atlanta while making many trips from Butler, Georgia, where he was a science teacher and basketball coach.
When Brian told the “rad-heads,” those who were receiving treatment, some for many years, about the experimental treatment he was about to undergo, they became quiet, looking in amazement and wide wonder that any human being could receive that much radiation…and live. Brian immediately became the “King of the rad-heads.”
There was an article in the New York Times Science section concerning the end of life and when it was best to give in and simply enjoy the remaining time one had left. Brian would sleep on the couch and there was a table nearby, which was where I left the article for Brian to read. When we were alone, before he started to dress to leave, he informed me he had read the article, saying, “I understand why you left the article, Mike.”
“Good, Brian; that’s a relief.” He sorta smiled before saying, “I know you meant well, Bacon, but I’ve gotta fight this shit with all I’ve got. I’m gonna beat it just like before.”
“Good luck with that, MacAroon!,” I said. He laughed like the old Brian…
The last tournament in which Brian participated was the 2019 Castle Chess Grand Prix at Emory University, a fine tournament hosted by many good people. Brain lost three games, but did manage to draw with Christopher Shen, rated 2373, in the third round, played Saturday night. How Brian had the strength to draw a game against such a strong opponent boggles the mind. I accompanied him on the ride back to the apartment and frankly, he was wasted. Yet, like all losing players, Brian had an excuse. “If only I’d had more time…” he lamented.
Born in Chicago, Illinois on June 22, 1961, Departed on March 10, 2021 and resident of Butler, GA.
Funeral and Burial Services: Friday, March 19th 2021 10:00 am Visitation followed by 11:00 Funeral Mass at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Internment to follow at Calvary Cemetery.
Dr. Brian Anthony McCarthy, PhD, a devout Catholic and devoted Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Cousin, Uncle, Teacher and accomplished Chess Master has played his last game. He fought the good fight against multiple challenging opponents, but in the endgame was checkmated by an aggressive debilitating illness on March 10th.
He was born the second of four boys born to Larry and Irene McCarthy. Life during his first few years was on the south side of Chicago Illinois where he enjoyed life as part of a large extended family in the local area. In 1967 the family relocated to Nashville Tennessee where Brian and his brothers were educated thru Holy Rosary Academy and Father Ryan High School. While at Fr. Ryan, he will be remembered for challenging the school’s sense of humor as co-editor of an independent newspaper parody. He started his college career at Middle Tennessee State University and later relocated to New York to pursue his true passion, Chess.
Those that knew him, understood that from very early in his life, Brian was passionate and relentless in his efforts to excel at chess. He would often go to extreme measures to prepare, play and compete, including: playing blindfolded, playing over the phone for hours on end (remember dial-up web access!), driving hundreds and thousands of miles, foregoing sleep and often times using his vehicle as a hotel. His efforts were rewarded as he achieved Senior Chess Master, the highest national title (2400 rating) in 1992 after 10 years as a Master. He achieved victories over numerous higher-rated Grand Masters and later in his chess career became a prolific online teacher. He taught players of all ages and took pride in their accomplishments, especially the five national titles that have been earned along with the three national titles earned by the Junior High School team he coached.
While still in the New York area, and faced with the practical limits of focusing on chess, Brian turned his attention back to academics. Typical of Brian, he went all-in graduating from New Jersey City University with his Bachelor of Science (Biology) and Master of Science (Biology) degrees. He completed his education at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey where he earned his Doctorate in Molecular Pathology and Immunology and authored his Dissertation “The Effects of Interleukin 10 in the NZB Mouse Model”. Brian spent his post-doctorate years in cancer research at his Alma Mater, Ohio State and Augusta Universities. Through these efforts, he contributed to publishing numerous papers and was part of the team that first discovered the oncogene BCL-2 on the surface of leukemia cells. It was after his research at Augusta University that he transitioned his professional career to teaching and became a Chemistry and Biology teacher at Taylor County High School.
Along the road of his life’s adventures and pursuits, Brian met and in 2009 married Pawanrat (Kai) and in 2010 added their son Patrick to the family. Brian was a good husband and father for his son. He encouraged his son to play chess and they often traveled to the tournaments in Atlanta and Nashville. Even as his illness brought on disabilities, he continued his work to teach and inspire his students until the point he was admitted to the hospital. As a teacher he was known to challenge his students and support them in their pursuits. His success can be noted in their standardized test scores which were at tops in the state. Brian also followed his father’s foot steps and coached the Taylor County Middle School basketball team which won the league championship one of the four years he coached.
Brian will be remembered for living his life on his own terms. Regardless of age, social or family status, anyone proposing “alternative terms” were rarely if ever successful! He loved his family and will also be remembered for his personal sacrifices made to support his family wherever they were whenever needed. His multi-state road trips for family events where he could only spend a few hours before heading back are legendary.
A few short words only touch the surface of Brian’s story. The legacy he leaves to his family, students, players and opponents will be the memories of his love, courage and determination he showed in victories, defeats and when faced with the most challenging of circumstances. He will be missed, but undoubtedly will travel the Heavens to watch over us.
Brian was preceded in death by his father, Lawrence Elmer McCarthy. He is survived by his Wife Kai and son Patrick; his mother Rose Irene; Brothers Larry (Kim), Barry (Kathy), Paul; nieces and nephews Michael (Caroline) of Jacksonville FL, Michele (Brendan) of Girard, Ohio, Meghan (Sean) of Cedartown, GA, Kristin of Louisville, KY, Lauren of Nashville, TN, Bradley of Nashville TN and a growing number in the next generation!
The man who was always by the side of Ding Liren: his coach Xu Jun | Photo: Amruta Mokal
His result in the first Candidates tournament a year ago was miserable. He seemed to have at least righted the ship in the second part of the ill fated tournament until todaze game.
For a GM battling in the Candidates tournament this is about as bad as it gets…This is a prime example of what SM Brian McCarthy called, “letting go of the rope.”
The intention was to wait until May 1 to fire my first salvo making it exactly one year since the last detonation. The resumption of the Candidates tournament changed my mind.
In his blog post, Coffee, FIDE, Sex and Brunettes, dated, April 14, 2021, GM Kevin Spraggett wrote:
It is almost enough to make you feel sorry for FIDE. Almost. The covid-postponed 2020 Candidates Tournament is set to resume in Yekaterinburg on the 19th of this month. Covid or no covid.
Why?
Why indeed? Why is Kevin the only person in the Chess world questioning the decision to resume the Candidates tournament? Why would any participant chose to play in the long delayed event under the prevailing conditions? And I do not mean just Covid, but that alone would be sufficient reason to refuse to resume the ill-fated tournament. Check this out:
I am shocked, SHOCKED! that Fabiano Caruana made the decision to go back to the USSR,
err, excuse me, the Soviet Union, err, Russia. Alexei Nalvany is on the verge of death
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s life ‘in the balance,’ aide says as he calls for protests
“We don’t know how long he can hold on. But it is clear we do not have time,” Navalny aide Leonid Volkov said Sunday.
and when he dies all hell will break loose in Russia. Good luck returning to America, Fabi! If only one player had refused to play the tournament would have been cancelled, as it should have been. Is the Chess public so thirsty for blood on the board that they are willing to overlook the fact that the question must be posed, who is Kirill Alekseenko and what the hell is he doing playing in a Candidates tournament?
Big Al Hamilton was fond of saying, “Everything’s rigged.” Putin will stop at nothing to see one of their “boys” in a match for the World Chess Championship.
Armchair Warrior 