Pushing Chess To The Limit

The post today features two games from the ongoing Charlotte Chess Center GM/IM Norm invitational. The first game is between IM Alexander Matros (2371) from Kazakhstan, the top rated player in the IM tournament, and FM Doug Eckert (2165) of the USA. The 2165 rating is his FIDE rating, which is only Expert level. His USCF rating is 2258, which is above the Master line. The question is why are there two different ratings? Certainly Doug, who is eligible for the US Senior, would like to come out of this tournament with his FIDE rating over 2200. Mr. Eckert is on the board of the St. Louis Chess Club, as one learns in the following video:

2016 Sinquefield Cup: GM Maurice Ashley with FM Doug Eckert

IM Alexander Matros (2371)

vs FM Doug Eckert (2165)

Charlotte CLT IM 2021 round 02

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 Be6 11. O-O a6 12. Rfc1 Bd6 13. Qd1 Ne7 14. Na4 Rad8 15. Nc5 Bc8 16. b4 g5 17. g3

Black to move

I chose this game because of this position. Back in the day I was very fond of pushing the pawns in front of my king in order to attack. When IM of GM strength Boris Kogan

would see this when going over one of my games he would invariably groan. “Mike,” he would begin, “why you do this?” I would reply, “Mikhail Tal does this.” Boris would immediately return fire with, “You not Tal!”

Because of this I know more than a little something about this kind of position. In an analogous position I once played my knight to g6. “Why Mike?” Boris asked, “where knight go?” He had a point. Nevertheless I answered, “Because the knight plugs a hole on g6 and supports moving the h-pawn, Boris.” At that point Boris howled with laughter (if nothing else going over my games did cause the Hulk to laugh…), before repeating, “Plug hole,” with more laughter following…After gathering himself Boris explained that the best move in this position would be to go ahead and play 17…h5. “If you are going to attack, ATTACK!” Boris then patiently explained that since white had moved the g-pawn in front of his king, the attack with the h-pawn would be appropriate. This is why when teaching the Royal game to neophytes I will remember Boris every time I say, “There is a rule about not moving the pawns in front of your king.” Back to the game…what move did Doug choose?

17…Nf5? (and it was all down hill from here…) 18. Nd2 Rfe8 19. a4 Qe7 20. Nf1 Ng7 21. b5 a5 22. Ra2 Ne6 23. Nd3 Bd7 24. Bf3 c6 25. bxc6 Bxc6 26. Nd2 Qd7 27. Bg4 Rf8 28. Bf5 Qe7 29. Nb3 Ng7 30. Bh3 Ra8 31. Qd2 Bb4 32. Nxb4 Qxb4 33. Qxb4 axb4 34. a5 Bb5 35. Bf1 Bxf1 36. Kxf1 Ne6 37. Ra4 b6 38. a6 Ra7 39. Rc6 Rb8 40. Kg2 Kf8 41. Rxb4 Rxa6 42. Nc5 1-0 (https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-charlotte-clt-im/02-Matros_Alexander-Eckert_Doug)

The next game again features IM Matros, who sits behind the black army this time. His opponent is Dominique Myers,

a USCF National Master from the Great State of North Carolina, with a USCF rating of only 2182 that has fallen below the minimum number needed to become a Master, 2200. Mr. Myers FIDE rating is only 1985, so you know Dominique, the lowest rated player in the field, was hoping to at least boost his rating(s) at least somewhat. On with the game, and what a game it was! This game was a real “barn burner” as is often heard in the South. There are more twists and turns than Chubby Checker’s famous song, “The Twist.”

This game reminds me of some of the boxing matches seen, and participated in, “back in the day,” with shot followed by return shot and blow was followed by return blow, as was the case when in the final year of high school word went around that there was going to be a “fight at the football field.” Mike Chennault and Robert White put on a display, trading licks and swapping blows that would have made Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier proud!

https://www.si.com/boxing/2015/10/01/muhammad-ali-vs-joe-frazier-thrilla-manilla-video-anniversary

The fight culminated with both exhausted combatants landing simultaneous right hands to the head and they both went DOWN! Then they became friends. Today a gun would’ve been pulled, with one dead and the other in prison for decades…
Which reminds me of how disappointed was the man from the High Planes, NM David Vest, a true horse lover, when I was asked at the House of Pain, “What are the six most famous words in sports?” Expecting, “And down the stretch they come,” Dave was crushed to hear me say the words famously spoken by Howard Cosell, “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” You get my drift; it was that kind of game!

NM Dominique Myers (1985) vs IM Alexander Matros (2371)

Charlotte CLT IM 2021 round 3

ECO: B13 Caro-Kann, exchange variation

e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Qc7 (SF 13 @ depth 61 plays this move; SF 12 @depth 50 plays the most often played move, 5…Nf6) 6. Ne2 (SF 13 @ depth 41 plays 6.h3) 6…e6 (Two out of the three SF programs play the most often played move, 6…Bg4; the other plays the seldom played 6…e5) 7. Bf4 Bd6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. O-O Nf6 10. Nd2 O-O (SF plays 10…e5. See Bersamina vs Antonio Jr. below) 11. Ng3 (TN) Bd7 12. f4 g6 13. Kh1 Rad8 14. Qf3 Ne8 15. Rae1 f5 16. Re3 Nf6 17. Qe2 Kh8 18. Kg1 Ne4 19. Nh1? (Nimzovich style!?) 19…Ne7? (This moved is even more red at the Bomb than his opponent’s move!) 20. Rh3 Ng8 21. Nf3 Qxf4 22. Ne5 Qg5 23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Rf4? (This move again made me think of Boris when I showed him a move like this one. “What? You think he not see cheap tactical trick?” Boris asked. Then he laughed uproariously when I answered, “He didn’t!”) 24…Kg7 25. Qe3 Nf6 26. c4 Nh5? (Another blood red move over at the Bomb, with good reason. There is not a Chess teacher who has not informed his student(s), that a “Knight on the rim is grim, or dim, or sometimes both!” The IM was cruising, but let one hand offa the rope momentarily, but still has the game in hand. Unfortunately for him, he now proceeds to loose some of his grip on the rope with that one hand until…) 27. Rxe4 Qxe3+ 28. Rexe3 Bc8 29. Rh4 f4 30. Rd3 Rf5 (The game according to the SF program at the Bomb, is even…It’s anybody’s Chess game now!) 31. Nf2 b6 32. Rhh3 Bb7 33. Rd1 Rg5 (Now white has an advantage! I was following this game in real time over at http://chessstream.com/invitational/ so as to watch the game without analysis and remember thinking, “Go Dominique!” David Spinks was known for saying, “you gotta pull for SOMEBODY!”) 34. Nf3 (Back to even) 34…Ra5 35. a3 Rf5 36. Ne5 Rg5 37. Nf3 Rf5 38. Nh4 Rf7 39. Rhd3 Rc7 40. b3 Rcd7 41. Ng4 g5 42. Nf3 h6? (Redder than red! This is a potentially losing move…) 43. Nge5? (The wrong Knight! Back to even…) 43…Rd6 44. b4 Nf6 45. h3 Ne4 46. a4 Ng3 47. c5 Bxf3 48. Nxf3 bxc5 49. bxc5 Ra6 50. Re1 Kf6 51. Ra1? (Advantage swings back to black…)51…h5 52. a5 Kf5 53. Ra2 Ne4 54. Ne5 Rd5? (A terrible move! Black goes from winning to losing with this move!) 55. g4+ hxg4 56. hxg4+ Kf6 57. Ra4??? (Oh no, Mr. Bill! This is what GM Yasser Seriwan would most definitely call a “howler.” Passed pawns MUST be pushed, and a Rook belongs BEHIND a passed pawn are well known endgame mantras) 57…Nxc5 58. dxc5 Rxe5 59. Rc3 Rc6 60. Rac4 Re2 61. Rd3 Ra2 62. Rd6 Rxd6 63. cxd6 Rxa5 64. Rd4 Rd5 65. Ra4 a5 66. Kf2 e5 67. Kf3 Ke6 68. Ra1 Kxd6 69. Rh1 Rd4 70. Rh6+ Kc5 71. Re6 e4+ 72. Ke2 e3 0-1 (https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-charlotte-clt-im/03-Myers_Dominique-Matros_Alexander)

Paulo Bersamina (2378) vs Rogelio Antonio Jr (2474)
Event: ch-PHI 2016
Site: Manila PHI Date: 06/22/2016
Round: 4
ECO: B13 Caro-Kann, exchange variation
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Qc7 6.Ne2 e6 7.Bf4 Bd6 8.Bxd6 Qxd6 9.O-O Nf6 10.Nd2 e5 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Bb5+ Nc6 13.Nc4 Qc7 14.Ne3 Be6 15.Nd4 O-O 16.Bd3 Nxd4 17.cxd4 Qb6 18.Rb1 Rfd8 19.f3 g6 20.Bc2 Bd7 21.Bb3 Bb5 22.Re1 Bc4 23.Bxc4 dxc4 24.Nxc4 Qxd4+ 25.Qxd4 Rxd4 26.Na5 Rd5 27.Nb3 a5 28.Rbd1 a4 29.Rxd5 Nxd5 30.Nc5 a3 31.bxa3 b6 32.Re5 Nf4 33.Nd7 Rxa3 34.g3 Ne6 35.Nxb6 Rxa2 36.Rd5 h6 37.f4 h5 38.Nc4 h4 39.Rd2 ½-½
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?back=1&gid=3998119&m=21

This game is included for historical purposes as it was played in the wonderful mountain city of Hendersonville, a place I once called home earlier this century. David Rupel is from the great Northwest and played “fast and loose” when moving his f-pawn early in the game, which must have flummoxed his opponent.

Alan Kobernat (2101) vs David Rupel (2138)
Event: US Masters op
Site: Hendersonville, NC
Date: 03/18/2006
Round: 6
ECO: B13 Caro-Kann, exchange variation
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Qc7 6.Ne2 e6 7.Bf4 Bd6 8.Bxd6 Qxd6 9.O-O f5 10.Re1 Nf6 11.Nd2 O-O 12.Nf3 Ne4 13.Ng3 Bd7 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Qb6 16.Re2 Nc5 17.Rc2 Be8 18.Bf1 f4 19.Ne2 Bg6 20.Rd2 Ne4 21.Rd4 f3 0-1
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?back=1&gid=3324555&m=19

I hope you enjoy this game as much as did I. Surf on over to ChessBomb and click through it yourself if you want analysis. If you would prefer to view the game and cogitate for yourself, head to Chessstream (http://chessstream.com/Invitational/Games.aspx). I applaud both players, with extra emphasis going to Mr. Myers, who had his chances. I would rather PLAY, and lose, every game played in a tournament if they included chances to win than to meekly acquiesce an early draw any day. A game like this is why I play, and follow, Chess. Sure, it’s tough to lose, but there’s nothing like having your blood boiling while sitting at the board racking your brain in a vain attempt at finding the right move. So what if you’re completely drained and devoid of life after such a game. At least you FEEL SOMETHING, unlike those wussies who continue making short draw after short draw and leave devoid of any feeling whatsoever. THIS GAME IS WHAT CHESS SHOULD BE ABOUT! OK, you lost, but you have a GAME to study; you have a chance to improve; something from which to learn. What do those weak and worthless players who agree to a quick draws learn? My hat is off to Dominigue ‘My Man’ Myers! He pushed it to the limit versus the top rated player in the field.

Dedicated to Duan Watson

Remembering JFK

It’s the birthday of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, born in Brookline, Massachusetts (1917), who said in one of his last major public speeches, “When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations.”

(From today’s The Writer’s Almanac: https://www.garrisonkeillor.com/)

Saturday Morning TV

During the first year of the Covid pandemic I eschewed being connected to the collective while returning to the basics, as in watching television. Being born in 1950 means I am a so-called “baby boomer.” It may have been better to have called we boomers “TV watchers,” as the tube was our pacifier. There was no school on Saturday. There were, though, many child oriented programs emanating from the box. One of my favorites was Sky King.

“From out of the clear blue of the western sky comes Sky King” was the familiar opening to television’s premier aviation program. Operating from his Flying Crown Ranch in Arizona, Sky King, his niece Penny and their Cessna 310 airplane “Songbird” were constantly involved in one adventure after another.

(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043232/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

I must have had a crush on Penny before I knew what was a crush…

Fast forward about six decades or so and there was I once again sitting in front of the telly, as the Brits say, watching Saturday morning programs with my coffee. Only now the women with bright smiles are scientists, or at least report on science on the program, Exploration Station. (https://www.xplorationstation.com/)

After purchasing the Dude (it’s a Dell) I vowed to continuing watching the Saturday morning science shows with my first cuppa java at least until my eyes focused. That did not happen. So this morning I decided to turn on the TV and watch an episode of Exploration Station: Nature Knows Best.

Danni Washington
Host of Xploration Nature Knows Best


Host Danni Washington is a marine biologist and co-founder of the non-profit, Big Blue & You which engages youth in marine conservation through the arts and media.

Then came Exploration Station: Outer Space,

Emily Calandrelli
Host of Xploration Outer Space

Host Emily Calandrelli, MIT Engineer and astronautics expert takes viewers on incredible journeys through space. She visits various NASA facilities, private space companies, and interviews space experts in search of answers about our universe.

which was followed by Exploration Station: Awesome Planet…

Philippe Cousteau
Host of Xploration Awesome Planet


Philippe Cousteau, grandson of the legendary Jacques Cousteau, explores the most spectacular places – on the Earth, inside the Earth, and above the Earth – in this riveting earth science series.

The coffee was followed by cereal and that hour and a half may be the best part of the day. Granted, the programs are for children, but what am I other than an old child? I’m too old to have a crush, so it must be a thing I have for Dani and Emily…they each have such a nice smile.

I mention this because during the Outer space episode one of the astronauts mentioned how thin is the layer of atmosphere that allows us to exist. I read a couple of things about atmosphere this week that remained in my brain, so I did some research and found them:

“The view of Earth is absolutely spectacular, and the feeling of looking back and seeing your planet as a planet is just an amazing feeling. It’s a totally different perspective, and it makes you appreciate, actually, how fragile our existence is. You can look at Earth’s horizon and see this really, really thin royal blue line right along the horizon, and at first you don’t really quite internalize what that is, and then you realize that it’s Earth’s atmosphere, and that that’s all there is of it, and it’s about as thick as the fuzz on a tennis ball, and it’s everything that separates us from the vacuum of space.” – Sally Ride (https://www.garrisonkeillor.com/radio/twa-the-writers-almanac-for-may-26-2021/)

Wealth

by Tim Nolan

Down the block a garage band plays
“Isn’t She Lovely” —here’s a kind of wealth

even if the song is fractured—and listening
tonight to the sequence of birds—I mean

their unintended consequences—is wealth—
and today I followed all the plays—each

count around the baseball diamond—no one
expected their due—the outs were out

and some of the runners were safe—there was
sense in the blue sky—it could all go

beyond nine innings—whatever—I mean
everyone agreed and understood this passing—

this endless passing of time—was a kind of wealth—
and our atmosphere would be enough—the trees

would frame the sky and the sky would be
beyond belief—so blue—as in Mediterranean Blue—

and Odysseus would come home—as he was
compelled to—sunburned, vagrant—and wealthy.

Tim Nolan, “Wealth” from The Sound of It. Copyright © 2008 by Tim Nolan. Used by permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of New Rivers Press, newriverspress.com. (https://www.garrisonkeillor.com/radio/twa-the-writers-almanac-for-may-26-2021

OTB CHESS IN CHARLOTTE!

Two separate tournaments began at the Charlotte Chess Center yesterday. The GM/IM NORM INVITATIONAL tournaments are nine round events taking place in a five day time frame, which is sure to separate the men from the boys! At the website one finds: Safety Precautions/Measures in Effect. (https://www.charlottechesscenter.org/norm)

This is one of the pictures found at the home of the CCC:

https://www.charlottechesscenter.org/

FM Peter Giannatos,

Founder and Director of the Charlotte Chess Center & Scholastic Academy, has an informative bi-weekly stream on Twitch. FM Peter Giannatos is FIDE Master since February of 2017. Peter is also a United States Chess Federation National Master (NM)/Life Master (LM), Senior Tournament Director, and FIDE International Arbiter (IA). (https://www.chessdom.com/fm-peter-giannatos-live-stream/)

There was an excellent article at Chessdom earlier in the week in which this video featured:

FM Peter Giannatos – live stream tonight 6:30-7:30pm EDT (0:30-1:30 CEST) https://www.chessdom.com/fm-peter-giannatos-live-stream/

The games in real time, or later, are being displayed at the ChessBomb: https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-charlotte-clt-gm

In the IM tournament two wiley ol’ veterans met in the first round:

Charlotte CLT IM 2021

Eckert, Doug (2165) FM – Adamson, Robby (2250) FM

Charlotte CLT IM 2021 round 01

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Be2 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. b3 Qe7 9. Bb2 b6 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. Re1 Rad8 12. Qc2 Rfe8 13. e4 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 Nf6 16. Bd3 Ba3 17. Rad1 Bxb2 18. Qxb2 Qc7 19. c5 h6 20. b4 Re7 21. Ne5 Nd7 22. Qc3 Ra8 23. h3 Nf6 ½-½ https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-charlotte-clt-im/01-Eckert_Doug-Adamson_Robby

18…Qc7? was rather lame, when 18…c5 was called for…Then when Black offered a draw White proved to be extremely limp-wristed by being agreeable when he holds all the cards. Go figure…

In the GM tournament this game was not played:

Charlotte CLT GM 2021

Ringoir, Tanguy (2474) GM – Korley, Kassa (2441) IM

Charlotte CLT GM 2021 round 01

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. b3 O-O 10. Bb2 Ne4 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxc3 Bf5 13. Nd4 Bxd4 14. Bxd4 Qd7 15. Bb2 Rad8 16. e3 Bg4 17. Qd3 Bh3 18. Rfd1 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Qe6 20. Rd2 h5 21. h4 Qe4+ 22. Kg1 Rfe8 23. Rad1 Qg4 ½-½ https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-charlotte-clt-gm/01-Ringoir_Tanguy-Korley_Kassa

24 Qb5 suggests itself with white holding the initiative and all the cards. Ask yourself, “Would Bobby Fischer have offered a draw in either of these games?”

Oh well, it has been a year sans computer and I have been looking forward to watching some OTB action so this weekend will be devoted to the GM and IM tournaments being contested right up the road on Inerstate 85 in the Queen City!

Garry Kasparov with Morning Joe

Unable to read yesterday morning due to blurred vision I turned on the TV and the first thing heard from MSNBC was to “Stay tuned. Garry Kasparov will be with us after the break.” I sat down with my morning joe to listen to Garry because he and I agree on the fact that Vladimir Putin is not good for the planet. No leader armed to the teeth with a nuclear arsenal who has a Napoleon complex will ever be good for humanity. Putin did not go to all the trouble and expense to assist in electing Donald Trump out of the goodness of his heart.

In this photo, taken Nov. 11, 2017, US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam (Pool photo by JORGE SILVA via AP)

Vladimir knew a POTUS Trump would be deleterious for US, and the free world, which would be a positive for him and his “Mother Russia.” The whole Trump family sold out We The People (Russian Dirt on Clinton? ‘I Love It,’ Donald Trump Jr. Said (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/politics/trump-russia-email-clinton.html),

Donald Trump Jr.; Vladimir Putin (AP/Kathy Willens/Getty/Sergei Karpukhin/Salon)

and only history will record how much damage was done by a family of self aggrandizing grifters.

From the talk with Kasparov one learns that his Renew Democracy Initiative launched an Interactive Platform and Master Class (https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/15/garry-kasparov-launches-a-community-first-chess-platform/).

We also learn that there is an article by Senior Contributor Matt Gardner in Forbes magazine: (Kasparov’s Next Move: Grandmaster Returns To Chess With Esports Platform (forbes.com))

Garry Kasparov is returning to chess with his all-new esports platform, Kasparovchess.
 
KASPAROVCHESS

Garry talked about Beth Harmon

Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harman

the character in the Queen’s Gambit series based on the book of the same name by Walter Tevis,

as if she were a real person when he said, “Chess helped Beth Harmon overcome drinking and drugs, which helps to dispel the popular myth that chess causes mental instability because of Americans Paul Morphy and Bobby Fischer.”

I jotted this down and may be paraphrasing somewhat here. The entire lengthy segment, America has nothing to gain from meeting with Putin: Garry Kasparov: President Joe Biden will meet in-person for the first time since taking office with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16, the White House announced Tuesday. Garry Kasparov of the Renew Democracy Initiative joins Morning Joe to discuss. May 26, 2021, can be watched here:

America has nothing to gain from meeting with Putin: Garry Kasparov (msnbc.com)

Double Shot of Vaccine Love!

After receiving the second shot of the Moderna vaccine yesterday the siren sounded, there were flashing lights with balloons and streamers galore! Then beautiful, scantily clad young women began hugging and making a fuss over me! For a moment I thought I had died and gone to heaven…before realizing there ain’t a snowballs chance in hell of that happening…Then Monte Hall appeared

informing me of all the things I had won, including a humongous check for ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!! All this because my vaccination made the US of A attain the 50% vaccinated mark!!!

And there was Governor Mike Dewine holding the check!

nowtheendbegins.com

Then I awakened…I was alone in the bed and my arm hurt…and it was back to reality, because Mike DeWine is the Republican Governor of Ohio. The Governor of my Great State of Georgia is the wrong wing Republican who wanted to open the state so early that even the Trumpster ridiculed the son of a gun…(https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/georgias-experiment-in-human-sacrifice/)

thegoldwater.com

It was, though, one hellofa dream!

Dedicated to Susan “Bells” Bailey

The Dark Side of the Moon Rising

A total lunar eclipse over Encinitas, Calif., in 2019.Credit…Mike Blake/Reuters

Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival (HQ – 5.1 Studio )

Moon watchers gathered to observe a total lunar eclipse over Vienna in January 2019.Credit…Georg Hochmuth/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Pink Floyd – “The Dark Side of The Moon” PULSE Remastered

Bob Dylan’s Masterpiece

It’s the birthday of Bob Dylan (books by this author), born Robert Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota (1941). He grew up in the declining mining town of Hibbing, Minnesota. He was a quiet kid, raised by Jewish parents, who loved listening to the Grand Ole Opry. But after he heard Little Richard on the radio he wanted to play rock and roll, so his dad bought him an electric guitar and he formed a rock band at his high school, The Golden Chords. Then he went to the University of Minnesota, and as soon as he got to Minneapolis, and heard a record by the folk singer Odetta, he went and traded in his electric guitar for an acoustic one. Then a friend gave him Woody Guthrie’s autobiography and he was so inspired that he started learning all the folk songs he could and trying to sing like Woody. He performed in coffee shops around the university, and then in 1961, when he heard that Woody Guthrie was dying of Huntington’s disease in New York City, he left for the East Coast to meet his hero and become a musician.

And he did both those things. He went to Greystone Hospital and found Woody Guthrie and he played him songs, and visited him over and over. Later Dylan said, “You could listen to his songs and actually learn how to live.”

He started performing in Greenwich Village clubs and coffeehouses, using the name Bob Dylan (he denies that he took his name from Dylan Thomas). He released his first album, Bob Dylan, in 1962. Within a space of just four years, the kid from Minnesota with the strange voice became a folk music sensation. In those years he released Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’, Another Side of Bob Dylan, and Bringing It All Back Home. He became a symbol of the protest movement and civil rights and stood on stage with Joan Baez while Martin Luther King Jr. performed his “I Have a Dream” speech and he moved from old ballads to writing his own folk songs all the way to “Like A Rolling Stone,” which caused him to get booed at the Newport Folk Festival when he plugged in his electric guitar.

Bob Dylan has been called one of the greatest songwriters of all time and even one of the greatest poets of all time. He won a Nobel Prize in literature in 2016.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 24, 2021

https://podtail.com/podcast/is-it-rolling-bob-talking-dylan/

Dedicated to Richard Dalrymple

Viewing Chess Women

After participating in an online group class last evening I decided to spend the morning watching live Chess action. There were two choices. One was the $1.5M Meltwater Champions Chess Tour: FTX Crypto Cup, which consists of, from the website: 9 days of chess. 16 top players. $220k prize fund and an additional $100k in $Bitcoin. (https://championschesstour.com/) As of one pm, Eastern Standard Daylight Saving time, the $100K in coin bits had melted to $76,757.87.
The time control for this event is an off-putting 15 minutes plus 10 seconds added after every move made. David Howell, Jovanka Houska, and a face with which I am unfamiliar, K. Snare, are covering the action online. With 16 players that is 8 quick play games to cover. Makes me nervous just thinking about all that constant jabbering…Do not get me wrong, there is a time and place for 15 minute Chess. David Bronstein, the man who drew a match for the World Championship with then Champion Mikhail Bottvinnik, who proclaimed himself to be “First among peers,” advocated a 15 minute time limit for the players in the so-called “workers paradise” known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Bronstein’s thinking was that two workers could get together after an evening meal and play four games before hitting the sack for the night.

Then there is the more sedate Gibraltar FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2021 where the time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1 actually gives the players, and spectators, time to cogitate. If I have to inform you of which tournament this post is about you have not read enough of the AW. In the words of the “Rising Star of the Year,” Alireza Firouzja, in still the best Chess magazine published on planet Earth, New In Chess, 2020 #8,

“I believe most people play chess because you have to really use your mind, know the different patterns and so on. Maybe to grow chess and bring more fans to the game, it is needed to increase the number of rapid and blitz tournaments throughout the year. But I do believe that many people still enjoy classical chess, because there you can really see quality moves and deep ideas.” Earlier in yet another excellent interview by Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam, the young man said about Norway chess, “I was really happy to be back at the wooden board. It feels different when you touch the pieces and move them around. I think every chess lover understands what I mean. Seeing your opponent and seeing people around the playing area just felt great.” Amen, brother! I cannot wait to play in the next Senior Chess tournament! I am already looking forward to the next Land of the Sky Chess tournament, according to tournament impresario Wilder Wadford, the weekend before the Super Bowl, in the beautiful city of Asheville, North Carolina. I may make the trip just to be there, being square!

by John Saunders, 21 May 2020

In the second round of the Gibraltar FIDE Women’s Grand Prix these moves were played in the game: Anna Muzychuk (2535) vs Nana Dzagnidze (2524):

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 9. Na3 Be6 10. Nc4 Rb8 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Ne7 13. Bxf6 gxf6

White to move

To see the shocking thrust that followed please go to the ChessBomb (https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-fide-womens-grand-prix-gibraltar/02-Muzychuk_Anna-Dzagnidze_Nana)

Zelcic, Robert (2526) vs Dreev, Aleksey (2671)
Event: Tournament of Peace 2019
Site: Zagreb CRO Date: 11/22/2019
Round: 4.6 Score: 1-0
ECO: B33 Sicilian, Pelikan, Bird variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bf4 e5 8.Bg5 a6 9.Na3 Be6 10.Nc4 Rb8 11.Nd5 Bxd5 12.exd5 Ne7 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.g3 h5 15.Bh3 Bh6 16.Qf3 Nc8 17.O-O b5 18.Na5 Qxa5 19.Qxf6 Rg8 20.Qxh6 Qb4 21.c3 Qe4 22.Qxh5 Ne7 23.Bg2 Qg6 24.Qxg6 Nxg6 25.b4 Ke7 26.a4 f5 27.axb5 axb5 28.Ra6 Rgc8 29.Bh3 Rf8 30.Rfa1 e4 31.Rc6 Rb7 32.Raa6 Rd7 33.Bf1 Rb8 34.Rcb6 Rxb6 35.Rxb6 Rc7 36.Bh3 f4 37.Bf5 Ne5 38.gxf4 Nf3+ 39.Kh1 Rxc3 40.Bxe4 Nh4 41.h3 Rc4 42.f3 Rxb4 43.Kh2 Rb2+ 44.Kg3 Ng2 45.Rb7+ Kf6 46.Rd7 Ne3 47.Rxd6+ Kf7 48.f5 Nc4 49.Rc6 Ne5 50.Ra6 b4 51.Ra7+ Kf6 52.Kf4 Nc4 53.Ra6+ Kf7 54.Rc6 Na5 55.Rc5 Ra2 56.d6 Kf6 57.Bd5 b3 58.d7 Ra4+ 59.Kg3 1-0
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?back=1&gid=4232480&m=22

Also in round 2

Antoaneta Stefanova (2470) – Valentina Gunina (2421)

B10 Caro-Kann, two knights variation

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Nxe4 6. Qxe4 Nd7 7. Bc4 Nf6 8. Ne5 e6 9. Qe2 b5 10. Bd3 Qc7 11. O-O (TN) Bd6 12. f4 Nd5 13. g3 O-O 14. a3 Bb7 15. Nf3 Rae8 16. b3 e5 17. fxe5

Black to move

To learn what Ms. Gunina played head on over to ChessBomb (https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021-fide-womens-grand-prix-gibraltar/02-Stefanova_Antoaneta-Gunina_Valentina)

Stay

STAY
by Kim Addonizio

So your device has a low battery & seems to drain faster each day.
Maybe you should double your medication.

You might feel queasy, but also as if the spatula flattening you to the fry pan
has lifted a little.

So your breath comes out scorched, so what.

Inside, trust me on this,
there’s a ribbon of beach by a lake,

in the sand, fragments of a fossilized creature resembling a tulip.

Back in the Paleozoic, online wasn’t invented yet
so everyone had to wander alone & miserable through the volcanic wastes

or just glue themselves to a rock hoping someone would pass by.

Now you can sob to an image of your friend a continent away
& be consoled.

Please wait for the transmissions, however faint.

Listen: when a stranger steps into the elevator with a bouquet of white
roses not meant for you,

they’re meant for you..

Kim Addonizio, “STAY” from Now We’re Getting Somewhere. Published by W.W. Norton and used by permission of Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agents.
https://www.garrisonkeillor.com/radio/twa-the-writers-almanac-for-may-22-2021/

https://www.kimaddonizio.com/