Monthly Archives: March 2022

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Esipenko vs Nakamura Bishops Opening Battle

Andrey Esipenko (2723) RUS vs Hikaru Nakamura (2750) USA
FIDE Grand Prix 2022
C24 Bishop’s opening, Berlin defence

  1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Na5 5. Qf3 Nxc4 6. dxc4 d6 7. Nge2 Be6 8. b3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. a4 Nd7 11. a5 a6 12. Ng3 Bg5 13. Nf5 Bxc1 14. Raxc1 g6 15. Ne3 c6 16. Ra1 Qe7 17. Qd1 Rad8 18. Qd2 Nf6 19. f4 exf4 20. Rxf4 Nh5 21. Rf3 Qg5 22. Raf1 Qxa5 23. g4 Ng7 24. Nf5 Qe5 25. Nh6+ Kh8 26. Nd5 g5 27. Qf2 f5 28. gxf5 Bxd5 29. exd5 Nh5 30. Re1 Qg7 31. Ng4 Nf4 32. f6 Qd7 33. Rxf4 gxf4 34. Qxf4 Rde8 35. Rf1 Qf7 36. Kh1 Qg6 37. Rg1 h5 38. Ne3 Rxf6 0-1
    https://live.followchess.com/#!fide-gp-3-berlin—pool-stage-2022/329992158
  1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 (This is the way it was played ‘back in the day’. All three Stockfish programs at extremely low depths [or is that high? The lower you go the higher the number], concur that 3…c6 is best) 4. Nc3 (Again, this is the way it was played ‘back in the day’, and it was the way I learned to play the Bishop’s Opening. These daze it is de rigueur to play 4 Nf3, transitioning to the C55 Two knights defence, Modern Bishop’s opening) 4…Na5 5. Qf3 (Stockfish 14 @depth 52 will play 5 Nge2, the most popular move by far, with the ChessBaseDataBase showing 635 games. Unfortunately, it has only scored 47%. There are 201 games with the move played in the game, 5 Qf3, and it has scored only 46%. I was extremely pleased to see that the best move in the position, at least according to the best Chess playing program currently competing, is 5 Bb3. Back in the day I would sit behind the White pieces in the position after 5 Bb3 feeling somewhat comfortable, especially after the trade of minor pieces that followed. White gives up one the two bishops, but the knight has taken three moves to capture a piece that has only moved twice, and after taking on b3, capturing toward the center, mind you, your Queen Rook has a semi-open file. What’s not to like?) 5…Nxc4 (SF 14 @depth 40 will play 5…c6, as will SF 310321 @depth 59) 6. dxc4 d6 (Almost invariably played, with the CBDB showing 72 games and only 12 for the second most played move of 6…Bb4. The choice of Stockfish 14.1 @depth 42 is 6…c6. The CBDB contains only 2 games in which the move has been played) 7. Nge2 Be6 8. b3 Be7 (SF 120322 @depth 29 plays 8…Nd7) 9. O-O (Stockfish 17 & 031021 both play 9 a4, which will be a Theoretical Novelty if and when it is played by a titled human player)

Pavel Ponkratov (2632) vs Hikaru Nakamura (2736)
Event: World Blitz 2019
Site: Moscow RUS Date: 12/29/2019
Round: 8.4 Score: 0-1
ECO: C28 Vienna game
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Na5 5.Qf3 Nxc4 6.dxc4 d6 7.h3 Be6 8.b3 Nd7 9.Nge2 Be7 10.Ng3 Bg5 11.Nh5 Rg8 12.Qg3 Bxc1 13.Rxc1 g6 14.f4 f6 15.Qf3 gxh5 16.Qxh5+ Bf7 17.Qxh7 Rxg2 18.Kf1 Rg8 19.Rg1 Rxg1+ 20.Kxg1 Qe7 0-1
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?gid=4243128

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Here Comes The Sun

Northern Lights, magnetic storm possible from 3 sun eruptions pointed at Earth

Solar image from NASA on March 29, 2022

By Mark Torregrossa | mtorregr@mlive.com

Three energy eruptions on the sun occurred yesterday. When the energy from these eruptions hits Earth, we may have northern lights visible across the northern third of the U.S.

Spaceweather.com is reporting that NOAA says two or possibly three separate eruptions occurred. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center says the first mass of energy will hit Earth’s atmosphere in the late evening on March 30 or early in the morning on March 31.

These eruptions on the sun are called Coronal Mass Ejections, or CMEs for short. The first CME occurred when the eruption was faced directly toward Earth. This makes NOAA’s Space Weather forecasters think the energy will create northern lights on at least the night of March 30-31. The second and third CMEs could enhance the strength of the northern lights as energy increases from all three CMEs hitting Earth’s atmosphere. (https://www.mlive.com/weather/2022/03/northern-lights-magnetic-storm-possible-from-3-sun-eruptions-pointed-at-earth.html)

Dedicated to Gentleman Jim

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Gunmen kill 19 at rooster fight in Mexico

By Wire report
Published March 28, 2022 9:40AM
World
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY – Nineteen people were killed when gunmen burst into a clandestine rooster fight in western Mexico, prosecutors in the western state of Michoacan said Monday.
The attack occurred late Sunday near the town of Zinapecuaro, Michoacan.
The dead include 16 men and three women, and a number of people were wounded in the attack.
The office said that drug cartels and gangs had been fighting in the area.
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/gunmen-kill-19-at-rooster-fight-in-mexico

Gallo del Cielo lyrics

Carlos Saragosa left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was full
He had no money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in Gold
He headed for el Sueco, stole a rooster named Gallo Del Cielo
Then he crossed the Rio Grande with that roosted nestled deep within his arm

Galllo del Cielo was a warrior born in heaven so the legends say
His wings they had been broken, he had one eye rollin crazy in his head
He’d fought a hundred fights and the legends say that one night near El Sueco
He fought Cielo seven times, seven times he left brave roosters dead

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in San Antonio
I have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in gold
Tonight I’ll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Cielo
Then I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Outside of San Diego in the Onion fields of Paco Monte Verde
The Pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silk
Adn they laughed when Saragosa pulled the one-eyed Del Cielo from beneath his shirt
But they cried when Saragosa waked away with a thousand dollar bill

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in Santa Barbara
I have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in gold
Tonight I’ll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Cielo
Then I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Now the moon has gone to hiding and the lantern light spills shadows on the fighting sand
A wicked black named Zorro faces Del Cielo in the sand
And Carlos Saragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across his roosters beak
And he fears that he has lost the 50,000 dollars riding on the fight

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in Santa Clara
The money’s on the table, I’m holding now your good luck framed in gold
Everything we dream of is riding on the spurs of Del Cielo
Then I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

The signal it was given and the roosters rose together far above the sand
Gallo Del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro’s shiny breast
They were separated quickly but they rose and fought each other time and time again
And the legends all agreed that Gallo Del Cielo fought the best

But then the screams of Saragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa Clara
As the beak of Del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his hand
And they say that Saragosa screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho Villa
As Zorro rose up one more time and drove Del Cielo in the sand

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in San Francisco
I have no money in my pocket I no longer have your good luck framed in gold
I buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved Del Cielo
I will not return to buy the land that Villa stole long ago

Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?
Does the scar upon my brother’s face turn red when he hears mention of my name?
And do the people of El Sueco still curse the theft of Gallo Del Cielo?
Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.
https://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/ely-joe/gallo-del-cielo-2259.html

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Oh Atlanta

The following picture greeted me this morning when I surfed on over to the website of the New York Times in an article:

Cities Lost Population in 2021, Leading to the Slowest Year of Growth in U.S. History

Although some of the fastest growing regions in the country continued to grow, the gains were nearly erased by stark losses in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Atlanta is growing, which isn’t true of other major cities. Credit…Audra Melton for The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/us/census-2021-population-growth.html)
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IM Arthur Guo Wins Spring 2022 GM Norm Invitational!

Hometown hero Arthur Guo

new.uschess.org

took first place in the just completed Spring 2022 GM/IM Norm Invitational extravaganza held at the Charlotte Chess Center by winning both the penultimate, and last rounds today while scoring six points, one half point ahead of GM Kamil Dragun and IM Raja Panjwani, who was the opponent of the young IM Guo, winner of the 2021 National Open, which was his first GM norm. (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2021/06/22/im-arthur-guo-wins-national-open/) Even though Arthur won the tournament he will not earn a norm because he had to garner 6 1/2 points for a norm. This makes no sense. The player wins by finishing alone in first place and he earns no norm? Go figure…that’s FIDE.

Arthur began the day by winning with the Black pieces versus the boy who became the youngest Grandmaster in history, Abhimanyu Mishra, about whom much has been written. (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2021/07/14/chess-dirty-laundry-begins-to-smell/)

  1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O h6 7. Re1 a6 8. a4 Ba7 9. Nbd2 g5 10. b4 Nh7 11. Kh1 O-O 12. Rf1 Ne7 13. Bb2 Ng6 14. Ne1 g4 15. d4 c6 16. f3 g3 17. hxg3 Qg5 18. Kh2 d5 19. Bb3 Bb8 20. Nd3 Nf6 21. dxe5 Nxe5 22. Nf4 Nh5 23. Ne2 Nxg3 24. Nxg3 Qh4+ 25. Kg1 Ba7+ 26. Rf2 Qxg3 27. Qe2 Nd3 28. c4 Qxf2+ 29. Qxf2 Bxf2+ 30. Kf1 Nxb2 31. Kxf2 Nxc4 32. Nxc4 dxc4 33. Bxc4 Be6 34. Be2 f5 35. exf5 Bxf5 36. Rd1 Rad8 0-1
    https://live.followchess.com/#!charlotte-spring-gm-a-2022/-327477079

The move 21…Nxe5? was enough to lose the game but just to make sure the young boy next fired off a “Howler” when playing 22…Nf4?? A move like that when played by an older player would cause one to wonder if there had been some kind of brain infarction. Do children have brain infarction?

In the last round Arthur had the White pieces against IM Raja Panjwani, who was leading the field heading into the ultimate round.

IM Arthur Guo 2412 USA vs Raja Panjwani 2436 CAN

  1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 d6 8. Be2 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 a5 11. f3 a4 12. Rc1 Qa5 13. Kf2 Be6 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. Qxa5 Rxa5 16. cxd5 Nd7 17. Rc7 Nc5 18. Rb1 Rfa8 19. Ke1 Bf6 20. Kd1 Kg7 21. g3 b6 22. Bd2 R5a7 23. Rc6 Rb7 24. Bb5 Bd4 25. Kc2 f5 26. exf5 gxf5 27. Re1 Kf7 28. g4 fxg4 29. fxg4 Kg7 30. Rf1 Be5 31. h4 h6 32. Rf5 Ne4 33. Bxh6+ Kxh6 34. Rxe5 Nc5 35. Rf5 a3 36. b4 Nd7 37. Rc3 Rg8 38. Rh5+ Kg7 39. Rg5+ Kf7 40. Bxd7 1-0
    https://live.followchess.com/#!charlotte-spring-gm-a-2022/-1395680198

The players traded inaccuracies around move twenty but when Raja played the weak move 31…h6? his tenuous position was teetering on the abyss. With his next move IM Panjwani let go of the rope completely…

Congratulations to future GM Arthur Guo!

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Arthur Guo Let One Go

It was Saturday night and almost all was right, until young Arthur Guo let one go…like a hooked fish that somehow gets offa the hook…There I was, watching the action from Charlotte while listening to my man, H. Johnson, spin vinyl on his Saturday night program Jazz Classics on WABE FM from Atlanta, Georgia, a program to which I have listened since it’s inception way back in 1978.

https://www.wabe.org/people/h-johnson/

One of the best things about the internet is being able to listen to a program from home while in another part of the country. While listening I was also watching the Chess games being contested at the Charlotte Chess Center. One game in particular captured my attention, keeping my eyes transfixed on the screen for far too long, I’m sad to report, because my eyes were blurred upon awakening and even after a mid-morning ‘nap’ to rest them they are still somewhat out of focus. That’s OK though, because it was worth the time spent watching the game, which follows. At one point I eschewed the other games and gave my full attention to this game exclusively, rooting for Arthur while thrusting my fist in the air and shouting, “YES!,” or sometimes, “NO,” or “Oh No,” with a “What The Fork?” thrown in for good measure. WHAT A GAME!!! As far as this reporter is concerned this game was THE GAME of the tournament. Granted, I have not reviewed all the games, but of those that I’ve seen this was THE ONE! I’m telling you the game gave me HEART PALPITATIONS! At the conclusion of the game I was EXHAUSTED as if it had been me making the moves. Chess, and life, don’t get any better than that, I’m here to tell you, that is if you are a Chess Fan. At times the AW was yellin’, “Go Authur Guo, GO!” I’ve heard something about those that can no longer do, watch…Yes, I admit to living last night vicariously through the moves of future Grandmaster, and fellow Georgian Arthur Guo. The game can be found all over the internet, and I have provided a link to FollowChess, and would like to recommend this one from Lichess.com (https://lichess.org/broadcast/2022-charlotte-chess-gm-norm-invitational/round-7/BamwVdbA)
I will also recommend you play over the game at followchess.com and make notes before surfin’ on over to Lichess.

IM Arthur Guo (2412)

https://chess.stream/Invitational/spring-2022-gm-im-norm-invitational/Default.aspx

vs GM Aleksander Mista (2541)

https://chess.stream/Invitational/spring-2022-gm-im-norm-invitational/Default.aspx

Charlotte Spring GM A (round 7)
C50 Giuoco Pianissimo

  1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 (The ChessBaseDataBase gives Fritz 17 @depth 42 playing 3 Bc4, and it gives it twice in lieu of another program. Wonder why? The other program shown, Stockfish 300121 @depth 85[!] considers 3 Bb5 best) 3…Bc5 (Fritz 17 will play this move, but Stockfish 070215 @depth 48, and SF 14.1 @depth 62[!] will play 3…Nf6) 4. d3 Nf6 5. a4 (SF 14.1 @depth 59 castles) 5…d6 6. a5 a6 (The CBDB contains 16 games in which this move has been played; one with 6…h6. Stockfish 080222 @depth 36 will play 6…h6, SF 14.1 @depth 35 will play 6…0-0) 7. c3 (Again the most often played move according to the CBDB, with 17 examples and only 4 games showing 7 0-0. Fritz 16 plays the move, but Stockfish 11 [Eleven? Why does the CBDB show a move from such an antiquated program? Obviously the CBDB needs an upgrade] will castle) 7…h6 (The most often played move, with 11 games at the CBDB. There are 7 games containing the move 7…Ba7, and it is the choice of Fritz 18. Stockfish 14.1 will play 7…0-0, and so should you. There is only one game in which the player behind the Black pieces castled and it was found only at the CBDB:

Alexandra Kosteniuk 2516 (RUS) vs Ryan Hamley 2077 (USA)
Titled Tuesday Intern Op

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.a4 a6 6.a5 d6 7.c3 O-O 8.O-O Ba7 9.Re1 Be6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Qb3 Qd7 12.Nbd2 Rab8 13.Nf1 Rfe8 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Nxe3 d5 16.Qc2 h6 17.h3 Kh8 18.Ra4 Qf7 19.Ng4 Nxg4 20.hxg4 Qg6 21.g5 hxg5 22.exd5 exd5 23.Rg4 e4 24.dxe4 Rxe4 25.Rexe4 dxe4 26.Nxg5 Nxa5 27.Qa4 b6 28.Rh4+ Kg8 29.Qa2+ Kf8 30.Rh8+ Ke7 31.Rxb8 Qxg5 32.Qb1 Qf4 33.Qd1 Nc6 34.Rh8 Kf6 1-0)

  1. O-O O-O 9. h3 (The most often played move, but SF 14.1 @depth 40 will play 9 Nbd2) 9…Be6 (9…There are 10 games at the CBDB in which the move 9…Ba7 was played, and it is the choice of SF 191221 @depth 34 plays the move, but SF 14.1 @depth 39 will play the move played in the game) 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11. Be3 (Although this move is the choice of SF 14 @depth 37, SF 14.1
    @depth 49 will play 11 Nbd2, which will be a TN if’n it’s ever played by a human. The move 11 b4 was seen in the following game, found only at the CBDB:

Kirill Alekseenko (2699) (RUS) vs Alexander Zubov 2598 (UKR)
Titled Tuesday Intern Op 2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O a6 7.a4 h6 8.a5 O-O 9.h3 Be6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.b4 Ba7 12.Re1 Qe8 13.Be3 Nh5 14.g3 Rf6 15.Ra2 Qf7 16.Nbd2 Rf8 17.Kg2 Qg6 18.Kh2 Qf7 19.Kg2 g5 20.Qe2 Qg6 21.Rf1 Kh7 22.Bxa7 Nxa7 23.Nh2 R6f7 24.Nc4 Nf6 25.Ne3 h5 26.Rb2 Nb5 27.Rc2 Kg8 28.Qd2 g4 29.hxg4 Nxg4 30.Nexg4 hxg4 31.Qe2 Rf3 32.Qd1 d5 33.Re1 d4 34.c4 Nc3 35.Qd2 Kg7 36.Rh1 R3f6 37.Qe1 b6 38.axb6 cxb6 39.Qc1 a5 40.c5 a4 41.cxb6 Qh5 42.Nf1 Qf7 43.Qg5+ Qg6 44.Qxe5 Kg8 45.Qxd4 Nd1 46.Rd2 Nxf2 47.Rxf2 Rxf2+ 48.Qxf2 Rxf2+ 49.Kxf2 Qf6+ 50.Ke1 Qc3+ 51.Nd2 Qxb4 52.Ke2 Qxb6 53.Rb1 Qa7 54.Nc4 a3 55.Ra1 a2 56.Ne3 Qa3 57.Nc4 Qb3 58.Rf1 Qc3 0-1

Fork the Russians. Score one for UKRAINE!!!

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FM Doug Eckert Versus GM Alonso Zapata in Charlotte, North Carolina

Doug Eckert 2165

https://chess.stream/invitational/Default

vs Alonso Zapata 2378

https://chess.stream/invitational/Default


A88 Dutch, Leningrad, main variation with c6
2022 Charlotte Chess IM (D) Norm Invitational Round 4

  1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3 d6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. d5 Kh8 9. Rb1 e5 10. dxe6 Bxe6 11. b3 Na6 12. Bb2 Qe7 13. Nd4 Bg8 14. e3 Nc5 15. Qc2 a5 16. Rfd1 Rac8 17. Qd2 Rfd8 18. Nde2 Ra8 19. Qc2 h6 20. Rbc1 Bh7 21. Nd4 Nfe4 22. a3 Re8 23. b4 axb4 24. axb4 Nxc3 25. Bxc3 Na4 26. Nxc6 bxc6 27. Bxg7+ Qxg7 28. Bxc6 Nb2 29. Rd4 Nxc4 30. Bxe8 Nxe3 31. fxe3 Rxe8 32. Qc3 1-0
    https://live.followchess.com/#!charlotte-spring-im-d-2022/141884326025
  1. d4 f5 2. c4 (Stockfish 250022 @depth 54 plays the game move, but SF 14 @depth 52 will play 2 Nf3. Then there is SF 14.1, the latest and greatest…until 14.2, or whatever name will be chosen for the next incarnation, appears, which will play 2 Bg5(!?) Could that be the reason GM Titas Stremavicius, one of todaze leading exponents of the Leningrad, err, strike that… The dude recently essayed e6 in lieu of d6… [https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2022/03/12/the-saint-louis-spring-classic-tournaments/] …has had to face 2 Bg5 in sixteen games in the past few years? (https://www.365chess.com/search_result.php?submit_search=1&eco=A80&bid=211209) 2…Nf6 (SF 14 shows 2…e6 at the ChessBaseDataBase. It has been the most often played move with 5037 games in the CBDB and it has scored 58% for white against a composite player rated 2409. The second most popular move has been 2…Nf6 and in 3786 games it has held a mythical white player rated 2410 to a 56% score. Earlier on this blog I advocated black playing the move d6 in response to the d4 + c4 moves when they are played in the Leningrad Dutch. In only 51 games white has scored 58% against players rated on average 2416) 3. g3 (SF 290112 @depth 50 plays this move, as does Houdini, but SF 14 @depth 35 will play 3 Nc3) 3…g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 ((There are 2026 games in which Black has played the game move and in those games it has scored 56%. In 181 games versus a composite player rated 2419 the move 4…d6 has held White to scoring only 53%. Just sayin’..) 5. Nf3 (Three different SF programs each play 5 Nc3) 5…d6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O c6 (SF 14.1 and 250112 each play this move, as does Komodo…) 8. d5 (The CBDB shows this move having been played more than any other move in this position. In addition, 365Chess also shows it as the most played move, but is it best? Stockfish 100221 @depth 47 will play 8 Qb3, a move having been attempted in 137 games, scoring 52% against 2444 opposition. SF 14 @depth 49 will play 8 Bg5. There are only 9 examples of the move contained in the CBDB and White has scored only 39% versus a composite player rated 2387. Then there is SF 14.1, which, given the chance, will play 8 Be3. There are only two examples in the CBDB) 8…Kh8 (This move is a Theoretical Novelty. 8 e5 has been the most often played move, by far, and it is the choice of SF 14 & Houdini)
    The game can be found in annotated form at various locations on the internet. I suggest the free website: (https://lichess.org/broadcast/2022-charlotte-chess-im-d-norm-invitational/round-4/96ZmD4uj)

Grandmaster Zapata recently won the Georgia Senior but no game scores can be found at the GCA website (http://georgiachess.org/), and that includes the “magazine”, and I use the word only because that is the name of the “Georgia Chess News,” (http://georgiachessnews.com/) which for many years has been nothing but a venue for book reviews by Davide Nastasio.

Alonso Zapata has thus far shown poor form in this tournament and one cannot help wonder if his recent battle with Covid has had anything to do with his poor play. (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2021/08/25/gm-alonso-zapatas-battle-with-covid/) Frankly, GM Zapata was unrecognizable in the above game. I write this because the move 25…Na4

Position after 25…Na4?

was what GM Yasser Seirawan

would call a “howler.” One of GM Zapata’s strengths has been his ability to play solid, consistent Chess while staying away from “howler” moves. The move was so bad I thought there had been some kind of transmission problem, as the move 25…Ne4 suggests itself as it moves the steed to the middle of the board. 25…Na4 proves the axiom, “A knight on the rim is grim.” Indeed, the knight placed on a4 sure ’nuff looked grim, and dim.