Why it’s too late to stop World War 3 – according to one of Britain’s greatest military historians
Can Iran create nukes? Will China invade Taiwan? As the world tilts towards global conflict, we are asking the wrong questions
Richard Overy 23 June 2024
Apocalypse now: a nuclear test in French Polynesia, 1970 Credit: Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Imagine, for a moment, that the Iranian government announces it has developed a nuclear bomb and threatens to use it on Israel. The United States reacts with the threat of military intervention, as it did in 1991 and 2003 in Iraq. Iran signals that it will not tolerate a third Gulf war and looks for allies. American forces mass to enter Iran, which orders national mobilisation. Russia, China and North Korea express their support for Iran, and Washington expands its intervention force, bringing in a British contingent. Russia enters the game, raising the stakes in the expectation that the West will back down. A nuclear standoff follows, but with tense and itchy fingers on both sides, as leaders gamble on the risk of not striking first, it all ends in disaster. The Third World War begins with an exchange of nuclear fire, and the rest, as they say, is history. (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/world-war-three-too-late-history-violence/)
The National Co Center (NGC) teamed up with the National War College (NWC) on May 31 for a Go teaching event as a fun end-of-term activity. The NGC team was composed of Bin Duan, Richard Duan, Laurie Ensworth, Ed Shu and Gary Smith. The program was a 30-minute talk on the game of Go, including rules of play, followed by an hour or so of 9×9 play by NWC students and staff. The NWC provides a year-long advanced degree program for senior US military, US State Department, and international military. Host Colonel Thomas Stevenson was delighted by the success of the program and invited all for an after-action debrief in the basement of Roosevelt Hall at a bar called Teddy’s.
Casual Elegance. Wake up with a hot cup of coffee at Teddy’s Café in our hotel’s Grand Lobby. Discover local favorites like café au lait and beignets, and indulge in a soft slice of our signature Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake while surrounded by an elegant and welcoming space made for casual dining. Opening Hours: Daily from 6:00AM – 5:00PM
Photos: (top left, by Bin Duan) Bin Duan, Laurie Ensworth, Ed Shu, Richard Duan, Gary Smith; (top right, by Col. Thomas Stevenson) NWC students and staff enjoying exploring Go; (bottom right) Gary Smith’s presentation; (bottom left, by Col. Thomas Stevenson): Laurie Ensworth teaching; (middle left): Bin Duan, Col. Thomas Stevenson, Gary Smith, and Laurie Ensworth (https://www.usgo.org/content.aspx?page_id=5&club_id=454497&item_id=102613&)
City in Meriwether County fires police chief, suspends police force
By Ellie Parker Published: Jun. 19, 2024
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A city in Meriwether County has fired its police chief and suspended its entire police force.
The City of Warm Springs announced the “immediate termination” of Police Chief Emilio Quintana and the suspension of the police department following a “comprehensive departmental-wide investigation.”
“The decision to terminate Chief Quintana and suspend the police force was made after careful consideration of recent events and emerging concerns regarding the conduct and operations within the department,” city officials said in a press release.
Interim Police Chief Aisha Al-Khalifa will oversee the police department, city officials said. Neighboring departments will help “(ensure) that essential police services continue uninterrupted.”
“Meriwether Sheriff’s Office has and will continue to respond to any calls for service in the county and is ready to assist any municipality that has a request,” Sheriff Chuck Smith said in a statement.
Warm Springs officials tight-lipped on why police force suspended
By Patrick Quinn Published: Jun. 20, 2024 at 8:58 PM EDT
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The Warms Springs Police Department remains empty.
On Thursday, no city officials could elaborate on the reason the department was shut down.
“Based on the evidence of our legal counsel and due to the ongoing investigation and pending litigation, there is no official comment at this time,” said Tammy Howe, a Warm Springs City councilmember, in a press briefing on Thursday.
The south Georgia town, known for its Roosevelt Little White House historic site, has a population of roughly 500 people.
In a social media post on Wednesday, the city wrote the mayor fired the police chief and suspended the remaining 13 police officers.
“The decision to terminate Chief [Emilio] Quintana and suspend the police force was made after careful consideration of recent events and emerging concerns regarding the conduct and operations within the department,” city officials said in a Wednesday social media post.
The city appointed Aisha Al-Khalifa as interim chief.
Al-Khalifa is the only person active on the police force as of Thursday.
Howe declined to answer any questions surrounding the investigation or current status of the suspended officers.
Atlanta News First reached out to Warm Springs Mayor Robyn Pynenburg on Thursday.
Pynenburg declined to answer any questions and said in a text message that she was out of town.
“We’ve been without a police chief before, and we’ve been short-staffed before,” said Gerrie Thompson, innkeeper in Warm Springs.
Thompson said she formerly served on the City Council and trusts the mayor had a legitimate reason to fire the police chief.
“It’s not something that’s just a spur of the moment thing. I’m not potentially worried about anything. And I’m sure whatever is going on, they will have it taken care of,” said Thompson.
Howe confirmed that they will rely on the Meriwether Sheriff’s Office for emergency response coverage.
“Meriwether Sheriff’s Office has and will continue to respond to any calls for service in the county and is ready to assist any municipality that has a request,” Meriwether Sheriff Chuck Smith said in a statement.
By Atlanta News First staff Published: Jun. 20, 2024 at 12:27 PM EDT
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A Douglas County judge already under investigation for alleged misconduct was arrested at a Buckhead nightclub early Thursday morning.
Probate Court Judge Christina Peterson faces two charges — simple battery against a police officer and felony willful obstruction of law enforcement by use of threats of violence, according to Fulton County Jail records.
Atlanta police confirmed the arrest, saying Peterson was arrested at the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge off Peachtree Road NE after a 911 call. The incident report is still pending.
In September 2021, the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission filed several misconduct charges against Peterson. She is accused of keeping settlement funds to herself instead of distributing them to other plaintiffs, violating the courthouse’s security protocols during a wedding and more.
This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.
The Atlanta Major Championship, hosted by Wolf Chess, is being held this upcoming weekend. The man behind the tournaments is the Georgia Chess Champion, Senior Master Deepak Aaron.
Deepak Aaron (2293) vs Bob Holliman (1962) XVII Campeonato Continental Absoluto de Ajedrez de las Americas 2024 Jorge Vega (Medellin, Hotel Dorado de la 70), 25.05.2024 C00 French Defense: Chigorin Variation
I must admit that after racking my brain for several minutes of thought I could not understand why Bob Holliman resigned, so I went to https://lichess.org/ in order to find understanding, grasshopper. If you are as clueless as this writer I am willing to wager you, too, will surf on over and obtain a modicum of understanding while wondering, “What the hell happened here.” To illustrate how difficult it is to gain rating points and move up in the world ranking list Deepak finished in the fourth score group with 7 1/2 points from eleven games and lost rating points!
In a breaking story today at Chess.com it appears FIDE somehow managed to grow a pair and “has punished the Chess Federation of Russia with a two-year conditional ban and reprimanded FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, in both cases for violations related to Russia’s invasion of and continued aggression against Ukraine.”
Conditional Ban For Russian Federation; Dvorkovich Reprimanded By Ethics Commission
By Peter Doggers
Jun 8, 2024, 7:12 AM
Chess Politics
The FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission has punished the Chess Federation of Russia with a two-year conditional ban and reprimanded FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, in both cases for violations related to Russia’s invasion of and continued aggression against Ukraine. The EDC’s decision (in PDF here) was dated and made public on Friday.
Chess Federation of Russia
The FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission (EDC) found the Chess Federation of Russia (CFR) in violation of the following:
damage to FIDE’s reputation or bringing chess into disrepute; non-compliance with FIDE principles; violation of duty or obligation imposed by the FIDE Charter; disparagement of FIDE’s reputation and interest.
The violations were a consequence of the CFR’s Board of Trustees having several individuals who are subject to international sanctions and the CFR organizing chess events in illegally occupied parts of Ukraine. The CFR was conditionally sanctioned by a two-year exclusion of membership in FIDE, including any participation in FIDE meetings and events. This sanction is suspended for three years provided that the CFR:
abolishes its Board of Trustees or ensures that those individuals currently subject to international sanctions resign or are terminated from their positions therein within 60 days and immediately ceases all of its chess-related activities in the occupied parts of Ukraine; Crimea and parts of Donetsk, Kherson and Luhansk regions, including allowing players and/or teams from such territories to participate in CFR chess events.
The EDC noted that “if the CFR fails to meet these conditions of suspension within the 60-day period, the sanction imposed (…) will take immediate effect and be of full force.”
The two-year ban only applies to chess officials and does not affect the rights of players, arbiters, trainers, and clubs belonging to the CFR to participate in chess activities.
Dvorkovich
Arkady Dvorkovich. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Dvorkovich was found to be in violation of different parts of the Ethics Code:
act as role model; damage to FIDE’s reputation or bring chess into disrepute; avoidance of improper association; involvement with association or person whose activity is inconsistent with the objectives or interests of FIDE.
These violations are related to Dvorkovich being a member of the CFR’s Board of Trustees as well. He was sanctioned with a “reprimand” and has been urged to resign from the board within 60 days. Although this does not involve an actual penalty, the ruling is still significant for finding that the highest functionary within the International Chess Federation acted improperly as president. (https://www.chess.com/news/view/chess-federation-russia-2-year-ban-dvorkovich-reprimanded-fide-ethics-commission)
There I was minding my own business while reviewing games at lichess.org when the VII Festival Salamanca Cuna del Ajedrez Moderno was spotted. It was surprising to see the women were playing in the same event with the men. It was also surprising to see there were only forty minutes for the entire game. I almost clicked off to check out the “serious” Chess, but what goes for “serious” Chess these daze is not what it used to be…
I check out the games of players known and check out the openings looking for what can be called “offbeat” openings, which are being played much less often these daze than they were ‘back in the day’. The vast majority of openings currently played by the top players could be described as “same ol’, same ol’, openings. The variety is no longer there, and if I earned my living by playing Chess, I, too, would probably be forced to resort to the ol’ tried and true openings given the Stockfish seal of approval. The fact is that there has become a dull, boring, sameness to the opening of the games by the best players. For variety one must look to other, lesser, tournaments, such as Open and Senior events, which is where one can usually find the AW.
was the first board shown at lichess.org. It featured 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6. The second move of 2…a6 has been all the rage recently, but I wondered if that was only after 2 Nc3. Oh well, this old Nadjorf player was pleased to see Stockfish says 2…d6 is the best move. The real GM played the SF approved 3 Bb5. Stockfish says 3…g6 is best, but 3…e6, d6, and e5, all score the same +0.4. The Expert rated Woman Grandmaster essayed 3…g5!??!! I kid you not…
Position after 3…g5
This move reminded me of some of the moves seen in the skittles room at the old Atlanta Chess and What Other Game Center, aka, The House of Pain. I can hear Dauntless Don Mullis, after an opponent played a move like this, loudly announcing in his deep baritone voice, “Now there’s a Chess move!” That would be about a nanosecond before the Dauntless one would take that pawn offa the board. Don knew that if he did not take the pawn the response would be an immediate something about not having a hair on his derriere. Or maybe something about taking up a new game:
Kirill Alekseenko somehow managed to make it into the Candidates tournament before the pandemic. If memory serves, he was the lowest rated player who was given a wild card into the prestigious Candidates tournament in which a challenger for the World Chess Championship was chosen. From FIDE:
Alekseenko’s real breakthrough came in 2019 – his rating crossed the 2700 mark thanks to an excellent performance at the FIDE World Cup and to a third-place finish in the 2019 Grand Swiss, the strongest ever Swiss tournament. The latter result made him a possible participant of the Candidates Tournament. Upon completion of all the qualifying competitions, the President of the Chess Federation of Russia (the country-host of the Candidates Tournament) Andrey Filatov announced that Kirill Alekseenko has been granted a wild card. (https://www.fide.com/news/352)
Considering Alekseenko was the lowest rated player, by 64 points, a nice Chess number, he did well to finish out of last place, thanks to the man from China, Wang Hao, who finished one half point behind Alekseenko. Not much has been heard from Wang Hao in the past few years. What’s up with that?
GM Kirill Alekseenko, now know as, “No guts, no glory,” did not take the pawn.
I cannot make this stuff up, folks. I will not speculate why the gift was eschewed. It may give Alekseenko solace to know he is not the first player to refuse the gift.
Justice Samuel Alito blames upside-down American flag on his wife and a flap with neighbors
By John Fritze and Holmes Lybrand, CNN
Fri May 17, 2024
Justice Samuel Alito sought to head off mounting criticism Friday over a report that an inverted American flag was flown at his house in January 2021, telling Fox News that his wife hoisted the symbol of discontent in response to profane signs in the neighborhood.
Alito said that a neighbor had posted a sign saying “F**k Trump” near a school bus stop and then a sign attacking his wife, Martha-Ann Alito. On a walk, the justice told Fox, the Alitos got into an argument with the neighbor, who used the term “c**t” at one point. His wife then flew the inverted flag.
A growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers and ethics experts lobbed criticism at the Supreme Court in response to the report and demanded that Alito recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 presidential election and January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
The upside-down flag was a symbol for former President Donald Trump’s supporters who falsely claimed widespread fraud in the presidential election.
“This stuff’s not normal,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, told CNN on Friday. “I’m just stunned that we would ever have had to have a Supreme Court justice explain why his wife was flying a flag upside down in response to an … insurrection.”
The New York Times published on Thursday a photograph of the flag that it said was seen at the justice’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 17, 2021, days before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Alito told the Times he had “no involvement” in the flag’s hanging and said it was placed there “briefly.” https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/17/politics/justice-samuel-alito-flag-home/index.html
Key GOP senators criticize Alito over upside-down flag incident
By Ted Barrett and Michelle Shen, CNN Tue May 21, 2024
Key Republican senators sharply criticized Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito after news reports showed an upside-down American flag – a symbol used by some supporters of former President Donald Trump who challenged the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory – flying outside his home in 2021.
Such criticism of a conservative justice from high-ranking GOP senators is extremely rare and a sign of how unusual the controversy is.
In a brief interview with CNN, Senate Republican Whip John Thune, one of the contenders vying to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, called the flag a “bad decision.”
“I don’t know how you explain that,” Thune said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that it was a “mistake” for Alito to have an American flag hanging upside down at his home.
“It creates a bad image,” Graham told CNN’s Manu Raju. “It created a situation that we’re all talking about. So, yeah, I think it was a mistake.”
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney echoed concerns about the flag.
Daryl Hall Talks New Solo Album, Elvis Costello Tour, and Confirms Hall & Oates Are Officially Over (EXCLUSIVE)
By Roy Trakin
“Say It Isn’t So” isn’t just the name of a classic Hall & Oates song —
it’s the much-headlined reaction to the news that the duo that practically defines duos had a nasty and seemingly final split last year. The two, who began singing and performing together more than 50 years ago over a mutual love of soul and doo-wop music, were almost impossible to imagine without each other — even more than Simon without Garfunkel or George Michael without Andrew Ridgeley, this was more like a final split between peanut butter and jelly. It’s actually hard to imagine. https://variety.com/2024/music/news/daryl-hall-oates-final-split-1235990460/
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!
Armchair Warrior 