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By Michael Brown, CP Op-Ed Contributor | Saturday, November 07, 2020 Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He is the author of 25 books and hosts the nationally syndicated, daily talk radio show, the Line of Fire.

As a boy, I remember watching the epic chess battle between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer. It was aired on channel 13, the PBS station in New York, and a bell would ring, announcing the latest move. This, in turn, would be posted on the screen, after which the experts would debate the reason for the move.

Sometimes, they would be utterly baffled. Why would Fischer do this? It makes no sense. What was Spassky thinking?

Then, after playing out a number of potential scenarios, sometimes a dozen or more moves ahead, they would realize the strategy. It was absolute genius.

When it come to the Lord, the one who inhabits eternity and who sees the end from the beginning (see Isaiah 57:15 and 46:10), He is always an infinite set of moves ahead. That should give us comfort and faith in the midst of the current crisis. (Make no mistake about it. No matter what side youre on, were in the midst of a national crisis.)

Think about it.

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The greatest crime ever committed by human beings was to crucify the Son of God. Yet that was the act God used to make salvation available to the world. And without the crucifixion, there would be no resurrection. Who saw this coming in advance? Only the Lord Himself.

The book of Genesis tells us how the sons of Jacob (also known as Israel) sold their younger brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt. They did it out of malice, plain and simple. They knew they would never see him again. They got rid of him for good.

Joseph then ended up in a dungeon in Egypt, falsely accused of a crime he never committed while serving as a slave. But it was there, in the dungeon, that he accurately interpreted the dreams of two fellow-inmates.

Sometime later, this resulted in Joseph being brought before Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, to interpret his dreams. And this, in turn, led to him becoming Pharaohs right-hand man. (Literally, he went from the dungeon to the throne.)

As a result of his position and the wisdom God gave him, Joseph ended up saving the region from famine, also saving the lives of his own brothers and their families.

Years later, when they were afraid he would retaliate against them, he said to them, You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20). God used your bad plan to accomplish His great plan.

In point of fact, what the brothers did to Joseph was downright evil, also causing their aged father years of mourning and grief. Yet God used this to save countless thousands of lives.

John 11 tells us when Jesus was informed that His good friend Lazarus was sick, He waited a few days before going to see him. Why? The Lord wanted him to die so He could resurrect Him from the dead. This would bring greater glory to God.

Had the Lord simply healed Lazarus by speaking a word the moment He learned Lazarus was sick, people would not have realized that Jesus Himself was the resurrection and the life (see John 11:24-25). And the event would not even be recorded in Scripture.

The worst-case scenario led to the best case scenario, which is often how God works. Thats just who He is. Have you seen this happen in your own life as well?

In the last century, there was no greater horror than the horror of the Holocaust, the most devastating attack on the Jewish people in history. Yet it is out of the ashes of the Holocaust that the modern State of Israel was born. And, from a natural point of view, without the horrific evil of the Holocaust, it is unlikely that there would have been enough support in the United Nations to recognize a Jewish state.

This, of course, does not minimize the ghastly loss of life. It simply reminds us that God brings good out of evil and light out of darkness. That is who He is.

What does this have to do with the elections?

Lets say that there is massive corruption taking place in the presidential elections. Lets say the pollsters were intentionally biased. Lets say that Big Tech and Big Money really are working against Trump.

Then the mess we are in right now, one which puts us precariously near an all-out war on the streets, will lead to the exposure of corruption on a level we have never seen before. Let the light shine brightly! Let the darkness be exposed!

Conversely, if the corruption and darkness are being grossly exaggerated, the light will expose our gullibility, our willingness to believe almost anything, our propensity to be blinded by our biases. And for Christian Trump supporters who proclaimed him uniquely chosen by God and therefore called to a second term, the light would expose the degree to which we were seduced by a partisan political spirit.

I personally hope that the seemingly impossible happens, that Trump is proven to be the rightfully reelected president, and that the prophecies about him prove true.

But what if a Biden-Harris presidency was needed to reveal the dangerous radicality of the left, leading to greater spiritual desperation in the Church, leading to a spiritual awakening in the society? What if the worst-case scenario for tens of millions of conservative voters resulted in the transforming of even more millions of hearts in the years ahead?

I shared some of my thoughts on this on a Facebook livestream if youd like to hear more about the spiritual side of things. For the moment, though, I encourage you to put your faith in God to work out His best purposes in the midst of chaos and crisis.

Hysteria and frenzy are not fruits of the Spirit. Faith and peace are.

And so, while I am deeply concerned about the state of our nation and know that many lives are at stake, I have a great sense of anticipation as well.

The ultimate Grandmaster has a plan.

Join over 250,000 others to get the top stories curated daily, plus special offers!

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Dr. Michael Brown(www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicatedLine of Fireradio program. His latest book isEvangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test?Connect with him onFacebook,Twitter, orYouTube.

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God, the elections, and 4-D chess - Christian Post

MADISON Madison City Chess League etched a new page in its history by hosting the first Halloween Chess Tournament, an outdoor contest on the new turf field of Madison City Schools Stadium.

In both rated and non-rated sections, 77 students registered to play. MCS Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols opened the tournament declaring, Its chess time in Madison City!

Although a Quick Rating was established for many, the tournament itself was only one part of a joyful day for the entire chess family. Beautiful weather and music from Harry Potter greeted participants as they entered the stadium, MCCL Executive Director Ranae Bartlett said.

Contestants earned candy prizes and Halloween medals in special contests between each tournament round. The Halloween dance-off was a highlight and allowed us to see some impressive moves, Bartlett said. Kids also enjoyed running around in the end zone while families sat in lawn chairs on the fields edge.

Winners included these students:

* Rated K-3 section Kylie Zou, first; Isaac Kreusser, second; Esteban Jerez, third; Jacob Bluestone, fourth; Alice Zou, fifth; Andrew Tkach, sixth; Annabelle Hsu, seventh; Emory Howell, eighth; Daksh Sunil, ninth; Asher Allison, tenth; Cora Newberry, top female.

* Rated K-5 section Jethro Jones, first; Kate Meyer, second; Holland Lang, third; Noah Hsu, fourth; Samsara Rajbhandari, fifth; Tyce Crosswy, sixth; Asher Kovacs, seventh; Jaxon Kimberly, eighth; Anna Ai, ninth; Sophia Jerez, tenth; Christina Yang, top female.

* Rated K-8 section Marek Fries, first; Swetha Jakka, second; Whitney Wadsworth, third; Zachary Calinsky, fourth; Owen Lang, fifth; Landon Drummond, sixth; Jacob New, seventh; Conrado Jocson, eighth; Praneel Avula, ninth; Aaron Wiswesser, tenth.

* Rated K-12 section Xavier Bruni, first; Jenson Wilhelm, second; Sherwood Dong, third; Andrew Yang, fourth; Aadi Saxena, fifth; Eddie Xiao, sixth; Nirvana Rajbhandari, seventh; Edward Calinsky, eighth; Rachael Ehrman, ninth; Andrew Park, tenth.

* Non-Rated K-2 section Erin McCormick, first; Tyler Pysh, second; Greyson Harbert, third; Emilia Ng, fourth; Nitakalio Valerino, fifth; Graham Allison, consolation prize.

* Non-Rated K-5 section James Hootstra, first; Milan Malak, second; Caden Hott, third; Yudai Okazaki, fourth; Aerial McCormick, fifth; Victor Stephenson, Mason Hoogstra and Colin Readus-Thomas, consolation prize.

A panel of celebrity judges with Nichols, Assistant Superintendent Eric Terrell and District 2 City Councilwoman Connie Spears helped to select the Best Chess-Themed Costume. Queen Cora Newberry won the top prize among creative entries like Shark-Mate, Kings, Queens, Bishops and Knights.

Owen Lang as The Alien won Best Costume for all grade levels. Kate Meyer as Rey earned second place.

Chess parents surprised Bartlett with a basket full of treats, gifts and cards in appreciation of 10 years with Madison Board of Education and best wishes serving on Madison City Council. Bartlett will continue organizing chess activities with MCCL, including the State Scholastic Chess Championship in March 2021 at Bob Jones High School.

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Costumed players bring success for first Chess Halloween Tournament - The Madison Record - themadisonrecord.com

Gothic novels and adaptations of them are making a comeback this yeara trend that I wholeheartedly embrace. With the genres gloomy settings, antiheroes, and suspenseful plots, you would think it would be hard to go wrong, but Netflixs take on Daphne du Mauriers classic novel, Rebecca, proves that even when playing with great material, filmmakers can still produce a bland mess.

In Rebecca, a naive and wimpy ladies companion (Lily James) rushes into a marriage with a brooding but very rich and handsome widower, Maxim de Winter (Armie Hamer), who whisks her away to his familys estate, Manderley. Once there, the second Mrs. de Winter gets into conflict with the house manager, Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas), and struggles with the overwhelming legacy of the first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca.

Listen, setting is a critical aspect of a Gothic story, but if the interior design and wardrobe are the best thing your movie has going for it, you have a problem. This adaptation of Rebecca feels so unnecessary given that Alfred Hitchcock did a great film of it, but I thought that maybe it could introduce du Maurier to a new generation. Instead, this movie somehow makes Armie Hamer boring. I spent more time wondering about his terrible yellow suit than I did about what happened to his first wife. A huge part of the problem with this adaptation, I think, is that it is so heavy handed. Alfred Hitchcock and Daphne du Maurier trusted their audiences with subtlety, suspense, and allusion. Netflixs version doesnt really seem to understand that its working with a mystery. It was somehow glamorous and very, very dull. I am impressed that they managed to create that combination, but thats all. Skip this soap opera and go back to the originals.

Rebecca was directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Jane Goldman, Joe Shrapnel, and Anna Waterhouse, based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier. It runs 2 hours 1 minute and is rated PG-13 for some sexual content, partial nudity, thematic elements and smoking.

So, if youre looking for a show that trusts its viewers intelligence, check out Netflixs The Queens Gambit. This miniseries follows the rise of Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) from learning to play chess from her orphanages janitor, Mr. Shaibel (Bill Camp), to playing in international chess tournaments.

It may sound improbable for a show about a thoughtful, quiet game like chess, but The Queens Gambit hooked me in so hard that I watched the whole series in one glorious day. The shows thrilling qualities come from strong character development and entrancing performances by Anya Taylor-Joy and Isla Johnston as Beth. I was fascinated by Beths relationship with her adoptive mother, Alma, played with awkward, frustrating sweetness by Marielle Heller. The two women are so wounded and tentative together that they turned their mother-daughter relationship into a suspenseful drama.

Although the finale does indulge in some pretty corny moments, what impressed me most about this story was how the writers commit to developing Beth as a cold, intense genius who is somehow, despite herself, endearing to those around her (maybe its that shes so pretty?). The development of the character gives the audience and the other characters in the story reason to root for Beth even when she is pretty awful. We do not often get portrayals of women as strong as this, especially outside the context of a romance. The characters all have their own evolving lives which makes the world of the story feel so big and alive. The 1960s-era sets and costumes are beautiful and fun to look at, but the strength of the characters and the ensemble of actors really propel this show. I cannot recommend it enough.

The Queens Gambit runs for 7 episodes and is rated TV-MA. It was created by Scott Frank, Scott Allan, and Allan Scott.

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'CHESS MINISERIES' MORE THRILLING THAN NETFLIX'S 'GOTHIC ROMANCE' - At The Movies With Kasey - The Waynedale News

The Polish Chess Federation has banned 17-year-old WFM Patrycja Waszczuk for two years from competitive chess for allegedly using a phone during play. The father of Waszczuk has appealed the decision, claiming the evidence is circumstantial.

Waszczuk, who is the current Polish U18 Girls Champion, was removed from the Ustron Chess Festival on August 16, 2020 for possessing an electronic device. The result of her round-four game was changed from a draw to a loss. There was a strong suspicion that she used a phone during play, which has now led to the two-year ban.

The penalty by the Polish Chess Federation was announced in a document (in PDF here) by the Commission for Awards and Discipline, which is the result of an investigation over the last two months. The verdict is based on a combination of factors, summarized by IM Piotr Nguyen on the Polish chess website Infoszach and translated here:

Since the spring of 2020, several Polish players have suspected Waszczuk of receiving external help during games. WFM Michalina Rudzinska posted her thoughts on Facebook, while IM Klaudia Kulon was interviewed by Onet, a widely read news website in Poland.

WIM Alicja Sliwicka, who attended a training camp in July 2020 with Waszczuk and other players, provided the following comments to Chess.com via email:

"During a training session for the women's national team, we played a small tournament for all camp participants. In the first round, I played against Waszczuk, who had permission from the coach to write down her moves on her mobile phone because she claimed she did not have any piece of paper or pen. I spotted she put the moves into a chess mobile app instead of a mobile notebook. Patrycja won that game as easy as her next two games against GM Monika Socko and coach GM Marcin Dziuba.

"When I was in time trouble, I stopped writing moves down, so after the game, I asked Patrycja to show me her mobile phone because I wanted to copy the moves from her notation. First, she offered help by telling me all moves, but when I preferred to see the app, she refused to show it, claiming that some error occurred and she could not restore her notation. After three games, our coach intervened and did not allow her to use a mobile phone anymore. Then she scored only one point in the next 12 games with a much lower level of play."

Sliwicka also mentioned an experience when the players had to solve puzzles: "During the camp, the participants had to solve chess puzzles by themselves. In one of those tests, everybody used the full time (40 minutes) to solve puzzles except her, who finished them after a few minutes and had all the correct answers. Her behavior during the test was very suspicious too. While solving the next test, she was observed, so she tried to solve it without any help. She did not write any solution and left her paper empty."

Some participants in the Polish U18 Girls Championship in Szklarska Poreba in March 2020 had already suspected Waszczuk because of her frequent visits to the restroom, while showing a "super-GM level of play." Waszczuk won with 7.5/8 when the tournament had to be ended prematurely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The analysis of Waszczuk's moves, which were an important part of the commission's verdict, included this tournament and also her games from the 2019 European U16 Girls Championship in Bratislava where she took clear first with 7.5/9.

Before the Ustron Chess Festival, in early August, Waszczuk participated in the Polish Women's Championship, where she scored 4/9. However, even from the first round, the other participants started suspecting her.

Waszczuk's move 26...Kf8, in her game with the four-time Polish women's champion WGM Jolanta Zawadzka, is well known in the Polish chess scene and has become a meme on social media. It was played after fewer than three minutes of thinking:

"During the game, I couldn't believe it is a good move," Zawadzka told Chess.com. "I was trying to find why it was wrong, why it was not stupid. After the game, I saw it's the computer's first move. Even grandmasters couldn't find it."

Zawadzka experienced more odd behavior from her opponent, such as playing the opening moves quite slow and, after returning from the restroom, quickly finding the best moves.

"All cheaters should be banned forever if there's proof without any doubt as it's too damaging for the sport," said Zawadzka. She agreed that at the women's championship there was no clear evidence of foul play: "Everybody knows it, but nobody can prove it."

Chess.com also spoke to WIM Anna Kubicka, who played Waszczuk in the third round of the championship. Like Zawadzka, Kubicka said that it was the combination of strong moves by Waszczuk and her regular visits to the restroom that raised the other players' eyebrows:

"After the opening, I decided to play quickly to not allow her to go to the toilet. Every time she made a move, she wanted to stand up, but I was blitzing. At some point, it became too much, and she went to the toilet even though it was her move. She came back, and for the next five moves, she went back to the toilet four times, in about 15-20 minutes. I didn't know what to think and tried to find moves that she couldn't have analyzed."

In subsequent rounds, Kubicka and other players started to write down the number of times Waszczuk went to the restroom during her games while afterward trying to check those moments with the evaluation of the computer. They felt that the strength of her play in the tournament corresponded with those restroom visits.

The tournament organizers did arrange for a metal detector to check whether players were carrying electronic devicesa measure that has become more and more common at chess tournaments. However, there were doubts by players about the quality of the machines and how they were used. Sometimes, the detector would make a sound, but players would still be allowed to play without further checks.

Kubicka: "Sometimes players would show their jewelry, and it was fine. But there was also one round when Patrycja didn't have an explanation as the machine went off close to her pants, and the arbiter still let her play. Admittedly, they were not using the best machines."

The atmosphere during the championship was very tense, and most players were constantly distracted by the suspicions. GM Monika Socko stated that she couldn't sleep the night before and after her game with Waszczuk.

The Ustron Chess Festival, where Waszczuk was banned from the tournament, started only a couple of days after the national championship. The event was played under the honorary patronage of FIDE Vice President Lukasz Turlej. He confirmed most of the facts as stated in the document by the Commission for Awards and Discipline.

Turlej told Chess.com that, apart from the phone Waszczuk handed to the organizers, she had a second one in her purse: "They caught her, and she admitted having a phone with her. When the arbiter wanted to inspect her purse, she said no. Then she said: 'Yes, I have a phone in there, but I don't want to show it.'"

Waszczuk had been asked more than once if she had another electronic device with her. After admitting she did have a phone, she left the playing hall and came back with her grandmother, says Turlej:

"The grandmother said it was not a phone but a power bank, and that she had used the word 'phone' because of stress."

Turlej added: "It is such a pity. This tournament was supposed to be famous because of the honorary patronage and visit of Anatoly Karpov and a great number of accompanying events. I have to say, it was one of the best chess events I have ever seen. But unfortunately, the wider public knows the Ustron Chess Festival because of this incident."

Chess24 revealed that the witness who saw Waszczuk using a phone in the toilet was WFM Katarzyna Dwilewicz. She said that during the fourth round, she followed Waszczuk to the restroom, chose the toilet next to hers, and then started to stand up on the toilet seat:

"My heart was beating so fast when I was climbing on the toilet! I was all shaking. Finally, when I climbed up high enough, I looked down. I saw her sitting down. She was using a phone, and I am sure of what I saw. I saw clearly the phone screen. It was exactly the same position she had had on the board a while ago. She was checking variations from a chess program."

An English version of the commission's report has been sent to FIDE. Turlej provided a statement on the legal procedures, in which he notes:

"When requested by a member federation, the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission will attribute general validity in FIDE to national decisions on violations of FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Code, if adequately motivated and decided in compliance with the fundamental principles of law and fair trial."

FIDE Director General Emil Sutovsky confirmed that both the FIDE Fair Play Commission and the Ethics Commission will examine the report. He expects a formal decision to be taken within a few weeks.

In the case of GM Igors Rausis (now using the nameIsa Kasimi), who was caught with his phone during a tournament game, he wasstripped of his GM title and received a six-year ban from FIDE. Earlier, Georgian GM Gaioz Nigalidze also lost his GM title and was banned for three years, also for using a phone in a restroom during play.

The maximum ban from the Polish Chess Federation for offenses during open tournaments is three years but two for minors; therefore, Waszczuk was banned for two years. If she had been caught during the Women's Championship, the penalty would likely have been higher as the maximum ban for offenses at that type of tournament is 10 years.

Mariusz Waszczuk, the father of the player, has appealed the commission's decision. In an interview with Onet, he states:

"There was a hunt on my daughter. Terrible hate has been poured out on her. We're suffering terribly. People see us as cheaters, and that's not the case. There is no evidence of this. This case is a conspiracy by two direct rivals of Patrycja."

According to the father, Patrycja never admitted to having a second mobile phone with her. He also claims that the second device found in Ustron was a power bank.

Waszczuk senior, who has hired a lawyer, suggests that procedural mistakes have been made by the Polish Chess Federation. He claims that they didn't get proper access to documentation and case files. He also questions the actions of the chairman of the Commission for Awards and Discipline, who is said to have spoken about the ongoing case on Facebook.

While the Polish Chess Federation has three months to decide on the appeal, the case could end up in court. One question is how Dwilewicz's revelation that she caught Waszczuk red-handed, a testimony from just one eyewitness, will be handled.

Chess.com couldn't reach a representative of the federation for a comment. Speaking to Onet, the president of the federation, Radoslaw Jedunak, said: "This type of fraud is very difficult to detect. After all, it is difficult to say what someone could do in the toilet if they went out to it. However, if someone goes to the toilet several times during one game, and then beats one of the best players, and then beats another strong opponent, it gives food for thought."

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Polish Player Suspected Of Cheating Gets 2-Year Ban - Chess.com

Last weeks $150,000 US Championship, played online and organised by Americas chess centre at St Louis, ended with its winner, Wesley So, harking back to Bobby Fischersbrilliant performances in the 1960s. However, Sos achievement was slightly diminished by an artificial final round game that the legend would never have allowed.

The 27-year-old ex-Filipino world No9 won the $40,000 first prize with an unbeaten 9/11, a points total only Fischer has equalled or surpassed, notably in his 11/11 sweep of 1963-64.

Half a point behind So was the rising star of US chess Jeffery Xiong, who turned 20 on October 30.

At the start of the final round So led Xiong by a one-point margin, though seemingly with the harder pairing against the out of form defending champion Hikaru Nakamura.

So v Nakamura repeated their final round draw in the 2018 championship for 25 moves, then halved out The game, played at blitz speed, was over in under a quarter of an hour. It was the antithesis of Fischer, who in the 1963-64 final round patiently ground down Anthony Saidy from a level endgame to ensure his 100 per cent total.

Puzzle 2392

Santosh Vidit v Vlad Kramnik, Leiden 2019. White (to play) is a pawn down with his f7 rook attacked. What was his winning move which defeated Russia's ex-world champion?

Click here for solution

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Chess: Find the move that defeated a world champion - Financial Times