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Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy.Doctor Siegbert Tarrasch

Now don't be sad'Cause two out of three ain't badMeat Loaf

Wise words indeed. Oh, but which of the three is missing - and what can we do about it? Well, it is time to play some music while we ponder the mysteries and beauty of chess.

What is it? Game, sport, science, mental torture? Whatever it is to you, it will mean a lot more if you learn to love the game of chess.

To paraphrase Peter Skellern:

Chess is the greatest thing;The oldest, yet the latest thing

Here are some snippets which should warm even the coldest of hearts.

In most sports or games a huge advantage usually guarantees a victory. If, for example, a football team had a 4-0 lead, one mistake will just make it 4-1. In chess, however, it doesn't matter how large the advantage may be; one mistake could be fatal.

Despite almost overwhelming odds, the white rook saves the day with 1.Ra8, checkmating the black king. There is no equivalent to a 4-1 result here. Checkmate ends the game!

Staying with a similar theme of the small hero winning the day, we need to be very aware that tactics can strike at virtually any moment.

White plays 1.Bc3, pinning the black queen against her king. This is another win against the odds. Black has to give up the queen for the bishop and White's sole pawn will eventually promote.

Sometimes, of course,two can become one. In the next position, Black can combine the elements of the pin and the checkmate to create something special.

1...Qxg2+!!2.Rxg2

2...Rc1+

White has one temporary block with3.Qd1but then3...Rxd1is checkmate.

Black used the power of the pin to create a wonderful checkmate. It is easy to see how quickly the simple things can build up to something more beautiful - and how people can grow to love chess.

We don't even need many pieces on the board to create a special kind of magic. Sometimes we have just enough to make it work.

The next position is a case in point.

Black captured the pawn with 1...Kxa4 and there followed 2.Kc2 Bd4.

White can save the game with 3.Nd6, which would bring the knight back into the game by gaining a move thanks to the attack on the pawn. However, one slip is all it takes...

3.Kb1??

This looks logical as White wants to prevent Black from playing 3...Ka3 and 4...Ka2, preparing the safe advance of the pawn. White has missed the point of Black's move.

3...Be5!

The knight is trapped on the edge of the board! White can no longer save the game. A sample line runs:

4.Ka2 b55.Kb1 Kb36.Kc2 Ka27.Kc1 b4

...and the pawn will promote.

There is a certain beauty to be found in simple positions with hidden twists. The next one is a classic, with which all chess players need to be familiar. Not because it is likely to occur very often in their games, but simply because the solution is wonderful and completely unexpected.

Only one move will win the game for White. If the position is new to you, then try it out on a real chess board. Find out which moves fail to make the breakthrough and you will eventually narrow it down to just one possibility.

When I saw the solution for the first time it felt like I was seeing a magic trick. White has to play 1.g6!

If Black plays 1...hxg6 then White has another surprise.

2.f6!

Wonderful! A second pawn is sacrificed - but the last survivor will make it through!

The alternative, 1...fxg6, fails to the mirror-image solution of 2.h6!

It is hard to avoid loving chess once one has seen some of the beautiful examples of what the game has to offer, from packed positions to those with very little material left on the board.

Anyone now feeling the urge to become more closely acquainted with the delights of the middlegame and endgame phases of the chess game may like to take advantage of the special Chessable sale, which will be repeated over the course of the week as we head towards Valentine's Day.

The time is right to see if Doctor Tarrasch was correct - one way or another!

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For the Love of Chess | chess24.com - chess24

Camagey, Feb 8.- The 12th edition of the Chess Tournament that each year is dedicated to the anniversary of the founding of the former Villa de Santa Mara del Puerto del Prncipe, today Camagey, was played online this Sunday.

According to the report of the provincial commissioner of discipline Vctor Tornavaca, the contest was attended by chess players from Colombia, Chile, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and from various provinces of our country.

The best-placed chess player in Camagey was Dexter Docampo, occupying fourth place in the event for seniors, a category won by Michel Alejandro Daz from Las Tunas, in the men's sector, and Leancy Fernndez, from Matanzas, in the women's sector.

For his part, in the contest for players under 12 years of age, Marco Antonio Garca, from Havana, prevailed among the males, and Leanis Ferrer, from Matanzas, dominated among the females.

In the Chess Tournament held this Sunday virtually in greeting to the 507th anniversary of the founding of the former Villa Principea, they also competed in the under-18 category, where the Colombian David Ponce won in the men's sector, and Bertha Hiromis, from Mexico, was the winner among the ladies.(Luis Manuel Pantoja Roca / Radio Cadena Agramonte) (Photo: File)

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Chess Tournament held in honor of 507th anniversary of Camagey - Radio Cadena Agramonte

Fat Fritz has revolutionised the world of chess engines. The AI engine is based on the famous AlphaZero algorithms: the extraordinary playing strength and the completely new analyses fascinated the chess world. Now Fat Fritz 2.0 has arrived!

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Fat Fritz 2.0 - The new number 1 - Chessbase News

Midway through the third quarter of Super Bowl LV, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are winning on the scoreboard, holding a 28-9 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs.

They are also winning on a different board. The chessboard. At this point in the game Tom Brady and Byron Leftwich are winning the chess match with Steve Spagnuolo, the defensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Buccaneers opening drive of the second half, which culminated in a touchdown run from Leonard Fournette, provides two prime examples. First is this third-down conversion with Brady hitting Fournette with a simple checkdown:

Before the snap of the ball, Spagnuolo has his defense in a pressure alignment. Brady checks the protection at the line of scrimmage, bringing Rob Gronkowski in to a wing alignment on the right side of the formation. Rather than send Gronkowski who has already caught a pair of touchdown passes in this game into a route Brady asks him to block.

However, Spagnuolo does not bring pressure. Instead he drops seven into coverage, hoping that Brady now does not have a downfield option with Gronkowski now kept in to block. But Brady calls his bluff, taking the simple checkdown to Fournette for the first down.

Then a few plays later with the ground game going, Byron Leftwich and Brady turn to the play-action game. Watch the action of the offensive line up front as they sell the run, pulling a blocker in front of this play. This freezes the defense, allowing Gronkowski to get vertical for an easy read and throw:

Then the touchdown run from Fournette, which is in some respect a mirror image of the above play-action throw to Gronkowski. Only this time a blocker pulls from the left to the right side, getting in front of Fournette for the touchdown:

Right now Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense are guessing, and the Buccaneers are winning. Both on the chessboard, and on the scoreboard.

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Tom Brady, Byron Leftwich winning the chess match with Steve Spagnuolo - Touchdown Wire

WE are well and truly gearing up for election season now with every day seemingly bringing another piece being moved around the electoral chess board.

Halson Moultrie set the ball rolling on Thursday with his resignation from the FNM, and now we hear that Peter Turnquest has gone from Deputy Prime Minister to not having a nomination at all for the next election. Thats quite a reversal of fortune for his political career.

Three more incumbent FNM MPs are also reported to be likely to be denied a nomination and on top of that two other names are up in the air. One of those is Frederick McAlpine, and that is no surprise after his frequent battles with his own party. The other is Dr Duane Sands, another who has seen a swift change since being Minister of Health. He has been critical too of the administration, though it was notable that he was out and about in FNM colours in his constituency at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Branville McCartney, who said he has been courted by both parties as a candidate, says hell be sitting this election out. The former DNA leader isnt as outspoken these days as he was in a green shirt. What that means for his political future is very much up in the air.

From here on, you can expect the political atmosphere to keep heating up. Candidates will no doubt be getting their deliveries of red, yellow or green shirts, and hitting the streets in constituencies as much as COVID-19 restrictions allow.

It will likely be a very different election season with the traditional rallies very much in doubt given the pandemic.

It will also very likely have the state of the economy at its heart. Whichever party wins is going to have to rebuild an economy already hard hit by Hurricane Dorian even before the pandemic wiped out tourism. FNM or PLP, either government would have had their plans thrown into disarray by those two hammer blows and many will vote based on the lack of money in their pocket. The question must be, though, which government will be best equipped to deal with the next hammer blow.

Hurricanes remain a constant threat, and this pandemic is far from over yet.

Who will be the steadiest hand for the future, and who will be the candidates in each constituency best equipped to help get us to that future? For many constituencies, we still must wait and see but not for long.

The games afoot.

Peter Nygards legal strategy in The Bahamas has caught up with him but in Canada.

Denying Mr Nygard bail over the nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering that he faces, Judge Shawn Greenberg pointed out Nygards failure to appear in court in The Bahamas for contempt proceedings.

He said: Two warrants for his arrest have been issued by the Bahamian court According to the recently released decision of the Court of Appeal for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Mr Nygard breached orders to attend court on five occasions.

He also showed up Mr Nygards excuse for not showing up to a Bahamian court, pointing out that the health issues cited by Mr Nygard didnt stop him from travelling by air to Los Angeles in the winter of 2020 and therefore it is difficult to accept it as an excuse for not travelling to The Bahamas.

Well done, Judge Greenberg. Sometimes, court processes and decisions can be baffling but this is as plain and straightforward as they come. Mr Nygard showed no respect for the court in The Bahamas, so he cant expect any leeway from a court elsewhere.

Bring on the court case so Mr Nygards case can be heard in full but in the meantime, there can be no surprise that he has to sit behind bars until that day comes.

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EDITORIAL: If elections are a game of chess, then pieces are being put in place - Bahamas Tribune