november 26 2019

For this last course of the year, the attendance was sparse as it was reduced to 2 listeners!

A few problems with the microphone, with a shift in the sounds, but no breakdown.

A case of collective blindness is to be noted on a mate in 2 moves!

Below is the animated and detailed report of the Master

Master's word

"We will not change the world, but the world will not change us" (J. Mabire).

"150 years of communism among teachers. Now they are being robbed by suburbanites in their classrooms. It's the civilisational colissimo they ordered!" (Ugo Gil Jimenez aka Papacito, "blogger").

The linguistic minute. Homophobia: this term, repeated by thousands of people, really means, if the words have any meaning, "fear of the same", therefore fear of similar people. Nothing to do with the meaning given to it, to designate those who do not like sodomites and sapphists... These are often the same language massacres that speak of "traffic" instead of circulation, miss "opportunities" instead of occasions, write the word "événement" with a grave accent in the second place, say "en fait" three times a minute without reason, or practice the idiotic "bonjour à toutezéhatousses" (hello to all of you) and the inept "cellezéceux". Or speak of "fâchisme", when the correct word is "fascism" (pronounced "sss"): you don't climb on the "chène", you saw wood, you don't ch... it.

"The real question is not whether machines think, but whether men do" (B.F. Skinner).

"The conquest of space and the great discoveries are nothing, compared to the treasures of ingenuity deployed to excuse laziness and justify ignorance" (M. Vukčević, "Chess by Milan", 1981).

Read on the internet: "Chuck Norris beat alpha zero 10-0".   

A masterpiece by the grandmaster par excellence of an already distant period: the 20th century. It is a curious bishop-knight ballet where the white King must show an inhuman precision, his side having one rook less (for a modest pawn in 3rd). Before the analysis engines, they knew how to... analyse.

Then a practical rook endgame with pawn passed to Queen-side. A clever choice of the right square for the white king. Later, we see a player ranked 2560 showing his ignorance of an elementary draw with King and pawn against King and Rook. As they say all over the world: déjà vu.

Then a world champion at work. About this study of Smyslov (a fortress often incompletely analyzed), let us quote an astonishing text, extracted from the book of Alexander Beliavsky, the hero of our game of the day, "Chess without compromise".

"Smyslov's longevity in chess is explained by a disposition which was always characteristic for him: he never lets himself be disturbed, convinced since a long time with Ecclesiastes that "all is vanity and agitation of the mind". I have often heard him quote this phrase, interpreted not in a pessimistic way, but rather in this sense: one should not worry about temporary blows of fate and conflicts, one should calmly go on with one's life, trusting in Providence, whose decisions we are not able to understand, let alone change. Life is an invaluable gift, which we must use joyfully and with care, and gratitude to the one who has allowed it. This is how the 7th World Champion feels, this is how he lives and this is how he... wins.

As a tribute to Roger Ferry, I had the choice of many endgames. I preferred a small example of his constant realism, taken from a Paris championship.

Exercises: a pawn endgame echoing this lesson http://lecoursdumaitre.e-monsite.com/en/pages/cours/cat-2011/may-10-2011.html , an exciting didukhery, a rescue with one less Bishop.

A Spanish Breyer, you know, the homecoming of the knight, 9...Nc6-b8!!!, which helped Spassky become world champion. The fire is set on the board, but not by the one you expect in this role. And his opponent is not the extinguishing type. A curious case of 2 crossed chess in 32 Dd1, with a record blindness, the audience (including your "master") passing by a mate in 2!

Answer to some readers : I'll have to open one day two very damning files : the one of the "Pole" editions and the one of the sub-forum abusively named "france-échecs". But more interesting works occupy me.

Training: a checkmate in 1 (yes!) in homage to a new excluded from the said sub-forum, from which they exclude consistently the best speakers.

The 2# are not all difficult but... prepare the digestive for the Zappas! Fortunately, you'll get some rest with friend Fred. The first 3# is quite spiritual. It follows 4 multimoves including 2 from Carlos (have you forgotten "Echecs-Hebdo" ?); the one from 1962 is the only one that will make you think (a bit). Then some helpmates. The 4 solutions of the first one (where White to move) are in two groups. The last one (Hungarian) can deceive the eye. Finally a selfmate 2# where everything is prepared but... how to do nothing? And another one, more difficult, from the great Polish specialist, with 4 false lanes.

Have a good time. See you next year! Idzcie z Bogiem.

Master's diagrams