november 2 2010

for this first post-strike session, a moderate attendance.
No doubt the others thought they would not be able to return after the third half.
The Master was in great form, irritated as he was by the adventures he had just experienced (see the details in the masterly report at the end of this email)

To begin with, a real little gem.

1 - White to play and win

W.:        Kh2, Ba3, pe7 and g7
B.:        Kb8, Rc8, ph7

Let yourself be carried away by this composition.
It's amazing what you can do with so little equipment.

The next one comes from the fertile mind of the brilliant Afek.

2 - White to play and and win

W.:        Kg4, Rg3, pf4, g5 and h4
B.:        Kg8, pa4, a6 and b3
 

Saboteurs do not give up. When they are not on strike, they are cracking down in other ways. At the St-Lazare station, line 13, I am told that the power is cut (sic!). A neighbour and his mobile phone quickly tell me that the passengers have been lied to, as usual. By way of a "breakdown", the metro is blocked because a passenger has "fallen on the track". Another lie: it was probably pushed by one of those nice boys of "Breton" origin, who like the owls sleep during the day, fly at night and belong to a protected species. One of those hard-working people who renew the car fleet with their passion for bonfires...

I don't like stagnant water. I got out of the train, I asked the rare non-striking

attendant for a way to get to the Porte de Clichy. He replied: line 13. I replied: that's clever. So he sent me to line 12. That's how I ended up on the Butte Montmartre. With one important difference: instead of seeing the Sacré-Coeur, I had seen some bloody idiots. One consolation: in my Zarathustrian descent from the mountain, I passed by the rue Vauvenargues, and remembered that the famous Marquis de Clapiers had said it all about those humanoids who not only accept servitude, but end up desiring it.

Three helpmate: in the h#4, one solution seems more difficult than the other two. Two 2#, one of which is classic. Two 3#, also very different. End of the tribute to Lobusov with a long, little-known problem. Finally a surprising inverse of the great Kubbel. Solution of the last two on request.

A little juggling where a Bishop dominates a Rook (no relation with a certain September 11). A paradoxical gain by a great composer, also a player, composed as a consolation on the evening of a heavy defeat. Blindness of the whole audience and the speaker in the 4 Rf5? trial, where the ...Qe4? interposition simply fails on the exchange followed by Re8-e1. Finally, a not at all boring, but very spectacular Becker.

The game of the day shows a rampaging Cavalry defeating one of the best defenders of the last century. Note the way to improve the black game, demonstrated by the defender in question a quarter of a century later, but repeating with one less time a famous game played two years earlier!

See you, God willing, in a short month, on 30 November.

Have a good rest and enjoy the game.

AV

black pawns are dangerous, but white will not be afraid.

Finally, a computer-tested study.

3 - White to play and draw

W.:        Kh5, Ba6, Ng5, pg6 and h7
B.:        Kg2, Qa4, pg7

Quite lively, with some variation.

The day's game is still a good fight.

4 - game of the day
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd Nxd4 Cf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be2 Be7 7.f4 0-0 8. 0-0 Nc6 9. Be3 a6 10. Qe1 (or Kh1) Nd7 ?!
10. ... e5 11. Nxc6 bc 12 fe de 13. Qg3 Be6 14. Qxe5 Bd6 16. Qg5 h6 16. Qh4 Ng4 and Black has largely equalised.
11. Rd1 Re8 12 Bc4 Nf8
12. ... Na5 13 Bxe6 fe 14. Nxe6 Bh4 15 Nxd8 Bxe1 16. Rfxe1 Rxd8 17. Nd5 b5 18 e5 Bb7 19. Nb6 Rab8 20. Rxd6 Nf8 and it holds
13. a3
natural but 13. Qg3 Na5 14. Be2 b5 15. e5 b4 16. Ne4 d5 17. f5 has a conclusive air
13. ... Bd7 14. Qf2 b5 15. Ba2 Rb8 16. f5 Ne5
16. ... Nxd4 17 Bxd4 e5 18. Ba7 wins quality
17. fe fe 18. Nf5 Nfg6 19. Nxd6 Rf8 20. Qd2
20. Nf5 (switch white) Nc4 21. Ba7 Rb7 22. Bxc4 bc 23. 23. Bb6 !!
20. ... Rxf1+ Rxf1 Qc7 22. Nf5 Bf8 23. Nd5 Qc6 24. Bd4 Re8 25. Qf2 Kh8 26. Nfe7 Qd6 27. Nxg6+ Nxg6 28. Nf6! Rd8 29. Nxd7
29. e5 ! is more accurate
29. ... Qxd7 30. c3 Be7 31. Qg3
31 e5 was even better
31. ... e5 32 Be3 and blacks lose on time.
Too bad 32. ... Qd3 33. Bd5 Nf4  

A very nice piece of bravery where both players were up to the fight

For the dining part, our friend Guy, having taken advantage of the three-day weekend, was very prolific and presented us with his freshest floral compositions.
A real treat, except for the SAT where we always have the impression of not having understood the rule!
To summarize what I understood: in SAT, a side is mate when its King has at least one escape square.
I let you meditate.

I wish you a good reading and see you in 4 weeks (November 30th).
You have 4 weeks to understand the SAT and to compose in SAT !

Yours sincerely

Le greffier.

P.S.: thanks to the Master for the electronic version

Linguistic corrections by the Master

The French language is already bizarre, it has become even more so. Just as "débile" means "weak" and not "idiot", which all the current young people (and many others) seem to ignore, the word "énervé" is currently used in a sense opposite to its true meaning. For if the "fake-master" was "pissed off", (compare with "deloused", "emasculated" etc.), it is because his nerves had been taken away. In short, that he was unresponsive, inert. I think I remember that this was not really the case... I mean, everybody understood.

This is just to make conversation, because I don't see any transcription errors in the master-tabellist, who is up in the country air. I would only have been more enthusiastic about the two e5! : on the 29th, it's a winner; on the 31st, it's a clear white advantage. As played, at the moment of the flag's fall, it's more or less equal... Oh yes, a mistake... on my part: before "the interposition", read "where" and not "or".

Have a good time.

AV

supplement

The Master is right to correct, when it makes sense, which is almost always. But therein lies the usefulness of the 'almost' in the previous statement. [...] this extract from Voltaire's Merope: "O God! give strength to my angry arms". BUT, this evolution was already recognized: By abuse. Who has irritated nerves. "Don't torment her, she's all worked up today". (Littré) Current dictionaries therefore rightly indicate the old and current meanings: -- who has suffered the torment of irritation; who is in an unusual state of excitement, who is irritated. This is why, as early as the 15th century, the verb "to deenergize" appeared, thus making it possible to express the two meanings of the same word in different terms. (To deenergize: to remove the tendons, to weaken. A verb which only captured a meaning in the field of butchery in the 20th century) -- In other words, even the great Littré himself (dare I say himself?) capitulated in discouragement before the misuse!

-- Thank you for these semantic explanations which confirm that the French language is indeed a living language. That said, if you had to have the tendons of your arms and legs severed to be pissed off, there must not have been many candidates. As for denervage, the current replacement for enervage, it is commonly practised nowadays, but only on fresh foie gras. It is therefore a word that has acquired its gastronomic credentials.

An important clarification: On fresh foie gras, which I sometimes cook myself, there is never any de-veining, only deveining!

-- To go along with the discussion, is it deveining or eveining?

-- Nice answer! You always make the point in the nick of time. Indeed, I have always said "deveining" but, like the moves I play, the argument is insufficient to make law. It seems that Normand's answer is the correct one, as both seem to be said in this case. Whereas only the term "éveiner" is used for the operation on varicose legs (what a shame).