may 30 2017

 For this second session in May, we welcome back Pierre, and the arrival of Han from Switzerland.
Welcome to him.

Still censorship for the clerk, deprived of microphone and text despite the switch to Team Viewer 12.

Below, the always remarkable report of the Master.

Next meeting on 24 June at 1.30 pm (as of 27 June)

Master's words

Quote of the day: "You hate my son if you spare him the whip" (Henry IV to the tutor of his son, the future Louis XIII).

Fatigue of the day. "The lack of money is so much the mystery of my life that, even when I have none at all, it seems to diminish" (L. Bloy).

Annoyance of the day. Leonard Barden, a prolific author, has put together 300 puzzles, generally of a good standard, despite errors and approximations, both technical and historical. Previously, I knew of his collection of 190 games from the 1962 Soviet Championship in Yerevan (Kortchnoi's 2nd win, ahead of Tal), all with a little commentary, which is nice, even if they are mostly about openings and usually miss the important moments. While I was reading this book, years ago, I stumbled upon a commentary by Edward Winter, known for having raised critical thinking, concerning chess publications, to the level of one of the fine arts. He reproached (rightly) a French author for "not knowing what an index is". Obviously, I burst out laughing, because this English book, not only does not contain an index of games (only an index of openings, much less useful) but not either the table giving the score round after round, which is essential when one wants to relive a tournament. The book of puzzles, which I mentioned at the beginning, does not have any more, and moreover almost always omits the dates of the compositions, when it is not their author. Ah, those English who don't know what an index is... And ignore history...

The memory lapse of the day. "I remember my game against Botvinnik at Hastings where dxc7 won, d7 lost. I chose the losing move, and Botvinnik immediately adjusted his tie in satisfaction" (L. Barden). The trouble is that in the said game there was never a white pawn on d6, nor a white advantage. And if anyone missed a win, it was the world champion on the 16th move.

Humour of the day. "Berlin's defence makes me happy that I'm not in the world top anymore" (N. Short). "I never make mistakes, I only have hallucinations" (V. Hort).

Studies of the day: two wonderful little twins from Prokeš, as announced. To be included in the first term program in the EEE (if you don't recognize this acronym, see the link given in "solution contest", "world championship 2016", just before the diva). Finally, a little-known masterpiece by our great French-Ukrainian composer, published at the age of 25. A  Bishop's Story, in which he performs no less than 20 moves on the Milky Way.

The practical endgame of the day: the French number 1, which masks the sidereal vacuum of Chess in our country, is confronted with the world number 1 (at least, it is what the zealots say, then, let us say). A small presentation on the necessity of knowledge, and its limit. And a Russian-Iranian fight that more or less anticipates it.

The mythomania of the day. LB presents us with a 2P/C+P endgame brilliantly drawn by Averbach in a simultaneous game (!) without giving us a date (cautious, the chap) which turns out to be in reality a study published in Thèmes/64 of 1971 (page 1109) demolished by P. Perkonoja (page 1152) -- about the strange meanderings of Q+N/Q, you can refer to the Beliavsky-Polou game, lecture of January 4, 2011 --. A mystery remains: does this affabulation come from the chronicler or from the famous  endgames mandarin ? I would rather lean for the second hypothesis, if I believe what Ian Rogers tells us, victim of an intoxication of the said mandarin: after having accepted a proposition of draw in a winning pawn endgame, he will find the diagram, years later, in... a book of the intoxicator, without references, like a study composed by the author!

The delirium of the day: about the pitiful R+N/R endgame of 1996 between "the best woman player of the world and the best player in the world" (self-citation), the same LB tells us that it must make us "rewrite the endgame books" (sic). When the prolific columnist and the vesanic megalomaniac join forces in the ignorance of Centurini... This has only been known for 170 years. We'll come back to this shortly.

The homework of the day: two small pawn endgames where one should not be too greedy, then bishops of different colours winning with one pawn less.

The game of the day. Given as the best of its winner, who refuses this tribute, while acknowledging that it is not bad! Three sacrifices in a row, the 2nd being... dualistic. Note for those who reproach me for not "covering" (the obscene term these ignoramuses use) the news: a game of Chartres of last 22 May is quoted.

Today's fairy problems : we pay tribute to the Phénix review, whose quality continues to improve, with a few originals or award-winning works of a high standard, but which are nevertheless very accessible, including to the " grand public ", an expression which has pleased me for 50 years, when we know how many people use this term by antiphrase.

Today's training. In addition to the traditional Marjan selection, we give some 2# chosen by the famous columnist from across the Channel already mentioned. An interesting choice, but comments bordering on the ridiculous. We leave some samples in front of the diagrams. As for the 4#, it's enough to make you howl with laughter.

The Mona Lisa of the day. It seemed to me (naive as I am) that the whole world knew about Forsberg's quintuplets (Henry Olof Axel) 1935, a supreme masterpiece of adamantine brilliance. I was sadly mistaken. It must be said that I have the defect, despite my constant criticism, to overestimate the culture of my compatriots, in Chess or not, whatever the multiple proofs they give of the contrary, still these last weeks. So here they are again, wishing a happy discovery to those who were unaware of them.

Good feast. See you if God will, in four weeks.

Master's diagrams