hhdbvi is published

 Harold van der Heijden's sixth database is published now!

If you did receive a special invitation e-mail because you work for EG or are a friend of Harold, make sure to read the instructions there. Everyone else can order the database for 55 Euro:

https://www.hhdbvi.nl/

 

If you have no previous version of the database, or if you are an endgame studies aficionado/enthusiast, I highly recommend it. But of course I am biased as I write for EG...

Billy Mitchell's 3,338,420 Pac-Man record (modified machine)

Billy Mitchell set a record on Pac-Man on a modified machine yesterday.

Announced on November 25, 2020, the modified machine of Pac-Man allowed a tenth dot to spawn on the kill-screen, for a total of 3,338,420 points.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=112589253578886&story_fbid=209641133873697

Live performance, 27 November 2020: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/817371358

Cure for COVID-19 found?

 Sometimes I must write about something that is unrelated to chess, and so also this time. Apparently a cure for the officially dubbed "COVID-19" virus has been found.

https://elifesciences.org/articles/59177

https://elemental.medium.com/a-supercomputer-analyzed-covid-19-and-an-interesting-new-theory-has-emerged-31cb8eba9d63 

The supercomputer "Summit" analyzed all the data and found a theory on how the virus works and how it can be cured. The best news? There are already nearly a dozen different treatments available, which also can be combined.

Is this the breakthrough?

Readers should be aware that this is no vaccine. It won't prevent people from getting sick, but hopefully it will prevent sick people from dying, or worse.

Anda Fairy Planet by Petko Petkov

 Bulgarian GM for composing Petko Petkov has created a new free magazine, "Anda Fairy Planet", where he presents new fairy chess ideas. Currently the layout is done by Geoff Foster.

The first two issues are available online, with him allowing also to re-host the second issue.

Google Drive links by Petko Petkov

Issue 1 (26 July 2020)

Issue 2 (1 September 2020)

Announcement: 2nd TT FRME

Vidadi Zamanov sent two PDF files. Here is the other announcement. The original file contained also examples.

2nd TT FRME, 2020The Royal Moroccan Chess Federation (FRME) organizes the 2nd TT FREM, in four 7 sections:A) Twomovers (#2) Theme: One-phase-cycle of double defensive motifs against only one threat. (aAB/bBC/cCA;
aAB/bBC/cCD/dDA etc.). Two or more threats are not allowed.Judge: Karol Mlynka (Slovakia)Send to tournament director: Twomovers (#2) to Youness Ben Jelloun (Marocco) E-mail: ubenjelloun@outlook.frB) Threemovers (#3) Theme: At least two different white pieces play to the same square, on the 2nd and on the 3rdmoves.Judge: Alexander Melnichuk (Russia)C) Moremovers (#4-6) Theme: White active sacrifice of at least two pieces (not pawns!) in sequence and sacrifices
of pieces are accepted by black. The sacrifice on the first move is not thematic.Judge: Aleksandr Sygurov (Russia)D) Endgame studies Theme: Double Sacrifice. During the solution, a White minor piece (bishop or knight) moves
to a square where is can be captured by at least two of the opponents pieces.Judge: Steffen Slumstrup Nielsen (Denmark)E) Selfmates (S#3-5) Theme: Destruction of a black battery: In the initial position, there is a black X / Y battery,
where Y is the back piece of the battery. In at least one variant or threat, the figure X plays and gives a battery-mate
to the white king. After that, in at least one variant, the piece Y plays and destruct the battery giving mate to the
white king without battery.Judge: Petko Petkov (Bulgaria)
Send to tournament director: Threemovers (#3), Moremovers (#4-6), Endgame studies and Selfmates (#3-5)to Vidadi Zamanov (Azerbaijan) E-mail: vidadi_zamanov@mail.ruF) Helpmates (H#2) theme: “The solution must have a double check to the white king at least once.” Additives
any other theme are welcome. Multiple solutions, twins are acceptable. Fairy pieces and conditions are not allowed.Judge: Viktor Zaitsev(Belarus)G) Helpmates (H#3) theme: In set play, two or three black officers (not pawns) are captured. The same officers
are in the solution used to block the squares around the black king. Twins are allowed, but there must be a set play
and solution for each twin. All forms of twins are allowed.Judge: Ladislav Packa (Slovakia)Send to tournament director: H#2 and H#3 to HJamal M Elbaz (Morocco) E-mail: allamjamal2@gmail.com
Prizes, honourable mentions and commendations will be awarded. Send problems in format PDF.
Closing date: 15. 08. 2020. The award – 2020
All received problems will be presented to the judge in anonymous form.
Award will be published on the website: http://frme.cf/

Announcement: 6th FRME Composing Tourney

Vidadi Zamanov sent two PDF files. Here is one announcement.

6th Composing Tourney of FRME, 2020The Royal Moroccan Chess Federation (FRME) organizes the 6th Composing Tourney in four 8
sections:Twomovers (#2) Judge: Mikhail Khramcevich (Belarus)
Send to tournament director: Youness Ben Jelloun (Marocco) E-mail: ubenjelloun@outlook.frThreemovers (#3) Judge: Oleg Efrosinin (Russia)Moremovers (#N) Judge: Valery Kirillov (Russia)

Studies	(+;=)	Judge: Yochanan Afek (Israel)Judge: Valery Kopyl (Ukraine)
Selfmates (S#)

Send to tournament director: Vidadi Zamanov (Azerbaijan) E-mail: vidadi_zamanov@mail.ru
Helpmates H#2 Judge: Ladislav Packa (Slovakia)
Helpmates H#2.5-3 Judge: Kenneth Solja (Finland)
Helpmates H#3.5-N Judge: Hans Gruber (Germany)
Send to tournament director: Jamal M Elbaz (Morocco)
E-mail: jamalelbaz3@gmail.com
Prizes, honourable mentions and commendations will be awarded.
Send problems and studies in format PDF.
Closing date: 30. 09. 2020. The award – 2020
All received problems will be presented to the judge in anonymous form.
Award will be published on the website: http://frme.cf/
Please reprint ……. Please reprint …….. Please reprint

ABC Sydney's chess racism discussion sparks Kasparov's witty reaction

From the category "What is this I don't even".

A possibly completely brainless news station called "ABC Sydney" asked if chess is racist. You know, that game that everyone can play regardless of age, race, disabilities, etc.
Their reasoning... wait for it... is that White goes first!
Kasparov told them to check out Go where Black goes first.
Wait, wouldn't that also be racist? You know, because Black and White aren't equal also? Are there any games where Asians go first? Or American Indians? Oh, wait, American Indians are also in chess. So is chess racist against Sam Loyd's chess problems? And when did chess problems become a race?

If you are worried that the game of chess is racist, please take up Go, where black moves first, instead of looking foolish by wasting taxpayer money at a state broadcaster to "investigate" it! https://t.co/DPjvvWbqcb

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) June 23, 2020

If you are worried that the game of chess is racist, please take up Go, where black moves first, instead of looking foolish by wasting taxpayer money at a state broadcaster to "investigate" it! https://t.co/DPjvvWbqcb

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) June 23, 2020

If you are worried that the game of chess is racist, please take up Go, where black moves first, instead of looking foolish by wasting taxpayer money at a state broadcaster to "investigate" it! https://t.co/DPjvvWbqcb

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) June 23, 2020

https://www.news.com.au/sport/more-sports/abc-is-chess-racist-debate-garry-kasparov-slams-broadcaster/news-story/bf497773690718a9cfca1b2746e3e7b5

We recommend ABC Sydney to take up solving helpmates - where Black goes first - or selfmates, where Black always wins.

Chess composition and the pandemic

As we find on ChessblogYG and MatPlus, the great chess composer Sergey I. Tkachenko works in the Chernobyl medical centre. The Ukrainian TV interviewed him (in Ukrainian):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcxpf5UQaJo

In addition, on MatPlus, Serbian chess journalist Marjan Kovačević writes:

Chess composers cover many different professions, but this year one profession deserves more appreciation and gratitude than all others.
I don't know how many medical workers among composers have been actively involved in daily struggle with Covid-19, but now I know there are at least two great composers among them.
Our GM Mario Parrinello has been in the first lines of Italian medical defense, as a general practitioner doctor, for more than four months. It was at the beginning of April when he wrote he had never witnessed such a scary situation in his 30 years career of a doctor. June is ending, but the troubles of medical workers in Italy still last ...

High-level online checkmates (I)

Two beautiful checkmates happened in online chess recently.

In the Lindores Abbey Challenge, Wei Yi lost to Sergey Karjakin by not seeing a mate in 1.

Meanwhile, or rather a few days later, Brazilian grandmaster Luis Supi beat Magnus Carlsen with a fierce attack in an online blitz game.

 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Be2 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qd7 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Bxf3 O-O-O 8. O-O Nd4 9. a4 Kb8 10. Nb5 Nxf3+ 11. Qxf3 a6 12. c4 e5 13. d4 exd4 14. Bf4 axb5 15. axb5 Bd6 16. Ra2 Qf5 17. Rfa1 Kc8 18. Qc6 1-0

I had added the appropriate diagrams to Chessgames in the comments where "dehanne" posted a video link of the game first.

On a Twitch clip, Magnus is seen congratulating his opponent's final move as "awesome".

White to move (before 18.Qc6)

Announcement: "Physical Distancing" tourney by SCHACH

The German magazine SCHACH in connection with ChessBase (prizes) and several members of the German Problem Federation "Die Schwalbe" announces a "Physical Distancing" chess problem tourney.

Announcements (PDF files):
German - http://www.zeitschriftschach.de/images/2020/coronawettbewerb.pdf
English - http://www.zeitschriftschach.de/images/2020/corona-competition.pdf

 Magazine SCHACH (Germany) presents:ª http://www.zeitschriftschach.de/images/2020/corona-composition.pdfThe ›Corona Composition Tournament‹Physical Distancing is on everyone’s lips and now it is also on the chessboard! We are looking for previously unpublished problems with the topics of ›mate in two (or more) moves‹, ›helpmate‹, ›win‹ or ›draw‹. It is required that in the starting position all pieces keep physical distance, ie, they don’t touch each other but instead all surrounding squares are unoccupied. This specification is retained in the solution process; exept with captures, side lines and the last move of the solution. The judge will favour compositions in which distance is maintained throughout!

[There are three examples in the announcement which are omitted here. SH]

Send your composition(s) by email to tournament director Thomas
Brand by Friday 10 July at the latest: t.brand@gmx.net. Judge Hans
Gruber will announce his decision in the October issue of SCHACH(to be published on 25 September 2020).

[The prizes promised by SCHACH can't easily be copied because of the layout. They are:
1st prize: 200 EUR ChessBase voucher
2nd prize: 150 EUR ChessBase voicher
3rd prize: 100 EUR ChessBase voucher
4th prize:  annual subscription of SCHACH (12 issues)
5th prize: book "Emanual Lasker", volume I, signed by the authors
special prize for the composition with the most pieces: 100 EUR (tiebreak: quality of the composition).
SH]

 

Emil Joseph Diemer 112 (und ein Blick auf das Weltgeschehen)

Der Prophet von Muggensturm wäre heute 112 Jahre alt geworden. Die Welt befindet sich in der größten Krise seit Ende des Kalten Krieges. Diemer verstarb am 10. Oktober 1990, um 10:10 Uhr, so die Erzählung derer, die ihn kannten. Kurz vor seinem Tod versuchte er, Schäuble vor einem bevorstehenden Attentat zu warnen - welches am 12. Oktober 1990 schließlich stattfand.

Diemer bemühte sich zeitlebens, Kräfte zu entwickeln, die ihm die Vorhersage der Zukunft ermöglichen sollten. War er erfolgreich? Handelte es sich um einen Zufall, eine richtige Vorhersage, die zwangsweise eintreffen muss, wenn man genügend unrichtige hatte?

Im Jahr 2000 war die Technologie noch nicht so ausgereift. Das Videospiel "Deus Ex" konnte die Zwillingstürme in New York City nicht darstellen. Sie wurden aus dem Spiel gestrichen, ein Terroranschlag hätte sie vernichtet. Im März 2001 wurden im Pilot von "The Lone Gunmen", einem Spinoff der kürzlich wiederbelebten und wohl nun endgültig begrabenen "Akte X", die titulären Charaktere die letzte Bastion zwischen Flugzeugen und dem World Trade Center.

An einem Dienstag im September desselben Jahres wurde die Welt in einen furchtbaren Krieg geworfen. Der Schrecken - lateinisch Terror - der Vernichtung an diesem Tag führte zu einer Serie von Ereignissen, die die Geopolitik prägen sollten: Die Jagd auf den Massenmörder Osama bin Laden, die Vernichtung einiger arabischen Diktatoren und Bürgerkrieg in anderen arabischen Staaten, der Aufstieg einer religiös-pädophilen Sekte, die aus Boko Haram und al-Qaida hervorgegangen versuchte, die Agenda 2020 zu vollenden und eine Weltdiktatur herbeizuführen, an deren Spitze ein "Kalif" stehen sollte.

Im Schatten aller dieser Entwicklungen stieg China zu einer Weltmacht auf. Irgendwo in dieser Weltmacht ist etwas im Jahr 2019 unglaublich schiefgegangen - sofern es nicht gar Absicht war.

In den 30 Jahren seit Diemers Tod hat sich die Welt stark verändert. Als Diemer 30 Jahre alt war, stand ein Weltkrieg kurz bevor. 30 Jahre nach Diemers Tod droht wieder einer. Der kommende Hungerwinter in den Vereinigten Staaten, zehntausende dauerhaft Geschädigte durch die globale Pandemie alleine in Deutschland, die Präsenz des Todes als Damoklesschwert über uns allen, das nicht mehr an einem Faden, sondern nur noch an einem dünnsten Haar hängt, das durch einen Hauch zum Fallen gebracht werden kann, inmitten innerpolitischer Krisen in allen betroffenen Staaten: Eine Entladung der Spannung scheint immer wahrscheinlicher. Chinesische Raketenteile, die beinahe New York City getroffen hätten, lassen Spekulationen aufkommen, ob es sich tatsächlich nicht um einen gezielten Beschuss mit Weltraummüll handelte. Zwei Atommächte stehen sich gegenüber, die komplett unterschiedliche Werte haben: Das brutale diktatorische Regime Chinas mit einem Sozialpunktesystem, das aus den schlimmsten "Dystopien" stammen könnte - man vergesse bei dem Wort nicht, dass "Utopia" selbst eine "Dystopie" war und das Wort "Utopie" eher die Propaganda der Stadt als ihre Realität widerspiegelt -; die freiheitsliebenden Vereinigten Staaten, deren Geheimdienste in der Vergangenheit häufig an kriminellen versteckten Operationen beteiligt waren und deren Bundespolizei sich mit der nazistischen "Demokratischen Partei" gegen den jüdischen Präsidenten verschworen hatte und die deshalb in einen zweiten Bürgerkrieg zu rutschen drohen. Die Grundzüge für einen Weltkrieg sind gelegt.

Vielleicht hat es ein großer Literaturnobelpreisträger einst am treffendsten gesagt: "If God's on our side, he'll stop the next war."
Falls Gott an unserer Seite ist, wird er den nächsten Krieg stoppen. Es könnte der letzte sein.

Diemer würde diese Welt nicht wiedererkennen. Genausowenig wie das moderne neuronalgenetzwerkte Schach. Aber im Gegensatz zum Weltgeschehen würde er das gnadenlose Kampfschach lieben, das "vom ersten Zug an auf Matt" - ganz nach seiner Devise - den h-Bauern als Sargnagel etablieren will. Einst löste ich ein Stellungsproblem in einer praktischen Partie mit 6.h4:

Hornecker - Ott, Landesliga Heidenheim - Sontheim, 17. April 2005
1.d4 Sf6 2.Sc3 e6 3.e4 d6 4.Ld3 Le7 5.Sf3 0-0 6.h4!! Sc6? 7.e5! dxe5 8.dxe5 Sd7 9.Lxh7+ Kh8, und ich begann langsam, die Partie zum Remis zu versauen... (Remis, 45)

John Conway (26.xii.1937 - 11.iv.2020); Richard Guy (30.ix.1916-9.iii.2020)

Two great mathematicians have died this year. While I planned to write about Richard Guy on another outlet, I found a lot of information about his contribution to the "Game of Life" by John Conway. The famous chess composer also was a great ("amateur", as he insisted) mathematician, and when meeting Conway, he introduced the "glider", making many patterns in the Game of Life possible. Guy was 103 when he died on 9 March 2020.

John Conway, as is well known, was the inventor of such "Game of Life", a grid-based minimalist simulation that has surprisingly broad applications, New discoveries are still made over half a century later, repeating and self-replicating patterns, transmission of information, sometimes with sizes that are just unimaginable, are still subject to great research. At the age of 82, the great inventor has died from the China Virus on 11 April 2020.

Wikipedia links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_K._Guy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Horton_Conway

New study about After-Death Communication by Evelyn Elsaesser

As I am very interested in the field of Near- and After-Death experiences, I am very thankful that Evelyn Elsaesser, a famous Swiss researcher on that field, makes her new research available for free (in English and Spanish). She very kindly sent me the research via e-mail two days ago, now I see that it is also on her website (PDF).

I hope that, despite this not being about chess, some of my readers will enjoy the interesting science carried out here.

https://www.evelyn-elsaesser.com/research/

While you hopefully will stay safe during these fierce times, the research shall reinforce your knowledge that - while the process of dying is a very horrible one from the current pandemic - death itself is a mere transformation.

(I want to however warn that now suicide is not an option, as it will lead to repeating the issues you had in this life, as evidenced by many reports. Exceptions are justified suicide, such as saving the life of another person by giving yours - jumping into a river to save a child but not making it out yourself, for example. Another exception is when your death is already imminent and you face excruciating pain, such as with terminal cancer. But those are narrow, and in general suicide is not a way out, but rather one to prolong your suffering into your next life.)

Announcement: 8th FIDE World Cup in Composing

https://fide.com/news/464
https://fide.com/calendar/50617

Composers will be surely pleased to know that the used time controls for composing are "Standard". Due to technical limitations, composers will need to self-regulate this to make sure they don't use "Blitz" or "Correspondence" time controls for composing. Or the dreaded "My wife wants me to stop composing but I only need five more minutes" time controls.

FIDE stops Candidates 2020 (uncommented statement by President Dvorkovich)

Today, the government of the Russian Federation announced that starting March 27, 2020, Russia interrupts air traffic with other countries without indicating any time frames.

FIDE can not continue the tournament without guarantees for the players' and officials' safe and timely return home. In this situation and on the basis of clause 1.5. Rules of Candidates Tournament, the FIDE President decided to stop the tournament. It will be continued later, with the exact dates to be announced as soon, as the global situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic will allow. As it was stipulated by the special rules agreed with the players before the start of the event, the results of the 7 rounds played remain valid, and the tournament will be resumed in the same composition starting with the games of the 8th round. FIDE is grateful to the players, officials, volunteers and the entire team of organizers, including the Chess Federation of Russia and the main partner of the tournament - SIMA-Land.

Sincerely,
Arkady Dvorkovich,
FIDE President


(source: ChessBase)

Paul Tröger loses, Vincent Keymer wins

Chess, like many things in life, is enhanced by pattern recognition, if those patterns are applied correctly. While recently browsing through chess magazines, I recognized that I had seen a discovered attack that happened there in a book by Paul Tröger.

Tröger - Rosen

Bad Pyrmont 1976, German championship

White to move

Paul Tröger started with 2 out of 2 points, and the third game saw him in a drawn endgame where we "tune in" with the diagram. Having given the check on b6 twice already, all he had to do was write down the move Rb6+, stop the clock and call the arbiter to claim a draw. Instead he played 1.Rb8?? and had to resign after 1.-R:c4! 2.K:c4 d5+ and eventually lost. Rosen added insult to injury, telling Tröger that he only didn't offer draw because he was sure Tröger would eventually play Rb8. (Source: Paul Tröger: "Von Böcken und dicken Hunden". Bamberger Schachverlag 1984)

Grandelius - Keymer

Wijk aan Zee 2020

White to move

The young German talent Vincent Keymer had a great performance at his debut in Wijk, sharing the 6th place in the "Challengers" with Sarin and winning 19 Elo with a performance of over 2600. Nils Grandelius helped out by playing 44.Ra8? c5! 45.Ra6+ Kf5 46.Ra5? instead of still drawing by 46.Rf6+ Kg5 47.Be5. After 46.-f3+ 47.Kf2 Rh2+ 48.Kg1 f2+ White resigned.