Ropen a Living Pterosaur

Transcription

1 Ropen a Living Pterosaur By nonfiction cryptozoology author Jonathan David Whitcomb Why is this post, about eyewitness accounts of apparent living pterosaurs, published on a chess blog? There is no connection between the Dragon variation of the Sicilian chess opening and legends of large flying dragons except with one thing: the word dragon. I m using all the online resources available to me, for I am determined to publish what I have discovered in a narrow field of cryptozoology. Yet there s more. Success in Chess Competition and Clear Thinking in General I believe that the kind of thinking that results in winning many chess games may be partially translated into clear thinking in other areas. I don t mean that it happens automatically, not at all, for I am aware of serious thinking problems in two of the world s greatest grandmasters of their time. Away from the chess board they both showed signs of serious defects in their thought processes. And yet I believe that it is possible for a chess player to use some of his or her clear thinking over the board, translating it into something useful in another field. Can a Species of Pterosaur be Non-Extinct? Even some of the most skeptical critics who insist that all pterosaurs became extinct many millions of years ago those skeptics can end their remarks with something similar to this: Even if a species of pterosaur is found to be still alive, it would not disprove standard models of evolution. I would frame it this way: Even if my associates and I prove that not all pterosaurs are extinct, our critics ideas about evolution are correct and

2 our ideas about evolution are incorrect. The critics of our investigations may never make a statement that is close to the above, but from the many years that I have been involved in this field of cryptozoology, the second of the above statements appears to me to be close to what the critics are thinking. Why do I express my opinion about what my opponents are thinking? It s common, with a paleontologist or other skeptic, for the critic to write more sentences that ridicule the religious beliefs of me and my associates than to write about fossils. In fact, one paleontologist wrote a long post that was extremely negative about me, and yet you will find not one mention of the word fossil in his post. My associates and I do have one thing in common with critics who insist that we are completely wrong about some pterosaurs being still alive: We all believe that it s at least possible that some pterosaurs are still alive. What is a Ropen? I began my investigation of reports of apparent living pterosaurs in 2003, putting over 10,000 hours into it over the past 13 years. At the end of 2012, I compiled data from 128 of the more-credible sighting reports, and then I analyzed the results. The great majority of sighting involve a featherless flying creature with a long tail. In fact the ratio is about twentyto-one in favor of long tailed ones: 41% report the presence of a long tail; 2% report the absence of a long tail. An eyewitness may not have a clear view of the head of a flying creature, at least not a clear-enough view to notice the presence or absence of a head crest. Nevertheless, of those 128 compiled reports, 24% reported the presence of a

3 head crest and only 3½% reported its absence. That s a sevento-one ratio, suggesting many of the rest of the sightings may also have been of a flying creature with a head crest. An eyewitness sketched what she saw in Cuba With that said, the main distinguishing characteristic that causes an apparent living pterosaur to be called ropen is the long tail, especially if it has a structure at tail end that suggests a Rhamphorhynchoid tail flange. Conclusion I am not proclaiming that all 128 of those sighting reports were from encounters with modern pterosaurs. But with so many similarities in the descriptions given by eyewitnesses from various cultures, various languages, and various philosophies, I find it practically impossible that none of those 128 sightings were from a modern pterosaur. The descriptions differ too greatly from the appearances of birds and bats and they coincide too closely with a pterosaur. By the way, statistical analysis of those 128 reports makes it clear that no significant portion of those sightings could have come from hoaxes. But that deserves a separate post. ###

4 . Advertisement Cryptozoology book on modern pterosaurs (nonfiction, paperback) Cryptozoology book on ropens and other modern pterosaurs Reader comments from the fourth edition (in part): If you re interested in cryptozoology and wonder if dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures exist today, this is an excellent book for you to read. I found it to be a fascinating read. I m hoping that in the future the researchers would be able to photograph this amazing creature and post these photos for the whole world to see. [five stars] Astonishing! A memoir of extended research concerning ropens (pterosaurs), beginning with testimonies and videos of strange nocturnal lights in Papau New Guinea, and continuing

5 with eyewitness accounts in other regions, including in the United States. [five stars] ************************************************************** ***** Pterosaur Cryptozoology Books Searching for Ropens and Finding God (fourth edition) Live Pterosaurs in America (third edition) Introduction to Living Pterosaurs A thirteen-minute mini-documentary on eyewitness accounts of modern pterosaurs, including the long-tailed ropen Living Pterosaur An eyewitness of a long-tailed living pterosaur on the island of Bougainville, New Guinea, in 1971, Mr. Brian Hennessy, who is originally from Australia, is not crazy. In fact, Hennessy is a psychologist. The Ropen of Umboi Island (and elsewhere) [in 2004] I left the Gomlongon Village... with my interpreter and some local guides. We arrived at Akure Village... I waited [for] Gideon. [While videotaping him, I asked] about his experience [with] the giant ropen about ten years earlier.....

6 Tactics in Chess Books What do some chess books have to say about tactics? A great deal! The following brief book reviews relate to tactics in the royal game. We ll stick to simply quoting from these five books. Beat That Kid in Chess (by Jonathan Whitcomb) Keep your king safe, especially early and in the middle of a game. After most of the pieces have been captured (and no queens are left), it may be important to use it as a fighting force, but not when it can get into danger. Be especially careful with the king in the opening and middle game. Castle early to get your king closer to a safe corner. From page 18 of the book Beat That Kid in Chess. Win at Chess (by Ron Curray) After the opening, the challenging, complex, and often critical middlegame begins. It is characterized by the three elements: strategy, positional play, and tactics. Strategy is

7 the formulation of plans to exert maximum offensive and defensive force. Positional play is the positioning of pieces and pawns to control important squares for optimum activity and flexibility. Tactics, the most powerful factor in chess, are direct threats to win material or [obtain] checkmate Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations (by Fred Reinfeld) Brilliant sacrifices and combinations, either calculated in advance or played on the spur of the moment, give us thrills that cannot be equaled by any other aspect of the game. And, by a very fortunate coincidence, these brilliant strokes are just what we need in order to become first-rate players. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (by Murray Chandler) If you were to visit a chess tournament and watch a grandmaster in action, you would be able to observe a surprising range of emotions. Sometimes, in apparently simple positions, the grandmaster might lapse into lengthy periods of concentration, where ten minutes or more might be spent on a move. At other times the moves will come very quickly, even in complicated positions. You might even be shocked if the grandmaster suddenly wins the game with a lengthy and brilliant mating sacrifice after thinking for just a few seconds.... The reason for this is pattern recognition. Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors (edited by Lou Hays) The Discovered Attack The discovery is one of the most powerful types of move possible in a game of chess. The term discovery simply means that a piece is moved from a rank, file, or diagonal while uncovering an attack by friendly forces behind it on the line, thereby giving both pieces a chance to

8 simultaneously threaten the opponent. ### What a Variety of Chess Books! Are you a beginner, post-beginner, lower-ranked club player, or tournament player? Do you need a book on openings, middle games, or end games? Are you looking for help with tactics or strategy? (They re not the same thing) New chess book for beginners If you already know the rules of chess but losing has cut down some of the fun, Beat That Kid in Chess puts back the fun.... What other book for beginners uses the NearlyIdentical-Positions method of chess instruction (NIP)? This is the natural way, the easier way, the new way, to lead you to notice important details in each position on the board. The Beginners Chess Books First we ll look at what may be the best chess book for beginners who already know the rules of the game: Beat That Kid in Chess. After that brief review, we ll look at two books for teaching the rules. Chess Book for Teenagers and Adults (Beginners) It s for the beginner who knows the rules but not much else. Children, teenagers, and adults can benefit from these lessons... Best chess book for the beginner One estimate for the number of chess books published (in

9 history) is about 100,000. Probably less than 10% of those were written for the raw beginner, the player who knows the rules but not how to win an actual game. Chess book for the raw beginner Two publications on the royal game: Beat That Kid in Chess (by Whitcomb) Chess Tactics for Kids (by Chandler). Chess Books What a Variety! Countless thousands of books have been published on the game of chess, for a variety of players and readers. Your best choice can be greatly influenced by the following: Are you a beginner, post-beginner, lower-ranked club player, or tournament player? Do you need a book on openings, middle games, or end games? Are you looking for help with tactics or strategy? (They re not the same thing) How old are you? (child, teenager, or adult?)

10 Chess books can be as basic as instructions on the rules or as advanced as the few that are of value to masters, but most of them are for players between those extremes. Consider now three publications on the royal game. Chess for Children This popular book on Amazon is listed as Age Range: 9 and up, but this can be misunderstood. The ideal child for Chess for Children would be about 4-6 years old, with an adult reading the book out loud to him or her. An eleven-year-old could easily be disinterested in it, for it s obviously for small children. Chess for Children has many pages for teaching the rules of the game, and this instruction is done in a way to entertain small children. This is not for teenagers. Beat That Kid in Chess Like the previous book reviewed, this is not for handing over to a small child, but for different reasons. The concepts are simple and explained to make them easy, compared with most chess books, yet this was not written for little kids.

11 The reading level is for a wide range: adult, teenager, older child. It assumes the reader already knows the rules of the game how to move the pieces, castle, and respond to check, etc. The new book Beat That Kid in Chess teaches you how to win a game, if you re a beginner with little experience in winning. It teaches tactics. For the true beginner who already knows the rules, this could be the best book available for quickly learning what it takes to win games. It uses a new teaching method: NIP (using nearly-identical positions for training in tactics). This may be the first publication to systematically use this new technique in chess education. Winning Chess Tournaments This book is not new, published in 2007, yet it has no Amazon customer reviews, suggesting it was poorly promoted. It appears to have been written for players with some experience

12 or training or book learning not for the raw beginner. This appears to be a valuable guide to the young competitor who has not yet played in a tournament but would like to try. It may be best for the player who has already won many informal games and now feels a desire to compete in formal competition. ###. Chess Book Review How to Beat Your Dad at Chess It was the best of books; it was the worst of books. For average chess beginners or the lower-intermediate-level players, how can this book simultaneously be the best and the worst, this bestseller on the royal game: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess? It s complicated.

13 The Big Factor in Winning Chess Games For most chess players, tactics is king if you want to win more often. Does a typical chess game resemble a battlefield? It s more like a savage street fight in a narrow alley. New Chess Book We ll look at a few of the new chess books available on Amazon. A Chess Book for a Teenager Most of these publications have been to help players to improve their abilities over-the- board.... Best Gift of a Chess Book Each of the following chess books are here given a brief review, for gift consideration: The Kids Book of Chess Beat That Kid in Chess Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors Many other good chess books are available, including How to Beat Your Dad at Chess and Chess Tactics for Kids (both of which are by the grandmaster Murray Chandler; they re for intermediate-level players), but those are reviewed elsewhere. The best chess-book gift for a particular recipient that depends greatly on the knowledge and skill of the reader

14 who ll receive the gift. The following three publications are for three different kinds of readers. The Kids Book of Chess The best recipient for this gift may not literally be a reader. It s a small child who ll enjoy a parent or grandparent (or other adult) reading it while the little one looks at the pictures. The Kids Book of Chess is a book for small children and it includes a chess set. An Amazon customer-reviewer said: Fun book that taught my 6 year-old son not only to play chess, but the story behind the games, its pieces and its strategy. He is now teaching me to play. The game board shows how each piece may move, which is a helpful aid. Beat That Kid in Chess This is for a wide range of ages of reader, and your opponent over-the-board does not have to be a child. This chess book is for the beginner who already knows how to move the pieces around but doesn t yet know how to win a game.

15 An Amazon customer-reviewer said this about Beat That Kid in Chess: This book is perfect for someone who knows the basic rules of chess but needs additional help to actually win. I learned chess as a child, but as someone who hasn t played in over a decade, this is a great refresher. Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors This is not the best chess book for most beginners, especially not for a low-level of novice. Yet Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors can be a great exercise tool for an average club player or a USCF competitor rated between , regardless of age.

16 This chess book has 534 tactical exercises, needing the reader to see up to three moves ahead (although some of the problems need foresight of only one or two moves ahead). Check-mark spaces are provided for each of these 534 diagrams. The reader can thus keep track of which ones he or she has already solved, and this can be helpful the second time going through the book. ##. A Chess Book as a Gift... If the gift is for someone who is at least ten years old and already knows the rules, however,... A much better choice would be Beat That Kid in Chess, which is written for the early beginner who knows how to play but does not yet know much about winning... Chess Book for Beginners I know what the beginner most needs to learn to quickly be able to win chess games, and I know how to teach it.

17 Chess Book for the Teenager The cover seems to show a young boy and a mom, but the text of this book is more for the teenager or adult reading level (or the older child). Review of How to Beat Your Dad at Chess This book may be ideal for the intermediate-level player or post-beginner who can already handle looking more than one move ahead. [Another chess book, here reviewed, is much better for the raw beginner, however.] Queen Versus Rook Endgame What is the Philidor position? It depends on what kind of endgame you re talking about. With queen versus rook, it looks something like this.... Best Chess Books in Various Categories We ll look at the following categories for chess books, whether to be used as a gift or for personal use: Openings in general Middle game End game For the early beginner For the intermediate player

18 For the small child One book will be reviewed for each of the above. Please be aware that there is no standard method of judging the quality of a chess book, no matter what the category. The following selections are not necessarily the absolute best choices for particular chess players. The first three chess books are for more advanced players rather than for beginners. Beat That Kid in Chess is for the early beginner who knows how to play but wants to learn how to win. Fundamental Chess Openings ISBN-13: From the Introduction of this chess book we read: Everyone who devotes even the tiniest mount of thought to his first move not only makes a start with that particular game but also with the development of opening theory. From that moment on, every new game will confront him with the starting position again and therefore with his earlier thoughts on it....

19 From an Amazon customer review: This book is a miracle.... This book is in fact a modern and a more advanced version of Ruben Fines The ideas behind the chess openings. And lower rated chess players (below 1800) should understand the chess opening plans, rather than memorizing openings. Winning Chess Strategies (middle game) ISBN-13: From the first chapter, we read: The unique beauty of chess has attracted some of the greatest minds of human history. Why? What makes chess so fascinating?... Things survive the test of time because they are needed. Stop and think for a moment. What is there in your life that has survived for thousands of years? Tools like the spoon have survived.... Chess is the perfect tool for developing the mind. As Goethe said, The game of chess is the touchstone of the intellect.

20 An Amazon reader-reviewer said this: The third and final part of a series by renowned International Grand Master Yasser Seirawan and International Master Jeremy Silman, Winning Chess Strategies is also the most difficult to devour. The book follows the same format Seirawan and Silman used in Winning Chess Tactics, taking one strategic element of chess at a time and spending an entire chapter on it. Each are explained, explored and exemplified individually to help the aspiring chess amateur develop these lines of strategic thought.... Fundamental Chess Endings (for end game study) ISBN-13: From the Introduction we read: The fascinating world of chess endings has been explored in several complete works before... There are also many books devoted to specific piece distributions. Our intention was therefore not to reinvent the wheel, but to connect the best from the past with the most suitable recent examples and research.

21 From an Amazon customer review: Please read what Grandmaster Lubosh Kavalek had to say (November 25, 2002 Washington Post chess column) An endgame book does not often win a prestigious award, but Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht and issued by Gambit Publications in London, could not have been overlooked by the judges of the British Chess Federation s 2002 Book of the Year Award. The clearly written volume honored by the BCF was conceived as a textbook, divided into 12 chapters with exercises. It has been meticulously checked by computer programs, correcting mistakes and some myths of the past.... Beat That Kid in Chess (for the raw beginner who already knows the rules) ISBN-13: From the Introduction: If you know the chess rules but almost nothing about how to win, this book is for you. We ll keep to the basics that you need most...

22 Have you ever observed someone s reaction to a chess game between raw beginners? Did the observer walk away after grimacing or stifling a laugh? If that reaction could have come from almost any move made in that game, it was not a reasonable game of chess. You can learn to avoid that kind of embarrassment.... This book can take you into a level that should help you defeat many beginners, at least sometimes. In other words, you will no longer be a raw beginner and will instead be able to defeat raw beginners, at least more often than you lose. And it may be easier than you think. From the back cover: Do you know the rules but almost nothing more about chess? This is the best book for the early beginner. Whatever your age, feel your understanding grow as you learn to checkmate and also learn to gain many advantages that can lead to a checkmating position. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (for the intermediate-level or club player) ISBN-13:

23 From the Introduction: Each of the 50 Deadly Checkmates catalogued here explains a specific theme used to attack the opponent s king. These themes are recurring, and crop up again and again in chess games virtually regardless of the level of the players, or the precise placement of the pieces. Top chess players are very skilled at recognizing these basic patterns. From an Amazon customer review (three stars out of five): I got this book. My dad didn t fall for all but one of these checkmates. But then I was happy. I tried them all, but he would get me down too much to use any of them so I think just the beginners book for juniors worked better anyway.... The Kids Book of Chess (including the rules of the game and a chess set) ISBN-13:

24 From the back cover: In the Middle Ages the knight was the ultimate warrior. In his suit of armor, on his spirited horse, he could overcome any resistance-as in the eleventh century, when it took only seventy knights to conquer the entire civilized kingdom of Sicily! Today the movements of medieval warriors are preserved in the moves of pieces on a chessboard; and by going back to the life and times of the Middle Ages, Harvey Kidder is able to explain the game of chess in an uncommonly exciting way. An Amazon reader-reviewer said this (three stars out of five): Actually, for a starters chess set for someone who might not get into chess seriously (by joining the school chess club) the chess set is ok. My pieces did not crack, but I only used them a short time before getting a regular tournament design chess set and roll board for playing at the school chess club. The book is not so bad if once again if you are not sure if you are going to get very involved in chess. If you think you are then the book is not very deep and you will outgrow it very fast after reading it.... ###.

25 Chess Books as Gifts When choosing a publication on the royal game, first consider the intended audience for the book.... If the gift is for someone who is at least ten years old and already knows the rules... A much better choice would be Beat That Kid in Chess, which is written for the early beginner who knows how to play... Chess Game in a Movie In the 1957 Swedish film The Seventh Seal, a man s life depends on a game of chess. Probably best chess book for beginners Beat That Kid in Chess for the early beginner to win, possibly the best chess book... Chess book for the beginner... these appear to be chess books for REAL beginners. We ll consider these three in alphabetical order of the title.... New Chess Books for Beginners A few of the newer books on chess, appropriate for beginners, at least apparently for novices of the game (see the comments in brackets)

26 Beat That Kid in Chess ISBN-13: September 2, 2015 This book has been carefully crafted for the raw beginner who wants to win a chess game as soon as possible. [assuming you already know the rules; but if you know how to move the pieces, this may be the best beginner book on chess] * Chess: The Complete Guide... ISBN-13: July 13, 2015 You ll go from newbie to aspiring grandmaster in just a few moves. [not really, unless you can read a book on golf today, play your first golf game next week, and win $20,000 for playing golf next month; but in spite of the exaggeration this book s fairly popular] * Chess: Conquer your Friends with 8 Easy Principles ISBN-13: February 2, 2015 Sub-title: A Cheat Sheet for Casual Players and PostBeginners [but a few reader-reviewers consider this chess book too much like a cheat sheet: too brief] * Chess: From Beginner to Pro (Kindle) ASIN: B011HCYDJS July 12, 2015 Chess, a two-player strategy game, may appear simple to the casual observer [from a few of the reviews, this Kindle book cannot come close to getting anyone near pro level] *

27 Chess: How to Play Chess for (Absolute) Beginners ISBN-13: July 13, 2015 The Game of Kings is Now at your Fingertips! Join the Casual Chess Revolution Today! [This could be a great chess book, but it appears to teach only the rules; if all you want is a book to help you learn the rules of the game, this may be the best one] * Chess: Tactics & Openings To Dominate Your Opponent (Kindle) ASIN: B00Y7QO748 May 24, 2015 Subtitle: Suitable For Beginners Including Diagrams & Images (Chess Openings, Chess Tactics, Checkers, Board Chess Patterns, Checkmate, Puzzles & Games) [You have a right to be suspicious of a chess book that has checkers in the subtitle; this book appears to be far from ideal for the beginner who wants to learn basic chess tactics] ###. Chess Books for Teenagers If you re looking for a chess book to give to a teenager or if you are the teenager either way, you need to consider the skill level of the reader. [Beat That Kid in Chess and the older book for intermediate players: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess] Brief Reviews of Chess Books Some for beginners and some for those with intermediate skills

28 New Chess Book for Beginners Many small details can make an infinite difference in chess, and these can be created in nearly-identical positions. Consider what can happen when a book has no such nearduplicates: Students can unconsciously memorize general appearances and fail to look carefully, and failure to look at a position with care often leads to losing a game. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess Comparing three chess books Best Chess Book for Beginners It may be rare for two chess books to differ greatly inside when they look very similar on the cover. Yet that s the case with Beat That Kid in Chess and How to Beat Your Dad at Chess. The first is for beginners; the second is for more experienced players.. Tit-for-tat Magna, Utah Chess Game in I enjoyed playing two games with my new friend in Magna, Utah, the other day. In the one I label tit-for-tat, I was White. Tactics can be learned from a chess book, but experience overthe-board refines the learning process. This game well illustrates the use of a skewer, in fact on two occasions, and the same kind: bishop-versus-queen-and-rook. The close

29 proximity of these two skewers is memorable: White s move #15 and Black s #16. 1) c4 2) Nc3 e5 c6 Diagram-1 after Black s c6 I have one chess book that includes an early c6 in the English: page 670 of the 14th edition of Modern Chess Openings, column 17. I only learned that after the game, however, and was improvising my response over-the-board in this game. But that variation in the book includes Black moving e5 (after preparing that pawn advance with Nf6). It appears to me that c6 is premature on the second move of the game. The opening went differently here, with my opponent soon playing Qc7, not like the variation in the book. 3) Nf3.... We now see the disadvantage of Black s c6 on the second move. The e-pawn cannot advance to e4, in contrast to variations in which Black moves Nf6 before c6. Yet it s now attacked and needs to be defended. 3).... Qc7

30 Diagram-2 after Qc7 My opponent appears to have protected that pawn well. But now he cannot advance his other center pawn to d5 (if it were his move), which seems to have been the original purpose of c6. I could now have moved d4, but I was more conservative, moving that pawn only one square forward. 4) d3 5) Qc2 6) a3 Bb4 Nf6 Bd6

31 Diagram-3 after Bd6 This looks like the wrong place for Black s dark-squared bishop. It blocks his d-pawn, and what was the purpose of the pawn at c6 except to advance the d-pawn? My opponent s queenside pieces now have no good squares for development. 7) g3 b6 8) Bg2 h6 9) O-O O-O Diagram-4 I now felt comfortable breaking open the position with d4. Exchanging that pawn for my opponent s e-pawn would give him no advantage on the diagonal with his queen and bishop, for it runs up against that angled brick wall of my kingside pawn formation. I was hoping to exchange my knight at f3 for my opponent s dark-squared bishop. That might allow me to move Bf4 with tempo, possibly taking advantage of a hole at d6. I saw that if he captured exd4 I might place my knight on f5, although on looking at it after the game that placement did not look as good.

32 10) d4.... Diagram-5 after White s d4 After I advanced my d-pawn, I think my opponent should have captured it. After recapturing with my knight, that outpost at f5 is not that ideal if Black places his bishop at e5. Black s development is hampered, to be sure, but I have not yet found the best place for my dark-squared bishop. 10) ) dxe5 12) Nxe5 Ba6 Bxe5 Qxe5

33 Diagram-6 I now saw an opportunity to develop my dark-squared bishop with tempo. But I also saw the possibility of soon placing that bishop on d6, occupying that hole. I could worry about defending the c4 pawn latter, if that were needed. 13) Bf4 Qe7 He started to put the queen on e6 but changed his mind. Maybe his first thought was better. The black queen and the rook at f8 are now on the same diagonal, which brings up a skewer from the white bishop. 14) Rfd1 Bxc4 I did not look deeply into this position, assuming my skewer would win the exchange, which would be more than enough compensation for the pawn loss. I failed to realize that my opponent could also set up a similar skewer: tit-for-tat.

34 Diagram-7 I now skewered Black s queen and rook with Bd6. I had overlooked, however, the same kind of tactic available to my opponent. Notice my queen and my rook at d1. They are also subject to a potential skewer. Here comes tit-for-tat. 15) Bd6 Qe6 Diagram-8 At this point, I was oblivious to the other side of the skewer tactic: My opponent could do the same thing to me.

35 16) Bxf8 Bb3 Diagram-9 after Black s Bb3 White will now have to move the queen and expose a rook, just as Black did two moves earlier. But Black does not really win a pawn with these exchanges. 17) Qd2 18) Bxg7 Bxd1.... This is called, in the book Chess Tactics for Kids (by grandmaster Murray Chandler) a desperado sacrifice. If I had instead just captured the bishop would have been captured as well, opponent up a pawn. By capturing pawn after losing one a few moves 18) ) Rxd1 d5 Kxg7 at d1, then my bishop at f1 ending the exchanges with my the pawn at g7, I regained a earlier.

36 Diagram-10 after Black s d5 In diagram-10, it looks like Black has gotten some control of the center. After nineteen moves, the queen-side is not yet developed, but that can soon be remedied after Nbd8. Yet White is bearing down on the center with every piece except the king. I don t know why I missed it, but on my twentieth move I could have broken apart the center with e4. I advanced that pawn to the fourth rank a move later, but why did I not do that now? 20) e3 Nbd7 21) e4....

37 Diagram-11 after White moved e4 Surely Black should capture my pawn at e4, if he does not want to lose a pawn. He appears to have acted instinctively, however, because of my queen and rook bearing down on his knight on d8. He allowed me to win a pawn and still keep up some pressure. Notice that black will not win a pawn by capturing my e4 pawn with his knight, for after Black moves Nxe4 I could capture his knight with mine, and then after he recaptures with dxe4 I would move Qxd7, winning a piece. My opponent would still have problems after moving 21).... dxe4, for I could have pinned his knight at f6 with 22) Qd4, but it would probably have been better than what followed after his next move. 21).... Rd8 This appears on the surface to relieve pressure, as the rook now protects that knight. But it creates another problem in a few moves, for the knight on d7 becomes pinned. 22) exd5 Nxd5 23) Bxd5 cxd5

38 24) Qxd5.... Diagram-12 after White moved Qxd5 After all those exchanges, I came out a pawn ahead, with my opponent s knight pinned. Yet even with the exchanging of queens, his position does not look hopeless. Without the queens, the black king can try come to the rescue of that knight by aiming for e7. I could move my rook to d6 first, so he might have to sacrifice his h-pawn to free his knight and rook. Yet while I was capturing that pawn at h6, could the black rook and knight successfully attack my queenside pawns? I did not see that far ahead. But my opponent made a blunder and this chess game was over soon. 24).... Qg4 25) Qd4+ Nf6? 26) Qxg4+ Nxg4 27) Rxd8 Black resigned Without my opponent s mistake on the 25th move, it could have been a close endgame struggle. With all that said, I have

39 learned from this game. ###. Chess Books for Teenagers If you re looking for a chess book to give to a teenager or if you are the teenager either way, you need to consider the skill level of the reader [meaning skill in playing chess]. Two chess books but one for beginners No, I m not crazy for promoting my competitor with such high praise.... they seem to work best with different potential readers. Best Chess Book Beat That Kid in Chess may be the only book of its kind for beginners, in that it regularly uses nearly identical positions Chess Book for Beginners For the raw beginner who know how to play chess but does not yet know how to win.

40 Chess Books for Teenagers Gift Book or for You If you re looking for a chess book to give to a teenager or if you are the teenager either way, you need to consider the skill level of the reader. The following books are for those who already know the rules of chess, for teenagers can learn those rules from many sources. They don t need a book just for that. Beat That Kid in Chess Contrary to what one might assume from the title, this book is not for little kids. The reading level is for teenagers, adults, and some older children. And Beat That Kid in Chess is not restricted to winning against children. It teaches the raw beginner how to win chess games against other beginners. And this book is honest about what it takes to make big progress. In the Introduction it says: [This book] might not take the place of seriously struggling through eighty games, however, for over-the-board experience

41 teaches in its own way. Yet you might soon see your opponent struggle in competing with you, as you apply these lessons and teach [your opponent] humility. It s about time. At the beginning of the book that s where the importance of playing experience is emphasized. But from there it shows you the tactics and techniques that will most quickly lead you to avoiding a loss and getting a win. Beat That Kid in Chess is for the beginner who knows the rules of the game but hardly anything about winning against a determined opponent. It may be the best chess book available for quickly teaching the novice to win his or her first game. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess This is not for the beginner who has little experience winning chess games. It s much better for the intermediate player, or the post-beginner, who has learned how to compete with a least a little competence but who wants to learn many different ways of bringing home the victory. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess is all about checkmates. One book review said, It was the best of books; it was the worst of books. It depends a great deal on the playing skill of the reader and what that person wants to accomplish. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess is best for

42 the teenager who already has the skill to look more than one or two moves ahead. It could be the worst chess book for the player who has recently learned the rules of the game. For the latter, get Beat That Kid in Chess. ###. Adult or Teenager Chess Book Beat That Kid in Chess may be the only book of its kind for beginners, in that it regularly uses nearly identical positions that make up a new method of teaching chess Another chess book for beginners My new paperback book... is for the early beginner... who knows the rules of chess but almost nothing else about the game. Chess books online The Blue Book of Chess by Howard Staunton [free] Chess Book for a Novice [This] may be the best chess book for the novice who wants to learn how to win but does not want to go through a book that is over 200 pages long Best chess book for beginners For those who have never before read a chess book, know the rules of the game, and want to learn how to win they probably need Beat That Kid in Chess..

43 Do Chess Books Help? How much can a chess book help a player in competition? Step back and ask, How much can a nonfiction instructional book help anybody? We don t read an algebra book like a novel, and improving our skill in playing chess takes exercise with a book or experience over the board or both. Like learning algebra well, learning to play better chess requires some kind of problem solving, some kind of exercise. Twenty-eight out of many thousands of chess books Exercise With a Chess Book Reading enjoyment has a place in our lives, to be sure; but improving the quality of our chess moves that requires more than just reading a chess book. Make the time resemble an actual over-the-board encounter. One way to do that is by setting up a chess set with what you encounter in your book. Many chess books give us the full games of grandmasters, from White s first move through the last move of the game. But don t just rush through every move on your board, as fast as you can follow the game notation in the book. Why not ponder each position and choose your own move, by covering up the moves in the book one by one. See how many times you were able to guess the moves made by the grandmasters.

44 Example From The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess The following position is taken from a chess book by Irving Chernev. It s from next to the last move of a short correspondence game played in 1914 by Kraus (White) and Costin (Black). With White to move, do you see what wins? From the book The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess (1955; Simon and Schuster) Try to find the winning move for white. The answer is found after the following image.

45 In the chess position shown earlier, notice that the black queen is cramped, with few safe squares available, should it be attacked. The winning move for white is b4!, giving the black queen no safe square except c6. But after black moves Qc6, white would move Bb5, pinning that queen. After the queen captures that bishop, the white knight at d5 would move to c7 forking the black king and that queen. After white moved b4, Black resigned that correspondence game. ###. Chess Books and Purpose When choosing a publication on the royal game, first consider the intended audience for the book. The Best Chess Book for Beginners Do you know the rules but almost nothing more about chess? This is the best book for the early beginner.... I pressed

46 forward, with full confidence that my book, Beat That Kid in Chess, could become the best chess book ever written for the raw beginner. A Book for Beginners Beat That Kid in Chess I may not be able to compete well with grandmasters over the chess board, but in writing a book for chess beginners, few grandmasters can compete with me. One evidence for this shows itself in the nearly-identical chess positions in my new book. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess The book by Murray Chandler ( How to Beat Your Dad at Chess, abbreviated HBYDC) does not really compete with my book Beat That Kid in Chess, in my opinion.... mine is best for the early beginner [Beat That Kid in Chess].. Book 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations A few recent chess books may have outdone 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations, by Fred Reinfeld, in the numbers of their diagrams, but the older publication lead the way. It still stands as a classic in this form of chess book. It alternates between white moves first and black moves first with the following twenty tactical themes:

47 Pin Knight fork Double attack Discovered attack Discovered check Double check Overworked piece Removing the guard Clearance Interference Queening Combination Vulnerable first rank Queen sacrifice X-ray attack Surprise move 16. Defensive combination 17. Trapped piece 18. Zugzwang 19. Helpless king 20. Weak castled position What a treasure of tactics for this chess book that was published six decades ago! Here is one example from 1001 Winning Chess sacrifices and Combinations:

48 Diagram-1 with white to move Do you see the combination available for white in Diagram-1? If you don t and would rather just look at the solution, scroll down a bit..

49 Notice that white could checkmate the black king with Nf6, except the black queen is protecting f6. Can the black queen be removed from protecting that square? Notice that the white queen would be able to sacrifice itself to obtain that mate by moving Qg4+, except that the white rook at e2 is in the way. Is there a way to move that rook without allowing black time to guard against the queen-sacrifice combination? Here is the solution, according to the above needs: 1. Re8+ 2. Q g 4 + Rxe8 Black must give up the queen to avoid immediate mate. White wins. Notice that after Qg4+ only one move by black will prevent immediate checkmate: Ng5, after which black will have two minor pieces en prize and the black king is still in danger. It will be hopeless for the defender. ###. Chess books with grandmaster authors

50 Written by Murray Chandler, Susan Polgar, and John Nunn Chess Book for the Beginner Many chess competitors would find Beat That Kid in Chess too elementary, with hardly anything to offer for the average tournament player. Yet how many persons know the rules of chess but have hardly a clue about how to play well! Patience in Winning at Chess I recently played chess with a friend from church. The results may be instructive to lower-intermediate level players and possibly to some beginners. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess It was the best of books; it was the worst of books. For chess beginners or the lower-intermediate-level players, how can this book simultaneously be the best and the worst, this bestseller on the royal game: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess? It s complicated.. Quoting From Chess Books Various quotes of books on chess Let s begin with two newer books on the royal game, including my own book. Beat That Kid in Chess (by Jonathan Whitcomb, 2015)

51 I must tell you something I ve learned over the past half century: If your opponent has both a greater natural ability at chess and a greater drive to win, expect to lose at least a few games. [The study of chess theory will then probably help you but little.] The Rules of Chess (by Bruce Pandolfini, 2013) Chess is one of the most challenging and enjoyable games that has ever been played. It has a history that goes back over a thousand years, and there is some evidence that perhaps it is even older than that. Practical Chess Endings (by Irving Chernev, 1961) Fascinated by the subtle strategy to be found in pawn endings, I have included enough to satisfy the most avid student or the most ardent connoisseur. The latter will revel especially in the splendid endings by Grigoriev. [Introduction to first chapter] Modern Chess Openings (by Nick De Firmian, 14th edition, 1999) A chess player first starts to become serious about the game when he [or she] reads a book on chess. While his (her) first book should be a primer on general strategy, soon after the player needs to learn a few chess openings Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations (by Fred Reinfeld, 1955) The man who wrote, Tactics is 99 percent of chess might well have added and 99 percent of the fun, too! Brilliant sacrifices and combinations, either calculated in advance or played on the spur of the moment, give us thrills that cannot be equaled by any other aspect of the game.

52 ###. How Does a Beginner Win a Chess Game? Learn to imagine a move, looking at the board as if the move were already made A Chess Book for Early Beginners How few instructional chess books are suitable for the early beginner, the chess player who knows the rules but little else about the game! [But this one really is for the novice.] Chess Book for Beginners Really! The above four simple principles, when applied consistently, may allow an early beginner to soon win a game, provided the opponent is also an early beginner. Winning a Chess Game I was hoping to exchange bishops at this point in the game. My opponent s pieces are too active for my taste.. Beating-Dad Versus Beating-aKid, at Chess This is mainly about the book How to Beat Your Dad at Chess.

53 What I now declare may appear weird: I have just written a chess book that appears, on the surface, to compete with this book, and yet I proclaim that a certain kind of player may benefit from How to Beat Your Dad at Chess and benefit from it more than from any other book ever written on chess. Yes, my apparent-competitor s book may be the best one of its kind ever written, for certain competitors, among perhaps about 100,000 books that may have been written on playing chess. That s my opinion. I Don t Give a Plea of Insanity No, I m not crazy for promoting my competitor with such high praise. The book by Murray Chandler (How to Beat Your Dad at Chess, abbreviated HBYDC) does not really compete with my book Beat That Kid in Chess, in my opinion. At least to me they seem to work best with different potential readers. Chandler s book can be great for the advanced beginner or intermediate player; mine is best for the early beginner. the Who Would Most Benefit From HBYDC? Chandler s book is best for chess players who compete in the general USCF rating range of about (It can be a very poor choice for early beginners, who could easily become discouraged by the deep-move combinations that fill this book.) The subtitle, Including the 50 Deadly Checkmates, is not 100% accurate, as a few of those fifty are not actually checkmates but other tactical themes that win material. As a practical tool for the advanced-beginner and intermediate competitor, however, this chess book can be of great value to players of that approximate level of ability.

54 Contents of How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (a partial list) Here are thirteen of the fifty themes from the table of contents: Anastasia s Mate Arabian Mate Philidor s Legacy Damiano s Mate The See-Saw Blackburne s Mate Double Rook Sacrifice Morphy s Mate Greco s Mate Removing the f6 Defender Lolli s Mate Back-Rank Mates Legall s Mate Amazon Comments on How to Beat Your Dad at Chess The following are brief excerpts from reader-comments on the Amazon pages for Murray Chandler s book: Five-Stars (64%):

55 Do you know how to mate? You can now get actual experience in the most important basic positions. This book will test you and teach you new positions you probably didn t know about before. Four-Stars (16%): Based on the principle of pattern recognition the author introduces you to fifty checkmate patterns and emphasizes the elements necessary to attain them.... Three-Stars (11%): My dad didn t fall for all but one of these checkmates. But then I was happy. I tried them all, but he would get me down too much to use any of them so I think just the beginners book for juniors worked better anyway. [a kid s review] One-star reader-comments (3% of all reviews) and two-stars (6%) are not quoted here. A Plea to Consider my own Book I propose that my new book, Beat That Kid in Chess, may be the most useful one ever written for the raw beginner, the person who knows the rules of the game but knows nothing, or next-tonothing, about how to outplay an opponent. I don t know of any other book that even uses the nearly-identical-positions (NIP) approach to chess training, a new and effective way to train competitors in tactics and combinations. ###. A New Chess Book for Beginners The paperback Beat That Kid in Chess was published by

56 Createspace on September 2, How few chess books are for the raw beginner! Beat That Kid in Chess... for the early beginner, the player who knows the rules of chess but almost nothing else about the game. Two Chess Books; Just One for Beginners Beat That Kid in Chess (BTKC) is for the early beginner, who knows the rules of the game but little or nothing else, who would like to win but has little idea how. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (HBYDC) is best for the more experienced player Most Useful Book Ever Written for the Beginner The reading level is teenager/adult, although some twelveyear-olds could understand and enjoy it. Chess Book for the Early Beginner I ve looked through other chess books that appear, on the surface, to be for the chess beginner. Not one of them impressed me... Image of Chess Books for Beginners Beat That Kid in Chess and the apparently (on the surface) similar book How to Beat Your Dad at Chess are compared..

57 How Does a Beginner Win a Chess Game? How can a raw beginner win a game of chess against another raw beginner? I have a few suggestions: 1. Read my book Beat That Kid in Chess; when you play chess, apply what you learned 2. Learn to imagine a move, looking at the board as if the move were already made 3. Become proficient with at least two kinds of checkmates 4. In a given position, if you cannot checkmate your opponent, can he do that to you? 5. Look for checkmates first, then look for how you might win a piece or pawn For now, let s look only at suggestion #2. Imagine a Move The early beginner needs to learn to imagine a move and what might happen if that move were made. Look at the diagram below.

58 White to move What did you notice, on first looking at this position? Did you see black s threat? If it were black s turn, Qf1# ends the game in black s favor. Did you see a similar move for white: Qc8+? It would not be mate, however, for the black knight would capture that queen. But we do have something similar, and it eventually leads to white winning through a back-rank mate. The move Qg8+ forces black to give up at least one piece and delay mate for at least one move, or resign. (Any blocking of check to the black king is only temporary.).

59 Imagine white moving the queen from g4 to c8 At least two things are needed, to properly imagine a chess move: 1. Imagine that the piece moved has disappeared from the original square 2. Imagine that piece is now at the square that you saw it could move to Of course #1 is not always important, not in every position. But sometimes it makes a difference in making calculations. (The above position makes no difference.) By imagining the queen on that square at the top of the above chess position, we can then see that the black knight is

60 defending that square, meaning it would capture the white queen if that piece moved there. I don t imagine a Q appearing on that square and I don t imagine a large X written over the image of the white queen on the g4 square. Those are just for illustration. How do I imagine a chess move? I just give special mental emphasis to a particular square and imagine a new position, one in which all the other pieces are still on their original squares but the moving piece has already moved. I then make some judgment of the resulting position, often then imaging my opponent s possible responses and my secondary move possibilities. ###. A New Chess Book for Beginners How few [chess books] concentrate on what the early beginner needs the most! Beat That Kid in Chess differs by emphasizing the simple basics that give the biggest rewards... Beat That Kid in Chess is for Beginners My new paperback book, about to be published, really is for the early beginner, the player who knows the rules of chess but almost nothing else about the game. Chess in Movies In the 1942 film Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart plays the part of Rick... An early scene includes Rick working his way through an opening variation of chess by himself.

61 Queen Versus Rook Draw Possibilities When you have the queen, in an ending with nothing but a queen and an opposing rook, watch out for the defender s drawing opportunities.. Beat That Kid in Chess A Book for Beginners Update (Dec 3, 2015): My new paperback book Beat That Kid in Chess is for the early beginner, the player who knows the rules of chess but almost nothing else about the royal game (published Sep 2, 2015). This chess book is now available on Amazon and with other online retailers. It s for a wide range of readers: adults, teenagers, and some older children. The title implies a narrow focus, but the age of your opponent, in a game of chess, is actually unlimited. Whoever your opponent, of whatever age, this book can help you in your over-the-board competitions in the royal game. How does this new publication teach the raw beginner better than previous books for the novice chess player? Beat That Kid in Chess uses NIP, a new teaching method that naturally guides the mind of the reader to grasp basic tactics. Nearlyidentical positions are used systematically in this chess book, perhaps the first publication to use NIP in an organized, dependable way. (For more on this, look further down in this post.)

62 Here is the table of contents in the 194-page book: Here s a paragraph from the middle of the introduction: You may notice that many diagrams are nearly identical, something rarely encountered in most chess books. You need to get used to those small differences that are so important in chess games. How critical can be the smallest difference! This approach can help you to think like a tournament player, in the sense of diving into a chess position as if it had never come up before, a unique landscape for you to explore. Nearly-Identical Positions

63 I ve read and studied dozens of chess books in the past 53 years. I don t recall any of them that included nearlyidentical positions for training. Many of the authors were masters or grandmasters of chess, but few (if any) of them likely had much experience in teaching or tutoring students except for intermediate and advanced chess students. In addition, few chess authors are professional writers. I may not be able beat grandmasters over the board, but in writing a book for chess beginners few grandmasters can compete with me. One evidence for this shows itself in the nearly-identical chess positions in my new book. Why show a chess student a position that s almost the same as one that was already shown to that student? Many small details can make an infinite difference in chess, and these can be created in nearly-identical positions. Consider what can happen when a book has no such near-duplicates: Students can unconsciously memorize general appearances and fail to look carefully, and failure to look at a position with care often leads to losing a game. The reader need not even know that NIP is working on that player s side, for the tactics and good chess habits are learned naturally. This has the added advantage of allowing this moderate-length book to have more value, as if it were a long book: You can get through it more quickly but still have the opportunity to review it later, for maximum training benefit, if you like. Either way, you ll learn to see a chess position tactically, more like an expert or master would comprehend that position. The Background of Jonathan David Whitcomb I come from a family of generations of authors and teaching professionals. My tutoring experiences with chess beginners extend back to the mid-1960 s: I know what the beginner most needs, to quickly learn to win chess games, and I know

64 how to teach it. Beat That Kid in Chess for the early beginner to win, possibly the best chess book for beginners because of the systematic use of nearly-identical positions (NIP) ###. Does Chess Benefit Children? Test scores improved by 17.3% for students regularly engaged in chess classes, compared with only 4.6% for children participating in other forms of enriched activities.

65 Queen versus Rook in Chess What is the Philidor position? It depends on what kind of endgame you re talking about. With queen versus rook, it looks something like this... Succeed in the End Game (Fireside Chess site) In the endgame position on the right, white has many ways of missing a win. One set of moves will win, but just one slipup will allow the defender to avoid loss. Chess and Childhood Education Chess dramatically improves a child s ability to think rationally... increases cognitive skills... improves children s communication skills and aptitude in recognizing patterns... Chess Puzzle... clear understanding of the influences of chess pieces can here make an apparently difficult problem easy to solve.. How to Chess Beat Your Dad at Chess Book Review It was the best of books; it was the worst of books. For

66 average chess beginners or the lower-intermediate-level players, how can this book simultaneously be the best and the worst, this bestseller on the royal game: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess? It s complicated. To know if this book would be the best one or worst one for you, understand what it contains, what you want to accomplish, and when you want to accomplish it. You also need to consider your own present skills in the royal game. Don t misunderstand. There s nothing average about this book. The focus is narrow: checkmate patterns, so if that is what you most need to learn, I highly recommend it.. Fifty Deadly Tactics According to the Introduction, there are 47 checkmating strategies plus three other patterns (one for perpetual check and two for winning material) in the book. Does that mean about 94% of this book is about checkmating patterns? Exactly. The patterns themselves and how they are presented in this book have been highly acclaimed, rightfully so. Almost any chess player who is around the USCF rating strength should greatly benefit from studying this book. But the title