Chessquest

Reflections on Memorial Day, 2003
by Jan Newton

M ay 26, 2003

Today is a national holiday for Americans - Memorial Day. It is celebrated on the last Monday in the month of May, thus giving us a three-day weekend and heralding the unofficial "first day of summer", although the solstice won't occur for nearly another month. It is traditionally the first date after which women can begin to wear "white" shoes and outfits, greeted with (weather permitting) picnics and cook-outs on the barbecue grill, assemblies of families who won’t see each other again all summer, and hours spent manicuring lawns and flower-beds in anticipation of the hot, humid weather of high summer that will, hopefully, follow.

Memorial Day was originally set aside for remembering those who lost their lives in service to their country in time of war and to those who are innocent victims of war. It is supposed to be distinct from Veteran's Day, which is memorialized in the United States in November. But, in recent years, Memorial Day has focused on the veterans, and not on the others (non-combatants) who also lost their lives in war.

Currently, on average, 1,500 World War II veterans die in the United States every day. My own dear father passed away on November 3, 2002. A World War II veteran, he was honored with a military funeral and the playing of "Taps" by an elderly bugler.

http://www.onwisconsin.com/classifieds/deathnotices/deathnotice.asp?id=67561

A generation going, going, gone... Too little time these days is spent "memorializing" those lost to us in both long-forgotten and more recent conflicts.

I always look forward to receiving the latest edition of the Chessville Weekly -- http://www.chessville.com/newsletter_signup.htm -- a newsletter offered as part of -- http://www.chessville.com/ Chessville.

Does this seem like a non sequitur? But it's not, if you will read on.

Chessville was created by a group of chessophiles who used to hang around at about.com/chess. Perhaps they still do. I can’t say for certain because I was banned from posting at about.com/chess a long time ago for what were deemed "unseemly" posts (controversial, I suppose, because I never caviled at calling a spade a spade or backed off from politically incorrect opinions). Since my ignoble banishment I haven't paid much attention to about.com/chess. I've always thought it amusing, though, that the local resident male curmudgeon was allowed a great deal of license and could "attack" anyone or any topic at will, no holds barred, while this female curmudgeon was not allowed - well, that's another story.

Some months after my banishment, I received the first Chessville Weekly in my email and was invited personally to subscribe (a free service) to the Weekly by one of the regular posters at the old about.com/chess website (NOT the host who had sent me into banishment). Recalling prior discussions about "being mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore", complaints about the quality (lack thereof) and grossly commercial nature (endless bombarding advertising for fee-based services) of existing chess-related websites, I was glad to see that the fellas had followed through and created their own website. Letting bygones be bygones, I thought "what the heck!," and fired off my acceptance with a personal note to David Surratt, one of the principals of Chessville. In due course, http://www.goddesschess.com/ Goddesschess received a favorable mention as an interesting website to visit in one of the early issues of the Weekly, and I’ve been a fan of Chessville ever since!

I received the latest edition of the Chessville Weekly via email today. I don't pay much attention to the games (presented in PGN and often annotated); they are on a level far beyond my meager ability to comprehend, but I do enjoy reading through the latest news and chess-related links. I often spend half an hour exploring the various links to the latest news, stories and what-not provided by each Chessville Weekly.

Today there was a link to an article written by Shelby Lyman for The Salt Lake City Tribune. I read it through once, and then again, and again, and yet again. I present the article here, complete with PGN of a recent game between GM Smbat Lputian and GM Viktor Bologan from the Karpov International Tournament in Poikovsky, Russia. LymanÕs rich, flavorful prose frames chess as a metaphor for life. It reminded me, somehow, of my Dad. I miss him very much.

You don't need to understand the moves of the game presented at the end of Lyman's article to understand what he is talking about; on the other hand, playing through the moves may give you an even deeper appreciation of the article: http://www.sltrib.com/2003/May/05252003/arts/59912.asp

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The Salt Lake City Tribune
Sunday, May 25, 2003
CHECKMATE

Despite its sedentary nature, chess like other sports is a metaphor for human existence. Winning and losing on the chessboard depend on our ability to harness space, time, and force to our advantage.

The word "checkmate" has its origin in the ancient Persian "sah mat" -- a declaration that the shah or king is helpless and that the collective he represents and the individuals composing it have suffered a grievous defeat.

In chess, no matter how unassuming our station in life, we all become generals. Symbolically, playing a game of chess is no small responsibility. It tests our mettle and leadership, as do our various social roles where others depend on our success and there is a prize to be won or lost.

In our much earlier and primitive existence, our physical life, itself, often directly depended on our generalship. Knowing the terrain, accurately calculating distances and the time it took to traverse them, and measuring out ability to summon force in our favor were the difference between survival and destruction and, on occasion, between eating and being eaten.

There is speculation that early forms of chess involved the throwing of die. In contrast, its modern incarnation leaves little to chance. The game reflects our evolution from a status in which we perceived ourselves at the mercy of fate to one in which we assume that we can control destiny through rational thought and action.

Unfortunately, it is even more difficult to calculate consequences in life.

The following is a game between Smbat Lputian and Viktor Bologan from the Karpov International Tournament in Poikovsky, Russia. Shelby Lyman

Smbat Viktor Lputian Bologan

1. d4 ..........Nf6
2. c4 .......... e6
3. Nf3 .......... c5
4. e3 .......... d5
5. Nc3 .......... cxd4
6. exd4 .......... Bb4
7. cxd5 .......... Nxd5
8. Bd2 .......... Nc6
9. Bd3 .......... Be7
10. O-O .......... O-O
11. Nxd5 .......... exd5
12. Qb3 .......... Bf6
13. Bc3 .......... a5
14. a3 .......... Bg4
15. Be2 .......... Re8
16. R(f)e1 .......... Re6
17. h3 .......... a4
18. Qb5 .......... Bf5
19. R(a)d1 .......... Bc2
20. Rd2 .......... Be4
21. Bd1 .......... Na5
22. Ne5 .......... Rb6
23. Qd7 .......... Qf8
24. f3 .......... Bg6
25. Bxa5 .......... Rxa5
26. Nxg6 .......... Black resigns (a)
(a) If 26. . . . hxg6,
27. Re8 winning the queen.

Beginner's Corner Solution:
1. Qd8ch Kc5
2. Rf5 mate. If instead, 1. . . . Ke6, 2. Rf6 (or 2 Qd7) mate.

Beginner's Corner Hint: Too easy for a hint.

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