I'm in the middle of a study of Capablanca's most accomplished endgames. Sometimes I think it should be possible to transribe chess moves like music. In which case Capablanca's games would be fugues or enormous masses."-- From Henning Mankell's BEFORE THE FROST.
After my last chess post, not only did I come across another reference to Capablanca in crime fiction (the marvelous Mankell novel) but I began playing online at RedHotPawn*. My user name is Paladin One and if you're so inclined stop by. Sometimes, I can actually be challenging.
*I'm not a member and am limited to six games.
18 comments:
My wife is a big fan of Henning Mankell. The 2 of you would have a lot to talk about.
I used to play chess years ago and loved it. Would like to get into it again, but really haven't taken the steps to do so.
Hmmm. Interesting game above. White to move wins with a beautiful King, Queen, Rook fork.
Black to move wins easily wins knight. Or make game interesting by taking knight pawn, allow the rook fork with check, lose rook and ability to castle, then win rook with pinned knight. Wild game from there. Hmmm.
Ron, Actually, BEFORE THE FROST was my first Mankell read and I enjoyed it considerably.
Chris, Be forewarned internet Chess is way addictive.
Glenn, You slipped a comment in there on me. Yep, that picture was taken several months ago and I was playing white and captured the Queen with the fork. Someone had a camera and I insisted on a picture.
Yeah. A queen fork is pure ecstasy, like writing that great sentence, sitting back, inhaling, reveling in the moment, saying, "Oh yeah, game over baby." or maybe,as in your case, "Oh yeah, baby. Gimme that friggin camera."
I guess I never progressed much pass Chinese checkers.
I used to play quite a lot at Gameknot but I just haven't had any time of late. Someday I'll play again.
Glenn, And watch your opponent flip the bird your way and remind you he had one the previous two marathon games.
Diane, Chinese checkers is fun too.
Charles, A few moves a day is harmless and perfect to sharpen the mind.
Thanks for reminding me that I should read a novel by Henning Mankell. I don't know how to play chess, but my son and husband enjoy it.
I have never been able to take any game seriously enough to bear down with it. ON Friday nights, we sometimes go to the art museum and see dozens of Detroit teenagers playing chess in the main hall. It is awesome.
One of my brother's taught me to play chess, but I could never beat him in a game. He was so tricksy with his moves.
Sarah, I'm positive that Mankell will be to your liking. He has the literary approach I know you appreciate.
Patti, I bet those Detroit teenagers could put me away fast. I'd enjoy watching.
Barbara, You could load your game into the computer to beat him. Of course, that's cheating but you may enjoy the shocked look on his face.
I'm sure you are aware of Paul Morphy. Another genius worth studying.
I know of Mr. Morphy but have never examined his games. Gotta tell you, Mr. Capablanca will keep me busy for another twenty or so years.
You have a tidy & expansive mind!
Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
Thanks for noticing. :)
Capablanca had more respect for Morphy than for any other player before Capa's time. Stylistically, Capa is Morphy's descendant, so getting a handle on Morphy helps in understanding Capablanca.
Learning Morphy should be considered a prerequisite; it's shocking to find how many serious players have that incredible gap in their knowledge.
Capa probably would've needed persuasion to take on a bodyguard. In a letter to his son, he said that the boy had to become a good swimmer and a good boxer; maybe he practiced before preaching (if your guys were throwing a baseball around, that would've appealed to Capa more than anything else).
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