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William Norwood Potter
William Norwood Potter (27 August 1840 – 13 March 1895) was an English chess master and writer. He is primarily remembered for the quality of his chess journalism, and for his association with Wilhelm Steinitz, the first winner of a world chess championship match. Life and career Potter was born in London on 27 August 1840 to William and Mary Anne (Martin) Potter. He had three brothers and a sister, Mary Potter. A barristers' clerk by trade, Potter first appeared in London chess circles in 1867 and rose quickly from obscurity, winning the 1870 City of London Chess Club handicap tournament, in which he defeated Joseph Henry Blackburne and Cecil Valentine De Vere on even terms. From 1872 to 1874 the City of London Chess Club contested a two-game correspondence chess match with Vienna: the other London team members eventually dropped out, leaving Potter and Steinitz to continue the match by themselves, which they ultimately won by a score of 1.5–0.5. Steinitz would late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Potter
Mother Mary Potter (22 November 1847 – 9 April 1913) founded the sisters of the Little Company of Mary in 1877. On 8 February 1988, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her Venerable. Early life Mary Potter was born in a rented house at 23 Old Jamaica Road in Bermondsey, South London. She was the fifth child, and the only girl, born to William and Mary Anne (Martin) Potter. One of her brothers was the chess master William Norwood Potter. Mary Potter had a congenital heart and lung disease which left her in frail health, and with a permanent cough, for the rest of her life. Her father left the family home in 1848, went to Australia, and never returned, leaving his wife to raise the children by herself. When Potter was 19, she was introduced to her brother's friend, Godfrey King and became engaged. King, who had tried a vocation as a Trappist monk, gave Potter pious books. After about four months, she wrote to Godfrey to terminate the engagement, after the bishop of Southwark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games, such as xiangqi (Chinese chess) and shogi (Japanese chess). The recorded history of chess goes back at least to the emergence of a similar game, chaturanga, in seventh-century India. The rules of chess as we know them today emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century, with standardization and universal acceptance by the end of the 19th century. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide. Chess is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no use of dice or cards. It is played on a chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. At the start, each player controls sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various times through the centuries. The encyclopaedia is maintained by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 contributors. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, which spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages, was the last printed edition. Since 2016, it has been published exclusively as an online encyclopaedia. Printed for 244 years, the ''Britannica'' was the longest running in-print encyclopaedia in the English language. It was first published between 1768 and 1771 in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, as three volumes. The encyclopaedia grew in size: the second edition was 10 volumes, and by its fourth edition (1801–1810) it had expanded to 20 volumes. Its rising stature as a scholarly work helped recruit eminent con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simpson's-in-the-Strand
Simpson's-in-the-Strand is one of London's oldest traditional English restaurants. Situated in the Strand, it is part of the Savoy Buildings, which also contain one of the world's most famous hotels, the Savoy. The restaurant has been "temporarily closed" since March 2020, with a reopening date to be announced in 2023. After a modest start in 1828 as a smoking room and soon afterwards as a coffee house, Simpson's achieved a dual fame, around 1850, for its traditional English food, particularly roast meats, and also as the most important venue in Britain for chess in the nineteenth century. Chess ceased to be a feature after Simpson's was bought by the Savoy Hotel group of companies at the end of the century, but as a purveyor of traditional English food, Simpson's has remained a celebrated dining venue throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. P. G. Wodehouse called it "a restful temple of food". Since 2005 Simpson's has been run by Fairmont Hotels and Res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White And Black In Chess
In chess, the player who moves first is called White and the player who moves second is called Black. Their pieces are the white pieces and the black pieces. The pieces are often not literally white and black, but some other colors, usually a light color and a dark color. The 64 squares of the chessboard, which is colored in a checkered pattern, are likewise the "white squares" or "light squares", and "black squares" or "dark squares"; they are usually of contrasting light and dark color rather than literally white and black. For example, the squares on vinyl boards may be off-white ("buff") and green, while those on wood boards are often light brown and dark brown. white: 1. There are 16 light-colored pieces and 32 squares called white. 2. When capitalized, the word refers to the player of the white pieces. An entry in the ''Glossary of terms in the Laws of Chess'' at the end of the current FIDE laws appears for black, too. In old chess writings, the sides are often called Red ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endgame Studies
In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a composed position—that is, one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find the essentially unique way for one side (usually White) to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side plays. If the study does not end in a mate or stalemate, it should be obvious that the game is either won or drawn, and White can have a selection of many different moves. There is no limit to the number of moves which are allowed to achieve the win; this distinguishes studies from the genre of direct mate problems (e.g. "mate in 2"). Such problems also differ qualitatively from the very common genre of tactical puzzles based around the middlegame, often based on an actual game, where a decisive tactic must be found. Composed studies Composed studies predate the modern form of chess. Shatranj studies exist in manuscripts from the 9th centur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saavedra Position
The Saavedra position is one of the best-known chess endgame studies. It is named after the Spanish priest Fernando Saavedra (1849–1922), who lived in Glasgow during the late 19th century. Though not a strong player, he spotted a win involving a dramatic underpromotion in a position previously thought to have been a draw. This is among a minority of positions where king and pawn can win against a king and rook, and one of the most famous examples of underpromotion in chess. It is also a rare example of a player being famous for a single move. Solution The position as it is usually given today, with White to move and win, is shown in the diagram. The solution is: :1. c7 Rd6+ 2. Kb5 (If 2.Kc5 then Rd1 threatening a skewer via 3...Rc1; if instead 2.Kb7? then Rd7 pins the pawn, allowing black to capture it to assure a draw.) :2... Rd5+ Or 2...Rd2 3.c8=Q Rb2+ 4.Ka4 Ra2+ 5.Kb3 Rb2+ 6.Kc3 and White wins. :3. Kb4 Rd4+ 4. Kb3 Rd3+ 5. Kc2 Rd4! 6. c8=R! Threatening 7.Ra8+; instead 6. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evans Gambit
The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Bc5 :4. b4 The Evans Gambit is an aggressive line of the Giuoco Piano. White offers a pawn to divert the black bishop on c5. If Black accepts, White can follow up with c3 and d4, ripping open the , while also opening diagonals to play Ba3 or Qb3 at some point, preventing Black from castling and threatening the f7-pawn, respectively. If Black declines, the b4-pawn stakes out on the queenside, and White can follow up with a4 later in the game, potentially gaining a tempo by threatening to trap Black's . According to Reuben Fine, the Evans Gambit poses a challenge for Black since the usual defences (playing ...d6 and/or returning the gambit pawn) are more difficult to achieve than with other gambits. (Fine was once beaten by this gambit in a against Bobby Fischer, in just 17 moves.) The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' has two codes for the Evans Gambit, C51 and C52. *C51: 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has held the position in the FIDE world chess rankings since 1 July 2011 and trails only Garry Kasparov in time spent as the highest-rated player in the world. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest in history. He also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at the elite level in classical chess. A chess prodigy, Carlsen finished first in the C group of the Corus chess tournament shortly after he turned 13 and earned the title of grandmaster a few months later. At 15, he won the Norwegian Chess Championship, and at 17 he finished joint first in the top group of Corus. He surpassed a rating of 2800 at 18, the youngest at the time to do so. In 2010, at 19, he reached in the FIDE world rankings, the youngest person ever to do so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vassily Ivanchuk
Vasyl Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk ( uk, Василь Михайлович Іванчук; born March 18, 1969), also transliterated as Vassily Ivanchuk, is a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1988. A leading player since 1988, Ivanchuk has been ranked at No. 2 on the FIDE world rankings three times (July 1991, July 1992, October 2007). Ivanchuk has won Linares, Wijk aan Zee, Tal Memorial, Gibraltar Masters and M-Tel Masters titles. He has also won the World Blitz Championship in 2007 and the World Rapid Championship in 2016. In 2011, by the decree of the President of Ukraine, Ivanchuk was awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Career Early years Ivanchuk was born in Kopychyntsi, Ukraine. He won the 1987 European Junior Chess Championship in Groningen and first achieved international notice by winning the 1988 New York Open scoring 7½/9 points, ahead of a field of grandmasters. He tied for first place in the 1988 World Junior Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2000s (decade)
File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty during the 9/11 attacks in 2001; the euro enters into European currency in 2002; a statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled during the Iraq War in 2003, and in 2006, Hussein would be executed for crimes against humanity; U.S. troops heading toward an army helicopter in Afghanistan during the War on Terror; social media through the Internet spreads across the world; a Chinese soldier gazes at the 2008 Summer Olympics commencing in Beijing; the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression hits the world in 2008; a tsunami from the Indian Ocean earthquake kills over 230,000 in 2004, and becomes the strongest earthquake since the 1964 Alaska earthquake, 420px, thumb rect 1 1 234 178 September 11 attacks rect 236 1 371 178 Euro rect 374 1 495 90 91 181 Iraq War rect 244 181 366 326 369 181 495 War on Terror rect 327 330 494 486 Social media rect 165 330 324 487 2008 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scotch Game
The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. d4 Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On the game of Chess, practical Observations by an anonymous Modenese Author"), was the first author to mention what is now called the Scotch Game. The opening received its name from a correspondence match in 1824 between Edinburgh and London. Popular in the 19th century, by 1900 the Scotch had lost favour among top players because it was thought to release the central tension too early and allow Black to without difficulty. More recently, grandmasters Garry Kasparov and Jan Timman helped to repopularise the Scotch when they used it as a surprise weapon to avoid the well-analysed Ruy Lopez. Analysis White aims to dominate the by exchanging their d-pawn for Black's e-pawn. Black usually plays 3...exd4, as they have no good way of mainta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
