Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

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  • #76
    Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

    Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
    so called neutral nations..
    Well a country is either politically neutral or its not. There are about a dozen countries in the world today that are politically neutral and are recognized by international affairs as being neutral. ie. The Vatican, Malta, and Sweden come to mind.

    That does not mean that they are un-armed and peaceful! During WWII neutral countries where known to fire upon aircraft entering their airspace.

    Here is a story written some 50 years ago:

    An American bomber, damaged efter bombing Berlin, tries to make it to Sweden. When approaching swedish territory, they are contacted from the ground:

    "You are now enterring Swedish territory which is prohibited"
    The captain answered " Yes we know"

    "If you enter, we have to shoot you down"
    Captain; "Yes we know"

    The swedes started to shoot - then suddenly they could hear the captain saying: "You are shooting far behind us"
    The swedes answered: "Yes we know"

    There will always be favouritism Gary. And people will find ways to break rules.

    Comment


    • #77
      Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

      Originally posted by Anthony Cheron View Post
      There will always be favouritism Gary. And people will find ways to break rules.
      Which brings it back to the beginning where I wrote Portugal being neutral, as you stated, was not as simple as that. People should consult a good history book and make up their own mind based on their own values.

      As far as A.A., maybe he wasn't neutral enough. I leave all that to the conspiracy theorists.
      Gary Ruben
      CC - IA and SIM

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      • #78
        Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

        Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
        As far as A.A., maybe he wasn't neutral enough. I leave all that to the conspiracy theorists.
        ALEKHINE'S DEATH PART 1 and PART 2

        http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/

        An excellent essay concerning the strange death of A.A. by Kevin Spraggett. ( KS might very well be the leading authority in piecing together the many strange pieces of this jig-saw puzzle using a political perspective)

        Kevin's analysis is heavily based on the political climate of Portugal after and during WWII. He goes into great detail regarding the Portugese secret police (PIDE) and their most probable involvement (cover up ).

        Was there foul play? This essay practically proves foul play.

        Who killed A.A.?



        The search goes on...

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        • #79
          Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

          Originally posted by Anthony Cheron View Post
          ALEKHINE'S DEATH PART 1 and PART 2

          Was there foul play? This essay practically proves foul play.

          Who killed A.A.?

          The search goes on...

          Did Kevin write the entire articles? It only really says who posted them.

          Why isn't rigor mortis mentioned?

          Botched autopsies aren't evidence of foul play. Here in this area they are still letting people out of jail for murdering their children. It seems a pathologist, a Dr. Smith, fouled up countless autopsies and his testimony was used to convict dozens of people of murdering their children. Those who live in the Toronto area and read the newspapers should be familiar with this as it's an ongoing story.

          In any case, I leave the conspiracy theories to others.
          Gary Ruben
          CC - IA and SIM

          Comment


          • #80
            Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

            Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post

            Botched autopsies aren't evidence of foul play.
            True. However, there is so much more: CSI ( crime scene investigation ) was very poor ( non-existant ). A key person, who later changed his story. A shifty dictatorship handling the death . Suppression of information. Rumours, rumours, rumours....

            Kevin Spraggett's essay ( he wrote everything here exept for what is highlighted or in quotation marks) is thought provoking and a great read because it is based on a historical fact . His final opinions however, are just that --- OPINIONS. Maybe the opinions are right, maybe wrong.

            As chessplayers, we were all deprived of a great match: Alekhine vs. Botvinnik London 1946.

            As a character, Alekhine was deplorable, but he was a chess genious. According to his drinking habits, he may not have lasted much longer anyway.

            Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
            In any case, I leave the conspiracy theories to others.
            Gary, don't believe what Salazar wants you to believe.

            Comment


            • #81
              Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

              Originally posted by Anthony Cheron View Post
              Suppression of information. Rumours, rumours, rumours....
              Of course. It was a hotel and one would expect roomers, roomers, roomers.

              Originally posted by Anthony Cheron View Post

              As chessplayers, we were all deprived of a great match: Alekhine vs. Botvinnik London 1946.
              There were always nasty rumours surrounding Botvinnik's matches. Something about the chosen one.

              Originally posted by Anthony Cheron View Post

              Gary, don't believe what Salazar wants you to believe.
              I don't think I told you what I believe. I was simply exploring the contention it was other than the official version. For a different version you need a time line and have to address the possibility of Rigor Mortis for scenarios where the death took place somewhere else and the body was returned to the room and posed. Fill in the blanks things.

              How many people would have known about that conspiracy?

              Regarding the French resistance, they were not to be trifled with.
              Gary Ruben
              CC - IA and SIM

              Comment


              • #82
                Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                I was very interested in the Salov article - I was under the impression he'd had some sort of mental breakdown. Very surprising to hear that he just stopped playing for lack of invitation. Seems pretty odd considering there must be numerous WC type events that he could qualify for just on rating (as Kamsky did when he began his comeback).

                Comment


                • #83
                  Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                  Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
                  Of course. It was a hotel and one would expect roomers, roomers, roomers
                  Of course, the many roomers, told many rumours.

                  " I heard that a world chess champion is staying in room 43."
                  " Yes ,but you would never guess he was world champion.He comes in quite drunk at 11:30 every night"

                  " Last night I heard a gunshot in room 43."
                  " No , you heard the opening of his champagne bottle"

                  "Last night , I saw a few men in long overcoats carrying a body outside. It looked like him."
                  "That's what everybody wears around here, long overcoats, unless you get so drunk at the inn, that you have to be carried back home without one"

                  " I heard that he is broke and penniless"
                  "Are you kidding? He always has money for beer and cigarettes"

                  "I heard that the man eats meat with his hands"
                  "Not really, but the man was stealing the silverware from the hotel and taking it to the pawn shop, so the hotel does not bring him any more silverware".

                  Rumours from roomers.
                  Last edited by Anthony Cheron; Tuesday, 31st March, 2009, 10:14 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #84
                    Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                    BRIEF REFLECTIONS ON IGOR IVANOV

                    A very interesting article ( there are so many interesting articles on Kevin Spraggett's blog ) .
                    The musically and chess talented Igor Ivanov ( from Russia ) kicks open the emergency door of the aircraft when it refuels in Gander and soonafter finds himself playing for the Canadian Championship. He soon finds himself embroiled with chess politics.

                    The short biography of John Prentice is a must read. It is the opinion of many that John Prentice did more for Canadian chess than any other individual. ( or group of individuals )

                    And of course Kevin Spraggett's comic relief balances the intensity of his articles.


                    how difficult can it be to teach the CFC Executive to clean up the mess they make!

                    http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com

                    Comment


                    • #85
                      Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                      Nitpicks from Kevin's article:

                      "I remember when he first arrived in Montreal in the summer of 1980. He wore these goofy glasses! I first met him at the Quebec Open Chess Championship (which he won). Not understanding how the swiss tournament worked, finding himself with black in the first round, and having equalized very easily against a 1300 player, he proposed a draw (!!), which his opponent quickly snapped up!"

                      Ivanov won his first round game against Nicolas Nolin - rated about 1950. He drew his second game with Eriks Leimanis - rated about 2000. He didn't play any 1300 players. His other opponents included Guy Duschesne (1-0, 1902), Barry Popik (1/2, 2259), Sylvain Barbeau (1-0, 2272), Sergey Kudrin (1-0, 2460), Kevin Spraggett (1-0, 2503), and Leonid Bass (1-0, 2478).

                      (of the 28 Spraggett-Ivanov games in my database, Ivanov had an 8.5-7.5 edge with White, and 8.5-3.5 with Black).

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                      • #86
                        Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                        I finally understand that picture Kevin posted. His caption has a crucial "typo" in the name given he left out a crucial "vi".

                        Comment


                        • #87
                          Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                          Kevin included the study of an interesting well-known endgame by R. Reti

                          FEN: 8/4K3/8/3pk3/3R4/8/8/8 w - - 0 1

                          and with following analysis by Alain Villeneuve for Kramnik-Kasparov (m/14) possible endgames.

                          "(A.V.) took a very close look at this endgame, and published the correct analysis on the internet."
                          I could not find these analysis. Any useful link? As it is really unclear were the Kasparov's and Kramnik's teams made faults.

                          The statement
                          "1. Rg8? This natural move is the only move considered by the Kramnik/Kasparov teams, and after this move White can no longer save his game."
                          is not correct. At the Kramnik's webpage this game is analyzed and at the given position Stohl shows Rg7! (http://www.kramnik.com/eng/games/visor_comentadas.aspx)

                          The semi-worst part is that those 6 men endgames are in tablebases (e.g., http://www.k4it.de/index.php?topic=egtb&lang=en ) :D

                          FEN: 8/8/8/4p3/6R1/5kP1/3r4/6K1 w - - 0 1

                          Comment


                          • #88
                            Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                            Canadian Players That Have Dropped Off The Face of the Earth

                            Does anyone out there know the whereabouts of:

                            Leon Piasetski

                            Alex Lesiege

                            Camille Coudari

                            Peter Biyiasis

                            Leo Williams

                            And of course more great humour to keep you laughing.


                            ''Looking good!! A balanced budget!''

                            but at least the bleeding has stopped!

                            http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/

                            Comment


                            • #89
                              Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                              Leon Piasetski: - he's playing right now in the Victoria tournament mentioned elsewhere on Chesstalk.

                              Alex Lesiege: a very successful online poker and backgammon player. He says he will gladly return to chess if the appearance fee makes it worth his while. Otherwise - he's happy with the several thousand a month he makes outside of chess. He plays blitz about once a week at Montreal's Cafe Pi, and is as strong as ever.

                              Camille Coudari: runs a successful business in Montreal. He, also, makes occasional appearances at Cafe Pi.

                              Leo Williams: has/had a decent job outside of chess, and represented the Green Party in the federal election of a couple of years ago. Only one Green Party candidate in the Montreal area got more votes than he did.

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                              • #90
                                Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

                                He certainly has harsh words for the CFC Executive now...

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