From Lao Tzu

“Know the male, but stick to the female!”

                                                            Lao Tzu

MORE NORMS

Norm of Swords to the following:

Paul Atreides

Persephone

Orithya

Arwen

Hiromatsu, and

Wren Shannara

for participating in the Riddles Quiz last August 29.

Norm of Swords awarded to Paul Atreides for hurdling the Synastry Exercise.

Norm of Chalices awarded to Lady Menandore for recruiting Lady Euterpe!

Lady Euterpe, welcome to the Soulfriends family!

(Perhaps this development presages the impending creation of a Soulfriends hymn? Abangan!)

Soulfriends Baguio / Walking In The Air ☺☻♥

SF NL (Northern Luzon)

Greetings to the following SF NL Pioneers:

Klarence                                    2000 SCI

Karla Marie                                2000 SCI

Reynold (Gandalf)                    2200 SCI

Jamaica                                     2000 SCI

Claudette (Yellow)                   2200 SCI

Jane                                           2000 SCI

Fatima                                        2000 SCI

SCARBOROUGH FAIR LYRICS

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Remember me to one who lives there,

She once was a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Without no seam nor needle work,

Then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Tell her to find me an acre of land,

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Between the salt water and the sea strand,

Then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather,

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

And to gather it all in a bunch of heather,

Then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Are you going to Scarborough fair?

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Remember me to one who lives there,

She once was a true love of mine.

WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER LYRICS (Sarah Brightman)

Words and music by Brian May

Who waits forever anyway?

VLADIMIR KRAMNIK

Vladimir Kramnik

Vladimir Kramnik
Kramnik at the 2005 Corus chess tournament
Full name	Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik
Country	Russia
Born	25 June 1975 (1975-06-25) (age 35) Tuapse, USSR
Title	Grandmaster
World Champion	2000—2006 (Classical) 2006—2007 (Unified)
FIDE rating	2780 (No. 5 in the September 2010 FIDE World Rankings)
Peak rating	2809 (January 2002)[1]

Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007.

In October 2000, he defeated Garry Kasparov in a match played in London, and became the Classical World Chess Champion. In late 2004, Kramnik successfully defended his title against challenger Péter Lékó in a drawn match played in Brissago, Switzerland.

In October 2006, Kramnik, the Classical World Champion, defeated reigning FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov in a unification match, the World Chess Championship 2006. As a result Kramnik became the first undisputed World Champion, holding both the FIDE and Classical titles, since Kasparov split from FIDE in 1993.

In 2007, Kramnik lost the title to Viswanathan Anand, who won the World Chess Championship tournament ahead of Kramnik. He challenged Anand at the World Chess Championship 2008 to regain his title, but lost.

Kramnik has qualified for the Candidates Tournament which will determine the challenger to face World Champion Anand in the World Chess Championship 2012.

[edit] Early career

Vladimir Kramnik was born in the town of Tuapse, on the shores of the Black Sea. His father’s birth name was Boris Sokolov, but he took his stepfather’s surname when his mother (Vladimir’s grandmother) remarried. As a child, Vladimir Kramnik studied in the chess school established by Mikhail Botvinnik. His first notable result in a major tournament was his gold medal win as first reserve for the Russian team in the 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila. His selection for the team caused some controversy in Russia at the time, as he was only sixteen years old and had not yet been awarded the grandmaster title, but his selection was supported by Garry Kasparov.^[2] He scored eight wins, one draw, and no losses.

The following year, Kramnik played in the very strong tournament in Linares. He finished fifth, beating the then world number three, Vassily Ivanchuk, along the way. He followed this up with a string of good results, but had to wait until 1995 for his first major tournament win at normal time controls, when he won the strong Dortmund tournament, finishing it unbeaten.

In 1995, Kramnik served as a second for Kasparov in the Classical World Chess Championship 1995 match against challenger Viswanathan Anand. Kasparov won the match 10.5-7.5.

In January 1996, Kramnik became the world number-one rated player; although having the same FIDE rating as Kasparov (2775), Kramnik became number-one by having played more games during the rating period in question. This was the first time since December 1985 that Kasparov was not world number-one, and Kramnik’s six month stretch (January through June 1996) as world number-one would be the only time from January 1986 through March 2006 where Kasparov was not world number-one. By becoming number-one, Kramnik became the youngest ever to reach world number-one, breaking Kasparov’s record; this record would stand for 14 years until being broken by Magnus Carlsen in January 2010.

Kramnik continued to produce good results, including winning at Dortmund (outright or tied) nine times from 1995 to 2009. He is the second of only five chess players to have reached a rating of 2800 (the first being Kasparov).

Ironically, during his reign as world champion, Kramnik never regained the world number-one ranking, doing so only in January 2008 after he had lost the title to Viswanathan Anand; as in 1996, Kramnik had the same FIDE rating as Anand (2799) but became number-one due to more games played within the rating period. Kramnik’s 12 years between world-number one rankings is the longest since the inception of the FIDE ranking system in 1971.

[edit] Playing style

Garry Kasparov described Kramnik’s style as pragmatic and tenacious, in the latter similar to Anatoly Karpov.^[3] He is one of the toughest opponents to defeat, losing only one game in over more than one hundred games leading up to his match with Kasparov, including eighty consecutive games without loss.^[4][5] Kasparov was unable to defeat Kramnik during their 2000 World Championship match, mainly due to Kramnik’s very solid black opening repertoire where he, surprisingly, adopted the Berlin Defence of the Ruy Lopez which allowed him to neutralize Kasparov’s 1.e4.

[edit] World championship results

[edit] Early setbacks

In the mid- and late-90s, Kramnik, although considered one of the strongest players in the world, suffered several setbacks in his attempts to qualify for a World Championship match. In 1994, he lost a quarterfinal candidates match for the PCA championship to Gata Kamsky 1.5-4.5, and later that year, lost a semifinal candidates match for the FIDE championship to Boris Gelfand with the score 3.5-4.5. In 1998, Kramnik faced Alexei Shirov in a Candidates match for the right to play Garry Kasparov for the Classical World Chess Championship, and lost 3.5-5.5. In 1999, Kramnik participated in the FIDE knockout championship in Las Vegas, and lost in the quarterfinals to Michael Adams 2-4.

[edit] 2000 World Championship

Suitable sponsorship was not found for a Kasparov-Shirov match, and it never took place. In 2000, sponsorship was secured for a Kasparov-Kramnik match instead. This was somewhat controversial, making Kramnik the first player since 1935 to play a world championship match without qualifying.

In 2000, Kramnik played a sixteen game match against Garry Kasparov in London, for the Classical Chess World Championship. Kramnik began the match as underdog, but his adoption of the Berlin Defence to Kasparov’s Ruy Lopez opening was very effective. With the white pieces, Kramnik pressed Kasparov hard, winning Games Two and Ten and overlooking winning continuations in Games Four and Six. Kasparov put up little fight thereafter, agreeing to short draws with the white pieces in Games 9 and 13. Kramnik won the match 8.5 - 6.5 without losing a game (this was only the second time in history that a World Champion had lost a match without winning a single game). This event marked the first time Kasparov had been beaten in a World Championship match.

Kramnik’s performance won him the Chess Oscar for 2000; this was the first time he had received the award.

[edit] After London

In October 2002, Kramnik competed in Brains in Bahrain, an eight game match against the chess computer Deep Fritz in Bahrain. Kramnik started well, taking a 3 - 1 lead after four games. However, in game five, Kramnik made what has been described as the worst blunder of his career (a blunder that pales in comparison to his loss against Deep Fritz 10 in 2006), losing a knight in a position which was probably drawn. He quickly resigned. He also resigned game six after making a speculative sacrifice, although subsequent analysis showed that with perfect play, he might have been able to draw from the final position. The last two games were drawn, and the match ended tied at 4 - 4.

In February 2004 Kramnik won the Tournament of Linares outright for the first time (he had tied for first with Kasparov in 2000), finishing undefeated with a +2 score, ahead of Garry Kasparov, the world’s highest-rated player at the time.

[edit] 2004 title defense

From 25 September 2004 until 18 October 2004, retained his title as Classical World Chess Champion against challenger Péter Lékó at Brissago, Switzerland, by barely drawing the match in the last game. The 14-game match was poised in favor of Lékó right up until Kramnik won the final game, thus forcing a 7 - 7 draw and ensuring that Kramnik remained world champion.^[6] The prize fund was 1 million Swiss francs, which was about USD $770,000 at the time. Because of the drawn result, the prize was split between the two players.

[edit] 2006 Reunification match

When Garry Kasparov broke with FIDE, the federation governing professional chess, to play the 1993 World Championship with Nigel Short, he created a rift in the chess world. In response, FIDE sanctioned a match between Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman for the FIDE World Championship, which Karpov won. Subsequently, the chess world has seen two “champions”: the “classical” championship, claiming lineage dating back to Steinitz; and the FIDE endorsed champion.

When Kramnik defeated Kasparov and inherited Kasparov’s title, he also inherited some controversies because he was handpicked to play for the title after he had just lost the qualifying match against Alexei Shirov in 1998.

At the next FIDE world championship (FIDE World Chess Championship 2005), Kramnik refused to participate, but indicated his willingness to play a match against the winner to unify the world championship. After the tournament, negotiations began for a reunification match between Kramnik and the new FIDE World Champion — Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

In April 2006, FIDE announced a reunification match between Kramnik and Topalov — the FIDE World Chess Championship 2006. The match took place in Elista, Kalmykia. After the first four games, Kramnik led 3-1 (out of a maximum of 12). After the fourth game, however, Topalov protested that Kramnik was using the toilet suspiciously frequently, implying that he was somehow receiving outside assistance whilst doing so. Topalov said that he would refuse to shake hands with Kramnik in the remaining games. The Appeals committee decided that the players’ toilets be locked and that they be forced to use a shared toilet, accompanied by an assistant arbiter.

Kramnik refused to play the fifth game unless the original conditions agreed for the match were adhered to. As a result, the point was awarded to Topalov, reducing Kramnik’s lead to 3-2. Kramnik stated that the appeals committee was biased and demanded that it be replaced. As a condition to continue the match, Kramnik insisted on playing the remaining games under the original conditions of the match contract, which allows use of the bathroom at the players’ discretion.

The controversy resulted in a heavy volume of correspondence to Chessbase and other publications. The balance of views from fans was in support of Kramnik.^[7] Prominent figures in the chess world, such as John Nunn, Yasser Seirawan, and Bessel Kok also sided with Kramnik.^[8][9][10] The Russian and Bulgarian Chess Federations supported their respective players.^[11] Kramnik’s behavior during the match earned him widespread support in the chess community.

After twelve regular games the match was tied 6-6, although Kramnik continued to dispute the result of the unplayed fifth game until the end of the match. On 13 October 2006 the result of this disputed game became irrelevant as Kramnik won the rapid tie-break by a score of 2.5-1.5.

Kramnik’s victory helped him win the Chess Oscar for 2006, the second of his career.

[edit] 2007 world championship tournament in Mexico

Kramnik, winner at Dortmund 2007

When Kramnik won the 2006 unification match, he also won Topalov’s berth in the 2007 World Championship as the incumbent FIDE champion. Although the rationale behind his (and Garry Kasparov’s) “classical” title is that the title should change hands by challenge match rather than by tournament, Kramnik stated that he would recognize the winner of this tournament as being the world champion.^[12]

In the tournament, held in September 2007, Kramnik finished in a second-place tie with Boris Gelfand. The tournament, and the world championship, was won by Viswanathan Anand.

[edit] 2008 match

Kramnik was granted a rematch to challenge Anand for the world title in 2008 in Bonn. He fell victim to Anand’s superior preparation and was convincingly outplayed, losing three of the first six games (two with the white pieces). Kramnik’s play gradually improved, and although he managed a 29 move victory in game 10,^[13] he was unable to win any others, and lost the match to Anand by a score of 6.5 to 4.5 (3 wins to Anand, 1 win to Kramnik, 7 draws).

[edit] 2009

Kramnik had exceptionally good results in 2009, winning once again in Dortmund and then winning the Category 21 (average ELO = 2763) Tal Memorial in Moscow with 6.0/9 and a 2883 performance rating ahead of world champion Anand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Boris Gelfand, former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, Peter Leko, Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich. Following this result, Kramnik stated that his goal was to regain the World Championship title.^[14]

He also participated in the London Chess Classic in December, finishing second to Magnus Carlsen, losing their head-to-head encounter on the Black side of the English Opening. Kramnik’s performance in 2009 allowed his rating (average of July 2009 and January 2010 ratings) to be high enough to qualify for the Candidates Tournament to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2012.

[edit] 2010

Kramnik began 2010 at the Corus chess tournament in the Netherlands, during which he defeated new world number-one Carlsen with the Black pieces in their head-to-head encounter, ending Carlsen’s 36-match unbeaten streak.^[15] A late loss to Viswanathan Anand knocked him out of first place, and Kramnik finished with 8.0/13, tying for second place with Alexei Shirov behind Carlsen’s 8.5 points.

In May 2010 it was revealed that Kramnik had aided Viswanathan Anand in preparation for the World Chess Championship 2010 against challenger Veselin Topalov. Anand won the match 6.5-5.5 to retain the title.^[16]

Kramnik also participated in Dortmund, but had a subpar showing, losing to eventual champion Ruslan Ponomariov and finishing in joint third place with 5.0/10.^[17] He then participated in the Grand Slam Chess Masters preliminary tournament in Shanghai from September 3rd to 8th, where he faced world #4 Levon Aronian, Alexei Shirov, and Wang Hao; the top two scorers qualified for the Grand Slam final supertournament from October 9th to 15th in Bilbao against Carlsen and Anand.^[18] Scoring 3.0/6, Kramnik tied for second place with Aronian behind the winner Shirov’s 4.5/6. In the blitz playoff, Kramnik defeated Aronian to qualify along with Shirov for the Grand Slam final.^[19]

[edit] Deep Fritz match

Kramnik played a six-game match against the computer program Deep Fritz in Bonn, Germany from 25 November to 5 December 2006, losing 2-4 to the machine, with 2 losses and 4 draws. He received 500,000 Euros for playing and would have received another 500,000 Euros had he won the match. Deep Fritz version 10 ran on a computer containing two Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs. Kramnik received a copy of the program in mid-October for testing, but the final version included an updated opening book.^[20] Except for limited updates to the opening book, the program was not allowed to be changed during the course of the match. The endgame tablebases used by the program were restricted to 5 pieces^[21] even though a complete 6 piece tablebase is widely available.

On 25 November the first game ended in a draw at the 47th move.^[22] A number of commentators believe Kramnik missed a win.^[23] Two days later, the second game resulted in a victory for Deep Fritz, when Kramnik made what might be called the “blunder of the century” according to Susan Polgar, when he failed to defend against a threatened mate-in-one.^[24] (see also Deep Fritz vs. Vladimir Kramnik blunder). The third, fourth and fifth games in the match ended in draws. In the last game Fritz with the white pieces impressively defeated the World Champion,^[25] winning the match.

There is now speculation that interest in human vs. computer chess competition will plummet as a result of the Bonn match and other recent matches involving Kasparov, Kramnik, Adams, and various chess programs. According to McGill University computer science professor Monty Newborn, for example, “the science is done”.^[26]

[edit] Private life and health

Kramnik has been diagnosed with an uncommon form of arthritis, called ankylosing spondylitis. It causes him great physical discomfort while playing. In January 2006, Kramnik announced that he would skip the Corus Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee to seek out treatment for his arthritis.^[27] He returned from treatment in June 2006, playing in the 37th Chess Olympiad. He scored a +4 result, earning the highest performance rating (2847) of the 1307 participating players.

On 30 December 2006 he married French journalist Marie-Laure Germon. He has a daughter named Daria who was born 28 December 2008.^[28]

[edit] Notable tournament victories

[edit] World championship matches and qualifiers

• PCA Quarterfinals, June 1994, New York, Kramnik-Gata Kamsky (1.5-4.5).
• FIDE Semifinals, August 1994 Sanghi Nagar, Kramnik-Boris Gelfand (3.5-4.5).
• Classical WCC Candidates Match, 1998, Cazorla, Kramnik-Alexei Shirov (3.5-5.5).
• FIDE WCC Knockout Quarterfinals, July 1999, Las Vegas, Kramnik-Michael Adams (2-4, including rapid playoff).
• Classical World Chess Championship 2000, London, Kramnik-Garry Kasparov (8.5-6.5)
• Classical World Chess Championship 2004, Brissago, Kramnik-Péter Lékó (7-7), Kramnik retains.
• FIDE World Chess Championship 2006, Elista, Kramnik-Topalov (6-6, 2.5-1.5 rapid playoff), Kramnik unifies the title
• FIDE World Chess Championship 2007 Runner up, Mexico City, (loses the title to Anand, joint second Gelfand).
• World Chess Championship 2008, Bonn, Kramnik-Anand (4.5-6.5), Anand retains
• World Chess Championship 2012 Candidates Match Quarterfinals, April 2011, Kazan, Kramnik-Mamedyarov (to be determined)

DIRGE TO A LAZY SEEKER

DIRGE TO A LAZY APPRENTICE

 By QZP

Your labors are sparse, do you

take me for a fool then, lazy one, for if

one who dreams of cathedrals stoops to

the level of imbeciles, what glories

the Summit may offer are drowned

in the bestial cries of ignorance?

Your labors are sparse, do you

perchance play a game of hide

and seek in the caverns of matter soiled

by the blood of a thousand hermits and

martyrs whose names are dust in the winds

of time and fortune?

Your labors are sparse, do you

lack the joy of beating hearts and seek

solace in the palms of our communal suffering

entwined in the embrace of solitude whose

face you spurn in the light of the retreat

of your mirror from your beloved’s embrace?

Your labors are sparse, have you designed to

snatch time from your brothers and sisters

whose brows sweat from the toil of fighting

 against the vagaries of corporeal existence marred

by man’s unwillingness to wield hammer against

the stone of apathy and misunderstanding?

Your labors are sparse, do you

play with the toys of youth, seeing that

time is against your side and endeavor

to ravish your senses upon the dying of

the Light in these deserts of sorrow, sands

ticking away so unobtrusively?

Your labors are sparse, do you

realize that waiting for the mere scraps

of knowledge thrown upon the pleasures

of your boat are pale reflections of what

can be gleaned from the veritable

ocean of divine wisdom you have missed?

Your labors are sparse, then let us allow

you to die the slow death of oblivion

matching the ebbing of your memory from our

minds with the surety that we have not

missed you for you were never at our sides

in this fearless voyage of the Mystics!

APHORISM OF LADY PERSEPHONE

What is a Soulfriend?

“A joy in the heart, 

a puzzle in the mind,

a completeness in the soul.”

TO LADY ORITHYA

To Lady Orithya,

Greetings!

This is to officially announce your promotion as Inspector-General of Soulfriends Baguio. This is an independent office. Your immediate superior shall be the Intricati. You are answerable only to the Intricati and myself.

Your duties:

Study ways of improving the performance of every member of Soulfriends Baguio.

Enforce the Code of Ethics of the Soulfriends. Report any breach of conduct to the Intricati or the President directly.

Maintain and submit a record of your performance appraisal for every member of Soulfriends Baguio. This shall be known as the IGA, or the Inspector-General’s Appraisal and Evaluation system. Its rating components are letter C and letter R. The mark C means “competent or satisfactory rating.” On the other hand, the mark R means “recommended for disciplinary action and/or unsatisfactory performance.” Kindly maintain your IGA ratings in a notebook specifically designed for that purpose. Let us, say, have IGA’s once a month. You may begin for the month of August.

Be the paragon or exemplar of group spirit, morale and motivation.

All other duties as assigned by the President.

Congratulations and blessed be!

Fraternally yours,

Sensei

PROMOTIONS

To Lady Isis, you are promoted as the new External Affairs Officer of Soulfriends Baguio! Congratulations!

You will head the newly-formed EXECOM, External Affairs Committee, to be composed of the following:

Isis, Chairman

Arwen, Member

Persephone, Member

Paul Atreides, Member

Siren Solfege, Member

It is my belief that you have an idea of the goals of this new committee. I shall post your full mandate soon. 

(P. S. To Lady Isis, a gift for a gift. 

Upon full approval of our “classified project” I am presenting a gift to the UC Guidance personnel. I will cast natal charts for ALL guidance counselors who are interested, FOR FREE, most especially Sir Roland. This data is required:

complete name 

complete birthday

accurate time of birth

birth place. 

May our “impending partnership” be beneficial for all concerned. I shall present your natal charts on the “date” of our “classified project.” For now, it remains known only to you, Arwen, Perse and myself. Blessed be! Hope this makes the UC Guidance personnel happy.

To Paul Atreides, 

Greetings! 

You are promoted as the Junior External Affairs Officer, your immediate superior being Lady Isis!

Congrats!

SCI (As of August 27, 2010)

2650     Wren Shannara

2650     Persephone

2625     Isis

2625     Arwen

2615     Andromeda

2610     Chuang Tzu

2610     Demeter

2600     Siren Solfege

2600     Urduja

2599     Radagast the Brown

Congratulations and more power!

Soulfriends evolve!

(Note: This is shaping up to be the most interesting and exciting contest in our history.)

Awards

For their exceptional performance today, the following are awarded the Norm of Staves:

Lady Isis and 

Lady Arwen

Congratulations!

And you have followed up that initiative with an actual and official letter of communication, so 

you are awarded the Norm of Swords each. You are now in the hunt for the highest honors.

More power! Blessed be Lady Isis!

and now, at last, you make me proud my daughter Arwen!

Hmmmm…….

Voting Poll #2

Please refresh after viewing the result.

Voting Poll for SF of 2010

Please refresh after viewing the result.

Vote Now.. (”,)

VASILY SMYSLOV

Vasily Smyslov

Vasily Smyslov
Full name	Vasily Vasilyevich (Vasilievich) Smyslov
Country	Soviet Union
Born	24 March 1921(1921-03-24) Moscow, Soviet Union
Died	27 March 2010 (aged 89) Moscow, Russia
Title	Grandmaster
World Champion	1957–1958
Peak rating	2620 (July 1971)

Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov (Russian: Василий Васильевич Смыслов; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010)^[1] was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions (1948, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1965, 1983, and 1985). Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship (1949, 1955), and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won is an all-time record. In five European Team Championships, Smyslov won ten gold medals. He remained active and successful in competitive chess well into the 1960s and 1970s and he qualified for the finals of the World Championship Candidates’ Matches as late as 1983. Despite failing eyesight, he remained active in the occasional composition of chess problems and studies until shortly before his death from heart failure.

[edit] Early years

Smyslov (pronounced “smiz-LOFF”) first became interested in chess at the age of 6. His father, Vasily Osipovich Smyslov, worked as an engineering technician and had represented the St. Petersburg Technical Institute in intercollegiate chess competitions. Smyslov’s father had also studied chess for a time under the tutelage of Mikhail Chigorin and the senior Smyslov became the boy’s first teacher. The elder Smyslov gave his son a copy of Alexander Alekhine’s book My Best Games of Chess 1908–1923 and the future world champion would later write that this book became his constant reference. He would also write that “…I was later to read everything that my father had in his library: Dufresne’s handbook, separate numbers of the Soviet chess magazines Chess and Chess Sheet, the text-books of Lasker and Capablanca, and the collections of games of Soviet and international tournaments. The games of the great Russian chess master M. I. Tchigorin made an indelible impression on me; it was with interest that I read the various declarations on questions of strategy by A. I. Nimzovitch; I studied attentively the genius of prominent Soviet masters.”

Smyslov’s competitive chess experiences began at the age of 14, when he started taking part in classification tournaments. In 1938, at age 17, Smyslov won the USSR Junior Championship. That same year, he tied for 1st–2nd places in the Moscow City Championship, with 12.5/17. However, Smyslov’s first attempt at adult competition outside his own city fell short; he placed 12th–13th in the Leningrad–Moscow International tournament of 1939 with 8/17 in an exceptionally strong field. In the Moscow Championship of 1939–40 Smyslov placed 2nd–3rd with 9/13.

[edit] War years

In his first Soviet final, the 1940 USSR Championship (Moscow, URS-ch12), he performed exceptionally well for 3rd place with 13/19, finishing ahead of the reigning champion Mikhail Botvinnik. This tournament was the strongest Soviet final up to that time, as it included several players, such as Paul Keres and Vladas Mikėnas, from countries annexed by the USSR, as part of the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939.

The Soviet Federation held a further tournament of the top six from the 1940 event, and this was called the 1941 Absolute Championship of the USSR, one of the strongest tournaments ever organized. The format saw each player meet his opponents four times. The players were Botvinnik, Keres, Smyslov, Isaac Boleslavsky, Igor Bondarevsky, and Andor Lilienthal. Smyslov scored 10/20 for third place, behind Botvinnik and Keres. This proved that Smyslov was of genuine world-class Grandmaster strength at age 20, a very rare achievement at that time.

The Second World War forced a halt to most international chess. But several tournaments involving Soviet players only were still organized. Smyslov won the 1942 Moscow Championship outright with a powerful 12/15. At Kuibyshev 1942, he placed second with 8/11. In a strong field at Sverdlovsk 1943, Smyslov tied for 3rd–4th places with 8/14. In the 1943–44 Moscow Championship, Smyslov tied for 3rd–4th with 11.5/16. He finished second in the 1944 USSR Championship at Moscow (URS-ch13) with 10.5/16. He emerged as champion from the 1944–45 Moscow Championship with 13/16. By this juncture, Smyslov had advanced into the group of the top three Soviet players, along with Botvinnik and Keres (who was playing in Nazi-occupied Europe during the War).

As the war ended, organized chess picked up again. But Smyslov’s form hit a serious slump in the immediate post-war period. In the 1945 USSR Championship at Moscow (URS-ch14), Smyslov was in the middle of the very powerful field with 8.5/17; the winner was Botvinnik, with Boleslavsky and the new star David Bronstein occupying second and third places. At Tallinn 1945, Smyslov had the worst result of his career to date, scoring just 6.5/15 in a not especially strong field. It was little better in the Moscow Championship of 1945–46, as he could only score 7.5/15 for a tie of 7th–11th places, as Bronstein won. Then in the Moscow Championship of 1946, Smyslov scored just 8.5/15, for a tie of 3rd–6th places, as Bronstein won again. During this period he scored just 31/62 in those four tournaments, for 50 per cent.

Nevertheless, Smyslov’s earlier strong results secured him one of the five Soviet places in the first really strong post-war international tournament, at Groningen, Netherlands, in August 1946. This event, the Howard Staunton Memorial, was won by Botvinnik with 14.5/19, half a point ahead of former World Champion Max Euwe. Smyslov finished third with 12.5/19, and this confirmed his status as one of the world’s top players.

Smyslov found it tough going for the next while however, once he was back playing in Soviet events. In the next Soviet Championship (URS-ch15, Leningrad 1947), he tied for 3rd–4th places with 12/19, as Keres won. At Pärnu 1947, Smyslov scored 8/13 for a tied 4th–6th places, as Keres won again. At Warsaw 1947, Smyslov scored 6/9 to tie for 2nd–5th places; the winner was Svetozar Gligorić. In the Mikhail Chigorin Memorial tournament, Moscow 1947, Smyslov tied for 3rd–4th places, with 10/15, as Botvinnik won.

His results showed a consistent pattern of high finishes against strong company, but with virtually no tournament championships. Smyslov had never actually won an adult tournament other than the Moscow City Championship, before he played in the 1948 World Championship Tournament.

[edit] World title challenger

Smyslov was one of the five players selected to compete for the 1948 World Chess Championship tournament to determine who should succeed the late Alexander Alekhine as champion. His selection was questioned in some quarters, but this criticism was amply rebutted when he finished second behind Mikhail Botvinnik, with a score of 11/20.

With his second-place finish from the 1948 World Championship, Smyslov was exempt into the 1950 Budapest Candidates’ tournament. Smyslov scored 10/18 for third place, behind Bronstein and Boleslavsky, who tied for first place. Smyslov’s third place exempted him into the next Candidates’ tournament. He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1950 by FIDE on its inaugural list.

After winning the Candidates Tournament in Zürich 1953, with 18/28, two points ahead of Keres, Bronstein, and Samuel Reshevsky, Smyslov played a match with Botvinnik for the title the following year. Sited at Moscow, the match ended in a draw, after 24 games (seven wins each and ten draws), meaning that Botvinnik retained his title.

[edit] World Champion

Smyslov had again won the Candidates’ Tournament at Amsterdam in 1956, which led to another world championship match against Botvinnik in 1957. Assisted by trainers Vladimir Makogonov and Vladimir Simagin, Smyslov won by the score 12.5–9.5. The following year, Botvinnik exercised his right to a rematch, and won the title back with a final score of 12.5–10.5. Smyslov later said his health suffered during the return match, as he came down with pneumonia, but he also acknowledged that Botvinnik had prepared very thoroughly.^[2] Over the course of the three World Championship matches, Smyslov had won 18 games to Botvinnik’s 17 (with 34 draws), and yet he was only champion for a year. Yet Smyslov was to write in his autobiographical games collection Smyslov’s Best Games, “I have no reason to complain of my fate. I fulfilled my dream and became the seventh world champion in the history of chess.”^[2]

[edit] Later World Championships

Smyslov did not qualify for another World Championship, but continued to play in World Championship qualifying events. In 1959, he was a Candidate, but finished fourth in the qualifying tournament held in Yugoslavia, which was won by the rising superstar Mikhail Tal. He missed out in 1962, but was back in 1964, following a first-place tie at the Amsterdam Interzonal, with 17/23. However he lost his first-round match to Efim Geller.

In 1983, at the age of 62, he went through to the Candidates’ Final (the match to determine who plays the champion, in that case Anatoly Karpov), losing 8.5–4.5 at Vilnius 1984 to Garry Kasparov, who was 21 at the time, and who went on to beat Karpov to become world champion in 1985. He had beaten Zoltan Ribli 6.5–4.5 in the semifinal, but drew his quarter-final match against Robert Hübner 7–7, with the advancing player (Smyslov) determined only by the spin of a roulette wheel. His final Candidates’ appearance was the Montpellier 1985 tournament, where he did not advance.

[edit] Soviet Championships

Smyslov was a frequent competitor at the Soviet Championships and enjoyed some notable successes. In 1940, while still a teenager, he finished third behind Bondarevsky and Lilienthal. At the 13th Championship in 1944, he placed second behind Botvinnik and in 1947, shared third with Bondarevsky, after Keres and Boleslavsky.

He was a joint winner of the contest in 1949 and again in 1955 (with Bronstein and Geller respectively). Whilst the 1949 title was shared, the 1955 title was awarded to Geller after a play-off.

Much later in his career he showed that he could still mount a credible challenge; he took a share of third place in 1969 (behind Petrosian and Polugaevsky) and in 1971, was joint runner-up with Tal, after Savon.

[edit] Post-war tournament record

Smyslov maintained an active tournament schedule throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, registering many top three finishes in some of the most prestigious tournaments of the period.

In 1950, he was second behind Kotov at Venice and in 1951, won The Chigorin Memorial, held in Leningrad. He shared third place with Botvinnik at Budapest (The Maróczy Memorial) in 1952, after Keres and Geller. In 1953, he won a training tournament in Gagra and finished third at Bucharest, behind Tolush and Petrosian. At the 1954/55 edition of the Hastings Congress, he shared first place with Keres. At Zagreb 1955, he was sole winner, two clear points ahead of the field. He continued his winning streak at Moscow’s Alekhine Memorial in 1956, a victory shared with his constant rival, Botvinnik. During this period, there were several triumphs in his city of birth, when he shared first place with Bronstein and Spassky in 1959, was a joint winner in both 1961 (with Kholmov) and 1962 (with Vasiukov), and won outright in 1963.

His good form continued throughout the sixties. There were shares of second place at Dortmund 1961 (after Taimanov) and at Mar del Plata 1962 (after Polugaevsky). He travelled again to Hastings at the end of 1962 and registered third place behind Gligoric and Kotov. In 1963, he was second at Sochi (The Chigorin Memorial) after Polugaevsky. His visit to Havana’s Capablanca Memorial in 1964 resulted in a share of first with the East German, Uhlmann. He took outright first at the same tournament the following year. In 1966, there were victories at Mar del Plata and at The Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica Zdroj. In 1967, he was second to Fischer at Monte Carlo, won at Moscow and took second after Stein at the city’s Alekhine Memorial tournament. He placed third the same year at The Capablanca Memorial in Havana (after Larsen and Taimanov) and finished third again at Palma de Mallorca 1967 and Monte Carlo 1968, the latter two events both being headed by Larsen and Botvinnik. This was also the year he repeated his previous success at Polanica Zdroj, taking outright first. His next trip to Hastings also ended in triumph, as he took clear first at the 1968/69 edition. The sixties drew to a close with victory at Monte Carlo 1969 (shared with Portisch) and a share of third place at Skopje 1969 (with Uhlmann and Kholmov, after Hort and Matulovic).

While less prolific than in previous decades, Smyslov played many strong tournaments in the seventies and even into the eighties and beyond. He was joint runner-up with Hort, Gligoric and Korchnoi at Rovinj/Zagreb 1970, after Fischer. A winner at Amsterdam in 1971, he came third at The Alekhine Memorial (Moscow) the same year, after Karpov and Stein. At Las Palmas 1972, he was second equal with Larsen, behind Portisch and in 1973, topped The Capablanca Memorial in Cienfuegos. First place followed at Reykjavik in 1974 and at the Venice tournament of the same year, he finished second behind Liberzon. There followed a second place at The Alexander Memorial (Teesside) in 1975 (after Geller), a first place at Szolnok (also 1975), and a multi-way share of second at the large Lone Pine Open of 1976 (Petrosian won). He finished third behind Romanishin and Tal at Leningrad in 1977, when all three eclipsed the efforts of then world champion Anatoly Karpov. In 1978, he won at São Paulo and finished with a share of second at Buenos Aires, after Andersson. As the seventies ended, he took first place at Berlin 1979, this time shared with Csom.

Notable outcomes for 1980 included joint first places at San Miguel (with Browne, Panno, Emma) and at Copenhagen (the Politiken Cup, with Mikhalchishin). The same year, he finished second at Bar, after Petrosian and second at Baguio City, after Torre. At Moscow 1981, he joined Kasparov and Polugaevsky in second place, behind Karpov. A further Hastings visit in 1981/82 resulted in a share of second place, with Speelman, after Kupreichik. He was first at Graz in 1984 and first equal at Copenhagen (Politiken Cup) 1986 with Chernin, Pigusov and Cserna. He played at Reggio Emilia over the New Year of 1986/87 and shared second spot with Hort, Chernin and Spassky, after Ribli. At Hastings in 1988/89, he took a share of third with Gulko and Speelman, behind Short and Korchnoi.

His tournament appearances were relatively more sparse in the nineties, but results included a share of first at Buenos Aires 1990 and a share of second at Malmö (Sigeman) in 1997, after Hellers.

[edit] Team competition

Smyslov and Yuri Averbach, 2002

Smyslov represented the Soviet Union a total of nine times at chess Olympiads, from 1952 to 1972 inclusive, excepting only 1962 and 1966. He contributed mightily to team gold medal wins on each occasion he played, winning a total of eight individual medals. His total of 17 Olympiad medals won, including team and individual medals, is an all-time Olympiad record, according to olimpbase.org.

At Helsinki 1952, he played second board, and won the individual gold medal with 10.5/13. At Amsterdam 1954, he was again on second board, scored 9/12, and took the individual bronze medal. At Moscow 1956, he scored 8.5/13 on second board, but failed to win a medal. At Munich 1958, he made 9.5/13 on second board, good for the silver individual medal. At Leipzig 1960, he was dropped to first reserve, and made a great score of 11.5/13, which won the gold medal.
After missing out on selection in 1962, he returned for Tel Aviv 1964, on third board, and won the gold medal with 11/13. He missed selection in 1966, but returned with a vengeance for Lugano 1968, and made a phenomenal 11/12 for another gold medal as second reserve. At Siegen 1970, he was first reserve, and scored 8/11 for the bronze medal. His final Olympiad was Skopje 1972, where at age 51 he played third board and scored 11/14, good for the silver medal.

His overall Olympiad score is an imposing 90 points in 113 games (+69 = 42 − 2), for 79.6 per cent. This performance is the fifth all-time best for players participating to at least four olympiads Chess Olympiads#Best individual results in men’s Olympiads.

Smyslov also represented the USSR in five European Team Championships, and emerged with a perfect medals’ record: he won five team gold medals and five board gold medals. His total score in these events was (+19 = 15 − 1), for 75.7 per cent. From olimpbase.org, here is his European teams’ data.

• Vienna 1957: board 1, 3.5/6 (+2 = 3 − 1), board and team gold medals;
• Oberhausen 1961: board 5, 9/9 (+7 = 2 − 0), board and team gold medals;
• Hamburg 1965: board 4, 6/9 (+3 = 6 − 0), board and team gold medals;
• Kapfenberg 1970: board 5, 5/6 (+4 = 2 − 0), board and team gold medals;
• Bath, Somerset 1973: board 6, 4/5 (+3 = 2 − 0), board and team gold medals.

Smyslov played for the USSR in both the 1970 and 1984 matches against teams representing the Rest of the World. He was on board six at Belgrade in 1970, and on board four at London in 1984, with the Soviets winning both matches.

[edit] Final years

In 1991 Smyslov won the inaugural World Senior Chess Championship. He played no competitive games after the 2001 Klompendans Veterans versus Ladies tournament in Amsterdam. His Elo rating after this event was 2494.

Smyslov died of heart failure in hospital in Moscow on the morning of 27 March 2010, three days after his 89th birthday.^[3][4][5][6]

[edit] Legacy

Vasily Smyslov congratulates Yuri Averbakh at his 80th birthday and presents him with a book of his own chess studies.

Smyslov was known for his positional style, and, in particular, his precise handling of the endgame, but many of his games featured spectacular tactical shots as well. He made enormous contributions to chess opening theory in many openings, including the English Opening, Grünfeld Defence, and the Sicilian Defence. He has a variation of the Closed Ruy Lopez named for him: the line runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 h6. Smyslov also successfully revived the Fianchetto Defence to the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6) in the 1970s. In the Slav Defence, the main line with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 is named the Czech or Smyslov Variation.

Perhaps in tribute to his probing intellect, Stanley Kubrick named a character after him in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey.^[7]

[edit] Opera singer

Smyslov was a fine baritone singer, who only positively decided upon a chess career after a failed audition with the Bolshoi Theatre in 1950. He once said, “I have always lived between chess and music.” On the occasion of a game against Mikhail Botvinnik, he sang to an audience of thousands. He occasionally gave recitals during chess tournaments, often accompanied by fellow Grandmaster and concert pianist Mark Taimanov. Smyslov once wrote that he tried to achieve harmony on the chess board, with each piece assisting the others.^[8]

[edit] Notable chess games

• Tigran Petrosian vs Vasily Smyslov, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949, Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation (B84), 0–1 The first meeting of two future World Champions goes to Smyslov in a precise positional performance.
• Vasily Smyslov vs Efim Geller, USSR Championship, Moscow 1951, Sicilian Defence, Closed Variation (B26), 1–0 Smyslov used the Closed Sicilian periodically throughout his life, and made many important improvements.
• Paul Keres vs Vasily Smyslov, Zurich Candidates’ Tournament 1953, English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense. Hedgehog System (A17) 0–1 In a vital late-tournament encounter, Smyslov fights off Keres’ very dangerous attack, to put himself in the driver’s seat towards winning the tournament.
• Vasily Smyslov vs Mikhail Botvinnik, World Championship Match, Moscow 1954, game 9, French Defence, Winawer Variation (C17), 1–0 Smyslov blows up one of the World Champion’s favourite variations with a queen sacrifice to score a stunning win.
• Mikhail Botvinnik vs Vasily Smyslov, World Championship Match, Moscow 1954, game 14, King’s Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E68), 0–1 With one of the deepest pre-game home preparations ever seen, Smyslov unleashes a chain of tactical wizardry, including a queen sacrifice, to record a beautiful win which fundamentally changed the theory in this variation.
• Vasily Smyslov vs David Bronstein, Candidates’ Tournament, Amsterdam 1956, English Opening (A34), 1–0 The two players were fighting for the right to qualify, late in the tournament, and Smyslov finds a way to come out on top.
• Vasily Smyslov vs Mikhail Tal, Candidates’ Tournament, Yugoslavia 1959, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf / Opecensky Variation (B92), 1–0 It was their first-ever meeting, and the young star Tal gets a sharp lesson from the veteran.
• Robert Fischer vs Vasily Smyslov, Candidates’ Tournament, Yugoslavia 1959, Sicilian Defence, Fischer / Sozin Variation (B86), 0–1 The 16-year-old Fischer had honed this opening line into a formidable weapon, but here Smyslov shows him a few new wrinkles.
• Vasily Smyslov vs Boris Spassky, Moscow vs Leningrad team match 1960, Alekhine’s Defence (B05), 1–0 Spassky tries the unusual Alekhine’s Defence and is beaten in fairly short order.
• Vasily Smyslov vs Anatoly Karpov, USSR Championship, Leningrad 1971, English Opening / Queen’s Gambit (A34), 1–0 Karpov was the young rising star, but here he lasts for only 29 moves against Smyslov, who is 30 years older.
• Vasily Smyslov vs Garry Kasparov, Soviet Olympiad Training tournament (?) 1980, Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation (B84), 1–0 Smyslov spots the young Kasparov 42 years, but shows chess is a game for all ages with a precise victory over the future World Champion.

[edit] Books by Smyslov

• Vasily Smyslov (2003) Smyslov’s Best Games, Volume 1: 1935–1957 (Moravian Chess Publishing House)
• Vasily Smyslov (2003) Smyslov’s Best Games, Volume 2: 1958–1995 (Moravian Chess Publishing House)
• Vasily Smyslov (1997) Endgame Virtuoso (Cadogan)
• Vasily Smyslov (1995) Smyslov’s 125 Selected Games (modern edition published by Everyman Chess)
• Grigory Levenfish and Vasily Smyslov (1971) Rook Endings (Batsford Edition)

Synastry Exercise

So far, the following have obtained correct answers in the Synastry Exercise: 

Lady Persephone

Lady Andromeda

Sir Chuang Tzu

Lady Kassandra, and 

Lady Wren Shannara

Congrats!

Norm of Staves

For participating in a unique mini-ritual last night, the following are awarded each a Norm of Staves:

The High Priestess

The 2009 Soulfriends of the Year

Radagast the Brown, SF Ambassador to the Cordilleras

and the Intricati. Congratulations!

Thus, the Lady of the Whispering Lake has suddenly vaulted to the top of the SCI standings.

We expect a continuous change in the SCI scores of the leaders vying for national honors. Good luck!

More On the Elemental Competitions

The Rule is that the Champion of each sphere must have at least one Norm in the area of consideration. 

Example, The Adept/Lady of Swords should have won at least a norm in the Realm of Swords!

Which means I need to award more norms as we go forward. 

From now on, every new recruit automatically awards a Norm of Chalices to the recruiter.

More norms to come. Blessed be!

WHO AM I? (By HP Demeter)

WHO AM I?

  By HP Demeter

Vice President for Internal Affairs

          It has been a decade and a half since I am off from school and I haven’t been writing that much anymore. If ever I hold a pen or a note, it is just to slide on my journal and diligently document the day’s events, feelings and impressions of life.

          I wish I could write the Jane Pasong who stars in my fantasies. If only my personal statement could consist of my name followed by such terms as Nutritionist, Teacher, Police Officer, Universal Bestfriend or the ideal woman of every hopeful man. These claims would be at worse, outright lies or gross hyperbole. My dreams of becoming a nutritionist, nurse, police officer and owning my house someday have never come to reality. However, they have taken their place alongside my memories, experiences and genes in the palette that constitutes who I am.
    

          Who am I? I am a product of reality and my imagination. I am innately depraved, yet I am made perfect. I plan my days with the knowledge that “everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2), but I must “make the most of every opportunity”(Colossians4:5). I search for simple answers but find only complete questions.
    

          Once while I was cooking, I was engulfed in thought that how if one would live in an abode which rotated near the speed of light would it result in his being younger (utilizing the theory of relativity) and stronger (utilizing the properties of adoption along with the definition of centripetal force and gravitational force) that I failed to realize I am cooking.
    

          Often times people make the mistakes of assuming that mutually exclusive qualities bear no relationships to one another. Not so. These dichotomies continuously redefine each other. In some cases one is totally dependent on the other’s existence. For instance, what is faith without doubt? Without one, the other does not exist. When placed close to each other, opportunities create a dialectic utterly more profound and beautiful than its parts. Walt Whitman embraces this syncretism by stating, “Do I contradict myself?” Very well then I contradict my self. I am large, I contain multitudes.” My qualities, though contradictory, define who I am.
    

          Although I cannot make fantastic claims about my self, I must still acknowledge and cherish the dreams that I have. Admittedly, it is tragic when one is so absorbed in fantasy that he loses touch with reality. But it is equally tragic when one is so absorbed in reality that he loses his ability to dream. When a healthy amount of reality and fantasy are synthesized, the synergy is such that something beautiful will undoubtedly result. Who Am I?

SCI RANKINGS AS OF AUGUST 19, 2010

CURRENT SCI RANKINGS

2010 NATIONAL SOULFRIEND OF THE YEAR RACE

2650                          Persephone

2610                          Chung Tzu

2610                          Arwen

2610                          VP Demeter

2600                          Siren Solfege

2600                          Wren Shannara

2600                          Dreaming Sparrow

2595                          Amyrlin Shekinah

2595                          Andromeda

2590                          Leron Palaris

2585                          Hiromatsu

2585                          Hypnos

2580                          Mycroft Holmes

2575                          Genji

2560                          Irulan

2560                          Carmina Gaedelica

2510                          Jade

2510                          Hygeia

2500                          VP Shamaness

2500                          Benjamin

2500                          Isis

2495                          Radagast the Brown

2480                          Menandore

2480                          Pocahontas

2400                          Jambalaya

2350                          Paul Atreides

2000                          Leonidas

2000                          Psyche

2000                          Ishtar (recruit of Wren)

2000                          Miranda (recruit of Wren)

(Note: The SCI is not a conventional rating system. It is NOT directly dependent on the total points. Rather, it would be roughly similar to the ELO ratings of chess players. The SCI would be like the “current performance strength” of a seeker. All newcomers (and returnees like Q Psyche) are given baseline SCI’s of 2000. Thus, any new recruit like Q Ishtar is assumed to be 2000 SCI too. Of course, your ratings will increase as your performance improves. Good luck!)