Category Archives: Chess Engines

(Photos by Liena Zagare/BKLYNER)

On June 5, City Council Candidates for District 40 (Ditmas Park, Flatbush, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens) held a debate on the most pressing issues facing our district.

In case you missed it, check out this comprehensive review of the issues that matter most, before heading over to the third debate tonight (with candidates from District 45 and the Brooklyn district attorney race).

Interest in political engagement is at a high in Brooklyn, and with a total of five candidates in play, the event was packed. (Thanks to neighbors who organized the event Seth Kaplan, Calista De Jesus with support from Cheryl Sealey, Brenda Edwards, Emily Leshner, and BKLYN Commons.)

Only one chair was empty for the first part of the debate, the one reserved for incumbent Councilmember Mathieu Eugene, who arrived late (had was with a police officer who was in a coma, he said later). When he did arrive, he referred to the other candidates as his opponents throughout the evening.

The organizers reached out to local political rockstar Duane Joseph and asked him to play moderator. Duane Joseph is a long-time resident of Flatbush via the Caribbeanand describes himself as a concerned resident looking to bridge the information gap.

You can watch the entire, 2-hour debate here, or read our edited synopsis below:

While waiting for Eugene to arrive, each candidate introduced themselves and their goals.

Brian Cunningham, who announced his candidacy last May, focused on his experience in government. I am running because I have seen a lot of changes in the last ten years, he said. I love this community, I was born and raised in this community and after this race is over, my commitment to public service will not be over.

Pia Raymond, who we interview in February, emphasized her work with economic engines along Nostrand Avenue and on the board of CB9. My story is part of your story, she said. I know what it means for a business to be displaced. Raymond reiterated what would become some of the ongoing themes of the night: changes, rent costs, and young people in need to engage. But she also focused on crime. in the midst of all the things happening here, we are still dealing the persistent crime problem.

Jen Berkely focused on an issue she has worked on for the last decade. I am here because our community is in a housing crisis. It not being addressed. How do I know its not being addressed? she asked out loud. Because I looked to see the how many affordable units we had when the City Councilmember took office. We have 15,000 less affordable units than we did when he took office.

Rose St Albord explained she is a masterpiece and a work in progressrunning because it is time for us to re-invent ourselves. Her objectives focused on our need to makes homes affordable, schools accountable, our streets safer for all residents.

Then, the questions began.

Given the importance of transportation as it provides access to getting an education and to economic opportunity. How would you improve it?

Brian Cunningham:Many simply cannot afford the cost of the subway, he said. Cunningham was the only candidate to suggest a solution, citing the 1700 people who use the Church Avenue train station between 6 and 9am every weekday morning: He believes we should mimic what the both the subway in the West Coast and the Metro North here do, make off-peak hours cheaper.

Pia Raymond:cited her experience increasing transportation options along the Nostrand business strip, like the select bus service, and a metro card to encourage shopping along the Nostrand strip. Raymond also cited her role in helping to create bike lanes and bike parking options to encourage business and travel options. Obesity is the number one health issue in Brooklyn, she said, with a commitment to simplify walking and biking options.

Jen Berkely:highlighted repeated fare increases when the service has been getting worse and worse and worse. She felt strongly that we need to send the message that we wont continue to foot the bill as service gets worse. She will do whatever she can to make sure the service gets better.

Rose St Albord:suggested a discount for families and for older straphangers. She also agreed that select buses were a great idea, but that select busses have angered some residents who see multiple select buses pass by while regular service seems to be suffering. This comment appeared to have hit a nerve and triggered a round of applause.

How Do You See Yourself Being An Advocate For Safer Streets?

Pia Raymond:said encouraging walking is a path toward safer streets, especially for seniors. She discussed her work in getting Citibike to come to her areaand wants more benches and bus shelters to encourage more outdoor activity.

Jen Berkley:said the current bike lanes are a great idea but painted lanes on the street force you to take your life into your hands. Its a delicate balance to increase foot traffic and other forms of transportation, she said, and intends to conduct a survey on it.

Rose St Albord:believes it takes a village we have to increase accountability for both bikers and walkers. We cannot look only at our side. People are reckless when they ride, people are reckless when they walk while texting.

Brian Cunningham:complemented the Mayor on the success of Vision Zero and cited the need for protected bike lanes. There are parts of the city where there is a row of parked cars or other dividers insulating the bike lanes.

Explain Your Plan for Tackling the Housing Crisis

Jen Berkely:given the high numbers of property violations against landlords, she would create a registry of the worst violators and aggressively fine them. She cited her work as a fighter for victims of landlords looking to push people out of their homes.

Rose St Albord:cited landlords who refuse to make repairs to inspire non-payment for which they can evict. Albord would make all landlords fill out a form of what kind of maintenance they would be expected to keep up and force them to either make repairs or forfeit the rent. She would also provide more pro bono legal help in fighting for tenants rights.

Pia Raymond:cited continued work with Impact Brooklyn and Brooklyn Legal Services, and the Flatbush Tenant Coalition. She will use her platform at City Council to educate the public and support these groups.

Brian Cunningham:feels strongly about land and tax abatements. We need to use the possibility of canceling them as a tool, he said. If you take city dollars you have responsibilities to uphold.

Councilmember Eugene:Housing is one of the biggest crises in the nation, he said, citing funding he gave tonon-profitsand testimony he gave before the DOB against raising rents.

What Are Your Plans To Push For a Fair Property Tax Program (because many taxes are going up to cover the new values because of buildings that are getting abatements)?

Rose St Albord: Property taxes are already high. Her goal will be to work to find ways to make new developments pay for the new costs to cover older residents raises in costs.

Brian Cunnigham:said that the 421A tax abatementneeds to be killed outright because any tax abatement is a zero sum effect. He would like to downzone, to disincentivize 421A. Cunningham also cited specifics numbers regarding the percentage of affordable housing being delivered for tax breaks.

Pia Raymond: Shared the commitment to downzoning. She cited her history on CB9 for support for downzoning.

Councilmember Eugene: said he voted to downzone Victorian Flatbush. He also said we need to lower the tax cost for retirees. It is very complicated, there is no one answer.

Jen Berkeley: Downzoning is only one answer to the problem. She says the Community Boards play a big role in downzoning and believes that City Council can play a bigger role in negotiating with developers.

What is your position on Charter Schools and the effect they have on public schools?

Councilmember Eugene: We have to invest in [public] education. But if there are other schools, we should support them.

Brian Cunningham: It is the citys responsibility to take care of the public schools first. He cited an example of how a school got a 501C3 attached to their school to allow them to pursue outside funding. He also cited the difference between Capital funding and other monies, saying we need to generate funding for both.

Pia Raymond:served as a program director in a public school and feels its critical to support public schools, college preparation, and fighting the digital divide. She would also support existing charter programs but not focus on new ones for the future.

Jen Berkely:Our city is one of the wealthiest in the world and the schools and should not have to hold bake sales to pay the bills. She also called out our low graduation rate in nyc as a particular issue she would address.

Rose St. Albord:said many kids arent learning but rather are taught to memorize She feels that many school problems need to be dealt with by instituting accountability for our school leadership and not just throwing money at problems.

Councilmember Eugene: Explained that he gives money to every school, supporting chess programs and other special events.

Joseph then switched gears and called on audience questions, like: How would you intervene in gang violence? (Create more community centers and vocational training, said Albord; raising rates of summer jobs, said Eugene; expand interest-based social development programs, said Raymond; make every school a beacon instead of creating new spaces, said Cunningham.)

What can you do to help the small businesses keep up with the rising cost of rent?

(specialized commercial rent control, saidBerkeley;encourage the SBA to take over a percentage of the store rent, saidSt. Albord; more programs like shop local supported by city council, and a separate stream to help preschools, said Raymond; explore landmarking small businesses integral to the cultural landscape, said Cunningham. Everyone who comes to Brooklyn wants to go to Juniors Cheesecake. We have places that could have that kind of draw.)

The last question was a personal one for Joseph and the immediate community. Since we are in the area covered by CB9 can you tell us what you would do to make it more functional. This question got applause and clearly was important to this room.

Pia Raymond, the only candidate onCB9, said, Unfortunately we have had a lot of discord and changes in leadership which has held up voting on things like liquor licenses. But she said we have new leadership and expressed confidence that things would go smoother this year.

Cunningham called for a more formal application process and training for Community Board leadership. He also felt strongly that there should be term limits on Community Board service. This last point received applause from the audience.

Learn more about each candidate, with videos, here.

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Originally posted here:

Ditmas Park's City Council Candidates Debate Major Issues - BKLYNER

Chess is a game which has more books on it than any other books in the world combined. The field of chess literature is so vast that one can go on and on and still not find a way out. The history of books on chess go down to many centuries ago. Even in the seventeenth century when it was played in Europe, the players relied on different books on the sport for strategies. The first world champion, Wilhem Stenietz also created his own collection of books. The book My System by Aron Nimzowitzch has sold millions of copies. It is now considered a treasure to have an original copy of his book.

So, why are chess books so popular? What are some of the recent books on the game which have become popular? The answers to these two questions are in fact quite simple. The chess books are immense in the content that they offer. They are full of details which can be easily understood by the player. In fact, there are different levels of books on the game.

One of the greatest series is authored by none other than the world champion Garry Kasparov called My Great Predecessors. It is a five volume book and talks about Kasparovs greatest predecessors and has their games annotated by the champion himself. This series has been read by most of the worlds top grandmasters and even novices looking to make it big in the sport. Reading chess books makes the player sharper and makes him develop his game. It also helps him analyse various games of the past. Another classic example of a chess book is the book by Bobby Fischer, My Sixty Memorable Games. It shows sixty of his best games and helps the reader understand the logic behind his moves. The reader can enjoy each of Fischers games with relative ease as it is written in a pure and natural text.

These two books are just small examples from the large world of chess books. There are other books on chess which talk about psychology and the mindset of the players during games. One such book is How Life Imitates Chess by Kasparov. It talks about how Kasparov thinks life and chess are co-related. He talks about his life as a chess player and what it meant to be a world champion. He gives insights into his grueling schedule before world championship matches and also his thoughts on what chess meant to him. It is a must read for every book worm whether playing or not.

Chess Books are a great way to improve your game. The biggest advantage with these are that they are self explanatory. One can easily read and understand them. They are the best ways to practice, and books are able to tell the player something that even the worlds best engines cannot say. In fact, a book gives insight knowledge by another human who has been on the same stage earlier and has done his research. Simply relying on computers has never been an effective way to grow and even the worlds best players still rely on these books for enhancing themselves. Thus, chess literature has a whole new future ahead.

Chess in films has risen in the past two decades. One of the earliest films that I can recall seeing was Searching for Bobby Fischer, based on the true life story of International Master Josh Waitzkin. This film is based on the book of the same name by Fred Waitzkin, Joshs father. It showcases the world of a chess player and how the role of a parent is crucial for a childs development in the early part of his or her career. The movie tells Joshs story in such a powerful manner that even a grandmaster can learn a lot by watching it.

A recent film on the game was directed by the acclaimed director Mira Nair called Queen of Katwe. The film has inspired millions of people across the globe, including the world champion, Magnus Carlsen. What makes this film unique is the fact that a young girl from an extremely poor background rises up the ladder and becomes the first player from her country -Uganda- to participate in the Olympiad. All of sixteen, this girl wins the heart of millions by her never say die attitude. She was none other than Phiona Mutesi, who along with her coach, Robert Katende, made the game popular in an area where the people were so stricken with poverty that they had no place to stay in even in the worst conditions. The film showcases how to overcome extreme hardships in life with a positive mind frame.

Another amazing film on chess was Magnus. A film by a Norwegian debutant director Benjamin Ree, this film has the live footage of several important moments in the world no.1s career. It shows how he became a grandmaster at thirteen and how his quest for becoming a world champion came true in 2013. The documentary draws on the experiences of the entire Carlsen family and how they, as a unit, helped the reigning world champion become a phenomenon that he is today.

The above examples are just a few from the world of chess literature and films. It is rightly said that chess is an ocean full of treasures. It not only ignites the mind, but it also helps to develop oneself holistically. The game of chess is not only a sport, it is an art, a science, and a philosophical sea. One can only reap the benefits from this beautiful game.

Image courtesy: The Seventh Seal (Movie)

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Literature, Films on Chess Captivates Enthusiasts - High on Sports (blog)

The Edmonton Eskimos have a linebacker named Terrance Bullitt on their roster. Bullitt! Too bad he didnt play his college ball at Western.

For those of you too young to get that reference, Bullitt is the name of one of the greatest action movies of all-time, with the grand-daddy of all car chase scenes in it, one that made a particular sports car an indelible cultural icon. You think Vin Diesel is cool? Pffft. Steve McQueen in Bullitt makes Vin Diesel look like a background extra in a chess club episode of Big Bang Theory.

Here are this weeks takeaways.

Deep down in the Edmonton quarterback depth chart lies an incredible natural resource just waiting to be tapped for the good of all mankind: Zach Klines exuberance. The rookie quarterback came on in the fourth quarter of Sunday nights thriller (you dont really get to say that about a pre-season game very often do you?) and on his very first read in a CFL game, saw a wide open Dhaquille Williams down the right side.

He let it fly and boom, Edmonton had a 75 yard touchdown play:

The isolation camera shot on Kline was fantastic as we got to watch the 23-year-old native of Danville, Calif. take off on a sprint, right arm thrust into the air most of the way, hand balled up in a fist. Then, looking for anyone everyone, actually to celebrate with. Moments later, on the sideline, he was still whooping it up like he was 10years old and had actually really, really gotten a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Gotta love moments like that.

Note to the Eskies: Next home game, hook up one of the sideline bikes to the stadium lights and turn Kline loose. Ive a hunch he could save you oodles on your electricity bill. Of course, there IS the chance he could pop a few bulbs.

The third-year quarterback from Mississauga, Ont., looked very good against Winnipeg on Saturday night, propelling himself into serious conversation about who ought to start the season as Saskatchewans back-up man behind Kevin Glenn. Bridge may have been lost a wee bit in the shuffle with the comeback of Vince Young and the surge of Bryan Bennett dominating the talk at Roughriders camp.

Bridge looked cool as a hollowed out watermelon Im assuming thats why theyre worn, for the coolness on a hot prairie afternoon against the Blue Bombers, going 20 for 26 for 201 yards and a touchdown. Bridge did most everything right and displayed a terrific release as he zipped a missile into Duron Carter for a touchdown strike. Air Canada flight 16 is revving its engines on the tarmac.

Rick Campbells squad eked out a one-point win over Hamilton on Thursday night and the coach rewarded his team with a field trip to the House of Commons, where they apparently held a quick team meeting. Fuddle Huddle, I call it. Or, Huddle Duddle if you prefer.

I understand that while they were there, the team installed a couple of new plays for Thursdays game against Montreal and passed Bill C-1127, which will see the red bands on Canadas flag changed to red and black plaid, allow the team to practise inside Rideau Hall during inclement weather and declare the end zones they defend to be national nature preserves, trespassers being subject to fine and/or imprisonment. Its a bit of an omnibus bill and the REDBLACKS are being roundly criticized for that. As they should.

Going forward, Ottawa fans can celebrate touchdowns by pounding their seats and yelling Hear, hear!

Alouettes kicker Boris Bede is looking for a bounce back season in 2017 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

The Montreal kicker and punter, who had a mostly miserable 2016 season, may have found the root of what was ailing him. Against the Argos on Thursday night, Bede was a perfect 4-for-4 in field goal attempts, his longest from 48 yards. He also strong-legged the pigskin by way of punts (averaging 44.4 yards, better than his career average) and kick-offs (64.5 yards).

Bede went a miserable 11-of-21 on field goals last season, including the 7-of-16 start that saw him lose his job in August. When granted a reprieve in October, Bede did come back looking a little better, but the sample size was small. Thursdays performance in Toronto may be a signal that hes returned to the form of 2015, when he went 36-of-40.

Lets travel from East to West and highlight a guy like that from each franchise. These are really nine mini-takeaways among the fifth takeaway, so memo to CFL.ca head office: Ill be billing for overtime even though, as we all know, there is no overtime in pre-season.

Montreal: George Johnson. The lanky receiver from London, Ontario, caught a touchdown pass and then capped it with a terrific grab on the ensuing two point convert.

Ottawa: Sherrod Baltimore. The defensive back from Maine had five tackles, two of them on special teams. And he had an interception that was called back due to a penalty on some other guy.

Toronto: Jimmy Ralph. The Alberta-born receiver gathered in four receptions for 54 yards, including a splendid diving grab on a bomb and another nifty, ground-level catch for a touchdown.

Hamilton: DT Davon Coleman. The Arizona State grad raised a few eyebrows with good interior play, including two tackles, a sack and a pass knockdown.

Winnipeg: Flix Mnard-Brire. The former Montreal Carabins kicker did miss a 44-yard field goal attempt. But that miss was highlighted by him chasing down the returner from behind to stop a touchdown. He also nailed two converts and averaged more than 64 yards on four kick-offs.

Saskatchewan: Returner Quincy Walden. The running back out of Bethel University averaged 24.5 yards on two kick returns and hauled back that missed Winnipeg field goal 87 yards. Yes, he got caught by a kicker but Im told that might say more about Mnard-Brire than Walden.

Calgary: Receiver Reggie Begelton. The Texas native reeled in five catches for 88 yards against the BC Lions, one of them for a touchdown. Of his yardage total, more than half came after the catch.

Edmonton: Kent London. The defensive back from California, signed just last week, picked off a pass and earned high marks for run defence support. When the camera caught him on the sideline, he said Let em know youre here. He did that.

BC: Linebacker Micah Awe, born in Nigeria and university trained at Texas Tech, got an edge in the Who Replaces Adam Bighill competition with four tackles, one of them on special teams.

AND FINALLY

Mike Reillys suit of armour gets polished a bit more. Switching from 13 to zero for a game to honour Larry Highbaugh? Classy.

The rest is here:

Landry: 5 takeaways from the first week of pre-season - CFL.ca

Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura was a great fight that ended in a draw, the same result as the other four games in round three of theAltibox Norway Chess tournament. Friday is the first rest day.

The start of Carlsen vs Nakamura. | Photo Maria Emelianova.

In November 2013, when Anand was struggling in his match with Carlsen, Nakamura tweeted the following famous tweet. Ever since a clash between him and the world champion is something special.

After 12 losses and 18 draws, only in Bilbao 2016, Nakamura managed to win his first classical game against Carlsen. After that, they played the 2016 Chess.com Blitz Battle and one blitz game in December in Qatar, but today's game in Stavanger was their first classical game in a year. Itdidn't disappoint.

Via a different move order compared to last year, the players reached a g3-Dragon and again Carlsen played b2-b3 early on. This time, Nakamura was well prepared for it.

For a change, Carlsen arrived early at the game, several minutes before Nakamura. | Photo Maria Emelianova.

Carlsen was "ashamed" of 11.b3 as he "didn't grasp Hikaru's idea at all." That idea was to simply swap pieces on d4, which normally gives White a pleasant space advantagebut not here.

Happy with his position, Nakamura decided to play actively with 21...f5, the start of "insanely risky" play according to Carlsen.

However, the world champ didn't make the most of his chances. A key position was this:

Carlsen was unhappy with 24.Rc6, the best moves according to the engines but not very practical. 24.b5 would have been tougher to meet. A knight appearing on c5 will just be taken off the board.

Carlsen:"With this time control you need to play for the initiative..." Nigel Short: "...and prevent his." Carlsen: "Exactly.I have no clue what he is going to do..."

In the game, Nakamura sacrificed a pawn to create an active play, and in a phase where Carlsen missed several of his opponent's moves, he was almost lucky not to get in trouble.

Hikaru Nakamura correctly judged that he would have enough counterplay.| Photo Maria Emelianova.

Interestingly, after the game, it turned out that both players had been optimistic about their chances. In that sense, a draw was a good result.

Carlsen joins the TV2 live show every day right after he finishes. | Photo Maria Emelianova.

Levon Aronian vs Anish Giri was a great fight as well, which started slowly though, compared to the other games. While Karjakin and Anand had already drawn, and others reached endgames, these players were still in their early middlegame. That was mostly because of Aronian using a lot of time: almost 20 minutes on 13.0-0, 19 minutes on 16.Qb3, 13 minutes on 19.Bc1 and 18.5 minutes on 20.dxe5.

Giri in deep thought.In the post-mortem, he said that during the game he realized that Aronian probably looked at this opening for Black in preparation for his second round game against Nakamura. | Photo Maria Emelianova.

That last move was right afterGiri had put the board on fire as he pushed the g-pawn in front of his king two squares.A tactical sequence followed and the chess board became a mess, but more important was Aronian's horrendous time trouble. He needed to make 12 moves in less than 2 minutes.

Giri: "What we didn't take into account here is that Levon had like a couple of minutes for 12 moves. The objective evaluation of the position is absolutely irrelevant."

"This time control is very strange. You're playing the classical control and then you have 20 minutes less. It's weird. Takes time to adjust," said Aronian, who was kind of lucky that an endgame was reached where he had a number of simple moves.

Giri is impressed by the "cheapo artist," as Short called Aronian the other day. | Photo Maria Emelianova.

Aronian is not the only player having difficulty adjusting to the time control in Stavanger (which is 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 minutes for 20 moves and then 15 minutes to finish the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move 61).

Today Vladimir Kramnik, who drew a long game with Wesley So, revealed that he got it wrong initially. He assumed 2 hours for 40 moves and was wondering why he was getting so low on time during the first round. Then, at the start of round two, he noticed the clocks saying 1:40:00, and thought it was a mistake!

Despite attending the players meeting, Kramnik got the time control wrong during the first round. | Photo Maria Emelianova.

The first game to end today was Sergey Karjakin vs Viswanathan Anand. It only took about 1.5 hours, but there was a nice story behind it.

First, Karjakin admitted that the line he played against the Berlin wasn't anything special, but Black needs to know what he is doing. Then Anand revealed how his memory had worked: at some point, early in the game, he remembered the position with 21...Bd7. From that point onwards he was trying to figure out how to reach it!

Karjakin vs Anand. The latter "won" the opening battle as he managed to remember his analysis. | Photo Maria Emelianova.

Anand vividly remembered the conversation with one of his seconds, who suggested that 21...Bd7 move. "I almost fell off my chair," Anand said. But Black is fine there, his second told him, and today he could show it in the game.

Both Kramnik-So and MVL-Caruana can be found in the PGN file.

2017 Altibox Norway Chess | Round 3 Standings

In the evening a group of grandmasters joined in the hotel lobby. Guess what they were doing?

Friday is a rest day. The pairings for round four on Saturday are Aronian-Carlsen, Nakamura-MVL, Giri-Anand, Caruana-Kramnik, and So-Karjakin.

You can follow the games in Live Chess each day starting at 4 p.m. local time (7 a.m. Pacific, 10 a.m. Eastern).We're providing on-site coverage on Chess.com/News and on our Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels.

Previous reports:

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Carlsen-Nakamura Norway Clash Ends In Draw - Chess.com

By Chris Cook, for Trend

Obama's Smart Energy Strategy

On taking office in January 2009, President Barak Obama inherited a failed energy policy from the George W. Bush administration which had attempted to secure Middle East oil & gas resources by military means through creating client states and imposing one-sided contractual terms favouring US International Oil Companies (IOCs). However, China's threat in 2007 to pull the plug on the US financial system forced the US to back off in Iraq, in the same way that the US threat in 1956 to pull the plug on sterling forced the UK to pull out of Suez.

Consequently, the 2008 US financial meltdown obliged the incoming Obama administration to take a very different approach to US energy security. There were two major objectives of Obama's resource resilience energy strategy: firstly, to rid the US for good of their historic reliance on Saudi oil, and secondly, to make a transition through gas as a bridging fuel to a low carbon economy.

The first objective was achieved by Obama's investment bank collaborators who used Saudi/GCC petrodollars to inflate the oil price from its low of $35/barrel in 2009 by manipulating the Brent/BFOE benchmark oil price. The price was then maintained in a range between a collar under oil prices of $80/barrel and a US gasoline price cap at levels which would not threaten Obama's 2012 re-election chances.

The effect of these artificially high prices were firstly, to fund indiscriminate lending to US shale oil and gas developers and secondly, to finance renewable energy such as wind and solar which substituted for fossil fuels. Finally, high prices led to massive investment in energy savings such as in more efficient car engines. As a result the US increased oil production by 5m barrels per day, and made oil product savings of maybe 2m bpd. When added to new high cost global sources of oil such as Canadian tar sands, and global renewable energy and efficiency, particularly in the EU, this led by 2014 to a substantial global surplus of oil production, which has now become structurally embedded.

The increasing surplus of oil supply led as I forecast it would in 2011 to a collapse in the oil price to $45 to $50/bbl in late 2014 after the financial Quantitative Easing (QE) pump of Federal Reserve Bank dollars was finally turned off.

Obama's Energy Doctrine

Obama's strategy executed through Hilary Clinton's State/CIA power nexus was for Caspian and Qatari gas to supply Europe, displacing crude oil and oil products and competing with Russia. Resource nationalism particularly in Turkey and Syria - stood in the way of this. Meanwhile the massive US base at Al Udeid has effectively come to secure Qatari gas production and an effective position of Qatar as a US proxy in the MENA region acting against resource nationalism by promoting Islamism.

The US strategy was therefore to create a new wave of non-nationalist Sunni Islamism such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere, and Gulenism in Turkey. The outcome desired by the US was Balkanisation of the region to create a Kurdish Petro State (which would be tolerated by a Gulenist regime in Turkey) with Islamist territories elsewhere acting as conduits for Qatari gas transit to Europe by pipeline.

However, Obama's smart energy policy was so successful that the accompanying wave of new smart technology and investment led to an irreversible tipping point in the global economy of Peak Demand the effect of which is to cap the global oil price at or around $50 per barrel.

Current Events

Saudi Arabia has clearly learnt the truth of Yamani's dictum that the Oil Age is not ending for lack of oil, since they would not conduct the Aramco IPO if the future oil price trajectory were upwards. Clearly, Saudi Arabia is now casting covetous eyes on Qatari gas, since this will enable them to free crude oil for export, particularly in the summer. In other words, Qatari gas will act as a bridging fuel while their ambitious (and in my view unimplementable) Energy 2030 programme progresses. Such a Saudi gas for oil swap is unlikely to take place on favourable terms for Qatar.

So President Trump has now turned away from the Obama doctrine at least in part due to his personal antagonism to anything Obama was able to achieve in office. Unfortunately, as with his similar rejection of COP 21 and Obama's domestic US energy policy he has no constructive Plan B.

As a result of Trump's impulsive action, Saudi Arabia has now been permitted to take extraordinary measures, with the full support of the US, which essentially constitute war on Qatar by economic means. Moreover, Qatar has been presented with a detailed ultimatum including a draconian prohibition in dealings with Iran and the scope for rapid escalation is clear.

Today's events in Tehran an attack on the Majlis and an unprecedented suicide bombing at the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini provide a grave challenge to President Hassan Rouhani and his colleagues in Iran's government. Trump's top military/security team is extremely antagonistic to Iran, and clearly hope and expect that Iran will act stupidly and aggressively in response to this provocation.

What is Iran's Smart Move in this difficult position?

The Smart Move

In my view, the smart, and unexpected, policy for Iran would be to propose a constructive regional initiative based upon energy/resource co-operation and resilience. This may perhaps commence with a humanitarian offer to Qatar of essential supplies through international waters.

What appears to be a unilateral US-backed resource grab by Saudi Arabia creates an opportunity for Russia, Iran & Qatar (who between them possess more than 60% of global gas reserves) to collaborate in launching a networked physical and financial global market in natural gas based upon a new settlement between gas producers and consumers.

The market in Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is key to such a new settlement. While historically the global natural gas market has been fragmented and largely bilateral due to deliveries via static pipelines, the last five years has seen massive new production and infrastructure for liquidising and decompressing Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). The combination of diversity of supply, flexibility of delivery and homogeneity of gas (there are many grades and qualities of oil, but CH4 is CH4) has now led to an over-supplied global 'buyer's market' in natural gas. The emergence and convergence of a global LNG price is strikingly illustrated by this chart.

I believe based upon my experience of implementing the UK Natural Gas Balancing Point Futures contract in 1995 as a Director of what is now ICE Europe that the potential now exists for a global gas 'Balancing Point' physical gas market price based upon the price at which LNG is delivered into and out of global LNG infrastructure. This could enable financial energy credit instruments (not derivatives) based upon this price which are issued, traded, cleared and settled within a global energy clearing union.

The EU, which is fuming at Trump's America First antics, as well as China, India and Turkey (whose President Erdogan has offered to intermediate), could be expected to support a new global gas market settlement, while neutral countries like Norway and Switzerland could be expected to facilitate it.

So my advice to President Rouhani is to play chess where Trump is playing the fool, and to begin a process of depoliticised energy diplomacy based upon competition for quality of energy as a service and cooperation to reduce energy costs within a new natural gas global market paradigm.

Chris Cook is a former director of the International Petroleum Exchange. He is now a strategic market consultant, entrepreneur and a commentator.

More here:

Rouhani should play chess where Trump is playing the fool - Trend News Agency

As a fan of things that go fast, I have drag racing near the top of my must-watch motorsports list. I have been fortunate enough to attend some Outlaw Diesel Super Series events, and Ive noticed that Im definitely not the only one enjoying the thrill of the drags. The number of people who come out to spectate continues to grow, as does the total count of competitors who enter each event. More and more diesel jockeys are eager to see what they and their rigs can do on the strip. This ever-increasing enthusiasm for diesel drag racing is amazing to witness, and its definitely growing the sportin both popularity and competiveness.

In April 2017, I attended the Rudys Diesel Performance season-opening event at Piedmont Raceway in Julian, North Carolina. It was a great two days of diesel madness, highlighted by the Outlaw Diesel Super Series drawing 165 competitors to the venue to wage war in six different drag-racing classes. The category with the largest turnout was our own (well, ours and ATS Diesel Performances) 7.70 Index Class, with 62 truckers reporting to the staging lanes for the first round of eliminations. For every race across all classes, the stands were packed to near capacity with cheering spectators watching vehicles roar down the eighth-mile.

As the enthusiasm continues to increase for this type of drag racing and the competition gets more heated, drivers willingness and desire to push themselves and their vehicles to the next level will rise. Competitive people want to winthey will not voluntarily let themselves sit idly or settle for second best. Their free time is spent at the track testing and racing, or in the garage prepping and building.

It is not an easy endeavor to put the right combination of components together. The engine alone has so many different ways it can be manipulated for power. Combine that with the complexity of the rest of the drivetrain, and you have a lot to get right. Getting everything to sync together and perform at its peak is a chess game. One move can take you forward or set you back. But that desire to be on top pushes people to keep trying and experimenting with new ideas.

Ingenuity and creativity are the things that really push motorsport technology forward. The guy or gal who can really think outside the box and bring something completely different to the table may have the key to winning. I understand there are rules in many classes that limit what can be done to an engine or vehicle, but he or she who has an ability to apply new concepts to the sport (a mechanical principle or technology that is not normally associated) could gain an advantage, and any edge, even a slight one, can be rewarded with a spot on the podium.

Racing has traditionally been the cornerstone for research and development of performance parts. That need and desire to go faster and win has stirred the creativity in many an individual and opened their eyes to ways of creating more power, speed, or efficiency from what is many times the simplest concept. Most ideas or theories have to be proven through trial and error. But, in the end, the sacrifice of time and energy (and money) proves it could definitely be worth it.

There is a reason auto and truck builders around the world support racing in one form or another and why they pump money into research and development. Racing is where a lot of new technology is born and where that technology is proven. Many of the advances made in competition will make it into what is driven on the road. The fastest production cars in the world owe much of their performance ability to peoples desire to race and win.

Even the new high-powered diesel pickup trucks on the market today owe much of their torque and power to racers and enthusiasts desires to improve their engines. Manufacturers pay attention to what is being done to the powerplants they produce, and then analyze what works and what doesnt perform as expected.

As more people continue to enjoy the excitement of racing diesels, the more the technology will develop, which will continue to push the industry and racing to new levels. Im waiting to see what the next big step forward is and where it comes from. Never count the little guy out.

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Detonation; Enthusiastic Racing - TruckTrend Network

There are better Star Trek video games out there, but none that come close to delivering the immersive cooperative experience offered by Ubisoft's virtual reality-powered Star Trek: Bridge Crew. It's the closest you can get to being on the bridge of a Federation starship.

Announced at E3 2016 and delayed a couple of times since, Star Trek: Bridge Crew gives one to four players the ability to live out their science fiction fantasies on the bridge of the U.S.S. Aegis. Players take up their posts at the helm (driving), tactical (scanning and weapons), engineering (giving her all she's got) or the captain's chair (barking orders).

Once the crew is assembled they can embark on a series of missions that will test the limits of their piloting, combat, and general bullshitting skills, just like the television shows.

You can play Star Trek: Bridge Crew by yourself, hopping from station to station with a click of a button. Less than four players can group up, with AI taking over whichever positions are unmanned. But the game is best with a full crew compliment.

You can also play as the original TOS Enterprise, but it's all switches and buttons. As one crew member put it, "It's like driving a Model T."

As with many virtual reality games, getting started is a little awkward. Players gather in the ship's ready room before launching into a machine, seated at four sides of a table in a room filled with cool Star Trek things they can't touch (why can't we play 4D Chess?) Arms flail about awkwardly as crew positions and missions are selected. The game relies heavily on voice communication, so expect plenty of goofy Trek humour between missions.

So far I've yet to play with anyone who wasn't completely awesome. These guys were great.

Once a mission gets underway, the silly things suddenly aren't quite as ridiculous. In a full game everyone has a role to fill, and everybody needs to be on point to make it work. The helmsman's manoeuvrability and warp capability depends on how much power the engineer delivers to essential systems.

The tactical officer can't scan mysterious objects in space until the helmsman gets the ship in close. And nobody has all of the information at their fingertips except for the captain, who needs to keep up with mission objectives that change quickly depending on the situation.

When it all comes together, it goes a little something like this:

Note that this is not me playing with a group of friends (or at least they weren't friends when we started). This is me playing on my Oculus Rift with like-minded strangers. Maybe they're playing on PlayStation VR or the HTC Vive, but we know our roles (mostly) and work together like Starfleet professions.

The mission above involves a great deal of stealth. Save for an early mishap involving a cloaked Klingon ship, we managed to get in and out of some incredibly sticky situations without being detected. With me at the helm we skirted the edge of the Klingon sensors.

Hundreds of years into the future and we're still using touch screens.

Tactical analysed local anomalies, discovering one that helped obscure us from patrolling enemies.

I am bad at tactical. I tend to shoot things that didn't need shooting.

Engineering kept power to the engines low to ensure we were running as silently as possible. The captain sat behind us all, conducting the mission like the symphony section of a grand space opera, only with less passion and more science.

Did a bunch of civilians get vaporised by our tactical officer? Sure, but the needs of the many often outweigh those of the few. Maybe they shouldn't have been hanging around military technology too valuable to let fall into Klingon hands.

Being able to see your teammates working and talking makes dire situations feel slightly less so. The lipsync tech here is pretty sweet.

You may also notice that I keep communications mostly formal in the video, referring to the captain by rank. Sometimes OK, a lot of times I speak in a pseudo Sulu voice. It's not a conscious decision on my part. It's the whole Star Trek vibe, dragging me off into deep space.

Here's another video I did that's not featured on our main YouTube channel for reasons that will be pointedly evident. Stupid mouse cursor.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew is exactly what I was hoping it would be an immersive simulation that delivers an experience fans have been dreaming about for decades.

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Kotaku Australia has learned that JB Hi-Fi stores from around Australia will begin advertising a special Xbox bundle from tomorrow, termed "Race Wars".

Friday the 13th has a lot in common with some of the sillier sequels in the film's franchise. it's great for a laugh, but not much else.

See the article here:

New Star Trek VR Game Really Is Like Manning Your Own Starfleet Vessel - Kotaku Australia

Chess engine is the unique software which is built into the program shell (e.g. "Fritz", "Arena", "Shredder") thus multiplying the force of the game shell. For example, "Kasparov Chess" is very good and clever shell. The maximum rating which can be set in it is 2600. And the rating of the chess engines reaches 3000-3200. That is why the chess engines are so popular. Where do the chess engines originate from and who makes them? This question is not trivial, vice versa it is quite actual, so it is worth talking about.

The first record of the chess engine was made about 20 years ago. That was just the time when the UCI standard was developed - the universal chess interface, allowing the chess engine to be connected to the graphic interface of the program shell. The engine made to this standard can be easily connected to any chess program. The standard was worked out by Stephan Meyer-Kahlen, German programmer, who was born in 1968 in Dusseldorf. He is also the founder of one of the most famous chess programs - Shredder, which is the 12-times world champion among chess machines. The UCI standard was presented to the world by Rudolf Huber. The standard has great advantages. For example, if the engine does not save the database of the games played (although it is better if this task is performed by the engine), then one can easily manage this database by UCI. As the UCI protocol is absolutely free, it gives it the advantage over the other protocols. It can be used for private purposes and as the open-source as well. This protocol was used by only a few programs until Chessbase Company (producing Fritz) began to support this protocol in 2002. Nowadays, this protocol is used by about 100 chess programs.

The majority of the chess engines are made very thoroughly and published in the net absolutely free of charge. In Russia there are the developers making engines, as well. E.g. SmarThink developed by Sergey Markov, GreKo developed by Vladimir Medvedev, Strelka developed by Yuri Osipov. These engines, as well as many others, can be downloaded from our website. As the number of the chess engines is growing, we chose the best ones, as there is simply no possibility to present all of them here.

Komodo 10 2016 - Developer Mark Lefler. Version for Android, Linux, OSX, Windows ALL.

Houdini - Developer Robert Blow (Belgium). 5.01 UCI Chess Engines [Full]

Komodo 8 - Champions 2015 - Developer Mark Lefler. Version for Android, Linux, OSX, Windows 7, 8 (32/64).

Houdini 4 PRO - Developer Robert Blow (Belgium). Version 4 PRO.

Houdini 2.0 - Developer Robert Blow (Belgium). Version 2.0. To date, the best engine. And you can Download Houdini 2.0 for a direct link.

Deep Rybka 4 - developer Vas Rajlich. Version 4 (w32)

Stockfish - Developers Tord Romstad, Marco Kostalba Kiiski and Joon. Version 2.11

Critter - Developer Richard Vida. Version 1.1.37

Naum - Developer Alexander Naumov (Canada). Version 4.2

Spark - Version 1.0

WildCat - Developer Igor Korshunov (Belarus). Version 8.0

SmarThink - Developer Sergei Markov (Russia). Version 0.17a

SOS - Designer Rudolf Huber (Germany). Version 11.99

Zchess - Designer Franck Zibi (France). Version 2.22

Gromit - Developers Frank Schneider and Kai Skibbe (Germany). Version 3.0

Ufim - Developer Niaz Hasanov (Russia). Version 8.2

Mustang - Developer Alex Korneichuk (Belarus). Version 4.97

GreKo - Developer Vladimir Medvedev (Russia). Version 8.2 + sour

Kaissa2 - Developer Vladimir Elin (Belarus). Version 1.8a

Adamant - Developer George Varentsov (Russia). Version 1.7

Booot - Developer of Alexei Morozov (Ukraine). Version 5.1.0 + sources

Eeyore - Developer Meidel Anton (Russia). Version 1.52 (32 & 64bit)

Zeus - Developer Vadim Bykov (Russia). Version 1.29

Arics - Developer Vladimir Fadeev (Belarus). Version 0.95a

Anechka - Developer Sergey Nefedov (Russia). Version 0.08

Patriot - Developer Vladimir Elin (Belarus). Version 2006

AlChess - Developer Alex Lobanov (Russia). Version 1.5b

OBender - Designer Evgeny Kornilov (Russia). Version 3.2.4x

Counter - Developer Vadim Chizhov (Russia). Version 1.2

Strelka - Designer Yuri Osipov (Russia). Version 2.0B + sources

Belka - Developers Yuri Osipov, Igor Korshunov (Russia - Belarus). Version 1.8.20

Ifrit - Developer Brenkman Andrew (Russia). Version 4.4 + source

Bison - Developer Ivan Bonkin (Russia). Version 9.11 + sour

Uralochka - Developer Ivan Maklyakov (Russia). Version 1.1b

Marginal - Designer Alexander Turikov (Russia). Version 0.1

Chess - Designer Evgeny Kornilov (Russia). Version 3

Woodpecker - Designer Evgeny Kornilov (Russia). Version 2

Gull - Developer Vadim Demishev (Russia). Version 1.2

See the rest here:

Download free chess engines - Komodo 10, Houdini

chess set Hackaday As the parts don't actually need to be in good working condition, a haul like this could likely easily be had for less than $50 from the local pull-it-yourself wrecking yard or free if you know a mechanic with some expired engines lying around. and more »

Link:

chess set - Hackaday

Hello and welcome! Were back for the latest installment of Final Frontier Friday, and true to my word, there isnt a single Romulan in sight! Were turning back to The Next Generation this week, to cover an episode thats come up a few times in the past: Q Who.

Coming late in the shows second season, Q Who is arguably the most important episode from the period before The Next Generation finally got good. In the space of an hour, it not only not only introduces the Borg but in doing so it forwards the loose arc of Q stories that ran throughout the series. Indeed, while this is his third appearance overall, this is arguably when it becomes clear that Q has an interest in the Enterprise and her crew that goes beyond whatever the larger machinations of the Q Continuum might be that week. And in smaller terms, it sets up the animosity that exists between Q and Guinan, a relationship that would be further explored in his next appearance.

But of course, the episodes greatest legacy lies in the introduction of the Borg, perhaps the single most iconic antagonist to emerge from eighteen years of Star Trek spin-offs. Though they didnt appear until the latter half of the second season, the conception of the Borg goes back at least a year prior, as the first hints at their existence were dropped in the first season finale. Developed to fill the role of a recurring antagonist for the new series. Though this role was originally intended for the Ferengi, it quickly became apparent that they had utterly failed to resonate in the same way as the Klingons before them. Enter the Borg. First envisioned by then-showrunner Maurice Hurley as a sort of insectoid hive that would plunder resources and technology from anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path. These early plans (derailed first by the 1988 Writers Guild strike and more permanently by Hurleys departure at the end of the season) included a season-long story arc that would have seen the Borg overwhelm the Romulans before being defeated by a desperate Federation/Romulan alliance. Over time, they evolved from insectoids into the more budget-friendly cyborgs we all know and love.

While returning to his quarters to change out of a soiled uniform, Captain Picard steps out of a turbo lift and into a shuttlecraft? On finding Q at the helm (who with a wave of his hand cleans Picards uniform), Picard reminds him that he gave his word not to trouble the Enterprise again, to which the demi-god replies that theyre nowhere near the Enterprise.

Back on the Enterprise, Guinan senses something amiss, but cant put her finger on what it is. Not long after, the bridge noticed Picards absence and that of a shuttle and begins a search. On board that shuttle, Picard refuses to hear Q out, demanding instead to be returned to the Enterprise. On a whim, Q agrees, transporting them to Ten Forward. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Q explains that he wants to join the crew, having been kicked out of the Continuum. Picard declines, explaining that he doesnt trust Q. Trust him or not, Q insists, Picard needs him. They arent prepared for whats out there. After a few ominous words, Q transports the Enterprise to System J-25, some 7000 light years away, promising a preview of things to come.

On investigating the sixth planet in the system, they find evidence of an industrialized civilization, but whered there should be cities, there are only great tips in the ground. Data points out that this matches the pattern of the mysterious attacks on Neutral Zone outposts. No sooner is this connection made than a strange, cube-shaped vessel appears. When the ship doesnt respond to hails, Picard calls Guinan, who has some familiarity with this part of space. Though she doesnt know much, she is able to identify the cube as belonging to the Borg, who devastated her civilization a century ago. Heeding her warning, the shields are raised, but not before a single Borg materializes in Engineering.

Worf and Picard lead a security team to Engineering, where they observe the intruder. Q also appears, gloating as Picard attempts to communicate with the Borg, who simply ignores him. When the Borg becomes aggressive, they are forced to kill it. No sooner does it hit the floor, though, than a second Borg appears, and now impervious to phaser fire, finishes what the other began. During a briefing, Q appears just long enough to ask if Picard is sure he doesnt need help. Finally, the Borg attack, locking a tractor beam on to the Enterprise and cutting out a piece of the ship. After disabling the tractor beam and damaging the cube.

While both ships effect repairs, Riker leads an away team to the cube to gather whatever information they can. Onboard the cube, the team discovers slots in the wall through which dormant Borg interface with the collective, a Borg nursery, and learns that the Borg will ignore anything they dont consider a threat, and finally notices the rapid self-repair the ship is undergoing. At that, Picard has them beamed back and retreats with the Borg in hot pursuit and closing.

With Q present and occasionally taunting, the ship continues to flee as the Borg ship gains ground and depletes the Enterprises shields. With their shields down and engines disabled, the crew braces for the inevitable. Faced with no alternative, Picard finally admits that Q was right: they need his help. At that, Q gladly transports them back to where they started, acknowledging that he understands how hard it was for Picard to say that, that a lesser man would have thought it humiliating. The episode closes on Picard and Guinan musing over a game of chess as the realization sinks in that the Borg will be coming

Lets get this out of the way up front, shall we? Q Who is good. While its not the best that the second season has to offer (stay tuned), its definitely up there. It starts out as a more or less standard Q episode before segueing into a tense standoff against the inexorable force of the Borg.

While Qs involvement can be seen as the producers hedging their bets on the introduction of a new villain, it actually contributes a great deal to the episodes effectiveness. For example, his presence allows the writers to reveal information about this new enemy even as the Borg themselves remain a largely silent and implacable foe throughout the episode. Theres a school of thought in fandom that the Borg were far more menacing before we learned as much about them as we ultimately would through their appearances on Voyager and even their later Next Generation episodes, and by definition Q Who presents them at their most enigmatic. In fact, if youre familiar with the Borg, you likely noticed that in my synopsis I avoided using a lot of the vocabulary that would come to be associated with them (slots instead of regeneration alcoves, etc). Thats an exercise I decided to indulge largely as a way of underscoring just how much the conception of the Borg has shifted, even just between this episode and their next appearance in The Best of Both Worlds which yes, we will be getting to here, just as soon as I figure out how I want to handle two-parters.

That shift is something that can no doubt make this a bit jarring to watch for people who know the Borg more in the form they took from First Contact onward, similar to the way the Klingons seen on the original Star Trek are nearly unrecognizable next to their Next Generation counterparts. I consider myself lucky to have first encountered the Borg here (way back when), but even knowing what it was like to watch this without any foreknowledge, some of the bigger conceptual changes still stick out like a sore thumb.

The big one, of course, being the assertion that their primary interest is the consumption of resources and technology. As Q describes them, the ultimate user. Though this isnt terribly hard to reconcile with the later concept of assimilation, it is reflective of just how much farther they still had to go. In fact, while it is a fair argument that the Borg worked better when they were more mysterious and monolithic, Id argue that they didnt actually strike the right balance until The Best of Both Worlds. Here, we just dont quite know enough about them.

Setting aside any discussion of the Borgs long-term effectiveness, theres no arguing that Q Who provides an effective villain introduction for them, and thats an easy thing to foul up. There is a tendency in comics and serialized storytelling, in general, to introduce a new villain by having them kill or otherwise one-up an established character. Thats a cheap, lazy way to establish villain cred. None of that here. Here, the Enterprise is put up against a threat for which they are utterly unprepared (and, but Picards own admission, inadequate) and they are handily overwhelmed. Its easy to overlook, but the episode makes no bones about the fact that had it not been for Qs intervention, they likely would have died in the course of a final escape attempt. And really, the only reason Starfleet as a whole and the Enterprise, in particular, is able to hold its own against the Borg in later episodes is that theyve had time to prepare.

And speaking of Q, this is also a significant episode for him. In his prior appearances, hes been screwing with the Enterprise crew on business, putting Humanity on trial or offering Riker a place in the Q Continuum. Here, though, hes been cast out by the Continuum, and where does he come? The Enterprise. It establishes his interest in humanity (especially Picard) as something specific. In his own strange, fickle, sometimes petulant way, he likes these people. Or at the very least hes fascinated by them. In establishing that, Q Who effectively lays the groundwork for all of Qs later appearances, as he became less of a villain and more of an all-powerful nuisance.

What do you think of Q Who? Is this earlier iteration of the Borg more compelling than what came later? Would you have liked to see Hurleys original arc play out or are you happy with what we got? Let me know in the comments and make sure you check back in two weeks for the next Final Frontier Friday!

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Final Frontier Friday: 'Q Who' - Science Fiction