Fw: WikiLeaks Stratfor Emails A Secret Indictment Against Julian Assange

I haven't thought of old Yablonski in years.  In fact I've only played one complete game since becoming totally blind, 47 years ago as of yesterday. 

But in my wild and crazy youth, my dad and I along with a former Washington State Master and a strong contender, started a chess club at the local Boys Club(prior to including girls).  I learned to play because my dad, a real student of the game, wanted someone to sit and push pieces as he studied various openings, middle games and closings. 

When we began playing serious games I think I lost around 500 games before I finally bested my dad.  I could see it coming and I could see that he could find no way out.  The longer dad sat studying the board the bigger my grin became.  I really tried to be a good winner, but I just couldn't keep that ear to ear grin off my face. 

About six years ago one of my grandsons told me he was in a chess club.  He said that his mother told him that I used to play.  I hauled out my chess board, adapted for a blind player, and my chess set.  Josh insisted that I show him how a blind person  played chess. 

One thing led to another and we were going head to head.  From time to time he would jump down from the dining room table and run to the office where Cathy was busy, and whisper, "I got him now!" 

But suddenly there it was.  An opening that just called my name.  Bang!  I got him dead to rights. 

Josh slowly went back to the office and told Cathy, "I know I had him.  I don't know what happened." 

I knew what happened.  I got lucky. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Roger Loran Bailey

To: Blind Democracy Discussion List : Sunday, March 04, 2012 8:12 AM

Subject: Re: WikiLeaks Stratfor Emails A Secret Indictment Against Julian Assange

Ever hear of the Yablonski move? I used to play some tournament chess and if you are not a chess player you may not know that chess, like most subcultures, has its own lore and traditions. Part of that lore is Yablonski. He was a relatively famous chess player, but unlike other famous chess players he was not famous for his winning chess playing. In fact, he wasn't a good player at all. He was a loser and a poor loser too. When his game got him into a hopeless position he would, instead of laying his king down or standing up and offering to shake his opponents hand or conceding defeat in the other polite ways, angrily upset the chess board scattering the pieces all over the floor and then stomp out of the room. He was just a poor chess player though. He was not forced to play chess and when he did play chess he did not have the game rules formulated especially so that his opponents would win and he would lose. The Yablonski move, however, might be called for when you are forced to play someone else's game and the rules are set up so that as long as you play by the other guy's rules you cannot win.