A Review of Educational Resources

Looking at my first post on this blog (Sunday, March 15th 2009), I noticed that I had a link to my Edublog's site that was still operational. My very first entry there was in September of 2007 and my last on December 24th 2008, almost exactly 9 years ago. I ceased using the Edublog site for blogging because it only offered 20Mb of storage. I'm not sure what it offers now. The blog is powered by WORDPRESS so it looks good.

I did have the Edublogs' app on my phone for a time but I've since deleted as it's really only useful if one has a class of students. Nonetheless, it's interesting to look back at past posts and read about my battles getting Ubuntu to work properly on my laptop. I'm reminded that I do have a WORDPRESS site at seanreeves.wordpress.com. It's titled Staying Healthy but I haven't made much use of it. My first entry was:

• Getting Fit (August 5th 2010) followed by 
• Zen Buddhist Meditation Technique Wins Survey (August 8th 2010)
• Ramadan and Muhammad (September 5th 2010)
• Desy and Sabina jalan jalan (September 19th 2011) and lastly 
• Weight Comparison: 2010 versus 2017 (May 19th 2017)

On the subject of students, I still have my free Moodle Cloud site active at http://seanreeves.moodlecloud.com but have made no use of it recently. I also have MAMP installed on my laptop but again haven't used it in quite a while. Having thought of MAMP however, I've taken the opportunity to download the latest version of the software: MAMP 4.2.1 (a 331Mb download from here although it's still not operational at the time of writing). May as well keep it up to date. I find it hard to let go of these relics of the past. There is of course Google Classroom as well, which I've only dabbled with briefly.

CHESS: A BUMBLED DRAW

I played a game at club level against Fritz Online and remembered that one needed a premium account to export files in PGN format. So I took a screenshot of the PGN displayed on Fritz Online and tried unsuccessfully to use OneNote and Google Docs to convert the image to text. Apparently it can be done but it defeated me. I turned to Google Keep and fortunately it was a very straightforward process. So I pasted the text into ChessX and things worked fine, so now I'm pasting the game into this blog. It's a game I should have won I'm sure but in the end was lucky not to lose, having overlooked a pin to my Queen from Fritz's Rook.

[Event "Casual Match"] [Site "Spring Hill"] [Date "2017.12.23"] [Round "4"] [White "Fritz: set to club player handicap"] [Black "Sean Reeves"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.e3 Nc6 8.0-0 Rc8 9.a3 h6 10.Nbd2 Be7 11.b3 0-0 12.Bb2 cxd4 13.exd4 Qc7 14.Rac1 Rcd8 15.Rfe1 g5 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Nh7 18.Be4 Bxe4 19.Nxe4 Qc6 20.Rcd1 b5 21.c5 Rb8 22.b4 Ra8 23.Nd6 Rab8 24.Rd2 Rbd8 25.Red1 Kg7 26.g4 Kg8 27.Rd3 Rb8 28.Rh3 Kg7 29.Ne4 Rfe8 30.Rd6 Bxd6 31.exd6+ f6 32.Nxf6 Nxf6 33.Bxf6+ Kxf6 34.Rxh6+ Ke5 35.Qc3+ Kd5 36.Qd3+ Ke5 37.f4+ gxf4 38.Rh5+ Kf6 39.g5+ Ke5 40.g6+ Kf6 41.Rh6 Rg8 42.g7+ Kxg7 43.Qg6+ Kf8 44.Rh8 Rxh8 45.Qf6+ Kg8 46.Qg6+ Kf8 47.Qf6+ Kg8 48.Qg6+ Kf8 1/2-1/2

It would seem that 39.g5+ was not the best move and that better would have been 39.Qh7 after which it's clearly curtains for Fritz. White has the luxury of not being able to be checked by the Black Queen, even though quite exposed. The g pawn is a shield against the Black Rook but this pawn was lost when I followed the line that I did.

CHESS: HOW TO EMBED A FULL CHESS GAME IN A BLOG

In this blog post I challenged myself to learn how to embed an entire game into a blog post, specifically this current blog post. I succeeded without too much difficulty. I've embedded a rather wild game from the Spassky versus Fischer World Championship Match in Reykjavik in 1972.

To get it to work (using the information on chessbase link), the PGN file is pasted into the HTML between DIV tags as follows:

Then some Javascript needs to be pasted in so that the ChessBase server can be accessed.

This is similar to how LaTeX gets rendered when I'm creating a mathematical post. While viewing in a browser in Android however, the LaTeX doesn't get rendered whereas with the embedded chess game, it does. However, in the Blogger app for Android, it is not displayed.

I guess what I need to investigate now is what control I have over how the game appears and what other chess websites provide this sort of service.

[Event "World Championship 28th"] [White "Spassky, Boris V"] [Black "Fischer, Robert James"] [Site "Reykjavik"] [Result "1–0"] [Date "1972.08.06"] [WhiteElo "2660"] [BlackElo "2785"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Nb3 Qa3 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Be2 h5 12. 0-0 Nc6 13. Kh1 Bd7 14. Nb1 Qb4 15. Qe3 d5 16. exd5 Ne7 17. c4 Nf5 18. Qd3 h4 19. Bg4 Nd6 20. N1d2 f5 21. a3 Qb6 22. c5 Qb5 23. Qc3 fxg4 24. a4 h3 25. axb5 hxg2+ 26. Kxg2 Rh3 27. Qf6 Nf5 28. c6 Bc8 29. dxe6 fxe6 30. Rfe1 Be7 31. Rxe6

CHESS: The Budapest Gambit

I had been studying The Budapest Gambit via Bogdan Lalić's late 90's ebook described by the Amazon bookstore as "a relatively rare but sound attempt by Black to disrupt White's smooth development and this book provides up-to-date coverage of this sharp opening, ever-popular at club level". With the Black pieces against OS X's Chess program I played this opening but was surprised when White played 4.Qd4 which does not appear in any of the main lines covered in the book. However, there is a reference to this move in Games 73 and 74:

The book suggests that the best continuation for Black is 4...d6 which is what I played in my game. After which, play proceeds as 5.exd6 Bxd6 after which White plays 6.Nf3 in Game 74 and 6.Q4+ in Game 73. In my game, White played the former and play continued thus:

This led to the following position after Black's 19th move:

My position, I thought, was pretty solid but then White made a completely unexpected move, viz. 20.Nd5 cutting off my black-squared Bishop from the support of the Rooks.

I first tried 20...Bxf2+ but that doesn't work out so well. In the end I settled on 20...cxd5 which led to a drawn position although the program didn't concede a draw. Instead it just kept playing. Below is the situation after a seemingly interminable 169 moves, snapped from my perspective playing with the Black pieces (note HGFEDCBA file order from left to right):

I won't put down all the 169 moves but these moves (up to move 53 show where things are headed):

The chess program in OS X has a glitch whereby it crashes whenever I attempt to save the game in PGN format. It would be nice to learn how to embed a game with controls as they do on most of the online chess sites. I must investigate how to do this, otherwise my blog posts are rather limited.

INDONESIAN: The 101-200 Most Frequently Used English Words Translated

The words were taken from this site. The first 100 words can be found here.

Over - You need to flip the book over --> Anda perlu membalik buku itu (membalik = flip over)

New - She bought a new car --> Dia membeli mobil baru

Sound - The sound from the house is loud --> Suara dari rumah itu nyaring

Take - I will take my bag with me --> Saya akan membawa tas saya bersamaku

Only - She is the only person here --> Dia satu-satunya orang di sini

Little - That is a little dog --> Itu adalah anjing kecil

Work - They work every day --> Mereka bekerja setiap hari

Know - We know how to make an omelette --> Kita tahu bagaimana membuat omelet

Place - The place is right around the corner --> Tempatnya tepat di tikungan (tikungan = bend)

Year - We had a great year --> Kami mengalami tahun yang indah

Live - We live near the ocean --> Kita tinggal di dekat laut

Me - She told me to hurry --> Dia menyuruhku buru-buru (suruh = tell)

Back - We need to go back --> Kita harus kembali (kembali = go back)

Give - They give money to the church --> Mereka memberi uang ke gereja

Most - Most people like to sing on their birthday --> Kebanyakan orang suka bernyanyi di hari ulang tahun mereka

Very - We liked the meal very much --> Kami menyukai makanannya sangat banyak

After - They came after we did --> Mereka datang setelah kita melakukannya

Thing - That thing is over there --> Benda itu ada di sana (benda = object)

Our - That is our house --> Itu adalah rumah kami (the non-inclusive our is required here)

Just - You came just in time --> Anda datang tepat pada waktunya

Name - My name is David --> Nama saya David

Good - That is a good dog --> Itu adalah anjing yang baik

Sentence - She wrote a long sentence --> Dia menulis sebuah kalimat panjang

Man - That man is very big --> Orang itu sangat besar

Think - I think I will eat tofu tonight --> Kupikir aku akan makan tahu malam ini

Say - They say we should read more --> Mereka bilang kita harus membaca lebih banyak

Great - You have a great car --> Anda memiliki mobil yang bagus

Much - How much does that cost? --> Berapa harganya?

Before - You should eat a good breakfast before school --> Anda harus makan sarapan yang enak sebelum sekolah

Mean - She has a mean cat --> Dia memiliki kucing jahat

Old - I am an old man --> Saya orang tua

Boy - The boy is happy in school --> Anak itu senang di sekolah

Follow - I need to follow them --> Aku harus mengikutinya

Also - She is also learning English --> Dia juga belajar bahasa Inggris

Around - She drove around the building --> Dia berkeliling gedung

Where - Where are you from? --> Dari mana kamu berasal?

Help - They help people all of the time --> Mereka membantu orang sepanjang waktu

Through - I walked through the door --> Aku berjalan melewati pintu

Line - We must stand in line for a while --> Kita harus antre untuk sementara waktu (antre = stand in line or line up)

Right - We need to turn right at the next light --> Kita harus berbelok ke kanan pada cahaya berikutnya

Too - That watch costs too much --> Jam tangan itu harganya terlalu mahal

Any - You can come any time that you want --> Anda bisa datang kapan saja yang Anda inginkan

Same - We have the same shirt --> Kami memiliki kemeja yang sama

Tell - They will tell them to come here --> Mereka akan menyuruh mereka datang kesini

Came - She came to our party --> She came to our party

Want - I want a Pepsi --> Saya ingin sebuah Pepsi

Show - She will show them her house --> Dia akan menunjukkan rumahnya padanya

Form - That form is difficult to fill out --> Formulir itu sulit untuk diisi

Three - We have three pencils --> Kami memiliki tiga pensil

Small - That is a small computer --> Itu komputer kecil

Set - They need to set the plate down --> Mereka perlu meletakkan piringnya

Put - She put her foot down --> Dia menurunkan kakinya (menurunkan = put down)

End - The end is coming --> Akhir akan datang

Does - She does not like spinach --> Dia tidak suka bayam (does is implied)

Another - We had another friend come by --> Kami punya teman lain yang datang

Well - He did very well --> Dia melakukannya dengan sangat baik

Large - She drank a large Coke --> Dia minum Coke besar

Must - We must watch that game --> Kita harus menonton pertandingan itu

Big - We have a big house --> Kami punya rumah besar

Even - Two is an even number --> Dua adalah angka genap

Such - We had such a good time --> Kami menikmati saat yang sangat baik

Because - We ate a sandwich because we were hungry --> Kami makan sandwich karena kami lapar

Turn - We will turn the wheel --> Kami akan memutar roda

Here - We are here right now --> Kami di sini sekarang

Why - Why did they come? --> Mengapa mereka datang?

Ask - I will ask them again --> Saya akan bertanya lagi

Went - She went home --> Dia pulang ke rumah

Men - There are five men inside --> Ada lima pria di dalamnya

Read - I read every day --> Saya membaca setiap hari

Need - I need to eat --> Aku butuh makan

Land - The land is expensive --> Tanahnya mahal

Different - They have a different opinion --> Mereka memiliki pendapat yang berbeda

Home - I will go home --> Aku akan pulang (pulang = go home)

Us - She bought us dinner --> Dia membelikan makan malam untuk kami

Move - They will move home --> Mereka akan pindah rumah

Try - I will try again --> Aku akan mencoba lagi

Kind - She is a kind person --> Dia adalah orang baik

Hand - Her hand is big --> Tangannya besar

Picture - I took a picture --> Aku berfoto

Again - They came again --> Mereka datang lagi

Change - We will change cars --> Kami akan mengganti mobil

Off - Please turn the lights off --> Matikan lampu (matikan = turn ... off)

Play - I will play with my friends --> Saya akan bermain dengan teman-teman saya

Spell - I need to spell that word --> Saya perlu mengeja kata itu

Air - The air is nice --> Udara bagus

Away - I will go away --> Aku akan pergi (pergi = go away)

Animal - A cat is an animal --> Seekor kucing adalah binatang

House - We have a nice house --> Kami memiliki rumah yang bagus

Point - She made a good point --> Dia membuat titik yang bagus

Page - Please write on the page --> Silahkan tulis di halaman

Letter - She wrote a nice letter --> Dia menulis surat yang bagus

Mother - My mother is here --> Ibuku ada disini

Answer - She gave a good answer --> Dia memberikan jawaban yang bagus

Found - I found my keys --> Saya menemukan kunci saya

Study - I study every day --> Saya belajar setiap hari

Still - She is still at home --> Dia masih di rumah

Learn - I will learn about a new book --> Saya akan belajar tentang sebuah buku baru

Should - We should go home --> Kita harus pulang

American - She is an American --> Dia orang Amerika

World - The world is small --> Dunia ini kecil

CHESS: The Rules for Drawing

If the last 50 consecutive moves have been made by each player without the movement of any pawn and without the capture of any piece, the game can be declared a draw by either of the opponents. The other player's approval is not required, and the game ends immediately and is recorded as a draw for both players.

I was under the misapprehension that a draw could be claimed if 50 consecutive moves had been played without the capture of a piece. I'd forgotten or never knew about the requirement for no pawn moves to have occurred either. I had reason to recall the rule because I ended up playing a 3-D game on OS X that I eventually lost and in which Black carefully avoided a draw. It was an instructive game and it was surprising that I could hold out for as long as I did. Here are the moves:

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. c3 cxd4 5. cxd4 e6 6. Nc3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O‑O 8. O‑O Nc6 9. a3 Bd7 10. Bd2 Qb8 11. h3 a6 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Qe2 Qa7 14. Na2 Rc7 15. b4 Rac8 16. Rc2 Ne4 17. Rfc1 b5 18. Be1 e5 19. dxe5 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 Bxe5 21. Rxc7 Rxc7 22. Rxc7 Qxc7 23. f3 Bh2+ 24. Kf1 Ng3+ 25. Bxg3 Bxg3 26. Qc2 Qxc2 27. Bxc2 Be5 28. e4 dxe4 29. Bxe4 Be6 30. Nc1 Bc4+ 31. Kf2 Bd4+ 32. Kg3 Bb2 33. Nd3 Bxd3 34. Bxd3 Bxa3 35. Be4 Bxb4 36. Bc6 Bd6+ 37. Kf2 b4 38. Ke2 b3 39. Kd2 Bb4+ 40. Kc1 Bc3 41. Bb7 a5 42. Bc6 Kf8 43. Ba4 b2+ 44. Kb1 f5 45. Bc2 Bd4 46. Ka2 g6 47. Kb3 Ke7 48. Kc4 Be5 49. Bb1 Ke6 50. Kc5 h5 51. Kc4 h4 52. Kd3 a4 53. Ke3 g5 54. Kd3 a3 55. Ke3 Bd6 56. Kd4 Kf6 57. Ke3 Ke5 58. Ba2 Bc5+ 59. Kd3 Kf4 60. Ke2 Kg3 61. Kf1 Bd4 62. Bb1 Kf4 63. Ke2 Bb6 64. Ba2 Bg1 65. Bb1 Bb6 66. Ba2 Bd4 67. Bb1 Kg3 68. Kf1 Be3 69. Ba2 Bd2 70. Bb1 Kf4 71. Ke2 Bb4 72. Ba2 Bd6 73. Bb1 Kg3 74. Kf1 Kf4 75. Ke2 Kg3 76. Kf1 Bc5 77. Ba2 Bb6 78. Bb1 Bd4 79. Ba2 Kf4 80. Ke2 Bb6 81. Bb1 Kg3 82. Kf1 Kh2 83. Ba2 Bd4 84. Bb1 Bc3 85. Ba2 Kg3 86. Bb1 Be5 87. Ba2 Bc3 88. Bb1 Be5 89. Ba2 Kf4 90. Ke2 Bc7 91. Bb1 Kg3 92. Kf1 Bb6 93. Ba2 Bf2 94. Bb1 Bd4 95. Ba2 Bc5 96. Bb1 Bb6 97. Ba2 Ba5 98. Bb1 Bc3 99. Ba2 Bd2 100. Bb1 Kf4 101. Ke2 Bb4 102. Ba2 Kg3 103. Kf1 Bc5 104. Bb1 f4 105. Ba2 Bb6 106. Bb1 Bc5 107. Ba2 Be3 108. Bb1 Bf2 109. Ba2 Be3 110. Bb1 Bf2 111. Ba2 Bb6 112. Bb1 Kh2 113. Ba2 Bd4 114. Bb1 Kg3 115. Ba2 g4 116. hxg4 h3 117. gxh3 Kxf3 118. g5 Ke3 119. h4 Kd2 120. h5 Kc2 121. g6 Bg7 122. Kf2 b1=Q 

I'll show the position I reached before it all went wrong for me. Black has just played 25...Bxg3 and I mistakenly decided to exchange Queens, after which the White pawn on a3 cannot be defended.

White has just played 34.Bxd3 and Black is now ready to play 34...Bxa3 and there's nothing White can do about it. Things look grim for White.

It would seem that two connected Black pawns on the queenside would be unstoppable if the White King is not present but such is not the case because the White Bishop is quite up to the task of holding off the Black pawns all by itself. However, White must keep the Black King from penetrating to the queenside. Because White can move the Bishop from b1 to a2 and back again, the White King cannot be forced to yield ground to the Black King. On move 53, Black played 53...a3 and Black did not move another pawn until 50 moves later:

Now Black on move 104 is well aware that another King or Bishop move would result in a draw because 50 moves would have passed since the last capture or pawn move. To avoid this, Black plays 104...f4, moving the pawn on f5 to f4.

After Black's 115th move, 115...g4, things fell apart quickly for White. I don't think there are viable drawing options for White but I'm not completely sure.

INDONESIAN: The 100 Most Frequently Used English Words Translated

The list is taken from this site and Google translate has been used:

The - The man is happy --> Pria itu bahagia

Of - The colour of his car --> Warna mobilnya (possession implied by position)

And - The man and the woman sang a song --> Pria dan wanita itu menyanyikan sebuah lagu

A - A man and a woman sat down --> Seorang pria dan seorang wanita duduk

To - He will go to the store --> Dia akan pergi ke toko

In - The dog is in the house --> Anjing itu ada di dalam rumah

Is - She is happy --> Dia (adalah) bahagia (Google translate omits adalah)

You - You are here --> Kamu di sini

That - That is a car --> Itu mobil

It - It is a car --> Ini adalah mobil (ini translates as this)

He - He is a boy --> Dia anak laki-laki (of course the translation for she is boy is the same)

Was - He was here --> Dia ada disini (better is dia di sini tadi where tadi means just now)

For - Go for it! --> Pergi untuk itu!

On - The ball is on the floor --> Bola ada di lantai

Are - We are in the house --> Kami ada di rumah

As - You are not as big as I am --> Anda tidak sebesar saya

With - He will be with her --> Dia akan bersamanya

His - That is his coat --> Itu mantelnya

They - They are here --> Mereka disini

I - I am very happy --> Saya sangat senang

At - She is at the movies --> Dia ada di bioskop

Be - I will be with her --> Aku akan bersamanya (the be is implied in the translation)

This - This is their favourite movie --> Ini adalah film favorit mereka

Have - We have a car --> Kami punya mobil

From - She is from Russia --> Dia berasal dari Rusia

Or - Go here or there --> Pergilah kesini atau di sana

One - She is number one --> Dia nomor satu

Had - They had a dog --> Mereka pernah memiliki anjing (they once owned a dog)

By - The book is by the shelf --> Buku itu berada di dekat rak

Word - That is a nice word --> Itu kata yang bagus

But - She is here, but she is sleeping --> Dia ada di sini, tapi dia tidur

Not - That is not her coat --> Itu bukan mantelnya

What - What are you doing? --> Apa yang sedang kamu lakukan?

All - All of them are here --> Semuanya ada di sini

Were - They were here --> Mereka ada di sini lebih awal (they were here earlier)

We - We love sports --> Kami cinta olahraga (kami is the non-inclusive we)

When - When are you coming? --> Kapan kamu datang?

Your - Your car is outside --> Mobilmu ada di luar

Can - I can play basketball --> Saya bisa bermain basket

Said - She said to come home --> Dia bilang pulang ke rumah

There - There are four people outside --> Ada empat orang di luar

Use - I will use the car --> Saya akan menggunakan mobil

An - That is an elephant --> Itu adalah (seekor) gajah (seekor not really needed here)

Each - Each player is on the field --> Setiap pemain ada di lapangan

Which - Which movie do you want to see? --> Film apa yang ingin kamu lihat

She - She is at school --> Dia di sekolah (of course he is at school translates the same)

Do - I will do my homework --> Saya akan mengerjakan PR saya (PR = Perkerjaan Rumah)

How - How are you? --> Apa kabar? (literally, what news?)

Their - That is their car --> Itu mobil mereka

If - If you play outside, then you should take a coat -->
Jika Anda bermain di luar, maka Anda harus mengambil mantel

Will - I will watch television --> Saya akan menonton televisi

Up - Go up the stairs --> Naik tangga (here go up = ascend)

Other - That is on the other side --> Itu ada di sisi lain

About - The book is about a boy --> Buku ini tentang seorang anak laki-laki

Out - Go out of the house! --> Pergi keluar rumah!

Many - Many people are at the party --> Banyak orang di pesta itu

Then - If you come, then have some fun --> Jika Anda datang, maka bersenang-senanglah

Them - I will talk with them --> Saya akan berbicara dengan mereka

These - These are my friends --> Ini adalah teman saya

So -  So what? --> Apa pentingnya? (literally, what's the significance?)

Some - Some people will come to my house --> Beberapa orang akan datang ke rumah saya

Her - That is her shirt --> Itulah bajunya

Would - I would like a hamburger --> Saya ingin hamburger (would implied by context)

Make - I will make a cake --> Aku akan membuat kue

Like - I like my computer --> Saya suka komputer saya

Him - She likes him --> Dia menyukainya

Into - I will go into the house --> Aku akan masuk ke rumah

Time - What time is it? --> Jam berapa sekarang?

Has - She has a pencil --> Dia memiliki pensil

Look - I will look for my friend --> Aku akan mencari temanku

Two - There are two balls outside --> Ada dua bola di luar

More - There are more people in the house --> Ada lebih banyak orang di rumah

Write - I will write a sentence --> Saya akan menulis sebuah kalimat

Go - She will go to the movies --> Dia akan pergi ke bioskop

See - I can see my friends --> Aku bisa melihat teman-temanku

Number - That is the number two --> Itulah nomor dua

No - There are no balls outside --> Tidak ada bola di luar

Way - That is the way home --> Itulah jalan pulang

Could - Could I see your room? --> Boleh aku melihat kamarmu?

People - There are many people at the party --> Ada banyak orang di pesta itu

My - My car is new --> Mobil saya baru

Than - She is bigger than he is --> Dia lebih besar dari dia

First - She came in first place --> Dia datang di tempat pertama

Water - I drink water every day --> Saya minum air putih setiap hari

Been - I have been to the movies --> Saya pernah ke bioskop

Call - I will call my friend later --> Aku akan menelepon temanku nanti

Who - Who are you? --> Kamu siapa?

Oil - I put oil in my car --> Saya menaruh oli di mobil saya

Its - Its colour is very nice --> Warnanya sangat bagus

Now - We must go now --> Kita harus pergi sekarang

Find - I will find my keys --> Saya akan menemukan kunci saya

Long - The string is long --> String itu panjang

Down - I will go down the stairs --> Aku akan menuruni tangga (go down = descend)

Day - The day is beautiful --> Hari itu indah

Did - I did my homework --> Saya melakukan pekerjaan rumah saya (did is implied)

Get - I will get a pencil -->  Saya akan mendapatkan pensil

Come - She will come home --> Dia akan pulang (come home = pulang)

Made - I made breakfast --> Saya membuat sarapan

May - May I go to the bathroom?  --> Bolehkah saya pergi ke kamar mandi?

Part - You need that part of the sentence --> Anda membutuhkan bagian dari kalimat itu

VOCABULARY: words ending in OSIS

Continuing with my pre-sleep activities, I'd been thinking about words ending in OSIS but could remember only a frustrating few such as psychosis, neurosis, mitosis, meiosis and kurtosis. I knew there must be many more. A search of THE FREE DICTIONARY led to the following:

• A: atherosclerosis (a disease in which plaque builds up inside your arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart and other parts of your body. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows your arteries); ankylosis (abnormal stiffening and immobility of a joint due to fusion of the bones); asbestosis (a chronic inflammatory and scarring disease affecting the tissue of the lungs. People with the condition may experience severe shortness of breath and are at an increased risk for certain cancers, including lung cancer and, less commonly, mesothelioma); apotheosis.
  
• B: brucellosis (a bacterial infection that affects thousands of people worldwide. Avoiding unpasteurised dairy products and taking precautions when working with animals or in a laboratory can help prevent brucellosis; symptoms may include joint and muscle pain, fever, weight loss and fatigue; some people develop stomach pain and cough; treatment includes antibiotics; relapses are common).
  
• C: cyanosis (the bluish or purplish discolouration of the skin or mucous membranes due to the tissues near the skin surface having low oxygen saturation); cirrhosis (a condition in which the liver does not function properly due to long-term damage. This damage is characterised by the replacement of normal liver tissue by scar tissue; cirrhosis is most commonly caused by alcohol, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease).
  
• D: diagnosis; dermatosis (a broad term that refers to any disease of the skin, especially one that is not accompanied by inflammation e.g. dermatosis papulosa nigra (DPNs) are very common benign brown warty papules that appear in African Americans and other patients with dark skin phototypes; DPNs usually affect the cheeks, neck, and upper chest); diverticulosis.
  
• E: endometriosis (a condition whereby the tissue from the inside of the womb is growing outside of it)
  
• F: fibrosis (the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue in a reparative or reactive process. This can be a reactive, benign, or pathological state. In response to injury, this is called scarring, and if fibrosis arises from a single cell line, this is called a fibroma); fluorosis (dental fluorosis, also termed mottled enamel, is an extremely common disorder, characterised by hypomineralisation of tooth enamel caused by ingestion of excessive fluoride during enamel formation).
  
• G: gnosis
  
• H: halitosis; hypnosis
  
• I: immunodiagnosis
• J: none known
  
• K: keratosis (solar keratosis or actinic keratosis, also commonly known as sunspots, are rough, red, scaly, or crusty spots on the skin that are caused by excessive exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR) from the sun. They are more common on sun-exposed areas, such as the face, nose, ears, chest, forearms, and back of the hands); kurtosis (the sharpness of the peak of a frequency-distribution curve).
  
• L: listeriosis (an illness usually caused by eating foods contaminated with the bacteria known as Listeria monocytogenes. Listeriosis is a serious disease in pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. Infection is treated with antibiotics); leucosis (avian sarcoma leukosis virus is an endogenous retrovirus that infects and can lead to cancer in chickens; experimentally it can infect other species of birds and mammals)
  
• M: miosis (a process where a single cell divides into two identical daughter cells); meiosis (a process where a single cell divides twice to produce four cells containing half the original amount of genetic information. These cells are sex cells – sperm in males, eggs in females); metempsychosis (the supposed transmigration at death of the soul of a human being or animal into a new body of the same or a different species); metamorphosis; mononucleosis (infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, human herpesvirus 4, HHV-4) in which there is an increase of white blood cells that have a single nucleus (monocytes), the infection can be spread by saliva, also known as mono, the kissing disease); misdiagnosis; myxomatosis
  
• N: necrosis; neurosis; narcosis (a state of stupor, drowsiness, or unconsciousness produced by drugs)
  
• O: osteoporosis; osmosis
  
• P: psychoneurosis; psychosis; prognosis; pediculosis (infestation with lice)
  
• Q: none known
  
• R: none known
  
• S: scoliosis; silicosis
  
• T: toxoplasmosis; tuberculosis; trichinosis (a disease resulting from infestation with Trichinella spiralis, occurring in humans, caused by ingestion of infested, undercooked pork, and characterised by fever, muscle weakness, and diarrhea); thrombosis
  
• U: none known
  
• V: varicosis (any condition characterised by distension of the veins); virosis (infection with a virus)
  
• W: whoosis (an object or person whose name is not known or cannot be recalled)
  
• X: xerosis (abnormal dryness, as of the eye or skin)
  
• Y: none known
  
• Z: zoonosis (any disease of animals communicable to humans); zygosis (the union of two gametes; conjugation); zymosis (any infectious disease; the development process or spread of such a disease)
  

CHESS: Holding On

This is the position that I reached after White's 41st move against Fritz set to Master Level. Here are the moves:

I'd managed to maintain material equality but I'd been in defensive mode for most of the game, and I still was. I was certainly on the back foot. My three pieces were on the back rank and there were various threats looming. I decided to take a break from the game and analyse the situation before proceeding. Fritz's analysis showed that the best way forward for Black was to play 41...exf4, although White still maintains the advantage. The suggested continuation was:

This sequence of moves leads to the following position (constructed using ChessX):

The frustration for Black is that he can't play (in the first position) Nc6 to drive away the White Rook because the b pawn is then lost. In the continuation described, Black does play Nc6 but at a later date. In any case, the key move for Black to regain some sort of offensive does seem to lie with 41...exf4.

CHESS: More Master Mauling

Here is the position I found myself in after 10.Bb2. I decided to castle and things fell apart quickly after White's devastating 11.Na4. Black's seemingly secure position was an illusion as the Knight move demonstrated. After the Knight move:

• The Knight attacks Black's c5 pawn
• The Knight threatens to settle on Black's b6 square
• White's Black-squared Bishop threatens to take Black's Knight on c6 and expose Black's King

Black's c5 pawn is protected only by the Bishop so it cannot move to c7 to guard the b6 square. It is the Queen must move to either e8 or c7 to guard the b6 square. As it was, I moved the Queen to c7 and the White Bishop captured the Black Knight on f6. Here are the moves as they were played out:

What the Fritz analysis suggests as the best move for Black is 10...Nb4 with the following possible follow-up that doesn't quite achieve equality for Black but come closer to it than my bumbling attempt:

Even after castling and White's Knight move, it would have been better to play 10...Qe7 in order to recapture with the Queen, thus preventing the breakup of the pawn defence in front of the King and bringing the Queen to defence of the Kingside. Letting the White Knight settle on b6, if it chooses to, is not the end of the world. However, after 10...Qc7 and 11.Bxf6, it is the end of Black's world.

To me, White's position didn't look good. The white-square Bishop was sitting in front of the d pawn, preventing its advance. In fact, it was well-positioned and bearing down on Black's h pawn. The White Knight on c3 had been place there early, preventing the c pawn from advancing to c4 as it normally does in this sort of opening. As it turned out, the Knight's move to a4 later in the game proved my undoing.

VOCABULARY: words ending in EX

I often play a game as I'm trying to go to sleep in which I try to rhyme words ending in various combinations of letters. For two nights in a row, I was trying to finds words ending in ex and managed to find quite a few. However, I realised that there were plenty more that I was missing so today I determined to discover some more. Here are some of the more common words arranged alphabetically:

A: apex, annex

B: biconvex, biflex (meaning bent in two places) 

C: circumflex, codex, convex, cortex, complex, cybersex 

D: desex, duplex, diplex (pertaining to the simultaneous operation of two radio transmitters or to the simultaneous reception and transmission of radio signals over a single antenna through the use of two frequencies. 

E: the ending itself (ex) seems to be the only known word 

F: flex, fourplex (four family apartment house) 

G: googolplex (a number that is equal to 1 followed by a googol of zeros and expressed as 10^10^100 where a googol is a number that is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros and expressed as 10^100). 

H: hex, haruspex (in ancient Rome, one of a class of minor priests who practiced divination, especially from the entrails of animals killed in sacrifice). 

I: ibex (any of several wild goats of the genus Capra, inhabiting mountainous regions of Eurasia and North Africa, having long, recurved horns), index, intersex (an individual having reproductive organs or external sexual characteristics of both male and female). 

J: no known words 

K: Kleenex (a brand name for a soft, disposable paper tissue, used especially as a handkerchief). 

L: lex (Latin for law), latex (a milky liquid in certain plants, as milkweeds, euphorbias, poppies, or the plants yielding India rubber, that coagulates on exposure to air). 

M: megaplex, multiplex 

N: neocortex 

O: octuplex (presumably an eight family apartment house) 

P: pyrex, perspex, perplex, pontifex (a member of the Pontifical College, which was presided over by a chief priest (Pontifex Maximus)) 

Q: quadplex 

R: rex, retroflex (bent backward) 

S: sex, spandex (a synthetic fibre composed of a long-chain polymer, used chiefly in the manufacture of garments to add elasticity), simplex, subcortex. 

T: triplex (threefold; triple).  

U: no known words 

V: vertex, vortex, vex

W: no known words 

X:  no known words 

Y: no known words 

Z: no known words 

It's always good to work some of these words into a sentence. For example, I'll vex my ex with a hex.

CHESS: Another Misstep

This is the position that was reached after 14 moves against Fritz set to Master Level. I have the White pieces and a solid enough position. However, I unwisely chose 15. Na4 and things quickly fell apart. I assumed that the Black Queen, once attacked, would retreat to c7 where I could attack it with my Bishop after Bg3. Black however, retreated to a7 and this was very different. Suddenly, I was a faced with the threat of a pawn fork from b5 and needed to return my Knight to the square it had just come from. Here are the moves with a brief analysis of the best continuation for White (15. Rfe1):

I certainly considered 15. Rfe1 when deliberating on my moves and it's a sensible move but unfortunately I decided on the Knight move, not realising the danger from the pawn fork. The bishop on h4 is also only defended by the Knight and is more secure on g3. It's vulnerable position on h4 ultimately led to its loss with 25. ... Bxh4 after which there was little point in continuing.

The lesson to be learned here to be always check for basic traps like pawn and Knight forks. The danger in my case was glaringly obvious. Sometimes it's less obvious. Here is an instructional configuration that involves the setting up of a pawn fork:

It's taken from http://www.chesstactics.org/, a site that boasts 20 chapters, about 200 topics within them, and over 1,000 positions discussed.

CHESS: Strategic Blunders

Above is the position after 14 moves of a Queen's Pawn opening. I have the White pieces and Black has just played Qb7. All my pieces are developed and I have a reasonable position in my opinion. I need to develop a strategic plan and the one I foolishly embarked upon involved moving my pawns to a3 and b4 to frustrate a c5 pawn move by Black. As it turned out, Black moved the pawn on b6 to b7 and this did not work in my favour. I'd buried my Bishop and, after I placed the Knight on c5 and Black placed the Knight on c4, my doubled Rooks were useless. Furthermore, the placement of my Knight was far less effective than Black's Knight placement. Black could exchange Bishop for Knight if I Knight became too powerful whereas White didn't have that option. White's buried Bishop was black-squared and Black's Knight was unmovable on its White square. From c4, the Knight bore down on e3 already under pressure from Black's Rook on the half-open file. Worst of all, the King side was completely undefended. Black is able to move his Rook up and across to the Kingside while the Queen and Bishop bear down as well. White's Queen cannot help in the defence.

My strategic plan was a sure loser against any competent player. A far better plan might have been to move the Knight on c3 across to the Kingside and keep bearing down on the half open c file with the two Rooks. This is not without it's problems too however, and so it's interesting to set the computer program (Stockfish) to analysis mode and see what strategy it comes up with. What it comes up with is interesting:

This approach is quite different and quite effective in maintaining the initiative for White. The above sequence of moves leads to the position shown below:

CHESS: Ding Lirin - China's highest ranked player ever

Ding Lirin has a peak rating of 2783. It's the highest rating any Chinese player has ever attained. There is an article in ChessBase from the 30th September 2017 about him after his runner-up performance at the World Cup which was won by Aronian. He was born on October 24th 1992 in Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province.

I came across an interesting game of his that was being discussed on a YouTube channel called ChessNetwork. Here is the video creator's introductory comments to the game:

Chess Masterpiece, Immortal Chess Game & Game of the Century are a few of the phrases that come to my mind after observing this magical game from Round 18 of the 2017 Chinese Chess League, played on November 4th. Grandmaster Bai Jinshi played as white against Ding Liren. The opening, a Nimzo-Indian Defense, three knights variation, saw Ding Liren ultimately play the part of some wizard of the game. Many elements of this game reminded me of 13-year-old Bobby Fischer's game against Donald Byrne from 1956, pegged "The Game of the Century". Might this game find its way onto the "Greatest Chess Games of All-Time" list?

Here are the moves:

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 c5 6. e3 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8. Qd3 h6 9. Bh4 d5 10. Rd1 g5 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. Nd2 Nc5 13. Qc2 d4 14. Nf3 e5 15. Nxe5 dxc3 16. Rxd8 cxb2+ 17. Ke2 Rxd8 18. Qxb2 Na4 19. Qc2 Nc3+ 20. Kf3 Rd4 21. h3 h5 22. Bh2 g4+ 23. Kg3 Rd2 24. Qb3 Ne4+ 25. Kh4 Be7+ 26. Kxh5 Kg7 27. Bf4 Bf5 28. Bh6+ Kh7 29. Qxb7 Rxf2 30. Bg5 Rh8 31. Nxf7 Bg6+ 32. Kxg4 Ne5+

Here is the video:

CHESS: Nodirbek Abdusattorov - 2nd Youngest Chess Grandmaster in History

Here is a game played early in 2017 before this latest prodigy, Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Uzbekistan, became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 1 month and 11 days.

In this game, Nodirbek is Black and plays the Nimzo-Indian defence against an Indian grandmaster, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, whom he defeats in a mere 19 moves. The game runs thus:

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Be6 9. a3 Be7 10. Bd3 c5 11. dxc5 d4

12. exd4 Nc6 13. Nge2 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Qxd4 15. Ne4 Nxe4

16. Bxe7 Bb3 17. Qe2 Nxf2 18. Qxf2 Qxd3 19. Qh4 Bc4

The master stroke comes when Black plays 16. ... Bb3 after which White is finished. Below is the position of the board before Black plays this move. After Black captured the Knight on e4 on his previous move, White captures the Bishop on e7, clearly not expecting what then happened.

As of October 2017, Nodirbek Abdusattorov has an ELO rating of 2498. Lailith Babu on the other hand has a current ranking of 2525 and achieved his highest ranking of 2594 in April of 2014. Here is a list of the top twenty players of all time, taken from Chess-DB. Note how Bobby Fisher still ranks in 18th position with an ELO rating of 2785, achieved in April of 1972 (when I turned 23).

Chess Diagrams

In the last few months, my interest in Chess has been rekindled in large part due to http://en.chessbase.com/ and the associated online Fritz Chess Program. However, only premium users of ChessBase can make use of the feature that allows the setting up of positions, important when following through an analysis provided in a chess book. For example, I have a book called 101 Chess Endgame Tips by Steve Giddins. Here is a typical position in which White must try to draw the game and not lose it.

I could not see how to set up the position in either the chess program that comes with macOS or Stockfish that I had downloaded. So I downloaded a program called ChessX, an open source program that I found at sourceforge and found that I was able to set the position easily and play it through as outlined in the book. This is a very useful feature. 

The position above leads with proper play to White having the opposition against the Black King and therefore securing a draw. The proper play is: 

1. Kg3!! Kc2 2. Kf2! d2 3. Kf1! Kd1 4. Kf2 Kd2 5. Kf1 Kd3 6. Ke1 Kc4 7. Kd2 Kb5 8. Kc3 Kxb6 9. Kb4 and White has the opposition and draws. Ultimately, the position will end up as shown below where White must be careful to retreat to b1 where the opposition can be maintained whether Black chooses to move the King to a3 or b3.