Happy #InternationalChessDay! My friend Ervin Sindik reconstructed all my games from the 1992 blitz tournament in Mar del Plata, Argentina, most never published before. Here is one, vs GM Zarnicki. chesspastebin.com/view/22507
He reconstructed them from video, and here is a version of it with my interview. Long ago! Look at all that hair!
I won the first ten games against the best players and felt invincible going into the final round against an amateur. And you've heard about pride and falls! But that loss to De las Heras was of course preserved and published so I won't recount it here..
In the spirit of the day, and since many of us have a lot of time in isolation, it's a great time to teach someone to play chess! It would also honor the recent passing of the man who taught me, my uncle, Konstantin Gregorian. #InternationalChessDay
*Grigorian, typo!
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Some good material as usual, but do not give so much credit to the Western leaders Putin evaluated correctly. They were ready to concede Ukraine. Putin's big mistake of underestimating Ukraine and Ukrainians is one Biden and others made as well, and it all comes back to that.
Also, Putin is a KGB man, not a military leader, and his war on the free world started long before 2014, in 2005. His methods changed as his sense of impunity grew in the face of Western weakness. He was building political & economic leverage before using force.
E.g. Orban to undermine the EU & NATO, supporting Brexit, Le Pen, and Trump to do the same. Nord Stream 2 was under construction even after Russia invaded Ukraine. Although Putin's record wasn't 100%, it was only Ukraine's surprising resistance that forced allies to step up.
Echoing what I and so many other dissidents in repressive regimes ask of the mighty leaders of the free world: If you don't want to help us, fine, but stop helping our oppressors. Stop giving dictators money, trade, political normalization.
It was easy to critique the failings of our fractious democratic opposition in Russia. But meanwhile, Putin had summits and posed for photos with G7 leaders as he destroyed civil society. They made trade deals as he took over the largest corporations & spread corruption west.
No authoritarian regime is legitimate. As Masih says, don't ask why Iranians or Russians, et al, don't rise up against their well-funded and well-armed oppressors when those oppressors are usually funded, armed, and legitimized by the democratic leaders you freely voted for.
I remember. I don’t know who he’s talking about, but it doesn’t matter. From using tariffs to attack Brazil to defend a personal ally to threatening American citizens, Trump is confirming what we warned, that he will do whatever he is allowed to do. The GOP will downplay, again.
As I wrote about Putin 20 yrs ago, and Trump last month, an autocrat's illegal threats are tests. How hard is the pushback and from whom? What happens when the things people say Trump can't do or would never really do actually happen? Autocracy isn’t built in a day.
For years, I updated a list of things that "Putin would never" do according to Russian opposition and foreign politicians and experts—all things that he eventually did as soon as he was able without risking his power. Jailing Khodorkovsky, shuttering free media, etc.
Absolutely. But before the Marshall Plan, there was the Patton plan and the Eisenhower plan of kicking the invader’s ass. You can’t rebuild while Russia is still bombing the hell out of Ukrainian civilians every day, and they won’t stop until they are stopped.
Here’s a "Marshall plan" Kellogg should know: "We must proceed in the most businesslike manner possible to make this war so terrible to the enemy, so overwhelming in character, that never again can a small group of dictators find a sufficient following to destroy the peaceful security of a civilized world."—Gen GC Marshall, Speech to the American Legion, Sept. 21, 1943
Or this, relevant to Russia's attacks on Ukraine: "I hope with every fiber of my being that the horrible effect on civilian communities of recent air attacks will shock the civilized world into taking joint measures guaranteeing the immunity of such communities against bombing attacks in the future."—GC Marshall, speech to the West Virginia State American Legion, Sept 4, 1938
July 4 is about 1776, and I’m fond of posting quotes from and about the Founding Fathers, who hindsight confirms as the greatest collection of talent, knowledge, and courage ever assembled. But this year I’m starting with 1788, and Federalist Paper 69. guides.loc.gov/federalist-pap…
In it, and the subsequent Papers, Alexander Hamilton enumerates the differences between the US presidency and the monarchy. That is, why the American president is not a king, and how his power is constrained by law in many ways a king's or despot's is not.
Hamilton places great emphasis on how the presidency's great powers are constrained by the "advice and consent of the Senate" and by the threat of impeachment should he overstep. I leave it to you to read it and decide if such constraints are in effect today.
Good comparison, because a military is what Trump wants. His own personal federal National Guard. It's called Rosgvardiya in Russia, or call it a praetorian guard or gestapo. ICE will be the most powerful military force on the ground in the country, under the command of the DOJ.
Every Republican who voted for this will be guilty when this force is used against American citizens. He's already talking about deporting them. It will begin with "subversive elements," and "enemies of the people," as it always does.
Trump already tried to overthrow an election. If you're counting on his personal squeamishness over the use of force, those around him are far more ruthless. No need to deal with states or governors & the National Guard. Trumpguardia will be there for every contrived emergency.