Dungeon Keeper

Dungeon Keeper is a strategy video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and released by Electronic Arts in June 1997 for MS-DOS and Windows 95. In "Dungeon Keeper", the player builds and manages a dungeon, protecting it from invading 'hero' characters intent on stealing accumulated treasures, killing monsters and ultimately the player's demise. The ultimate goal is to conquer the world by destroying the heroic forces and rival dungeon keepers in each realm. A character known as the Avatar (resembling the Avatar from "") appears as the final hero. "Dungeon Keeper" uses Creative Technology's SoundFont technology to enhance its atmosphere. Multiplayer with up to four players is supported using a modem, or over a local network.
"Dungeon Keeper" took over two years to develop, and an expansion pack, a Direct3D version, and a level editor were released. Midway through development, lead developer Peter Molyneux decided to leave Bullfrog when the game was complete, which was the motivation for its success. Versions for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation were in development, but cancelled. The game received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the uniqueness and depth. "Dungeon Keeper" was re-released on GOG.com in 2011, and on Origin in 2016. A fan-made mod, "KeeperFX", was released, which fixes bugs and adds features and adds some new bugs. "Dungeon Keeper" was followed by a sequel, "Dungeon Keeper 2", in 1999, and influenced games such as "Lego Rock Raiders" and "Ghost Master".
Gameplay.
The player constructs and manages a dungeon, recruiting and catering for minions to run it and defend it from enemy invaders. The primary method of control is the hand, used to pick up creatures and objects in the dungeon, carry them around, and drop them. The hand allows the player to 'slap' creatures and objects, and interact with them. "Dungeon Keeper" gameplay exemplifies a dark sense of humour.
The Dungeon Heart represents the Keeper's link to the world. If it is destroyed, the player loses. Along with the heart, the player begins with a small number of imps, the generic work force for dungeon activities: they dig tunnels into the surrounding soil, capture enemy rooms and Portals, mine gold and gems, and set traps. Imps are obtained by using the Create Imp spell. Slapping creatures forces them to work faster temporarily, but removes some of their health. Gold is obtained primarily by digging Gold Seams, and Gem Seams provide an unlimited supply, though take longer to accumulate. Gold is used to build rooms, cast spells, and train creatures. To order the imps to dig a tile, the player need flag the tile. Throughout the game, a "mentor" will advise the player as to various happenings and problems within the dungeon, as a sinister voiceover.
Once the Imps are working, the player must then set up a basic infrastructure: Lairs for monsters, a Hatchery (where chickens, which serve as food, are grown), and a Treasury. After connecting the dungeon to a 'Portal', minions will arrive. Minions include dragons, warlocks, and the horned reaper, as well as undead creatures such as vampires and skeletons. As the game progresses, the player moves along a technology tree, unlocking further rooms and spells. Rooms can only be built on tiles belonging to the player. The player is red and the tiles are coloured accordingly. Other keepers have different colours, and the heroes are white. Unaligned creatures and rooms are multicoloured. The player can build traps and doors, created in the workshop. Traps include lightning and boulder traps, the latter instantly killing creatures it comes into contact with. As with rooms, they can only be built on tiles that belong to the player. Traps are not built instantly; Imps need to place them on the blueprint. The Temple is a room where creatures are made happy, and the player can sacrifice creatures to the dark gods. The gods may reward or punish the player, or be indifferent depending on the sacrifice.
The dungeon has a fleshed-out ecology: certain creatures are natural enemies. For example, Flies and Spiders are often found at odds with one another. Common behaviours when a creature is angry include vandalising the dungeon and deserting the player. The creatures are varied in their statistics; some excel at certain tasks, and others refuse to perform certain tasks. Which creatures enter the dungeon depends on which rooms the player has and how large they are; most creatures have prerequisites for entering service. Creatures require paying regularly, and when 'Payday' comes, will head for the Treasure room to collect their wages. Other ways to obtain creatures include imprisoning and torturing them, 'scavenging' (persuaded to defect to the player) from enemy keepers, and performing certain sacrifices at the Temple. Creatures entering via the Portal are at the lowest experience level, and must gain experience, usually by training in the training room. Training creatures increases their attributes (such as hit points) and abilities (such as which spells they can cast). Such spells include lightning bolts, rebounding projectiles, and increasing armour. Creatures will frequently enter combat with heroes or creatures belonging to another keeper. Each creature has a star of the colour of the keeper it belongs to above it, displaying its experience level. The star is a health meter; as a creature takes damage, the spikes turn black. The player has the ability to possess a creature, seeing the dungeon from its first-person perspective and using its attacks and abilities. This is one of the spells; others include speeding creatures up, and healing them.
A world map is available and, at the beginning, the player is allocated one of the twenty regions of a fictional, idyllic country to destroy. As the player progresses through these regions, each representing a level, the areas previously conquered will appear ransacked, twisted, and evil. The goals for each level are straightforward: they generally fall along the lines of eliminating the heroic force or destroying all other Dungeon Keepers. The first few levels are tutorials, teaching the player the basics. Special items are hidden throughout certain levels. Such items perform actions such as increasing the player's creatures' experience level, or revealing the map. They can reveal a hidden level, where the player must perform a specific task, and is rewarded upon completion.
Heroes will appear at various points and times, sometimes accompanied by a tunneller dwarf, who, like imps, are able to dig. The dungeon can be protected from being breached by having the imps fortify the walls. Heroes include giants, wizards, and samurai warriors. Most levels have a 'Lord of the Land', a heavily armoured knight, who must be defeated. In the final level, the Avatar (resembling the Avatar from "Ultima VIII"), the most powerful hero, appears as the Lord of the Land, and is resurrected after being defeated. He must be defeated again when he reappears with a large army.
Multiplayer with up to four players is supported via a modem or over a local area network (LAN). The game features twenty multiplayer levels, playable as single-player levels.
Development.
"Dungeon Keeper" was developed by Bullfrog Productions under Peter Molyneux, who wrote the game design, testbed, and the computer players and assistant. In an interview, Molyneux explained that he came up with the ideas for "Dungeon Keeper" while sitting in a traffic jam, and become so engrossed in them that when the traffic had moved, he did not notice. Bullfrog's chairman Les Edgar stated that the intention was to use the "Dungeons & Dragons" theme with "slightly weird Bullfrog humour". Programmers Simon and Dene Carter also said "Dungeon Keeper" is a parody. "Dungeon Keeper" is a simulation game because Molyneux viewed the villain's duty as a management exercise.
Development began in November 1994 by the lead programmer, Simon Carter, and took two and a half years to develop. The game used the engine for "Magic Carpet", and the first version was merely scrolling around a map and entering third-person. The engine was built by Glenn Corpes. Molyneux then developed a 2D prototype containing features that made it into the final game. The prototype focused on constructing the dungeon, and included the Treasure room, Hatchery, Training room, and Dungeon Heart. The characters were designed by the artist, Mark Healey.
The navigation system proved difficult to develop because computers of the time lacked power. Artificial intelligence was considered crucial, as the navigation and other aspects relied on it. According to co-designer Jonty Barnes, the team wanted the creatures complex without high computational costs. Healey came up with the idea of slapping creatures to make them work faster, and Barnes considered it a "great game decision". A great deal of time was spent working on the user interface, and at one point the idea of having no interface was considered. Carter stated that the team tried to make the sounds atmospheric and industrial so players got a sense of power. Using others' 3D sound routines proved troublesome, so he and his colleague Tony Cox wrote their own. "Dungeon Keeper" uses lighting algorithms used in "Magic Carpet", which provided effects such as fireballs lighting corridors.
According to Molyneux, in May 1995 publisher Electronic Arts told him he had to ship "Dungeon Keeper" in six and a half weeks. Though he satisfied their demands by producing another game, "Hi-Octane", in the required time frame, his relationship with the publisher was strained.
Development on the level editor began in May 1995. The first-person view was developed in September 1995, and the creatures had shadows added, which was believed impossible at the time. Around that time, Barnes left the project to complete a degree at the University of East Anglia, and returned in July 1996. In November 1995, Barrie Parker began writing levels, and developed content for the script language. Bullfrog tried to get a version out for Christmas 1995: it was originally scheduled for release in November 1995, and Molyneux, until September, believed that it would be ready by Christmas. He explained that it was mostly complete, but wanted to make sure that it was "absolutely brilliant". It was then the development team realised the game should focus on a living world created by the player. A December 1995 "PC Zone" preview reported a feature that would have let the computer take control of the player's dungeon after logging out of an internet multiplayer game.
In February 1996, Molyneux decided to focus on the project full-time. According to Carter, the creatures were made from bitmaps, and there was around 90 megabytes of graphics data on screen as of April 1996. In July 1996, Alex Peters joined the project and ported the game to Windows 95. "Dungeon Keeper" was shown at the European Computer Trade Show in September 1996, and was scheduled for release in December. It became evident that the deadline would be missed, and the release was pushed back to March 1997. The final testing began in April 1997, and "Dungeon Keeper" was signed off in June. "Dungeon Keeper" was released by Electronic Arts in June 1997 for Windows 95 and MS-DOS. Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation versions were in development and due for release in 1997, but cancelled. An internet version was in development, and would have supported up to 250 players.
Carter wrote and organised 800,000 lines of code. Richard Ridings provided voice-overs such as the mentor. The music was composed by Russell Shaw and, according to Healey, this came late in development. The prospect of working on "Dungeon Keeper" motivated artist and former Bullfrog employee Gary Carr to return from The Bitmap Brothers (he had left Bullfrog because of a disagreement with Molyneux on "Theme Park"), but he was assigned to "Theme Hospital" instead. Healey produced 90 per cent of the graphics. Most of the creatures were the team members' ideas, although Molyneux was involved with the Imps. Healey designed the Horned Reaper (who is based on an ex-girlfriend of his), who ultimately become the game's mascot. According to Molyneux, each character takes 1024 bytes of memory. The game as it ended up was developed mostly in the final few months: the team started again from scratch long into the development cycle because they felt it played like "Command & Conquer". Before the redesign, instead of having Imps dig the gold and minions entering through portals, the game had the player dig gold and use it and mana to create minions. The redesign included the replacement of the 3D graphics engine with a 2D one and the rewriting of the user interface.
Molyneux was impressed with the creature's navigation code: he stated that it is the largest piece of code, and that players could change the map repeatedly and creatures will still find routes to their destinations. Molyneux also liked the fact that the game adapts to the player, enabling the choice of the preferred methods and strategies, and stated that his favourite part of the game is how the player digs out rather than build up, meaning the player has heavy involvement in building the level. He stated that he was proud of "Dungeon Keeper"s concept, but remarked that doing original things takes time. He also liked that people were unable to describe "Dungeon Keeper" in any particular way. Molyneux disliked the user interface, saying the team overdid the control panel, and commented that it was a reminder that the player was playing a video game. This was a key reason the user interface of his next video game, "Black & White", did not feature panels, buttons, or icons. Molyneux also disliked the lack of opponent personality, and some features being hidden too well, including (according to him) a cheat code that made the mistress creature naked. In a 2000 Game Developers Conference demonstration of "Black & White", he stated that it remained undiscovered.
"Dungeon Keeper" was Molyneux's final project with Bullfrog before he left in July 1997 to form Lionhead Studios, and after completion, he stated that he wanted to make "the coolest game ever". Molyneux decided to leave Bullfrog in July 1996 due to frustration over corporate meetings and other management responsibilities that ensued after it was sold to Electronic Arts in 1995. He intended to leave as soon as "Dungeon Keeper" was complete, and his departure was one reason he wanted to make the game good. As a result of Molyneux's decision, Electronic Arts asked him to leave its offices, but Molyneux wanted to continue development, so the team moved into his house. Molyneux, Mark Webley, Tim Rance, and Steve Jackson made the decision to found Lionhead when "Dungeon Keeper" was nearing completion. In 2017, Molyneux expressed regret at leaving Bullfrog, and explained that he was drunk when he handed his notice in, and that it was "such a silly thing to do".
A sequel, "Dungeon Keeper 2" was released in 1999, and the series was rebooted by Mythic Entertainment with the release of a remake (also titled "Dungeon Keeper") for iOS and Android on 30 January 2014.
SoundFont support.
The game uses SoundFonts to provide additional ambient sound effects. A Sound Blaster AWE32 or AWE64 is required to use this feature. The player can load a SoundFont and use it for ambient sound effects. Customised SoundFonts can be created to personalise the dungeon. The game features three SoundFonts, one of which is loaded at game startup, and Creative offered sample "Dungeon Keeper" SoundFonts for download.
Expansions.
An expansion pack, "The Deeper Dungeons", was released on 26 November 1997. It features fifteen new levels each for single player and multiplayer, and an improved artificial intelligence for the enemies. The Avatar also reappears in the final level. A Direct3D version, which brought improved graphics and 3D acceleration support, and a level editor were released for the game.
"KeeperFX", an abbreviation of "Fan eXpansion" was released in 2010, and has been regularly updated since. This mod increases compatibility with later versions of Windows, fixes bugs, and adds features such as TCP/IP multiplayer support and higher screen resolution options.
Re-releases.
The game was re-released in 1998 as "Dungeon Keeper Gold Edition", which included the "Deeper Dungeons" expansion as well as a "Dungeon Keeper"-based desktop theme. In Japan, a similar edition was released as "Dungeon Keeper Premium", under the EA Best Selection brand. This version included the content from the "Gold" release, as well as both Japanese and English text and audio options.
The "Gold" version was re-released into digital distribution on GOG.com in June 2011. GOG.com launched a macOS version in October 2012. The game was available there free of charge for a few days in February 2014. In October 2016, "Dungeon Keeper" was released free of charge on Origin, via its "On The House" programme.
Reception.
"Dungeon Keeper" received critical acclaim. The gameplay and uniqueness were its most heavily complimented aspects. Chris Lombardi of "Computer Gaming World" praised the multiplayer mode, saying that it "promises to be extraordinarily rich and subtle". His conclusion was that "Dungeon Keeper" is "The most unique game in years; stylish, multifaceted, and as deep as the pits of hell". Game Revolution reviewer agreed with Lombardi by believing that "Dungeon Keeper is a revolutionary, terrific game", and also complimented the "terrific" graphics and the "nearly as impressive" sound. Rob Smith of "GamePro" argued that the multiplayer gameplay wasn't really a radical departure from other real-time strategy games, but the "bad guy" role and particular sense of humour make it stand-out. He added that the game benefits from strong music, sound effects, and overall depth. Gamezilla's Chris McDonald called the game a "classic" and concluded, "Any real-time gamer with a yearning for the dungeon life and the nerve to slaughter an army of Monks, Fairies and Lords will be pleasantly surprised with Dungeon Keeper". "PC Gamer" UK's James Flynn praised Bullfrog's attention to detail, calling it "amazing", and reiterated others' views by describing "Dungeon Keeper" as "A stunning achievement".
In a 2001 review," PC Zone", like Gamezilla, called the game "classic", but also criticised its "repetitive" gameplay. Trent Ward of GameSpot remarked "It's a rich strategy game that is both intuitive and challenging, both innovative and polished", and felt the game was "among the best games released so far this year". Gamezilla and "PC Zone"s beliefs were echoed by a reviewer of "Edge", who described the game as a "masterpiece". Another reviewer who agreed was from "Computer and Video Games". He described "Dungeon Keeper" as "totally awesome!", and praised the flexibility and detail. A reviewer of Jeuxvideo.com commended the replayability and sound effects. Robert Mayer of "Computer Games Strategy Plus" complimented the humour, sound, and the 3D view, and liked the elements working together, but criticised the artificial intelligence. "Next Generation" reviewer lauded the sense of humour, describing it as typical of Bullfrog, the "dark and edgy" soundtrack, further saying it mixes mediaeval themes with guitar sounds, and the gameplay's addictiveness. The only criticism was the "occasionally weak" artificial intelligence. Reviewers from the French magazine "" were highly complimentary: one reviewer commented that "Dungeon Keeper" is in-between "Warcraft" and "Theme Park" due to its creature management and real-time combat, and also believed that it is hard to leave a level after winning. Another reviewer described "Dungeon Keeper" as "The game of the year!". The magazine also listed "Dungeon Keeper" as their top PC CD game of summer 1997.
"Dungeon Keeper" was a finalist in the Software Publishers Association's 13th Annual Excellence in Software Awards Best of 1997 Codie awards for Best Strategy Software Game. In 1997, "Dungeon Keeper" appeared #4 on "PC Gamer"s list of top 100 games, and, in June, was named as their Game Of The Month. In June 2014, "The Guardian" listed "Dungeon Keeper" as one of Britain's 30 greatest video games.
Sales.
During 1997, "Dungeon Keeper" sold 113,407 copies in the United States alone. It received a "Gold" award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) in August 1998, for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The game's global sales reached 700,000 copies by 2003. Molyneux considered it a "missed opportunity" in comparison to his earlier games such as "Theme Park", which sold millions of units.
Impact and legacy.
Many reviews of video games that have similar elements mention "Dungeon Keeper" as both an influence for the designers and a standard for comparison. These include:
"Dungeon Keeper" was referenced in "Theme Hospital"s introduction scene twice: a doctor is briefly seen playing a console version, and the Horned Reaper makes a cameo appearance as a patient. Early concept art for "Black & White" used "Dungeon Keeper"s Horned Reaper to represent creatures. The Horned Reaper unit was so popular that the producers of "Dungeon Keeper 2" made it a character with an important role in the game's story. "Dungeon Keeper"s engine was an inspiration for "Minecraft".


Coan ki

Çoan ki (, also "erectus ludus" or "The Bottle Game") is a Chinese board game similar to backgammon. It was first described in 1694 by Dr. Thomas Hyde in "De Ludis Orientalibus Libri Duo".
Gameplay.
On a board divided transversely into eight fields, players take turns to move their sixteen bottle- or vase-shaped pieces around the board according to the roll of two dice. The aim of the game is to get all of a player's pieces to make one full circuit around the board and return them to their starting position.
Dice rolls can be divided between pieces as follows: either one piece moves the total value of the throw, or two pieces move the values shown on each individual die. If a double is thrown, the player may move two pieces the total value of the throw or one piece half the value (such that if a double five is rolled, two pieces may each move ten spaces or one piece may move five spaces). If the two dice show consecutive numbers, the player may move one piece the full value of the throw and one piece the lower value, or he may move one piece the full value and another piece the full value minus one (e.g. a throw of two and three would allow either one piece to move two spaces and another five, or one piece to move five spaces and another four). A player must use the full roll of the dice; if he cannot do so, he loses his turn.
By stationing eight pieces in the same field of the board, a player can create a block, which cannot be passed by the other player. Blocks cannot be created on either of the starting fields.
Players must enter a stake before the game begins. If at any time a player rolls double-one on the dice, he loses a piece and must stake an additional fine worth 10% of the total value of the pot. Under some rule codes, it is possible to avoid losing a piece by paying a larger fine. The winner of the game takes the pot.


Contraption (game show)

Contraption is an American game show and one of the original programs on the Disney Channel, which ran from April 18, 1983 (when the channel launched) to January 9, 1988 and again from March 8 to October 25, 1989. The show was hosted by actor/comedian Ralph Harris and announced by Miranda Fredricks.
Gameplay.
Two teams of three kids competed. Each team had three passports, each with a different area of the set written on it; "Books", "Animals", or "Heroes and Villains". Each kid would hold a different passport; this would determine which kid played in which round.
Round 1.
To begin, the two kids that had the "Books" passports went to that area of the stage. They would then watch a two-minute clip of a Disney film based on a book. Each kid was given two questions based on that clip. Each right answer won a "Contraptile", a yellow square translucent piece of plastic with a hole in the center.
After the two questions, the two kids played the "Jungle Boat Race". They would pedal a recumbent trike (fashioned to look like a boat) down a track, and the first one to knock over a pole at the end would win two Contraptiles. The runner-up would receive one Contraptile.
Round 2.
The next round would be played between the two kids who had the "Animals" passports. They would watch a clip of a Disney film focusing on animal characters. Again, each kid was asked two questions about the clip, worth one Contraptile each.
The two kids would then play "Wheels Of Fire". Similar to the Hamster Wheel on "Double Dare", each kid would get inside a large wheel and run inside it to move it across a track. Again, the first to knock over a pole at the finish line won two Contraptiles, while the runner up received one.
Round 3.
The next round would be played between the two with the "Heroes & Villains" passports. A clip of a Disney film, involving the heroes and villains of the film, was shown. This time, each kid was asked three questions about the clip, worth one Contraptile each.
The two would then play "Magic Carpets". This game was the same as the Jungle Boat Race, but the trikes used here were arm powered instead of leg powered. The same scoring applied.
Round 4.
The final round involved every member of each team, at the "Magic" area of the stage. A clip from a Disney film involving magical powers was shown. Each team was then asked three questions about the clip, on which they could confer. Each right answer won five Contraptiles.
After this round, each team's Contraptiles were counted. The team with the most Contraptiles won the game, both teams win prizes, and the winners receive a Grand Prize.


Saavedra position

The Saavedra position is one of the best known chess endgame studies. It is named after the Spanish priest Rev. Fernando Saavedra (1849–1922), who, while living in Glasgow in the late 19th century, spotted a win in a position previously thought to have been a draw.
This is among a minority of positions where king and pawn can win against a king and rook, and one of the most famous examples of underpromotion in chess. It is also a rare example of a player being famous for a single move .
Solution.
The position as it is usually given today, with White to move and win, is shown in the diagram. The solution is:
(If 2.Kc5 then Rd1 threatening a skewer via 3...Rc1; if instead
2.Kb7? then Rd7 pins the pawn, allowing black to capture it to assure a draw.)
Or 2...Rd2 3.c8=Q Rb2+ 4.Ka4 Ra2+ 5.Kb3 Rb2+ 6.Kc3 and White wins.
Threatening 7.Ra8+; instead 6.c8=Q? Rc4+! 7.Qxc4 is stalemate.
Black must either lose the rook (allowing White an elementary checkmate) or be checkmated by 8.Rc1 .
History.
The long history of the study has its origins in a game played between Richard Fenton and William Potter in 1875. From the position shown, the game continued 1.Rxh3 Kxh3 2.Kc6 Rxa5 3.b7 Ra6+ and the players agreed a draw. However, as Johannes Zukertort pointed out in the "City of London Chess Magazine", 1875, White could have won with 4.Kc5 (not 4.Kb5 Ra1 when White cannot promote the pawn because of 5...Rb1+) 4...Ra5+ 5.Kc4 Ra4+ 6.Kc3 (or 6.Kb3 Ra1 7.Kb2) 6...Ra3+ 7. Kb2, and White will promote the pawn when the queen versus rook endgame is a theoretical win (this winning method had earlier been demonstrated in a study by Josef Kling and Bernhard Horwitz published in "The Chess Player", September 1853).
Upon Potter's death in March 1895, G.E. Barbier published a position in his Glasgow "Weekly Citizen" chess column of April 27, 1895, which he claimed to have occurred in Fenton–Potter. In fact, he had misremembered the game, and the position he published (see diagram) had never arisen. It was published as a study with Black to play and White to win; the technique is just that demonstrated by Zukertort and by Kling and Horwitz before him: 1... Rd6+ 2. Kb5 Rd5+ 3. Kb4 Rd4+ 4. Kb3 Rd3+ 5. Kc2.
When Barbier published this solution on May 4, he claimed that by moving the black king from h6 to a1 the position could be transformed into a "Black to move and draw" study. On May 11 he gave the solution 1... Rd6+ 2. Kb5 Rd5+ 3. Kb4 Rd4+ 4. Kb3 Rd3+ 5. Kc2 Rd4! 6. c8=Q Rc4+ 7. Qxc4 stalemate; however, as Saavedra pointed out, 6. c8=R instead wins, a solution published by Barbier on May 18. Saavedra, a Spanish priest who lived in Glasgow at the time, was a weak amateur player; his sole claim to fame in the chess world is his discovery of this move. The modern form of the position was obtained by Emanuel Lasker (in "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle", June 1, 1902, p. 53) by moving the c7-pawn back to c6 and changing the stipulation to the standard "White to play and win".
Alternate line.
As computer-generated endgame tablebases confirm, Black can offer longer resistance by 3...Kb2, for which White has only one winning reply, 4.c8=Q, promoting to a queen instead of the underpromotion to a rook. Then White can force checkmate on the twenty-sixth move. However, per the anthropocentric conventions of endgame studies, moves that result in positions known to human masters to be theoretically lost are considered sidelines.
Legacy.
The study has been widely reproduced, and in "Test Tube Chess" John Roycroft calls it "unquestionably the most famous of all endgame studies". It has inspired many other composers: the many promotions and underpromotions in the studies of Harold Lommer, for example, were inspired by the Saavedra position. Mark Liburkin was also inspired . Plaskett's Puzzle is yet another famous endgame problem that features underpromotion prominently.
A number of composers have produced work which elaborates on the basic Saavedra idea. The study shown to the left is the most famous of these; it is by Mark Liburkin (second prize, "Shakhmaty v SSSR", 1931) and is White to play and win. After the first move 1.Nc1, Black has two main defences; the first of these shows the Saavedra theme: 1.Nc1 Rxb5 (1...Kb2 2.Nd3+ wins) 2.c7 Rd5+ 3.Nd3! Rxd3+ 4.Kc2 Rd4 and we have a position already seen in the Saavedra position itself; White wins with 5.c8=R Ra4 6.Kb3.
The other Black defence features two new stalemate defences, and a second underpromotion, this time to bishop; this is why this study is well-known while many other elaborations on the Saavedra position are forgotten: 1.Nc1 Rd5+ 2.Kc2 (2.Nd3? Rxd3+ 3.Kc2 Rd5! 4.Kc3 Rxb5 draws; 2.Ke2? Rxb5 3.c7 Re5+ draws) 2...Rc5+ 3.Kd3! (3.Kd2? Rxb5 4.c7 [4.Nb3+ Rxb3 5.c7 Rb2+! – see below] Rb2+! 5.Kd1 Rc2! 6.Kxc2 stalemate) 3...Rxb5 (3...Rxc1 4.Kd4, intending 5.Kd5 and 6.b6, wins) 4.c7 Rb8! and now both 5.cxb8=Q and 5.cxb8=R are stalemate, 5.cxb8=N leaves a drawn ending, and 5.Nb3+ Rxb3+ 6.Kc2 Rb2+! 7.Kc1 (7.Kc3 Kb1! and Black wins) only draws after 7...Rb1+ or 7...Rb4 8.c8=Q (8.c8=R Ra4 is safe now) Rc4+. White can only win by 5.cxb8=B! followed by a bishop and knight checkmate.


Treasure Mall

Treasure Mall is a kids game show which aired in weekly syndication from June 11 to September 3, 1988. Hal Sparks was the host, with Ed MacKay announcing.
It was commonly paired with the kids game show "Slime Time", also in syndication. The two shows debuted and were cancelled on the same dates. "Treasure Mall" was considered to be the first ever children's shopping game show.
Gameplay.
Two teams, each consisting of one boy and one girl, competed. In round 1, teams heard survey questions with three possible answers. (For example: "We asked sixth graders what they would do if they saw a bug on their friend's shoulder. Would they brush it off, tell their friend, or wait and see what happens?") Each teammate locked in what they believed was the most popular answer. A right answer won a point for their team (if both teammates agreed and were correct, they score two points). The first team to reach 5 points or more won the right to enter a store in the Treasure Mall. If there was a tie on 5 or more, the round continued until one team had the lead outright.
Every store in the mall had a theme; Toy Store, Fashion Boutique, etc. The stores were divided into four distinct sections, with 4 coins hidden in each section; each teammate searched two areas, taking alternating turns to do so. One teammate had 25 seconds to search the first section for coins, dropping them into a bucket Sparks was holding. The coins had to go into the bucket for them to count. When time ran out (indicated by a bell), the clock reset to 25 and the other teammate began the next section immediately. After the final buzzer, the coins were counted up. The team won a prize package depending on how well they did; the more coins they collected, the better the package. Two valuable prizes were won if a team managed to find all 16 coins.
Round 2 was played exactly the same way, except that the team won the right to enter a different store. The team who had more coins at the end of this round (or the team who won both rounds) won the game and advanced to the bonus round. If both teams have the same amount of coins, another survey question is played.
Bonus Round.
In the bonus round, a series of gift boxes sat center stage in front of a large golden treasure chest. Inside the gift boxes were keys, and the team had 30 seconds to go through the boxes and collect as many keys as they could. The keys had to go into the bucket Sparks was holding in order to count.
After time ran out, Sparks tried each key out in the treasure chest. If one of the keys opened the chest, the team won a large prize package upon the chest being open balloons would come out confetti would be shot. If none of them did, the team still won a $50 gift certificate for each key they found plus Hal would Remind That They Won Some Prizes earlier which the prizes that were won earlier are theirs keep Regardless Of The Outcome.
Cancellation.
On September 3, 1988, "Treasure Mall" was cancelled after four months on the air.
References.
Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1999). "The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3rd Ed.)". New York: Checkmark Books.


Join Five

Join Five (also known as Morpion solitaire, Cross 'n' Lines or Line Game) is a paper and pencil game for one or two players, played on a plus-shaped grid of dots. The origins of the game are probably in northern Europe. References to the game first appeared in French publications in the 1970s. In addition to being played recreationally, the game has been the subject of theoretical studies and computer searches for solutions.
How to play.
An initial grid of dots are drawn; a square of 4x4 dots, with a rectangle of 4x3 added to each side. The initial cross is outlined in some versions of the game.
During each turn, draw a straight line that is exactly five "dots" long, such that:
In other words, make a five-segment line from four dots, and draw in the fifth (unless it is saved to draw two dots in later turns).
Scoring.
The game ends when no more segments can be drawn on the grid.
In the two player version, the last player to draw a line segment is the winner. In the single player version, scoring is accomplished by counting the number of segments drawn, or by calculating the total area of the grid at the end of play.
In the outlined version, the number of accomplished turns is the score. This is usually kept in check by using tally marks. It is unknown if this can be continued indefinitely, but the game becomes progressively more difficult (up to a point?) once the initial grid has been used completely.
Strategy.
Strategy differs according to whether the game is played alone or against an opponent. In the first case, moves are optimized for the maximum number of possible turns; in the second case, the goal is to be "inefficient" with move selection to restrict the opponent's available moves.
Variations.
The rules may be varied by requiring lines of 4 marked points in a row rather than 5, with a reduced starting configuration. Also, the "disjoint" variation of the game does not allow two parallel lines to share an endpoint, whereas the standard "touching" version does allow this.
Records and computer searches.
For the "touching" version of the game with lines consisting of 5 marked points, the present record of 172 lines was established on 2010 August 16, using a Monte-Carlo search by algorithmist Christopher Rosin. This is six moves more than the previous 1976 record of 170 lines. The 1976 record was done by hand, and computer searches had not been able to approach this record despite substantial progress, until August 2010 when Christopher Rosin used a Monte-Carlo search to obtain a result of 172 moves, exceeding the 1976 record.
For the "disjoint" version of the game with lines consisting of 5 marked points, the record of 80 lines has been obtained by computer search.
Theory.
Generalized Morpion solitaire, in which the starting configuration may be any finite set of marked points, is a member of the NP-hard class of problems for which no efficient computational method for finding an optimal solution is known. Even the problem of finding an approximately optimal solution for generalized Morpion solitaire is NP-hard.
For the standard versions of Morpion solitaire, infinitely large solutions do not exist; upper bounds have been proven on the maximum number of lines that can be obtained.


Cossacks 3

Cossacks 3 is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows made by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. The game is a remake of the 2001 game and is once again set in 17th and 18th century Europe.
The main differences from the old game are the modern 3D graphics capabilities, updated models and textures, dynamic lighting and full support for custom modifications.
Gameplay.
The original 12 nations make a return, as well as 70 types of unit, 100 technologies, and over 140 historical buildings. The game features support for up to 8 players (1 more than the original) with armies numbering in the thousands. Revamped game mechanics, a vast selection of unit types, ranged and close quarters combat, terrain bonuses, and a realistic ballistics engine provide the player with an unlimited number of tactical opportunities against both human and AI opponents. The game also reintroduces the flexible customization of random maps.
Development and release.
Beta testing began on 22 April 2016, and the game was available worldwide on Microsoft Windows on September 20, 2016. A Linux version was released on June 20, 2017.
The developers have mentioned official modding support and their intention to release the tools used to make the game. They have also stated that they will be working closely with the modding community and aim to add more content to the game after release.
Downloadable content.
"Days of Brilliance -" Released on 13 December 2016, provides a new Polish campaign, new mission, 5 additional historical scenarios, new units for the old nations and two new nations: Denmark and the Netherlands.
Rise to Glory - Released on February 16, 2017, provides second Prussian and Swedish campaigns, new units, snow-covered landscapes, new scenarios, and nations: Bavaria and Saxony.
Guardians of the Highlands - Released on April 12, 2017, it provides the third Scottish campaign, new units, "Personal Assistant" and Scotland for multiplayer game. Add a new soundtrack. Not part of Deluxe Edition.
Path to Grandeur - Published on  May 16, 2017, allows to play Turkish and Spanish campaigns, adds sandy landscapes, also add Hungary and Portugal for multiplayer game.
"The Golden Age -" Released on August 24, 2017. Add a replay of historical battles involving up to 8 players, a Dutch campaign, new single scenarios, a new soundtrack. Also, provide Switzerland and Piedmont for multiplayer game. This DLC was the last of the Deluxe Edition.
Reception.
Cossacks 3 received "mixed or average" reviews from professional critics according to review aggregator website Metacritic - the average mark was 63 out of 100 points.
German GameStar held the same opinion, scoring game at 68 points out of 100. It was said that the new game relies on nostalgia and that the imitation of the first game does not contribute to the development of the game.


Mad Mad World (TV series)

Mad Mad World is an entertainment-comedy panel show broadcast on ITV, presented by comedian Paddy McGuinness, featuring team captains Rufus Hound and Rhys Darby, and regular panellist Rob Rouse. The show began airing on 30 June 2012 and finished abruptly on 11 August 2012 with a regular slot on Saturday late nights. Each episode features three celebrity guests from the world of television, news and comedy, who attempt to answer questions on topics from all around the world. The series was originally due to be shown on 14 April 2012, but was postponed as a consequence of 2012's scheduling shenanigans between "Britain's Got Talent" and "The Voice UK". It eventually emerged after Euro 2012, still in a late-evening slot.
Episode guide.
The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the shows:


Borderlands (film)

Borderlands is an upcoming American science fiction action comedy film directed by Eli Roth and written by Craig Mazin and Aaron Berg, based on the video game series of the same name by Gearbox Software. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Haley Bennett, Édgar Ramírez, Olivier Richters and Janina Gavankar.
A film adaptation of the video game series was first announced in August 2015 with Lionsgate developing the project with Ari and Avi Arad of Arad Productions producing. By February 2020, Roth was attached to direct the film from a screenplay written by Mazin, with Feig joining as producer through his production company Picturestart.
"Borderlands" is set to be distributed in the United States by Lionsgate.
Cast.
Additionally, Penn Jillette, who also had a voice role in "Borderlands 3", has a small cameo role in the film as a preacher overseeing a wedding.
Production.
A film adaptation of the video game series was first announced in August 2015 with Lionsgate developing the project with Ari and Avi Arad of Arad Productions producing. In February 2020, Eli Roth was attached to direct the film from a screenplay written by Craig Mazin, with Erik Feig joining as producer through his production company Picturestart. Cate Blanchett entered negotiations to play the role of Lilith in May 2020, with Lionsgate confirming she would star later in the month. Kevin Hart was confirmed to play Roland in January 2021. In February, Jamie Lee Curtis was cast to play Dr. Patricia Tannis, with Jack Black cast to provide the voice of Claptrap. The following month, Ariana Greenblatt and Florian Munteanu were cast as Tiny Tina and Krieg respectively, with Haley Bennett cast in an undisclosed role.
Filming officially commenced on April 1, 2021, in Hungary. Édgar Ramírez, Olivier Richters, and Janina Gavankar joined the cast the same month alongside Gina Gershon, Cheyenne Jackson, Charles Babalola, Benjamin Byron Davis, Steven Boyer, Ryann Redmond, and Bobby Lee. Penn Jillette revealed he was to shoot scenes for a small role in the film as a preacher.


La classe de 5e

La classe de 5e (French for "Fifth Grade Class") is a Quebec television game show which premiered on February 5, 2009 on TVA. The show, an adaptation of the U.S. game show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?", is hosted by Québécois host and actor Charles Lafortune, who hosted "L'école des fans" and "Le Cercle".
The grand prize in this version is C$250,000. All winnings on this version are tax free.
The slogan used by the network is "Êtes-vous plus brillant qu'un élève de 5e?", the literal translation for "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?"
Game's prizes.
The game is similar to "La petite école", a weekly segment of the daily game show "L'Union fait la force" on Radio-Canada.
Originating from Montreal, "La classe de 5e" challenges Québécois contestants to prove that they are smarter than a fifth grader by answering a series of questions about a subject taught in a particular grade in a Quebec primary school, such as history, French, geography and mathematics. The set for the show is similar to the American version.
The class for the show is made up of five Montreal-area Grade 5 students chosen by the network for the show.
Gameplay.
Other than the money structure, the show's game play is the same as the American series.
If at any point during the game the player drops out or flunks out, they must face the camera, state their name, and declare "Je ne suis pas plus brillant(e) qu'un élève de 5e." "("I am not smarter than a 5th grader.")" However, if the contestant wins the jackpot, they will have the opportunity to declare to the camera "Je suis plus brillant(e) qu'un élève de 5e !" "("I am smarter than a fifth grader!")"


Weakest Link

Weakest Link (aka The Weakest Link) is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. The original British version of the show is still aired around the world on BBC Entertainment. The game begins with a team of eight or nine contestants who take turns answering general knowledge questions within a time limit to create chains of correct answers in a row. At the end of each round, the players vote one contestant, "The Weakest Link", out of the game. Once two players are left, they play in a head-to-head contest, with five questions asked to each contestant in turn, to determine the winner.
The format has been licensed across the world, with many countries producing their own series of the programme and is the second most popular international franchise, behind only the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" franchise, which also originated in the UK.
Format.
The programme sees a group of contestants (ranging from five to nine players) who will need to work as a team to try to win as much as possible of a maximum cash jackpot by correctly answering general-knowledge questions in a series of rapid-fire rounds.
Each round features a money chain of anywhere from five to nine increasing cash values, with a maximum cash target that the team must attempt to reach within a time limit. Questions are asked of the team members sequentially. In the first round, play will typically start with the first player alphabetically or by a random-draw (which occurred before the game starts). The team can most quickly achieve the target by stringing together a chain of consecutive correct answers, the minimum number of which depends on the number of "links" in the money chain (usually but not always the same as the number of contestants at the start of the show). A correct answer increases the value of the succeeding question; however, an incorrect answer breaks the chain, losing all money accumulated in that chain. A contestant can secure the accumulated money in the chain by saying "Bank" before their question is asked (but after their name is called); however, the chain resets to zero, and the team must rebuild again. The round ends when the team has either run out of time or banked the target (in which case the round ends prematurely). The target amount is the maximum amount available in the round. If the team banks a total exceeding this amount, it is rounded down to the maximum amount. Only the money that has been banked is taken forward in the game, forming the total prize money available at the end.
Each round ends with the team voting off one person from the game. Before the votes are revealed, a voice-over announcer reveals who statistically is the Strongest Link and Weakest Link (these are determined by how many questions were answered correctly and incorrectly, the amount of money banked, and the total monetary value of the questions asked). The votes are then revealed, followed by inquiry by the host for the reasoning behind the vote, along with berating of the contestants. The person with the most votes is named the Weakest Link (regardless of the statistics), is eliminated from the game, and wins nothing. In the event of a tie, the Strongest Link is immediately deemed immune from the vote and must break the tie.
This process repeats, with each successive round beginning with the Strongest Link from the last round (or the second-Strongest Link, if the Strongest Link was voted off), and the time limit available to them decreasing (usually by 10 or 15 seconds). Once there are two players remaining, they play one final round, where the money banked is multiplied by a certain amount (doubled, tripled or quadrupled). In some versions, however, the game has gone straight to the head-to-head finale after the final elimination.
The final two contestants then compete in a head-to-head round to determine the winner, with the Strongest Link from the last round determining who begins the round. The contestants are alternately asked a series of five questions each. The player who correctly answers the most wins the money accumulated in the game. If there is a draw, the game continues to sudden death, where the first to answer a question correctly over their opponent's incorrect answer wins. The loser, like all other contestants prior, goes home with nothing.
Game rule and format variations.
Compared with the original format, the others have some changes, making them not the same as the original.
Host.
In the UK original series, the host is Anne Robinson. Producers chose her with the intention of being both firm to the contestants yet understanding when a contestant gets voted off. However, in producing the show, Robinson began to act cold, harsh and mean to the contestants. Some international hosts like , , , Neena Gupta, Hülya Uğur Tanrıöver, Fiona Coyne, Laurence Boccolini, and went to the BBC Studio for instruction and training purpose (meeting the UK production team and Anne Robinson) to replicate the presenting style.
However, the format distributor BBC Worldwide changed the rules and this is not required anymore. As a result, some international hosts are nicer and more relaxed to the contestants. This has changed the whole program style compared with the original BBC series. The first such notable example of this change was seen during George Gray's tenure as host in the 2002-2003 syndicated version of the American edition; other times where this has happened was in France (2014–2015), Turkey (2015/2019), Finland (2017–2019), Cyprus (2017–), Netherlands (2019–2020) and Greece (2019–).
The new Dutch host Bridget Maasland is also the first host worldwide not to wear black clothing on every episode. Although she does wear dark and black suits on about half of the shows, she often wears bright colored outfits in the other episodes. Her style of hosting resembles the style Anne Robinson adapted in the later UK shows, asking contestants more about their private lives, let them sing and dance during the voting and chit chat about more than just the mistakes made.
The hosting attitude of Jane Lynch who hosted the American edition's 2020 revival was more so that of sarcasm, and snarky - reminiscent of her noted Sue Sylvester character from "Glee".
US version.
Syndicated.
In the second syndicated version of the American version, after the second last round, the last two contestants do not face the clock and the money tree. Instead, the remaining two contestants go straight into the head-to-head round. In the event the Strongest Link is voted off, the Second-Strongest Link makes the decision as to who goes first.
2020 reboot.
Unlike the original version, the top prize money available increases after each round. The top prize money starts at $25,000 in round 1 and increases by $25,000 per round until round 4. The top prize money in rounds 5 and 6 is set at $250,000 and $500,000, respectively.
A minor addition to the game is that of a buzzer added to each contestant's podium. This is used both to bank money (with contestants not only have to say the word "bank" before being asked the question but must also press the buzzer), as well as to reveal the contestant's vote.
Some non-gameplay variations were also adapted to the revived series, the contestants no longer handwrite their votes, rather they vote via a touch screen panel, tapping the button of the player they wish to vote off. This screen is also used to present visual information for visual questions - where the host will ask the contestants to identify that appear on the screen. Additionally, the host will discuss the contestants' mistakes before the vote reveals - with the weakest link being eliminated immediately after the vote reveal. Like season 2 of the syndicated version, once only two contestants remain, the game goes straight to the head-to-head round.
French version.
The latest French version (aired from 2014 to 2015) also does not use the clock and money tree for the final round, and in the penultimate round is the 3-player triple stake round for €15,000 and lasts 90 seconds.
Dutch version.
In the Dutch version that started in May 2019, just like on the latest French version, round 8 was cut from the format after they aired the show for two weeks. Instead, in round 7, the money triples, and one last player is eliminated after that round. Making the top prize money no longer €10,000, but €9,000. After that, the remaining two contestants go straight into the head-to-head round. However, in the 2nd series, the number of contestants dropped to 7. The top prize money decreased to €8,000, and the 90-second round returned.
International versions.
The format is distributed by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and also produced by different production companies. Australia was the 1st country to adapt the format; not all the international versions share the same title as UK.
As with the original British version, all of the hosts wear black clothing (or sometimes dark colours with black). Most versions also have disciplinarian female hosts, again similar to the British original—with exceptions being Fausto Silva (Brazil), Tasos Tryfonos (Cyprus and Greece), Julien Courbet (France), Riku Nieminen (Finland), Nikolai Fomenko (Russia), Eamon Dunphy (Ireland), Edu Manzano, Allan K. (both Philippines), Shirō Itō (Japan), Pedro Granger (Portugal), Enrico Papi (Italy), Tseng Yang Qing (Taiwan), Baybars Altuntaş (Turkey) and George Gray (United States). Gray and Courbet are comedians, and those versions were designed to play off comedy.
In Croatia, in May 2010, the quiz reached its 1,008th episode, and with the British original is the only version to have reached as many episodes.
Legend:
 Currently airing (3 countries)
 No longer airing
 Unsold pilot (Only Brazil)
 Future/Returning version (United States and Australia)


Demon Hunters Role Playing Game

The Demon Hunters Role Playing Game is a role-playing game published by Margaret Weis Productions in 2008.
History.
Three new Cortex System media games were published by Margaret Weis Productions, one each year between 2007-2009, including the "Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game" (2007), the "Demon Hunters Role Playing Game" (2008), and the "Supernatural Role Playing Game".
Description.
The "Demon Hunters Role Playing Game" was based on the films "Demon Hunters" and "Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake" by Dead Gentlemen Productions.


Mokowe (video game)

Mokowe is a 1991 French adventure video game for the Amstrad CPC by JP Godey and JC Lebon of Lankhor.
Plot.
The game is set in May 1975, Kenya, within the region of Mokowe. It is a time of elephant killing, ivory trading, and a secret network. It is the player's task to intervene and put a stop to it.
Reception.
It received a B from Tilt, 62% from Joystick, and 82% from Amstrad.
Joystick felt the game would be an ideal present for Christmas. MicroNews wrote that despite the danger of the quest, it was well worth taking a dive into the game.


Judith Keppel

Judith Cynthia Aline Keppel (born 18 August 1942) is a British quiz show contestant who was the first person to win one million pounds on the British television game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". She has appeared on the former BBC Two, now Channel 5, quiz show "Eggheads" since 2003.
Early life.
Keppel's father, the Hon. Walter Arnold Crispian Keppel (1914–1996), was a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. The family moved around, thanks to various naval postings, before settling in London when Keppel was seventeen. She sat A-Levels at St Mary's School, Wantage, and then completed a secretarial course.
Keppel is a granddaughter of Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle. Her great-grandfather, the 8th Earl, was the brother of George Keppel and the brother-in-law of Alice Keppel, a mistress of King Edward VII and the great-great uncle of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who is thus her third cousin. Through her grandfather, her ancestors include Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England, who were the subjects of her one million-pound question on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?".
Marriages.
In 1964, at Chelsea, London, Keppel married her first husband, Desmond Corcoran, an art dealer with whom she had three children, Sibylla, Alexander, and Rosie, but they divorced in 1980. In 1985, she married comedy scriptwriter Neil Shand. They were separated in 1987.
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?".
Keppel appeared on the 20 November 2000 episode of the UK edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", becoming the 12th winner in the world and the first in the UK to win one million pounds. At the time, she was a garden designer living in Fulham and was "struggling for money". Nonetheless, she had spent about £100 phoning the quiz show more than 50 times to secure a place. "BT rang me up and said, 'Do you realise your telephone bills are rising?'"
There was speculation at the time that the win was leaked to the press so that ITV would draw ratings away from BBC One which was showing the last episode of "One Foot in the Grave" in the same timeslot. However, the Independent Television Commission cleared Celador and ITV of the allegations.
Keppel now appears on the Channel 5 quiz show "Eggheads", where she and seven other quiz champions (five at a time) are pitted against five members of the public.


The Alphabet Game

The Alphabet Game is a comedy panel game show that aired on BBC1 from 5 August 1996 to 27 March 1997 and is hosted by Andrew O'Connor. The programme was created by O'Connor, Rebecca Thornhill, Mark Maxwell-Smith and produced by Objective Productions. It was remade in Spain as "Pasapalabra", for which ITV Studios sued Telecinco for €17,000,000; ITV would later remake the show as "Alphabetical".
Format.
Two members of the public team up with two celebrities each, while a fifth acts as judge. The five celebrities are there all week, while the contestants rotate. Round 1 sees the teams trying to buzz in for control of a question such as 'things I would do if I won the lottery'; the teams must then go through the alphabet to provide answers. The other team can challenge an answer if they feel it is incorrect, in which case the judge decides which team is correct. If the judge decides the challenging team is correct or a team member can't think of an answer, play passes to the other team. This round ends when one team passes Z, and the next consists of the teams trying to create a chain of words each starting with the end of the last. In round three, the teams are given a sentence and asked to finish it, for example "Kevin likes to F". The three members of the other team have a card each with one answer on which the opposing team must give. Each team member gets seven seconds each.
In round four, contestants must try and describe something using word/phrases beginning with each letter. Round five is a repeat of round one to be played until time is up. Round six is played by the winner; if the ties are scored, the teams decide amongst themselves to find one to win the prize for both teams. O'Connor will then ask a question with a three word answer, for example "Who invented the telephone?" and the three team members must answer "A G B" (Alexander Graham Bell). Five correct answers in sixty seconds nets them the prize.
International versions.
The format has been adapted in France, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Chile, Uruguay and Germany.


Feliz domingo para la juventud

Feliz domingo para la juventud () was an Argentine television game show. It was aired from 1970 to 1999 by Canal 9. In this show a number of teams of high-school students sought a free trip to San Carlos de Bariloche to celebrate their graduation.


John Herbert White

John Herbert White (22 February 1880 – 18 November 1920, London, England) was co-author with Richard Clewin Griffith of the first three editions of the famous chess opening treatise "Modern Chess Openings". It was first published in 1911 and is still in print. Griffith and White explained in the preface to the first edition that "the many recent master tournaments have rendered necessary an up-to-date book on the Openings" and that "the book is intended to be a guide for match and tournament players". The fifteenth edition, by American grandmaster Nick de Firmian, was published in 2008. The book is commonly referred to as "MCO" today.
White was the Secretary of the Hampstead Chess Club. He died in 1920 in a bicycle accident.


Nimzo-Indian Defence

The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
Other move orders, such as 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 Bb4, are also feasible. In the "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings", the Nimzo-Indian is classified as E20–E59.
This hypermodern opening was developed by Aron Nimzowitsch who introduced it to master-level chess in the early 20th century. Unlike most Indian openings, the Nimzo-Indian does not involve an immediate fianchetto, although Black often follows up with ...b6 and ...Bb7. By pinning White's knight, Black prevents the threatened 4.e4 and seeks to inflict doubled pawns on White. White will attempt to create a and develop their pieces to prepare for an assault on the Black position.
Black's delay in committing to a pawn structure makes the Nimzo-Indian (sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Nimzo") a very flexible defence to 1.d4. It can also transpose into lines of the Queen's Gambit or Queen's Indian Defence. The Nimzo-Indian is a highly respected defence to 1.d4, is played at all levels and has been played by every world champion since Capablanca. White often plays 3.g3 or 3.Nf3 to avoid the Nimzo-Indian, allowing him to meet 3.Nf3 Bb4+ (the Bogo-Indian Defence) with 4.Bd2 or 4.Nbd2, rather than 4.Nc3.
General considerations.
In the Nimzo-Indian, Black is generally prepared to concede the bishop pair by playing Bxc3. As dynamic compensation, they often double White's c-pawns, which represent a static weakness, and gains play against the central light squares d5 and e4, even in those instances where White is able to recapture with a piece after ...Bxc3. Black will aim to close the position to reduce the scope of White's bishops. To this end, Black must blockade the white pawn centre from advancing and neutralise White's attacking chances on the . An example of Black's strategy carried out successfully is the game Mikhail Botvinnik–Samuel Reshevsky from the 1948 World Chess Championship, which reached the position in the diagram after White's 24th move.
Earlier in the game, Reshevsky was able to block White's kingside attack by playing ...Nf6–e8 and ...f7–f5. Now, both White's bishops are reduced to defence, and White's queen is reduced to passivity at the a2-square to defend the pawns on a3 and c4. Without prospects for counterplay, White's game is strategically hopeless, and Black ultimately exchanged queens and won the endgame.
Rubinstein System: 4.e3.
The Rubinstein System (named after Akiba Rubinstein) is White's most common method of combating the Nimzo-Indian. Svetozar Gligorić and Lajos Portisch made great contributions to the theory and practice of this line at top level during their careers. White continues their development before committing to a definite plan of action. In reply, Black has three main moves to choose from: 4...0-0, 4...c5, and 4...b6.
In addition, Black sometimes plays 4...d5 or 4...Nc6. 4...d5 can transpose to lines arising from 4...0-0, but White has the extra option of 5.a3 (known as the Botvinnik Variation). This forces Black to retreat the bishop to e7 or capture on c3, which transposes to a line of the Sämisch Variation long considered good for White because they will undouble their pawns at some point by playing cxd5, eliminating the weak pawn on c4, then prepare the e4 pawn break, backed by the bishop pair (and in some cases with f3, since they haven't committed the knight to that square yet), which will gain force in the more open type of position which will ensue. 4...Nc6 is the Taimanov Variation, named after Russian GM Mark Taimanov. Black prepares to play ...e5, which may be preceded by...d5 and ...dxc4, or ...d6. The variation was tried several times by the young Bobby Fischer, and has long been favoured by GM Nukhim Rashkovsky.
4...0-0 Main line: 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0.
Black's most flexible and frequently played response is 4...0-0. The main line continues 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0, reaching the position in the diagram.
White has completed their kingside development, while Black has claimed their share of the centre. At this point, the most important continuations are:
After 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4, Black also has two rare alternatives on their eighth move worth mentioning: 8...Qe7 intending ...Rd8 is the Smyslov Variation, invented by former world champion Vasily Smyslov, and 8...Bd7 followed by ...Bc6 is the Bronstein Variation, the brainchild of two-time world championship finalist David Bronstein.
4...0-0: lines with Ne2.
In general, the main line of the Rubinstein has held up very well for Black, so since the 1980s White has begun to look elsewhere for chances of obtaining an advantage. In the Rubinstein, White has often resorted to playing Ne2 rather than Nf3 at some point to be able to recapture on c3 with the knight, thus avoiding the doubled pawns. Two lines where White does this (following 4.e3 0-0) are:
4...c5.
Black puts pressure on d4 and leaves open the option of playing ...d5, or ...d6 and ...e5. The game can still transpose to the main line mentioned above after moves such as 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0, but there are two major variations particular to 4...c5:
4...b6.
Favoured by Nimzowitsch, 4...b6 is a move in accordance with the spirit of the Nimzo-Indian: Black fianchettoes their light-squared bishop to increase their control over e4. White usually continues 5.Ne2, avoiding the doubled pawns, or 5.Bd3, continuing their development (5.Nf3 usually transposes to 5.Bd3). The main variations emerging from these moves are:
Classical Variation: 4.Qc2.
The Classical or Capablanca Variation was popular in the early days of the Nimzo-Indian, and though eventually superseded by 4.e3 it was revived in the 1990s; it is now just as popular as the Rubinstein. White aims to acquire the two bishops without compromising their pawn structure. The drawback is that the queen will move at least twice within the opening moves and that White's kingside development is delayed. Thus, even though White possesses the bishop pair, it is usually advisable for Black to open the game quickly to exploit their lead in development. Black has four common replies to 4.Qc2. These include 4...0-0, 4...c5, 4...d5, and 4...Nc6 (4...d6 intending ...Nbd7 and ...e5 is a rarer fifth option).
Kasparov Variation: 4.Nf3.
4.Nf3 is known as the Kasparov Variation, since Garry Kasparov used it to great effect against Anatoly Karpov in their 1985 World Championship match. Kasparov played 4.Nf3 six times, scoring three wins and three draws. Today as White, this is a favourite weapon of GM Alexei Barsov and former Women's Champion Nona Gaprindashvili.
White develops the knight to a natural square and waits to see Black's reply. 4...d5 transposes to the Ragozin Defence of the Queen's Gambit Declined and 4...b6 5.Bg5 Bb7 transposes to the Nimzo/Queen's Indian hybrid line, so 4...c5 is the most common move that stays within Nimzo-Indian territory. Now 5.e3 transposes to the Rubinstein System, but the main move is 5.g3, which leads to a position that also arises from the Fianchetto Variation. 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 0-0 7.Bg2 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 can be considered the main line. Black has dissolved White's centre, but the bishop on g2 exerts pressure on the black queenside, which White may augment with 9.Qb3.
This line can also arise from the Bogo-Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+) if White blocks the check with 4.Nc3.
"ECO" codes.
In the "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings", the Nimzo-Indian Defence has codes E20 to E59. All codes begin with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, excluding E20, which also includes alternatives to 3...Bb4 apart from 3...d5 (which would be the Queen's Gambit Declined).


Desprez Opening

The Desprez Opening is a chess opening characterised by the opening move:
The opening is named after the French player Marcel Desprez. Like a number of other rare openings, 1.h4 has some alternate names such as Kadas Opening (after Gabor Kadas, a Hungarian player), Anti-Borg Opening, Samurai Opening and Harry's Opening.
As the Desprez Opening is very rare, it is considered an irregular opening, and is classified under the A00 code in the "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings".
Assessment.
Like 1.a4, the Ware Opening, 1.h4 does nothing in the fight over , and does very little in the way of . The only piece released is the rook, which is usually not developed to h3. In addition, 1.h4 weakens White's . For these reasons, 1.h4 is among the rarest of the twenty possible first moves for White.
Black usually responds by grabbing the centre with 1...d5 or 1...e5, and simple and sound development by 1...Nf6 is also possible. The response 1...g6, however, intending to fianchetto Black's bishop on g7, is rare because White can undermine Black's pawn structure with 2.h5, making 1.h4 seem logical.
Grandmaster David Bronstein once remarked that he knew of a Russian player who always opened 1.h4 and always won. His point was that after 1...e5 2.g3 d5 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd1 Nf6 6.Nh3! Be7 7.Nf4 0-0 8.Bg2 the f4-knight is well-placed and White has a good position. Black does not have to be so cooperative, however.
References.
Bibliography


Charles Chauvel (politician)

Charles Pierre Chauvel (born 16 April 1969) serves with the United Nations Development Programme and is a New Zealand lawyer and former New Zealand politician who was a Labour List member (2006–2013) until his resignation to take up a position with the UN. He was the first New Zealand MP of Tahitian ancestry.
Early years.
Coming from Gisborne, he was awarded dux of Gisborne Boys' High School. While studying at the University of Auckland, Chauvel captained the University's winning University Challenge team in 1987. He was involved in student politics having been appointed as National Affairs Officer for the Auckland University Students' Association in 1987. Chauvel graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) from Victoria University of Wellington in 1989, and a Master of Jurisprudence (with Distinction) in 1994 from the University of Auckland.
In addition, the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin (Italy) awarded Chauvel the Diploma in International Labour Standards in 2001, and he also holds a Certificate in Health Economics (with Merit) from Victoria University of Wellington (awarded 1993) along with a Certificate in Public International Law from the Hague Academy of International Law (1997).
Legal career.
He was admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 1990, and to the New South Wales (Australia) Bar in 2003.
He wrote the re-issued Public Safety Title and served as consulting editor for a re-issue of the Gaming Law Title in the Laws of New Zealand Legal Encyclopedia. Chauvel has also co-authored two books, the "New Zealand Employment Law Guide" (LexisNexis, 2002) and "Employment Mediation" (Thomson Brookers, 2005). Prior to entering Parliament, Chavuel was on the board of Minter Ellison Rudd Watts (2003–2005) and became a partner in the Minter Ellison Legal Group in 2000. The 2005/06 edition of the "Asia Pacific Legal 500" listed him as a "Leading Individual" in employment law.
Other involvements.
Chauvel was a board member of the New Zealand Aids Foundation from 1990 to 1994, serving as chair in 1996. He was appointed in 1995 to the Board of the New Zealand Public Health Commission; as Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Lotteries Commission, and as Deputy Chair of Meridian Energy in 2005, having served as a director of that company from 2002.
Politics.
A member of the Labour Party since 1985, Chauvel has held a number of Labour Party positions including Chair of the Princes Street Branch, President of Young Labour (then known as Labour Socialist Youth), membership of the Party's controlling body (the New Zealand Council) and Policy council and co-Chair of Rainbow Labour.
Chauvel stood as Labour's electoral candidate for , in 1990 losing to the National Party's Bill Birch. He next stood in 2005 as Labour's candidate for Ohariu-Belmont, then losing to United Future leader Peter Dunne. In the 2005 New Zealand general election, the Labour Party ranked him quite low at 44th on its party list. He became an MP on 1 August 2006 through the party list following Jim Sutton's retirement.
1 September 2008 saw Chauvel at number 27, up 17 places on his 2005 ranking. In the 2008 general election he did not win a seat and was returned to Parliament because of his list placing only.
Chauvel was the Labour party candidate for the Ohariu electorate in the 2011 general election, he has also moved up 16 places to number 11 in the 2011 Labour Party List.
In November 2007, he was Chairperson of Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee, and in early 2008 he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney-General. After the 2008 general election, he became spokesperson for Climate Change and Energy as well as Associate Spokesperson for Commerce and Justice.
On 15 June 2010, Opposition Leader Phil Goff appointed him to be Portfolio Spokesperson for the Environment. He moved to the parliamentary front bench.
In early 2011, he moved up one spot to number 11 on the Parliamentary Caucus rankings, and his Climate Change portfolio was replaced with Justice (as well as losing his associate roles).
In February 2009, he and the former leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, Helen Clark, were appointed as New Zealand's inaugural representatives on the Board of the Pacific Friends of the Global Fund, the regional partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's major initiative against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
In June 2010, Chauvel was appointed as a member of the United Nations Global Commission on HIV and the Law.
On 19 February 2013, Chauvel announced his resignation from parliament, effective 11 March, to take a job working at the United Nations Development Programme. He gave his valedictory statement on 27 February 2013. He was succeeded in parliament by the next candidate on the Labour party list, Carol Beaumont.
Repeal of the Provocation Defence.
The issue of provocation received much publicity in New Zealand due to the high-profile trials of Clayton Weatherston and Ferdinand Ambach, both of whom attempted to plead provocation in court (the latter successfully).
The repeal of the partial defence of provocation to murder (s169 of the Crimes Act 1961) had been one of Chauvel's personal issues since entering Parliament. The Law Commission, in its 2007 report on the issue, also argued for repeal.
In 2009 Chauvel and fellow Labour MP Lianne Dalziel worked together in an attempt to pass a Member's Bill repealing the provocation defence. The bill was "effectively adopted" by the Government. The Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Bill passed on Thursday 26 November 2009 with 116 votes to five; the ACT Party voicing the only opposition. Some submitters, including the New Zealand Law Society, viewed the repeal as a knee-jerk reaction to two specific cases. However, Chauvel had articulated a different view, that the defence had been used inappropriately for a number of years, both in New Zealand and overseas, in prosecutions over the murder of gay men, and could no longer be justified.


Alone in the Dark II (film)

Alone in the Dark II is a 2008 German-American horror film directed by Peter Scheerer and Michael Roesch and starring Rick Yune, Rachel Specter and Lance Henriksen. It is a sequel to Uwe Boll's 2005 film "Alone in the Dark", although it features an entirely new cast and a story that is unrelated to the original film.
"Alone in the Dark II" was filmed in New York City and Los Angeles. It is loosely based on the Infogrames' "Alone in the Dark" video game series.
Premise.
Former witch-hunter Abner Lundberg (Lance Henriksen) is forced to come back to fight his old nemesis, a century-old dangerous witch out on the prowl again. This time, Lundberg joins forces with Edward Carnby (Rick Yune) and they attempt to track down the dangerous witch Elisabeth Dexter (Allison Lange).
Release and reception.
The film was released in Germany on September 25, 2008, in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2009 and in the United States on January 26, 2010. An American Blu-ray release is sold exclusively by Best Buy.
Reviewing the film for "IGN", R.L. Shaffer wrote: "Uwe Boll's "Alone in the Dark" did not require a sequel. Critics hated the film. Fans hated the film. ... Thankfully though, "Alone in the Dark II" is actually a much better film than the first. It's a touch light on action, and the setting is far more limited in terms of production design, but the tone is a little more in keeping with the ideas of the game franchise. ... Look at "Alone in the Dark II" more as a reboot than a sequel and it plays OK."
YouTube critic Jim Sterling reviewed the film along with Conrad Zimmerman on his podcast, remarking that the film was terrible enough that it was hard to believe there could be worse films and noting the film was poor enough that his opinion may even end up on the article itself, although sarcastically so.


On Safari (2000 game show)

On Safari is a British children's television game show programme, produced by SMG Productions for broadcast on ITV network children's strand CITV in 2000.
The show was presented by Richard McCourt and featured two teams of two children taking part in a series of challenges and tasks within a safari park, including animal-care and physical skill challenges; the winning team took part in an endgame to win a prize (usually a trip to go on safari in Africa).
The show was re-broadcast on STV in 2009 as part of their weekend children's strand "wknd@stv".


French Defence

The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5, with Black intending ...c5 at a later stage, attacking White's and gaining on the . The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, although some lines such as the Winawer Variation can lead to complications. Black's position is often somewhat in the early game. In particular, the pawn on e6 can impede the of the bishop on c8.
Basics.
Following the opening moves 1.e4 e6, the main line of the French Defence continues 2.d4 d5 (see below for alternatives). White sets up a , which Black immediately challenges by attacking the pawn on e4. The same position can be reached by from a Queen's Pawn Game after 1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5.
White's options include defending the e4-pawn with 3.Nc3 or 3.Nd2, exchanging it with 3.exd5, or advancing it with 3.e5, each of which leads to different types of positions. Defending the pawn with 3.Bd3 allows 3...dxe4 4.Bxe4 Nf6, when Black gains either a tempo or the advantage of .
General themes.
The diagram shows a pawn structure commonly found in the French. Black has more space on the queenside, so tends to focus on that side of the board, almost always playing ...c7–c5 at some point to attack White's pawn chain at its base, and may follow up by advancing his a- and b-pawns.
Alternatively or simultaneously, Black will play against White's centre, which is cramping his position. In the unlikely case that the flank attack ...c7–c5 is insufficient to achieve counterplay, Black can also try ...f7–f6. In many positions, White may support the pawn on e5 by playing f2–f4, with ideas of f4-f5, but the primary drawback to the advance of the f-pawn is opening of the g1-a7 diagonal, which is particularly significant due to the black queen's oft-found position on b6 and the heavy pressure on d4. In addition, many French Advance variations do not provide white with the time to play f2-f4 as it does not support the heavily pressured d4 pawn. For instance, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.f4? (if white plays Nf3, f4 will come much slower) 5...Qb6 6.Nf3 Nh6! and the knight will come to f5 to place fatal pressure on d4 and dxc5 will never be an option for white as the white king would be stuck in the center of the board after Bxc5.
White usually tries to exploit his extra space on the kingside, where he will often play for a mating attack. White tries to do this in the Alekhine–Chatard Attack, for example. Another example is the following line of the Classical French: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 0-0 8.Nf3 c5 9.Bd3 (see diagram). White's light-square bishop eyes the weak h7-pawn, which is usually defended by a knight on f6, but here it has been pushed away by e5. If 9...cxd4 (Black does better with 9...f5 or 9...f6), White can play the Greek gift sacrifice 10.Bxh7+ Kxh7 11.Ng5+ Qxg5 12.fxg5 dxc3 13.Qh5+! where Black has three minor pieces for the queen, which gives him a slight material superiority, but his king is vulnerable and White has good attacking chances.
Apart from a piece attack, White may play for the advance of his kingside pawns (an especially common idea in the endgame), which usually involves f2–f4, g2–g4 and then f4–f5 to use his natural spatial advantage on that side of the board. A white pawn on f5 can be very strong as it may threaten to capture on e6 or advance to f6. Sometimes pushing the h-pawn to h5 or h6 may also be effective. A modern idea is for White to gain space on the queenside by playing a2–a3 and b2–b4. If implemented successfully, this will further restrict Black's pieces.
One of the drawbacks of the French Defence for Black is his queen's bishop, which is blocked in by his pawn on e6 and can remain passive throughout the game. An often-cited example of the potential weakness of this bishop is S. Tarrasch–R. Teichmann, San Sebastián 1912, in which the diagrammed position was reached after fifteen moves of a Classical French.
Black's position is passive because his light-square bishop is hemmed in by pawns on a6, b5, d5, e6 and f7. White will probably try to exchange Black's knight, which is the only one of his pieces that has any scope. Although it might be possible for Black to hold on for a draw, it is not easy and, barring any mistakes by White, Black will have few chances to create counterplay; this is why, for many years, the classical lines fell out of favour, and 3...Bb4 began to be seen more frequently after World War I, owing to the efforts of Nimzowitsch and Botvinnik. In Tarrasch–Teichmann, White won after 41 moves. In order to avoid this fate, Black usually makes it a priority early in the game to find a useful post for the bishop. Black can play ...Bd7–a4 to attack a pawn on c2, which occurs in many lines of the Winawer Variation. If Black's f-pawn has moved to f6, then Black may also consider bringing the bishop to g6 or h5 via d7 and e8. If White's light-square bishop is on the f1–a6 diagonal, Black can try to exchange it by playing ...b6 and ...Ba6, or ...Qb6 followed by ...Bd7–b5.
Main line: 2.d4 d5.
3.Nc3.
Played in over 40% of all games after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5, 3. Nc3 is the most commonly seen line against the French. Black has three main options, 3...Bb4 (the Winawer Variation), 3...Nf6 (the Classical Variation), and 3...dxe4 (the Rubinstein Variation). An eccentric idea is 3...Nc6 4.Nf3 Nf6 with the idea of 5.e5 Ne4; German IM Helmut Reefschlaeger has been fond of this move.
Winawer Variation: 3...Bb4.
This variation, named after Szymon Winawer and pioneered by Nimzowitsch and Botvinnik, is one of the main systems in the French, due chiefly to the latter's efforts in the 1940s, becoming the most often seen rejoinder to 3.Nc3, though in the 1980s, the Classical Variation with 3...Nf6 began a revival, and has since become more popular.
3... Bb4 pins the knight on c3, forcing White to resolve the central tension. White normally clarifies the central situation for the moment with 4. e5, gaining space and hoping to show that Black's b4-bishop is misplaced. The main line then is: 4... c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3, resulting in the diagrammed position.
While White has doubled pawns on the queenside, which form the basis for Black's counterplay, they can also help White since they strengthen his centre and give him a semi-open b-file. White has a spatial advantage on the kingside, where Black is even weaker than usual because he has traded off his dark-square bishop. Combined with the bishop pair, this gives White attacking chances, which he must attempt to use as the long-term features of this pawn structure favour Black.
In the diagrammed position, Black most frequently plays 6... Ne7 (The main alternative is 6...Qc7, which can simply transpose to main lines after 7.Qg4 Ne7, but Black also has the option of 7.Qg4 f5 or ...f6. 6...Qa5 has recently become a popular alternative). Now White can exploit the absence of Black's dark-square bishop by playing 7. Qg4, giving Black two choices: he may sacrifice his kingside pawns with 7...Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 but destroy White's centre in return, the so-called "Poisoned Pawn Variation"; or he can play 7...0-0 8.Bd3 Nbc6, which avoids giving up material, but leaves the king on the flank where White is trying to attack. Experts on the 7.Qg4 line include Judit Polgár.
If the tactical complications of 7.Qg4 are not to White's taste, 7.Nf3 and 7.a4 are good positional alternatives, and 7.h4 is a more aggressive attempt:
7. Nf3 is a natural developing move, and White usually follows it up by developing the king's bishop to d3 or e2 (occasionally to b5) and castling kingside. This is called the Winawer Advance Variation. This line often continues 7... Bd7 8. Bd3 c4 9. Be2 Ba4 10. 0-0 Qa5 11. Bd2 Nbc6 12. Ng5 h6 13. Nh3 0-0-0. Its assessment is unclear, but most likely Black would be considered "comfortable" here.
The purpose behind 7. a4 is threefold: it prepares Bc1–a3, taking advantage of the absence of Black's dark-square bishop. It also prevents Black from playing ...Qa5–a4 or ...Bd7–a4 attacking c2, and if Black plays ...b6 (followed by ...Ba6 to trade off the bad bishop), White may play a5 to attack the b6-pawn. World Champions Vasily Smyslov and Bobby Fischer both used this line with success.
White also has 7. h4, which has the ideas of either pushing this pawn to h6 to cause more dark-square weaknesses in the Black kingside (if Black meets h5 with ...h6, White can play g4-g5), or getting the rook into the game via Rh3–g3.
Black can also gain attacking chances in most lines: against 7.Qg4, Black will attack White's king in the center; whereas against the other lines, Black can often gain an attack with ...0-0-0, normally combined with ...c4 to close the queenside, and then ...f6 to open up the kingside, where White's king often resides. If Black can accomplish this, White is often left without meaningful play, although ...c4 does permit White a4 followed by Ba3 if Black has not stopped this by placing a piece on a4 (for example, by Bd7–a4).
Sidelines.
5th move deviations for White include:
4th move deviations for White include:
Deviations for Black include:
Classical Variation: 3...Nf6.
This is another major system in the French. White can continue with the following options:
4.Bg5.
White threatens 5.e5, attacking the pinned knight. Black has a number of ways to meet this threat:
4.e5.
The Steinitz Variation, named after Wilhelm Steinitz, continues with 4. e5 Nfd7. Here 5.Nce2, the Shirov–Anand Variation, prepares to bolster the white pawn centre with c2–c3 and f2–f4; while 5.Nf3 transposes to a position also reached via the Two Knights Variation (2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.d4). The main line of the Steinitz is 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3. (Instead 7.Nce2 transposes to the Shirov–Anand Variation, while 7.Be2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Ndxe5! 9.fxe5 Qh4+ wins a pawn for Black.) Here Black may step up the pressure on d4 by playing 7...Qb6 or 7...cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qb6, begin queenside play with 7...a6 8.Qd2 b5, or continue kingside development by playing 7...Be7 or 7...cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5. In these lines, White has the option of playing either Qd2 and 0-0-0, or Be2 and 0-0, with the former typically leading to positions due to opposite-side castling when Black castles kingside in both cases.
Rubinstein Variation: 3...dxe4.
This variation is named after Akiba Rubinstein and can also arise from a different move order: 3.Nd2 dxe4. White has freer development and more space in the centre, which Black intends to neutralise by playing ...c7–c5 at some point. This solid line has undergone a modest revival, featuring in many GM games as a drawing weapon but theory still gives White a slight edge. After 3... dxe4 4. Nxe4, Black has the following options:
Rare sidelines after 3.Nc3.
One rare sideline after 3.Nc3 is 3...c6, which is known as the Paulsen Variation, after Louis Paulsen. It can also be reached via a Caro-Kann Defence move-order (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 e6).
Another rare sideline after 3.Nc3 is 3...Nc6, which was played by Aron Nimzowitsch.
Tarrasch Variation: 3.Nd2.
The Tarrasch Variation is named after Siegbert Tarrasch. This move became particularly popular during the 1970s and early 1980s when Anatoly Karpov used it to great effect. Though less aggressive than the alternate 3.Nc3, it is still used by top-level players seeking a small, safe advantage.
Like 3.Nc3, 3.Nd2 protects e4, but is different in several key respects: it does not block White's c-pawn from advancing, which means he can play c3 at some point to support his d4-pawn. Hence, it avoids the Winawer Variation as 3...Bb4 is now readily answered by 4.c3. On the other hand, 3.Nd2 develops the knight to an arguably less active square than 3.Nc3, and in addition, it hems in White's dark-square bishop. Hence, White will typically have to spend an extra tempo moving the knight from d2 at some point before developing said bishop.
Advance Variation: 3.e5.
The main line of the Advance Variation continues 3... c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 and then we have a branching point:
There are alternative strategies to 3... c5 that were tried in the early 20th century such as 3...b6, intending to fianchetto the bad bishop and which can transpose to Owen's Defence or 3...Nc6, played by Carlos Guimard, intending to keep the bad bishop on c8 or d7 which is passive and obtains little counterplay. Also, 4...Qb6 5.Nf3 Bd7 intending 6...Bb5 to trade off the "bad" queen's bishop is possible.
Exchange Variation: 3.exd5 exd5.
Many players who begin with 1.e4 find that the French Defence is the most difficult opening for them to play against due to the closed structure and unique strategies of the system. Thus, many players choose to play the exchange so that the position becomes simple and clearcut. White makes no effort to exploit the advantage of the first move, and has often chosen this line with expectation of an early draw, and indeed draws often occur if neither side breaks the symmetry. An extreme example was Capablanca–Maróczy, Lake Hopatcong 1926, which went: 4.Bd3 Bd6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bg5 Bg4 8.Re1 Nbd7 9.Nbd2 c6 10.c3 Qc7 11.Qc2 Rfe8 12.Bh4 Bh5 13.Bg3 Bxg3 14.hxg3 Bg6 15.Rxe8+ Rxe8 16.Bxg6 hxg6 17.Re1 Rxe1+ 18.Nxe1 Ne8 19.Nd3 Nd6 20.Qb3 a6 21.Kf1 .
Despite the symmetrical pawn structure, White cannot force a draw. An obsession with obtaining one sometimes results in embarrassment for White, as in Tatai–Korchnoi, Beer Sheva 1978, which continued 4.Bd3 c5!? 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Qe2+ Be7 7.dxc5 Nf6 8.h3 0-0 9.0-0 Bxc5 10.c3 Re8 11.Qc2 Qd6 12.Nbd2 Qg3 13.Bf5 Re2 14.Nd4 Nxd4 . A less extreme example was Mikhail Gurevich–Short, Manila 1990 where White, a strong Russian grandmaster, played openly for the draw but was ground down by Short in 42 moves.
To create genuine winning chances, White will often play c2–c4 at some stage to put pressure on Black's d5-pawn. Black can give White an isolated queen's pawn by capturing on c4, but this gives White's pieces greater freedom, which may lead to attacking chances. This occurs in lines such as 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4 (played by GMs Normunds Miezis and Maurice Ashley) and 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4, which may transpose to the Petroff. Conversely, if White declines to do this, Black may play ...c7–c5 himself, e.g. 4.Bd3 c5, as in the above-cited Tatai–Korchnoi game.
If c2–c4 is not played, White and Black have two main piece setups. White may put his pieces on Nf3, Bd3, Bg5 (pinning the black knight), Nc3, Qd2 or the queen's knight can go to d2 instead and White can support the centre with c3 and perhaps play Qb3. Conversely, when the queen's knight is on c3, the king's knight may go to e2 when the enemy bishop and knight can be kept out of the key squares e4 and g4 by f3. When the knight is on c3 in the first and last of the above strategies, White may choose either short or long castling. The positions are so symmetrical that the options and strategies are the same for both sides.
Another way to unbalance the position is for White or Black to castle on opposite sides of the board. An example of this is the line 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Bd6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.0-0 Nge7 8.Re1 Qd7 9.Nbd2 .
Early deviations for White.
After 1.e4 e6, almost 90 percent of all games continue 2.d4 d5, but White can try other ideas. The most important of these is 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2, with a version of the King's Indian Attack. White will likely play Ngf3, g3, Bg2, 0-0, c3 and/or Re1 in some order on the next few moves. Black has several ways to combat this setup: 3...c5 followed by ...Nc6, ...Bd6, ...Nf6 or ...Nge7 and ...0-0 is common, 3...Nf6 4.Ngf3 Nc6 plans ...dxe4 and ...e5 to block in the Bg2, and 3...Nf6 4.Ngf3 b6 makes ...Ba6 possible if White's light-square bishop leaves the a6–f1 diagonal. 2.d3 has been used by many leading players over the years, including GMs Pal Benko, Bobby Fischer and Lev Psakhis.
There are also a few rare continuations after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5, including 3.Bd3 (the Schlechter Variation), 3.Be3 (the Alapin Gambit), and 3.c4 (the Diemer–Duhm Gambit, which can also be reached via the Queen's Gambit Declined).
Early deviations for Black.
Although 2...d5 is the most consistent move after 1.e4 e6 2.d4, Black occasionally plays other moves. Chief among them is 2...c5, the Franco-Benoni Defence, so-called because it features the ...c7–c5 push characteristic of the Benoni Defence. White may continue 3.d5, when play can transpose into the Benoni, though White has extra options since c2–c4 is not mandated. 3.Nf3, transposing into a normal Sicilian Defence, and 3.c3, transposing into a line of the Alapin Sicilian (usually arrived at after 1.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4) are also common. Play may also lead back to the French; for example, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 c5 3.c3 d5 4.e5 transposes into the Advance Variation. Another move is 2...b6, which transposes into Owen's Defence or the English Defence. Also possible is 2...f5, the Franco-Hiva Gambit, but this is regarded as dubious.
History.
The French Defence is named after a match played by correspondence between the cities of London and Paris in 1834 (although earlier examples of games with the opening do exist). It was Jacques Chamouillet, one of the players of the Paris team, who persuaded the others to adopt this defence.
As a reply to 1.e4, the French Defence received relatively little attention in the nineteenth century compared to 1...e5. The first world chess champion Wilhelm Steinitz said "I have never in my life played the French Defence, which is the dullest of all openings". In the early 20th century, Géza Maróczy was perhaps the first world-class player to make it his primary weapon against 1.e4. For a long time, it was the third most popular reply to 1.e4, behind only 1...c5 and 1...e5. However, according to the Mega Database 2007, in 2006, 1...e6 was second only to the Sicilian in popularity.
Historically important contributors to the theory of the defence include Mikhail Botvinnik, Viktor Korchnoi, Akiba Rubinstein, Aron Nimzowitsch, Tigran Petrosian, Lev Psakhis, Wolfgang Uhlmann and Rafael Vaganian. More recently, its leading practitioners include Evgeny Bareev, Alexey Dreev, Mikhail Gurevich, Alexander Khalifman, Smbat Lputian, Alexander Morozevich, Teimour Radjabov, Nigel Short, Gata Kamsky, and Yury Shulman.
The Exchange Variation was recommended by Howard Staunton in the 19th century, but has been in decline ever since. In the early 1990s Garry Kasparov briefly experimented with it before switching to 3.Nc3. Note that Black's game is made much easier as his queen's bishop has been liberated. It has the reputation of giving immediate equality to Black, due to the symmetrical pawn structure.
Like the Exchange, the Advance Variation was frequently played in the early days of the French Defence. Aron Nimzowitsch believed it to be White's best choice and enriched its theory with many ideas. However, the Advance declined in popularity throughout most of the 20th century until it was revived in the 1980s by GM and prominent opening theoretician Evgeny Sveshnikov, who continues to be a leading expert in this line. In recent years, it has become nearly as popular as 3.Nd2; GM Alexander Grischuk has championed it successfully at the highest levels. It is also a popular choice at the club level due to the availability of a simple, straightforward plan involving attacking chances and extra space.
"ECO" codes.
The "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings" includes an alphanumeric classification system for openings that is widely used in chess literature. Codes C00 to C19 are the French Defence, broken up in the following way (all apart from C00 start with the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5):