Okey

Okey () is a tile-based game, very popular in Turkey. It is almost always played by four players, although, in principle, it can be played by two or three players. It is very similar to the game "Rummikub", as it is played with the same set of boards and tiles, but under a different set of rules. The game was derived from the original "Rummikub" after cultural contacts of "Gastarbeiter" in Germany. In Turkey and among Turkish communities abroad, it is very popular at cafés.
Distribution of tiles and determination of joker.
The first dealer is chosen at random. After the hands have been played and scored, the turn to deal passes to the right.
The 106 tiles are placed face down on the table and thoroughly mixed. Then the players set them up into 21 stacks of five tiles, the tiles in each pile being face down. One tile is left over - this is temporarily kept by the dealer.
There is no specific rule about how many stacks should be in front of each player. It is convenient to have at least six in front of the dealer, but this makes no real difference to the game.
The dealer now throws the die twice. The result of the first throw selects one of the tile stacks in front of the dealer, counting from left to right. The dealer places the single remaining tile on top of this selected stack. If the number thrown is greater than the number of stacks in front of the dealer, then the count will continue using the stacks in front of the player to dealer's right, and one of these will be selected. The selected stack now has six tiles.
The second throw of the die selects one of the tiles in the selected stack, counting upwards from the bottom of the stack. The selected tile is extracted from the stack and placed face up on top of it. If the selected tile is a false joker, it is returned to the selected stack and the second throw of the die is repeated until a numbered tile is selected.
This face up tile determines the "joker" (okey) for the game - a wild tile that can be used to represent other tiles to complete a combination. The joker is the tile of the same colour and one number greater than the face up tile. For example if the face up tile is the green 10, the green 11s are jokers. The false jokers are not wild - they are used only to represent the tiles that have become jokers. So for example when the green 11s are jokers, the false jokers are played as green 11s (and cannot represent any other tile). If the face up tile is a 13, the 1s of the same colour are jokers.
Now the stacks of tiles are distributed to the players. The player to dealer's right will receive 15 tiles and the others 14 each. The player to the right of the dealer takes the next stack after (to the right of) the selected stack with the face up tile on top of it, then the player opposite the dealer takes the following stack, and so on anticlockwise around the table, until each player has two stacks (10 tiles). Now the player to the dealer's right receives the whole of the next stack, but the player sitting opposite the dealer is given only the top 4 tiles of the following stack. The player to the dealer's left receives the last tile of this stack and 3 tiles from the top of the next stack, and finally the dealer takes the last 2 tiles from this stack and 2 from the next stack.
In the above diagram the dealer threw a 5, placed the spare tile on top of the 5th stack from her left. She then threw a 2, and took the second tile from the bottom of the selected stack and placed it on top. It is a red 4, so red 5s will be jokers for this deal. Now player 2 must take stack 'a', player 3 stack 'b', player 4 'c', player 1 'd', player 2 'e', player 3 'f', player 4 'g', player 1 'h' and player 2 'i'. Next player 3 takes the top 4 tiles of stack 'j', player 4 the last tile of 'j' and three from 'k', and player 1 two from 'k' and two from 'l'.
All the players should arrange their tiles so that they can see their faces but the other players cannot. Wooden racks are often used for this. The remaining tiles are left for the players to draw from during the game. They are moved to the middle of the table, without looking at them or disturbing their order.
Play.
Before the play begins, if any player holds the tile that matches the face up tile on top of the last stack of six tiles, the player may show that tile, and score one point.
Now the player to the dealer's right begins the play by discarding one tile, face up. After this, each player in turn may either take the tile just discarded by the previous player, or draw the next tile from the supply in the centre of the table, and must then discard one unwanted tile. This continues in anticlockwise rotation until a player forms a winning hand and exposes it, ending the play.
Discarded tiles are placed to the right of the player who discarded them, in a stack, so that only the most recent discard in the stack is visible.
The usual rule is that you are allowed to look through all the tiles in the discard stacks to your right (the tiles you discarded) and to your left (the tiles you had an opportunity to take), but you can only see the exposed top tiles of the two discard stacks on the other side of the table.
The object of the game is to collect sets and runs.
A set consists of three tiles (üçlü) or four tiles (dörtlü) of the same number and different colours. (So for example a black 7 plus two red 7s would not form a valid set.)
A run (el) consists of three or more consecutive tiles of the same colour. The 1 can be used as the lowest tile, below the 2, or as the highest tile, above the 13, but not both at once. So green 1-2-3 or yellow 12-13-1 would be valid runs, but black 13-1-2 would not be valid.
A winning hand consists of 14 tiles formed entirely into sets and runs - for example two sets of 3 and two runs of 4, or a run of 6 plus a run of 3 plus a set of 4. No tile can be used as part of more than one combination (set or run) at the same time.
Another type of winning hand consists seven pairs. Each pair must consist of two identical tiles (for example two black 9s). Two tiles of the same number and different colours do not make a pair - the colours must be the same as well.
If you have a winning hand, then you can end the play by exposing all 14 of your tiles after discarding. Apart from the discards and the face up tile on top of the six-tile stack, no tiles are exposed until a player shows a winning hand: no sets or runs are exposed during the game.
Tiles are always drawn from the top of the next available stack. When only the final stack of 6 tiles remains, the exposed tile is removed from the top of this stack and the other five tiles are drawn in order. The exposed tile (the red 4 in the example diagrams) can never be drawn. When there are no tiles left in the centre except the single exposed tile, if the next player to play does not want to take the previous player's discard, the play ends because there are no cards left to draw.
As already explained, the two tiles that are the same colour as the face up tile and one greater in number are the jokers. These tiles can be used to represent any tile the holder desires, in order to complete a set or run. For example, if the red 4 is face up, the red 5s are jokers. {Green 6, red 5, red 5, green 9} would count as a run, using jokers for the green 7 and 8. Alternatively, {yellow 10, black 10, red 5} would be a set, using the red 5 to represent the red or green 10.
When collecting a hand of seven pairs, a joker can be used with any tile to form a pair.
The two false jokers - the tiles without numbers - are used only to represent the joker tiles. So for example when red 5s are jokers, the false jokers are played as red 5s: for example {red 4, false joker, red 6} is a run, and {black 5, green 5, yellow 5, false joker} is a set.
[New players may wonder what is the purpose of using a different tile as the joker for each game. It would seem to be logically equivalent to use the false jokers as jokers and every tile to be what it appears to be. A possible reason may be that if through any defect in the tiles, some players learn to recognise the false jokers from the back, that would give them an unfair advantage. If a different tile is used as the joker in each game, recognising a joker from the back becomes much more difficult.]
If you have a winning hand of groups and runs using at least one joker, you do not have to expose it immediately. If you wish, you can continue playing in the hope of forming a winning hand plus a joker. If you are able to end the game by discarding a joker and exposing your remaining 14 tiles as a winning hand, your win is worth twice as much as an ordinary win. Note that by continuing to play instead of exposing your ordinary win, you run the risk that another player may complete a winning hand and expose it before you can achieve your double win, in which case you gain nothing for your concealed winning hand.
Scoring.
Each player begins the game with 20 points and loses points each time another player wins a game, as follows:
When a player wins an ordinary game, each of the other players loses 2 points.
When a player wins by discarding a joker, each other player loses 4 points.
When a player wins with seven pairs, each other player loses 4 points.
Also, if at the start of the play, a player shows the tile that matches the face up tile on the six-tile stack, each of the other players loses 1 point. This is known as (to show), and can only be claimed before the holder of the matching tile first draws a tile.
If the game ends without any player exposing a winning hand (because there are no tiles left to draw, and the player whose turn it is cannot win by taking the previous discard), then there is no score.
Play continues until any player's score reaches zero or less. The two players with the highest scores at that time are the winners and the two with the lowest scores are the losers.
Variations.
Some play that any player whose score reaches zero or less leaves the game, but the other players continue to play.
Some play that the players sitting opposite each other are partners. In practice partners cannot help each other much, except by cheating(!) [In the partnership game, presumably each team starts with 20 points, and when a player exposes a winning hand, the opposing team loses 2 or 4 points as appropriate. If a player shows the tile matching the exposed tile at the start, the other team loses 1 point.]
Some players use the exposed tile as the last tile to be drawn from the centre, when all the other tiles have been taken.
Some players omit the formal procedure for choosing the joker and distributing the tiles. Having shuffled the tiles face down on the table, each player simply takes any 14 tiles from the table (the player chosen to play first taking 15) and a tile is turned up to be the joker. When drawing tiles during the play, any face down tile can be taken from the stock on the table.
Some play that a player who wins a game with tiles of one colour only, the score is doubled: the other players lose 4 points if the winner discarded an ordinary tile, 8 points if the winner's final discard was a joker. Some only award this double score for a hand consisting entirely of red tiles or black tiles.
Okey 101.
Okey 101 is played with four players over multiple rounds. The object of the game is to collect as few points as possible at the end of the game. The player who has the fewest points, after all of the rounds are completed, is declared the winner. Points are determined according to the face value of the tile (e.g. a red 3 = 3 points & a black 11 = 11 points).
A round is completed when there are no more tiles left to draw from the bank or when one of the players has completed his/her hand (tiles on the rack). A game is played over a predetermined number of rounds (e.g. 3,5,7,9 or 11 rounds). All of the rounds must be completed before a winner is declared, not just a best of rounds.
Starting the game.
After a random dealer is chosen, each player is given 21 tiles (your hand) and the dealer gets 22 tiles. The rest of the tiles go face down into the bank and one tile which indicates what the joker will be is turned face up. The game is played counter-clockwise. The dealer starts the game by throwing away one of his tiles. The turn then goes to the player on his right.
A player starts their turn by either taking a tile from the bank or taking the tile thrown away by the previous player. The player then either 'opens' (puts his sets on the table) and/or adds to the sets already on the table. If the player cannot open they finish the turn by throwing away one of the tiles from their hand. A player must always throw away a tile to finish the turn, even when finishing their entire hand.
The Joker.
The tile that indicates what the joker will be changes each individual round. The two joker tiles (also called 'false jokers') are the same value as this tile's value plus 1. These jokers look different from the standard tiles and vary in appearance according to the Okey set used.
The actual jokers (which can represent any tile in the game) are the actual tiles that get replaced by the false jokers. If for example the indicator tile is a blue 5, the actual jokers are the two blue 6 tiles and the joker tiles (or false jokers) have the value of the blue 6.
Sets and opening your hand.
The minimum number of points required to open your hand is 101. In order to open the player needs to create sets of either 3 or 4 identical numbered tiles of different colors (e.g. black 5, red 5 & blue 5) or running numbers of the same color (e.g. red 7, red 8 & red 9). A set must have a minimum of three tiles. Players are only allowed to add to existing sets on the table after they have opened with a minimum of 101 points already. Players are of course allowed to open and then add to other sets within the same turn.
If a player takes the discarded tile from the previous player they must always use that tile. If the player has not opened yet he/she must open with that tile included. The player is not allowed to keep the tile in their hand. A player is allowed to take the discarded tile and then return it and still take from the bank without receiving a penalty.
Doubles.
Another way to open your hand is with a minimum of five doubles. Doubles are two identical tiles. If you open with doubles you are not allowed to lay normal sets anymore. You are, however, allowed to add tiles to existing sets from other players on the table.
If all four players open with doubles within one round, that round gets canceled and replayed. No players receive any penalties.
Point scoring and end of the game.
In order to complete a round, a player must play all the sets from their hand and finish with discarding a tile. The other players receive penalty points.
When all of the rounds have finished, all penalty and minus points of all of the rounds are added together and the player with the fewest points is the winner.
Additional penalties.
Players receive an additional penalty of 101 for the following actions. These penalties are added to the total points for that round.
Additional rules.
If the indicator tile is a 13 the joker then becomes a 1.
Sets of the same number are not allowed to have the same color in them (e.g. A blue 10, a red 10 & a blue 10 is not allowed).
Running sets are not allowed to continue from 13 to the 1 (e.g. black 13, black 1 & black 2 is not allowed).


No Guard

No Guard (ノーガード "nō gādo") is a Double Static Rook shogi opening that is a subvariation of a Double Wing Attack opening with mutually open bishop diagonals. The opening gets its name from White omitting their defensive left gold development (...G-32) and instead opting for an early bishop trade in order to initiate a quick attack line with their bishop in hand. The missing defensive gold leaves White lacking a 'guard.'
The opening is considered speculative since it is thought to favor Black and is not used by professional shogi players. However, it is tactical and quickly enters the endgame consequently being challenging to defend against successfully by some amateur players.
Development.
1.P-76 P-34 2.P-26 P-84 3.P-25 P-85. The branch of this variation starts after both players advance their rook pawns and open their bishop diagonals.
4.G-78. Black plays the defensive move by developing their left gold to the seventh file so that it protects the 87 and 88 squares.
The position at this point is Double Wing Attack opening (where both players exchange their rook pawns off the board) with mutually open bishop diagonals (see: Double Wing Attack§Open bishop diagonal variation), which most commonly develops into a Side Pawn Capture opening after Black takes White's side pawn.
However, these openings progress as usual only when White mirrors Black's defensive gold move with 4...G-32, which is the joseki move. In contrast, in the No Guard opening, White does not mirror Black's position and instead initiates a rook pawn trade before Black leaving their left gold on its starting square.
4...P-86 5.Px86 Rx86. White exchanges their rook pawn.
Usually after the typical 1.P-76 P-34 2.P-26 P-84 3.P-25 P-85 4.G-78 G-32 Side Pawn Capture sequence, it is Black that first exchanges the rook pawn with 5.P-24 Px24 6.Rx24. In No Guard, White is trying to gain the initiative by making the exchange first. And, in order to do so, White does not spend time with the 4...G-32 defense.
☗6.P-24.
6.P-24 Px24 7.Rx24. Black follows White in also making the rook pawn exchange. Both players now have two pawns in head each.
Black is not required to exchange their rook pawn here. If Black prefers not to play the main No Guard lines, then they can foil White's plans with 6.P*87, which forces White's rook to retreat and closes the eighth file to Black's rook attacks. However, doing this definitely prevents any possibility of playing a usual Side Pawn Capture-like opening for Black putting them into Double Wing opening territory. (See §☗6.P*87 below.)
7...Bx88+ 8.Sx88. Since White has gained tempo by omitting ...G-32, they now make a bishop trade to start the No Guard deviation.
Before this bishop exchange, White still had the possibility of playing the standard 7...G-32, which will then transpose to the usual Side Pawn Capture/Double Wing opening (that has the more common order of 1.P-76 P-34 2.P-26 P-84 3.P-25 P-85 4.G-78 G-32 5.P-24 Px24 6.Px24 P-86 7.Px86 Rx86).
8...B*33. White tries to take advantage of Black's vulnerable rook by forking the rook and Black's left silver. Since Black will presumably move their rook in order to prevent its capture, White's bishop aims at the 88 square, which is also being targeted by White's rook.
Main line: ☗9.Rx21+.
9.Rx21+. The counterattacking capture of White's knight while also promoting the rook is the strongest response for Black.
9...Rx88+. White continues the attack by capturing Black's silver. Black's 88 square only has one defender, so White can recapture with their bishop to break into Black's camp.
10.Gx88 Bx88+. Black recaptures with the defending gold, and White takes it with the bishop.
☗9.R-28.
9.R-28. In this line, Black retreats the rook back to safety and adds a defender to rank 8, which allows a recapture should White attack the 88 square with ...Bx88+ Gx88 Rx88+ Rx88.
9...P*27. However, White can follow up with a pawn strike on 27.


OneChanbara (film)

 is a 2008 film written and directed by Yôhei Fukuda. The film is based on the "OneeChanbara" video game series. It had a full theatrical release in Japan and it was shown in New York at the Asian Film Festival on June 20 and June 25, 2008, under the title of Chanbara Beauty. A straight-to-DVD sequel entitled お姉チャンバラ THE MOVIE vortex (or OneChanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers in North America) was released in 2009.
DVD releases.
The DVD was released in Japan on September 26, 2008. The first press edition of the DVD had a 3D cover which flicks between Aya from the games and the live action portrayal. The film has been picked up for release in Germany, United States and the United Kingdom. It was released in Germany on 26 June 2009, carrying the title Zombie Killer – Sharp as a Sword, Sexy as Hell. Tokyo Shock in United States released the film on DVD under the title Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad on August 25, 2009. Manga Entertainment is releasing the DVD in the UK on September 7, 2009, under the festival title of Chanbara Beauty.


Terry Brooks/Shannara


X-periMENTAL

X-periMENTAL is a children's game show that aired on BBC One from 8 January 2003 to 1 March 2004. It is first hosted by Ortis Deley in 2003 and then hosted by Simon Grant in 2004.
Format.
Series 1.
2 teams of 3 from different schools would battle in various science experiments and the objective was to get in 1st or 2nd on the leaderboard. Then the top two at the end of the series would compete to become champions.
Series 2.
There was the studio audience who had to guess to right outcomes of the experiments with an A, B or C option. The audience designs are also put to the test for real life situations.


First Kiss Story II

 is a romance visual novel, the sequel to "First Kiss Story". It was released for the Dreamcast on August 8, 2002. It is also part of the PlayStation 2 enhanced port titled "First Kiss Stories".


Koti Takar Baaji

Koti Takar Baji was an Indian Bengali game show presented on Star Jalsha in Bengali. It's the official Bengali adaption of the British game show, "The Million Pound Drop Live". The show was hosted by Jeet.
Game rules.
There were eight questions. The game was composed of 50 bundles of Rs . Contestants had to place all their money on the trapdoors for each question. Each question had a 60-second time limit. Question 1 to 3 had 4 possible answers, of which the contestants could only cover 3 trap doors. Questions 4, 5 and 6 have three possible answers, of which the contestants could only cover 2 trap doors. Question 7 had two possible answers, of which the contestants could only cover 1 trap door: an all or nothing chance. The contestants were always given a choice of 2 categories for each question.
Jeet did not touch the money, it was up to the contestants to move the money around, whether placing it on the trapdoors or removing it. The maximum time for debate before the 60 second clock started was at the discretion of the producers, but was usually between 15 and 30 seconds. There was no electronic device to work out the amount of money on each trapdoor, this was up to Jeet.


Bring the Noise (game show)

Bring the Noise is a British comedy panel game show presented by Ricky Wilson. The programme made its debut on Sky 1 on 22 October 2015.
On 7 April 2016, Sky 1 announced that, due to low ratings, the show would not be returning for a second series.
Format.
In each and every episode, two teams of three compete and they are captained by Tinie Tempah and Nicole Scherzinger, alongside regular panelists Joel Dommett and Katherine Ryan. Their guests each week take part in rounds involving music trivia questions, games with musical set pieces and VTs which include spoof video parodies and mash-ups. The last round of each show sees the teams compete in a musical performance battle.
Episodes.
The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the shows:
International versions.
The TV format was exported in Italy when it was aired on Italia 1 and hosted by Alvin on 2016-2017.


Alicia Witt

Alicia Roanne Witt (born August 21, 1975) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and pianist. She first came to fame as a child actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her as Alia Atreides in his film "Dune" (1984) and in a guest role in his television series "Twin Peaks" (1990).
Witt had a critically acclaimed role as a disturbed teenager in "Fun" (1994) and appeared as a music student in "Mr. Holland's Opus" (1995) and as a terrorized college student in the horror film "Urban Legend" (1998). She appeared in Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky" (2001), "Two Weeks Notice" (2002), "Last Holiday" (2006), and the thriller "88 Minutes" (2007). Witt has made television appearances in "The Walking Dead", "The Sopranos", "Nashville", "Two and a Half Men", "Friday Night Lights", ', "The Mentalist", "Cybill", "Justified", "Twin Peaks: The Return", ', and "Orange Is the New Black".
In addition to acting, Witt has been described as a musical prodigy, as an accomplished pianist, singer, and songwriter. Her 4th release, 2018's "15,000 Days", was produced by Grammy winner Jacquire King, and she is currently co-producing her 5th album. Beginning in 2013, Witt has starred in eight annual Hallmark Christmas movies; on her most recent, 2020's "Christmas Tree Lane", she served as executive producer, storywriter, and contributed two original songs that her character sings on-screen.
Early life.
Witt was born on August 21, 1975, in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Diane (née Pietro), a junior high school reading teacher, and Robert Witt, a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian. "Talking by age two and reading by the age of four," Witt has been described as a child prodigy. Her acting talent was recognized by director David Lynch in 1980, when he heard her recite Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" on the television show "That's Incredible!" at age 5. He would begin working with her in film and television even before Witt earned her high school equivalency credential (at age 14). From the age of 10 to 14, Witt took 4 piano lessons a week, including from a Boston University professor, and competed nationally.
Career.
Film and television.
Witt's discovery by Lynch led to his casting of the "flame-haired" child in the movie "Dune" (1984), as Paul Atreides's sister Alia; she turned 8 during filming. She worked with Lynch again when she appeared in an episode of "Twin Peaks", playing the younger sister of Lara Flynn Boyle's character Donna.
These experiences led to Witt's having small parts in Mike Figgis' "Liebestraum" (1991), in which her brother Ian also appears, the Gen-X drama "Bodies, Rest & Motion" (1993), and the TV movie "The Disappearance of Vonnie" (1994). In 1994, Witt landed her first lead role in a film, playing a disturbed, murderous teenager in "Fun" and receiving the "Special Jury Recognition" Award at the Sundance Festival. Witt was then cast in the "desultory" "Four Rooms," as Madonna's lover in the episode, "The Missing Ingredient".
Witt was introduced to a larger audience in the role of Cybill Shepherd's daughter, Zoey Woodbine, in the sitcom "Cybill". While playing that part, from 1995 to 1998, she also had film roles in Stephen Herek's "Mr. Holland's Opus", Alexander Payne's "Citizen Ruth", Robert Allan Ackerman's "Passion's Way" (based on the Edith Wharton novel, "The Reef"), and Richard Sears' comedy "Bongwater". After "Cybill" was cancelled, Witt went on to leading roles in Jamie Blanks' horror film "Urban Legend" (alongside Jared Leto, Joshua Jackson, and Rebecca Gayheart), and in Kevin Altieri/Touchstone Pictures' limited-release animated feature, "Gen¹³". In 2000, Witt had starring roles on episodes of the television shows "Ally McBeal" and "The Sopranos", the lead role in the Matthew Huffman comedy "Playing Mona Lisa" (featuring Harvey Fierstein, Elliott Gould, and Marlo Thomas), and a part in John Waters' "Cecil B. Demented".
She then went on to a small part in Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky" (2001). Witt played "Two", the college graduate discussing loss of her virginity, in Rodrigo Garcia's "Ten Tiny Love Stories" (a series of 10 monologues, alongside ones by Radha Mitchell, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Debi Mazar, Elizabeth Peña, and others), and played the role of promiscuous Barbie, half-sister of the title character, in "American Girl" (starring Jena Malone). Witt also appeared in Marc Lawrence's romantic comedy "Two Weeks Notice" (2002), starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock.
In 2003–04, she took up residence in the United Kingdom, though she portrayed Joan Allen's daughter in the US-based comic drama "The Upside of Anger" (with Kevin Costner, Keri Russell, Evan Rachel Wood, and others). Between these two projects, Witt went to South Africa to shoot a film interpretation of the epic poem "Das Nibelungenlied", played one of the central characters Kriemhild in the German TV movie "Kingdom in Twilight" (with title "" in the U.S., and "The Ring of the Nibelungs" and "The Sword of Xanten" elsewhere).
Witt filmed the "Last Holiday" (2006) and the thriller "88 Minutes" (2007, alongside Al Pacino), and joined the cast of "" for the 2007–2008 season. In the latter she played Detective Nola Falacci, a character temporarily replacing Megan Wheeler as Detective Mike Logan's (Chris Noth) partner (otherwise played by Julianne Nicholson, who was away on maternity leave), and was a recurring character in the 2007–2008 season. Witt appeared in the role of Amy in the film "Peep World" (2010).
Witt appeared as the character Elaine Clayton in "Cowgirls n' Angels" (2012), and in 2013 co-starred in the independent film "Cold Turkey" opposite Peter Bogdanovich and Cheryl Hines; there, she additionally performed an original musical piece over the end credits (see below). Her dramatic performance in this film was critically acclaimed, with "New York Magazine"s David Edelstein proclaiming her turn one of the top performances of 2013. Witt also appeared in four Christmas films in 2013: the feature film "Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas", "A Snow Globe Christmas" for Lifetime Channel, and "A Very Merry Mix-Up" for Hallmark Channel, and in 2014 Hallmark Channel's "Christmas at Cartwright's". She also played the blind girlfriend of a serial killer in The Mentalist.
Also in 2014, Witt appeared in a major guest starring role on the DirecTV series "Kingdom", which aired that October. In 2014, in the fifth season of the FX series "Justified" she played Wendy Crowe, the brightest member of a Floridian crime family that gets entangled in the show's events up in Kentucky. In April 2016, Witt appeared in two episodes of the hit series "The Walking Dead"; the same month, it was announced that she would also be reprising her role as Gersten Hayward in the 2017 "Twin Peaks" series. Witt filmed a major guest starring role on Season 12 of "Supernatural" as Lily Sunder, a former enemy of Castiel's. In 2019, she had a recurring role on the seventh season of "Orange Is the New Black" as Zelda.
Theatre.
Witt made her stage debut in 2001, at Los Angeles' historic Tiffany Theater, in Robbie Fox's musical "The Gift", in which she played a high-priced, albeit disease-carrying, stripper.
While in residence in the U.K. in 2004, she starred as Evelyn in a stage production of Neil LaBute's "The Shape of Things" at the New Ambassadors Theatre. In September 2006, Witt returned to the London stage at the Royal Court Theatre, in the critically well-received "Piano/Forte", wherein she was "well-cast" in portraying the stammering, emotionally damaged pianist Abigail, sister to "unloved attention-seeker" Louise (Kelly Reilly).
Witt performed alongside Amber Tamblyn in Neil LaBute's play, "Reasons To Be Pretty", at the Geffen Playhouse, which ran until 31 August 2014.
Music.
In addition to acting, Witt is a professional singer-songwriter and pianist, and is reported to have been a musical prodigy. During her work with David Lynch, she supported herself by playing piano at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Responses to her 2006 stage portrayal of Abigail in "Piano/Forte", which included scenes of piano-playing, noted her skill as an "outstanding pianist".
In 2009, Witt released her self-titled extended play album, followed by "Live At Rockwood" in 2012 and "Revisionary History" in 2015. In 2013, Witt and Ben Folds performed a song they had co-written on the soundtrack for the independent film "Cold Turkey". The Nashville Scene said of 'Revisionary History': 'Witt’s new album Revisionary History is a piano-pop gem that sounds by turns like “Grey Seal”-era Elton John, an alt-universe Fiona Apple and a film-noir chanteuse notching her nights in cigarette burns on the fallboard.'
In 2016, Witt joined the cast of ABC's "Nashville" in a recurring capacity playing established country singer Autumn Chase. Witt performed several songs throughout season 4.
In August 2018, Witt released a 5-song EP album entitled "15,000 Days" (a reference to the length of time she had lived when she recorded the album) working with Grammy-winning producer Jacquire King. She is currently finishing recording her new album, which she co-produces with Jordan Lehning and Bill Reynolds. Titled 'The Conduit', it is scheduled to be released in early 2021.
In 2020, Witt released her two new Christmas songs, as heard in her new Hallmark Christmas Movie, "Christmas Tree Lane". 'Why Christmas' and 'Christmas Will Never End' are performed on-screen by her character, music store owner and songwriter Meg.
Other appearances.
On June 14, 2004, Witt modeled what is believed to be the most expensive hat ever made, for Christie's auction house in London. The "Chapeau d'Amour", designed by Louis Mariette, is valued at $2.7 million (US) and is encrusted in diamonds.
In September 1990, Witt competed on "Wheel of Fortune".


Born Lucky

Born Lucky is an American television series in which contestants earned mall money and prizes. It was hosted by Bob Goen and announced by Jonathan Coleman. Four contestants competed in a stunt game show taped at various shopping malls for a chance at $2,000 in mall money. The first week's shows of "Born Lucky" were taped at the Glendale Galleria in California.
The show aired on Lifetime from October 5, 1992, to April 2, 1993. After the last episode aired, the show went into reruns on the same network from July 5 to December 31, 1993. For a brief period in 2000, PAX TV aired reruns of this series.
The show was loosely based on a 1989 British game show of the same name hosted by Jeremy Beadle.
Format.
Each player had a chance to win up to $100 (in what was referred to as "mall money") in the first round by participating in a stunt, such as trying to follow a sequence of commands, moving an item through a maze using a magnet held in the mouth in 60 seconds, or solving a series of brain teasers. Each stunt had five or ten parts and the contestant earned $10 or $20 for a fraction of success. The top two highest scoring players moved on to Round 2. Regardless of the outcome of the round, all contestants received a prize chosen blindly from a set of cards that were fanned out. If there was a tie (for last place, or if all tied), each person picked an envelope containing "mall money" not counting toward their scores. The player(s) who picked the most cash went on to round two.
Challenge Round.
In the second round, the two remaining players bid against each other to see who could accomplish the stunt (à la "Name That Tune"'s "Bid-a-Note" round). All stunts were played in either a 30, 45, or 60-second time limit. If the person accomplished the stunt before time ran out, he or she won. Otherwise, the opponent moved on.
Bonus Round.
The winning player then got a chance to win a total of $2,000 (including tiebreaker winnings, if any) by accomplishing a series of 5 additional stunts in 90 seconds. They could pass on only one stunt and if time permitted, they went back to that stunt and he/she had to complete that remaining stunt to win the $2,000 in cash; otherwise, he/she received $100 for each stunt accomplished.


Deal Or No Deal Indonesia

On May 19, 2007, Indonesia launched its own version of "Deal or No Deal", called Deal or No Deal Indonesia, hosted by Tantowi Yahya, previously host of that country's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". The prizes range from as little as Rp500 (US$0.04), to as much as Rp2,000,000,000 (US$167,000). The set and rules of the game are the same as the US version.
On December 1, 2011, season 2 premiered on antv, hosted by Deddy Corbuzier. The top prize was Rp1,000,000,000 (US$83,000).
On October 20, 2014, season 3 premiered on Global TV, hosted by Cak Lontong. The top prize is Rp500,000,000 (US$42,000).


Kannadada Kotyadhipati

Kannadada Kotyadhipati (Kannada : ಕನ್ನಡದ ಕೋಟ್ಯಧಿಪತಿ) is an Indian Kannada language quiz game show, produced by BIG Synergy which is official adaptation of Internationally acclaimed Britain's game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". The first season was aired on Star Suvarna from 12 March 2012. First two seasons hosted by Puneeth Rajkumar and Ramesh Aravind for third season. The fourth season started from June 22, 2019 on Colors Kannada with Puneeth Rajkumar as a host. Season 4 onwards it streams on OTT platform Voot.
Background.
After a series of fresh ideas in reality and fiction shows the Star Network’s Kannada general entertainment channel Asianet Suvarna has announced yet another path breaking reality show - "Kannadada Kotyadhipati" based on the most popular reality show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". The show which is meant for a common Kannadiga is one for the biggest reality shows in Kannada television offering the prize money of Rs 1 crore. The format and the rules for the edition of Kannadada Kotyadhipati will be same as the first edition of KBC. The show will be anchored by the actor Puneeth Rajkumar. Making his debut as an anchor for the first time on television Puneet Rajkumar expressed, "I am excited about being the anchor of this show which will give me an opportunity to interact closely with the common people. The format of the show is unique as this gives the common people an opportunity to use their knowledge and change their lives. "Kannadada Kotyadhipati" is produced by Big Synergy the same production house as KBC."
According to the Business Head of Suvarna, Anup Chandrasekharan, "The Star Network originally brought in KBC to India and made it the most popular reality show in the country. We at Suvarna have the best ingredients to make "Kannadada Kotiyadipati" a successful show."
There is only one 1 Crore winner till now, Hussain Basha, won 1 crore in the second season of the show.
Rules.
The contestants must undergo an initial round of "Fastest Finger First", in which the host introduces the ten contestants of the episode and asks them all the same question. The contestants must then arrange the answers in the order described in the question. The contestant that places the four options in the correct order in the fastest time gets the chance to go on the hotseat.
Lifelines.
A contestant can use a lifeline when he/she is undecided about which answer is correct. A lifeline can only be used once. The current lifelines in "Kannadada Kotyadhipati":
Audience Poll: If the contestant uses this lifeline, it will result in the host repeating the question to the audience. The studio audience get 30 seconds to answer the question. Audience members use touch pads to designate what they believe the correct answer to be. After the audience have chosen their choices, the results are displayed to the contestant in percentages in bar-graph format and also shown on the monitors screens of the host and contestant, as well as the TV viewers.
Phone a Friend: If the contestant uses this lifeline, the contestant is allowed to call one of the three pre-arranged friends, who all have to provide their phone numbers in advance. The host usually starts off by talking to the contestant's friend and introduces him/her to the viewers. After the introduction, the host hands the phone call over to the contestant who then immediately has 30 seconds to ask and hope for a reply from their friend.
Double Dip ×2: If the contestant uses this lifeline, the contestant is asked to choose two options among the four. If the contestant chooses an option that results in incorrect answer, he/she has another opportunity to opt among the remaining three options. There will be one correct answer and two incorrect at this situation. The contestant cannot quit the game if he/she uses this lifeline.
Notable celebrity guests.
The following celebrities have played Kannadada kotyadhipati.


Nicolas Rossolimo

Nicolas Rossolimo (; February 28, 1910 – July 24, 1975) was a Russian-born chess player. After acquiring Greek citizenship in 1929, he was able to emigrate that year to France, and was many times chess champion of Paris. In 1952 he emigrated to the United States, and won the 1955 U.S. Open Chess Championship. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1953. Rossolimo was a resident of New York City until his death.
The Rossolimo Variation of the Sicilian Defence bears his name.
Biography and chess career.
Nikolai Spiridonovich Rossolimo was born into an upper-middle-class Russian-Greek family in Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire. His father was Spiridon Rossolimo, a Russian painter and portraitist of Greek ancestry, while his mother née Xenia Nikolaevna Skugarevskaya was an aristocratic writer and war correspondent. He was a nephew of the famous Russian neurologist and psychiatrist Grigory Ivanovich Rossolimo. He lived in Moscow during the mid-1920s, and moved to Paris with his Russian mother in 1929.
Having finished second behind former World Champion José Raúl Capablanca in a tournament in Paris in 1938, he won the French Championship in 1948. He was Paris champion a record seven times, and drew two matches in 1948 and 1949 with Savielly Tartakower. In 1955, he won the U.S. Open Championship held in Long Beach, California, on tiebreaks ahead of Samuel Reshevsky. The prize was a new Buick automobile.
Rossolimo played for France in the Chess Olympiads of 1950 and 1972, and for the United States in 1958, 1960, and 1966. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1950 and the International Grandmaster title in 1953.
In 1952, he moved to the U.S. with his wife Véra and son Alexander to rejoin his mother and Russian-Greek father in New York. (After moving to the U.S., his first name was often spelled "Nicholas".) In New York, he worked as a waiter, a taxi driver, played the accordion, and worked as a singer and ran a chess studio as well to support himself and his family. The Rossolimo Chess Studio was located in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. It was somewhat like a café that served food and drinks, and also sold chess sets and books, but where members of the public – including famous artists such as Marcel Duchamp – could come and play chess with each other and occasionally play Rossolimo himself for a fee (Rossolimo would play simultaneous chess with many of the patrons).
Rossolimo died of head injuries following a fall down a flight of stairs, just after finishing third in his final event, the 1975 World Open. He was buried in a Russian Orthodox cemetery in New Jersey.
Chess talent.
The strongest players Rossolimo defeated were Efim Bogoljubov, David Bronstein, and former World Champion Max Euwe, against whom he had two wins and a lifetime plus score. He also scored draws against four world champions: José Capablanca, Max Euwe, Bobby Fischer, and Vassily Smyslov. According to the site Chessmetrics, which estimates historical ratings of players based on results, his highest ranking was 15th in the world, reached in December 1953.
Rossolimo won many brilliancy and "best-game" prizes for his beautiful chess games, and has been called an "artist of chess". He has been quoted to have said (here in translation): "What am I supposed to do, trade in my romantic style and become a hunter of points at any price? No, I will not do so. I will fight for the art of chess. I shall not turn into a monster".
Here is one of Rossolimo's most celebrated brilliancies. Al Horowitz, the late chess columnist for The New York Times, called this game "a brilliancy of astonishing character, elegant and explosive".
The Boston Globe wrote: "The truly talented Nicolas Rossolimo played one of the most amazing moves ever in Rossolimo–Reissman: 23.Qg6!!".
Legacy.
One of Rossolimo's more enduring innovations is the variation of the Sicilian Defence which bears his name – the Rossolimo Variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 (see diagram). While generally steering clear of the tactical fireworks common to , the Rossolimo Variation offers White some chance of an opening advantage.
Other.
Rossolimo wrote two books: "Les Echecs au coin du feu", a collection of his studies and endgames with a preface by Savielly Tartakower, published in Paris in 1947; and "Rossolimo's Brilliancy Prizes", self-published in New York in 1970. He also made a record of songs in Russian, French, and English, with an album cover designed by Marcel Duchamp and produced by the Kismet Record Company. He is the hero of a chapter in the book, "Losing Moses on the Freeway". He also held a brown belt in judo and recorded an album of Russian songs.
Tournaments and matches.
The following table gives Rossolimo's placings and scores in a number of major tournaments and matches. (The "Score" column gives the number of points / the total possible. The "+" indicates the number of won games, "−" the number of losses, and "=" the number of draws.)


Michael Basman

Michael John Basman (born 16 March 1946 in St Pancras, London) is an English chess player, chess author and International Master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1980. He is a prolific writer, who has made many contributions to the field of chess openings, and is particularly known for frequently choosing bizarre or rarely played openings in his own games, including the St. George Defence (with which English Grandmaster Tony Miles once famously defeated the then World Champion Anatoly Karpov), the Grob (for Black and White) and also The Creepy Crawly, which is a3, then h3 followed by a quick c4. Possibly his greatest tournament success was when tying for first place in the British Chess Championship tournament of 1973, although he was to lose the play-off match with William Hartston.
In 1975 England contested a match over ten boards against France in Luton. Basman played Board One, ahead of future super Grandmasters John Nunn and Jon Speelman.
He created the UK Chess Challenge, a tournament for juniors of all standards and ages progressing over four stages. Grandmaster Raymond Keene once wrote, referring to Basman's promotion of youth chess, "Michael Basman is in many ways the most important person in British chess."
Basman's father was an Armenian immigrant who changed the family name from Basmadjian. His family knew the singer Cleo Laine, who worked as a babysitter for the young Michael.
Illustrative games.
Although Basman never attained the rank of grandmaster, he did beat several. He has defeated Speelman with his trademark 'Killer Grob' defence.


Dig Dug Deeper

Dig Dug Deeper is a 3D remake video game of the original "Dig Dug" game which was first released in 1982. It was released for Windows in 2001 by Infogrames. As well as the classic underground world, it has an outside world, much like "Dig Dug II". The original concepts from the original are still there, but new ideas have been added.
Gameplay.
The main character, Dig Dug (who also goes by the name of Taizo Hori in other games), is equipped with his usual weapon, the pump. Gameplay progresses as Taizo Hori moves from planet to planet, each with a different number of levels, which each have underground levels. On the planet's surface, the gameplay is 3D, and there are a variety of holes. At first, there are no enemies on the surface, but Taizo Hori can still fire his pump in eight directions, the usual, plus diagonally. These holes are closed, but when first reaching a level, a Pooka will jump out, opening a mound. If Taizo Hori is maneuvered into it, the gameplay will shift to underground mode. This mode is basically the same as the original game, but with a few more features described later. The enemies can "ghost" through walls at certain times too. After all but one of the enemies are destroyed, the remaining one will begin to flee at double-speed to the top of the level, which now has a tunnel to the surface. If the player destroys it, the level ends, and Taizo Hori appears back on the surface. If it escapes, the same occurs, but now the enemy is on the surface. It still must be killed, but is harder, because its movement is no longer limited to just four directions. Gameplay goes on like this for the rest of the game.


OpenSceneGraph

OpenSceneGraph is an open-source 3D graphics application programming interface, used by application developers in fields such as visual simulation, computer games, virtual reality, scientific visualization and modeling.
The toolkit is written in standard C++ using OpenGL, and runs on a variety of operating systems including Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, IRIX, Solaris and FreeBSD. Since version 3.0.0, OpenSceneGraph also supports application development for mobile platforms, namely iOS and Android.
History.
The OpenSceneGraph project was initiated by Don Burns in 1998. Robert Osfield joined the project during 1999, working on porting finished components for Microsoft Windows. The project went open source in September 1999 and the official project website was created. Towards the end of the year Osfield took over the project and began extensive refactoring of the existing codebase, putting emphasis on modernisation, embracing modern C++ standards and design patterns.
In April 2001, taking into account growing community of users and interest of public, Robert Osfield created OpenSceneGraph Professional Services, providing commercial support, consulting and training services. This marks full professionalization of the project.
The first official stable version of OpenSceneGraph was version 1.0, released in 2005. An extended version 2.0 followed in 2007, adding support for multi-core and multi-gpu systems, several important NodeKits and usage of unified multiplatform build system CMake. Books and user handbooks were introduced.
The project has been quickly growing and becoming more popular ever since. There are more than 530 contributors signed under current stable version, and the official mailing list contains thousands of names.
In 2019, the project was moved to a maintenance phase, the main development effort being routed to its successor project VulkanSceneGraph.
Features.
Features in version 1.0:
Features in version 2.8.3
Features in version 2.8.4:
Features in version 3.0.0:
Architecture.
Library architecture can be separated into three main subsets — the core OpenSceneGraph library, osgViewer and a set of NodeKits.
Core.
The base of OpenSceneGraph library can be further divided into four main modules.
osg.
The core of OpenSceneGraph provides classes and methods for construction and manipulation of the scene graph. It contains classes representing various types of nodes, scene geometry, OpenGL state abstraction, geometric transformations, as well as mathematical classes for 2D and 3D vector and matrix operations. Advanced memory management is also included.
OpenThreads.
The OpenSceneGraph project contains a threading library, "OpenThreads", which is a lightweight cross-platform thread model. It is intended to provide a minimal and complete Object-Oriented (OO) thread interface for C++ programmers. It is loosely modeled on the Java thread API, and the POSIX Threads standards.
The architecture of OpenThreads is designed around "swappable" thread models which are defined at compile-time in a shared object library. It is of importance to note that while a factory pattern design could have been used to achieve the goal of generic interface, it would have required the programmer to allocate each of the 4 fundamental types (Thread, Mutex, Barrier, & Condition) on the heap. Due to the cost associated with heap allocation of the underlying concrete implementations of these constructs on some platforms, such allocation was deemed unacceptable at the time this library was originally written, and thus the factory pattern was not used.
Instead, a somewhat abstruse - but effective - technique was chosen to provide the necessary data/implementation hiding. This technique uses private void pointers to encapsulate object private data. The void pointers actually point at concrete data structures, but give a uniform interface to the dso.
The design goal of OpenThreads is to construct optimized implementations using platform optimized multi-processing constructs such as the sproc methods used on IRIX, and Windows threads.
osgUtil.
osgUtil contains rendering backend functionality and utilities taking care of scene graph traversal, rendering optimisation and transforming the scene into a stream of OpenGL calls. It also provides means of basic interaction with scene, such as object picking.
osgDB.
OpenSceneGraph also comes with a large collection of database loaders and many 2D/3D data formats manipulators. More than 50 different formats are supported - most common 3D data formats, such as COLLADA (.dae), LightWave (.lwo), Wavefront (.obj), OpenFlight (.flt), 3D Studio Max (.3ds), DirectX (.x) and many others. OpenSceneGraph also provides its own native ASCII .osg format. There are exporters into .osg format available for Blender, Maya and 3D Studio MAX.
Supported picture formats include .rgb, .gif, .jpg, .png, .tiff, .pic, .bmp, .dds, .tga and quicktime.
This module also provides I/O device abstraction.
osgViewer.
osgViewer Library provides a quick and easy way of visualizing the graphics scene. It is also a platform-independent abstraction for various window system interfaces.
NodeKits.
Project distribution also contains a variety of so-called "NodeKits". These are solutions of common problems and frequently used more advanced 3D application components and graphics algorithms. Among the most significant are
Reception and adoption.
OpenSceneGraph doesn't provide any functionality for higher "gaming" logic, it is a rendering-only tool. There are several full-scale engines for computer games (or so-called "serious games") creation using OSG as a base of graphics rendering, the most common framework being Delta3D.
There is a great variety of software products built on top of OpenSceneGraph; among others, Virtual Terrain Project and ViewTec TerrainView. List of OSG users contains companies as Boeing, NASA, FlightGear, Norcontrol and many others.
At the opensource community level, several project has adopted OSG as rendering backend:
OpenSceneGraph has received a javascript/WebGL implementation called OSG.JS that is used by many online 3D scene viewers including Sketchfab and Clara.io.
A wrapping from C++ to javascript through Emscripten OGStudio is also currently developed.
Among other products that use OSG must be mentioned:


Quick Ishida

In shogi, Quick Ishida, Rapid Ishida or Ishida Quick Attack (早石田 "haya ishida") is an Ishida variation of the Third File Rook class of openings characterized by an open bishop diagonal.
Like all Ishida variations, it has an early advancement of seventh file pawn when played by Black or third file pawn when played by White.
The strategy initially has the Static Rook opponent aiming to attack the Ishida player's bishop head and while the Ishida player aims to counterattack breaking Static Rook's camp on the seventh file with the threat of several different bishop drop positions.
The Quick Ishida position can lead to a number of traps if the opponent does not defend properly.
Initial positioning.
1. P-76. The most common and most flexible first move found in shogi games.
A player intending on a Quick Ishida position must open their bishop diagonal with P-76 on their first move since they will need to push this pawn up to the middle rank 5 on their next move.
Furthermore, Quick Ishida positions can only defend against a Static Rook opponent's rook pawn advances with a bishop trade and subsequent attack with bishop drop. Therefore, Quick Ishida is only possible if their Static Rook opponent also opens their bishop diagonal with P-34 allowing for the bishop trade possibility.
1... P-34. The opponent also opens their bishop diagonal. This is most common and flexible move for the White. From here, a bishop trade can occur at any time. At this point, the strategy of White is unknown. White could play a Static Rook opening leading to a Quick Ishida opening although they could just as well play a Ranging Rook opening leading to a Double Ranging Rook game.
2. P-75. On Black's second move, the seventh file pawn is pushed indicating an Ishida position.
If White plays a Static Rook position, this could develop into a Quick Ishida game. However, it is also possible that the game could develop into the slower normal Ishida game.
2... P-84. White's second move is a major deciding factor in the game. Here, the rook is pushed forward clearly indicating a Static Rook position. Additionally, this move is signaling that White welcomes a Quick Ishida game.
White does have other choices for this move that are still consistent with a Static Rook position, such as K-42 (the most common reply), P-54, P-14, and P-62. However, these moves create unfavorable positions for a Quick Ishida player. Therefore, these other replies usually lead to Black aiming not for a Quick Ishida opening but instead the slower normal Ishida formation, which, depending on the reply, can include closing Black's bishop diagonal with P-66 to prevent an inopportune bishop trade.
Still other replies by White lead to Double Ranging Rook games: P-35 indicates a Double Ishida game, or, less commonly, P-44 prepares for an Opposing Rook position.
The basic position of Quick Ishida is after 6 moves.
Black usually needs to protect their king from a possible king–rook fork counterattack by White in later moves.
Moving the king is the traditional joseki move.
White's silver defense.
Preventing Quick Ishida.
If White defends against Quick Ishida after move 3, then the Quick Ishida opening will often be abandoned in favor of the slower Ishida opening.
Quick Ishida traps.
Quick Ishida has several traps that must be defended against properly or else the opponent is at risk of swift and aggressive attacks.
Eighth file pawn trade.
At first glance, after the initial 6 moves of the Quick Ishida position (namely, 1.P-76 P-34 2.P-75 P-84 3.R-78 P-85), it appears as if Black's bishop head at the 87 square is unprotected allowing White to promote their rook after a pawn trade. However, this would be a blunder.
After White initiates the eighth file pawn trade, they capture Black's pawn positioning their rook on 86. Seeing this blunder, Black will immediately push their seventh file pawn threatening to break through White's camp.
This position often leads to traps such as a king–rook fork or a rook–silver fork (see subsections below) both of which are severe for the Static Rook opponent.
King–rook fork.
After White's premature eighth pawn trade, a bigger blunder by White would be reflexively capturing Black's seventh file pawn with 6... Px74?
Black will not capture the 74-pawn with their rook (7. Rx74?) as White may expect.
With White's 73 pawn moved forward to rank 4, White's sitting king is now vulnerable to diagonal attacks.
Thus, after White captures the horse with their left silver, Black drops their bishop to 95 forking White's king and rook.
Since White must resolve the check (for instance, by fleeing leftwards), there is no way for White to save their rook.
White losing their rook this early in the game is likely to be devastating. Furthermore, it will be difficult for White to protect the right side of their camp while simultaneously trying to prevent Black's rook drop within their camp.
Rook–silver fork.
After move 15, Black drops their bishop to 77 forking White's rook and silver.
This position favors Black.
Suzuki variation.
Professional player Daisuke Suzuki (鈴木大介) has suggested a new variation on Quick Ishida after the initial Quick Ishida formation, which is to quickly attack White's seventh file pawn instead of moving the king away from their rook rightwards.
Masuda's variation.
The Quick Ishida is also often called Masuda Quick Ishida (升田式早石田 "Masuda shiki haya ishida"). As a well established surprise attack, it's generally covered extensively in books for amateur players alongside the Climbing silver or bōgin opening. The fact that Kōzō Masuda, four time winner of the Meijin tournament under the then new "Real Strength Meijin system", improved the strategy of what at the time was merely a trap move made a huge impact in the world of shogi.


Chris Wills

Chris Wills (born 17 February 1978, in Folkestone, Kent) is a Champion of the British game show Countdown and a veteran of numerous other shows.
Countdown.
Wills first appeared on Countdown on 14 January 2002 winning all eight of his heat games and becoming the #1 seed of his series, including the highest ever score in 20 years of Countdown, 129 on 17 January. He beat two more contestants to reach the final where he beat Tom Hargreaves 110-67. He averaged 110 points per game.
Wills was invited back to the Championship of Champions tournament, where he won three successive games including a score of 120 to each the final against Graham Nash. The final was a tense, low-scoring game and he lost 79-73. Since recording this game, he's appeared twice on Countdown, against Julian Fell the player that beat his highest ever score of 129 and against Conor Travers, the youngest ever Countdown series winner at 14 years old. He lost both of these games.
Other television appearances.
Wills is a veteran of numerous other game shows, appearing on "15-to-1" before appearing on "Countdown", and later winning "The Weakest Link" taking away prize money of £2,540. He appeared on "BrainTeaser" and reached the final, beating 3 other contestants but after failing to solve the anagram TANTRIC + E (INTERACT), he failed to win any money. He also appeared on "Mastermind". In 2008 he appeared on "1 vs. 100" and eliminated 99 of his 100 opponents, but again left the studio with no money. He appeared on the first edition of "A Question of Genius" on 16 March 2009 and won £5000 by correctly identifying The Smiths' song title which contains a spelling mistake as "Cemetry Gates", and remained at the top of the leaderboard throughout the series, earning a place in the grand final. Although he only finished joint third in the final, he was the series' joint biggest money winner with £5000. He also appeared on the 14th episode of the third series of Pointless.


Microsoft SideWinder

Microsoft SideWinder was the general name given to the family of digital game controllers developed by Microsoft for PCs. The line was first launched in 1995. Although intended only for use with Microsoft Windows, Microsoft SideWinder game controllers can also be used with macOS, Mac OS 9 with third-party software, and Linux.
The term "SideWinder" describes many types of Microsoft's PC game controllers including joysticks, gamepads and steering wheels. Several types of joysticks were made, including the Force Feedback 2, the 3D Pro, and the regular SideWinder joystick. Also, several types of gamepads were made, such as the original game port version, a plug-and-play game port version, and the USB version. Steering wheels are the Precision Racing Wheel and the Force Feedback Wheel variants which include throttle and brake pedals.
The family also includes some more exotic devices such as the SideWinder Game Voice system and the SideWinder Strategic Commander.
The SideWinder family of products was discontinued by Microsoft in 2003, citing poor sales. The company has since re-entered the gaming hardware market, in hopes of designing a standardized gamepad for Windows Vista with both the wired Xbox 360 controller and the Wireless Gaming Receiver that allows the use of the wireless Xbox 360 controller on the PC.
In August 2007, Microsoft announced they were relaunching the SideWinder line of gaming peripherals, starting with the SideWinder Mouse. The mouse was given an MSRP of $80 and a launch date of October 2007.
First generation.
Notes.
 See bottom of device. Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro Plus were sold as Sidewinder Precision Pro but have no USB support.
 Also known as Microsoft SideWinder Precision 2 1.0
 Also known as Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel USB 1.0
 A user-made adapter exists for modern Windows versions (XP and later), Mac OS X and Linux.
 A user-made adapter exists, incorporating Force-feedback support for modern Windows versions (XP and later), Mac OS X and Linux. Game must also support FFB. There is a bug in the Windows 8 joystick control panel which causes the joystick to be reported as non-functional. Games will still recognize and use the joystick.
 A user-made adapter exists for modern Windows versions (XP and later), Mac OS X and Linux. There is no support for Force-feedback at this time.
Gamepad.
The original Microsoft SideWinder gamepad had a digital directional pad, six fire buttons, two trigger buttons, and a "Mode" and "Start" button. The original gameport version had a pass-through, so additional joypads or joysticks could be used without unplugging the SideWinder, and also allowed the connection of up to four SideWinder gamepads working simultaneously. Newer USB versions of the SideWinder gamepad have a round digital directional pad instead of the more traditional cross-shaped directional pad, and lack the mode button. The Microsoft SideWinder's button layout is very similar to that of the Sega Saturn controller, which was released over the same time period.
The Gamepad features as a character (Ä) in the Webdings dingbat font.
3D Pro.
As Microsoft's first SideWinder joystick, the 3D Pro was responsible for setting the overall design as seen in all of Microsoft's future joysticks. Designed as a gaming-neutral joystick, rather than a specialized joystick for use with realistic combat flight simulators, the 3D Pro was built with a functional, but low-key geometric design. Intended to rival the other sticks from the time, the 3D Pro included 8 buttons - 4 on the base, 4 on the stick - an 8-way hat switch, a slider-based throttle, and the stick itself was twistable for Z/rudder/spin control. By going with a geometric design however, it meant the 3D Pro lacked an effective adherence to ergonomic principles, making it unsuitable for long gaming sessions for some users.
Electronically, the 3D Pro used a digital/analog hybrid design that was intended to correct the outstanding flaws in traditional analog joysticks, such as drift and CPU overhead, by using a digital/optical tracking mechanism to keep perfect track of the joystick, and a digital communication method over the analog gameport. However, this digital mode required software support, and could not be used with many DOS games at the time (MechWarrior 2 being the only major exception), as most software and gameports were built completely around an analog design.
Additionally, some soundcard gameports, and so-called accelerated game-ports - which attempted to resolve CPU overhead issues presented by polling the gameport directly themselves - such as those produced by Gravis, would not always be able to handle the stick in digital mode.
The 3D Pro had a unique feature in that it could fall-back to an 'analog emulation' mode, where it could emulate either a CH Flightstick Pro or a Thrustmaster FCS (Selectable by a switch on the base), in environments where the digital mode would not work.
In this mode, manual calibration was required, the four base-buttons no longer function and, the joystick would function essentially like a CH Flightstick Pro or Thrustmaster FCS depending on the mode selector switch.
However, on later operating systems the digital mode would be less and less reliable, and on modern PCs most 3D Pro owners can only run in analog mode. The 3D Pro was popular enough to spawn a successor, the Precision Pro, which was a USB device and, while it did not work in DOS at all, was far more reliable under Windows despite quality issues.
The joystick was widely praised in its inception and was one of the few joysticks with multiple buttons that did not require a keyboard pass-through. The stick was especially popular with MechWarrior and Descent players as it was one of the few multi-button joysticks supported by the games natively.
The joystick's popularity has created a small die-hard following, with many people still holding onto them despite their age. This resulted in the creation of a USB adapter for the 3D Pro.
The 3D Pro features as a character (Ã) in the Webdings dingbat font.
Standard.
The SideWinder Standard joystick was a more basic joystick released around the same time as the 3D Pro. It was a simple two button, three axis joystick. It featured a trigger button, a thumb button and a throttle wheel on left side of the base. In addition it had two additional dials on the base for adjustment of the stick itself, one above stick and the other to the right of the stick. It used a gameport connector to interface with the computer.
Precision Pro.
Microsoft introduced the SideWinder Precision Pro in 1995, correcting the ergonomic issues, fixing some of the electrical issues, and adding new features.
The Precision Pro introduced a new stick that was far more ergonomic than the "geometric" design of the 3D Pro. Microsoft also gave the rest of the Precision Pro a more rounded design, replacing the rectangular base buttons with more rounded versions at the top of the base, the slider-based throttle with a wheel-based throttle, and the base itself was made more rounded. The Precision Pro also added a shift button to the base, doubling the number of possible button combinations.
Signatures can be seen inside the joystick, on the base coverplate. Fred Iyc and Edie Adams are among the 17 people who have signed it.
For its electronics, the Precision Pro featured a refined hybrid system, resolving some of the hardware compatibility issues with the 3D Pro. However, with the widespread introduction of USB in consumer computers shortly after the Precision Pro was released, Microsoft soon re-released the joystick in a USB-compatible form (joysticks labeled as Part No. X03-57540, Product I.D. 85791-579-2177031-00000). The revised joystick still featured a gameport connector but had additional circuitry for interfacing with USB, and was bundled with a USB converter (a DIY converter project exists). Original Precision Pros remain incompatible with this converter, but a user made converter exists. The creation of the USB converter bypassed the problems with the analog gameport entirely, and as a result became the true solution to the electrical problems. However, due to a flaw in the design of the Precision Pro, in rare cases the stick would build up a static charge in its electronics and require either a complex process to discharge that was not always successful, or simply needed to stay unpowered for a number of hours to slowly discharge on its own. This is also one of the first joysticks to use light sensors instead of potentiometers so it required no calibration, and thus had no electronical moving parts. The only moving parts were mechanical on the throttle and joystick pivots which gave this joystick virtually unlimited lifetime. The Precision Pro 2 had reintroduced potentiometers to save money and thus their lifetime was limited to wear and tear of the potentiometers.
Thanks to the timing of the launch of the Precision Pro to coincide with the widespread launch of USB along the ergonomic corrections and rarity of the static charge problem, the Precision Pro saw a much higher sales volume and review scores than the earlier 3D Pro.
Force Feedback Pro.
From technology acquired from EXOS, Inc, Microsoft then released a force feedback product called the Force Feedback Pro. Built on the design of the Precision Pro, the Force Feedback Pro differed only in the inclusion of motors for the force feedback effects, and the lack of USB compatibility. (A DIY converter project exists.) Due to the inclusion of the motors, the Force Feedback Pro was significantly larger and heavier than the Precision Pro, making it easy to differentiate between the two.
As the PC joystick port is input-only, the only way for data to be sent to the joystick (to trigger force feedback events) is to use the MIDI capabilities of the port. This extension to the original gameport, first popularised by Creative Labs in their early sound cards, was intended to allow MIDI instruments to be connected to the joystick port but is used here to provide bidirectional communication with the joystick instead. Force feedback events are triggered by messages on MIDI channel 6, with effect data uploaded via SysEx messages. This means that force feedback would be unavailable on the earliest of PCs, where the gameports lack MIDI functionality.
Precision 2.
The basis of Microsoft's last generation of SideWinder joysticks, the Precision 2 design was a further refinement of the previous Precision Pro. Compared to the Precision Pro, the Precision 2 dropped the Pro's shift button, replaced the throttle wheel with a more traditional lever, and rearranged the face buttons on the stick into a symmetric design. The Precision 2 also dropped all gameport compatibility by only shipping in a USB version, and was slightly smaller and lighter than the Pro. In spite of being Microsoft's 2nd-generation USB controller, the Precision 2 in particular seemed to suffer more from the USB SideWinder's long-standing static buildup problem than the original Precision Pro.
Force Feedback 2.
Along with replacing the Precision Pro with a new design, the Force Feedback Pro was replaced with a Precision 2 derivative, the Force Feedback 2. Compared to the Force Feedback Pro and the Precision 2, nothing new was added to the Force Feedback 2 that wasn't added to the Precision 2, in fact the shift button was taken away. The overall size and weight difference was not so great with the use of smaller motors. This joystick came in two varieties: one version with a silver trigger, and an updated version with a translucent red trigger. One of the main ideas in the Force Feedback 2 was the removal of the power brick. Since the release of the Force Feedback 2, the stick has garnered a reputation of reliability and resiliency, many Force Feedback 2 sticks are still in use currently. On eBay Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joysticks regularly sell for more than the original MSRP of $109.
Joystick.
Using the Precision 2 design once again, Microsoft introduced a value-oriented SideWinder joystick, simply called the SideWinder Joystick. In spite of its value designation, the SideWinder Joystick was functionally similar to the Precision 2. The main features dropped were Z-axis control and the 8-way hat switch. Otherwise the differences were cosmetic, including shrinking the base, moving the throttle to the front of the base, and replacing 2 of the rounded buttons on the stick with more rectangular buttons. Support for this joystick was dropped with the advent of Windows XP.
Force Feedback Wheel.
The Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel is a steering wheel controller for sim racing. It was the first wheel controller to contain force feedback. The USB version of the wheel is compatible with one PlayStation 2 game, "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero".
Strategic Commander.
The Strategic Commander is designed to complement a standard mouse/keyboard setup for Real Time Strategy games. It features a total of 6 programmable command buttons, 2 zoom buttons, 3 shift buttons, a macro record button and a 3-point configuration switch. The device also has three movement axes: X, Y and Z (rotation). Through extensive configuration of the shift and command buttons, it is possible to create a total of 24 different commands per configuration.
The Strategic Commander is a highly ergonomic device, and resembles a large mouse in shape, contoured for the left hand. It has an upper section attached to a base. On the upper section, the programmable buttons mentioned above are located near the tips of the index, middle and ring fingers for quick access. Three buttons are located near the thumb in an arc.
A feature of the device is that the upper section is also a 2-axis motion controller with additional support for rotation. It allows motion in the X, Y & Z axis (corresponding to Forward, Backwards, Strafe left & right, Turn left & right). This made it an ideal companion for FPS and similar games, because you can aim weapons or look up and down with the right hand while simultaneously slewing position with the left hand, and change weapons etc. with the left finger buttons.
Software was included for the device to provide hotkeys for a number of (then popular) games. The buttons are also programmable, allowing the device to be used with other games and applications. For example, one application developed at Carnegie Mellon used the device as a peripheral for navigating massive social network maps.
Linux treats this device as a joystick (with all 3 axis and 12 plus 3 buttons) and can be used as one or using various applets can be used as a "joystick action to key press" device (e.g. Joy2Key)
Game Voice.
The Game Voice is an early voice chat device. It was shaped like a hockey puck, with four channel buttons that allowed the user to speak to individual teammates. It could also be set to communicate with the entire team, or globally to all players. The driver software also allowed it to function as a voice command device using programmable macros. The package included a headset with an attached microphone, though these could be substituted with any other PC headset/microphone. The puck acted as an intermediary between the sound card and the sound input/output devices. The headset, along with the system speakers, plugged into the puck, where a switch could be used to set whether sound would be output from the speakers or the headset. The puck also had its own volume control. To provide power for the puck LEDs and drive the voice command and channel functions, a USB connection was also required. Microsoft recommended Game Voice as a microphone for use with the speech recognition feature of Microsoft Office XP.
Microsoft discontinued the product in 2003. By then, the market for voice chat had seen intense competition from downloadable and free-to-use software like Ventrilo and TeamSpeak, among others. These software packages only charge the host or server, whereas each person would have to own a Game Voice in order to use the hardware and software. As a result, the Game Voice ultimately lost that market. However, these competing software packages do not offer voice command systems.
Microsoft has not released the hardware specifications so that an open source driver could be developed. The device is supported under Windows XP, but no new driver is planned for Windows Vista. Despite this, GNU/Linux based operating systems can use this device using various third party applets (i.e. Kamevoice)
Freestyle Pro.
The Freestyle Pro, released in 1998, was a unique gamepad, as the up-down-left-right directions in analogue mode were controlled by the physical movement of the controller, more precisely by the absolute pitch and roll position of the pad. This reaction on movement is quite similar to some of the features of the Sony PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS. Games such as "Motocross Madness" (which was bundled with and designed for the controller) profited from this physical interaction. The left side of the controller features an eight-direction d-pad which function varies depending on which mode the controller is on.
The control pad had a total of ten digital fire buttons: six buttons controlled with the right thumb (named ABC XYZ), two shoulder buttons (one left, one right), and two buttons controlled with the left thumb, one named "start", the other marked with a "shift key" symbol (as the SideWinder software allowed to use this button to "shift" controls for the ABC XYZ buttons - on the driver side, it was just an action button like the others).
A "sensor" button switched the control pad between analogue mode (green LED) and digital mode (red LED). In analogue mode, the x- and y-axis were controlled by the analogue controller movements, and the D-pad was used as a hat switch. In digital mode, the D-pad controlled the x- and y-axis like a traditional digital control pad (therefore, there was no hat switch function in digital mode).
Due to the release in 1998, at which time USB was just taking off, the Freestyle Pro supported both game port and USB connection. Without the adapter, the controller's cable ended in a game port plug. The sale box contained the game port-to-USB adapter for free.
Dual Strike.
The Dual Strike, which debuted in 1999, was Microsoft's second notable venture into strange gamepad designs, following the Freestyle Pro. The Dual Strike attempted to blend both mouse and gamepad functions into a single unit. It was composed of two portions; there is a hinge between the two that allows you to rotate the right side up and down and from side to side. The Dual Strike only supported USB.
Sidewinder 92626.
This is similar to the Precision Pro and has a USB connection. Circa 2002. Serial numbers begin with 92626.
Second generation.
In 2007, following a collaboration with Razer in creating the Microsoft Habu and Microsoft Reclusa, a gaming mouse and gaming keyboard sold under the plain Microsoft Hardware brand, Microsoft resurrected the SideWinder brand with an all-new SideWinder Mouse, designed from the ground up for high-end PC gaming. The design incorporated a number of advanced features including adjustable weights, programmable macro mode, on- the- fly DPI change, and a built-in LCD display, the first ever found in a mouse.
In 2008, Microsoft also released the SideWinder X6 Gaming Keyboard, which is designed to be the keyboard counterpart of the Sidewinder Mouse. It features up to 30 programmable macro keys, volume control, media control, a detachable numpad and backlighting. Along with this keyboard a new mouse was released dubbed the SideWinder X5. The X5 has a more basic function set than its predecessor but was well received because of its lower price. Its shape is the same as the original but without the LCD, weight adjusting and metal side buttons. It also comes with a complete black design with red "LED Jets" on the back to make it stand out from the original and better fit the X6 keyboard.
In February 2009, Microsoft released another update to the SideWinder line, the SideWinder X8 gaming mouse. This new iteration incorporated new Microsoft "BlueTrack" tracking technology, intended to provide better tracking on non-standard surfaces. In addition, the mouse was made wireless, and the maximum DPI sensitivity was upped to 4000.
In March 2010, Microsoft released a second gaming keyboard, the Sidewinder X4. In comparison with the earlier X6, anti-ghosting technology was added. However, the detachable numpad was removed, and a numpad was instead attached permanently to the keyboard.
As of October 2014, Microsoft no longer offers any gaming mice or keyboards in the US.