A Sparkling Benoni

Marvelous play on my part as white against the Benoni Defense.

1. d4 c5 2. d5 d6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nc3 g6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bg4 9. Be2 b6 10. h3 Bd7 11. O-O e6 12. Re1 exd5 13. cxd5 Re8 14. Nd2 Bh6 15. Nc4 Bxc1 16. Rexc1 Qc7 17. f4 Bc8 18. Bf3 Nfd7 19. Re1 Bb7 20. e5 dxe5 21. d6 Qc8 22. Bxb7 Qxb7 23. fxe5 b5 24. axb5 axb5 25. Rxa8 Qxa8 26. Nxb5 Qc6 27. Nc7 Rc8 28. e6 fxe6 29. Rxe6 Nf8 30. Re7 Nbd7 31. Qc3 Ne6 32. Nxe6 Black resigns 1-0

Dragon with 9 g4

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. g4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6 11. O-O-O Qa5 12. Kb1 Rfc8 13. Nd5 Qxd2 14. Nxf6+ Bxf6 15. Rxd2 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 Rc6

16...Rc5 is usual, but my move works out well.

17. Bb5 Rb6 18. Bc4 Bxc4 (Rb4!) 19. Rxc4 Rc6 20. Rxc6 bxc6 21. c4 c5 22. Kc2 Rb8 23. Rd1 Kg7 24. e5 Rb6 25. exd6 Rxd6 26. Rxd6 exd6 27. h4 Kf6 28. f4??

The losing move. 28 Kd3 and it's an equal game.

h5 29. gxh5 gxh5 30. Kd3 Kf5 31. Ke3 Kg4 32. Ke4 Kxh4 33. Kf3 Kh3 34. Kf2 Kg4 And the rest is mop up. 0-1

The Delusional Behavior of Angel Hernandez

Angel Hernandez is a baseball umpire who has sued MLB for discrimination. After getting his case thrown out at the trial court level, he has appealed, claiming that the system for evaluating umpires is inherently biased against minorities.

The thing about Hernandez is that he is universally reviled as the worst umpire in the major leagues. So how does he think he deserves a chance to umpire in a World Series?

His delusional behavior illustrates a common problem in today's world. It is an inability to accept reality, as in Trump's insistence that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him, despite all his aides telling him otherwise.

The second thing this illustrates is the regrettable tendency of people in this country to turn to the court system to obtain redress for every little perceived wrong they have suffered. There are many problems we face in life, and few are solvable through the legal system, whether it be criminal or civil.

In my experience many people who obsess in this way suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. They simply cannot let go of a past perceived injustice and get on with their lives.

A third observation is that the fact that Hernandez is still an MLB umpire illustrates the evil of labor unions. Unions used to have an important role in obtaining dignity for the working person, but today they seem to have little role except to make it next-to-impossible for employers to fire incompetent employees.

The Johnny Depp Verdict

I have a feminist friend who wrote that she considered the Depp verdict to be a setback for women.

I responded that she was reading too much into this one case. The fact is that many jury verdicts are sinply a reflection of which party they like the most. And, sometimes it even depends on which attorney the jury likes the most. In this case, the jury simply liked Depp more than Heard.

This verdict represents a rare instance in which a plaintiff suing for defamation has prevailed. There are many cases in which these suits have backfired, but Depp is now an exception to the general rule.