A Grandmaster's Bank Insolvency Problem

Having been retired for over 3 years, I have really had to find a plan for my non working lifestyle. Everybody thinks retirement is the promised land because they don't have to put up with nasty, backstabbing office politics anymore.

I am ecstatic about being distant from the sometimes ruthless intentions of coworkers I shared cubicle space with, BUT a daily structure is required to preserve one's sanity.

So I read about chess in the loo every morning and wanted to share an interesting tidbit about chess player  Alexey Shirov. The source is a periodical named Inside Chess which was published in Seattle in 1995.(The things you find in Garage Sales!!)
.
Back to GM Shirov who former world champ Gary Kasparov characterized as a TALENTED AMATEUR. Shirov finished clear second at a tournament in Biel Switzerland. The author of the short piece stated that Alexey had moved to Spain from Latvia because most of the GM chess player's hard earned winnings vanished due to the insolvency of his bank in Latvia!!!! I guess Latvia did not have the USA equivalent of the FDIC.

That just sucks and I feel bad for Shirov even though the disheartening event happened 24 years ago!

The same periodical reported a domestic event that was held in Stillwater, Oklahoma USA directed by Gary Greenlee that was organized by a couple of twin gentlemen who were independently wealthy and great for chess in that region. I played there once and apologize for forgetting these two humorous benefactors of our beloved game.

Why was this chess player vidoed in a restroom?

OK, so I will ask the obvious question. Why was the guy, in the picture you see, filmed in a public bathroom?

The smaller picture, in upper left hand corner, is a picture of a chess player concentrating over a difficult position in a tournament. The problem is that it is the same guy sitting on a commode without the lid open. That's right, he is a bathroom servicing the hosting chess tournament not defecating, but using a chess playing program on his smart phone.

It is in poor taste and unethical to drop his name. I will disclose he a Georgian Grandmaster. NO, not the Georgia in the United States. Bobby Fischer must be clapping in his grave as he often accused the Russians of cheating.In all fairness, American practitioners of the Royal Game cheat frequently; this guy just happened to get caught on the crapper.

I still have a problem with a guy being videoed in restroom, but maybe the tournament organizers have the right to surveil contestants in high dollar tournaments like this one in Dubai.

A not so lucky loo for this toilet troll.

Willingly taking on a passive position out of the Opening

Passive openings are becoming more popular it appears. Many players are fond of pawn structures where the pawns are not advanced passed the third rank. The modern defense and the Hippopotamus opening are examples of this preference to react rather than seize the initiative out of the opening.

A  player from Iceland named Krabbi chose a passive setup during a 3 minute blitz game at ICC. The Icelandic chess enthusiast voluntarily moved his g8 Knight back and forth from the f6 square to provoke the first player to overextend his forces.

Krabbi played OK, but eventually succumbed to an acute space disadvantage. Perhaps an example of Lev Alburt's famous title to a USCF chess life article he wrote: David versus Goliath or Don Quixote versus the Windmill where the player from Iceland played the role of The defenseless Windmill.

On a more serious note, I would love to see either GM Hess or famed trainer Vladimir Tukmakov write about intentionally taking on cramped but viable positions out of the opening.