Cat Chess
Howdy! It's The Chess Friends!
Happy October!
You might ask: what do cat and chess have in common? …besides the fact that they both start with the letter “c”?
Both cats and chess celebrate their National Days in October! In the US, National Chess Day is Saturday, October 10, and National Cat Day is Thursday, October 29!
Of course, both are extremely popular online. When the internet came into existence, people quickly developed a way to play chess there, and also quickly started posting funny videos with cats. Now, many years later, we still can’t get enough of both: cat memes and online chess!
The next question then is what happens when you combine two trendy topics online? The popularity soars! That’s exactly what happened on January 2023, when chess.com added 5 cute cat bots of various strengths to their site. Four of these cat bots were your typical chess characters: Scaredy Cat, Angry Cat, Mr. Grumpers, and Catspurrov, and many people had no trouble playing against them.
Then there was Mittens. An adorable kitten with an unassuming rating of only 1, looking at you with its big innocent eyes... Oh, poor kitty-kitty, we humans will win all the games against you in our sleep! Only it turned out to be not that easy. In fact, it was impossible. Mittens crushed everyone, taking free pieces from beginners and positionally outplaying masters. Even GM Hikaru Nakamura only got a draw against this bot!
The word about the impossible strength and trash-talking ability of the Mittens bot spread across the chess world and beyond. Mittens renewed the popularity of chess so much that chess.com had to update their server to accommodate all the new people flooding the website to challenge the snarky bot!
After a while, the Mittens bot was gone, but the people stayed, remembering the cat that got them into chess. Imagine how everyone rejoiced recently when chess.com brought Mittens back, now in the role of a coach, to help analyze games!
The Man Benji
Watch out Mittens, Morphy is in town!
Mittens, meet your match! Soon, your rival will arrive and will steal your chess spotlight!
Friends, let me introduce you to Morphy! Morphy the cat is the main hero of a chess-themed middle grade novel, which will be released on October 13!
Cat Takes Queen: In Which a Humble Cat of Astonishing Genius Recounts a Tale of Chess Mates and Checkmates
by Ilona Bray and Stephen Soong
You know me: when I heard about a chess book coming out, I had to read it! I was lucky enough to know both authors, and they let me read an advance copy to review the book.
You can meet Ilona and Stephen too, when they present their book here in Bellevue, at the Grand Knights Chess Academy, on October 24, at 10 am!
(If you are in the K-6 age group, you can also play in the cat-chess-themed event, which is also a state qualifier! Register here!)
The storyline of Cat Takes Queen certainly does not disappoint. Let me share my review of the book:
Morphy is a genius cat who can understand human language, read books, and play chess. He is an independent cat—a stray—and prefers to stay that way. Humans cannot be trusted. But Edgar is different. He is the only person in the world Morphy trusts. They respect each other’s intelligence and independence, and both enjoy their tradition of playing a daily chess game in Edgars’ garden. No strings (or collars) attached.
But one day, an ambulance takes Edgar far-far away! Luckily, he survives, but who will take care of his house? Who will bring Edgar home? Who will help Edgar reclaim his independence? Morphy, of course! But in this complicated world of humans, Morphy needs help to execute his brilliant plan to bring Edgar back. Morphy enlists two kids: Calla, Edgar’s granddaughter, and Diego, a street chess hustler.
But it’s hard for a cat to carry out such a complicated plan while hiding his intelligence. Soon, bad people are after Morphy and his chess-playing genius! Will Morphy escape and keep his independence? Will he be able to finally trust humans?
I must say, this book was a fun read, with a thrilling plot! I enjoyed Morphy’s voice, snarky and witty, and the view of our human world through his eyes. The finale of the book, taking place at a chess tournament, was epic: the players, the emotions, the games’ ups and downs, all that was very relatable! And kudos to the authors and publishers for adding chess diagrams throughout the story!
I will say no more. Get the book online, visit the authors’ website, or come to the Grand Knights Chess Academy on Saturday, October 24th, to meet Ilona and Stephen, and play chess! Or maybe even to qualify for the state championship!
Now let’s turn it over to Sarang, who will talk about a sharp cat-related opening, which is much better than a copy-cat chess lines!
The Myth Sarang
The Lionheart Gambit
Hi Friends! Hope you’re doing well. Today I’ve got an aggressive chess opening for you called the Lionheart Gambit where you can beat the Scandinavian Defense very quickly.
The Lionheart moniker is not the actual name of the opening; it’s just a modern, descriptive name used in online chess communities and videos. The actual name is the Leonhardt Gambit, named after master-level player Paul Leonhardt, known for his aggressive, attacking style and for using unusual, sharp, and double-edged openings. With all that out of the way, let’s get into it!
The game starts out with 1. e4 d5, a.k.a. the Scandinavian Defense, a popular opening for Black, immediately attacking White’s already advanced e4-pawn. This opening is actually not bad and is played in about 10% of games based on Lichess data, but White has a very easy way to play around it, where they get a very interesting position.
First, you trade 2. exd5 Qxd5 and now Black’s queen is out in the open. Now White immediately takes advantage of that and develops 3. Nc3, attacking the queen. 3… Qa5 is the main line, with ideas such as … c6 and Qd8 bringing the queen to safety.
Here’s where the Lionheart Gambit comes in. This move has been played in about 2% of games and that move is… 4. b4!! Here’s the position from a Lichess analysis board:
The point of this move is that you are losing a pawn but ripping open the b-file for potential rook attacks. You are also putting pressure on the vulnerable queen.
Black takes 4… Qxb4. Notice now that the pawn on c7 is no longer defended for Black and looks weak, so White plays 5. Nb5 attacking it. Half of games here have Black just go back to where they were, 5… Qa5.
Now White plays 6. Bc4!
Here comes the most savage trap in this opening, so buckle up, Chess Friends! If Black attacks White’s knight with 6… c6, white wins the game with the spirited strike 7. Bxf7+!!
Many of you might think “What is this move? What is the point?”
Here’s the point: If 7… Kxf7, 8. Qh5+!, and now if Black blocks 8… g6, you win the queen with the discovered attack 9. Nd6+
As you can see, the queens are on the same rank, so after 9… exd6 10. Qxa5 and White has won a queen and will very likely go on to win.
I would not recommend this opening in rapid or classical, or in top level speed chess, but this opening works great under 2000 in both blitz and bullet.
Now let's hear from Vivaan about many cats that rule the Earth!
The Legend Vivaan
The Cats of the World
Meow-o! It’s The Legend Vivaan starting things off with some fun facts about cats!
Black panthers (the cats, though shoutout T’Challa Wakanda Forever!) refer to many kinds of big cats, including jaguars and leopards! The key is that they have a dark coat because of melanism.
The jaguars are amazing climbers, very smart, and have the most powerful bite, which serves them well when they go after aquatic prey like turtles.
Every tiger has its own stripe pattern determined by unique genetic codes. Tiger cubs have blue eyes that transition as they age. Adult tigers have darker eyes with hues of gold and amber. White tigers are the exception, maintaining their blue eyes throughout, due to a genetic mutation. Fun fact, tigers and jaguars both love the water. They use the water to relax and cool down.
Cougars and mountain lions are the same! They are also called catamounts, like the mascot for University of Vermont, and pumas, like the mascot for Seattle Prep high school!
Fun fact, Florida panthers (the cats, not members of the NHL hockey team) are also cougars! We also see these from time to time in our neighborhood. Be careful around Cougars (not the Washington State University alums, they’re usually chill) as they are super strong apex predators!
Lions are the most social cats! They live in prides, typically groups of ten to twenty lions, with almost all being female. The lionesses are the hunters and great parents for their cubs! The male lion protects the pride from threats like other male lions and hyenas, as you may know from the fabulous Disney film, The Lion King. They also have the loudest roar, which can reach 114db, which is louder than the loudest football stadium, Lumen Field (Go Hawks!).
Of course, there are tons of domesticated cats, which make great pet friends.
They’re super independent, chill and love to relax, and are super sweet and affectionate. Usually, they are fine indoors and are carnivores, like their wildcat cousins. Fun fact, studies have shown that petting cats and listening to their purrs can help reduce stress and overall improve health.
Scientists are still learning about this diverse family of cats. Just last month, for the first time in 100 years, a new species of wild cats was discovered in the forests of Bolivia: Leopardus tilcayo (common name is tilcayo cat).
It is tiny, measuring only 18 inches (45 cm) and weighing 3 pounds (1.3 kg)! You can learn more about the discovery on the National Geographic website here and here.
Before we say goodbye, let’s enjoy some knee-slappers, funny enough to make a cat laugh!
How did the cat learn to play chess?
From scratch.
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What did the cat say to her opponent?
That was a purrrr move!
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What do you call a checkmate delivered by a cat?
A CAT-astrophe!
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Why did the cat promote its passed pawn to a bishop?
It was feline fancy!
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What do cats eat after winning a major chess tournament?
Paw-sta!
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What did the cat say when it stalemated its opponent in a winning position?
You got to be kitten me!
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Three Cheers, Fellow Future Master Chess Friends!
The Man Benji, The Myth Sarang, The Legend Vivaan
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