Week Five, part two

New York vs. Manhattan:

I once arrived about 40 minutes late for a game against Walter Shipman, and eventually lost. In the post-mortem he attributed the move that got me into trouble as likely due to the time I had sacrificed. I didn't see why time was so much likelier the culprit than faulty understanding, but I suspected it was his way of chiding me for being so late, even though outwardly he didn't act offended. Anyway, the lesson was clear, but apparently not to everyone. Manhattan.


Philadelphia vs. Baltimore:

Damon Runyon once wrote "the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet." At least, if you don't have to beat a point spread or lay money odds. I don't. Philadelphia.


Chicago vs. St. Louis:

This jumble came hard, and it is just as hard to say what the point of it is. Even so, I would be remiss in not thanking Yahoo's "search assist" feature for its help. I still use Yahoo as my home page, simply because my primary email is there, simply because it already was when Google started to take over and there didn't seem enough point in changing to change. It is likely that Google's search assist would have served just as well, but I don't think I need to thank it for what it would have done when it didn't actually do anything. One for the Ethicist's column.



The "surprise answer", to use the language of the newspaper Jumble™,® or whatever (to give them their due), is 7,6, though the end got slighty cut off in the picture. Chicago "FTW", as the kids say.


San Francisco vs. Seattle:

In the Cold War classic "How to Beat the Russians at Chess", the late Edmar Mednis wrote "the Russians, though far from invincible with White, are more likely to lose with Black". Twenty-two years after the Berlin Wall came down, I think we can recognize and state out loud that the Russians are people just as we are, and that we Americans too, though far from invincible with White, are more likely to lose with Black. I think that Kraai will not lose and that the Mechanics will win, but I only have to be right about the latter thing, and really, what's going to happen if I'm wrong twice?