Ed Approaches the Finish Line

It’s Wednesday night, 26 September 2012, and it has been a day.

I recently returned from Tri-State Calvary Chapel this evening. There I heard a great deal about their Senior Pastor Ed Gaines.

I had met Ed before, but only two or three times for two to three hours at a time at Calvary Chapel of Dayton. The meetings took place during a Monday mid-morning gathering of South-Western & Central Ohio Calvary Chapel pastors that lasted through lunch.

When Ed was there he always appeared physically frail. We would find out how he was doing physically only after he was pestered to give an update. You see he suffered from kidney failure and had lost one, and the remaining kidney was only partially functionally. He was regularly on dialysis to survive. He had also fought off cancer.

Now after Ed would give an update on his condition he always made it a point to go around the circle of pastors and ask how they were doing – physically, spiritually, family, and as pastors. And he would always find a way to encourage and be positive.

That was the glimpse of Ed I had been provided.

Tonight at his church – when Ed was not there – I got a much better look.

Ed is the hospital and he is dying. He went in to have some more cancer removed. When he was opened up what the doctors saw resulted in opening him further up. What they found was more cancer, inoperable cancer.

Ed made a decision after he was closed up and regained consciousness. The decision, “No more dialysis.” He put it all in God’s hands. Then Ed started to run to the finish line. When he would hear about a doctor, a nurse, a helper, a patient, anyone on staff or in the hospital did not know Christ, he wanted to witness to them.

That created an incredible picture in my mind. Imagine this reality if you will. You meet up with a man whom you know is on the hospital’s death row and he wants to talk to you about your eternal salvation. Clearly Ed, no matter his circumstance is going to finish strong.

If you want to know more about this man of God, check out his message on James 1 and learn how his kidney disease was from God to be part of his ministry and trials on the bottom of the page here.

If you find yourself taken with this man’s teaching and preaching as I am, you will find a number of his messages here.

Ed, I don’t know how long you will be with us, but I am grateful for the witness of your life.

Postscript: I had the pleasure of riding with my pastor, Dave Elkins, of Calvary Chapel of Dayton who shared stories of his 21 years of relationship with Pastor Ed that only increased my admiration of this man who is finishing the race strong.

Thanks Ed.

Value of a Typographical Error

I was studying GM Yuri Averbakh’s “Chess Tactics for Advanced Players” (1st printing paperback edition by Chess Digest 1992) Part 1: The double attack, subsection on The Mutual Tw- Fold Attack described as “This extremely tense situation in which two pieces on each side attack two hostile pieces deserves special consideration” (p50).

Working my way through the diagrams I came to the diagram below (p53) between GM George Thomas vs GM Max Euwe, 1936, Nottingham England where after 22 moves Thomas has built up a crushing attack against Euwe’s Bishop sitting on d6 triple attacked. Ouch!

Black to play

Euwe played 22. … Ne6 where GM Averbakh stated, “apparently assuming that after 23. Rxd6, Rxd6 24. Qxd6 Rd8 a mutual two-fold is created from which he extricates himself with 25. Qxc7 Rxd1+ with an advantage in material [after 26. Kf2 Nxc7].”

I have to admit I first played through this a few times in my head and then on the board and thought Euwe had found a great recovery in a very bad situation.

Then I read further.

GM Averbakh went on to say, “But White [could have] found a different way of defending himself and of protecting his position against harassment by the rook [move to d8].

The attempt to recover the piece by means of a pin after 26. … Qxd6, 27. Rxd6 Nf8 [would be] frustrated by by the discovered check 28. Nf6+” (p53) with no further comments.

Of course the variation given does not make sense because a move is missing, White’s new / different move 25.? What was it? No errata sheet was found online for the book so I went looking elsewhere.

On ChessGames.com I found the entire game. Turns out it was an Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation. Main Line (B05). It was there in the notes below in the “Kibitzer’s Corner” I found the missing move.

There a reader (AdrainP) had noted, “The most interesting thing is that White believed Black, that the piece could not be taken, and replied 23 g3." ('Chess Middlegames: Essential Knowledge' Averbakh).” Clearly Averbakh thought this position was worth using in more than one book. I have to agree.

From AdrainP we learn, Max Euwe “… in his preliminary calculations, overlooked that White can reply 25. Nd7! and after 25. ...Qxd6 26. Rxd6 the move 26. ...Nf8 is refuted by 27. Nf6+.”

So let’s see a new diagram just prior to 25. Nd7!

White to play

Here White can play the winning 25. Nd7!! An incredible interference move which renders Black’s 24. … Rd8 useless and White is a piece ahead.

Of course Black can try the variation given, 25. Nd7 Qxd6 26.Rxe6 Nf8 with a double attack against the Knight of d7.

But the double attack on d7 avails Black nothing as it is followed by 27.Nf6+ and the win of the Rook on d8 and the game would have been over.

However as noted above, White played 23.g3 after Black’s 22…. Ne6 and the game went on another 14 moves.

GM Thomas resigned after making move 37. At first a few of us (thought it might have been time trouble that caused White’s loss. That was not it, not at all.

Black to play

It took us minutes to find what GM Thomas likely saw in single digit seconds after playing 37. Qe3 and did not wait to find out if GM Euwe saw the same. After White’s move 37 we are treated to the position on the left.

In this position we (by this time I had engaged a number of Dayton Chess Club members in my searth for truth) enjoyed finding the following variations.

37. … Qf1+ 38. Kh4 g5+ 39. Fxg5 fxg5+ 40.Kxh5 Qh3+ 41.Kg6 Qh7++

Or 37. … Qf1+ 38. Rg7 Qd1! Threatening mate on g4 and a double attack on W(ite’s Bishop on d4. So it’s either mate or the loss of a piece.

Moral of the story: typographical errors can lead to greater knowledge if you are willing to follow up on them.

By the way – I highly recommend GM Averbakh’s “Chess Tactics for Advanced Players” and it is available on Amazon.com.

Enjoy.

Who Is In Charge

Judge Napolitano is worried about what if nothing changes in November no matter who gets elected.

While I have some sympathy and agreement with the Judge, my position is very much different.

My position is whoever is elected this November, whatever the policies they pursue are, it matters not for God remains in Charge.

Also, whether it is team a (rep or dem) or team b (rep or dem) we are still going to go over an economic cliff. One or the other may or may not be able to slow the approach to the cliff (something I favor), but we are going to go over this cliff.

Knowing this I vote my faith and against those values I find most abhorrent and for those values I most favor when I consider the future of my grandchildren.

Above all else I am a Christian, a family man next, and so grateful to live in a country that still lets me practice my faith.

Politics?

Bottom line: I am a Christian and vote my Christian values. That makes me an independent, conservative, libertarian, free-market individual who votes his faith. And I remain confident God is in Charge.

Thugs, Murderous Thugs

Why would a mob of Muslims kill a U.S. ambassador and three others over a movie trailer you can be sure none of them saw?

One thing you can be sure of, it is not because of their mature worldly outlook. Instead they have the mindset of children, murderous children which makes them thugs.

How do such people become thugs and murderers? The question needs to be answered when you consider a subset of Islam that teaches and preaches murder for any offense deemed worthy of death by some Inman.

It is as if some version of the Lord of the Flies has been written for adults with primitive tribal values based upon hate in the modern world.

As a result you have mainstream writers and news people inveighing against freedom of speech and freedom of the press rather than demanding those who murder for no real reason at all be punished and punished to the full extent of the law.

Most Muslims are grown up in their approach to life and know how to handle disappointment and make rational decisions when things do not go their way – just as most Christians do. In a post Christian USA, Christians have learned to deal with it when a changing culture, movies, and art denigrate their faith.

However Muslims are - so far – unwilling to stand up en masse to protest and stop what is happening within their faith, a faith ruled by thugs. These thugs will stop at nothing to get their way. Mob murder is only one of their tools, honor killings is another.

No film maker or writer incited Muslims to commit murder. Instead the incitement came from within Islam as it always has. Any Inman who incites these mob murders needs to be tried for murder and then his organization sued for any and all possessions by the survivors of those who were murdered until they are put completely and totally out of business.