DrKrettin

So what if the reply to B -e4! is K - d6 ? (that was the reason for my asking the obvious not-check)

That's neat, but B-e4 is not check, right?

Time to mention the Crackpot index, methinks.

Do the laws of physics explain WHY there is a universe?

I was married to somebody who was absolutely convinced that 1) natural was good and 2) chemicals were harmful. Blissfully ignorant of the contradiction, and resolute in refusing to learn anything, she declared that (amongst other things) that the hot water in Baden Baden spas was better than the hot water elsewhere because the heat was caused naturally (geothermal). When I asked her about salt, she said it was healthy because it was a natural additive to food. What I asked her for an opinion about sodium chloride, she said it was obviously harmful because it was a chemical. It was moments like this when I really needed a stiff drink (and a shotgun).

I have to take issue with that! He said "as if it cares" - I understand that as a hypothetical negative. It should be a subjunctive mood "as if it cared" but I don't think American English has that refinement. If he were English, I would agree with you.

Lederhosen

I'm beginning to think that too

Perfectly natural products can also make you go as mad as a hatter....

There must be a correlation between wit and intelligence, because wit is the ability to see irony and ambiguity, and recognise the absurdity of human endeavour. Perhaps I claim this because some people say I'm a great wit. Others disagree, claiming that's overstated and that I'm only a half wit.

Hmmm - I wonder how many chess players on a science forum believe..... no never mind, off topic But 2) has me stumped at present.

I think this has to depend strongly on the instrument. A piano, say, produces a note digitally, i.e. you either hit it or not, so perfect pitch is not important. But the violin is analogue, the position of the finger can vary infinitely so that the note produced can vary in pitch. Perfect pitch can be a real gift for string instruments because even if the variation in notes is not immediately noticeable, the overall impression of performance is determined by the accuracy (so I'm told, and it sounds reasonable). Presumably this applies for the human voice too. Being able to hear a wrong pitch but not being able to produce the right one yourself (as FaithRider reports) must be a double curse. What I was asking in the OP was by the way a slightly different question - not necessarily about perfect pitch but the sensitivity to differences in pitch.

Yes of course - now onwards and upwards to problem (2

1) K - g1 P - g4 K - g2 P - b5 or b6 K x P discovered mate

Jeez - I have to be good at chess AND count to 4? I claim it's 3 and a half.

No, the move before that is the bishop to move on the other diagonal, off the diagonal pinning the pawn

1) K - g1 P - g3 B - e4 (or d5) P - g2 B - somewhere on a diagonal ... P - b6 B - e4 mate

So why do you think this is taboo?

But you must understand that on a science forum, you can hardly introduce a convincing new theory without a mathematical explanation of how it works. Reasoning on its own is just not enough.

Because R - e3+ is followed by B - e4+ (Which means it's not mate next move)

Nope - I suggested this in my last post, but when N x D4 then N x D3, a case which you don't consider

Just in case Strange reads this thread: A lawyer named Strange passed away. His friend asked the tombstone maker to inscribe on his tombstone, "Here lies Strange, an honest man, and a lawyer." The inscriber insisted that such an inscription would be confusing, for a passerby would tend to think that three men were buried under the stone. However, he suggested an alternative. He would inscribe, "Here lies a man who was both honest and a lawyer." That way, whenever anyone walked by the tombstone and read it, they would be certain to remark, "That's Strange."

But you don't HAVE any arguments.

I confess that one thing I deplore is the arrogance of such missionaries to think that their totally irrational beliefs are superior to the totally irrational beliefs of others. Having such beliefs is one thing, but foisting them onto others using blackmailing threats of hell and damnation is despicable. In what way is Christianity superior to any other religion? (Other than Islam, which to me is even worse) If you say that it is because it is true, then please provide some evidence.

But that does not explain why billions of people are damned for living in a country which does not know the bible, or do not have the extreme good fortune of meeting a missionary. Why would god be so discriminatory?