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The Games of Boris Spassky – Part VI – Fischer-Spassky 1992 Game 5

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

The 1992 Fischer-Spassky match was a race to ten wins; if tied at 9, the match would be abandoned as “undecided”.  After four games both players had one win; Fischer opted for “Spanish Torture”, improving on move 18 in a position where he strayed badly in game 3.  Spassky defended an inferior position well, and a series of slips by Fischer allowed 25… f5!! which turned the tide towards Black.

The ensuing fireworks produced an extra rook for Spassky, giving him a 2-1 lead in the match; in the postgame press conference he said “I may be an old lion, but don’t put your head in my mouth, or I’ll bite it off.”

The Next Step

by RDavis | Activism

Outrage and anger. Many Americans are feeling things that make them feel powerless to change. The talking heads are telling us what we already know. The Trump administration is ignoring the legal system and defying any constitutional restraints that a moral and ethical administration would respect. The dictator is firmly in place and no one is willing to make him accountable.

Can the people of this country figure out a way to stop the madness, to force a madman who has become completely intoxicated with power to follow the rule of law? Every day we wake up to a new assault on our freedom. The rest of the world looks at the U.S. and realizes that we are in turmoil and that we have become vulnerable to economic assault. The measures that Trump is putting in place are hurting Americans the most.

Expressing My Gratitude

by Norsehorse | Health

Since having been diagnosed with, among other things, a malignant cancerous colon tumor while at CVMC for two full weeks late last year, I have been the recipient of a priceless wealth of kind and generous encouragement as well as support that has taken many forms, including deliveries of food (e.g., freshly homemade omelets and scrambled eggs as well as, recently, breakfast and a half dozen donuts from the Wayside Restaurant and so on).

This is what I term as going the gracious extra mile and beyond.
 
Everyone who has done so, has my deepest gratitude.

Hands Off March in the Rain in Brattleboro

by local | Activism

A good size crowd (estimated at near 2000 by the Reformer) met at the Center Congregational Church on Main St.  There they listened to Rep. Becca Balint speak, then walked to the Town Common For more speeches.  It was a loud but civil crowd.  All on a rainy day.

Political Murder

by RDavis | Activism

Over six million Americans who rely on federal government fuel assistance to heat their homes or pay electric bills to fend off extreme heat may have to find another way to pay for things that keep them alive. The government office that administers the LIHEAP (Low Income Energy Assistance Program) has been gutted and all of the staff have been fired.

Theoretically, the money still exists to meet people’s needs but there will be no way to get that money to people. The bottom line is that if this program doesn’t do what it has done in past years a lot of people are going to suffer and die. This kind of action by the Trump administration is nothing short of murder.

Brattleboro and VT COVID-19 Regional Dashboard Summary – April 2025

by cgrotke | Health

It’s the April 2025 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them. Numbers are low, but not zero. Scroll down the new comments for the latest. Happy anniversary, too. This ledger started in April 2020.

March 2025 Precipitation Report

by local | Nature

A warmer first half of the month and a rainy second half totaling 3.61″ of moisture compared to a NOAA normal of 3.62″.  Only recorded 0.2″ of snow all month.  Earlier in the winter many were saying what a snowy winter we are having, but the season total so far is 51.8″ compared to my average of 62.5″.   Most all snow was melted by the middle of March.  Still possible to receive snow in April.

For the calendar year, total moisture is 9.92″ compared to the average of 10.12″.  Very close to normal.  All numbers are from my home in the S.E. corner of Brattleboro and do vary by location.

The Power of Vitamins

by RDavis | Health

During my college years I took a nutrition course that taught me a lesson that I have carried throughout my adult life. As the importance of vitamins to the proper functioning of the human body was spelled out it became clear to me that very few people would be able to take in an optimum amount of vitamins on a daily basis.

When you are young you tend to think you are immortal, but I felt like I could use a little help with my immortality so I started taking a daily multivitamin. Over 50 years later I am still taking vitamins and I continue to believe that they have made a difference in my life. The reason that I am thinking about this now is because I read a study that has revealed some very credible new information about the benefit of vitamins.

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part V – Fischer-Spassky 1992 Game 4

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

The 1992 Fischer-Spassky match in UN-sanctioned Yugoslavia was highly consequential to the sport of chess.  At five million dollars with the winner taking two-thirds, the purse was was astronomical.  No chess event in history has offered anything close to this prize, and it rivalled that of the best-paid sportsmen of the time:  Bobby Bonilla had recently signed for six million dollars a year to become baseball’s richest player, and Michael Jordan’s salary during his second championship season was $3.25 million.

More importantly, Fischer’s clock revolutionized gameplay with the abolishment of adjournments.

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part IV

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

Later in his career Spassky produced a sparkling gem during the 1988 Bundesliga against that year’s French Champion Gilles Andruet.

The first two dozen moves are as conventional as can be with measured development focused on the center followed by the major pieces attending to the half-open files.   Spassky’s 16th move initiated pressure on the kingside which led to inaccuracies by White several moves later.   The final coup de grâce forcing mate is a superior example of brilliance bright and rare.

Brattleboro District 9 Forum

by fidel | Activism

Brattleboro residents of District 9 are invited to attend a District 9 forum where we will hear your questions and concerns in advance of Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting; District 9 RTM members are encouraged to attend to hear from their constituents. The forum, organized by Robert Oeser and David Levenbach, will be held in the Community Room of Brooks Memorial Library at 6:30 pm on Wednesday 19 March. (The Community Room is on the third, top floor of the library, near the Children’s Reading Room. There is an entrance to that area from the Municipal Building parking lot and attendees might find that a more convenient way in light of another event to be held in the Main Reading Room that evening.)

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part III – Match of the Century Game 11

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

The 1972 World Chess Championship in Reykjavik saw Spassky’s early two-game lead become a three-game deficit after Fischer won games 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10.    In the face of such dire straits, Spassky chose to enter Fischer’s beloved Poisoned Pawn variation despite the Challenger having a +5=4-0 record with the Black pieces.

Spassky uncorked a novelty on his 14th move; soon after, Fischer began to play inaccurately while Spassky’s relentless precision soon allowed him to win the wayward Black queen.   At its midpoint the outcome of the match was again in doubt.

Death By Medicaid Cuts

by RDavis | Activism

Cutting social support programs that help the most vulnerable in our society has always been a Republican blood sport. Most of those rich old white men have contempt for “those people” who live on handouts because they deem them too lazy to help themselves. It is an old trope. But now things have gotten worse.

The current Republican budget plan which looks likely to pass includes massive cuts to the Medicaid program.

Here is some context from the Center for American Progress. “Last week, House Republicans passed a budget resolution directing Congress to make cuts that would slash Medicaid funding and threaten health care access for millions in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. Medicaid is the largest single health insurance program in the United States and covers 72 million Americans, including low-income kids and adults, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities.”