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1. Nature

Raw, wild and untouched, andmost of allVAST. The sheer vastness AND variety of nature and pure wilderness here are definitely unmatched in Europe. Specifically the little nature we have in The Netherlands is laughable compared to the USA.

People are generally approachable and friendly. Yes, I do like Americans, at least their overall demeanor. I would be greeted and asked where I'm from, even by someone at the 7-11. In general Dutch people are quite rude.

This is a small thing but really unheard of in the Netherlands. In my country, you pay the same price for just one tiny cup of coffee. In fact, all drinks you order are tiny in The Netherlands and you pay for each one.

I can't for the life of my understand why we still have to lean over the steering wheel and get a sore neck looking straight upward at the traffic lights in Europe.

You MIGHT be able to get to take your leftover with you in certain places in The Netherlands, but it is really not the norm, and would surely raise an eyebrow if you ask. Here it is normal and I find it very good to not let the food go to waste. Besides, I did pay for it so it's nice to be able to take it with me.

Here are the top 4 things they liked least:

Why the heck do I need to be partly responsible for a proper salary for these people? Also, it is just annoying to have to calculate the tip every time. It is also annoying that listed prices are almost exclusively without tax. In my countryand across most of Europe as far as I'm awareyou pay exactly what is listed as the price. No hidden surprises.

Almost everything contains sugar. Breakfast is never with fresh bread and fresh good meats and cheese. In fact, American cheese is awful, but maybe I'm spoiled living in a cheese country. For dinner the food isn't quite as bad, but it's still nowhere near the quality and variety that you find in Europe.

Too much plastic is a problem in Europe also, but the amount of plastic (and styrofoam or other disposable crap) used here is bizarre. I also find it really bizarre that in every hotel breakfast, it's all disposable cutlery and plates also. You really NEVER see this in Europe, not even in the cheapest hotels.

Gallons, miles, feet and especially Fahrenheit is so bizarre. Also because the conversion factor to metric is odd. Almost all the world, as well as the scientific world, uses metric which makes so much more sense in every way. Why does the U.S. hold on to such an archaic system?

A Belgian Redditor named Jakisirtaki mostly agreed with the original poster.

European (Belgian) here who just came back from a one-month road trip in the U.S. I'm so jealous of the magnificent nature you have in your country. I saw so many beautiful sights! Please treasure it. I disagree with the low-quality food, I had both really good meals and really poor ones. Best Thai food I ever had was in LA. Also, so many places sell drip coffee just the way I like it, not some watered-down espressos. Loved that! Another like were the many (mostly) clean and free restrooms.

Having to pay for using a dirty restroom in a rest area along the highway in Europe sucks. That being said, some restrooms in the U.S. really didn't care about my privacy with one-inch gaps everywhere. Driving was so convenient, being a pedestrian not so much. I biked through SF but couldn't say I felt very safe.

Dislikes were the tipping culture and prices listed pre-tax. I mean, I ordered food or drinks to go a couple of times where I often had to tip in advance only for something to go wrong with my order. Not getting my tip back am I?

Domina from New Zealand is a big fan of Americans can-do attitude.

Sports culture, have-a-go culture, general enjoyment of life, being encouraging of people that are willing to try something or hustle, low barrier to entry for someone starting a business, online shopping, gas stoves, diversity across the different parts of the country, super friendly, most people are big on values, pride in keeping towns tidy.

Tipping (I know you have it already but seriously, what gives), treatment of indigenous history, lack of consumer protection, level of poverty, strange policy-making that reinforces lack of trust in government, occasional respect for road rules, hard-to-access to good quality produce at a reasonable price, no ring-pulls on tinned food.

Just pet peeves. Overall I freaking love being in U.S.! This country rules and will continue to rule!

Edit: I forgot to add innovation. It feels like this country could invent anything.

Kelpo has a real problem with how people get around in Los Angeles.

I went to LA recently and found the car-centric culture suuuuper inconvenient for a tourist. Every time you want to see a thing, you need to research it beforehand and then drive there. Want to see another thing? More research, then drive. In just about any other city I've ever been I would just head to the city center and explore on foot and pop in to whatever place looked interesting.

Admittedly it was a short trip and maybe I did it wrong, but the closest thing to being able to just wander around was in downtown, and even there, you occasionally have to walk over a nice 8-lane highway, which is a long way to walk (and be wary of certain neighborhoods and whatever).

That and since a car had to be involved at every step, you couldn't really stop for a few beers or whatever. I guess locals either plan their days better or drive drunk.

An American who goes by HTC864 took on the original posters points one by one and, for the most part, agreed.

Natural resources have always been the big selling point.

People are generally approachable and friendly. I think this changes depending on which area of the country you're in, but I also don't know anything about the Dutch in comparison.

Just [happy face emoji]

Weird to me that it would be any other way.

I wouldn't have thought this was an issue anywhere. Is the resistance to taking home food a European thing or just in the Netherlands?

Hard agree. I think most of us know this system isn't helpful and should be done away with.

There are a lot of variances, but we do overuse sugar (and salt) on top of having larger-than-needed portions.

Again, hard agree. We need to do more to reduce our overuse of plastics, although we'll probably never be rid of them.

Doesn't bother my day-to-day, but it would make more sense for there to be one international standard.

A New Yorker with the username inbettywhitewetrust realized they need to appreciate the beauty in their own backyard.

As a New Yorker, it's funny to see the vastness of nature as the first one. Your post motivates me to go on domestic vacations instead of galavanting around Europe in the summers; I really haven't seen any of the U.S. aside from the East Coast's major cities.

Accomplished-Sky-434, an American who recently visited the Netherlands, turned the conversation around and shared what they thought about the original posters city.

Amsterdam is a beautiful city. It was pretty clean and felt safe too!

Fresh and tasty food everywhere! Maybe this is just my perception from my recent experience but every meal we ate seemed like it was made from fresh ingredients. Made everything seem that much more tasty. Especially the cheese!

The walkability. A 30-minute walk in Amsterdam city center was nothing. If anything it was a delight walking past tiny cafes and beautiful buildings. In the U.S. a 30-minute walk is a no-go almost anywhere. A 30-minute walk in Texas means you're walking along major roads and under/over freeway overpasses.

Tipping was totally not expected! Anytime I did tip the servers in NL were genuinely grateful. Unlike the U.S. where if you dont tip its viewed very negatively.

Lots of really cool things to do. From museums to river cruises and coffee shops. Need I say more?

Taxi drivers try to take advantage of you. Maybe this is the same in the U.S. but I dont ever use taxis here. In Amsterdam, I tried approaching taxi drivers and they almost always made up some kind of excuse like "minimum payment is 40 regardless of distance" or "I can only take you this far, you have to walk the rest." I learned to just use Uber while I was there.

Hard to find gluten-free food! I have celiac disease so I have to eat gluten-free. Not much of a problem in the U.S. for a number of reasons but in the Netherlands, restaurants rarely advertised gluten-free options, had gluten-free menus, or had any items on their menu that were gluten-free.

Continued here:
Street chess player teaches a grandmaster how to play - Upworthy

Giarrusso received a chessboard cake for his 100th birthday. (WJAR)

A local, World War II veteran was honored Saturday at a chess tournament in East Greenwich.

Giarrusso received a chessboard cake for his 100th birthday. (WJAR)

Lou Giarrusso belatedly celebrated his 100th birthday at the Once-in-a-Lifetime Inaugural Championship Cup Event at the New England Institute of Technology.

Giarrusso started playing in 1963, and he is a Guinness World Record holder for the oldest chess player to compete.

Giarrusso received awards in recognition of his lifetime accomplishments. He is a veteran of World War II and chess champion. (WJAR)

Giarrusso was presented with a chessboard birthday cake, plaques and certificates, and a trophy for his achievements in chess.

Lou Giarrusso turned 100 on May 11th. He celebrated Saturday by participating in a chess tournament at NE Tech. (WJAR)

Giarrusso played a match after the presentation.

Read the rest here:
100-year-old chess champion honored with lifetime achievement award - WJAR

Chess has been around since the 16th century and has recently started moving online. Teenagers today enjoy playing a digital version of the game in school. (AP News)

Use of the viral website Chess.com in classrooms has caused some school district administrators to ban the site, online users say.

The website Chess.com was launched in May of 2007 by Erik Allebest and Jay Severson, two friends and former BYU students who set out to create a better way to play chess online. Home to more than 10 million chess games every day and employing 650 team members from around the world, Chess.com is the number one chess-playing site on the web.

The virtual chess game made its way from the home computer to the classroom when pandemic restrictions were lifted and kids started going back to school. Playing the game in schools particularly has caused administrators to take action to ensure focus in the classroom.

According to administrators, some Utah districts have banned the website in schools altogether in order to ensure focus in school. Others allow use of the game with limitations.

Chess.com is available on a limited basis. We dont want it to be a distraction, but it is available on a limited basis, Sandra Riesgraf, director of communications at Jordan School District says.

Districts such as Iron County block non-educational games in general from student access, including Chess.com, according to Shauna Lund, communications and foundation coordinator of Iron County School District.

Chess.com would be one of many classified as games that are blocked to ensure students focus and are learning during the school day, Lund said.

Other districts, however, have reported no notable issues with the site and have not blocked it on school computers. Kirsten Stewart of the Canyons School District Office of Public Communications said teachers monitoring internet use in the classroom is sufficient regulation and they are content to see kids participating in the stimulating activity, on a regulated basis.

Cell phones can be a distraction in the classroom, but our schools and teachers are empowered to set boundaries on the use of cell phones in class we have no complaints about Chess.com, Stewart says.

According to Stewart, Canyons School District contains a nationally ranked chess champion in their school, a senior at Alta High School who recently won on a state level and regularly participates in esports chess tournaments.

Research indicates that using chess in the classroom proves to be more of a learning tool than a distraction. The use of chess in an educational setting can be beneficial for a students academic success.

A five-year study conducted in Alabama found that chess can improve students classroom performance when teachers incorporate chess instruction into their curriculum.

The majority of teachers who participated in the study reported that, with chess instruction, their students got better at problem solving, strategic thinking, decision making and critical thinking. They also reported that students who participated in chess learning activities expressed more interest in school. This data proved that using chess in school rather than banning it can lead to increased focus and learning when used correctly.

Link:
Chess website banned in schools - The Daily Universe - Universe.byu.edu

What is happiness? Some people believe it's finding true love. Others seek it by excelling in their careers. But for those who know what truly moves human nature, happiness lies in playing uniquely satisfying chess moves.

Below are the 10 best chess moves you must play before your time on Earth expires. It doesn't matter where you come from or where you areplay these moves, and you'll have lived a happy and fulfilling life.

You can also check out this video talking about the moves:

Forget about money; forget about fame. Deliver a smothered mate, and you'll experience genuine fulfillment. Proudly having your mighty stud single-handedly make your opponent's army look like fools is what true power looks like.

Though this mating pattern is not the most common, play enough chess, and you'll definitely have a chance to use it. Here's one of our members, @HessianWarrior, showing us how it's done:

Somewhere deep inside the virgin forests of Vietnam lives one of the rarest creatures on Earth: the saola. Also known as the Asian unicorn, it is critically endangered. To this day, scientists have only categorically documented this elusive creature in the wild on four occasions.

Equally as rare but vastly more enchanting is the en passant checkmate. Few are the lucky ones who will have the privilege of witnessing such an awe-inspiring move in the wild, let alone play it themselves.

And to prove to you that anyone can receive the gift of an en passant checkmate, I leave you with a game played by our member @likebrando.

It's hard to tell what's more satisfying: Getting promoted where you work or getting an underpromotion in chess to work for you.

Of course, anyone can produce eight knights to ridicule poor Martin. However, I'm talking about ultra-precise underpromotions. The ones that save you from stalemating or give you one crucial tide-turning tempo. That, my friends, is worth more than a thousand queens.

Our member @CrackLionIX can attest to that:

Let me tell you a little secret. When loving caregivers offer the "it's not only about winning" advice, they don't always mean it. Sometimes, it is all about winningunless you're talking about the Rosen Trap. In this case, drawing can feel even better than victory itself.

So, the next time you're desperately moving your helpless king and wondering why chess has to be so cruel, remember this: If you do pull a Rosen Trap, you'll have a whole new appreciation for the game.

When I was just starting to play chess as an adult, a Chess.com lesson left me mesmerized by the windmill. A tactic so devastating that it should be named after something much less adorable. Since then, I've been chasing more windmills than Don Quixote.

Ironically, I always find myself enacting a twisted version of Cervantes' novel. Instead of mistaking windmills for monsters, I'm actually searching for windmills, but I always end up with nothing but ghosts.

Fortunately, some chess players have seen a windmill up close. Here's a game played by our member @Jimmy720 featuring a knight and bishop windmill.

While I advise you to stay away from the darkness, I do understand that many people still flirt with the prospect of playing dirty. Yes, a time will come when you want to cross the lineif only to see what it feels like.

My advice? Try the Lefongpremoving Bh6 and Bg7 (or equivalent) to leverage your opponent's premoves in the opening in case they fianchetto their bishop. It's one of the oldest and lowest trickeries you can pull when playing bullet time controls. And when you either win a game out of pure luck or sadly stare at the square where your bishop once lived, you'll still be able to say: "Well, at least I did it."

What should you do the next time you have two pawns about to promote? Definitely do the irresponsible thing and get yourself a bishop and a knight. Why? Because you can.

But what if you can't? Then you should head to our Endgames page and learn how to do it. And then you'll join the likes of GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Aman Hambleton and our member @LeeEuler.

I need to be honest. I feel weird writing about this. Everything I have to say makes me sound like one of the bad kids you've been warned about. But I guess I'll do it anyway.

Go ahead, try the Bongcloud! It's a lot of fun. Come on, all the cool kids are doing it. Don't you want to be cool, too? Give it a try. I promise it'll feel really good. Come on, just this once!

Ok, I'll stop now.

Castling to protect the king is (hopefully) common practice in your games. However, casting as an act of aggression is rarer but immensely satisfying. Forget about stars aligning. When you see the enemy king aligning with your rook along the d- or f-files, you won't need to see anything else for quite a few days. Trust me, I know:

Finally, the last part of this article is not about the what but the how. Many would argue that we have no say in what happens in the future. But chess players can sometimes bend the laws of time and become the masters of their destiny.

Premoving a long sequence of moves that lead to checkmate is a privilege only online chess can provideand one you should pursue.

And when you do have the chance to deliver this mate, there's only one way to do it. Premove as fast as you can, sit back, relax, and enjoy the inebriating and lethal dance of your pieces unfolding right before your third eye.

Now that you have a new goal in life (at least you should), it's time for you to chase these moves. Though some are incredibly rare, if you play enough chess, you'll eventually have the opportunity to play them, even if you're not a master.

So grab a snack and a beverage, go to our Play page, and start crossing those moves off your bucket list.

Which moves have you already crossed off your bucket list? Let us know in the comment section below, and feel free to share the game where it happened!

Read this article:
10 Chess Moves You Have To Play Before You Die - Chess.com

After an intense tournament, chess players usually relax on flights with the possible outcomes or moves still playing in their heads. Not 20-year-old Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Vantika Agarwal, though. Its not that she doesnt want to replay those moves in her head. She just cant afford to.

Instead of analysing the games or studying her next opponent, Vantika, Indias third-ranked womens player with an ELO rating of 2428, has had to study for exams, which she says were perennially around the corner. Pursuing her Bachelor of Commerce with Honours, studies are something that cant take a backseat even though her priority is chess.

Balancing a professional chess career and studying for an Honours degree is no mean feat, but the Delhi girl has found a novel way of acing both. My mother reads the book to me on the flight. I just try to understand and grasp whatever I can. During competitions, she actually studies for me and then just explains the concepts. Since shes a chartered accountant herself, she knows most of the concepts I have to study, Vantika told The Indian Express on Saturday, a day after she finished her final sixth-semester paper, possibly the last exams shell give for a while.

Now, she says, her focus can finally be entirely on chess. Its taken tremendous sacrifices from my family to reach where I have, and now its time to pay them back for their effort, she says.

As an eight-year-old, Vantika wanted to try all sports. From cricket to football, badminton to tennis, even karate and skating, she tried her hand at everything. I loved to try out new things as pastimes. I went for art and piano lessons too. My parents encouraged me to try out new things and I took that rather seriously, she says.

Chess, however, wasnt a sport Vantikas parents expected her to get hooked on. I remember I started playing chess in school with my brother, whos a couple of years older than me. I learned some basics and then won a tournament in school. Thats when I asked my parents to enroll me in an academy, she says.

Thats when everything changed. She wanted to learn all the aspects of the sport. The various openings, pawn structure, middlegame, and anything that would help her. When she began applying those concepts and winning tournaments, she knew that playing chess is all she wanted to do.

After getting some great wins on the local circuit, she knew that the next step was nationals and other tournaments in the country. The only problem was with both her parents being chartered accountants, they seldom had time to take her to tournaments. Thats when her mother Sangeeta decided to make the ultimate sacrifice. She gave up her flourishing practice to ensure that she could travel with Vantika for all the tournaments and basically be her unending support.

Financially, too, it was a huge burden especially when it came to playing in international tournaments. Its only of late that she managed to get some sort of sponsorship and Vantika says its a huge relief to take the burden off her parents.

Shes set her sights on the Grandmaster title, a feat she hopes to accomplish this year. To be honest, I wouldve become a Grandmaster at 14. Its just that studies got in the way. I wasnt able to participate in many tournaments because of them. I even had to skip several fully-paid international tournaments because of them. Form is vital in chess but because of repeated breaks, I wasnt able to maintain that which is why my performance suffered at times. But now thats done, and I cant wait to hit peak form, she says.

While she enjoys playing the Classical format, its Blitz thats her favourite. You have no time to think. Even when we were training for the Olympiad last year, we just practiced Blitz. It helps to think and analyse quickly which helps in other formats.

Along with her goal of becoming a Grandmaster, she is also targeting a place in the Indian team for this years Asian Games. But at just 20, she already has her long-term goal set: getting a shot at the Womens World Championship title. 2023, she says, is going to be her year.

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Juggling studies and chess, rising chess star Vantika Agarwal sets sights on Grandmaster title - The Indian Express