Plane of the Week and Weekly Newsletter 10/14/2025
PLANES & CHESS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
10/14/2025
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Military Plane of the Week: The Goodyear Inflatoplane  You heard that right- Goodyear created a plane that could literally be inflated!! Intended to be used to extricate downed airmen, the Inflatoplane could fit inside a box and inflate in just 5 minutes. The idea was that it could be dropped behind enemy lines to trapped airmen and flown back to safety. Construction began on numerous variants of the Inflatoplane, and 12 planes ended up being built. Tragically, one Army officer, Lt. “Pug” Wallace was killed in a crash. Aside from the crash, the Inflatoplane performed pretty well, but ultimately the US Army decided that they didn’t want the Inflatoplane, and the contract was cancelled. The surviving prototypes are displayed in museums, and the Inflatoplane definitely was a first in aviation history. |
Commercial Plane of the Week: The B377SG  Need to transport a spacecraft? Not to worry! Just slap it into a B377SG! Just look at its massive cargo compartment! Nicknamed the “Super Guppy”, the B377SG is used by NASA to transport spacecraft parts. Powered by 4 prop engines and boasting a cargo space of nearly 40,000 cubic feet, the Super Guppy was one of the largest of its time when it was built in the 1960s. It was employed by NASA to transport dozens of different types of aircraft, ranging from planes to rockets to engines and other large parts to hundreds of locations worldwide. Though it's since been outclassed by the Airbus Beluga, the Super Guppy family remains the original- and iconic- oversize cargo transporter. |
Gambit of the Week: The Stafford Gambit
The Stafford Gambit, popularized by IM Eric Rosen, is an attacking gambit characterized by an early pawn sacrifice. There are dozens, and I mean dozens of traps that could stem from the Stafford, but two of the most common are these two:
I have linked a more complete guide below:
https://www.chess.com/blog/ThummimS/stafford-gambit-traps-a-complete-guide
News
Speed Chess Championship Begins (10/12/2025): The Speed Chess Championship has begun in London, England. All the biggest names in chess are facing off in some epic battles. The action will continue into February 2026.
Weekly Chess Riddle
The knight pops out, to incite.
The queen is opened to the light.
A sacrifice, to ignite,
A stunning game, a bitter fight!
The knight takes flight.
Defend the pawn, out on the lawn!
The Black knight is a stunning sight.
An equal trade, the knight is kicked.
But the winner is now picked.
A sacrifice, not one but two,
Ordained priest and royal steed,
Expose the queen with great speed.
A capture, White takes the lead,
courtesy of a rocket, guaranteed.
What gambit am I? The Budapest, Jerome, Scotch, King’s, Queen’s, or ICBM, or Englund?
Trophies will be awarded to the first correct answer. The answer and explanation will be in the next edition.
Previous Riddle Answer:
The answer was zugzwang. Zugzwang is the term for a position where any move a player makes will lead to a disadvantage or loss.
Plane Trivia
What was the first plane to break the sound barrier? Only answer if you know it already for 5 trophies.
Club Happenings
Red signifies “new” news
New Members: Planes & Chess would like to welcome its newest members, @ziggyphonk and @Collum-McGlasson!
Plane Trivia: The Weekly Newsletter will now include Aviation Trivia.
Dogfight Chess: Please join the latest Planes & Chess Dogfight Chess Tournament!
Vote Chess: We are playing in numerous vote chess matches against KLM Airlines, ISM Chess Crew, Baseball Chess Crew, and others. Good luck and play well!
Tournament Tracker
Dogfight Chess (Status: Open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/tournament/planes-chess-presents-dogfight-chess-no-4-1
Club Daily Match (Status: Open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/club/matches/1854215
Regular Daily Chess (Status: open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/tournament/planes-chess-presents-daily-chess
Chess960 Daily Chess (Status: None):
Vote Chess (Status: open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/votechess/game/374078
https://www.chess.com/votechess/game/395945
https://www.chess.com/votechess/game/396683
Member Activity
Member @lucasli17 and member @lawrenceli14 were tied as the most active members this week. Great job!
To compete to be listed, post in the forums, chat, answer the riddle, and partake in other club-related activities.
Editor’s Note
Hello and welcome to edition No. 13! We’ve been getting some new members lately, and are getting closer to 40 members! We’ve just wrapped up our survey changes, with the latest addition being the new Aviation Trivia section in the newsletter. In addition, Planes & Chess has not been winning many tournaments lately (score: 11 lost, 3 won), in part due to not enough members joining the tournaments, so we are seeking more regular tournament members. Shout out to @CheckerTails31 and F-22AirForce for being regular players in the tournaments! Our goal is to have a majority of won tournaments, and I’m sure we can reach it if enough people join. Thanks for reading!
