Plane of the Week and Weekly Newsletter: 7/29/2025

PLANES & CHESS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

7/29/2025

Plane of the Week: The Ames-Dryden AD-1

The Ames-Dryden AD-1 was a truly revolutionary aircraft that tested an incredible concept: its entire wing could pivot in flight, rotating up to 60 degrees. This "oblique" wing offered a unique solution to optimize aerodynamic efficiency across different speeds. A straight wing provides maximum lift for takeoff and landing, while swept-back wings drastically reduce drag at high speeds, allowing for greater fuel efficiency.

The AD-1's pivoting wing allowed the pilot to adjust its angle mid-flight, achieving the best performance for the current speed. This experimental program, conducted from 1979 to 1982, was largely successful in demonstrating the fundamental viability of the oblique wing concept and paved the way for future research into variable-geometry aircraft.                                                                                                                                              

Gambit of the Week: The Blackburne-Shilling Gambit

The Blackburne-Shilling Gambit is my second favorite gambit. It involves two incredible sacrifices that pave the way to an impressive checkmate in the opening! The Blackburne-Shilling gambit stems from the very common Italian Game and has your opponent play seemingly natural moves while your queen and knight sneakily set up a dangerous trap.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

News

Deshmukh Wins Women's World Cup (7/28/2025):

Indian Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh won the Women's World Cup on Monday after defeating fellow Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy in the tiebreakers.

Giri, Aronian, Sarin, and Sindarov  Grab Final Four in World Esports

Grandmasters Anish Giri, Levon Aronian, Nihal Sarin, and Javokhir Sindarov have grabbed the final four spots in the Last Chance Qualifier Bracket of the Esports World Cup following a slew of intense matchups.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Weekly Chess Riddle

I stand straight- a lone sentinel on a board deserted,

Though I am a piece, my name is often misworded.

I glide along, across the entire domain,

And my name I share with a bird that flies in sun and rain.

If you think you have the answer, message me or drop it in the comments. Trophies will be awarded to the first correct answer.

The answer to last week's riddle was "The Kitchen". This is because the kitchen contains forks and skewers, which are kitchen tools as well as chess tactics.                                                                                                                                                   

Club Happenings

New member: Welcome to our newest member: B-21_Raider!

Dogfight Chess: We are playing in dogfight chess vs. GM Oogum Boogum’s Personal Club. The match will begin once more people from their side join.

Vote Chess: We are playing in numerous vote chess matches against ISM Chess Crew, Baseball Chess Crew, and others. Good luck and play well!                                                                                                                                                        

Member Activity

Member TB_HawkerHunter was the most active member in the past week. Congratulations!

Members will be listed by posting in the club forums or notes, referring members (I must be messaged by the referred person about who they were referred by), and partaking in other club-related activities. The person who partakes in the most activities will be listed here.                                                                                                                                              

Editor’s Note

Hello and welcome to the first on-schedule Newsletter edition! I hope you enjoyed reding this. Again, if you would like to suggest anything (e.g. changes, additions to future Newsletter editions), please direct-message one of the Super Admins in this club. Have a great rest of your Tuesday/Wednesday!