Plane of the Week and Weekly Newsletter 9/30/2025
PLANES & CHESS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
9/30/2025
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Military Plane of the Week Commercial Plane off the Week |
Welcome to our second biweekly Military vs. Commercial debate! For our new members, we have a plane of the week and every other week we have a debate: Which plane is cooler?
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The YF-118g The YF-118g Bird of Prey was born of a top-secret black project in the 1990s. Built to demonstrate cutting-edge stealth technology that would eventually influence the YF-23 and F-22. Equipped with futuristic angled wings, a high-tech blended wing body design, top fed engine intakes, a gold-plated canopy, and incredibly sleek looks, the YF-118g flew incredibly well. It conducted its first test flight in 1996 out of the legendary Area 51, and flew 39 times after that. It is believed to have been used as a testbed for such cutting edge- and secret - technologies as active camo (changing color to be less visible) and gapless control surfaces. The YF-118g was appropriately named “The Bird Of Prey”, after a Star Trek plane. The project was highly successful, and it was declassified and unveiled to the public in 2002. |
The VSS Unity The VSS Unity is a plane. No, it's a spacecraft. No! It’s a spaceplane! The VSS Unity, operated by Virgin Galactic, is a revolutionary passenger spaceplane that can whisk riders into space at supersonic speeds. Launched from the belly of a carrier jet, it could blast to speeds of over Mach 3. Despite its speed, it was incredibly efficient, and was equipped with a revolutionary- and reusable - glider-like flight system. It first reached space in 2018, demonstrating a massive leap in space travel technology. Though retired, the VSS Unity will hold a place in history, and its legacy will live on in the soon-to-be-built Delta spaceplanes. |
Gambit of the Week: The Deutz Gambit
The Deutz Gambit is an incredibly forcing, attacking gambit that unleashes a torrent of attacks against your opponent. Typically, I'd place a digital board here, but I'm running a bit late, so I'll paste the link to GM Smirnov's guide below, and add the digital board when I get around to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hXYKjP24fQ
News
US vs. India match: The United States’s strongest chess players will face off against India’s best in Arlington, Texas. A few interesting rules for the competition: Draw offers and resignations are prohibited, and US will be White on all boards (India is expected to play as White in the next matchup (whenever that will be)).
Grand Chess Tour Final Begin (9/29/2025): The Grand Chess Tour finals are set to begin in Sao Paulo this week. GM R. Praggnanandhaa suffered a loss after blundering a pawn with 1 second on his clock, while GM Fabiano Caruana lost to GM Levon Aronian following an interesting opening choice.
Weekly Chess Riddle
I am a two-step dance, but I never move.
I can be a castle, but I am not a king.
I can deliver checkmate
In one swift play.
A single move, to seize the day.
What am I?
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 a mating net. A mating net is a coordinated piece effort that traps a king and forces checkmate.
Club Happenings
Red signifies “new” news
New Members: Planes & Chess would like to welcome our two newest members, @avgeek424 and @F-163!
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
Regular Daily Chess (Status: open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/tournament/planes-chess-presents-daily-chess
Chess960 Daily Chess (Status: open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/tournament/planes-chess960
Vote Chess (Status: open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/votechess/game/374078
Member Activity
Member @Luca_Castle was the most active member 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 the eleventh edition of the Planes & Chess Weekly Newsletter! I would like to welcome our new members! We continue to work out changes to be compatible with our survey responses. Changes we will be making will be announced in the Club Happenings Section and/or a separate announcement as they happen.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this edition. All suggestions for Plane of the Week and other Newsletter suggestions can be placed in the Suggestions Center forum. Have a great day!
