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Our group is really growing. There are admin positions available for any member who would like to help with the activites. If you are responsible, dedicated, creative, able to follow instructions then you are admin capable. If you would like to take part in providing leadership, creation of team matches and tournaments, then this is a job you will enjoy. Send me a pm with your desire to become an admin, include a little of your personal qualities. Important: You do not have to be an premium member to be an admin, you do not need to possess previous admin qualifications. The job is simple and I have a good training plan to get you started. If you would like to try the job on a trial basis that can be arranged, be sure that I and my admins will assist you all the way.

I am re-posting the rules that this group will abide by when playing vote chess. If any player feels they are unable to follow these rules then please don't join our vote chess games. Thank you. Group Vote Chess Rules: 1. Every member is welcome and encouraged to join our vote chess games so long as you adhere to the following rules and play as a team member with a positive attitude. If you feel you cannot or will not be considerate of the rules set forth, then please don’t join our vote chess games. 2. Prior to the start of any VC game a team captain will be selected and he alone will be the one to place the team actual vote, the one that will press the “SUBMIT VOTE” button. This will serve 2 purposes: 1.The vote will be what the majority agree to be our move. 2. Prevents an inferior move winning on drive-by votes. There is nothing more aggravating and the cause of losing VC games as the drive-by voter, this will not be tolerated. If you feel that you must click on the “submit vote” button, volunteer to be the team captain. Otherwise, never place your vote directly. Team Captain will be on a rotating basis, volunteers are welcomed. 3. All players are invited to discuss their views on any suggested move or introduce an alternate move No vote should be made that was not discussed in the comments. If a player likes a move, let them post and explain why that move is favorable to our position on the board. Openings are the most difficult as many players favor a particular opening, so be prepared to discuss the benefits of your suggested opening. When you do suggest an opening, give the line you intend to follow. Simply stating d4 means absolutely nothing, however, d4 English Defense/general gives everyone an idea what to look for as the game progresses. True, game plans change with the opponents every response, which will cause us to adjust our moves, that’s just chess as always. Always keep in mind the time limit of the game in which we have to place our team vote. 4. If you feel it is necessary to point out a bad suggestion made by another player, do so in a nice and respectful manner. Our VC games are for all members and all ratings, so take the opportunity to help them improve their game rather than embarrass or berate. 5. Remember it is a Chess.com rule prohibiting the use of engines, don’t introduce them in our team VC games, if caught, not only are we subject to lose the game, but accounts can be closed for cheating. Also commenting on on-going games other than in the comments section is considered cheating. 6. POLITENESS, we are all chess players regardless of ratings, so be cordial on our team as well as the opponents. Rudeness will not be tolerated, bragging, calling of names, or any general negativity will be cause for removing you from the vote chess team and the group if necessary. Let’s all try to be on our best behavior these are only chess games for pure enjoyment and friendship.

Asking all 960 enthusiasts to come sign up for the following tournament. http://www.chess.com/tournament/quotblack-jackquot-campaign-of-the-dark-knights-section-1-lt1200-ds

Once again the call is being made for additional admin (team managers). Our groups continue to grow at a fast pace, due to a well structured invitation program so we need reliable and responsible individuals to become a partoff our administrative leaders. You don't need prior experience just a desire to learn, good imagination and a friendly attitude. All iinterested message me and let'stalk.

Here are mate in 2's.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AHVPlXLdyjM?feature=player_embedded

Do you believe that you have what it takes to become an admin that can inspire and lead a group? Are you able to follow instructions, respect members of all ratings and encourage their support? Can you be creative, lead by example, and most of all make fun and friendship a team priority? If you possess any one or two of these qualities, then I would like to talk to you as a possible candidate to fill any one of the following positions (several teams to choose from). Group Team Admins: I am in need of several admins to assist in the management of various groups. Below are several positions which I will be accepting applications for each. I am looking for responsible individuals who want and like to assist in the management of group activities. Admin, Team Matches: (5 total needed)This position has the following responsibilities:1. Accept/Issue team challenges You will create and accept/issue team challenges for the respective group. You will want to network with outsider team admins and represent the group in all team match inquiries and challenges in a positive manner. We are here to be competitive, but more importantly, we must play with sportsmanship and, above all, have FUN doing it! 2. Find ways to improve participation in team matches. a. Team Match admin is to support the matches he/she creates. If you are to be effective in your position you should be the first to join the match, this way you get other members to sign-up. b. Name your TM's, be creative and add your initials at the end of the title for every TM. Be creative and get me involved when necessary! We are looking for everyone to participate as much as possible, so any ideas you have to improve participation in team matches are welcomed and encouraged. The more numbers we bring to each match, the more successful we will be.3. Eliminate time-outs Track player's habits and encourage everyone to avoid timing out in their team matches. If you see a player who is constantly timing-out inform the SA (me) and I will take action and attempt to help this player be more responsible towards his team match commitments. Under no circumstance should the team match admin attempt to resolve this on his own as this usually leads to confrontation and bad feelings. In other words, let me be the bad-guy and you continue to be the leader of your matches. Admin, Recruitment & Welcome: (5 needed) This position has the following responsibilities: 1. Recruitment (10 invites per day) This admin will spend his time interacting with a lot of new members, will like to chat with and invite others to join our group. He will look for and recruit dedicated chess players of every skill level and ratings. He will be responsible in introducing new members to the functions of the group. 2. Welcome new members You will welcome new members and make them feel important to the team, by introducing them to the group however you see fit. Creativity is going to build interest on a simple task. In relation to introducing others, getting to know everyone and finding out what they want out of the group and bringing it to the SA's attention for input. This is going to be how you become a HUGE part of making the group a success! 3. Group Stats Check to see what percentage of our member list are participating in group activities. Inquire of those individuals who have stopped participating or curbed their playing time considerably as to why. If there is something or somewhere that we need to improve to get their attention once again. Show the players that we are concerned for their playing needs and not just that we want them to be a number in our group. This pertains to all players regardless of rating. Admin, Tournament Director (must be premium member) This position has the following responsibilities: 1. Imagination Person You should be the type of person who likes creating fun. You will come up with entertaining ideas for a multitude of tournaments. Minimum 2 tournaments per month and lots of "news" items to announce them. 2. Figure out excuses to celebrate! Anything and nearly everything can be a title for a tournament, barring religion and politics. Keep in mind our members come from every country of the world, so be sensitive and thoughtful. You have so many events to choose from national to international even local. Use your imagination and you'll will create fun and friendship in the group. 3. Communicate As you create your tournament, post a news article announcing the up-coming event. Let members know and re-invite them to all your tournaments. Not all tournaments have to be for our members only, invite players from other groups or go to the New Members list and invite as many as you can (make sure to make your #of games required as (0). Admin, Vote Chess (presently non-active) This position has the following responsibilities: 1. Able to guide players in a Voting Forum. If you like playing vote chess and wish to create a vote chess team that is able to compete against any other group on Chess.com, then you could be the likely candidate. I highly suggest that for vote chess follow the same example as for team matches. There is a Vote Chess Guideline available to the person that is chosen to lead the VC games. 2. Building a very strong group of loyal vote-chess players. *Above all the VC matches are for all members to have input and not be ridiculed or embarrassed for their suggestions. These matches should provide a learning tool for everyone at any rating level. The biggest problem the admin will face is the drive-by voter or conspirator that will do all in his/her power to sabotage the match. Unfortunately these are usually higher rated players who will insist that their move is the ONLY move and they will supply diagrams and lines to prove their point, but in the end they have set you up for defeat. Beware, of the player who is unwilling to discuss with the players of the group and explain why or why not a move is good or bad. 3. Strategy and ideas to improve our chances of winning. The Vote Chess Guideline is available and should be used although, it can be improved upon so your input would be greatly appreciated. Creation of a competitive and winning VC Team is great, it promotes a strong willingness of players to support the VC effort, however, it's not the only reason to play VC chess. Vote Chess is in essence a learning experience for everyone and if all players involved enjoy fun and friendship then VC games are a joy to play.

Here are some tournaments for eveyone's enjoyment. They are open to group members and non-members as well. So come on sign-up and make new friends and most of all have a lot of fun. http://www.chess.com/tournament/the-slaughter-at-raydonia-ds-division-1 http://www.chess.com/tournament/the-slaughter-at-raydonia-ds-division2 http://www.chess.com/tournament/chess-fork-ndash-a-strategic-chess-moveds-division1 http://www.chess.com/tournament/chess-fork-ndash-a-strategic-chess-moveds-division2 http://www.chess.com/tournament/youve-got-to-play-a-gambit-or-twoquot-dsdivision-1 http://www.chess.com/tournament/youve-got-to-play-a-gambit-or-twoquot-dsdivision-2 http://www.chess.com/tournament/international-960-chess-competition-ds-division-1 http://www.chess.com/tournament/international-960-chess-competition-ds-division-2

Members: Unfortunately, in nearly every group there are some unsavory persons who feel that it is their right to be objectionable, rude, and just plain mean. Therefore, it is necessary to remind all members that in this group we will abide by a Code of Conduct. Plainly, treat all members with the same respect you want them to give you. Here is a guide for everyone to follow. Harass, threaten, embarrass, or do anything to another player that is unwanted. This includes posting insulting, offensive, or abusive comments about players, repeatedly sending unwanted messages, attacking a player based on race, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, etc. Hate speech is not tolerated in this group. Create character names or otherwise transmit or facilitate distribution of Content that is harmful, abusive, racially or ethnically offensive, vulgar, sexually explicit, defamatory, infringing, invasive of personal privacy or publicity rights, or objectionable in a reasonable person's view. “Trolling,” which we define as posts or threads that knowingly lead to overly strong, negative, and emotional responses for mere shock value, is not allowed in this group. Accounts created with the sole intent to “troll” will be immediately and permanently suspended. Constant personal attacks are also considered trolling.

Are you into 960 chess?, Here are some tournaments ready for registration. Join one, join all, see you on the boards. http://www.chess.com/tournament/bay-city-classic-1 http://www.chess.com/tournament/-a-summer-knights-festival--chess-and-beer-bust-2 http://wwwhttp://www.chess.com/tournament/international-lt1300-960-chess-championship-1.chess.com/tournament/a-summer-knights-festival--chess-and-beer-bust-1 http://www.chess.com/tournament/international-lt1300-960-chess-championship-1

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Pw3S_XaOMwU

Here is a set of guidelines that we should all try to play by. I think that if we all follow these, our group will be greatly improved. 1. Participate: Be involved. Look at the conversation your team mates are having about the move before voting. Help discuss the move. Please don’t just look at the board, vote, and leave. Vote chess is a team game. So let’s play it as a team, and we’ll all learn from each other in the process! 2. Make suggestions: Don’t feel shy to give your opinion. Everyone has good ideas. We recently won a game with a move suggested by a 1300 player. So if you see a move you think would be good, or think a move someone else suggested wouldn’t be good, please tell us. We love having good friendly debates about moves. Also when you suggest or refute a move, please give your reasons or post a line that supports your move. Doing this will make others more likely to consider your move and will help us all think through the move more thoroughly. 3. Make the voting situation known: When you vote and find that others have also voted, please let us know the vote tally. I don’t mean you should post the tally every time someone votes, but if there’s a significant amount of votes already made we need to know. Recently, we have had times where we come to an agreement on which move is best and then find that there are already several votes for another move. Although surprises are fun sometimes, this is not the kind of surprise we like. So please let us know if something like that is going on. 4. Be aware of the time: Since we play fast games on this group it is important to be aware of the time we have for a move. If we have 1 day per move, you don't need to vote in the first few hours. Let the move be discussed before you vote so that we can make sure we find the best move. If it is a 6 hour game, make your suggestion and, if possible, give it 30 minutes or an hour for a rebuttal before you vote. In a 1 hour or 2 hour game, you may need to vote and leave, but if you do, please tell us why you voted for the move you did so that we can also consider it. In a 10 minute game, all moves are discussed. If a move is being debated, please wait until only 2 or 3 minutes are left. 5. Join the games: Join the vote chess games! That’s what we’re here for! We understand that you won’t be able to vote on every move, but it is intimidating for the other team to see we have 20-30-40 players signed up. You only need to play when you have the time, and when you do, join the discussion and have fun! 6. Openings: Please don’t suggest wild opening moves because it can cost us the game. We play book openings fairly deep. We are serious about the openings and follow lines in the book that favor us. We use the Game Explorer extensively as well as databases from other websites. We frequently post multiple lines so that players can choose which path we take, but we avoid the lines that are historically bad for our side. We have played many different openings and variations, so if you have an opening you want to try, feel free suggest it. And finally… Have fun, be passionate, and improve both your own chess skills and your team’s games. The debate is one of the best parts of vote chess, but it needs input from everyone. Don’t be afraid to stand up for your opinion in a game. All our active members know I will fight for a move I think is right until it is proved wrong or I run out of time. I will also argue against a move I think is not best. I’m not a attacking anyone, I’m just being passionate about the game. I credit playing a lot of vote chess with 2000+ players as being the biggest reason I improved from 1500 to 1700 in rating. And remember, if there are two parties with opposing views, only one will get its way. So if the move you think is best is not the one that wins, be a good sport and let it pass by. None of us get our way all the time. To our top players: Keep doing what you do. We have great leaders here. You explain your moves well and understand that it is a democracy. The move the highest rated player suggests does not always win the vote. To our middle players: You are the backbone of this group. Most players fall into this range. Think for yourselves and don’t follow the pack blindly, you might see something a higher rated player doesn’t. Treat each move as if it were your own game and suggest your ideas. To our lower rated players: Don’t be afraid to participate. Suggest your ideas because you will learn whatever the outcome is. Many times a player makes the right move for the wrong reason. Suggest your move with your reasoning, and you will learn a lot from the discussion. To everyone: Let's all unite together and improve this team and move up in the Vote Chess Leaderboard. Keep up the good work, and fill up the discussion every turn!! See you at the games!

SafariQueen asked me to create this forum. I will start us off with a few puzzles but I encourage all of you to add your own puzzles at your leisure! Come on everyone, lets contribute to the group & help SafariQueen whenever we can! For those whom need instructions on how to post a puzzle

Hecate in Greek mythology was a powerful goddess representing the three aspects of the great Goddess , or Triple Goddess: goddess of fertility and plenty; goddess of the moon; and goddess of the night, ghosts and Hades, which led to her evolving as the patroness of magic and Witchcraft. Her powerful position was derived from the Egyptian mid-wife goddess Heqit, Heket, or Hekat, who in turn evolved from the heq or tribal matriarch of pre-dynastic Egypt, who was a wise-woman in command of all hekau or "mother's Words of Power." In her moon-goddess aspect she is often part of the trinity with Selene, and Diana/Artemis. The goddess possesses infernal powers, nocturnally roaming the earth with a pack of red-eyed hellhounds and an entourage of dead souls. She is only visible to dogs, and if the dogs are traveling at night, it means Hecate is about. She causes nightmares and insanity, and was so threatening to the ancient people that she was called "the Nameless One." The Hellenes emphasized her Crone aspects, but continued to worship her at places where three roads connected, especially in rites of magic, divination, and consulting with the dead. Her images guarded three-way crossroads for many centuries, thus she was Hecat Trevia, "Hecate of the Three Ways." Offerings, particularly on nights of the full moon, were left at roadside shrines built in her honour, especially by those wishing this goddess of prophecy and magic to assist them on journeys. Throughout the ages incarnations have been chanted to her, sacrifices were offered to her. In ancient times people sought to appease her by leaving chicken hearts and honey cakes outside of their doors. On the last day of the month, offerings of honey, onions, fish, and eggs were left at the crossroads, along with sacrifices of puppies, infant girls, and she-lambs. Sorcerers gathered at crossroads to pay homage to her and such infernal servants as the Empusa, a hobgoblin; the Cercopsis, a poltergeist; and the Mormo, a ghoul. One petition for her patronage is recorded in the third century by Hippolytus in Philosphumena: Come infernal, terrestrial, and heavenly Bombo (Hecate), goddess of the broad roadways, of the crossroad, thou who goest to and fro at night, torch in hand, enemy of the day. Friend and lover of darkness, thou who doest rejoice when the bitches are howling and warm blood is spilled, thou who art walking amid the phantom and the in place of the tombs, thou whose thirst is blood, thou who doest strike chill and fear in mortal hearts, Gorgo, Mormo, Moon of a thousand forms, cast a propitious eye on our sacrifice. Also from the goddess Heqit Hecate derived her heavenly midwifery ability. Heqit amalgamated the Seven Hathos of the birth-chamber, since she delivered the sun god every morning. Heqit's totem was the frog, which symbolized the fetus. Hellenic writers described Hecate as being in the houses of women in childbirth. Therefore, since Hecate was at times represented by Artemis, it is no wonder that the latter was able to help in the delivery of her twin brother Apollo, and was petitioned for help by women having difficulty in child bearing. In modern Witchcraft Hecate is thought to reign over the waning and dark moon, the two weeks considered best for magic dealing with banishing, releasing, planning, and introspection.

At the request of Josolemech & for those of you whom do not know, I have created these instructions below "For Dummies" lol :