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Pretty self explanatory, I'll announce a tournament, if you can try to confirm you'll be there, but otherwise, I think we can just announce here. Also let me know if you can host because I can't always. 

this club is honestly dead at the moment but i think we can still get it active so if you read this take 3 minutes to invite your friends to the club. at some point today make a note or strike up a conversation. perhaps put the link on your profile. if i can get five of you reading this to invite 10 people every day for a couple of weeks, we would grow A LOT. (i sound like i want an achievment or just want populairty but you just gotta trust me i am doing this to spread the Word")

Remember that guy who was 2000 who I talked about? I won in 14 moves! I think that might be my highest rated win yet!

Guys, I've been thrown in the deep end. In my club matches against the Math and Chess Club, I've been paired against someone who's over 2000 in Blitz, Bullet, and 1960 in Rapid! I will plough on, however!

Something from this morning me and my family was taking about, I just wanted to share with you guys!    I came across Malachi 3:3  “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”  and a story that profoundly illustrated the meaning of this verse. Someone had asked a silversmith to watch what this process of refining silver actually looks like and discovered something deeply symbolic. The silversmith explained that in order to refine silver, he must place it in the hottest part of the fire. That’s the only way to burn away all the impurities. But he also emphasized something crucial: he can never take his eyes off the silver. Even a moment too long in the flame would damage it. So he watches it carefully, patiently, attentively, the entire time. When asked how he knows when the silver is fully refined, the silversmith responded, “That’s easy, when I can see my reflection in it.” It brought such clarity to Malachi 3:3. God is not distant in our trials. When we feel the heat of hardship, the fire of pain, or the burn of refinement, we’re not abandoned. We’re being watched closely, lovingly, by the Refiner Himself. He knows exactly how long the process must take, and He never leaves us unattended. Just like the silver, we are being shaped until His image is reflected in us.

Hi everyone! Today i wanted to share a little thought. And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11.31-32) Today I wanted to talk about things that prevent us from achieving the things God has for us and, consequently, heaven. The text above tells us a piece of the story of Terah, Abraham's father, and how they left Ur heading towards Canaan, but before this happened, it is said that Terah had a son named Haran, who died in the city of Ur, while they were still living there. After they set out for Canaan, it is said that Terah stopped at a city called Haran, and did not continue his journey to Canaan. He died there and never reached Canaan. What we can understand from this text is that Terah, father of Abraham and Haran, instead of continuing his journey to Canaan, remained trapped in the city that bore his son's name, and did not continue on his journey. It is as if he was stuck in the past, mourning the death of his son Haran.  Those who live thinking about the past and do not look forward cannot achieve what God has for them. People who don't forgive someone who hurt them, people who can't forgive themselves, people who keep saying that a certain time in the past was better than now, and other types of people who can't let go things from the past, don't achieve what God has for them. Of course, missing a certain moment in the past or remembering good memories happens, but living in that moment and using it to compare the present and complain is not a healthy attitude. Another example we can take of people who ended up being deprived of achieving what God had for them was the people of Israel in the desert. We can give as an example of what they did the fact that they remembered the past too. Every time they faced a difficult moment they said: "Oh in Egypt such and such was better". Do you know how serious this is? Imagine someone that God took away from crime, and when that person faces a difficult situation he starts to say: "When I was in crime, I just had to steal and everything was solved." But after a certain point, we see the Israelites worshiping other gods, we see them complaining and even confronting God. In all these moments, we see God disciplining them, but they did not change. At all times we see God forgiving. The limit for God was when they did not want to enter the promised land, but stayed complaining in their tents.Things got so bad that the people wanted to stone Caleb and Joshua (Numbers 14.6-10) There are people who God deals with. God disciplines them over the years, but they don't want to change. They prefer to continue with their bad habits and behaviors, thinking that somehow this will benefit them, but they don't realize that this actually harms them. In the end, this prevents them from achieving what God has for them. People who do not want to change their bad habits also do not achieve what God has for them, nor heaven. That's what I wanted to share. Thank you all for your attention!

Hello everyone. Today I wanted to talk about Daniel and his friends. As many of us know, Daniel and his friends were four young Jewish men who were taken to a different land. In this place, they had their names changed. But why did they change the names of Daniel and his friends? Because it would make them forget where they came from, who they were and would include them in that new context in which they would live. Likewise, today, in many ways, we are forced to forget where we came from and who we are. In this case, that we are children of God; servants of the Most High God. In an attempt to escape loneliness and try to be accepted in a certain group or context, we are tempted to abandon our Christian principles and, often, we are led to think that things are normal or to like things that, in reality, we do not like at all and do not think are right. When we try to be part of certain groups and contexts that do not keep the principles of the Lord, there begins to be conflicts, both from us towards the people who do not follow our principles, and from them towards us. It is very important for us to remain firm on the Lord's path, even with so much pressure and fear of being alone, because when we do this, we inspire other servants of God to do the right thing. Let's take the story of Daniel at the beginning of his stay in Babylon. The Bible tells us that when Daniel saw the king's food, he decided in his heart not to defile himself with it. The Bible says that the decision came from Daniel, but his friends also accepted his idea. In this way, we learn that when we make decisions that please the Lord, we influence those around us to do the same. (Daniel 1.8-16) We can also see throughout the story of these four young men that, eventually, in the lives of us Christians, we will come across situations in which the enemy will try to make us worship him, and forget to worship the Lord. But he will not try to make us worship him with our mouths, but with our actions. (Daniel chapter 3) When we decide not to do wrong, we stand out like a sore thumb. Everyone prostrates themselves, and we remain standing, because our joy and faithfulness is in God. Then come many attacks and ugly looks, but God delivers us from all evil. I believe so LOL! And there is another point that is worth mentioning in this story. At first, because we do what is right and do not mix with what is evil in God's eyes, we will feel somewhat lonely. We notice in the story of Daniel and his friends that they walked in a small group of four friends. But we also see Daniel walking alone throughout the book. Don’t worry if you are alone because you don’t want to mix with people who do what is wrong. God always raises up someone to be our friend. He doesn’t leave us alone with His presence, and He also provides a friend for us. So we don’t have to accept or like wrong things to include ourselves in bad groups or contexts. So, in this way, God will always help us and guide us along our journey. Daniel and his friends did not become important people in human eyes because they were extremely skilled and capable. Rather, they were important in God’s eyes, and God helped them in everything. Everything good that they could do was granted to them by God, and they recognized this.  I hope this text was useful for you all! Thank you all for your attention!

14 Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only one lot and one share to inherit, since we are a great people, inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now?”15 So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.”16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel.”17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.” (Joshua (17.14-18) Hello everyone! Today I wanted to share a little thought that I had while reading this passage from the Bible. The passage presents us with the two tribes of Joseph asking Joshua for more land, because, according to them, the mountains were very tight and they were very numerous. Well, Joshua replied that they should cut down trees in the flat region and use that place to live. Once again the people from Joseph's tribes questioned this, saying that the people who lived there were more numerous and they could not defeat them. And Joshua once again answered them saying that they would become even stronger and defeat the people there, even though they had better war equipment. As I read this passage, I found this dialogue interesting. And as I like to bring certain biblical examples and apply them as an example in my personal life, I soon started thinking of a way to understand this passage with examples from our daily lives. And I started to think to myself, two tribes that had the largest territories in the country of Israel, were dissatisfied and, instead of trying to change the situation, they went asking for more land. They did not consider themselves capable of defeating the people who had better military equipment, even though they themselves considered themselves to be two strong tribes. Instead of cutting down trees and clearing the environment so they could live in these places, they didn't even consider it.  And I started to think about how many times we are capable of seeking something, of achieving something, but we remain still. We don't try hard and we stay still, waiting for things to suddenly change, waiting for a miracle to fall from the sky. Of course we Christians should expect miracles, but that is when we can do NOTHING. But here I am referring to when there is something to do, but we prefer to stay quiet or we want to do something the easy way. It turns out that, in order for us to conquer the things that God has for our lives, we need to make an effort. We need to get out of our comfort zones. The land of Canaan was promised to Abraham's descendants, but Abraham's descendants had to fight for it. But when we read the book of Joshua, we realize that many tribes stood still, not fighting for their pieces of land. We constantly see Joshua speaking to the tribes: "why are you standing still?". And when we read that when they conquered their respective pieces of land, we read that many did not expel the former inhabitants from there, but made an agreement with them, disobeying God. Because of this, because they did not fully achieve what God had prepared for them, they ended up having problems later on. In short, let us not be content with the situation we are in, because God has greater things for us. But to achieve what God has for us, it will require effort on our part. Miracles won't fall from the sky unless it's something you really can't do anything about LOL. And although this endeavor may seem difficult and tiring, God will be helping you every day. It will be difficult LOL but God won't leave you in any moment! "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41.10) Thank you all for your attention!

17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.” [...] 22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer. (2 Samuel 5.17-19, 22-35) Hello everyone! Today I wanted to talk a little about a small lesson I learned from this passage. As you can see, this passage is not complete, but it is a good idea to read it all. It tells us how the Philistines decided to attack David, but David asked for God's guidance and THE LORD helped him. And I wanted to talk about just that, about asking God for help, for him to guide us in our lives and daily problems. Usually when we face problems, it is almost involuntary for us to ask God for help while we try to solve the problem. I mean, we ask God to guide our steps as we try to take our own steps LOL. We ask God to show us a direction while we avoid looking at the direction He is pointing us. This way, it becomes difficult to resolve the problem or situation. Many times we don't stop to pray and sing some praises asking the LORD for guidance. We don't read the Bible and we don't fast. This way it becomes difficult.  So it is always important to remain calm and pray and sing praises to the LORD. Only in this way, having a relationship alone with Him, can we feel His guidance. Sometimes He may use someone to talk to you, but it is good to always prioritize your relationship with the LORD alone. One time, the cat in my house started to do his business under my bed. The animal didn't do anything in his litter box. I tried to resolve the situation with the people here at home, but it wasn't very successful. I was VERY ANGRY. But one day, before going to church, I decided to sing some hymns in the garage here at home. I do this quite often. That day I sang some praises to the LORD and, to my surprise, an idea came to me on how to solve the situation. I wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t even pray for that cause. But THE LORD, who knows and searches our hearts, knew what my problem was. And He gave me an idea, and I never had any problems with that cat again LOL. It's not the only thing God helped me solve while I was singing and having a moment of prayer with Him. If you only knew how the LORD can help you while you have a moment alone with Him, you would seek to be alone with Him more. The second thing we learn from this story of David is that, even though he won the first fight with the Philistines, he doesn't think like this: "I will fight them again without asking God's guidance because I already won the first one, I will win the second one". No, he didn't. Again he went to inquire of the LORD, and He said, "Don't attack them from the same place. Go around." We often think that if we can achieve the first, we can achieve the second too, but that is not right. The right thing to do is always consult the LORD and seek his guidance, even in supposedly simple matters. At first glance it seems simple, but when there is a problem, what a problem! LOL That's what I wanted to share. Thank you all for your attention!

8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord. (Genesis 13.8-18) Hello everyone! Today I wanted to talk about this passage and see what we can learn from this. The passage above talks about the separation of Abram and Lot. And I think it would be very good to comment on some of Lot's actions that speak about his relationship with God. Lot walked with Abram all that time and consequently came to know the LORD. He knew of the LORD's promises to Abram. But after Lot separates from Abram, he camps until he reaches Sodom, a city where the people are wicked. Likewise, there are people who are Christians only when they are around someone who is also a Christian. Father, mother, brother, grandmother, grandfather, etc. But when they get to the point of separating themselves from these people, they forget about God. And the Bible is very clear in saying that Lot did not get there overnight. He walked until he got there. In the same way, our hearts do not stray overnight, they gradually change and leave the LORD until we forget Him completely. We have in the Bible the story of Joash and Jehoiada In the book of 2 Chronicles, starting in chapter 24, we can read about them. While Jehoiada lived, Joash did what was right. But after he died, he began to do what was wrong. When Lot saw the part he had chosen, he thought it was very beautiful, and he thought he would do very well there. He just didn't know that, because of the wickedness of those people who lived there, that entire region would become a desert. Because the Bible says that that region was beautiful before the LORD destroyed it. In the same way, we often see people who do not fear God and we think they are in a very good situation. But we think this way because we do not take into account the punishment that one day will fall upon them if they do not repent and leave the evil and wicked place where they find themselves.  When Lot leaves, Abram remains in that region which, reading the text, suggests that it was not as attractive as the one Lot had chosen LOL. But the LORD speaks to him and promises him all that land. What God had for Abram was much greater than what he had given up for Lot. From this we learn not to fight and argue with someone about something. What God has for us is much better and greater. At first we may feel wronged, but the LORD is always close to help us.  Then the Lord tells Abram to get up and walk throughout the land, because the LORD would give it to him. From this we learn that to conquer something we cannot simply stand still. When God makes a promise, He Himself strives to fulfill it, but we must be prepared for opportunities that will arise. It is worth remembering that the Israelites had to fight to conquer the land. They didn't just stand still. There were things they couldn't do much about. The walls of Jericho, the strategy to conquer Ai, and so many other things. But God was able to help them in everything. What we cannot do alone, God is there helping and guiding us. And finally, the altar. Abram walked until he came to a different place. When he got there, he built an altar to the LORD. Have you built an altar to the LORD everywhere you go? Have you been praying, fasting, and singing to the LORD these past few days? Have you put Him first and foremost in everything you do? There was a place where Abram did not build an altar to the LORD. It was in Egypt, and there he had many problems. When we are close to the LORD, worshiping Him, we may even encounter problems, but the LORD delivers us from them. But when we are away from Him, everything gets worse. So don't forget to worship God and thank Him for everything He has done and does for you. Many times on this altar we have to sacrifice things we like, but God is watching and blessing us. Don't give up halfway, even with all the struggle and sadness. The LORD does not leave us sad forever, because He knows that our structure is dust.  "As a father pities his children,So the Lord pities those who fear Him.14 For He knows our frame;He remembers that we are dust." (Psalm 103.13-14) I hope this text can be useful for you.  Thank you all for your attention!

https://www.drawbackchess.com/ This is a really cool kind of chess that YouTube introduced to me.  It gives you a certain drawback - must always have a piece defending your king, can only capture to the left, cannot move certain pieces each move.

First at all please vote in what version you want it KJV NKJV NIV

Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127. 1-2) Hello everyone! Today I wanted to talk about a small reflection on this psalm. This psalm is very clear in its words. If God is not in our plans, projects and even contributing to our protection, we seek these things in vain. For example, imagine a man who built a great defense in his house and posted guards and watchmen to protect it. But if God is not his main defense, if his hope of safety is not in God, then there is no point in having so much security LOL.  This was a very extrapolating example. Let's take another one: Imagine that a student wants to get very good grades, but his main security is not in God, but in his own knowledge. He can do everything well planned and well studied, but something can happen and take away his ability to study well and he won't get good grades. The problem is that we always think that things will go according to OUR plan, but we forget that we don't know what might happen tomorrow. We rely on our own knowledge or strength, and there is always the possibility that something will get out of control, making all the effort put in beforehand in vain.  But when God is in our plans and projects, even if something goes wrong, it works out LOL.  And again, let's take some examples: When King Hezekiah was being attacked by Sennacherib, King of Assyria, he sought God's help because clearly everything was getting out of control.  God intervened and everything worked out. Another example: When the Israelites were in the desert, they began to run out of food. But God intervened and sent Manna. Another example, but this one happened to me: The cats in my house don't know how to leave and return home alone. So we always kept a close eye on everything so that they wouldn't leave the house. But one day one of the cats discovered a way that we would never have imagined. She was away from home for 4 to 5 days, but in the end it worked out, because God intervened.  We have to know that even with all our efforts, something can always get out of our control. That is why we need God and His protection and guidance, because nothing escapes His control. But pay close attention, this is when we take great care with everything. There is no point in spending lots of money on credit cards and then saying that if something goes wrong God will intervene because this is no longer something beyond our control, this is irresponsibility. Unless someone did this without choice... The point is that we must always trust in God first, and in our effort and security second. Because without God, effort and security are useless. We must be responsible and manage our possessions very well and be careful with our actions. If something gets out of our control, let us remember that nothing gets out of God's control.  When we act irresponsibly and turn to God, it is no longer to ask for intervention for something that is out of our control, but a request for help to correct mistakes. And the problem is that when something gets out of our control, even when we act responsibly, when God intervenes it seems like nothing happened. But when we want to fix something because we act irresponsibly, God helps us solve the problem, but we are left with a feeling like "oh man, it could have been different". So to sum up, act responsibly and put your trust solely and exclusively in God. If something gets out of YOUR control, remember that nothing gets out of HIS control. And don't act irresponsibly because you will have to fix a mistake. Thank you all for the attention