Chessmaster is a series of chess-playing computer games. It is made by Ubisoft. It is the best-selling chess franchise in history, with more than five million games sold . The first version of the game, "Chessmaster 2000", was released in 1986. This first version and the next one, "Chessmaster 2100", were produced by the now-defunct Software Toolworks company.
The "Chessmaster" chess engine is called "The King". It is written by Johan de Koning of the Netherlands. It was introduced in "Chessmaster 4000". Earlier releases had a chess engine written by David Kittinger. One version of the game, "Chessmaster 9000", defeated Larry Christiansen, a well-known American chess grandmaster and former multiple U.S. champion.
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Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi (September 26, 1181 – October 3, 1226) is a Christian Saint. He is the founder of the Franciscan Order and patron saint of animals, the environment, merchants, Italy and Catholic Action. He was born in Assisi, Italy where a large basilica was built in his honor.
On his feast day, October 4, many churches have a ceremony for people to bring their pets and working animals to church.
Saint Francis was born to Pietro Bernardone, a wealthy cloth merchant, and his wife Pica. He was originally named Giovanni Francesco Bernardone. In his youth, he was first interested by French troubadours, known as wanderers who improvised songs on a stringed instrument. He later planned a career in military. When he was serving in the war between Assisi and Perugia in 1202, at the battle of Ponte Saint Giovanni, he was captured and imprisoned for a year.
When Francis returned to Assisi he had a religious conversion experience, including a reported message from Christ calling him to leave this worldly life. He began taking his Christianity faith seriously. He acted towards people as if the Gospels were his law, taking Jesus Christ as a literal example for loving one another. He dressed in rough clothes, ask and begged for his sustenance, and preached purity and peace. His family disapproved, and his father disinherited him, so Francis renounced his wealth and inheritance. After that Francis started visiting hospitals and caring for the sick including of leprosy.
In 1209 Francis started to attract followers, and with a blessing from the pope, he founded the Franciscans based on a simple statement by Jesus: “Leave all and follow me”. In 1219, he went to Egypt to convert the Sultan so the conflict of the Crusades could end.
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Printing
Printing is putting words and images on paper by mechanical means. Books and newspapers are made by printing. Usually, the images are formed by ink. The ink is put on paper in machines called printing presses.
Printing is one of the technologies which has changed the world. It is an efficient way to multiply writing, so that copies may be made available to all people. Printing is therefore the continuation of writing by mechanical means.
Writing originated after people had settled in permanent dwellings. It dates from 3,300 , which is over 5000 years ago. A variety of writing systems were invented, long before paper was invented. Clay, papyrus, wood, slate and parchment (prepared animal skins) have all been used. The invention of paper by the Chinese was a step forward.
The earliest printing known was in 8th century China and Korea. Whole pages carved on flat wooden blocks were used. Covered with a carbon-based ink, they were pressed onto sheets of paper.
The second stage was to use separate characters by wood carving or casting. This was done in 11th century China and Korea. It failed to be really successful, because of the structure of the Chinese written language, shared at the time by Korea, which had thousands of characters. So the method was not much better than copying by scribes.
Printing was reinvented in 15th century Europe. Development was slow until Johannes Gutenberg made several improvements. In the next century print became the main means of communication between people who needed to keep precise records. With an alphabetic system of writing, print was much more economical than copying, and permitted many times as many copies to be available. This revolution in information technology helped all aspects of life in Europe, at a time when Europe was becoming the dominant region of the world.
Along with a technology for printing words, there were various means for printing graphics. Carving on blocks of wood and engraving on copper were used up until about 1800. After that, a great many inventions arrived, including lithography and ways to print photographs.
Machines to speed printing, cheaper paper, automatic stitching and binding all arrived in the 19th century during the industrial revolution. What had once been done by a few men by hand was now done by limited companies on huge machines. The result was much lower prices, and a much wider readership.
The consequences of print have been considerable. It led to the spread of knowledge, and had many side-effects. Mainly, it took control out of a small class of clerks (scribes and monks) and put it in the hands of a newly educated readership. Many of the first books were in Latin; some in Greek. Later, almost all books were printed in the vernacular: the language ordinary people spoke. The Bible was one of the first books printed, and one of the first to be translated into the vernacular, against strong opposition from the church. Science was given a great boost by printing, and scientific ideas are still usually first published in print. Several scholars have thought that print even changed the way people thought.
Adelaide Cup
The Adelaide Cup is a horserace, held in Adelaide, South Australia. It has been held at the Morphettville Racecourse since 2001.
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American movie director. His movies include "", "Blue Velvet", "" and "". He was also responsible for a television series called "Twin Peaks", his overall most famous work. "Eraserhead", his first movie, is still his most famous theatrical movie. It was recently deemed socially important by the United States Library of Congress. He has done much work with , who has appeared been in all but two of his movies. He has said that all his movies will be done using from now on.
He is also famous for his early short movies. "" and "" are two of his best known. "The Alphabet" is about fear of education. "The Grandmother" is about a lonely boy who grows a grandmother like a plant from a seed.
Over his career, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director and a nomination for best screenplay. Lynch has twice won France's , as well as the at the Cannes Film Festival. He also won a award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival.
Academy Awards:
BAFTA Awards:
Cannes Film Festival:
Emmy Awards:
Golden Globes:
Saturn Awards:
Venice Film Festival:
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side Of The Moon is an album by the band Pink Floyd. The album has sold over 45 million copies. It is believed to be the second best-selling album ever after "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. It is widely considered one of the greatest albums of all time.
It was released in 1973 and is their ninth album. It is one of the most famous albums of all time, frequently placing in the top five whenever a rock music authority makes a list of the greatest albums of all time.
Its cover, which features a ray of white light going through a prism, is also one of the most famous album covers of all time. Analysts say that statistically, "Dark Side Of The Moon" is always playing somewhere on planet Earth. It is one of the most famous concept albums (albums where all the songs are about a central theme. Some concept albums tell a specific story), and used to be the best-selling album of all time. There is an album-pressing plant in Germany that does nothing but create copies of "Dark Side Of The Moon".