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Some selfmates I've made

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linsley6

Introuble2 I've been in prison for more than fifty years and admittedly have my hands full just trying to use a cellphone.. While trying to contact the chess world my hunt and peck tactics led to you... and maybe no one else. In 1969, while dwelling in a south block dungeon in San Quentin, I chanced upon the concept of forcing the opponent to win. To win a game of chess your task is to gain absolute control of the opposing King..... to force the opponent to win you must gain absolute control of every piece on the board. From that hole in the ground I emerged with a simple self mating concoction which to this day has won hundreds of wagers and although it was the first of dozens of gambling propositions I've conjured up over the decades it has proven to be the most "irresistible" weapon in the arsenal. I had a chance to show this selfmate to GM Jay Whitehead after his son had just beaten me in a 24board simultaneous exhibition in Quentin. After seeing it executed, the GM's first response was to his son. He said, "That just goes to show you, you never know when you're going to learn something new." Considering Mr. Whitehead's prominence in the chess world, that remark inspired me to spend the next five decades exploring and creating chess hustles, most of which incorporate selfmate.