Alekhine's Defence

“Alekhine’s Defence”
11 ¾” x 16 ½”
RESERVED

This is the last piece from my Shah Mat series. Though I would have wanted it to end with The King’s Gambit, this slippery knight had eluded me twice and is now hopping in all it’s excitement to spoil the presentation. Thanks to Yoli for reminding me and this week’s IF prompt, Alekhine is back.

You need not run after this knight. Just give him a minute and he’ll pass by you again, fluctuating while he licks his lollipop. You don’t see his lollipop? Well, I’ll let you wallow on the image then coz I don’t want to bore you with the hidden meaning anyway. I want to sound cool so yes, my illustrations are my way of venting out my frustrations with the economic downturn this 3rd world country has taken a decade ago.

I also wanted to summon the knights of the round table and make a series out of the bunch, Red Threading: Parade of the Trojan Whores. But I’m saving it for a grander occasion, say an art exhibit if I do get lucky with my art and if… I’m still alive after a year.hahaha By the way, I have taken a bolder step today when I submitted my latest painting to this year’s MADE competition. I was surprised that they still remembered Red Threading when they commented on the additional color in my palette. I hope I make it to the semifinals again so my message gets to a broader audience. If I do, I’ll post the pictures sooner. So please include me in your prayers and early Christmas wish lists.;)

You can see the other knight here. I hope to update them with better spot details soon.

The King's Gambit

"The King's Gambit"
11 3/4" x 16 1/2"

He's been at the top of this blog for almost a year now, casting a suspicious gaze at the title. I don't know if anyone has already guessed who he is but from his eyes, one can only surmise that he doesn't trust the author.

He is one of the most important pieces in chess, though it doesn't necessarily mean that he is the most powerful. I mean all the other pieces protect him as far as sacrificing themselves while he inches his way to the corners of the board. He's so helpless that he needs to hide under the skirt of his pawns and usually flanked by his pet rooks. I don't know why they made the King old in this game. If it's wisdom, I'm really not buying it.:P

So here are some spot details of the king. And if you're wondering who is he looking at, it's the fianchettoing bishop who blocks his view of the beautiful queen. If I have the time, I might redraw the queen and make a triptych of the love triangle.

Queen's Gambit Accepted

Being the supportive boss and mentor that she was, MJ perused each drawing for at least 5 minutes. Carefully flipping from one page to the other, I could tell that she was enjoying every moment of it. She was smiling and asked me a lot of questions.

She reminded me of my sister when we were still small. As a toddler, she liked lying next to me on the cold floor as I drew her favorite bedtime story character. She would excitedly point with her tiny finger and say, "da tittle red hen". We've grown up now but she is still small.

"Why are all your drawings so serious?", MJ asked still looking at D7 and Royal Fork. "Because they're chess pieces who gets killed in the game", I replied. She closed my portfolio, pressed her palms gently above it and smiled at me, "I want you to draw a happy one."

"Queen's Gambit Accepted"
11 ¾ “ x 16 ½“

Inspired by the very poised MJ.

PS: I am conducting a survey on browser usage. Please, please take the time to answer the poll on my sidebar, just below the Followers list. You can also follow my latest news and activities in my Facebook account. Thank you very much!:)

Fianchetto

This is one strategy in chess I got from my father when using the Indian Defense. It is a pattern of development wherein the bishop delays the occupation of the central posts thus limiting the opponent's movement. In chess, it's all about controlling the center. And since it will be controlling a significant number of key posts, it is subject to many attacks.

I used to think that this is a weak move since most of the time it's path is blocked by it's knight in shining armor and is unable to maneuver the whole board, which in the first place is the objective of it's development. That always made me feel like I have one piece LESS than my dad.



But one false move from this mighty opponent could sometimes cost him his rook which gives me material gain if not the very elusive victory.

An Indian's Mitre

Intricate, complex, bizarre and unique are the words most often used to describe my works. Unlike what I have been used to painting, the artworks you see here are products of my desire to explore my creativity. If truth be told, I really don't understand the word and until now I can still hear my former boss saying "...you mean you're not creative? HAHAHAHAHAHA!". Laugh all you want MJ.:P

So here's another piece from the Shah Matt series. The black bishop as a tribute to the true masters of the game. I'm not quite fond of this artwork, my creative juice dried up after Henry's O-O-O and I just had to get back to this when all the 11 pieces were finished.

"An Indian's Mitre"
11 ¾ “ x 16 ½“

I just hate it when my dad opens with the Indian Defense! I'll tell you why in the white bishop's post. So for first timers, you can subscribe to this blog via RSS. Here are the details, enjoy the intricacy!

Royal Fork

As part of revealing the entire chess series here in my blog, I will be updating some entries with images and spot details. And as some of you may have already noticed, I am also linking this to Illustration Friday and deviantArt. For IF's topic this week: Celebrate, I will be talking about a special move in chess, the Fork.

"Royal Fork"
11 ¾ “ x 16 ½“
SOLD

Against my dad, a stalemate is the the closest I could get to winning. And like a discovered check or royal fork on his King and Queen with my Knight, another reason for my premature celebratory dance is the simple Fork with my trustworthy pawns. So before I totally bore you with incomprehensible chess jargon, the Fork is simply a move that attacks two or more of the opponent's pieces that often results to material gain. My dad usually suffers from this very humiliating situation on a Queen's Gambit opening. Dad gets Pwned!Hahaha

But he always took his move back saying it was all a ploy and that he wanted to see if I'd been paying attention. Björnik gets owned!:(



The following is the original blog entry written May 2, 2008:

It must had been the luckiest day in my life. Last saturday, one of the 6 finished artworks was sold to a very good friend who used to be my boss and who I have great respect for. It was just a simple show and tell and I didn't expect her to be interested. Told her about my plans of holding an exhibit and that I just need enough money for the preparation. I also learned from our brief conversation that she's also an artist and a feminist. And then she also commissioned me to do another artwork that will complement this in her living room.

I couldn't thank you more girl gf, DD & Ms. Bing! Ingat kayo jan sa Bahrain:* I just hope that some of my beautiful friends in Japan could read this.:P

Sa Pagputi ng Uwak

It is a Filipino idiomatic expression translated literally as "when the crow turns white" and used to connote an impossibility. I too, may have waited in vain for a rook to grow white feathers had Rowper not suggested a feature on Afrodite. I waited 6years for someone to suggest a DD on me but dA is such a big community that narrows down a lurker's chance of discovery. But it seems that what was written on my rook's bow came to a reality. Puti na ako (I'm already white)! It is TIME!

"Castles in the Air"
11 ¾ “ x 16 ½“
SOLD

So here's to all my friends and fellow deviants who took the time to visit this blog and accumulated an impossible feat of 1000+ visits in a day. Thank you!

PS: Good thing there is always a white rook in the language game of chess.;)