Log24

* Cat tale, not cocktail

^† Beth Harmon of Queen's Gambit . . .

"She was on her own. She would have to bridge the gap
herself that separated American chess from Russian.
    At Toby’s the headwaiter knew her and put her at
a good table near the front. She ordered asperges vinaigrette
for an appetizer and told the waiter she would have that
before ordering a main course. 'Would you care for a cocktail?'
he asked pleasantly."

Brian Harley in Mate in Two Moves:

“It is quite true that variation play is, in ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred, the soul of a problem, or
(to put it more materially) the main course of
the solver’s banquet, but the Key is the cocktail 
that begins the proceedings, and if it fails in piquancy
the following dinner is not so satisfactory as it should be.”

(London, Bell & Sons.  First edition, 1931.)

Latest revision . . .

^{m759,   June 28, 2026 @ 00:21:16}