Termitewatch (17) - April fools

The Chessbase April Fool story is an annual tradition, almost as old as Methuselah, but that still didn't stop the termites being taken in again. Over at the Egregious Chess Forum, several of their number engaged in a serious debate, about CB's "revelation" that a cluster of super-computers had "solved" the King's Gambit. It seems that after 2...exf4, all White third moves lose, except - wait for it...3.Be2!! The Lesser Bishop's Gambit suffices for a draw, according to CB's "interview" with Rybka programmer, Vasik Rajlich.

The main reason the termites were fooled is apparently that the CB piece was dated 2nd April. But, of course, the earth's orbit means that at the moment it becomes 2nd April in some parts of the world, it is still 1st April in others - a typical Friedel trick, of course.

"You termites think you're the centre of the universe, don't you?" (photo: en-wikipedia.org)

Oh well. It is only 500 or so years since Copernicus showed that the earth orbits the sun, with all that entails. I suppose one should not expect the termite world to have got its collective head around such advanced concepts just yet...