In chess, a swindle is a ruse by which a player in a losing position tricks his opponent, and thereby achieves a win or draw instead of the expected loss. It may also refer more generally to obtaining a win or draw from a clearly losing position.I. A. Horowitz and Fred Reinfeld distinguish among "traps", "pitfalls", and "swindles". In their terminology, a "trap" refers to a situation where a player goes wrong through his own efforts. In a "pitfall", the beneficiary of the pitfall plays an active role, creating a situation where a plausible move by the opponent will turn out badly. A "swindle" is a pitfall adopted by a player who has a clearly lost game. Horowitz and Reinfeld observe that swindles, "though ignored in virtually all chess books", "play an enormously important role in over-the-board chess, and decide the fate of countless games".
Although "swindling" in general usage is synonymous with cheating or fraud, in chess the term does not imply that the swindler has done anything unethical or unsportsmanlike. There is nonetheless a faint stigma attached to swindles, since players feel that one who has outplayed one's opponent for almost the entire game "is 'morally' entitled to victory" and a swindle is thus regarded as "rob[bing] the opponent of a well-earned victory". However, the best swindles can be quite artistic, and some are widely known.
Swindle is a 2008 book by Gordon Korman.
The book is about a 6th grader named Griffin Bing who has found the answer to his family's financial problems when he discovers an extremely rare Babe Ruth baseball card in an old Rockford house with his best friend Ben. However, when he tries to sell it to a local dealer named S. Wendell Palomino, (nicknamed Swindle, hence the title) he is told it is a replica and is tricked out of it. He and Ben try to go steal it back from Swindle's shop, only to find that it's gone, and thiey have to break into Swindle's house. Now, in order to get the card back, Griffin must gather a team of local students with unique skills to break into Palomino's heavily guarded home to retrieve the card before the big auction where Swindle plans to sell the card. The team consists of 7 people (including Ben and Griffin): Savannah the Dog whisperer, to get past Swindle's crazy big Doberman/Guard Dog Luthor; Logan the actor, to distract Swindle's eagle eyed neighbor who never goes inside; Antonia "Pitch" Benson the "born to climb" girl, to scale the skylight in Swindle's house; Darren Vader who the others had no choice but to add to the team, for he threatened to rat them out (But Darren proved to be useful pulling people up the skylight); Melissa the socially impaired computer geek, who was used to break into Swindle's UltraTech alarm system. The tension is piled with an unexpected visit from the auctioneer, yet another even more menacing guard dog, and a betrayal from the person who begged to be in the group. The book was followed by multiple sequels, titled Zoobreak, Framed!, Showoff, Hideout , Jackpot and "Unleashed".wassup
Swindle was a bi-monthly arts and culture publication founded in 2004 by artist Shepard Fairey. The magazine has not been published since 2009 and is, in effect, folded.
The magazine had a strong focus on street art and has featured Banksy, Invader, Faile, and Miss Van on its cover. Swindle has featured interviews with celebrities such as Billy Idol, Debbie Harry, and Grandmaster Flash. In 2006 and 2007, Swindle compiled annual Icons issues that featured 50 leading art and culture figures.
Shepard Fairey's Studio Number-One produced the magazine until early 2009. Art direction for the magazine was done by Smyrski Creative. In addition to its regular staff, Swindle has contributors from the music, fashion, and creative industries, including Fairey, Banksy, Henry Rollins, Caroline Ryder, Clint Catalyst, Shawna Kenney, and Damien Hirst.
In 2006, Advertising Age picked Swindle's issue 8 as one of the "10 Magazine Covers We Loved." The L.A. Weekly listed Swindle's creators among the "L.A. People of 2006."
Lucas is the Latin form of the Greek name Loukas (Λουκᾶς), meaning "(one) from Lucania" (an ancient region of southern Italy) or the name is derived from the Latin word "lux" (light). It may also from the Latin word lucus meaning "sacred wood" (a cognate of lucere), or from another Greek word λύκος, lykos meaning "wolf". It is a common name in many modern languages.
Lucas may refer to several things.
Forty Thieves is a patience card game. It is quite difficult to win, and relies mostly on luck. It is also known as Napoleon at Saint Helena, Roosevelt at San Juan, Big Forty and Le Cadran.
Forty Thieves forms the basis for several variant games, most of which have been made easier to win. Common variations are dealing the aces to the foundations at the start of the game, having the tableaus build down by alternating colour rather than by suit, and allowing cards built down on top of a tableau to be moved together. Other variations include allowing use of any card from the waste, dealing some of the tableau cards face down, and changing the number of tableau piles and/or the number of cards in each tableau. The number of possible permutations is vast, and solitaire suites often include several flavours. Here are some of these variants:
Lucas as a surname may refer to: