English Chess Forum

Not everyone is too bothered about keeping their scoresheet right? Myself included, I know many who don't bother too much with them. Very true. Some years ago Bedford, very much the underdogs, won the National Club Championship. A key game was David Ledger’s win against (I think it was) Jonathan Le...

Jon Mahony wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 25, 2025 9:21 pm

Much coveted trophy - by who exactly?

Someone who is a fan of Pointless?

James Plaskett wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 24, 2025 9:40 pm

…he SLAUGHTERED me.
In under twenty-five moves.
OOPS!

That ought, I suppose, to make me feel a bit better about having been dismantled comprehensively yesterday evening by a 1414-rated junior…

For what it's worth, the comment of Jonathan Calder on the Liberal England blog: If Chess Masters: The Endgame was designed to encourage people to play the game, then it worked with me. I watched two minutes of it before going online and playing chess myself. Which (Calder is a master of tongue in c...

Rd2 looks utterly vile; surely no serious player would contemplate that sort of grovel. I agree with you that Rd2 is a horrible move, and I can quite understand that someone whose last published rating was 2193 would say "Surely no serious player would contemplate..." But, as I noted, it's the one ...

It's possible to reconstruct the game between Ravi and Kai by freeze-framing the shots when David Howell is being allowed to say something. The moves were: [Event "Chess Event in a Draughty Hall in Cardiff"] [Date "2025.03.10"] [White "Ravi"] [Black "Kai"] [Result "0-1"] [PlyCount "46"] 1. e4 e5 2. ...

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 11, 2025 10:55 am

The regular WCM title would require a 2000 rating.

Yes, but hers is a direct title, obtained by performance in a specified event, and in that situation a WCM title only requires 1800

LawrenceCooper wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 11, 2025 10:22 am

Lula does have a title though, achieved whilst playing board one in the Olympiad.

I believe it’s a conditional title; to actually be awarded it she has to attain a rating of 1800 against her current 1650

To use a line that was in vogue fifteen years ago, “I agree with Nick”. I also agree with Lucy Mangan in the Guardian who tartly concluded that the programme verged on the unwatchable. Or as another online reviewer on the Den of Geek site angrily spits: “a half-hour reality talent show in which play...

Yes, even though most who play chess are rubbish at it. Though that is arguably part of its wonderfulness. Thank you for that. After my most recent outing in the Norfolk League, I require a lot of persuasion that (a) there is anything remotely wonderful about chess (b) playing chess is in any way p...

Another thing I do really like about chess is how it transcends the language barrier, Many years ago, Phil Roe of Bedford told with relish the story of his young daughter reading a chess book, presumably printed in figurine notation (and following the variations in her head). A suitably impressed n...

For the record, could we perhaps have the quotations corrected in Neil's message? At it stands, it looks as if I used the words " ... an important and valuable discovery by Edward Winter ..." and Leonard Barden wrote the main body of the message, which was quoted by Neil Hickman. But that is not wh...

an important and valuable discovery by Edward Winter. It's certainly interesting to know that Wallace won a game from Rubinstein in a simul; but that's perfectly consistent with him not being a strong player overall. Peter Montgomery of Luton wouldn't claim to be a strong player, but he famously do...

I admit to being biased, because LeMoir is a friend. But How to Become a Deadly Chess Tactician, Essential Chess Sacrifices and How to be Lucky at Chess will take you an awfully long way. LeMoir covers much of the ground Vukovic seeks to cover in The Chess Sacrifice and The Art of Attack , but for m...

MJMcCready wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 07, 2025 10:55 am

The aforementioned brummie

Be gentle with him.
It can’t be easy, being a Birmingham City supporter