English Chess Forum

If costs need to be cut, something like the 4NCL is typically the first to go. Notwithstanding the expense, this year the 4NCL came close to being over subscribed with new teams. Despite playing in nearly every previous English Senior Championship and for that matter the English Championship itself...

Kevin Thurlow wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 05, 2026 6:21 pm

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I have asked, arbiter confirms result was wrongly reported/recorded, and once the pairing is published, you cannot change it.

Is that because of FIDE rules or because the software won't allow it?

So is FIDE actually reproducing the pairings to ensure that tournaments haven't been manipulated? I thought it was known that with access to chess-results any arbiter can reproduce the pairings it had presented. In cases of controversy this is sometimes done. For example in Gibraltar when Hou Yifan...

The RBT system addresses this problem by seeking pairings that maximize rating information. Players are paired against opponents whose ratings are close enough for the result to be statistically meaningful. Consequently, tournament performance becomes a more accurate measure of playing strength. Ho...

Comments from Leonard in today's column. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/nov/06/chess-magnus-carlsen-returns-for-budapest-battle-before-sindarov-targets-classical-crown Entries to the English Championship were disappointing, in particular from older players and women, suggesting that high ent...

As you say, the numbers aren't so big. I think you can easily get through a 9-round 3+2 Blitz in less than 2 hours. If you want rapidplay instead, five rounds of 2+10 in an evening is also feasible. I know it's within the rules, but 2+10 seems too fast to me to count as rapidplay alongside somethin...

I believe it to be the case that the Dutch Swiss system doesn't use relative ratings directly. Instead the pairings are done using an initial ranking, usually determined by a rating list. The late Stewart Reuben suggested that if you wanted a random system for pairings, you assigned the initial rank...

Staying at the Peninsula, there is a choice of dinner there or the pub opposite, so many people have opted to stay in St Peter Port, which has a great choice of places to eat, but an awkward commute to the venue. Wasn't it more the prices at the Peninsula that put people off staying there? Were the...

There is very little time between rounds, and advance pairings help provide a smooth and efficient tournament experience. Personally I consider the type of tournament where you play your next opponent before other games have finished to be somewhat chaotic, not least with noise levels rising before...

Bogolyubov's title was delayed a year due to political reasons. Not the only one. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedir_Bohatyrchuk In 1954, FIDE granted Bohatyrchuk the title of International Master. His earlier achievements, particularly in USSR Championships, may have been sufficient for the ...

Not sure about Oliver Penrose (now 97). Was Oliver Penrose really a "proficient amateur player"? You can find him on britbase in the 1950s beating Leonard Barden in a BUCA event. https://www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn/195054universityannual-viewer.html Also on top board in the 1950 Varsity match aga...

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 31, 2026 7:03 pm

Anyone spot any good games from the live boards?

I wouldn't call it a good game, but I did see one game in the Over 65 where a player resigned thinking he had blundered. There was however a most satisfactory move available. It's possible that the DGT boards misreported the sequence of moves.

Serious question. I turn 50 next year (*sigh*) and just looked at the grades of those who played in this event this year. Would I have been eligible to play, or is it only from January 2027 I would be eligible You become eligible on January 1st in the year in which you attain the age of 50 or 65. A...

I didn't enter this year mainly because of point 2, don't mind the venue for 4NCL because that is just 1 or 2 nights but not for a whole week Agreed that the Peterborough hotel is a bit isolated. Other factors that may have been relevant to some players. Playing on the first Monday morning, meaning...

Richard Bates wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 30, 2026 7:32 pm

A comment on Leonard’s column today…

Guardian 30th Oct 26 wrote:Hastings had its giantkilling moment in 1970, when the little-known student Martyn Corden shocked the former world champion Vasily Smyslov.

Little known today perhaps but in that era for a couple of years promoted as the next big thing in British chess.