English Chess Forum

I claim the prize for spotting the incorrect orientation of the board at about 18.30 (when Mr Jennings was waxing lyrical). I spotted Petrosian earlier as well, I believe. Really enjoyable, I'll watch the second half tomorrow. And the kings and queens the wrong way round, partly as a consequence. I...

I have held my tongue so far, at least until I had watched several episodes, but I now have to say that the show is excruciating. I appreciate that it is not pitched at the competitive player, not even the average competitive player, and that it is seeking to encourage the non-player to take up the ...

Very sad news.The Godfather of English chess. But good that "he went out on a high".

I vaguely recall an article by Stephen Fry, in Kingpin I think, in which he mentions a joke about Steinitz conducting a simul where one of his opponents had a glass of whisky (or some alcoholic beverage) by the side of his board. As Steinitz replied to the player's move he picked up the glass and t...

A colleague of mine recently recalled seeing again an old episode of a naff 1970s sitcom "Man about the House", in which the protagonist (played by Richard O'Sullivan) is playing his flatmate (Paula Wilcox) and losing badly. The other flatmate, a dumb blonde played by Sally Thomsett remarks to him (...

I vaguely recall an article by Stephen Fry, in Kingpin I think, in which he mentions a joke about Steinitz conducting a simul where one of his opponents had a glass of whisky (or some alcoholic beverage) by the side of his board. As Steinitz replied to the player's move he picked up the glass and to...

A death record for an Edward Penn can be found in the GRO (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/) for the year 2016. Death registered in Enfield; year of birth 1932. Cross referencing with the "find a will" site (probatesearch.service.gov.uk) gives a date of death of 25th February, 2016. You can buy ...

I hope it is okay to use the Forum to inquire about the whereabouts of a player. Does anyone know of the current whereabouts of Edward (Eddie) Penn, who used to run Tournament Chess Supplies with Peter Morrish and latterly worked at Chess and Bridge in the 1990s and after?

Following a binge of 1980s episodes of Blockbusters with the one and only Bob Holness I noticed that approaching a "Gold Run" he would inform the contestant that he or she had "sixty seconds or less" to get from one side to the other. I am minded to think he should have announced "sixty seconds or ...

Hi John, There is also the one about someone asking Bernard Crapper why he did not change his name. Bernard replied: 'What too, Steven Crapper?' I've often wondered how many parents now regret calling their daughter 'Alexa'' This reminds me of the story, which may be apocryphal, about Diana Dors wh...

Kevin has commented in the Bognor 1968 thread about Bob Lee-Pentacost who subsequently became Bob Lee-Anderson. Possibly a separate thread is needed for players who change their names and the circumstances if known. I'll make a start about an odd occurrence that happened at the Midlands Championshi...

I don't know if there is a thread relating specifically to reviews of this series but having finally got round to taking out a Netflix subscription and watching the series I am tempted to make some comments, which may go against the grain. I had heard a lot of very good things about this and seen a ...

Thanks Jonathan, I will try that all though my vague recollection is that it was in BCM or Chess.

This may seem a strange request but I have been trying to track down an article from either “BCM” or “Chess”, I think from the early 1980s, but possibly later, and I cannot locate it. It was essentially an article on opening theory but cast in the form of a humorous anecdote. A stranger walks into a...

it would be good to have Foakes back in, if ony because we would then have a team containing "Stokes, Woakes and Foakes". That might confuse the commentators.