English Chess Forum

Thanks again, Mr Barden! Very much appreciate your help.

You may be able to see a snippet of the game in this link:-

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2lK ... gs&f=false

Many thanks for that swift reply, Mr Barden. I don't have the book eiher but that does sound like the game in question. I'll pass it on to the CG people.

Saw your edit - many thanks once again.

There's a query on CG about the source of this game, which appears in R.N.Cole's book "Epic Battles of the Chessboard" As it clearly wasn't played in the main tournament, I assume it was played in a subsidiary and/or swiss at Hasting that year. Can anybody confirm that, or offer any other informatio...

Thanks for the replies so far. My guess is the elder Prince Urusov (hence Ursus and Major) but the guy who's asking on CG.com objects to that because of "student" and Urusov would have been in his 60s. However I think "student" = "young person" is a 20th C idiom and not what the BCM means. Anyway I'...

BCM around early 1892 introduced a "well known Russian student and player" as author of a new series of articles... <Letters from Russia>.

This student/player went by the pseudonym Ursus Major.

Does anybody know who exactly Ursus Major was?

TIA for any help.

Many thanks, John, Roger, and John. One wonders how many fine games get left out of Informator!

John McKenna wrote:
Trivia question for you (or any kibitzers) -

Who won a brilliancy prize playing against William Lombardy in 1974?

Was it Ivkov at Amsterdam? That's the only game in Informator which seems to fit.

If not I'd love to know who it was!

Mr Barden, your council should certainly be able to accomodate you. If you have a local CAB approach them, they are (in my experience) tremendously helpful in such matters.

Geoff Chandler drew my attention to this painting:-

http://serkanergun.org/gallery/world-chess-champions/

Geoff wanted to know why Kramnik is blindfolded (I assume it's just a reference to Melody Amber myself.)

I think the people standing behind Capa are meant to be Morphy and Anderssen.

Anand was a 17-yo IM when he first played top board for India in an Olympiad (Dubai 1986). ISTR he had scored his first-ever win against a GM (Jon Mestel!) around the same time. Anybody might think that 20 years of playing Olympiads is enough, give the younger guys a chance, etc Larsen was another t...

ooo, so it is possible for white to win. I bet miles was annoyed at losing to a punk like that. Actually Miles had a very poor record against Hort up till 1983 when they drew an exhibition match 5-5. And Hort had played 2.c3 several times before with good results, so Miles would not have been surpr...

Roger de Coverly wrote: I wouldn't associate any particular name with it

I'd just call it a Sicilian Alapin (ie 2.c3) myself; the same position can be reached by 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Qxd4 so one could call it Morra Gambit declined, I suppose!

Must admit I would love to see Anatoly Karpov making a comeback and crushing Carlsen.... If that is serious, I'd love to see a Kasparov-Carlsen match! 8) I honestly think Kasparov would struggle against Carlsen in much the same way as Anand has done, and Karpov - or rather the Karpov of the 90s - w...

I haven't really followed top flight chess for the last ten years (or more!) but are Leko and Radjabov busted flushes as far as the title is concerned?

Must admit I would love to see Anatoly Karpov making a comeback and crushing Carlsen....