English Chess Forum

You'll be pleased to know that the 2020 Brain of The Year is one Arif Anis (pictured here).

I'm sure we're delighted.

https://arifanis.com/ tells you everything you need to know about him.

A body which I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is the "Commonwealth Womens' [sic] Chess Association". See the three images at the end of https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/ext ... facts.html

That was depressing - you wouldn't want any sponsors to read that and get the impression that everyone in chess is awful.

If that mattered nobody would ever sponsor a football competition

Yes, or cricket or snooker or rugby union etc. It's depressing really - but Mr Wells came across as particularly shrill in his comments I felt. I was a bit puzzled by the use of BBC headed paper. Is he suggesting, that someone grabbed a handful from a desk when they were visiting?

Ray, the 2nd Feb. this year.

" I am bringing out an anthology of my columns: Fifty Shades of Ray to be published by Hardinge Simpole."

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/kibitzi ... eply=10174

Good title.

The posting by Olavi on 12 February is very amusing

Geoff Chandler quoting RDK wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 20, 2021 12:09 pm

" I am bringing out an anthology of my columns: Fifty Shades of Ray to be published by Hardinge Simpole."

Presumably there are as many fifty distinct columns given the documented repeated appearance of the same material?

Huge chunks of Ray's article here are copied out word-for-word or virtually word-for-word from his 1978 book. (I don't know if any of it is copied from anywhere else, I kind of reached saturation point on this years ago. I'm wondering whether this might also be a good place to find industrial-scale copying, thoughI don't have Ray's 1986 match book to check against.)

The new Brain Trust accounts are out, only a touch late. (If that link doesn't work, please go here and then click on the link for 02 April 2021). I notice that Eric Schiller is still listed as a Trustee despite having died several months before the start of the relevant accounting period.

Recommended minimum charity trustees is five so, even with Eric Schiller's passing, they're presumably still on the right side of that - although, in this case, three are family members and can't by any stretch be considered independent. That's a situation which I imagine many would consider unsatisfactory but it appears legally compliant - as far as I am aware, even the minimum figure of five is a recommendation only. Those feeling as strongly as Justin seemingly does could, I assume, complain to the Charity Commissioners.

Have you ever tried Roger

Roger Lancaster wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:33 pm

although, in this case, three are family members and can't by any stretch be considered independent.

Not to mention the remarkable crossover between the directors and the trustees

Let's see who's been getting lucky with Brain Trust grants this time around.



Well there are four listed beneficiary organisations, one of which (the World Memory Championships) is listed as a "related party transaction". It's perhaps surprising that Alexander Keene isn't also listed in this connection, being a director of both companies, and also that the Chinese Memory Championships are not similarly marked. Perhaps they are entirely unconnected with Ray et al.

You might also expect the Mother and Child Foundation to be considered a related party transaction, since Ray is a director of that organisation. Or, indeed, "Outside Inside Pathways", if you were aware that its name is actually Outside in Pathways and that both Julian Simpole and, again, Ray, were members of its board.

(I should add that as per usual, one is struck by the shoddiness of the whole affair. You really would expect a company secretary to notice that a trustee was deceased when that person had been a friend for decades. Or that a charity of which he was a director had its name rendered wrong. And so on.)

Roger Lancaster wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:33 pm

Recommended minimum charity trustees is five so, even with Eric Schiller's passing, they're presumably still on the right side of that - although, in this case, three are family members and can't by any stretch be considered independent. That's a situation which I imagine many would consider unsatisfactory but it appears legally compliant - as far as I am aware, even the minimum figure of five is a recommendation only. Those feeling as strongly as Justin seemingly does could, I assume, complain to the Charity Commissioners.

What about Companies House though? There have been Confirmation Statements of no changes, as well as the Accounts, that fail to mention Eric Schiller's death, and he's listed as a current director as a result