English Chess Forum

The October BCM carries a gushing review by David W Taylor of Ray's latest publication. In an ironic tribute to the master, the review has appeared in identical form several times previously. Those with a strong stomach can read it for free here

https://chessimprover.com/fifty-shades-of-ray/

and here

https://thegibraltarmagazine.com/fifty-shades-of-ray/

There may be others.

More information about the reviewer can be found here

https://www.thegiftedacademy.com/board

As you will see, he is in some - ahem - 'interesting' company.

Gerard Killoran wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 1:25 pm

In an ironic tribute to the master, the review has appeared in identical form several times previously.

Superb.

The Amazon reviews were quite revealing as well! (Click on the link and scroll to the bottom)

Fans of Impala Press will no doubt remember Hugh Davies who gave reviews on amazon - nearly universally 5 star - to well over 100 of their publications.


And then there was the case of A. Customer who seemed very keen on Keene.


Both can be found in this post from 2012
https://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot. ... .html#more


but neither seem to have got around to reviewing 50SOR yet. I do hope that nothing untoward has happened to them and that they are still with us.

Btw, the blog post also mentions a Penny Smith who wrote 10 amazon reviews in September 2006 - all 5 stars; all Harding Simpole - and then disappeared. Not trace of her on amazon any longer. Those who shine twice as bright shine half as long, and all that.

I'm pleased to announce the BCN will not be reviewing 50SoR and we have not even requested a copy from the publisher.

Should it turn up uninvited I have asked Oskar Werner to (return from the grave and) reprise his role as Guy Montag and apply himself to all my chess publications from

Hardinge Simpole, Ishi Press, Eric Schiller and 50SoR

at a special ceremony at Chez mois on November 5th.

No-one has volunteered to memorise these books in the style of Ray Bradbury's famous novel.

What is "Ishi Press"?

Matt Mackenzie wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 3:19 pm

What is "Ishi Press"?

Ishi Press is an organisation run by an American named Sam Sloan who has a colourful past and has been writing about it on the internet since the 1990s.

Its business model is to take out of print books, mostly chess ones, digitally scan and reissue them under its name. To what extent they square the reissue with the original copyright holders isn't known.

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 3:54 pm

To what extent they square the reissue with the original copyright holders isn't known.

A most diplomatic answer Roger!

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 3:54 pm

Matt Mackenzie wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 3:19 pm

What is "Ishi Press"?

Ishi Press is an organisation run by an American named Sam Sloan who has a colourful past and has been writing about it on the internet since the 1990s.

Its business model is to take out of print books, mostly chess ones, digitally scan and reissue them under its name. To what extent they square the reissue with the original copyright holders isn't known.

Ah yes, that total shyster.

Gerard Killoran wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 1:25 pm

More information about the reviewer can be found here

https://www.thegiftedacademy.com/board

As you will see, he is in some - ahem - 'interesting' company.

The Gifted Academy

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 3:54 pm

Ishi Press is an organisation run by an American named Sam Sloan who has a colourful past and has been writing about it on the internet since the 1990s.

Its business model is to take out of print books, mostly chess ones, digitally scan and reissue them under its name. To what extent they square the reissue with the original copyright holders isn't known.

Sam Sloan

Chris Rice wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 1:43 pm

The Amazon reviews were quite revealing as well! (Click on the link and scroll to the bottom)

Ha ha fantastic

I see that a highly positive review (five stars) has been posted on UK Amazon by J. Eales, but without mentioning that she worked on the book, is thanked in the introduction and is Keene's sister

Incidentally Eales and Taylor can be found together here along with various other familiar names (Crawford, Gelb, Kasperski, Khan).

Ah, Sam Sloan, the Norman Tweed Whittaker de nos jours. Sloan was the subject of an article not long ago (June, 2020 )here, https://newrepublic.com/article/158088/ ... washington . The final paragraphs are worth getting to,

The last time I saw Sloan, at the National Archives, he announced that a day or two earlier, he had driven from New York to New Hampshire to pay the $1,000 required to enter the Democratic primary. He is once again running for president of the United States. He has imminent plans to reprint Catch-22 and Chess: A History. Finally, he received word that the highest court in South Carolina had refused to hear the case of a long-running feud in Sloan’s immediate family. Sloan had asserted that his brother was not his brother and that his mother had been kidnapped and held against her will for 13 years.

His last recourse is the Supreme Court. He intends to appeal.

Incidentally the chess correspondent of The Gibraltar Magazine is of course who you think it is. Aficionados who happen to have the BCM for May 2021 may like to compare the notes to Botvinnik-Keres (pp. 304-5) to those in the March number of the other magazine, pages 96-7, and see if they can spot any differences.

JustinHorton wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 26, 2021 7:07 pm

Incidentally the chess correspondent of The Gibraltar Magazine is of course who you think it is. Aficionados who happen to have the BCM for May 2021 may like to compare the notes to Botvinnik-Keres (pp. 304-5) to those in the March number of the other magazine, pages 96-7, and see if they can spot any differences.

I like the picture of Brian Blessed on the front cover.
He looks well. I can't believe he is 85 years old.
I thought he was great as guest host on the BBC1 series of Have I Got News For You. Especially the one when the Conservative MP Alan Duncan was one of the panellists.
There is a YouTube video clip titled Brian Blessed on Gordon, Have I Got News For You BBC 5th May 2008.

It should also be noted that GM Jan Timman (in issue 2021/5) of New In Chess devoted his column to a glowing recommendation of Fifty Shades.
I was quite shocked to see that and decided not to read the article.

I have not read the book in question and don't intend to - but then if the reviews and comments in this thread are accurate, I have probably read most of it elsewhere in the past already.