Media comments on chess

Discuss anything you like about chess related matters in this forum.

Mike Gunn
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Mike Gunn » Sat May 08, 2021 1:17 pm

The political situation in Scotland on Friday's Newsnight (BBC2) was described as "a constitutional game of chess".

Nick Grey
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Nick Grey » Sat May 08, 2021 6:30 pm

Talk Sport. It's a chess match. Did you really watch The Queen's Gambit? I did. It was exceptional.

Man City 0-0 Chelsea. NOW 1-0. And a penalty miss. So much cheating IMO...

Nick Grey
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Nick Grey » Sat May 08, 2021 7:06 pm

Kante with a great run, again. His vision is outstanding. Always feels like he's looking 10 moves ahead on the chess board....BBC sport....

Stewart Reuben
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Stewart Reuben » Sun May 09, 2021 7:30 am

Last night I was watching TV and came on a beer TV ad where two people were playing chess. Obviously this is to indicate they are intelligent. We may have had that pointed out before. Then I remembered an old story.
I was hired to provide the chess expertise for an ad where two people are smoking and playing blitz chess. The ad was to be shown in Germany, but shot in London because they had a special deep focus lens. I ensured the players played the Berlin Defence, made certain the board was round the right way and that they moved the pieces and pushed the clock correctly.
I never saw the completed ad. I mentioned this to Friedrich Friedel, who started chessbase. He looked at me and said, 'Oh, a friend said he had seen an ad in a cinema and, surprisingly, everything was correct'.
Last edited by Stewart Reuben on Sun May 09, 2021 12:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

David Gilbert
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by David Gilbert » Sun May 09, 2021 10:26 am

The story of Tani the American "Chess Master". From 105 to 2223 in three-and-a-half years! https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/opin ... e=Homepage

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon May 10, 2021 10:05 am

With Rachel Reeves promoted to Shadow Chancellor, are there any recent mentions of her previous life as a junior chess champion?

Stewart Reuben
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Stewart Reuben » Mon May 10, 2021 10:11 am

Roger, one occasionally sees mentions of it. But it is an old story.

Matthew Turner
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Matthew Turner » Mon May 10, 2021 10:40 am

She made it to the front cover of chess magazine. I assume her promotion is an attempt by Keir Starmer to slow down team Burnham
Last edited by Matthew Turner on Mon May 10, 2021 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

Alex McFarlane
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Alex McFarlane » Mon May 10, 2021 10:49 am

Is now the time to restart the campaign for the removal of VAT on hall rentals for chess tournaments? :twisted: :lol:

Stewart Reuben
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Stewart Reuben » Mon May 10, 2021 11:44 am

Alex >Is now the time to restart the campaign for the removal of VAT on hall rentals for chess tournaments?<
Only if you enjoy banging your head against a brick wall. There is also the matter of VAT on entry and membership fees.
The EBU took the matter to court in Europe and lost. This is a saga that goes back to 1937.
Should Rachel Reeves become Chancellor, that might be a different matter.

Alex McFarlane
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Alex McFarlane » Mon May 10, 2021 12:03 pm

Stewart,
The entry fees are a different issue. I accept that is unlikely to change. But for hall rentals chess is specifically listed along with about 4 other things as not being a legitimate reason for not charging VAT on a hall rental.
It is a significant factor for a local congress especially where that is the major expense. (I admit that when a venue treats chess as a sport and does not levy VAT I don't tell them.)

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Mon May 10, 2021 12:10 pm

"(I admit that when a venue treats chess as a sport and does not levy VAT I don't tell them.)"

I think that defrauding the Revenue would be their problem, your silence would probably not constitute "conspiracy to defraud".

Actually, it probably does not matter if the venue thinks chess is a sport, as UK Law disagrees with them...

David Sedgwick
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by David Sedgwick » Mon May 10, 2021 1:35 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 10:05 am
With Rachel Reeves promoted to Shadow Chancellor, are there any recent mentions of her previous life as a junior chess champion?
I just spotted this on the BBC website. I hope that it's okay to quote two sentences:

"The new shadow chancellor is Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves - a former Bank of England economist who has held a number of front bench roles since joining Parliament in 2010. As a teenager she was the under-14 UK girls chess champion"

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon May 10, 2021 2:40 pm

David Sedgwick quoting the BBC wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 1:35 pm
As a teenager she was the under-14 UK girls chess champion"
I think it was established when she first became prominent that it is arguably more accurate to say " a under-14 ..." given that it was a title awarded by the now seemingly defunct BWCA rather than the ECF or BCF.

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