English Chess Forum

IM Jack Rudd wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 11, 2021 4:11 pm

The big issue with one-game-a-day tournaments is that they tend to be very expensive to run. Venue hire is typically not cheap in this country.

Not just expensive for the organisers but the participants too - even the most frugal of player is still going to be forking out multiple hundreds of pounds for a tournament of this nature.

Yeah but you get more holiday and less stress

Obviously there is a lot more to do in Blackpool.
We have the illuminations on at the moment along with the World Fireworks Championship.
There is also the Pleasure Beach and Blackpool Tower.
Plus probably the most sunshine hours in the UK.

Chess playing Corrie fans will be pleased to hear that a script is currently under development; no clue yet when it will be on screen

It would seem that the whole earth lay before them, not as a map, but as a chess-board, whereon they continually behold the changing pieces as well as the squares.

From A Room With A View.

Mick Norris wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:43 pm

Chess playing Corrie fans will be pleased to hear that a script is currently under development; no clue yet when it will be on screen

Coronation Street used chess in a storyline in 2012. (see pic) I never saw any of it so cannot comment
other than the board is the correct way, it is black to move and I'm not too fond of the non-Staunton pieces.


pic from a Coronation street Blog: https://coronationstreetupdates.blogspo ... round.html

The "awful Swiss System" is on it's way

see https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... ystem-way/

Neil Graham wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 14, 2021 1:35 pm

The "awful Swiss System" is on it's way

Provided there's a reliable ranking system and short notice of fixtures isn't a problem, why wouldn't a Swiss system on the lines of the FIDE Swiss Perfect method work for sports? Perhaps the half point for a draw may present a problem. White and Black translate to home and away presumably.

I got the impression when this was first suggested that it wasn't a normal Swiss system, as they were going to decide all the pairings in advance, not base it on results. So even if you lose to Brondby, you still get Barcelona next game. Difficulties with travel and visas more or less force that even in normal times. It is a pity as I was looking forward to Jose Mourinho complaining about upfloating to play someone away, when they should be home to someone useless.

Geoff Chandler wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 14, 2021 12:03 pm

Mick Norris wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:43 pm

Chess playing Corrie fans will be pleased to hear that a script is currently under development; no clue yet when it will be on screen

Coronation Street used chess in a storyline in 2012. (see pic) I never saw any of it so cannot comment
other than the board is the correct way, it is black to move and I'm not too fond of the non-Staunton pieces.

As previously mentioned, the MCF's Coronation Street chess adviser has been on set a few times over the years; occasionally uses his own games

We have heard of tennis-player Medvedev being called the "chess master". I found this...

https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comment ... ss_master/

which I supply without comment.

Edit - I now see that John McEnroe was probably the first to call Medvedev a "chess master". My admiration for JM is waning a bit.

Cringeworthy. The background there is that the UTS (Ultimate Tennis Showdown) came up with (mostly lame) nicknames for all the players. Some of the other video clips are even worse. Though not by much.

e.g. Stefanos 'The Greek God' Tsitsipas:

https://www.tennismajors.com/videos/ste ... -greek-god

I wonder if there is a (comedy) market for videos of chess players themed on their nicknames?

Kevin Thurlow wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:11 am

We have heard of tennis-player Medvedev being called the "chess master". I found this...

https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comment ... ss_master/

which I supply without comment.

There's another one with chess references that someone's linked to in the comments. With this one it's not quite as obvious that the script writer hasn't got a clue what they're writing about.

I watched the film 'Anna' last night, ChessBase reviewed this film a few months back.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/chess-in- ... g-assassin

During the film Anna corrects the boss of the KGB who wrongly attributed a Kasparov quote to Chekov.

In the major chess scene the KGB boss Vasiliev has just played Ng6+ (not clear which square it came from.)

3r4/2q4k/Q5n1/6R1/P6K/8/1B6/3r4 w - - 0 1

Anna checkmates next move.

After capturing the knight the film does a close up of Anna placing the captured piece on the table.
For some reason the black Knight has turned into a black pawn.

I'm thinking Anna has palmed a pawn so as to be seen to be putting 'something' down and the wooden Knight will be
part of a wooden/plastic gun she has smuggled passed a metal detector and uses the 'chess gun' to kill Vasiliev.
But no. When placing the pawn you can clearly see two off board black knights.

So it is appears to be a blooper. (If Coronation Street ever want to smuggle
a firearm passed a metal detector tell them about the 'chess gun' idea.)

Actually that is a good idea for a plot.
The villain is making a wooden gun under the table with captured pieces but needs
to capture their opponent's king's bishop (you unscrew the mitre and use it as a bullet.)
The game revolves around not checkmating the king but trapping and capturing the bishop.

A review of a new book on Peter Thiel makes several references to chess, including this

pulled over for speeding on the way to a chess tournament, the philosophy major talked his way out of a ticket by protesting that the concept of a speed limit didn’t make sense

which I see no obvious reason to take on trust.