London v Edinburgh (Game 5) The Crafty Scots.

Historical knowledge and information regarding our great game.
Geoff Chandler
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Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:36 pm
Location: Under Cover

London v Edinburgh (Game 5) The Crafty Scots.

Post by Geoff Chandler » Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:53 pm

Finally got around to finishing off this piece.
I did put across a more serious P.O.V. in the Scottish Chess Mag but the blog thing allows me to more scope.
It Begins...

Image
I’m not too sure...in fact I have no idea at all of what the London Chess
Club badge looked like, if indeed it had one, so I have made that one up.
I’ve also guessed at the year of foundation, it could have been in the 1790’s.

Of course their badge could have looked something like this.

Image
But not like this because Queen Victoria was not Queen in 1820.

Image
(and Big Ben was not built till 1843 but I had run out of badge ideas.)

It then goes on to explain why Edinburgh had Black in four of the five games and
why London did not move first in four of the five games even though they were white.
(confused? It's what happened. Try explaining that one using only one diagram.)

https://www.redhotpawn.com/chess-blog/t ... -scots.527

The gist of it all is;
London thinking they were winning game 5 suggested this be the last game.
Edinburgh knowing there were good winning chances for them agreed.

The plot was Edinburgh keeping game 3 going long after London were due to start another game.
London fed up with game 3 asked Edinburgh to go first in another game. (game 5) and when this
critical position arose...

Edinburgh is white and to play


...Edinburgh, hoping London would misread the position planted the seed of making this the last game in
London's minds. Around about here London, thinking they were winning suggested this is the last game.

Here is game 5. Edinburgh (white here) moved first but were Black...(see the link)


John Townsend
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Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 8:26 pm

Re: London v Edinburgh (Game 5) The Crafty Scots.

Post by John Townsend » Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:32 pm

No need to guess at the year of foundation. An old record book of the London Chess Club survives in the London Metropolitan Archives, as described in my book, Historical notes on some chess players. Its title page states:

"Established 25 March 1807"

The club used to celebrate its anniversary on 25 March.

Geoff Chandler
Posts: 3494
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:36 pm
Location: Under Cover

Re: London v Edinburgh (Game 5) The Crafty Scots.

Post by Geoff Chandler » Sun Aug 14, 2022 3:34 pm

Thanks John,

I could have found that within a few minutes due to my library but then I would not have fun with the badges.
Also I'm loathe to be more exact in my research when blogging,
I'm there for the slap-dash of it all and enjoy the laziness and freedom to be a clown.
I'll add that in the comments the exact date. (For some reason I had 1798 in my mind. )

I know we share a common interest in John Cochrane. There I am serious, else Alan Mac pulls me up.
What a brick wall his past is turning out to be.

Which reminds, I must go down to Granton again regarding John's mother.
I've been around the graveyards but there was a graveyard moved and the two times
I was there to look to see if a record was taken of who was buried there
the people to see have been away, (or would not answer the door to me due to covid.)

I want to go to Culross again, a beautiful place. Maybe our Mrs. McDougall was a servant there.
They do a tour of the Cochrane house, I wonder if they have old employee records.
Also I've never been around that graveyard. I like doing the graveyard thing, more info on the tombs
than bland entries in church record books.

Thanks again.

(confession - after I posted I looked at Big Ben. Then I wondered when that was built? googled it: 1843 - OOPS!
too late to do another badge so I added the Big Ben joke in brackets 5 minutes after the post had been up.)