Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

A section to discuss matters not related to Chess in particular.
User avatar
MJMcCready
Posts: 3140
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by MJMcCready » Mon Jul 06, 2020 2:35 pm

Leonard Barden wrote:
Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:42 am
MJMcCready wrote:
Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:15 am

500 pound question

In which decade did Broadbent become the British Champion?

A 1920's
B 1930's
C 1940's
D 1950's
Answer: sack the question compiler, since there are two correct responses. I write as one who happened to be defeated by Broadbent in the course of his second championship.....
Ah fair point, it was off the top of my head. Perhaps I could put it down as a trick question. Speaking of which, this would go down well.

32,000 question. Who will be the next world champion?

A Firouzja
B Dubov
C Nakamura
D Liren

Answer: come back after the commercial break and we'll tell you why we don't know also.

Kevin Thurlow
Posts: 5802
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:28 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:01 am

"Ah fair point, it was off the top of my head."

Don't worry - the actual programme has had questions with two answers before...

User avatar
John Clarke
Posts: 707
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2011 1:07 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by John Clarke » Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:45 am

For a thousand pounds: which former Soviet republic has not produced a world champion?

A. Armenia
B. Azerbaijan
C. Estonia
D. Latvia
"The chess-board is the world ..... the player on the other side is hidden from us ..... he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance."
(He doesn't let you resign and start again, either.)

Paul Habershon
Posts: 550
Joined: Sat Aug 07, 2010 5:51 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by Paul Habershon » Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:07 pm

John Clarke wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:45 am
For a thousand pounds: which former Soviet republic has not produced a world champion?

A. Armenia
B. Azerbaijan
C. Estonia
D. Latvia
C Estonia - final answer. I think they had only Paul Keres, the nearly man.

User avatar
IM Jack Rudd
Posts: 4815
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:13 am
Location: Bideford
Contact:

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:12 pm

There are two other former Soviet republics who have produced players who have challenged directly for the world championship, but no actual winners of it: Ukraine* (the birthplace of Boguljubov) and Belarus (the birthplace of Gelfand).

*This does not include FIDE World Champions in the era of the split title.

James Plaskett
Posts: 251
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:36 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by James Plaskett » Sat Jul 11, 2020 12:16 am

I Heard Nick Benjamin - whose brother Martin clashed swords with me earlier on this very thread - once appeared on the Aussie Sale of the Century...

Jonathan Bryant
Posts: 3452
Joined: Sun May 11, 2008 3:54 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:12 pm

Last week Jonathan Manley tweeted: "One of the pleasures of collecting old books and magazines are the unexpected enclosures ...."


4 days ago Matt Fletcher (also of this parish) tweeted some Mate in twos from "Pick of the Best Chess Problems"

I liked them (although they were bastard hard) and the book was pennies second hand on amazon.

It arrived today, inside was a newspaper clipping from 1994 ... about a Times Schools Chess Championship match in which Matt Fletcher had played (he’s actually mentioned by name).

I tweeted about this and posted a photo of the newspaper clipping. Matt drew the coincidence to the attention of GM Plaskett.

Except that he probably didn’t have to because at some point between Jonathan Manley’s tweet last week and Matt’s tweet at the start of this week GM JIM had started following my account on twitter.

User avatar
MJMcCready
Posts: 3140
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by MJMcCready » Tue Jul 21, 2020 1:27 pm

Fastest finger on the buzzer, place these in order of likelihood to occur in a game of chess highest to lowest: Under-promotion to knight, pxp en passant, threefold repetition, Stalemate.



The answer I would imagine to be pxp enpassant, threefold repetition, stalemate, under-promotion to knight.

Could well be wrong there about the first two.

Alex McFarlane
Posts: 1757
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:52 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by Alex McFarlane » Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:49 pm

MJMcCready wrote:
Tue Jul 21, 2020 1:27 pm
The answer I would imagine to be pxp enpassant, threefold repetition, stalemate, under-promotion to knight.

Could well be wrong there about the first two.
I think you are certainly wrong about the second one. I think I have only every had one claim of threefold repetition, and even it was really a claim of threefold occurrence of position in which the claimant had missed one of the recurrences.

If you don't define the level of chess then stalemate is almost certainly the most common. Quite a number per round in some novice events.

Jonathan Rogers
Posts: 4634
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:26 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by Jonathan Rogers » Tue Jul 21, 2020 3:02 pm

But in blitz chess online, where the serves determines threefold repetition, and where people are more likely to repeat to beat the clock and/or because just offering the draw takes time, it is possibly second.

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21291
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Jul 21, 2020 3:02 pm

Alex McFarlane wrote:
Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:49 pm
I think I have only every had one claim of threefold repetition, and even it was really a claim of threefold occurrence of position in which the claimant had missed one of the recurrences.
Repetition is often agreed without reference to an arbiter. If I think my opponent likely to agree, I might offer the draw after the second appearance. Tournaments where it isn't allowed to agree a draw before move 30, 40 or no at all are more likely to see repetitions. Outside junior chess, stalemates may be rare because the players would see them coming and agree the draw if allowed.

User avatar
MJMcCready
Posts: 3140
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by MJMcCready » Tue Jul 21, 2020 3:15 pm

Alex McFarlane wrote:
Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:49 pm
MJMcCready wrote:
Tue Jul 21, 2020 1:27 pm
The answer I would imagine to be pxp enpassant, threefold repetition, stalemate, under-promotion to knight.

Could well be wrong there about the first two.
I think you are certainly wrong about the second one. I think I have only every had one claim of threefold repetition, and even it was really a claim of threefold occurrence of position in which the claimant had missed one of the recurrences.

If you don't define the level of chess then stalemate is almost certainly the most common. Quite a number per round in some novice events.
Aha good point define the level. Okay so bullet chess played by two players playing their very first ever game of chess having just learnt the moves. The player with the white pieces is 3 years old, the player with the black pieces 123 years old. Should be much easier to put them in order now.

User avatar
MJMcCready
Posts: 3140
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by MJMcCready » Tue Jul 21, 2020 3:18 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Tue Jul 21, 2020 3:02 pm
Alex McFarlane wrote:
Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:49 pm
I think I have only every had one claim of threefold repetition, and even it was really a claim of threefold occurrence of position in which the claimant had missed one of the recurrences.
Repetition is often agreed without reference to an arbiter. If I think my opponent likely to agree, I might offer the draw after the second appearance. Tournaments where it isn't allowed to agree a draw before move 30, 40 or no at all are more likely to see repetitions. Outside junior chess, stalemates may be rare because the players would see them coming and agree the draw if allowed.
Never had a threefold once ever. Had a thirty threefold once though.

User avatar
MJMcCready
Posts: 3140
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by MJMcCready » Tue Aug 18, 2020 6:11 am

Okay, 4000 pound question here. Which of the following did Tal say was the hardest to play chess with?

A: cuts in the head after being bottled at an Olympiad.
B: a black eye after an altercation in a knocking shop.
C: a fat lip after an off-hand remark made towards Petrosian.
D: a thick ear after drunken debauchery was cut short by the handbag of an unimpressed trans woman.

Answer: A
Last edited by IM Jack Rudd on Sun Aug 23, 2020 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: To remove a transphobic slur

User avatar
MJMcCready
Posts: 3140
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: Plaskett and Woffinden's book on the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Fraud

Post by MJMcCready » Tue Aug 18, 2020 6:22 am

Another fastest finger question. Put these in order from easy to difficult to play chess with.

A: Opening an email from the hospital confirming you are HIV+ 5 minutes before your match begins.
B: A massive hangover from an all night drinking session.
C: Doing a wrap of speed just before the game after going out on a massive bender.
D: Learning you have to default a board as a team member was run over by a steamroller in the car park and killed instantly.

Answe orderr: C,B,D,A

Post Reply