Search found 336 matches

by David Williams
Thu Mar 07, 2024 2:04 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Major investment to transform future of English chess announced
Replies: 134
Views: 12387

Re: Major investment to transform future of English chess announced

I think you have to look at this from the perspective of the wage slave at the council whose desk this ends up on. Very likely most of the grant has already been eaten up by the wages and overheads of the department. He knows nothing of chess. He's looking for the easiest solution. A couple of minu...
by David Williams
Tue Mar 05, 2024 10:19 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Major investment to transform future of English chess announced
Replies: 134
Views: 12387

Re: Major investment to transform future of English chess announced

I think you have to look at this from the perspective of the wage slave at the council whose desk this ends up on. Very likely most of the grant has already been eaten up by the wages and overheads of the department. He knows nothing of chess. He's looking for the easiest solution. A couple of minut...
by David Williams
Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:02 pm
Forum: Not Chess!
Topic: Channel Tunnel Shares in 1942
Replies: 9
Views: 932

Re: Channel Tunnel Shares in 1942

They don't like it, Upham.
by David Williams
Wed Feb 14, 2024 8:37 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Opponents who "helpfully" write their name on your scoresheet
Replies: 32
Views: 2109

Re: Opponents who "helpfully" write their name on your scoresheet

I've never done it. If someone does it to me I don't care. It's marginally useful. I probably won't be selling bound copies of my scoresheets in pristine copperplate. If someone did it on the board next to me I'd see it as trivial. In any case it would be before the game started. But if someone made...
by David Williams
Sat Feb 03, 2024 5:08 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: ECF ratings.
Replies: 13
Views: 1267

Re: ECF ratings.

If you 'update' the old system so that your grade is updated monthly, your grade is based on your most recent 30 games. So 30 more games scoring 50% against 2013's makes you a 2013, irrespective of any previous grade. Under the new system, if you draw with someone graded 200 points higher than you y...
by David Williams
Thu Feb 01, 2024 5:52 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: ECF ratings.
Replies: 13
Views: 1267

Re: ECF ratings.

I'm not claiming any sort of expertise, but if player A draws ten games with 1800s he gets a grade of 1800. If he then draws ten games with 2000s his grade goes up to about 1850. If player B draws ten with 2000s and then ten with 1800s his grade will be 1950. Doesn't seem right. Under the old system...
by David Williams
Thu Feb 01, 2024 5:32 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: ECF ratings.
Replies: 13
Views: 1267

Re: ECF ratings.

Having been initially baffled when this happened for me I think I worked it out. When you re-start you have a provsional grade until you've played ten games. The thing that took me a while to work out was that a dummy game, a draw against someone of your old grade, is included. Presumably to prevent...
by David Williams
Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:03 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Fujitsu as a Sponsor?
Replies: 11
Views: 1506

Re: Fujitsu as a Sponsor?

I think it's actually a common misconception that when something is 'written off against tax' that means reducing your tax bill by the amount you are paying for that something, leaving you no worse off. It's also perfectly understandable. That's the interpretation most people would give to the actua...
by David Williams
Fri Jan 12, 2024 3:19 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Fujitsu as a Sponsor?
Replies: 11
Views: 1506

Re: Fujitsu as a Sponsor?

They are making a supposedly charitable gesture but in reality they are paying for it with tax offsets, I.E. the public money, and taking the credit as though they did something really generous - true charity would be to give a donation out of company profits I assume when you make a charitable don...
by David Williams
Mon Dec 04, 2023 5:46 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Major investment to transform future of English chess announced
Replies: 134
Views: 12387

Re: Major investment to transform future of English chess announced

There will need to be policing to stop people playing draughts, of course.
by David Williams
Mon Dec 04, 2023 2:53 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Major investment to transform future of English chess announced
Replies: 134
Views: 12387

Re: Major investment to transform future of English chess announced

Apologies that I probably haven't read enough to understand what's going on, but do you have to bring your own pieces? I can understand that you would bring your own tennis racquet and balls to play on a council tennis court, but if you've got your own chess pieces you've probably got a board as wel...
by David Williams
Mon Dec 04, 2023 10:36 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Times cryptic chess clue
Replies: 314
Views: 44563

Re: Times cryptic chess clue

Simon Brown wrote:
Mon Dec 04, 2023 10:29 am
From Saturday's Times cryptic jumbo - "Make defensive move as learner in class (6)"
Defensive move?
by David Williams
Tue Nov 28, 2023 12:44 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Very long games in weekend tournaments
Replies: 66
Views: 7669

Re: Very long games in weekend tournaments

It might be better if there was a delay rather than an increment. Either the clock doesn't start for the first 30 seconds of each move, or 30 seconds is added but the clock reverts to what you had if you move in under 30 seconds. I can think of a few things that make this impractical, but it would m...
by David Williams
Fri Nov 24, 2023 5:35 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Times cryptic chess clue
Replies: 314
Views: 44563

Re: Times cryptic chess clue

From today's Times (and requiring a slightly more intimate knowledge of the game than some)

With stone foundation, Greek castles compete to be most up-to-date (9).
by David Williams
Mon Oct 16, 2023 5:19 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Chess and Pension Fraud - allegation
Replies: 218
Views: 46252

Re: Chess and Pension Fraud - allegation

This is all confusing enough without there being two completely separate cases being discussed. The Moss case has nothing to do with pensions.