Search found 324 matches

by Ola Winfridsson
Sun Nov 10, 2013 2:27 pm
Forum: International News
Topic: European Team Chs in Warsaw
Replies: 239
Views: 19797

Re: European Team Chs in Warsaw

The Swiss system didn't work well for "37" olympiads. Before WWII the olympiads were played as all play alls with match points counting ahead of game points. After the war the event swelled so much that the needed qualifyings groups and finals, still in the old all play all format though. It was not...
by Ola Winfridsson
Tue Oct 30, 2012 1:15 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Junior squad/Kasparov simul in 1986
Replies: 137
Views: 23440

Re: Junior squad/Kasparov simul in 1986

Amazing that people struggle to remember whether they've actually played Kasparov in a simul or not :lol: It's also amazing that everyone is not like you and remembers everything. Oops, my most humble apologies for thinking that a simul against the current world champion would make a mark in a juni...
by Ola Winfridsson
Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:46 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Junior squad/Kasparov simul in 1986
Replies: 137
Views: 23440

Re: Junior squad/Kasparov simul in 1986

Amazing that people struggle to remember whether they've actually played Kasparov in a simul or not :lol:
by Ola Winfridsson
Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:08 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Player disqualified from German Championships
Replies: 109
Views: 33861

Re: Player disqualified from German Championships

As can be seen from the arbiter's account and Bindrich's own account, the time frames differ quite a lot. The arbiter says twice in just over half an hour (and he'd already been alerted to FB's suspicious behaviour the day before), while FB claims he went a second time after an hour's time. In any e...
by Ola Winfridsson
Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:42 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Player disqualified from German Championships
Replies: 109
Views: 33861

Re: Player disqualified from German Championships

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8586 It seems fairly safe to say that mr Bindrich was caught with his pants down (dreadful pun intended), even though he himself points out that he lost the game for refusing to hand over his phone, rather than for being proven a cheat: "I want to clari...
by Ola Winfridsson
Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:39 pm
Forum: Chess Questions
Topic: Another question about the King's Indian defence.
Replies: 16
Views: 4882

Re: Another question about the King's Indian defence.

I think it's important to pick openings that suit your style of play. By that, I mean that lead to a position that you think "I like that" or "I know what to do from here". Too many times inexperienced players learn the moves of an opening, only to realise that once they are 'out of book' they don'...
by Ola Winfridsson
Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:06 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Adrenaline, Nervous Systems and Psychological Pressure
Replies: 32
Views: 6419

Re: Adrenaline, Nervous Systems and Psychological Pressure

The headaches are often caused by poor posture at the board - slumping for prolonged periods causes strain on the neck. Louise Yes, partly that, but I've always tried to sit 'correctly' at the board, lightening the strain on the neck by supporting my head in my hands (so not always an indication th...
by Ola Winfridsson
Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:16 pm
Forum: Chess Questions
Topic: Another question about the King's Indian defence.
Replies: 16
Views: 4882

Re: Another question about the King's Indian defence.

Well, I'd say that when it comes to the main lines of the KID, it's not necessarily a case of one player being stronger chesswise than the other. It's comparable to the Sicilian Dragon and the Semi-Slav Botvinnik Variation. Heaps of razor sharp theory where many wins are scored only by dint of knowi...
by Ola Winfridsson
Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:41 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Adrenaline, Nervous Systems and Psychological Pressure
Replies: 32
Views: 6419

Re: Adrenaline, Nervous Systems and Psychological Pressure

Up to my early 30s I experienced similar problems, but only during the games (although I never seemed to have problems with my energy levels even if the games were long); the exhaustion afterwards, including tension headaches, stopped towards the end of my junior days. However, I noticed that these ...
by Ola Winfridsson
Fri Sep 21, 2012 11:07 pm
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Russian legacy to chess
Replies: 88
Views: 15742

Re: Russian legacy to chess

'Ladya', a very environmental connection in that case! As regards the Russian word for 'one', I didn't mention that earlier, but I don't think there's any connection at all with Odin. I don't know of any language using the name of a god in this way. Numbers tend to stay original in most language, al...
by Ola Winfridsson
Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:01 pm
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Russian legacy to chess
Replies: 88
Views: 15742

Re: Russian legacy to chess

You haven't lost your focus, I see. :lol: The ever increasing pace of change in the last 500 years or so may blind us to aspects of the 'Dark' Ages. Vikings used the Russian rivers to reach Baghdad by about 850 A.D. Known as 'Varagians', their prince Rurik (hence Rus) founded Holmgardr (Novgorod) i...
by Ola Winfridsson
Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:20 pm
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Russian legacy to chess
Replies: 88
Views: 15742

Re: Russian legacy to chess

This was discussed at the bottom of page 2 and the top of page 3 of this thread. I'd just add that the word 'flank' exists in both Old English and Old French and it's origin is in the Anglo-Saxon and Frankish languages, which both belong to the Germanic family. My apologies for going over old groun...
by Ola Winfridsson
Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:47 pm
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Fischer notes
Replies: 9
Views: 3295

Re: Fischer notes

Yes, I fully agree that that is odd, as is the comment "Robert Byrne, the American grandmaster". However, isn't it conceivable that Fischer was asked to provide commentary to the games for a Yugoslav audience, and then fell out with mr Bjelica? It wouldn't have been the first time. Anyway, I'm not b...
by Ola Winfridsson
Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:04 pm
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Russian legacy to chess
Replies: 88
Views: 15742

Re: Russian legacy to chess

J. Foley >... On the obverse... Are there any (English) chess expressions which have become standard in any other languages?< Exports to Russia - bulletin (Shakmatny Byulletin) candidates' tournament (turnir pretendentov - tourney of pretenders) compensation for material (kompensatsiya za materialn...
by Ola Winfridsson
Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:33 pm
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Russian legacy to chess
Replies: 88
Views: 15742

Re: Russian legacy to chess

To answer the original question, there are no chess expressions (that I can think of) in French. I think that the theory that by the 19th century all the vocab was in place seems to hold. Depends on the language! :lol: In other languages, the French word for draw, "remis", is used. For instance, in...