English Chess Forum

Thank you Bob for finding that. I was too young to have ever known Alekhine or Flohr.
I only knew Elaine by her married name, Pritchard. She told me she remembered sitting on Vera Menchik's knee.

I am in Tenerife and have only just come across this thread. Only once have The British Chess Championships been held two successive years at the same location. That wss Eastbourne. The same venue is now used for the Summer Bridge Congress. I came upon Luke McShane wandering around. He was 6. 'Hello...

RICHARD GR HARRIS born 29. 7. 1950 died 5. 2. 2019. His last grade in 2009 was 152. He held a doctorate in Maths and taught at Hampton School 1974, where he ran the chess club, until his retirement in 2009. He was a member of Hampton CC 1975-1984 and then Kingston CC 1985-2009. He played many season...

Dvid Sedgwick I had never before seen that. At the moment I am in Tenerife. The biggest prize is £20, to be redeemed against a future bridge holiday. The EBU Year end Congress does indeed quote prize money. But it does not say what th entry fee is (or I missed it). Surely it isn't free entry? What s...

I read somewhere, some years ago, that only about 100 tennis players made a living solely from ompeting in tournaments. Of course some of these players made mega sums. The expenes are higher than for chess of course. The tennis players, like chess players have other sources of income from their spor...

Nick .Wasn't the original choice 350, later changed to 400?< Yes, that is correct. There was indeed a 50 point cutoff in the BCF system. That meant it was possible to win the game, but gain no points against somebody graded 50 points or more below you. But if you drew or lost, it was a catastrophe. ...

Roger >FIDE one with a 400 point cutoff<

I chose the 400 point cutoff to encourage stronger players to play in Open Swisses. The late Mikko Markulla wanted it to be 500 points.

For those who find have difficulty finding Brian's paper on the ECF website (like me) it is https://www.englishchess.org.uk/grading-consultation/ For those who don't know: If 700/k is exceeded by the number of games in a period, then the player's rating will be distorted. This does not just hapen wi...

PEOPLE PLAYING IN RHODES I have UPDATED this information 18 February. A private donor, the ECF and the Friends of Chess are enabling us to send a strong 50+ first team to the WSTCC. In addition we have a strong 65+ team. There are four senior events taking place in Rhodes in April. In addition there...

Nick Grey >ECF ought to agree sponsorship with anyone.<

The BCF decided NOT to accept, or seek, sponsorship from cigarettes companies. I thought it better to have the debate BEFORE any specific offer was made.

It has previously been suggested that: A draw offer cannot be retracted for 5 moves A draw offer can only be retracted afer making a positive declaration, presumably after moving and before pressing the clock. Recently I was offered a draw and laughed. Unfortunately I later blundered and it was even...

Initially the FIDE cutoff was 2200 and the ECF one 200.

Geff, that is real find. Thank you. How old-fashioned to use English descriptive in 2002.

Roger, Try reading my four line posting.

The 600 million is a worldwide count. Chess is not particularly popular in England, by comparison with Russia, or Spanish speaking countries. Try Washington Square. Union Square or Central Park in NY and you will see large numbers of casual players. We have virtually no such culture in Britain. 600 ...