English Chess Forum

Fatigue (long tournament, long game) probably strikes on board 9 (65....Bd6???) Mental stamina counts for so much in chess. That's what impresses me most about the quality of play by my peers in Over 50 events.

In Lane - Brewer, why did Gary Lane offer a draw? Looks overwhelmingly good for White to my eyes after the simple to find 35 Ng6+ Kf8 36 Ne5. Mark you, it looked awful for White a few moves earlier, so maybe he was so relieved to have escaped that he offered a draw without taking a fresh look at th...

In Lane - Brewer, why did Gary Lane offer a draw? Looks overwhelmingly good for White to my eyes after the simple to find 35 Ng6+ Kf8 36 Ne5. Mark you, it looked awful for White a few moves earlier, so maybe he was so relieved to have escaped that he offered a draw without taking a fresh look at the...

Richard Palliser has just blundered (I think) into a draw from a technically won rook ending. He probably thought the win was straightforward with the king cut off, but with the pawn still on the third rank, some care was needed. It is hard not to rush when the win is in sight, especially after a lo...

Mental fatigue strikes in Nicholas Pert v Graham Moore with 69.....Kh5 ??? on the verge of a draw. I have to feel sorry for the latter - we've all been there, particularly after defending for ages against a GM. Great result for Tom Villiers - Tom has an uncanny ability to induce blunders from strong...

The Central London League has operated successfully for several years now on (previously) 80 mins plus 10 second increment per move or (now) 75 minutes plus 15 second increment per move. We start at 6-30pm, and I can't remember witnessing any game going beyond 10-00pm, and on most nights, everyone h...

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Whatever your standard, and whatever your results in 2019, enjoy your chess. It makes life a little richer.

Geoff's original post has (I suspect) an intentionally provocative tone, but in terms of the substance of what is being discussed, in general I agree with him. The top players are paid far too much in my opinion. To address Tom Rendle's point, Carlsen and co may not (comparatively) be as well remune...

Although he lost in the end, a terrific effort by my Richmond team mate Caspar Bates on Board 1, who came within a whisker of beating his 2670 GM opponent, before going wrong in time trouble. Commiserations and compliments to Caspar - I think the same thing happened to him last year against a very h...

Watching on Chess24, I think the DGT board is struggling to keep up with blitz and Armageddon games, but it appears that John Nunn lost on time in a completely won position against Alan Merry in the Armageddon tie break, if the transmission of moves and clock times is correct In answer to this ques...

Watching on Chess24, I think the DGT board is struggling to keep up with blitz and Armageddon games, but it appears that John Nunn lost on time in a completely won position against Alan Merry in the Armageddon tie break, if the transmission of moves and clock times is correct

Interesting discussion between Peter Svidler, Anish Giri and Alexander Grischuk during Chess 24 coverage of game 12 after the draw was agreed. Svidler stated that a match of 12 draws has not been good in terms of promoting the game, and the discussion was what (if anything) needs changing for a Worl...

I was unable to play today, but I managed to pay a visit to the tournament just now. May I express my appreciation and gratitude to Sarah, Matthew, Natasha, anyone else involved in organising the event and those playing? It is a fitting tribute to a popular, polite and fine man.

Just shows the dangers of "stopping playing" by trying to win by being too careful and keeping complete control. In anything like a normal game, Micky Adams would have played Rxh3 in almost an instant.

Adair blunders in a drawn rook ending against Keith... Last season, I lost a very similar "drawn" rook ending. I had under 2 minutes v my opponent's 25 or so in a guillotine finish in a match where the result was already decided. My opponent just kept on shuffling pieces, whereas I just wanted to f...