English Chess Forum

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...

I am slightly surprised Nick Pert accepted the draw. Whatever the computer says, it seems to me that it is White who has the harder task in the final position to find the precise moves to hold. Mark you, having defended for so long against a 2700 plus player, psychologically it is understandable

Thomas Villers v Eu Wen Aron The in the Major Open is worth a look.

"Rick McMichael 8/9 outright" I think he would be pleased with that! Our game did fluctuate a bit, but every time I got back into it, he created difficulties. Luckily, I like to play good opposition. I'll vote for Adams 8/9. Unfortunately, the DGT board you were using did not function, so I was una...

Rick McMichael 8/9 outright. Maybe heart overruling head, because of family connection. However, Leicester City proved that the unthinkable can happen.

Is John Jarmany v Ameet Ghasi really the game played? I find it hard to believe. Perhaps it is a relic from a junior event played this morning on the same DGT board. There are a host of problems on many boards. Not complaining about a free service, just an observation. EDIT: Now rectified and the ac...