English Chess Forum

Been having great fun at blitz with 2...e5. Isn't 2...Bg4 an improvement? Even more winning against someone who is premoving 3 e3, and much less lost against people who are not. Heh, might give that a pop to relieve the monotony Surprisingly 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Bg4 is the line recommended by Wisnewski in...

From today's Times - "One piece by queen in drag, failing to finish lines (5)" The 'one piece by queen' is IK (could have been IB), so when another word gave me H as the starting letter I got HAIKU (= lines). Then you realise the HA..U is haul (= drag) failing to finish. Thank you, Paul. So not 'IP...

From today's Times - "One piece by queen in drag, failing to finish lines (5)" I rarely attempt cryptic crosswords so am unsure of the conventions, but my thinking is that 'One' could be 'I' and 'piece by queen' one of B, P or K (but K being the popular choice) . Then those two letters are inside a...

Kevin Thurlow wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 11, 2020 10:42 am

Good luck using some of those (like Zr in a word).

How about Arzrunite (Ar, Zr, U, Ni, Te). It's a mineral which seems appropriate for a chemistry-based word game, although, sadly, not containing any of those elements.

Fm could be challenging.

Peeler and mistaken Spanish principal are champion (5,7) I'm pretty sure of the intended answer, but can't quite get the clue to fit. Peeler is another term for a Bobby which drew me to the obvious answer. Then working backwards, Spanish Principal could be "Senor Chief" or Sr. Chief, which is an an...

John Clarke wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 08, 2020 9:36 pm

Try this on for size, folks: "Nice keyboardist is worried - sort him out, grandmaster." (5)

KEENE

Keith Emerson is the keyboardist in the band Nice.
Remove the letters in 'sort him' leaving K, E, E, N, E

If I remember correctly Kevin, about ten years prior to this, this was a competition you were desperate not to win because you wife would take exception to the trophy cluttering up your house. My last experience of it was the 2003 match being called off the day before because Bucks couldn't raise a...

This is sad news. Unlike the other contributors, I didn't know Andrew as a player, but rather as a captain. We were opposing captains in the Fleming Trophy matches (Beds v Bucks) when they started up again in 2012 at Andrew's initiative. He was extremely well organised, usually starting the arrangem...

Kevin Thurlow wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 04, 2020 6:33 pm

"....TLA (three letter acronym)"

Aha! NMR and GPC are not acronyms...

Yes, true. But 'Three letter abbreviation' also works for TLA

Someone was talking about "HPLC, GC-MS, FT-IR and UV methods etc.", which is great when you know what they mean. I am familiar with those techniques and can add NMR, LC-MS, GPC also known as (AKA) SEC. While showing a visitor around at work I commented that chemists do like a TLA (three letter acro...

I've noticed that some organisations start their emails by thanking me for "reaching out" to them, whatever that means. As well as finding it mildly irritating and condescending it also comes across as insincere…. or should that be unsincere? I guess this is the place to ask.

Nevertheless, in the interests of the right to self defence, I have taken steps to inform your opponent of what is happening here. Well done Michael. I've been uncomfortable with some of the recent posts on this thread. A fellow chess player, not a member of this forum as far as I know, has been pu...

David Sedgwick wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:06 am

It also happened to a Surrey player against GM yesterday.

And to an Essex player vs Beds & Herts. The 'beneficiary' didn't feel good about it but, like fingerslips, I guess it's just something that's going to happen from time to time as I don't think there's an option to resume the game.

I'm not sure that I've understood the 'rules' but how about 1.c4 e6 2. e3 Kc2. Assuming that 3.Qxc2 is illegal because you can't take a king, then there appear to be six moves (Qe2, Qf3, Qg4, Qh5, Bd3, Ne2) which don't result in checkmate and another twenty which do. I get 19 moves that are checkma...

I'm not sure that I've understood the 'rules' but how about 1.c4 e6 2. e3 Kc2. Assuming that 3.Qxc2 is illegal because you can't take a king, then there appear to be six moves (Qe2, Qf3, Qg4, Qh5, Bd3, Ne2) which don't result in checkmate and another twenty which do.