English Chess Forum

Thanks, Tim, for the wider 'British' plug. Keti's result was especially good at her first 50+ entry. For the record, this wasn't my 'best' result in these events although I don't keep (close) track of these things. The vagaries of the pairings in such large Swiss events mean that I only gained a rel...

Eric's death saddens me, too, although I've been as aware as many others that his health had been very poor for quite a long while. He was indeed a very calm, intelligent, many-sided, creatively talented and simply likeable person, who I first met when he invited me to play at an International tourn...

Thanks, Michael: I did indeed rather miss the additional phrase in 3.8.2 re: castling - to the effect that castling is 'counted' as a move by the king (although I still find that a somewhat counter-intuitive notion, not least because most of us castle not just to play a desirable king move but also ...

As 3.8.2 (thanks, Michael) in fact already actually defines castling as a king and rook move (albeit 'requiring' the king to be moved before the rook), I guess that all I'd suggest is that 4.4 c (quoted very early in this thread) requires some further amplification. As 4.4 c makes clear (in the cont...

Stewart/Geoff Just to tie up my thoughts on this: I'm quite happy with the current rule that requires a king move (only) on illegal castling. I think the rules should, however, spell out that this is based on a convention that in effect considers castling to be a king move (and not a uniquely dual k...

Tim: very quickly, yes such a payment request has gone out to at least one other of the Scottish entrants but I haven't (yet) had one. It is irritating that the organisers apparently won't accept credit cards, as this has been pretty well 'standard' even in cases where the organisers 'required' all ...

Stewart - I rather like your idea that all (illegal move!?) transgressions receive a 2 minute penalty in classical time-rated games … not least because as you suggest it is easy for arbiters (and I'd add players) to remember and in retrospect it's probably a reasonable enough penalty in most, if not...

This is indeed interesting in a variety of ways that flag up implications for the laws of the game … in the modern age! My doubt is about the modern-day validity of a rule which appears to legalise castling on the opposite side in the event of having illegally castled on the other (4.4. as quoted ab...

Thanks, as ever, to Tim for consolidating all this useful information for all of us who play in the events. Modesty, however, forbids me to accept that I am the top-rated British player in the 65+ championship, as Tim suggests, 'as usual'. While it probably is true that I have been the top-rated Bri...

Birthday wishes echoed from Scotland. Leonard, keep up your excellent chess reportage!

Thanks, Alex. I think that this provides a much fuller picture. For all the reasons I gave in my previous post, however, not least the fact that the existing qualification bars are set in a way that (quite rightly) encourages those 65+ players who meet them to play in the strongest possible competit...

Sorry, Kevin. Alex hasn't explained it, at least not fully. Why womens', u-21, u-18, 50+ and sundry other rating prizes, but no 65+ prize, although this is a major FIDE senior age classification, in which continental and world championships are held annually? Ian's point is interesting and maybe the...

While I don't wish to make a big point about this, can anyone explain why in addition to the separate 50+ and 65+ British Championships, there are (rather good) prizes for competition among 50+ players who prefer to enter the 'main' Championships yet no prizes for 65+ players who do the same? This h...

In above, it should, of course, read 'Russian' not as inadvertently written late at night 'Soviet' veterans association. If editor can change this and delete this post, as I'm now too late to do this, I'd be grateful!

For me, too, a very sad loss. I first played against Vasiukov in a simul he gave in Glasgow in the mid-1960s. Since then I've played against him and analysed with him many times in international senior events. He was not just a dangerous and enterprising opponent who retained considerable strength i...