English Chess Forum

Not in the slightest absurd or disrespectful, Leonard. Luke McShane was until recently an amateur, so was Mestel even when winning three British Championships. I already made it clear that amateurs can be dangerous and talented, and as good as many "professionals", so really ... at the most this is...

Not in the slightest absurd or disrespectful, Leonard. Luke McShane was until recently an amateur, so was Mestel even when winning three British Championships. I already made it clear that amateurs can be dangerous and talented, and as good as many "professionals", so really ... at the most this is ...

Thanks to Chris, and yes that was the game i had in mind. It is in fact easily found online and is probably in most of Larsen's games collections, and I was doubtless inaccurate about almost every detail EXCEPT that I do regard the opponent to have been an amateur! You can have talented and dangerou...

Yes, I think all the games from one of the collections are online, but this must be from one of the other collections, which I think had 50 games in it. Anyone?

another time, perhaps ... incidentally i made an effort to track down the Larsen gave that I think you meant on the first page - but I don't seem to be able to find it. Presumably the fault is mine since I think he included it in one of his best games collections. Is it a Bird's opening where he is ...

Ali Mortazavi brought out a book back in 1996 called: The Fine Art of Swindling 112 pages by Cadogan Chess. It's a little gem. It is certainly little. I recall it being said over lunch ( the author was present and didn't put up a fight ) that the primary victim of the swindle was Cadogan Chess. I d...

I've heard that John's calling the prime minister "Boris" would be a sign that he isn't his mate, anyway; Johnson's friends call him Alexander. Yes, or "Al" (no idea whether that is a reference to the Paul Simon song "you can call me Al"). How anyone can still support him is quite the question. Exa...

Kaja Kallas, who definitely used to play chess but I can't find reliable details very easily. Anyone? Perhaps some confusion with Carmen Kass? Not only a super-model, but also a former MEP, and former President of the Estonian Chess Federation. that's possible, indeed I suspect that I confused them...

Didn't Estonia obtain independence in 1991? Your question seems bizarre.

I think she also played in the final of 4NCL online (season 2), beating Ravi Haria in a critical game for surprise winning team Chessplus Kingston.

In 1974 on the exact same occasion (final day of the IAPS prep school championships at the Dragon School, Oxford) against very similar opposition I scored 100 wins and six draws. The opponents included Julian Hodgson and William Watson, and I knew about Ray's result so in the late stages was consci...

Kaja Kallas, who definitely used to play chess but I can't find reliable details very easily. Anyone? (Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen I do know of, but she is "only" the opposition leader in Lithuania, as I understand it. Their successes in politics presumably say something about the enduring respectabil...

As Roger says, one teaches to the test. I know a number of people who just brought the book, laughed at it and memorized their way through. People can retake it time and again it seems, and I imagine that quite a bit of money is made from those who do.

Thanks both. I hadn't noticed, though the particular issue here is the contractual situation with LK, I'll check in a moment to see whether NS mentions that too.

"Had you included a few references to facts in your first post (e.g. "... in the first such article in June 1994 Kavalek revealed that they had planned to play the King's Gambit...") and been more upfront about your speculation as to whether a formal legal contract existed, then I might not have cho...