English Chess Forum

Alex Holowczak wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 25, 2026 4:17 pm

something like a banana shouldn't be eaten at the board.

I would point out that a banana is often the preferred snack for diabetics requiring a quick sugar hit.

John Reyes wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 10, 2026 11:25 am

I really enjoyed the comms and commentary. As DG has said he'll be playing in the British next year, it might be worth exploring whether the ECF could bring in someone with a profile similar to Gotham Chess to join the commentary team.

I would like to see the return of Andrew Martin!

This does still leave the question of why we suddenly decided writing the move down in advance was OK after all. 8.1.2. "It is forbidden to write the moves in advance, unless the player is claiming a draw according to Article 9.2, or 9.3" The above is from the 2018 Laws of Chess, I don't know wheth...

I don't know much about Go either. When you say he was given a handicap, does that mean an advantage (as in a golf handicap) or a disadvantage (as in a horse racing handicap) ?

A surprise winner. I had never heard of him! https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1388808 ... 0&SNode=S0

In the Sixties, we referred to the game as Tactics, which is mentioned in the Wikipedia article: "Tactics is the UK version of Cricket". It was also interesting to read from Alan's post that some darts is played without the trebles, so perhaps I wasn't being kidded in the Yorkshire pub! Yes, I reme...

Having been a captain on-and-off it's not always that easy: -who is available? -are players needed for other reasons (eg driving)? -which players perform well as a team? -do players have any special requests or requirements? Theoretically a 1st team should always be the strongest (available) player...

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 06, 2026 9:14 pm

My preference is to do it Congress style. Thus reset the pieces and then clear them back into the box or bag once the final game has concluded.

This has the added advantage that pieces from adjacent boards don't get mixed up with each other when put in the bag/box!

RIP. I never met Gerald over the chessboard, he was far too good for us to be in the same section, but I remember the name from the 70s & 80s congress circuit, and when I saw John Upham's photo I remembered his face as well. I have some random magazines from that period, so I thought I would have a ...

Alex McFarlane wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 12, 2025 9:53 pm

Also, what does the ECF have to do with this?

I'm glad I'm not the only one wondering that! And what is WDL?

There are some misleading statements. For example Bring the ECF closer to its members so that our grass roots volunteers and players see us as an organisation that is there to help them – not just something they have to join to get a grade That's just not true and never really has been. I think the...

Currently ongoing - https://www.worldseniorchampionship2025.com/