English Chess Forum

Hopefully won't get a repeat of that huge pile up Sheffield had last season - not that I think they're remotely taking advantage (it probably hurt them if anything) - but it did seem slightly silly somehow. Just to clarify in neither case was the formal requirement for postponement submitted by She...

Ok. Sure good reasons. Harrogate in with a good chance of being solo at the top after the next round then :) Hopefully won't get a repeat of that huge pile up Sheffield had last season - not that I think they're remotely taking advantage (it probably hurt them if anything) - but it did seem slightly...

Very tough match at Huddersfield yesterday. In the end we just had too many of the stronger players missing, 3.5 - 4.5. Hull managed to draw vs a strong Bradford team, Sheffield are behind (and yet to report this match), so Huddersfield and Harrogate are joint top :) Fun to speculate what a winning ...

Very lucky win for Harrogate yesterday but looking safe-ish. The relegation fight could be pretty intense. Puts you top of the table for now too! I can't imagine Harrogate getting relegated, your team is far too tough in depth for that. On paper grades Forgrove should be quite firmly doomed but the...

The spread was marvellous. I never have been a poker player :) It went all the way from 'well this likely doesn't work but if it isn't refuted at least my pieces are getting out' to utterly winning in a move or two. Very cruel really. I'd not noticed, but Peter Shaw turning out for the returning Wak...

Back to rather more normal strength teams for most people this weekend :) It does seem likely to be like the last few seasons (with Huddersfield as a major upgrade). The strongest teams working off 26500 - 27000, a lot of the other teams 25500 - 26500. One difference from that ten years back is that...

I have only been back playing for 7 years so interesting to see how strong the teams were previously. I was basing it on my experience since returning and was perhaps influenced by the strength of Ilkley. Also some of the other teams look much stronger than previous years. Going to be a tight seaso...

He moved his queen 3 tines in the opening and it ended up on e1. The first two of those were absolutely automatic though. Qd2 -> e3 is rather normal (sometimes f2 etc I guess) and the top computer move there. Qe3 -> e1 is as good a retreat as anything, it seems. Going in for Nc6, Qc5 etc as the com...

There's isn't. I'm not sure he even played that badly to be honest - it looked like a classical position somehow turned from normal to totally horrible without him even doing anything obviously wrong, let alone blundering. Some of the online computer ideas for white are very unnatural. He dropped t...

There's isn't.

I'm not sure he even played that badly to be honest - it looked like a classical position somehow turned from normal to totally horrible without him even doing anything obviously wrong, let alone blundering.

Some of the online computer ideas for white are very unnatural.

The league does seem to be getting stronger and stronger. Nearly all the teams on Saturday were clearly over 16000 combined. I wonder how it compares with other seasons. Ok, right I've found it. I was sure I'd done it - I scraped chessnuts back when Jon G was running it. Unlike the current (basical...

A fine effort from you it was too :) I've only very rarely lost in these big team matches but Julian just took me to pieces. I obviously prefer to remember our 7-1 win from the season after! For some reason we seemed to keep alternating alarmingly big wins and tight losses/draws vs Bradford, the She...

The league does seem to be getting stronger and stronger. Nearly all the teams on Saturday were clearly over 16000 combined. I wonder how it compares with other seasons. Well on a short term basis it's quite easy to track: firmly up :) Doncaster + 3 x ~2100's from Lincolnshire (?) were a considerab...

Yes for HDCA. Crystal was working and could not make it. Due to the trains been out at Huddersfield, we could not get Alan to Doncaster, so he played for our B team this round. With three teams, drivers are a god send! They are! One day they'll stop messing with Huddersfield station, it must be qui...

Off we went again last Saturday. York had two captains and various players on holiday but won very well vs Bradford who have - recruiting Phil Watson - continued to morph into Bradford central redux. (Still issues lower down though, are Ilkley et al basically eating their younger players?). Huddersf...