English Chess Forum

Ok, suppose somebody has to ask this - how many R+B v R endings are in it? ;) And were any against me? :oops: Keith does highlight the number of times he has reached rook and bishop versus rook. Always with success! Sharing the exact number feels like a bit of a spoiler, but I was amazed by it. You...

I was still a teenager when I first saw Keith Arkell in action, I think at a Hereford Congress about thirty years ago. Since that day, I have often found myself in the throng of spectators peering over the back of Keith’s head, as he gives another masterclass. I am always amazed as to how Keith mana...

Good for you Jonathan. I remember very much enjoying these features in Chess Magazine, when I was a kid. It was always fascinating to see which positions generated a range of opinions and which produced a broad consensus. Most readers would have considered at least some of the possibilities that the...

Debra Brunner has written a very nice article on "Jewish Belarusians of the Chess world," which I wanted to share. As well as Jack's suggestions of Boris Gelfand and Lev Polugaevsky, Debra also mentions David Janowski, Abraham Kupchick and Yury Shulman. David Bronstein died in Belarus and is feature...

I had a great conversation with Debra Brunner, CEO of the Together Plan, this morning. The Together Plan supports Jews in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe yearning to re-discover Jewish life by promoting Jewish education and helping to revive Jewish traditions in Belarus. One important str...

On behalf of the Leamington and District Chess League, I am very sorry to announce the death of Olton player, Tom Evans. Sadly yet another victim of Covid 19. I always admired Tom's enthusiasm, but did not know him all that well. The following is a tribute from Richard Reynolds and Alan Wollaston. R...

Adam does a great job with his OTB tournaments. I've always very much enjoyed all the ones I have played in. I'd far rather be playing OTB than online, but if online it has to be, I'm sure all Adam's offerings will be terrific.

What a brilliant series. I would thoroughly recommend to all. Just by chance, I interviewed Natasha and Matthew for a Chess Magazine article on Friday. I'm writing a piece on other games that chess players enjoy. Their insights and experiences were absolutely fascinating. We also explored AI a bit a...

I agree with you Matt. I guess it is just another illustration though of the fact that we don't yet fully understand how this virus works. The S&P 500 is up 600 on the Gillead Sciences announcement that they think they've found a drug that better treats Covid-19. Again though, there is doubtless a b...

I guess the problem is that most people who have been ill have no way of knowing whether this is because of Covid or an unrelated illness. Lack of testing is a serious issue - and far more so in the UK than say Germany. Equally though, those who test positive are none the wiser as to the level of im...

As I said in my earlier post (and Chess Magazine review) I certainly don't think Jonathan's writing comes across as pretentious. I found his book to be extremely warm and a very enjoyable read. I agree with Keith's summary in relation to Jonathan using chess as a useful tool to explore other questio...

I worry that society was become more introverted and screen driven before all this, and that that particular trend might be accelerated by the lock-down. (Which is in no way intended as a criticism of the current strategy, just an observation as to a possible consequence of it, along the same lines ...

Hi Leonard, your book is one of my most treasured possessions. As a junior, I returned to it again and again. It really inspired my love of chess (no matter my limited ability!) It has pride of place on my desk now. You actually have two photos of Israel in your wonderful book. The first on page 41 ...

Hi Simon, that would be fascinating thank you. My email
address is benwriting123@gmail.com Perhaps let me know via that what works best for you in terms of touching base.

I am working on a piece at the moment, which touches on the life of Israel Zilber, the man who beat Tal two out of three. Israel was born in Latvia and moved first to Israel and then the US. He played at Hastings in 1979 and spent most of the 1980s as a homeless chess hustler in Washington Square. A...