English Chess Forum

"I wasn't paying proper attention to the thread"

Don't worry - you're obviously not alone!

"Like Fischer did?" That would not have been surprising either... but why bother? It did become clear quite quickly, that even if he started the 1975 match, he probably wouldn't have finished it. Karpov would not have been so charitable after Game 2. Also, Korchnoi was a defector - they would regard...

"entirely invents a sub-plot by which Korchnoi was going to be assassinated if he won, something for which actual archive evidence is absent." Korchnoi claimed to have evidence, but sadly he appears not to have shown it to anyone... I doubt anyone would have been surprised if he had won and then die...

"See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55503852"

""The fact that these people hid from officers clearly shows they knew they were breaching the rules and have now been fined for their actions.""

In fairness, most people hide from the police in Whitechapel.

"What is EFCC?"

English Federation for Correspondence Chess. It used to be BPCF (British Postal Chess Federation), but then it became English, as there were bodies for Scotland and Wales and at least one Ireland.

I was recording a TV quiz show, probably Countdown, and after the microphone was fitted, they wanted to check the sound level. So I said something or other and the man said, "Could we have a bit more level please?" "Do you mean you want me to talk more loudly?" (which I said er, more loudly.) "Yes -...

"They obviously couldn't be bothered to return the appropriate form. I don't blame the BBC for following up non-payment without explanation from the property owner." Unfortunately, BBC do badger some people even after the form is returned. A friend of mine (who was TV-less) had someone hammering on ...

"I'm also wondering what IMCorrC and IGCorrC are doing on a list of FIDE title holders?"

If that means CC IM and GM, I think it's because FIDE recognize ICCF as the "official" organizer for Correspondence Chess, as ECF recognizes EFCC. But that is a guess.

The "i" for 31/12/2020 reports :- "Trump backer questions 5D chess" DeAnna Lorraine (prominent QAnon conspiracy theorist and Trump backer) thinks he might not have a grand plan to retain power. "Because we have so much trusted this plan, we always think he is playing 5D chess. So anything that looks...

"I hope everyone has a safe and peaceful New Year." Agreed, but apologies to our Scottish friends who wait until midnight before saying that! A member of the family is a doctor in a London hospital, and is on duty 8 am tomorrow for an expected minimum of 13 hours... So at midnight I'll be raising a ...

Chessbase says John C Benjamin was born in 1958. I played him four times between 1981 and 1993 and cannot comment on how he looked in 1966, although he had dark hair, so that's plausible. Nice guy.

"https://www.superprof.co.uk/lessons/chess/online/ This site alone has 737 coaches charging from £10-£60 an hour. I do not know what the number of coaches at that site was before 'Queens Gambit' (anybody? has it gone up, just about the same, has it gone down!)" I had a trawl through this. I claimed ...

"Perhaps you could help this place with an appraisal of what I am reliably informed are called "Rappers"?" Certainly, My Lord. I understand they are performers who rely on a backing track of pre-recorded music and speak in a rather strange staccato manner, which they claim is singing. Eminem, known ...

"I have never met Bruce Pandolfini, but I don't think you should assume the way he was portrayed in a film, is a mirror of real life."

Well, yes, that's what I was saying. It is the problem with depicting real people in a film (or on TV), especially if they're still alive.

"“Lose Yourself” by Enimem was number one."

Any relation to Eminem?