Search found 1071 matches

by Ian Kingston
Sat Nov 26, 2016 10:23 am
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Chess history trivia
Replies: 1349
Views: 124285

Re: Chess history trivia

I think Jim Plaskett was a little older when he left school. I played him in a school match on 6 December 1977, when he was 17 years old.
by Ian Kingston
Sun Nov 20, 2016 7:45 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Theoretical draws
Replies: 25
Views: 3167

Re: Theoretical draws

Best friends Almira Skripchenko and Alexandra Kosteniuk demonstrate another early (unforced) repetition: [Event "FIDE Womens Grand Prix 2015-16"] [White "Skripchenko, Almira"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Site "Khanty-Mansyisk"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2016.11.19"] [WhiteElo "2456"] [BlackElo "...
by Ian Kingston
Fri Nov 18, 2016 10:08 pm
Forum: International News
Topic: WC Match 2016 - New York 10-30 November
Replies: 567
Views: 51670

Re: WC Match 2016 - New York 10-30 November

If this were a football match the commentators would be likening it to a game of chess.
by Ian Kingston
Wed Nov 16, 2016 10:04 am
Forum: Chess Questions
Topic: Queen and knight v Queen
Replies: 8
Views: 2912

Re: Queen and knight v Queen

According to John Nunn, 'the overwhelming majority of positions are drawn' in this ending (Secrets of Pawnless Endings, 1994, p. 68). He devotes 53 pages to the topic.
by Ian Kingston
Sun Nov 13, 2016 5:04 pm
Forum: International News
Topic: WC Match 2016 - New York 10-30 November
Replies: 567
Views: 51670

Re: WC Match 2016 - New York 10-30 November

Coverage of the first two games from a different perspective at FiveThirtyEight.
by Ian Kingston
Fri Nov 11, 2016 11:37 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Media comments on chess
Replies: 5977
Views: 741631

Re: Media comments on chess

Guardian article on Magnus Carlsen.

Amusingly, Karpov is described as a 'former world champion', while Kasparov is merely a 'Russian grandmaster'.
by Ian Kingston
Tue Nov 08, 2016 6:37 pm
Forum: Chess Questions
Topic: Engines fail to find mate in two
Replies: 25
Views: 5644

Re: Engines fail to find mate in two

Just checked with Fritz 11SE (comes with ChessBase): finds the mate in 2 instantly.
by Ian Kingston
Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:03 pm
Forum: Junior Chess
Topic: "SavetheUKCC" petition
Replies: 605
Views: 72372

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

For the benefit of anybody capable of unravelling all the implications, here's HMRC's VAT Notice 701/30: education and vocational training.
by Ian Kingston
Sun Oct 02, 2016 4:23 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Media comments on chess
Replies: 5977
Views: 741631

Re: Media comments on chess

If anyone is interested in the new Marvel series Luke Cage on Netflix, try not to get too upset by the chessboard in Pop's barber shop. It is, of course, the wrong way round. (Several shots so far in episodes 1 and 2.) But even as I was typing the above, the board magically appeared the right way ro...
by Ian Kingston
Mon Sep 26, 2016 11:09 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Media comments on chess
Replies: 5977
Views: 741631

Re: Media comments on chess

by Ian Kingston
Wed Sep 14, 2016 10:18 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Media comments on chess
Replies: 5977
Views: 741631

Re: Media comments on chess

From a BBC article on the use of statistics in football:
It is still "the beautiful game", but it is one that increasingly resembles a game of chess.
by Ian Kingston
Mon Sep 12, 2016 7:04 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Media comments on chess
Replies: 5977
Views: 741631

Re: Media comments on chess

The Guardian, talking about Pep Guardiola:
...at times he can resemble a chess grand master chucked into the middle of a full-contact game of It’s a Knockout.
Not the usual chess comparison.
by Ian Kingston
Thu Sep 08, 2016 2:05 pm
Forum: International News
Topic: 2016 Olympiad - Baku
Replies: 901
Views: 56013

Re: 2016 Olympiad - Baku

While looking to see whether, the much maligned Reinfeld (another story), played for the USA in Olympiads ,I stumbled across the fact that the USA did not play in the famous Buenos Aires Olympiad of 1939. Does anyone have any explanation? From Kazic's International Championship Chess (Batsford, 197...
by Ian Kingston
Mon Aug 22, 2016 8:23 am
Forum: Junior Chess
Topic: "SavetheUKCC" petition
Replies: 605
Views: 72372

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Phil Ehr made a comment on Facebook about this petition. One sentence stands out:
UKCC's litigation history with HMRC indicates a recurring tax issue.
Does anyone know the background to this?
by Ian Kingston
Sun Aug 14, 2016 6:53 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Garry Kasparov's "Winter is Coming" (2015)
Replies: 13
Views: 2477

Re: Garry Kasparov's "Winter is Coming" (2015)

The point I'm making is not that Kasparov is some kind of great thinker - I'm not a fan either. And spouting raw numbers without attribution on Twitter isn't terribly clever by any measure. But unless he was incredibly lucky in guessing at those two numbers, which I doubt, there was no 'random numbe...