English Chess Forum

Cyclists should be treated with respect but only when they use the road correctly, as I used to do when in my 20s and 30s. I even had these strange little things called lights! Why do so many cyclists think they have right of way on pavements? Isn't it illegal? They are a danger to pedestrians, espe...

Yes, nevertheless I wanted to highlight what a gentleman Mark is, especially in light of Alex having recently defeated Mark in the final round of the Nottingham Congress; Mark must had felt frustrated after having had the superior position, but he didn't show it at all. I most sincerely apologise fo...

Hi Mick, That was our best win against them this season (the other two being 9 - 7 and 8.5 - 7.5) not because the average of their July '13 grades was exactly 180, nor even because they included a grandmaster (all credit to Mark Hebden for immediately accepting the offered draw when Alex P had just ...

Was Godfrey Bloom right after all?

Mick Norris wrote: Basically, I think their is a fundamental difference between congress and non-congress players

Mick, have you been spending too much time with Mr. Pardoe?

Down at the end it says Improve membership processes and phase out game fees So what does this mean? Is it that non-members can play in graded competitions, or is it that they should be banned. It means that the ECF board (or is it just the CEO?) continues to attack players who have no need to beco...

Finalised draw with nominations confirmed: Minor P1: Hampshire v Greater Manchester Q1: Cambridgeshire v Essex Q2: Somerset v Suffolk Q3: Sussex v Leicestershire Q4: Nottinghamshire v P winner S1: Q1 winner v Q2 winner S2: Q3 winner v Q4 winner Can someone please explain why MCCU 1 (Notts) are in t...

I recorded 49 moves until I had about 1 1/2 minutes left. A few moves later my opponent made an illegal move when in check. I should have noted that the playing session was scheduled to end at 10pm and it was only 9:25 (therefore the extra 15 minutes cannot have been added on) but was totally absorb...

Another design flaw of the digital clock: no counter showing which time period it's in. On Saturday evening (3rd game of the day so might have played a factor) both my opponent and I made the error of thinking we were in the 2nd time control phase when we were still in the first. We had played about...

Thanks Sean, I did indeed mean the latter scenario as in the former I would simply move out of check. My instinct would be to point out it's not checkmate but I guess a lot would depend on who I was playing and the importance of the game. Against 99% of league opponents I'd choose option a) but not ...

The glossary says resigns: 5.1b. Where a player gives up, rather than play on until mated. The second part (emboldened) is the clarification. It confirms that a player who thinks he has been mated cannot resign either because, by definition, that would be to avoid playing on until he is mated. He c...

In 'smaller' leagues like Nottinghamshire (compared to the SCCU for example) there are relatively few new players each year (my club's 1st team (5 boards) has had the same 4 players for about a decade), therefore if we had to play in order of grade or strength the same players would play each other ...

Why don't we just let captains arrange their teams in any order they like? It would certainly cut out a few disputes/ the application of penalties which completely distort match results in an entirely artificial way? The Notts league does. There are no rules about board order. The league rules also...

David Robertson wrote: But the spinner problem? Where now - Briggs, Borthwick, someone?

Malcolm Tucker

A brilliant performance by the Notts lads, especially those on boards 7 - 12 who all drew in spite of each being outgraded by 13 to 18 points. I think my quick loss to Simon Edwards lulled Staffs into a false sense of security! I hope Neil doesn't have to pick me as I've got a 3-6-7 record against L...