English Chess Forum

I read the other day that Ciocaltea died at the board in Spain, in the introduction to a recently-published book by someone else, although which someone else I have now forgotten.

Hmm. Well, obviously there's a hell of a lot of games of Go possible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_and_mathematics I must say though that the usual chess estimate of 10 to the power of 120, based on an average number of possible moves of 35 and an average game length of 80 (not clear from wikiped...

Is that right? (about Go) It doesn't seem intuitively obvious - there being a finite number of moves in a game of Go (I think, anyway; can't say I'm all that clear on the rules)

>That is generally agreed, but here and there you run into club organisers with a "win at all costs" attitude. Yeah, tell me about it. The first game I ever played in the London League reached move 36 with me an exchange and two pawns up in a quiet ending. The opposing captain informed me (quite unt...

>All fixtures between teams from the same club in the same division should be played as early as possible to minimise collusion etc.

Well, yeah, either that or everyone could get a grip and recognise that local leagues are just for fun.

Well, lots of bridge clubs are named after their proprietors, I suppose. But as someone else pointed out bridge players don't usually represent clubs in competitive events.

Well, I suppose the Shropshire League used to have a team called GKN Sankey, and presumably GKNS once actually existed. I never did find out what GKNS actually did, but they were originally a works team which snowballed a bit. I meant more clubs named after their founders - but perhaps WK weren't? M...

Yes, the Marshall I suppose (though didn't it close?). But clubs named after famous players who don't have anything to do with the club are a bit of a different category - my impression is that Kipping was actually involved with the Midlands clubs. Perhaps that's wrong.

Back in the Midlands scene of the 1970s there were (and I hope there still are) two clubs called Wolverhampton Kipping and Walsall Kipping. I suppose (possibly I'm wrong) that these are both named after the famous problemist Cyril Kipping, who I assume (also perhaps wrongly) was a player too. Is thi...

Well, it's only an impression. One would need more research to say for sure.

I suspect handsome men don't play chess as much as the other kind do, either. Let's face it, it's a bit of a geeky losers' pastime, don't you think?

>I am not sure why people would assume that Lily Cole doesn't know the rules. Because she's a pretty woman, presumably. I realise that doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't know the rules, but statistically my impression is that it probably increases the odds. I'm not sure LC is a glamour model exact...

I can't remember what I said, to be honest. My general view though was that Rahman was on his own showing a total twerp who was receiving far too much respect.

I do think S&B would do well to put up some sort of explanation for pulling the thread, but I can't say it's exercising me greatly.

Not sure I was 'wrathful' - 'mirthful'. certainly, but what else is RDK for, after all? I didn't think S&B 'went too far' about Austria, either, particularly - IMHO in the wrong direction, certainly, but no more than within the fairly wide range of opinions one expects when such colourful and entert...

Oh, Andrew, Andrew. I can see you've never played in Budapest. Mind you, in the nineteenth century the minor judicial post of Chancery Master used to change hands for quarter of a million pounds in today's money, such were the opportunities for peculation. Why shouldn't Hungarian IMs make a few quid...

>I could name at least 12 junior players who would give John a really good game and my money would be on them beating him! Really? Yang-Fan I'll give you, since quite apart from being considerably higher-rated than me he did beat me in the 4NCL rapidplay two years ago, albeit from a lost position. I...