Search found 336 matches

by David Williams
Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:15 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Times cryptic chess clue
Replies: 314
Views: 44556

Re: Times cryptic chess clue

Joey Stewart wrote:
Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:05 am
I can see the solution but the clue is utter gibberish, couldn't even imagine what warped imagination decided that led to the word smothered.
son = s. nurtured = mothered.
by David Williams
Thu Oct 06, 2022 8:48 am
Forum: International News
Topic: Carlsen resigns on move 2
Replies: 1113
Views: 82081

Re: Carlsen resigns on move 2

It's interesting that the first three pages or so of this were about what action should be taken against Magnus Carlsen, and the last 40 or so are about cheating. These are really two separate issues, and the first one hasn't gone away.
by David Williams
Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:45 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Evening leagues -rates of play
Replies: 29
Views: 2649

Re: Evening leagues -rates of play

Concerns always seem to be about game over-running, but I think there is another advantage of 80 + 10 over, say, 60 + 30. (Based on the assumption that limits are being selected on the basis that a 60 move game will take three hours.) Without increments, there seem to be quite a lot of players that ...
by David Williams
Sat Sep 17, 2022 11:00 am
Forum: ECF Matters
Topic: New Chess Club - hypothetical question
Replies: 53
Views: 8415

Re: New Chess Club - hypothetical question

Perhaps you could suggest to the league that, although you have no fixed home venue, you will take responsibility for organising a venue for your home matches. In most cases I imagine the opposition will be happy to host the match, but if they are unable or unwilling to do so for any reason, that sh...
by David Williams
Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:24 pm
Forum: ECF Matters
Topic: New Chess Club - hypothetical question
Replies: 53
Views: 8415

Re: New Chess Club - hypothetical question

Arnav Sud wrote:
Fri Sep 16, 2022 4:55 pm
50 clubs can rent and share 25 venues
Have you really thought this through? A quarter of matches will be between teams that have no venue. And there must be plenty of clubs with, say, four teams who can accommodate no more than two matches at the same time. They are already full.
by David Williams
Sat Sep 10, 2022 4:38 pm
Forum: Deaths & Obituaries
Topic: Queen Elizabeth II
Replies: 50
Views: 6111

Re: Queen Elizabeth II

If you mean that the toffs cancelled and the hoi polloi didn't, I'm not sure I see that as being evidence that people were more grown up then. And if you're drawing parallels between then and now, I'm not seeing them.
by David Williams
Sat Sep 10, 2022 4:06 pm
Forum: Deaths & Obituaries
Topic: Queen Elizabeth II
Replies: 50
Views: 6111

Re: Queen Elizabeth II

George VI died on Wednesday 6 February 1952. Here's the Sunday Mirror's football results from the games played on Saturday 9th February 1952. People were more grown up then. It's actually a bit more nuanced than that. I can't find it now, but I was just reading that rugby union matches were postpon...
by David Williams
Fri Sep 09, 2022 4:56 pm
Forum: Deaths & Obituaries
Topic: Queen Elizabeth II
Replies: 50
Views: 6111

Re: Queen Elizabeth II

As an example, cancelling Premier League games. A headache for the clubs, an inconvenience to most of the fans, and a considerable cost to the many people who travel half way round the world as a once in a lifetime experience. I wonder how many people were actually already here for a game tomorrow, ...
by David Williams
Wed Sep 07, 2022 11:52 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Very rusty I make a blunder in first otb of 22-23
Replies: 17
Views: 1890

Re: Very rusty I make a blunder in first otb of 22-23

Hasn't a week just flown by?
by David Williams
Tue Aug 16, 2022 3:27 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: outrageous escape
Replies: 65
Views: 3655

Re: outrageous escape

I can understand black making that error. It's the fact that Bc2+ isn't just a spite check, it releases the pin. But surely anyone would play h6+, particularly at blitz, even if you're just hoping for Rh6.
by David Williams
Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:32 am
Forum: ECF Matters
Topic: New Chess Club - hypothetical question
Replies: 53
Views: 8415

Re: New Chess Club - hypothetical question

I would have thought most team members would rather play at home than away, and if the other clubs can accommodate an extra home game all should be fine, particularly if the new team offers to contribute something for the room rental. It's when a second team asks to play all its matches away you run...
by David Williams
Sat Aug 13, 2022 12:06 pm
Forum: Not Chess!
Topic: Darkness at Noon
Replies: 28
Views: 3846

Re: Darkness at Noon

There is a misunderstanding here. Racing the sun is what happens when taking off after sunset when flying west towards the recently set Sun and trying to get back into the daylight. That was possible with Concorde. But the situation Nick described is a plane taking off after sunrise and flying west...
by David Williams
Fri Aug 12, 2022 11:37 pm
Forum: Not Chess!
Topic: Darkness at Noon
Replies: 28
Views: 3846

Re: Darkness at Noon

The circumference of the earth is 40,000 km. At the equator a plane would have to travel at nearly 1700 km an hour to race the sun. At, say, 30 degrees north it's still going to require the plane to be going 1500 km an hour or so. The radius of the earth is 6400 km. The fact that a plane is 10 km hi...
by David Williams
Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:07 pm
Forum: Not Chess!
Topic: Darkness at Noon
Replies: 28
Views: 3846

Re: Darkness at Noon

I have no explanation, I wouldn't have thought you could outrun the sun at those latitudes. The best I can suggest is that in summer the further north you are the longer the daylight hours, and the first part of your journey heads south of west. Dubai will have a shorter day than Chennai. Your timin...
by David Williams
Thu Aug 11, 2022 10:51 am
Forum: Not Chess!
Topic: Euro 2022
Replies: 40
Views: 3894

Re: Euro 2022

AlanLlewellyn wrote:
Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:43 am
i was welsh and we were leading something like 23 5 against england at half time in a quarter final
I was unaware that england had come back remarkably in the game
It was 10-3 at half time. It was 10-10 three minutes later. England won 28-17.