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by Roger Lancaster
Sat Dec 26, 2020 2:42 pm
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Chess and the Blue Laws
Replies: 11
Views: 1469

Re: Chess and the Blue Laws

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Fri Dec 25, 2020 3:33 pm
I don't know when the British Championship Congress first had Sunday play, 1970s probably, but Sunday play was already established for weekend tournaments.
In the 1960s, for sure, there were 11 rounds - 6 [Monday to Saturday] in the first week, 5 [Monday to Friday] in the second.
by Roger Lancaster
Sat Dec 26, 2020 2:30 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Cheating in chess
Replies: 3034
Views: 344339

Re: Cheating in chess

Joseph Conlon wrote:
Sat Dec 26, 2020 2:20 pm
... its hard to imagine a site banning someone of that strength without there being a lot of human eyes on the decision.
Really?
by Roger Lancaster
Fri Dec 25, 2020 10:56 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Invisible pieces
Replies: 202
Views: 17619

Re: Invisible pieces

The discussion on a talented 7-year-old needs to be pursued here, because it's exactly the kind of cultural influence that makes a difference to kids. I imagine most of you are aware that World, Continental, and sub-Continental Junior and Youth events extend down to under-6 championships. These are...
by Roger Lancaster
Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:43 am
Forum: Chess History
Topic: Chess and the Blue Laws
Replies: 11
Views: 1469

Re: Chess and the Blue Laws

Wikipedia, first paragraph - Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, are laws designed to restrict or ban some or all Sunday activities for religious or secular reasons, particularly to promote the observance of a day of worship or rest. Blue laws may also restrict shopping or ban sale of certain item...
by Roger Lancaster
Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:36 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Invisible pieces
Replies: 202
Views: 17619

Re: Invisible pieces

A talented seven year old girl ( or boy) should be left well alone to enjoy the game and not hot-housed by suggesting that she ( or he) can be the best in the world. That is, if you want the kid to have any sort of normal life. Absolutely right. It's a slight diversion from the topic but I'd be int...
by Roger Lancaster
Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:26 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Invisible pieces
Replies: 202
Views: 17619

Re: Invisible pieces

David Sedgwick wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:19 am
Welcome to the Forum, Helen.
Seconded.
by Roger Lancaster
Mon Dec 21, 2020 1:36 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Invisible pieces
Replies: 202
Views: 17619

Re: Invisible pieces

Apropos John, above, I can make one small contribution. I once asked the father of a girl who, aged 12 or thereabouts but attending a secondary school where chess was encouraged, why she had dropped out. The gist of his reply was that it was not perceived as [his adjective] "cool".
by Roger Lancaster
Mon Dec 21, 2020 1:29 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: What's GM short doing?!
Replies: 83
Views: 9194

Re: What's GM short doing?!

He is of course wasting his time and I expect he knows that perfectly well. Yes but Dvorkovich is a politician and, while FIDE's actions might be fairly irrelevant in the wider world of geopolitics, perhaps he remembered that the Russia and Iranian governments have similar interests in at least one...
by Roger Lancaster
Sun Dec 20, 2020 10:10 pm
Forum: Not Chess!
Topic: COVid19-What's wrong with UK?
Replies: 285
Views: 34796

Re: COVid19-What's wrong with UK?

I'm mildly consoled by the thought that it could have been Jeremy Corbyn trying to run things instead.
by Roger Lancaster
Sun Dec 20, 2020 7:54 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Invisible pieces
Replies: 202
Views: 17619

Re: Invisible pieces

To assert, as did the writer of the article which prompted this topic, that the fact that Nigel Short has no formal qualifications in neuroscience disqualifies him from expressing an opinion seems to me disingenuous. Nigel clearly has done a certain amount of research and he's entitled to say, withi...
by Roger Lancaster
Sat Dec 19, 2020 12:26 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Invisible pieces
Replies: 202
Views: 17619

Re: Invisible pieces

Is it really necessary in this forum to point out that, in this country, it is increasingly difficult to have a rational discussion about race without one party to the discussion calling the other "racist"? Much the same applies to sexism which I believe was the topic here.
by Roger Lancaster
Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:58 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Invisible pieces
Replies: 202
Views: 17619

Re: Invisible pieces

The fear that men in general are violent towards women might be irrational but the fear that any given man might be violent is rational - in the same sense that avoidance of all other humans in the belief that they are all infected with corona virus might be irrational but avoidance in the belief th...
by Roger Lancaster
Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:12 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: Media comments on chess
Replies: 5968
Views: 737685

Re: Media comments on chess

Interview on BBC World Service, Business Matters, around 1.30 this morning with an American woman grandmaster [was only half-awake so don't recall name] to discuss Queen's Gambit and its effect on increasing popularity of chess - particularly from a female perspective.
by Roger Lancaster
Sat Dec 12, 2020 10:49 am
Forum: General Chat
Topic: What's GM short doing?!
Replies: 83
Views: 9194

Re: What's GM short doing?!

While no-one will argue with Nigel's statement, it's not an answer to the original question of whether it's fair to penalise individuals , possibly entirely innocent individuals, because of the policy or actions of their government and/or chess federation. Arguably not. But the other side of the coi...
by Roger Lancaster
Wed Dec 09, 2020 2:40 pm
Forum: General Chat
Topic: What's GM short doing?!
Replies: 83
Views: 9194

Re: What's GM short doing?!

NickFaulks wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 1:34 pm
Yes, but the question under discussion here is why all that geopolitical stuff should have anything to do with chess.
Nick, it doesn't have anything uniquely to do with chess.