Chess & Bridge Withdraw Ray Keene's Book from Sale

[Kevin Thurlow]

"LOL, although one suspects that those whom Ray might considered "unbiased" wouldn't readily conform to Justin's use of the word."

And probably vice versa as well!

[Nick Grey]

Ray ought to donate a dozen of this book to the Kingston library service if he wants us to read it. Set the highest Council Tax in the UK. Get real. Same as for papers - free in the morning & evening. Many cafes offer free papers.

[Matt Mackenzie]

BTW, does anyone know what the latest is on chessgames (the website)? Is it still being administered on an interim basis, or is it on a more stable long-term footing again?

It's still being updated with games. 1777 games dated 2019 for example.

The new administrator is doing their best, but you get the occasional faux pas such as puzzles being "recycled" in a matter of days.

[John Upham]

Goodness. It might become a collector's item!

Banned books are always sought after. Must put this book on my WANTS list.

Perhaps you could compare the GMRDKOBE book with Lady Chatterley's Lover, Animal Farm or The Canterbury Tales ? They suffered a similar fate.

[JustinHorton]

The BCM has published a long defence of the book. It is not very good.

[John Upham]

The BCM has published a long defence of the book. It is not very good.

The actual location is https://lostontime.blogspot.com/2019/05 ... iddle.html

The BCM review (in terms of attitude) is one of the many reasons I abandoned ship in December 2015.

[JustinHorton]

Thanks for that: I had htmll which I have now corrected to html.

[O.G. Urcan]

One small example here of how Jimmy Adams operates.

My 5 December 2018 article (https://www.patreon.com/posts/meal-ticket-23138934) about the Keene/Jacobs book on the Carlsen-Caruana match took a grand total of four words to point out the book's misspelling "Kieseritsky" instead of Kieseritzky. Jimmy Adams' 11-page defence of the book (and, particularly, of Raymond Keene) in the May 2019 British Chess Magazine has this on page 303:

kieseritzky.jpg

Where to start? As a plain matter of fact, Keene has used the misspelling "Kieseritsky" dozens of times over many decades, including, for instance, in his 1974 Nimzowitsch book (and the 1999 algebraic edition). Given that I was born in 1977, I have no idea which "book on Staunton" published when I was five years old Jimmy Adams may have in mind. It cannot be the Keene/Coles work on Staunton because it was published in 1975 and used mainly, though not exclusively, "Kieseritsky." Both spellings are also in the Keene book Staunton's City (2004). Indeed, both can be found there on a single page (page 27).

How computer software may be a consideration in any of this, as Jimmy Adams suggests, is a mystery.

On the subject of spelling, Jimmy Adams' attack on me in the BCM gives my name no fewer than 23 times. He misspells it every single time.

- O.G. Urcan

[John Upham]

On the subject of spelling, Jimmy Adams' attack on me in the BCM gives my name no fewer than 23 times. He misspells it every single time.
- O.G. Urcan

I suspect the "misspelling" of your name was deliberate as an attempt of what JBA might call humour.

The fact that BCM chose to waste so much subscribers publishing space on what objective persons (as opposed to mates of The Penguin) would rate as a dreadful book does not surprise but does disappoint. I had held JBA in higher esteem but possibly there was influence from RDKs circle of friends to publish the article. Unfortunately knowing one of the current owners of BCM leads me to this suggestion.

[Jonathan Rogers]

BCM is still going, then? Who are its current owners?

[John Upham]

BCM is still going, then? Who are its current owners?

Just about. They are :

Stephen Lowe (who has deep pockets)
IM Shaun Taulbut (who I get on very well with)

It would be interesting and amusing to ask

Bernard Cafferty, John Saunders, Steve Giddins and Malcolm Pein to give their impressions of the "management" style of SL.

I suspect they would be far too discrete to reveal their true assessment.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Giddins is a big mate of RDK's isn't he? Or at any rate was.......

[Jonathan Bryant]

Giddins is a big mate of RDK's isn't he? Or at any rate was.......

But longer ago than that he wasn’t.



Of course the BCM hasn’t only just recently turned to cack. It’s been putrid for years. Well,decades imho, but certainly including John Upham’s time there

[John Upham]

Of course the BCM hasn’t only just recently turned to cack. It’s been putrid for years. Well,decades imho, but certainly including John Upham’s time there

I agree !

The best period for BCM was that of Brian and Freddy Reilly IMHO but others may disagree.

The meetings we had with the business owners were not my best memories (they were painful) and I should have left much earlier than I did : the writing was on the wall and I buried my head in the sand.

Have a guess at the total budget we were allowed for monthly magazine production...

From this minuscule budget we had to pay (or not !) contributors, source photographs, typesetting, etc etc.

I completely understand what happened to Steve Giddins, his reasons for leaving and the items he was posting here, there and everywhere : total frustration.

[Ian Thompson]

Have a guess at the total budget we were allowed for monthly magazine production...

From this minuscule budget we had to pay (or not !) contributors, source photographs, typesetting, etc etc.

I probably saved them 50p three years ago by declining to annotate a game of mine from a recent tournament in return for a free copy of the magazine the game appeared in.