English Chess Forum

I read today of the term "Caterpillar Display".

Anyone else heard of this and know what it means?

Not sure if this is what you mean but in education for the very young a sequence of events can be given written on a caterpillar.
For example the colours of the rainbow could be written in order (or coloured in) on a picture of a caterpillar with a round head and 7 round body parts, with legs on every second or third segment.
It is supposed to aid learning.

Thanks Alex,

The term was used by BH Wood...

Never heard of it - could it be something like a single row of boards with players making a move (maybe on a buzzer to ensure synchronisation?) then moving to the next board? Players on the end boards would play White then Black in successive moves in the same game...

It is probably a simultaneous display where several (e.g. 4) people take on the multitude. So expert 1 plays move 1, you reply, and expert 2 plays a move etc. They tend to arrive quite quickly and frequently confuse each other. A "centipede" simul was played at the Royal Mint in 1923, and I expect it is the same thing by a different name.

I assume we are discussing BH Wood's Easy Guide To Chess (Cadogan) which I believe provides a definition of the term.

B.H. Wood's guide is here: (page 142 explains a caterpillar display)

https://issuu.com/sucatapopo/docs/easy_ ... ._h._wood_

I played in 1 of those years ago at the Polish Club in Bury

Sounds reasonable as a centipede might have more legs, but I thought the two player version was a tandem simul?

JustinHorton wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:18 pm

I assume we are discussing BH Wood's Easy Guide To Chess (Cadogan) which I believe provides a definition of the term.

Correct except I was reading the 1944 third edition from Sutton Coldfield.

Geoff Chandler wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:45 pm

(page 142 explains a caterpillar display)

The closing dinner at the London Chess Classic used a variant on that theme.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/london-ch ... -and-simul

Geoff Chandler wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:45 pm

B.H. Wood's guide is here: (page 142 explains a caterpillar display)

https://issuu.com/sucatapopo/docs/easy_ ... ._h._wood_

It is a pity that this modern version lacks the charming photographs of the Sutton Coldfield editions.