Media comments on chess

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Simon Rogers
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Simon Rogers » Sat Oct 09, 2021 7:47 pm

There ia also CHESSterfield FC and CHESSter-le-Street Town FC.

Simon Rogers
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Simon Rogers » Sun Oct 10, 2021 11:08 pm

Channel 4 6.30pm until 9pm
Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix
During the highlights of the race on lap 42 of 58. Lewis Hamilton debated with his team as to whether he should change tyres. The commentator, David Coulthard said:
" I love this chess match, it's come alive."
During the analysis after, the presenter Steve Jones said "the race turned into a 3D game of chess".

Gordon Morse
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Gordon Morse » Wed Oct 13, 2021 4:03 pm

Prisoners allowed to play online in an international tournament:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... g_Internet
I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.

Geoff Chandler
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Geoff Chandler » Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:33 pm

Chess Behind Bars was briefly discussed on here in 2017

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=9281&start=15

It is also another excuse to see the Giles cartoon of prisoners playing chess.

Image

J T Melsom
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by J T Melsom » Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:36 pm

I thought Chess in Prisons was an initiative from Carl Portman supported by the ECF. Have I missed something?

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Roger de Coverly » Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:57 pm

J T Melsom wrote:
Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:36 pm
I thought Chess in Prisons was an initiative from Carl Portman supported by the ECF. Have I missed something?
FIDE took up a similar initiative

https://www.fide.com/news/1079

in which
The first prison he (Carl Portman) visited was HMP Coldingley in Surrey, in the South East of England. In some of the initial visits, he was accompanied by IM Malcolm Pein. “Prison staff were amazed at how the inmates were so completely focused for three hours non-stop. No one wanted us to leave,” recalls Malcolm.

J T Melsom
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by J T Melsom » Wed Oct 13, 2021 7:06 pm

Interesting but doesn't answer my question about the respective roles of the various individuals and bodies involved in this work.

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Wed Oct 13, 2021 7:28 pm

Carl is ECF "Manager of Chess in Prisons". Peter does similar work for CSC. I don't get the impression there's any animosity.

I suppose it's like all the different junior organizations essentially doing the same thing, but with varying amounts of animosity (from zero to lots).

Reg Clucas
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Reg Clucas » Wed Oct 13, 2021 7:40 pm

Richard Osman's House of Games tonight - question "What is the symbol for the knight?". The first contestant correctly assumed it was about chess, but got the answer wrong, as did the other three - their attempts were Q, X, K and I.

J T Melsom
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by J T Melsom » Wed Oct 13, 2021 7:46 pm

Kevin

Thanks - I was looking for confirmation amongst other things the ECF role still existed. Not personally concerned about animosity between the bodies and/or individuals in this instance. The prison service probably welcomes a range of bodies whose aims overlap, but there might be some scope for confusion, CSC organising an international team looks to be something that might more naturally fit the ECF, but if it provides activity for the prisoners that's the main thing.

Jonathan Bryant
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Wed Oct 13, 2021 8:06 pm

J T Melsom wrote:
Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:36 pm
I thought Chess in Prisons was an initiative from Carl Portman supported by the ECF. Have I missed something?
The ECF Director of Prisons’ Chess* position predates Carl Portman’s involvement.



* I may not have the job title correct

LawrenceCooper
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by LawrenceCooper » Wed Oct 13, 2021 8:10 pm

Jonathan Bryant wrote:
Wed Oct 13, 2021 8:06 pm
J T Melsom wrote:
Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:36 pm
I thought Chess in Prisons was an initiative from Carl Portman supported by the ECF. Have I missed something?
The ECF Director of Prisons’ Chess* position predates Carl Portman’s involvement.



* I may not have the job title correct
ECF Manager of Chess in Prisons

J T Melsom
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by J T Melsom » Wed Oct 13, 2021 8:13 pm

Jonathan - thanks for that. It was Carl's efforts that brought the role to my attention, but I accept it would be incorrect to credit him with the origins of the position. His predecessor(s) may have done good work which I didn't notice - its not an area I've been following closely.

Jonathan Bryant
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Wed Oct 13, 2021 8:34 pm

J T Melsom wrote:
Wed Oct 13, 2021 8:13 pm
Jonathan - thanks for that. It was Carl's efforts that brought the role to my attention, but I accept it would be incorrect to credit him with the origins of the position. His predecessor(s) may have done good work which I didn't notice - its not an area I've been following closely.
FWIW, I think Carl was perhaps a bit more active in taking chess to prisons himself that anybody before him. As I recall what he would typically do was arrange to do a simul or something a similar - a one off event anyway - and perhaps leave some sets or books behind. But not be personally involved in running a chess club. How could he? There is (or perhaps was - like you I don't know what's going on now) only him. And I don't know what his budget is/was but I reckon £0 would very possibly be accurate.

As for Peter and CSC - I have a bit more knowledge about that than I do about the ECF/Carl Portman programme.

Peter was a volunteer at the last schools' event that I ran that were part of the london chess classic. This would have been 2017. I recall he came every day. Was excellent in just about every way - very professional bearing, but great with the kids too, hadn't done it before but it became clear very quickly he didn't need any supervising from anybody a bit more experienced.

Naturally I wanted to bring him on board the regular schools' chess programme as a tutor - but I remember having a chat with him about it and him telling me that what he really wanted to do was something in prisons.

So - and I'm pretty sure my memory is right about this - the chess programme in prisons idea was something that he took to CSC and they supported it rather than something that was already planned and he got hired to do. The main difference with the ECF/Carl Portman scheme being that Peter wanted to run regular chess clubs.

As I moved on from CSC a few months after meeting Peter I never really knew what happened to the prisons scheme. I recall he had the devil of a job getting his own one started. And I know there was a least one more regular club started in a prison in South East London. I'm delighted to hear that it's still going and very successfully too by the sounds of it.


Incidentally this,
J T Melsom wrote:
Wed Oct 13, 2021 7:46 pm
CSC organising an international team looks to be something that might more naturally fit the ECF ....
I would agree with on principle, but in practice I just don't see that the ECF as it's currently constructed is ever going to be able to put together something like this. It needs funding, admin support ... dedicated professional staff.

In an ideal world the ECF could do also sorts of things for all sorts of people at every level of chess. I suspect in the world we actually have, though, the ECF might be better off with a "doing fewer things well" approach.

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Gerard Killoran
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Re: Media comments on chess

Post by Gerard Killoran » Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:21 pm

Here's a curiosity.

I'm a fan of Rick Beato's music videos on YouTube and was taken aback when a chess game was featured as central to the story he had to tell. It was between his best friend and the pianist with the Pat Metheny band, Lyle Mays https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_Mays.

The whole thing can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/3OJYwEm8gfA

Rick stated that he could exactly date the occasion as his friend had kept a record of the game, and demonstrated this by holding up a copy to the camera. I took a screen-grab and reconstructed the game, which was of suprisingly high quality until the final blunder. Given the circumstances and the late hour anyone could have done the same.

game beato.png
game beato.png (495.66 KiB) Viewed 838 times


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