Media comments on chess

[Stewart Reuben]

John and I are in agreement here. I question whether any chessplayer can be described as a genius. The canvas isn't broad enough. I just looked up my ancient Chambers Dictionary. Two definitions caught my eye.
consummate intellectual, creative or other power.
more exalted than talent.
Of course many people simply accept IQ about 150 as a definition.
Josh Altman has the advantage for his future chess development that there is another English child of similar standard, Aditya Verma. But I dislike this labelling of children as 'genius'.

[Peter D Williams]

I dislike this labelling of children as 'genius'.

TV film makers often want to use the word genius to describe children believing that it will attract more attention and more viewers. So the word genius is used to promote the film.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Stewart.

"Is PYMWYMI the worst program on TV?"

I think it's truly awful but Mrs C. has picked up loads of hints on things to buy
at junk shops and either sell on E-bay or face to face at shops or pubs.
It is her wee hobby except it is a hobby that clears approx £100-£200 profit a month.
So I don't moan too much when she watches therse things.

She also has a good eye for chess books and on Sunday past picked up 'Tarrasch's Best Games'
and 'The Road to Chess Mastery' mint condition for 50p each. They will hit E-bay for £6.00.

I started doing the write up for the Tarrasch book last night.
When I sell chess books on E-Bay my write up's are mini blogs with links and things.
Some are short and to the point.
I sold BCO for 10p post free to some lad in Yorkshire. My write up iwas inspired by Tony Miles:
"Don't buy this it's crap!"

Personally I think 'Tarrasch Best Games' is Reinfeld's best book.

Cookery programs have to be the worst thing on TV.
Half the world is starving and living in poverty and the BBC are putting on programs showing us
how rich people stuff their fat faces with food I can't even pronounce never mind afford.

Agree if we were allowed one chess player to tag the word 'genius' to then it has to be Tal.

My Chess teacher/coach/mentor/advisor/great friend Johnny Marr often called me a flawed genius, does that count?

[Peter D Williams]

There's a series starting Tuesday 12th June on Channel 4 9pm entitled Child Genius.

The description says

Between 2007 and 2010, the Channel 4 documentary series Child Genius followed eight gifted children growing up in the UK. Now the search is on to find Britain's brainiest child in a new four-part series of the same name which will follow 21 five-to-11-year-olds as they showcase their amazing mental abilities in a competition organised in association with Mensa.

]

The only problem with these types of documentary series is what is left on the cutting room floor.Often the film is cut and paste to suite what the TV company film maker want.I never realized how much film is taken but how little is shown until i took part in one.I also never realized how much people really believe what their are viewing some take it so serious to. I was often asked in the street some really silly questions about Peter.When you watch it think of what was left on the cutting room floor!

Weather lovely and the greenhouse. plants are growing really well .

[PeterTurland]

If human beings were more logical, they would mess up a planet slower than they are doing so.

[Kevin Thurlow]

This morning on BBC's Breakfast TV programme, they talked of a girl who got a maximum score in an IQ test, and showed footage of her playing chess against (I assume) her mother. The board was the right way round, but the queens and kings were on the wrong start squares... Unless this was a not very exciting Chess 960 position, it was rather unfortunate.

Also the editing was all over the place, with more pieces on the board in the second shot than the first.

[Peter D Williams]

This morning on BBC's Breakfast TV programme, they talked of a girl who got a maximum score in an IQ test, and showed footage of her playing chess against (I assume) her mother. The board was the right way round, but the queens and kings were on the wrong start squares... Unless this was a not very exciting Chess 960 position, it was rather unfortunate.

Also the editing was all over the place, with more pieces on the board in the second shot than the first.

When filming a short clip of a child playing chess to high light that a child may be bright the film director has no interest in what way round the board is or what position the chess men are.The directors main concern is the impression he/she been told to give with the clip.The director takes the film back to the cutting room and pastes it to suit the brief he been giving in this case by the BBC.If its a longer series of film over many weeks/months regular meeting are had by the TV company with the director to look at what been filmed and how the director should go about giving the impression the TV company want from the film.The director/ film crew are paid by the TV company which has commissioned the film

Of course has chess fans/players we would like the board set up correct etc but to the TV people its irreverent.I also suspect that most on here dislike the title of many of these films but for the TV company its all about rating and how to attract viewers.That is why names such has child genius are used it gets people wanting to watch it.I had endless discussions with people from channel 4 over the name child genius and in their view it does attract better ratings.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"When filming a short clip of a child playing chess to high light that a child may be bright the film director has no interest in what way round the board is or what position the chess men are.The directors main concern is the impression he/she been told to give with the clip."

Even to the extent of making the child play the last few moves of a loss about 4 times from different angles...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22803098

covers the story.

Good luck to her - she has a lot of pressure on her now.

[Peter D Williams]

[quote="Kevin Thurlow"]"

Even to the extent of making the child play the last few moves of a loss about 4 times from different angles...



Afraid so. Of course all adults have a duty of care to intervene if a child appears in distress over being filmed.

What i did like about you was you did not make a load of fuss about being filmed playing Peter and did not boast about beating him.

You where willing to be filmed to help Peter in the short film that was made.

[Stewart Reuben]

The Men's Finals in the French Open Tennis
Jim Courier said something like, 'He's playing a chess variation, varying his style.

That's two mentions in the same event that I heard. There may have been others. Possibly Courier made the first chess comment as well.

A TV film is in production about Kasparov. He was interviewed by Sir David Frost for that Arabic TV station. They still seem interested in viewing some of my film library.

The play 'THE MACHINE' is going ahead in July in Manchester. That is about Kaparov and Deep Blue. I hope I have succeeded in stopping them using descriptive notation in material about his early life.

You can see my review on the ECF website of 'THE GAMBIT' which I saw in Bath. That purports to be about the relationship between the two Ks.

[David Gilbert]

A clue from one of yesterday's broadsheet crosswords. It was "Inactive rook, chess piece put in spot" 7 letters. I'm hopeless at these but I now know the answer, and (I think) how it was achieved. Any attempts?

[Simon Brown]

Dormant

[David Gilbert]

Dormant

Clever boy! Can you explain?

[Kevin Thurlow]

Dormant is right as...

"Dot" is a spot
R = rook
man = chess piece

It says "in a spot", so the rest fits inside "dot", so it will either be "DO....T" or "D....OT"

[David Gilbert]

Full marks Mr Thurlow!