English Chess Forum

Fancy what a game at chess would be if all the chessmen had passions and intellects, more or less small and cunning: if you were not only uncertain about your adversary's men, but a little uncertain also about your own; if your knight could shuffle himself on to a new square by the sly; if your bishop, in disgust at your castling, could wheedle your pawns out of their places; and if your pawns, hating you because they are pawns, could make away from their appointed posts that you might get checkmate on a sudden. You might be the longest-headed of deductive reasoners, and yet you might be beaten by your own pawns. You would be especially likely to be beaten, if you depended arrogantly on your mathematical imagination, and regarded your passionate pieces with contempt.

Yet this imaginary chess is easy compared with the game a man has to play against his fellow-men with other fellow-men for his instruments. He thinks himself sagacious, perhaps, because he trusts no bond except that of self-interest; but the only self-interest he can safely rely on is what seems to be such to the mind he would use or govern. Can he ever be sure of knowing this?

Stewart Reuben wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 29, 2021 10:32 pm

BBC1 NEWS tonight
Wheelchair rugby 'Described as chess with violence'.

BBC text cricket commentary said:-
Posted at 1109
Post update

Stephan Shemilt

BBC Sport at the Kia Oval

There's a chap in the stand right next to the press box who has been in the same seat for each of the first four days. He's playing chess on a tablet computer. I've got a lot of time for him.

Roger Lancaster wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 07, 2021 12:45 pm

Those of you who feel, probably with some justification, that you hear quite enough of me here should avoid BBC Three Counties Radio at 3.15 this afternoon when I'll be discussing the chess explosion of the past year or so with presenter Roberto Perrone. Probably very little of interest to forumites - these programmes aren't targeted at regular chess players.