English Chess Forum

Simon Rogers wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 12, 2021 1:46 pm

Plus probably the most sunshine hours in the UK.

Apologies for raining on your parade and adding facts into the discussion, but the honour for most sunshine hours in the UK falls to Bognor Regis.

BR allegedly has 1902 sunshine hours per year.

Blackpool scores 1567.

The lowest is scored by Glasgow at 1203.1 hours.

Did your "most" designation come from the Blackpool tourist board by any chance?

According to this review of the new TV series based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation books, the file maker David Goyer considers the series "a 1,000-year chess game between Hari Seldon and the Empire… All of the other characters are being utilised as pawns by one side or the other. But in chess, if a pawn makes it to the opposing side, it becomes a queen, and those shifting power dynamics can happen in our story."

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/202 ... ur-screens

I was just surprised while using YouTube to be treated to an ad for the extremely iffy Epoch Times operation, and surprised again to see that there is some chess played in it (by a girl who I assume is the daughter of the family portrayed).

"Partida de ajedrez", says our commentator thirty-nine goalless and undistinguished minutes into Levante v Celta.

Possibly not the right thread - but I thought there was an interesting incident in the Women's ODI between England and New Zealand. England needed 1 to win, with 3 balls and 3 wickets in hand. The batter (sic) was stumped, only for a wide to be signaled. You can be stumped off a wide (as any fule kno) so the batter was given out but the match was over. However England were declared winners by 3 wickets as presumably (law 16.6.1 may be relevant) the match had ended when the wide was bowled. I believe the commentators failed to draw the analogy with mate taking precedence over a flag-fall.

"The batter (sic) was stumped,"

MCC announced yesterday that "batter" is now the official title in the Laws.

The latest 'Political Thinking with Nick Robinson' features an interview with Rachel Reeves:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09wwt3r

The first 5 or 6 minutes centres on her chess career.

It is being shown on the BBC News television channel as I write so it is probably on BBC iPlayer as well as BBC Sounds.

I just watched an episode of Only Connect which I recorded on Monday 6th September BBC2 7.30pm to 8pm.
The first round was the basic links round
The host Victoria Coren Mitchell asked
"What links these?"
1. US Army decision-making support-system
2. British Hard Rock Group
3. "Profondo Rosso", 1975 Italian Film.
The team gave the correct answer of they are all "Deep colours"
1. Deep Green
2. Deep Purple
3. Deep Red
The team scored two points and then Victoria Coren Mitchell revealed the last link which would have been:
4. Chess-playing computer
4. Deep Blue

Report from the BBC re French trying to stop migrants crossing the Channel:

https://www.bollyinside.com/videos/news ... atrols-bbc

French commander says: "Its like a game of chess where the smugglers always make the first move." 2 minutes in.

It would be possible to make a light-hearted comment but its a pretty miserable situation.

Due out in a few days time is a Spanish film called The Chess Player (EL JUGADOR DE AJEDREZ) for £12.99. Here's the marketing:

In 1934 Diego Padilla wins the Spanish Championship of Chess and meets a French journalist, Marianne Latour, and they fall in love. At the end of the Civil War, Marianne convinces Diego to live in France with their daughter, where shortly afterwards Diego will be accused of spying by the Nazis and imprisoned in an SS prison. In prison, Diego will try to survive in a hostile environment thanks to Colonel Maier’s passion for chess.
- The winner of 16 Internationally recognised festival awards, including the European Independent Film Award
- First-Ever UK DVD Release
- Starring Melina Matthews (Mama 2013)

Actor: Alejo Sauras, Marc Clotet, Melina Matthews

There are a couple of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, one good, one bad. The bad one had a rather strange comment along the lines that if movies smelled this one would smell like patchouli which I have never heard of but even after checking what it was on Wiki I still don't know what to make of the comment!

In other circumstances, one might think the reviewer was referring to hippies, but in the context of this review he means the style of filming is old fashioned.

WINNING COMBINATION
I stumbled on this TV quiz, having nodded after the ITV 1.30pm News,
One question was 'What terms are used in chess?' The correct answer given by a contestant were< castle and check, or possibly en passant. But I am uncertain whether the first term listed, 'parry' would have been given as correct. No contestant tried it.

"WTAF!!"

I suppose the only way out of this hole is for FIDE to approach companies that offer "penis enlargements", to show they are not being sexist?

I certainly hope the sponsorship deal doesn't require the players to wear the company logo...

I note in the Guardian article that David Robertson drew to our attention, Sheila Barth Stanford said
'We play for less money than men'.
Tosh of course. In open (mixed) tournaments they usually play for MORE money than the men. They can win the money just as the men can, but there are usually additional women's prizes. Sadly, they just aren't good enough to win the top prizes. If women choose to play in women only events, then they usually know the prize money on offer before the event.