Chess Scotland headline

[Richard Bates]

Difficult to know if this is serious...

Ban the first service law and then we would see more rallies which is what tennis is about.

No you wouldn't. You would have more points lost on service faults, and more points lost to return winners.

And new balls....why? Are they broken?

Pretty much.

[Niall Doran]

From today's New York Times

"Xie Chengfeng had a fever. Otherwise, the Chinese golfer would have been driving his orange coupe to the practice range on this June morning rather than languishing in bed, cold towel on his forehead, in his four-story mansion.

Eight year olds in China drive coupés?

[Sean Hewitt]

Wait until the Candy Crush Saga invitations start arriving...

[Stewart Reuben]

FIDE used to have a an open Forum. When they discontinued it, there was little concern expressed. I presumed it was the usual reasons.

[John Upham]

FIDE used to have a an open Forum. When they discontinued it, there was little concern expressed. I presumed it was the usual reasons.

Would the best method of expressing concern have been via that forum?

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Richard.

"No you wouldn't. You would have more points lost on service faults, and more points lost to return winners. "

Are you sure?

The little I have watched of the game the longer rallies seem to come from that second serve.

Be interesting (but then again not...nothing about that game is interesting)
to see how much time is wasted on first serves.
How many times did Andy Murray have his second shot at serving in the final.

The balls would last longer if the first serve, have another go rule was abolished.
Producing all these new balls is not doing the planet any good.
I think we can get this 'hard luck try again' rule removed if we appraoched it from
a carbon foot print angle.

And what is all this sitting down and having a rest inbetween sets all about?
They should be made to play to a standing finish.
It's not like they are running up and down a football pitch like they do in a real man's game.

These guys are pampered, mollycoddled and seriously overpaid.

[Brian Valentine]

The reason for allowing two serves may well be to make the game more watchable. If you look at the stats here: http://www.atpworldtour.com/rankings/matchfacts.aspx, first service score much higher than second service. Hence the optimum strategy would lead to a game would debase to one of a high proportion of service aces and double faults - not that interesting.

Indeed the optimum strategy for most top players would be to use their first service approach on second serve, but with human nature is we get a more interesting (for some) game.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Brian.

It obvious that " ...first service score much higher than second service." because the
very allowance of this rule breeds these huge knuckle-headed unimaginative big hitters.
These clumsy lumbering giants do not get involved in any rallies.
They can't, their only skill is hitting ball as hard as they can.

If their blistering first serve is well returned they just let the point go.

That is why the more nimble and fleet of foot players are the games winners.
They do not rely on their serve to get them through they have skill in all aspects of the game.
They don't need to blast out aces, so therefore the game does not need this 'have two shots' rule.

The longer rallies where the players are thinking and trying to out-wit their opponents
do come from the so called second serve.

It obvious none of you lot on here know anything about the game.
Once anybody resorts to a link in post to try and prove a point then they have lost it as far as I'm concerned.
If they cannot put forth an argument without tugging in someone's page then they don't deserve to be
in the argument.

My wife often sees Andy Murray's dad at her work , I'll get her to ask him.

(name dropping in posts is allowed but not links.)

[Brian Valentine]

It obvious none of you lot on here know anything about the game.
Once anybody resorts to a link in post to try and prove a point then they have lost it as far as I'm concerned.
If they cannot put forth an argument without tugging in someone's page then they don't deserve to be
in the argument.

Hi Geoff,
Your point looks like a debating ace to me.

The English haven't won at tennis since 1977, but then for us tennis clubs are more about meeting girls than taking the game seriously.

[Roger de Coverly]

The English haven't won at tennis since 1977

First series and therefore relatively unknown, but what about the Monty Python extended sketch about the alien Blancmanges who turned all the English into Scotsmen? The point being that Scotsmen couldn't play tennis and therefore the Blancmanges could triumph at Wimbledon. It featured Graham Chapman as a 'know it all' scientist with a female assistant which in retrospect anticipates the third Doctor.

[Angus McDonald]

Yes, Monty Python. totally hilarious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMCNltgrs1U

almost prophetic! and certainly he who laughs last laughs loudest.

[Joey Stewart]

I don't know why, but whenever I hear a monty python sketch described to me it is always considerably funnier then when I see it performed.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Brian,

"....tennis clubs are more about meeting girls..."

Now it makes sense. So I went along to my local Tennis Club to meet girls.....



And met none.

I did play this bloke though...



...I caught him in an opening trap which is the same as a big serve in tennis.
There the two games differ because if my opening trap does not work I am not allowed
to take my move back and try another trap.

Don't know if we can count Virginia Wade as a product of British/English tennis.
She left England when she was one and went to live in Africa.
When she came back 15 years later she was already a very good tennis player.

I wonder why she has been palmed off with just an OBE and not made a dame.
By the time they have finished with Andy Murray he will be a Saint with his own brand
of shirts, socks, shorts and tennis shoes.

Hi Joey.

I'm with you mate, Monty Python were slightly humerous and no more.
Most of the time they were just tosh. 'The Life of Brian.' was good and that was it.

The mid 60's radio programme ' "I'm sorry, I'll read that again." was where it stemmed from.
That was good. If you listen to the 60's broadcasts you can hear future Python gags all the time.

[Brian Valentine]

Hi Geoff,
Nice reply, but it looks like a debating second serve - surely that shouldn't be allowed?
Brian

[John Clarke]

Rather late to this thread - it must have come and gone during one of my hiatuses from the site. However ...

I don't know why, but whenever I hear a monty python sketch described to me it is always considerably funnier then when I see it performed.

Amen to that. I used to own two volumes called Monty Python: All The Words. Gave them away when (a) YouTube got going, and (b) I realised they were only uselessly occupying space on the shelf.

Monty Python were slightly humerous and no more.
Most of the time they were just tosh. 'The Life of Brian.' was good and that was it.

Can't quite agree there. Some of the TV episodes, mostly earlier ones, sustained the level of hilarity very well. But they did get very self-indulgent at times, it's true. When I was at uni, there those who "got" MP and those who just didn't. (Strangely, my father - usually hypercritical of most television, and not really one for way-out ideas - was one of the former group.)

The mid 60's radio programme ' "I'm sorry, I'll read that again." was where it stemmed from.
That was good. If you listen to the 60's broadcasts you can hear future Python gags all the time.

Ah yes, ISIRTA! Never missed it, and always made a point of catching the repeats as well. There was a short chess-related skit once, which went something like this:

David Hatch: And now, over to ____ ____ at Crimpton-On-Sea*, for the latest report on the big chess tournament.
Graeme Garden: (Cheerfully) Hello! It's a lovely fine day here in Crimpton, and everyone's out enjoying the sea air and having a wonderful time!
(Sotto voce) .... which is why I'm fed up with sitting in this stuffy hall watching this boring chess!
[Using "professional" voice again, gives a quick summary of the "action", ending with reference to some noted grandmaster .... ]
... and his assistant from Prague.
Bill Oddie: His Czech mate!
GG: Aha! He's moved .... black knight to queen four!
BO: (In pseudo-Caribbean accent) Howdy do dere, honey!**

* Or wherever it was.
** A catch-phrase trotted out - frequently - whenever the word "black" was spoken. Ultimately parodied in an Othello spoof, thus:
David Hatch: "Othello went white!"
Bill Oddie: (in exaggerated RP tones) "How do you do there, honey?"