English Chess Forum

Just noticed the Round 5 pairings from the Amersham Open.

Board 19 - Almond v Tart.

Congratulations Sean (or your computer).

Always happy to give the punters a smile

Richard James wrote:Just noticed the Round 5 pairings from the Amersham Open.

Board 19 - Almond v Tart.

Congratulations Sean (or your computer).

You'll be delighted to hear that the Almond Tart was halved!

Sorry Richard, but I'm still waiting for James v Pratt

James Pratt (Basingstoke!)

Two possible pairings at my school chess club:
Goosey - Gosling
and
Terry - Thomas

I once had Alan Christopher v Nigel Purry, in a tournament where Christopher Purry was playing in another section.

A London League match last year saw Black (who had White) against White (who had Black). Holmes v Watson used to be a frequent battle in junior chess thirty years ago.

I managed to pair Hale and Harty at Guernsey a few years ago. In the previous Guernsey Steve Boniface paired Lock and Key, and strangely he didn't even notice he'd done it. Steve looked out for the humorous side of pairings and once told me that when he saw Dan Rosen's name in the entries, he immediately looked to see if anyone called "Crantzandguildernstern" had entered!

Chatting in the car on the way to Ilford yesterday, we were speculating on the sort of chess-playing career someone with the surname Bye would have. Would their opponents never turn up, assuming they were going to get a half or full point? Could they then win entire tournaments by default? Looking at the grading database I can see a couple of people no longer active with this surname.

... and that Ed Default seems to play in quite a few tournaments but never scores any points.

"Chatting in the car on the way to Ilford yesterday, we were speculating on the sort of chess-playing career someone with the surname Bye would have. Would their opponents never turn up, assuming they were going to get a half or full point?"

It has happened. I have been arbiter at events where a Mr Bye has played and that has happened, even though I announced at the start of each round that if you were playing "Bye", he really existed. Nobody listens to announcements or reads notices.... There are big penalties for the opponent of course, as they get left out of the draw for the next round as well....