"History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

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David Teague
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"History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by David Teague » Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:25 pm

A lovely overview of Mike Conroy's book by James Pratt, with mentions of this forum's Nick Ivell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV_BfQdLEOo&t=4s

Nick Ivell
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by Nick Ivell » Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:17 pm

Conroy did a fantastic job with this volume.

John Swain
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by John Swain » Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:42 am

I see there's a copy of this book being offered for sale on ebay for £77.

As someone born in Lancashire, I enjoyed James Pratt's ramble through this book, which I haven't seen. Perhaps not surprisingly, it doesn't sound as though it includes anything on the formation of other county associations, including Greater Manchester County Chess Association (which I joined in 1976 as board 3 for their junior team) nor about the subsequent relationship with GMCCA.

Nick Burrows
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by Nick Burrows » Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:20 pm

John Swain wrote:
Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:42 am
I see there's a copy of this book being offered for sale on ebay for £77.
£52 incl postage here:
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/Sear ... re%20Chess

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:04 pm

"Perhaps not surprisingly, it doesn't sound as though it includes anything on the formation of other county associations, including Greater Manchester County Chess Association (which I joined in 1976 as board 3 for their junior team) nor about the subsequent relationship with GMCCA."

You probably need someone from elsewhere to write that! (Or someone fearless from the area...)

Nick Ivell
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by Nick Ivell » Mon Jan 17, 2022 4:42 pm

You wouldn't expect Conroy to be a fan of Greater Manchester!

John Swain
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by John Swain » Mon Jan 17, 2022 5:01 pm

Nick Ivell wrote:
Mon Jan 17, 2022 4:42 pm
You wouldn't expect Conroy to be a fan of Greater Manchester!
I'll post what I wrote on Facebook's British Chess News:

"Without reading Mike's book, criticism would be extremely unfair. I remember Mike well from my junior days in Bolton. He helped a lot of Lancashire junior players. I think (like myself) Mike was a History teacher. Clearly, a history of anything should be a balanced "warts and all" objective account, rather than a "Highlights of ..." However, whether an objective account of the Lancashire v GMCCA saga could be composed is another matter entirely."

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:23 pm

"However, whether an objective account of the Lancashire v GMCCA saga could be composed is another matter entirely."

So you either need someone who wasn't involved, in which case they probably wouldn't follow all the nuances, or you need someone from both sides each writing their piece and the audience can try to follow the argument. The latter gives up on objectivity, but at least you get both sides.

As we know, "recollections may vary".

John Reyes
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by John Reyes » Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:24 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:23 pm
"However, whether an objective account of the Lancashire v GMCCA saga could be composed is another matter entirely."

So you either need someone who wasn't involved, in which case they probably wouldn't follow all the nuances, or you need someone from both sides each writing their piece and the audience can try to follow the argument. The latter gives up on objectivity, but at least you get both sides.

As we know, "recollections may vary".
indeed but it a bit one side and i don't know why lancashire is scared of Manchester?
Any postings on here represent my personal views only and also Dyslexia as well

Roger de Coverly
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Re: "History of Lancashire Chess" by Mike Conroy

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:30 am

John Reyes wrote:
Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:24 pm
indeed but it a bit one side and i don't know why lancashire is scared of Manchester?
It probably all goes back to Edward Heath, if anyone remembers him.

Back in the early 1970s, there were reorganisations of local government, so that some cities and metropolitan areas became counties in their own right. That wasn't just Greater Manchester, but also Cleveland (Teeside), Avon (Bristol), West Midlands (Birmingham etc) and Merseyside (Liverpool). Even before that in the 1960s, the Greater London council had been formed.

The NCCU allowed new counties in the form of Merseyside and Cleveland to exist, but not Greater Manchester. Elsewhere in the country, Bristol coninued to be divided between Somerset and Gloucester, West Midlands between Warwick, Staffordshire and Worcester and Greater London betweem Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, Essex and Herts

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