Caterpillar Display

[John Upham]

I read today of the term "Caterpillar Display".

Anyone else heard of this and know what it means?

[Alex McFarlane]

Not sure if this is what you mean but in education for the very young a sequence of events can be given written on a caterpillar.
For example the colours of the rainbow could be written in order (or coloured in) on a picture of a caterpillar with a round head and 7 round body parts, with legs on every second or third segment.
It is supposed to aid learning.

[John Upham]

Thanks Alex,

The term was used by BH Wood...

[Matt Fletcher]

Never heard of it - could it be something like a single row of boards with players making a move (maybe on a buzzer to ensure synchronisation?) then moving to the next board? Players on the end boards would play White then Black in successive moves in the same game...

[Kevin Thurlow]

It is probably a simultaneous display where several (e.g. 4) people take on the multitude. So expert 1 plays move 1, you reply, and expert 2 plays a move etc. They tend to arrive quite quickly and frequently confuse each other. A "centipede" simul was played at the Royal Mint in 1923, and I expect it is the same thing by a different name.

[JustinHorton]

I assume we are discussing BH Wood's Easy Guide To Chess (Cadogan) which I believe provides a definition of the term.

[Geoff Chandler]

B.H. Wood's guide is here: (page 142 explains a caterpillar display)

https://issuu.com/sucatapopo/docs/easy_ ... ._h._wood_

[Mick Norris]

I played in 1 of those years ago at the Polish Club in Bury

[Kevin Thurlow]

Sounds reasonable as a centipede might have more legs, but I thought the two player version was a tandem simul?

[John Upham]

I assume we are discussing BH Wood's Easy Guide To Chess (Cadogan) which I believe provides a definition of the term.

Correct except I was reading the 1944 third edition from Sutton Coldfield.

[Roger de Coverly]

(page 142 explains a caterpillar display)

The closing dinner at the London Chess Classic used a variant on that theme.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/london-ch ... -and-simul

[John Upham]

B.H. Wood's guide is here: (page 142 explains a caterpillar display)

https://issuu.com/sucatapopo/docs/easy_ ... ._h._wood_

It is a pity that this modern version lacks the charming photographs of the Sutton Coldfield editions.