British Chess Championships 2010

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

(*) Who was the fool who wrote a book recommending that rubbish for White back in the 1980s? I swear it stopped me ever developing into a proper chess player.

I don't know, but I do recall seeing a library book recommending it when I was a kid in the Seventies. I can't recall who wrote it, but I'm sure they were American. Any ideas? Fred Reinfeld?

Thanks Justin. That was enough of a clue - How to Think Ahead in Chess by Reinfeld and Horowitz (published rather earlier than the 1980s). The trouble is I won so many silly games with the same old tricks on h7 that I never had any incentive to learn how to do anything else. I can actually remember the very last game I played it - I was White against a very weak player (i.e. graded below 100) from Islington called Gloria and she played an early g6 and d6, stopping me in my tracks. I managed to grind out a completely undeserved victory in the end, but I was taunted mercilessly in the pub afterward because she was a couple of pawns up at one stage and offered me a draw. After that I started playing 1.e4. Has anyone else on these boards tried that? It's great.

[JustinHorton]

I hope never to play 1.e4 again. Actually, I'm almost curious enough to try and look up when I played it last.

[Paul McKeown]

"How to Think Ahead in Chess", Reinfeld and Horowitz. The worst book ever written about chess. Ever. It was my first openings repertoire - and an absolute disaster. I think I remember someone once writing that their black bishops had ended up manic depressive or something, they either got abused by white playing e2-e3 in the Stonewall (so-called) Attack whilst the bishop was still behind the chain, placed onto a beautiful long diagonal in the Dragon, or mercilessly swapped of in the Lasker Defence to the QGD. Terrible book, worth burning.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

23. Nxf7 - Has Slavin overlooked the Qa1 back rank mate at the end of that little sequence?

[Daniel Young]

Yes, judging by the live boards.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Can Aaron Summerscale hold his position against James Jackson? To the untrained eye he looks completely busted. At a junior tournament a year or so ago Tim Dickinson told me that James Jackson was an excellent player and should win fairly comfortably, but whenever I watched his games to see for myself he seemed to go down in flames.

[JustinHorton]

Salimbeni had 36...Rb6, winning

[Alex McFarlane]

Sorry Jon

Congress Office number is 01227 827303. I'm too used to referring people to the pairing answerphone.

[JustinHorton]

Can Aaron Summerscale hold his position against James Jackson? To the untrained eye he looks completely busted.

The computer agrees with you

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Salimbeni had 36...Rb6, winning

He still looks better though.

Alex - Aha! That explains it. No answer on that number now (nearly 6:00pm). I'll try tomorrow morning before I set off, otherwise I'll just try to get there in plenty of time on Sunday morning.

Anyone fancy a small, sweet sherry on Saturday night?

[JustinHorton]

Salimbeni had 36...Rb6, winning

He still looks better though

He isn't, if Keith plays 39.Rxd4, but he should have absolutely no difficulty swapping off to a drawn opposite-coloured bishop ending.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

He isn't, if Keith plays 39.Rxd4, but he should have absolutely no difficulty swapping off to a drawn opposite-coloured bishop ending.

OK. That might explain why the clocks have been reset. Draw agreed I assume.

[JustinHorton]

The computer has Jackson at more than +5. He just needs to see 1. ..Re2+ 2.Kf1 Re5 and it's over

[JustinHorton]

...and he didn't see it.

60...Kd1 will still win comfortably though.

I assume Aaron is rushing him.

[JustinHorton]

60...Ra4 will also win