Advice from Michael Adams for players in the British 2012

[Paul Cooksey]

What are you people doing here? "Catastrophic" is the word to remember!

[Andrew Bak]

It's at least nice to know that he looks at the site every now and then!

[Mike Truran]

I expect it's just me, but to my mind the interview was virtually unwatchable. If that's how our top GMs present themselves publicly, I'm not really surprised sponsors aren't flocking to invest.

OK - light blue touch paper and retire......

[LawrenceCooper]

I expect it's just me, but to my mind the interview was virtually unwatchable. If that's how our top GMs present themselves publicly, I'm not really surprised sponsors aren't flocking to invest.

OK - light blue touch paper and retire......

It looked like he was collared in a corridor and was kind enough to answer a few questions rather then a press conference. I viewed it more as a social chat that was recorded than anything formal.

[David Sedgwick]

I expect it's just me, but to my mind the interview was virtually unwatchable. If that's how our top GMs present themselves publicly, I'm not really surprised sponsors aren't flocking to invest.

OK - light blue touch paper and retire......

I didn't find it in the least unwatchable.

Perhaps "The Full English Breakfast" isn't your cup of tea. (Ghastly mixed metaphors and puns intended.)

[Krishna Shiatis]

I think that it was an interesting conversation and I'm glad that Michael stopped for a chat with the boys.

I am a little sad though that he is jetting off to do chess camps abroad rather than here. I am guessing that money is the issue, shame that the best player in the country isn't able to help our own juniors share some of his pearls of wisdom on the game.

[Andrew Camp]

And...we're off!

[Krishna Shiatis]

And...we're off!

Where are we going Andrew?

[Bruce Holland]

I think that it was an interesting conversation and I'm glad that Michael stopped for a chat with the boys.

I am a little sad though that he is jetting off to do chess camps abroad rather than here. I am guessing that money is the issue, shame that the best player in the country isn't able to help our own juniors share some of his pearls of wisdom on the game.

Krishna

Sadly money is bound to be a factor in a game as poorly rewarded as chess (compared to things like Tennis, Snooker & Football.) I can remember 20 years ago when Michael came and gave a simultaneous display in Leamington. The League did not fund an overnight stay for Michael, and as I was not able to offer to put him up myself, I found myself driving him to the Coventry railway station as the midnight hour approached. I squatted with him on a platform (the waiting rooms were shut of course,) for about an hour before I had to go home to bed with work looming the following morning. I left Michael there on his own, waiting for the 3am "milk train." As one of the top players in the country, then as now, he seemed far too used to accepting this way of living as a young man. He had his fee from the simul but that was hardly a king's ransom, and so saving money was behind his acceptance of a sleepless night. At the time leaving one of the country's top chess players as I did bothered me.

I can well imagine that Michael will never ever wish to return to the experiences he had as a young man finding his way in life, no matter how much he might wish to help out the juniors in his own country. In England we have not yet found the "money tree" that we can shake at will, so we can gather up the funds that have fallen as windfalls and attract the likes of Michael to spend more time in the country.

[Krishna Shiatis]

Hi Bruce,

I do understand more than many about how hard it is to be in the chess world and be struggling to financially manage things (albeit from a parents' perspective). Sometimes though, one has to look at the bigger picture.

We are struggling a little in England at the moment; although things are on the up on the junior scene. Someone like Michael doing stuff here would make a huge impact. I suspect that Nick Pert will have asked him to come along to Wellington College for a training day and I hope that one day Michael says "yes" (as David Howell has done) because we do need him here.

Even if it is just for the kids to have some face time with him; because this is the kind of thing that encourages and inspires. Also, I think that Michael would enjoy it too.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Mike

The lad looks drained and tired (understandable) and it was good of him to stop and talk off the cuff.
Hitting him with double barrels (two interviewers,) did not quite work.
I know it's meant to be a double act a but a single interviewer doing Mickey then the
other lad (the ginger one) coming in to be interviewed as well would have worked.
It came across as Hinge (Ginge) and Bracket v a tired chess player.

The not ginger one needs to stop looking at the camera and smiling cute after every answer.
That is what interviewers do when they talk to kids.

That's construct advice.
I know a bit about the interview game, my job for five years was interviewing speedway
riders usually right after a race when they are unloading a ton of adrenalin.
I cocked up loads of times, (sometimes on purpose) there is 'Chandler Cock ups'
video knocking about somewhere.

There was a good Mickey interview in the BCM a few years back, he too suggests
an English Championship and said the 'British was stuck in time.'
I think the interview was done by Steve Giddins.
Well crafted questions and excellent answers. (credit where it's due.)

Plenty of scope and ideas for future Ginge and Bracket interviews.
Why not go around to Mickey's house and catch him in a more relaxed and fresh mood.
We can see his book collection and his study den.
Do one on all the top players this way.
They have all the kit, they have the bottle, they look OK on camera.
It would be different. It would work.

[Stewart Reuben]

Yestrday Gawain Jones and Stephen Gordon came to the commentary room to analyse their game. I advised a few children to take the opportunity to kibbitz this.

In what other sport could a 9 year old get such an experience?

If that is stuck in a time warp, long may it continue.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Stewart.

Brilliant. Yes chess is unique this way and I don't know many players
who would object to such an audience.

I had to go and dig out my old BCM to get the exact quote from Mickey.
I was mixing and matching my threads.

"I think the British is sort of stuck iin time, in a way." (laughs).

(BCM highlight the quite as a feeder, but it's a joke.)

He does say he thinks it's a pretty good tournament in it's own way
and thinks he would leave the British format as it is.
But he does think an English tournament would be be a good idea.