On this day 2022

August 19, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

Grace with her chess set plays moi.

M J M

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A pleasant summer’s day in Leighton Buzzard

August 13, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

What to do on a hot summer’s day just before I fly off to central Asia for a while? It was a good time to meet up with fellow Bedfordshire chess player FM Gary Kenworthy in Leighton Buzzard and enjoy the day with him -we arranged to meet at The Swan Hotel.

There it is and very pleasant to visit it is.

To get there, I had to take the X2 bus from Luton. It went along a bus lane on the edge of town, up through Dunstable and the Bedfordshire countryside beyond it; the short grass in the fields all bright yellow in the sun, due to no rain this long hot summer. The journey was pleasant, as England looks best in the summer sun, and a trip down memory lane soon unfolded as I wondered when the last time I went to Leighton Buzzard was, a place I have only ever been to to play chess. Even though I began tournament chess there in 1988, and played there dozens of times after, it was difficult to find my bearings when I got off the bus. I soon realized that the last time I came was 1997 and I could only vaguely remember the town centre but found the hotel soon enough thankfully.

The hotel had a wetherspoons bar in it. With it being not yet 11 am upon arrival, I ordered a vegetarian breakfast, and being British, a cup of tea, of which there were free refills for, so I could have as many cups as I liked -then Gary soon arrived carrying bags with copies of gamescores. We have been chatting online for a fair few years now, and so it was good to finally meet and catch up. A solid 3 hours and a bit more of chatting about chess, with a few other things thrown in was spent. Gary is very knowlegeable about the British chess scene -much more so than I-and so there was lots to talk about it in times present and past but mostly past. He has had many positions of seniority over the years and has come to know most on the English playing ciruit, so there were many exchanges of stories that went on. He also brought along a publication of his victory over GM Adams, which I had been asking for. (please see below). He’s a very pleasant gentleman, we have many mutual friends, and a good time was had all in all.

This looked vaguely familiar but I wasn’t sure. GPS saved the day. That’s the bus I took.
Gary with his record of beating England’s best ever player, GM Adams.
This game was played in 92 when Adams was already very strong and world class.
Drawing of Leighton Buzzard where Gary plays his chess now.
That’s the infamous Ronnie Biggs in the picture, as the great train robbery occured nearby long ago.
More pics and details of the great train robbery.
This was where I once waited for a bus back to Luton in the snow late one Sunday in November 88 after my first ever tournament at Bossard Hall. The journey back was treacherous to say the least as the bus slid in the snow many times!
Gary and I before we went our seperate ways. I went back to Luton and he went back to Bletchley, Milton Keynes. It was a pleasant day out with lots of engaging conversation.

FM Gary’s win against GM Adams

No GM has won the British Chess Championships more than GM Adams (9 times, 87 games unbeaten) and no British player has had a higher rating than him (2761ELO), and no British player has come closer to becoming world champion than him (he came very close to beating Kasimdzhanov in the final in 2004) which makes him the best if you ask me. Gary tells me he was rated 213 (2298ELO) and GM Adams was rated 263 (2673 ELO) when they played in 92. The game was a quickplay, which meant they only had 30 mins each.

I have typed out the game below. Don’t forget you can always go to Lichess analysis board if you want to run it through an engine. https://lichess.org/analysis. Just cut and paste what’s below and insert, its in raw pgn form and very easy to do.

The game

G. Kenworthy v M.Adams British Quickplay Championships 1992, Hammersmith, London (Time control 30 mins)

e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 exd4 c3 dxc3 Bc4 d6 Nxc3 Nf6 Qb3 Qd7 Ng5 Ne5 Bb5 c6 f4 cxb5 fxe5 dxe5 Be3 Bd6 Rd1 0-0 Nxb5 h6 Rxd6 Qg4 Rxf6 gxf6 Nf3 Qxe4 Nd6 Qb1 Qd1 Qxd1 Kxd1 Be6 Ke2 Rfd8 Ne4 f5 Nc3 f4 Bc5 Re8 g3 e4 Nd4 Bg4+ Ke1 b6 Ba3 f3 Nd5 Kg7 Ne3 Rad8 b3 Bd7 Bb2 Kg6 Kf2 Re5 g4 Ra5 a4 Be6 h4 Bxb3 h5 Kh7 Nxb3 Rxa4 Bf6 Rd6 Be5 Ra2+ Kg3 Re6 Bf4 a5 Nd4 Re8 Ndf5 a4 Nxh6 a3 Nxf7 Rb2 g5 a2 g6 Kg7 Ra1 Re2 Bg5 Re6 Kf4 f2 Kf5 Rxe3 h6 Kf8 Bxe3 Ke7 Bxf2 Rf6+ Kxe4 Rxf2 h7 Rh2 h8=Q Rxh8 Nxh8 Kf6 Rxa2 Kg7 Kf5 1-0

N.B I do not have access to a scanner presently and will upload clearer images in due course, most likely very soon.

What should we in Bedfordshire make of this game?

Was Gary the first from Bedfordshire to beat GM Adams? Not so. GM Plaskett informs me that he once beat him in a blitz game in Leeds in 1986, when GM Adams was only 14, untitled and had a rating of 2260, a bit more than 200 points lower than GM James Plaskett at that time. However, he pointed out that his record against him after that was not so good and no other victories were had. The tournament in which FM Kenworthy beat GM Adams had greater prestige and was played when GM Adams had already become a GM and had a much higher rating, making him a much tougher opponent. That tournament should not be confused with the quickplay held at the British Championship every year, which is an informal affair and a seperate entity. Some info about the actual tournament played in and the list of winners over the years can be found here. https://www.ecfresource.co.uk/results/. It should be noted that Gary has informed me that the results for 1992 are not entirely accurate and that it was a 4-way tie for first place and not a 2-way tie. He also informs me that he finished 0.5 points behind the leaders and won prize money for that. To have beaten England’s greatest ever player is something to be proud of, and only GM James Plaskett and FM Kenworthy from Bedfordshire have done it but since Adams was much higher rated and more developed as a professional when he lost to Gary, more credit should go to him I think. Also, there’s quite a big difference between having 5 and having 30 minutes on the clock. I did ask Gary whether he or GM Adams ran short of time in the game and he informed me that neither he nor GM Adams did. Perhaps this stands as the greatest victory ever claimed by a Bedfordshire chess player. It does need to be remembered, however, that both GM James Plaskett’s victory and FM Gary Kenworthy’s victory were both with shorter time controls and not gained in classical chess.

M J M

Luton

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess from 1980-2000 | Leave a Comment »

One down, one to go

August 12, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

I had a very pleasant evening in the town centre last night and am happy I made a flying visit to the chess club. Tomorrow the chess continues. I will be taking the bus to Leighton Buzzard to meet FM Gary Kenworthy at The Swan Hotel. He will be bringing along scoreesheets to some of his greatest games, including his win against GM Adams, who I did not do very well against last month. The plan is to catch up as well and talk about mutual friends, of which we have many. Should be a pleasant day but it does seem that on those rare opportunities when I do come home, chess does so often take centre stage but then what else is there to do? Should I rename this post to ‘Confessions of a chess addict’.

M J M

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On this day…

August 12, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

I found this on facebook in the memories section, Grace and her chessboard.

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Sonny boy’s 3Cs -casino, cider, chess.

August 11, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

What are we to make of this post?

I say: this post does nothing to undermine, challenge, or attack the conservativism chess is oh-so proud of and is not ungentlemanly in parts.

Webmaster’s comments

Is that so?

Words of advice -words of warning

Take it from me old old chap -you shouldn’t go somewhere just to play chess, you should do other things as well. In Bangkok I used to cycle into the city to the chess club then across it to all night rock parties after I was done playing blitz -that’s the spirit!

Webmaster’s comments

We love our McCready

Paragraph of doom

Being back in my home town briefly, I couldn’t take the bus in just to play a bit of chess, could I? Why’s that? Well it doesn’t exactly make for a great night out does it? And my home town is a bit bloody depressing to say the least…I don’t want to say the name of it! Anyway, I thought, true to form, I would liven things up a bit instead. We do have videos and pics below.

Webmaster’s comments

I’m not sure I want to see these.

Disclaimer

These pre-chess club visit videos do not portray chess in a negative light and are not critical of it in places.

Webmaster’s comments

U wot?

Video 1

Walk towards the casino to play roulette.

Shot of the casino from the entrance, I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in there.

Video 2

The White House Luton -the best pub in town. I will turn up at the chess club tipsy but that’s okay. It’s not the first time. In Bangkok I used to do that all the time!

Webmaster’s comments

What the blazes is this all about?

Video 3

Chit chat, most noteably about players from Luton who play at the British.

Video 4

The hour at the club and how it went.

Video 5

The loss of knowing what to do after the chess club.

The pictures that say more than 1000 words…

He plays in the A team and has had many stunning victories over the board. It is he who I played and won quickly. We have been team mates and friends for decades.
This is Peter Montgomery the club president. He beat me in the final of the Luton Chess Club Championship in 1993, and is also responsible for making me copy his openings. Lifelong friend. The number of matches we have travelled together cannot be counted.
This is a picture from my only game. As you can see, Rh4 cannot be stopped without the loss of a piece, and so he resigned.
My beloved friend Michael Josephs. Since 92 we played together and played in the county championships always. When I became B team captain, he was my board number 3 (I was board number 2). We’ve always got on like a house on fire. Michael loves to play the Kings Indian Attack and has beaten the very best in the county with it -he was super happy to see me again, and I was super happy to see him again. He is loving his chess again after many years of health difficulties.

The aftermath

Webmaster’s comments

I am reluctant to read this. Many chess players in England want him dead and he knows it!

I had to walk back into town not knowing what to think or what to do. I wasn’t expecting to be caught out by a strong sense of belonging and identity. I was somewhat preoccupied with turning up and being beaten over the board due to being so out of practice. So I went back to the pub to drink more alcohol and forget about it all, or at least try to put it into perspective before I fly off to central Asia in a few days. I don’t know when I will be back but it won’t be for a long time I expect.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

M J M

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, Luton Chess Club, My own endeavours | Leave a Comment »

Two short videos

August 11, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

Video 1

Magnus loses in 19 moves if you can believe that. Judit comments on the game whilst Magnus is heckled by Giri.

Video 2

A hustler stays in the game against Hikaru, or just about, before being massacred in the endgame.

M J M

Posted in Documentaries | Leave a Comment »

Duels Of The Mind

August 10, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

The old tv series devised and presented by GM Keene can be found below. All 12 episodes are there with some historical context provided and reasonable analysis of the game in question. Quite watchable I would say. The channel to which they belong (Chess Romantic) is worth looking at also as it has a lot of quality content on it.

M J M

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Vishy: positions, games, and career.

August 3, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

Quality production here where Vishy is shown positions from some of the games in his career then has to name which game exactly the positions come from. Even though they go back as far as 1984, Vishy is able to discuss them at length as well as games and matches surrounding them, placing much content in context. In depth analysis from start to finish as well as Vishy at his humble best. Real insight offered throughout and a must see. Great journalism in play here.

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Aha

August 2, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

Aha, another day with little to do looms, and so I search for chess documentaries to watch rather than wander off to Oxford to frequent its drinking establishments before staggering home in the dark. I have linked a doc here that gives an account of Kasparov from both himself and those who played him, with some criticisms of him thrown in! His agent also gives an account of the challenges he faces by having such a busy international lifestyle, and it also contains a lot of original footage you won’t find elsewhere, including an interview with his mother detailing the very beginnings of Garry’s interest in chess and the challenges they faced as well as footage of Kasparov with his children when they were very young. Kasparov’s attempt to unite chess with the tech world of his day is also documented.

With so much footage made of Kasparov it can be difficult to know what to watch, however, this is worth it, even if you’re not a big fan of the guy as it gives an informative sense of what it can be like to be the world champion, which he was when the documentary was made.

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Moves I could never play 41

July 30, 2026 by mccreadyandchess

I’ve always been an admirer of Smyslov, mostly for his positional and endgame play. Still to this day I have never found anyone who can handle IQP positions as well as he could. The game below, however, shows his attacking flair and involves a queen sac: his opponent starts going wrong and it’s not too long before Smyslov brings victory home. Unsurprisingly, queen sacs are well out of my league.

White plays 29. Rxf5 here.

You can find the game here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1126235

With regards to Smyslov’s handling of the IQP, does it get any better than this -surely not: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1067631

M J M

Posted in Moves I could never play | Leave a Comment »

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