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 is worth looking at also as it has a lot of quality content on it.
M J M
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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, 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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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.
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
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I met friend and chess fan Mark Ruston today. He agreed to come and visit me in Oxford. We had a nice day out sightseeing, even visiting the Bodelian Library -unfortunately we were not able to enter due to it being sold out! Aside from wander around the city, we caught up and chatted chess all day long. Mark is more embedded in the British chess scene than I as I am usually abroad -a great day out was had!
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Another block-busting move by Vishy that is too above my level to play. I am quite good at leaving a queen en prise and have a long history of doing so but this usually results in a loss and not a win, like what is shown below.
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1250407
M J M
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I’ve never been the world champion and probably never sacced a rook either, so the move played below is off limits to me. When you are sacrificing that much material you have to be sure it’s going to work or you are busted. GM Anand is not here and it’s not long before his opponent’s position collapses completely.
You can find the game here: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1266094
M J M
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GM Mariotti, Italy’s first GM, played in the Beds. league for the 1970-71 season, hence the reason I take an interest in his games. I recently learnt that he liked to play the Dutch defence, Stonewall variation, and sometimes played it very well. The position below is from such a game and contains a move I could not play. With two pieces en prise I would be more interested in saving them than playing what is played below.
Here is the game: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1093267
M J M
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As the manufacturers of Pringles may say ‘Once you pop, you can’t stop’, and so another question has been posted on the forum I often go to. Difficulty level: a little easy.
You can post an answer in the comments if you like.
M J M
Posted in Life beyond the chess board | Leave a Comment »
A side note on how to read old Tom Sweby's columns
Not perhaps, but quintessentially, Old Tom Sweby is best thought of as a passionate devotee to the newspapers he wrote for. He was well read and knowledgeable of the Bedfordshire chess scene and well beyond, given that he was the president of the S.C.C.U. once upon a time. He was generally well-respected and rubbed shoulders with many, if not all, of those eminent within British chess circles. It would, however, be a critical mistake to see his column is primary source material entirely. That it is not. You will also find secondary source material quoted too, and the reliability of that is not quite as Tom hoped. Given that he wrote for decades, this is to some degree inevitable, and after all we are all prone to error whether we realize it or not. Thankfully, with regards to old Tom Sweby, they are infrequent and for the most part old Tom continued to document events and developments in the Bedfordshire league from the get go as best he could but, of course, everything lies open to interpretation. Despite this, and generally speaking. this does indeed make him informative and thus worth reading. Dare I say his columns constitute a narrative describing the latest developments, match reports and changing nature of the Beds league...he knew his audience and wrote according. This manifested itself over decades but brevity was always in play courtesy of the restictions imposed by writing a column. Should you wish to read a in instrumental figure of the Beds' league post WW2, you are quite welcome to peruse what has been posted here... . :-) I should, however, point out that as the decades wore on he gradually moved on away from narratives concerning the Bedfordshire league towards affairs both historical and international. The reasons for this are multifarous, old age was a predominante factor presumably, however, the bottom line is with regards to how the Bedfordshire chess scene developed post WW2: old Tom Sweby is your go to guy. He wrote more about chess in Bedforshire than anyone else did but given he was a Lutonian and writing for a Luton newspaper there is both bias and greater coverage of his hometown than the rest of the county.
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