Archive for June, 2025

Picture trivia

Posted in Chess on June 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Is this a scene from Chess the musical?

MJM

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Alekhine, a Canadian fox, sacrifices galore, and he who straddled more than one academic discipline…

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Postmodern History, Quaint Chess History on June 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

In May I posted details of Bedfordshire’s baptism of fire in the S.C.C.U back in 1923. I drew attention to Middlesex’s board 3, pointing out that he beat two former world champions and drew with one, using that as an explanatory factor in the size of the defeat dished out, amongst others. The post is called Bedfordshire Outfoxed and can be found in the search bar.

The post contains the aforementioned games but I felt drawn to his game against Alekhine in particular. Yes it was part of a simul with sacrifices galore, as so often happens in such events but upon looking at the game closely, I found one move in particular of Fox’s that I am rather fond of I must say. It was both brave and in the spirit of things or was it his saving grace instead? Let’s have a look:

White has just played 29. dxe5. What would you play as black here? You can see what Fox played in the image below.

As much as I would love to paraphrase Kasparov in ‘How Life Imitates Chess’ I cannot. So I can’t say this exemplifies how ‘the best form of defence is attack’ for it is a counter-attacking move and doesn’t quite qualify. It is, however, unusual to see being mated averted by threatening mate in one yourself, if that’s the case of course. Since it is a simul, we don’t know how much time Fox had to make the move, probably not very long. Great move nonetheless. Here’s the game again.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012317

Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

(Note to self: consider making more posts on moves you like)

MJM

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How strong club players can compete against Magnus

Posted in Chess on June 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Despite an ELO gap of 700 points or so, it can be done providing concessions are made. See below.

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Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 6

Posted in Trivia, Who wants to be a millionaire chess special on June 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Unlike the popular gameshow, features such as ‘ask the audience, phone a friend, and 50/50‘ are inapplicable here -sincere apologies. Unfortunately, there’s no money to be made from this also. However, do your best but do it alone please -no googling!

Question 1 £100

Which piece is sometimes mistakenly called the castle by beginners?

A: The Rook

B: The Queen

C: The Knight

D: The Bishop

Question 2 £200

According to chess annotation, what does ?! signify?

A: Interesting move

B: Brilliant move

C: Blunder

D: Dubious move

Question 3 £300

Who defected from the Soviet Union?

A: Karpov

B: Kasparov

C: Korchnoi

D: Kramnik

Question 4 £400

The publication ‘Chess Praxis’ was written by whom?

A: Emmanuel Lasker

B: Aaron Nimzowitch

C: Jose Capablanca

D: Seigbert Tarrasch

Question 5 £500

How many ply does a game of 40 moves amount to?

A: 20

B: 40

C: 60

D: 80

Question 6 £1000

GM Richard Rapport is from which country?

A: Poland

B: Romania

C: Austria

D: Hungary

Question 7 £2000

The term ‘fianchetto’ means what in Italian?

A: Little Flank

B: Long Diagonal

C: Enclosed Bishop

D: Strong piece

Question 8 £4000

The 2018 Chess World Championship was held in which city?

A: New York

B: London

C: Dubai

D: Bangkok

Question 9 £8000

Savielly Tartakower was born in which decade?

A: 1860s

B: 1870s

C: 1880s

D: 1890s

Question 10 £16,000

The Australian Cecil Purdy was the first world champion at what?

A: Correspondence chess

B: Problem Solving

C: Fischer Random chess

D: Blindfold chess

Question 11 £32,000

Which GM’s rating peaked at ELO 2817?

A: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

B: Anish Giri

C: Vladimir Kramnik

D: Alexander Grishuk

Question 12 £64,000

The ECO code E11 sginifies which defence in chess?

A: The Bogo-Indian Defence

B: The Nimzo-Indian Defence

C: The Queen’s Indian Defence

D: The King’s Indian Defence

Question 13 £125.000

The 2022 World Team Chess Championships was held in which city?

A: Lucerne

B: Astana

C: Ningbo

D: Jerusalem

Question 14 £250,000

Who was the first reigning world champion to win the Hastings Premier Event?

A: Euwe

B: Botvinnik

C: Capablanca

D: Alekhine

Question 15 £500,000

What opening in chess is sometimes referred to as The Hungarian Opening?

A: Reti Opening

B: Kings Fianchetto Opening

C: Colle System

D: King’s Indian Attack

Question 16 £1,000,000

The poem Caïssa or The Game at Chess was written by whom?

A: Artur Schopenhauer

B: Marvin Howard Alburt

C: William Jones

D: James Pierce

So there you are, well done if you did well. No money once again I’m afraid owing to being a poor English teacher. I do put thought into this, so if you got more than half right, you did well. Hope you enjoyed, you might even want to give it a shot yourself! 

Mark. J. McCready

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Answers to Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire 6

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, Trivia, Who wants to be a millionaire chess special on June 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

1 A

2 D

3 C

4 B

5 D

6 D

7 A

8 B

9 C

10 A

11 C

12 A

13 D

14 B

15 C

16 C

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A red bus, a white puzzle book, a grey afternoon, a yellow bus

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, My own endeavours on June 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

As I sat on a bus, new and red in colour, trundling across Bogota, whilst en route to a private lesson given to a student, I dipped into a favoured publication on puzzles -the appropriately named Chess Travellers Quiz Book by GM Hodgson. Certainly preferable to staring aimlessly out the windows, watching derelict buildings covered in graffiti roll by through the city’s sprawling, run down suburbs… .

But this time I thought I’d read it backwards. A move more worthy of the annotation !? I remembered its alluring imagery of tourist attractions upon its dazzling white cover well, that there were 12 chapters in total too, but not so that some 200 puzzles in total were to be found within its covers. 200 puzzles in 12 chapters? ‘Most fitting’, I thought somewhat in jest, given that my playing strength in classical chess is usually estimated at around ELO 212 by my opponents after they have won easily yet again (although in truth it is a tad higher than that, say, ELO 214?) :-). Yes thats ELO rating not ECF rating. Jocularity aside, in finding puzzle 200 it was pleasing to see Bedfordshire’s strongest player of all time making a cameo. Attempt it I did as the bi-articulated bus I sat on approached the Zona Industrial stop, barely a kilometre or two from where I would soon embark unhurried… .

In truth, problem-solving is an aspect of chess I have never been too fussed over. That said, trying to find the solution to that above became illuminating upon reflection. Needless to say, I didn’t get very far, and had to question why. ‘White to play and win’ it says, this tells you that something is afoot but what? In OTB chess I tend to shy away from evaluating the positions I stumble across in my games because in GM Rowson’s inspirational book The Seven Deadly Sins of Chess, ‘wanting’ is the first addressed. There, he argues convincingly it is not only injudicious but more so a critical mistake to assess positions as winning or won. Better to think of them as strong/good/better/advantageous or something like that instead. An approach antithetical to problem solving indeed. Thus true to form, I couldn’t find a direct win and opted for moves that just looked good instead… .

After a few minutes, barely seconds before I got off at La estación sencilla Distrito Graffiti, as they say in this neck of the woods, I decided that white’s first move must be Bxg6, and that after fxg6, white probably follows up with Qd3 then Nd4, at which point black’s position looks precarious to say the least. Black’s g-pawn will be captured and the e-pawn probably too. Was I right or was I wrong? Alas, I am just not good enough to assess whether such moves lead to a winning attack or not, I also didn’t have enough time left of my journey to study the solution either, frankly. And like I said problems/puzzles aren’t my forte, so it mattered greatly not… .

Nonetheless, my brief, blank journey across Bogota was made more pleasant, despite the glaring disparity between Bedfordshire’s most successful player and the one most average at best who types these words, ending haplessly with me not daring to check the solution, aware even I had ample to do so upon arrival at the mall, after the fifteen minute walk there, should I want to. Instead, I just sat somewhere on that first floor people watching, clearing my thoughts, waiting for my student to arrive, which she did some thirty minutes or so later. Then the usual meet and greet ensued and two hours or so of instruction took precedence over time-killing, which made it easier to stave off boredom I guess. An impulse or two to write after all classes were completed later that day passed, then I wandered off home as rush hour hit, not really thinking about anything. Simple pleasures gave way to the formalities of business and the two rarely mix well, despite all our efforts. It led to a grey afternoon of sorts. Yes the interior design of the mall leant itself to grey marble I noted. Outside the sky was grey too I saw. The traffic now heavy as back it trudged towards downtown, made the air grey and pong of pollution; falling on the procession of reckless cyclists alongside it was light rain, and then after all that, on a yellow C-19 bus sat I no longer wanting to read, and sat like any vacuous amateur chess player would when reflecting on the lengths they must go to just to earn a crust, and lamentably, why their forays into chess are abstemious. The C-19 returned me to the stop named La estación Flores, a few minutes walk from where this post is being penned. When I got home I made dinner -it was rather English and rather bland. Then I slumped on this bed and watched youtube videos on how chess should be played. But I just watched while I ate and didn’t think too much about the moves being played. Then I fell asleep and a new day was born.

Mark. J. McCready

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One that should go viral?

Posted in Chess, Humour on June 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Courtesy of GM Levitt on ye olde fb, I was alerted to the following, highly entertaining video. Well worth a watch. I think it should go viral.

Regarding GM Levitt’s work, an example can be found here.

MJM

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The subtitle that speaks

Posted in On-line journal, Personal Interest & Experience on June 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The subtitle of this website states ‘Some thoughts on the beautiful game‘. The adjective chosen does foretell what you will not, thankfully, ever see on this site…unwritten rules and regulations if you like.

Examples of investigative journalism

Given that by background I am a qualified philosopher and have also led a rich and very colourful life across the globe, I do not wish to expose anything that casts a negative light on chess, irrespective of the alleged wrong-doing involved. The ancient Greeks taught us that everything is a question of character thus not ability so irrespective of how good at chess someone may be, that and those miscreant does not appear on this site. Instead this website is really just a celebration of writing and content I find interesting, that’s all!

Documentation of and references to crimes committed

Related to that above with similar reasons. I do have an extremely large number of contacts, some of which do conduct investigative journalism but I do not wish to, and shall not document such matters.

Corruption and criticisms

Most know the governing bodies of chess, FIDE being at the apogee obviously, usually do not have an exemplary past or one of which they are entirely proud of. But I am simply not interested. Nothing pertaining to such matters will ever be posted here.

Footage of chess portrayed in a negative light

Chess players, professional and amateur, who do not conduct themselves accordingly will not be shown on this website, whatever it may be.

Once again, this site is, if anything, it is a celebration of writing & chess. So all that above you shall not see as it is not identity conferring and by that I mean it goes against the aims of the site.

Mark. J. McCready

Colombia

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Footage so good they had to name it twice

Posted in Quaint Chess History on June 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The NBC, or National Broadcasting Company, as our American friends may tell us, was formed in 1926, it’s headquarters being New York New York -the city so good they had to name it twice. Evidence of which can be found within its music scene, that being the best America has. (please watch the video below)

And so my favourite city in the world once brought us footage of the Soviet Union V USA match back in 1955, a return match after the previous year’s meeting in New York New York. Here it is and interesting it is too.

Futher details may be found here. https://dgriffinchess.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/reshevsky-botvinnik-1st-round-ussr-usa-match-moscow-1955/

Mark. J. McCready

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When curiosity triumps over significance

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess on June 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

William Ward, who is documented playing for Luton around the turn of the 19th century, is almost certainly the forth strongest player of all time to play chess in Bedforshire, if and only if, the EDO historical rating site is to be trusted fully, putting his rating at ELO 2422 at its apogee http://www.edochess.ca/players/p562.html.

He came third in the 1905 British Chess Championship in Southport and in taking a look at some of his games, I noticed a curiosity. I have discovered what must be his quickest win ever, courtest of Britbase (see game 60). https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/190508bcf-viewer.html. He won in only two moves! I am researching how this came about and will update in due course.

Next day’s update

A brief online chat with author and historian Richard James has drawn attention to such games being described as game stubs, where the newspaper or magazine referred to does not have the entire gamescore for whatever reason.

McCready, latin america

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