Just look at this below…at least there’s an injection of humour.
M J M
Archive for April, 2026
Rather unwelcome birthday gift
Posted in Trivia on April 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »
May be remembered as Round 666 not Round 6 by top seed Loek
Posted in Chess in Thailand on April 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The top seed of the current Bangkok Chess Open is GM Loek Van Wely, and he’s indeed a very pleasant chap. Now a member of parliment in his home country (The Netherlands), he has returned to the Bangkok Chess Open, a favourite of his we may assume. In Round 6 his opponent had the letters and numbers IM 2502 U18 both sides of his name, that being Dau Khoung Duy, he heralds from Vietnam. For most, caution would be exercised.
Loek did not make it out of the middle-game, which was highly tactical. I am not adept enough to comment on it, a fan of using engines neither, so I will just post the game instead. Not a good day for top seed Loek, who was left with 4.5/6.
Thanks go to friend and chess player Mark Ruston who put me onto the game.
https://lichess.org/broadcast/23rd-bangkok-chess-club-open-2026–classical/round-6/cazxvfLa/kDIgfYmF
M J M
Looking in front, to the side, and behind…
Posted in Chess in Thailand on April 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Futures that lie ahead…
Soon I shall have months of free time. ‘Tis quite likely that I be frequenting Bangkok Chess Club. I enjoy the evenings more if I am playing well. I should brush up on opening theory and ply my trade against Lucas Chess Programme frequently in order to facilitate this, since absence does make the heart grow fonder…but then I may not… .
That which presently lies…
Aside the time of writing, it is Songkran in Thailand and so the Bangkok Chess Club Open is up and running. Songkran means war -and not just over the board! It is the longest holiday in Thailand, since it heralds the coming of the new year, which is celebrated by a huge waterfight festival, making it the best time to squeeze in a Swiss 9-rounder. For several reasons, I am unable to attend this year. The same could be said of my daughter. In truth, I have only played in one tournament in the past decade -long may it stay that way. This does not mean I would rather not be there. Actually I would. All it means is I would rather not play opting instead to enjoy the sense of occasion and help out (I was the official photographer for many years amongst other things). More about chess in Bangkok can be found here, bangkokchess.com (and yes the photo you see in the header was mine all mine, webmaster Peter seemed to like it)… Umm, don’t you think the beachside 5 star hotel which wanted 2.7 million baht for use of its ballrooms, we got it down to 0.9 million is home to this year’s tournament looks rather much like a resort and spa? That it be btw. The Sheraton Hua Hin
That which lies in the past…
Key-rings on order courtesy of my -ex from the tournament where we first met fifteen years ago. A blue knight for me, a green King for Grace, who were it not for my unending love of chess would not have come to be a part of this wonderful world in which we all live and play out the lives we lead… .
A better family game…
Another better family game…
Song of the week
Old classic from Summer 93. I still love the video, as this week’s youtube history shows.
Runner up
The bassline for this inspired Killing Joke and their song 80’s, which inspired Nirvana and the song Come As You Are. The Damned are my favourite punk band.
M J M
(note to reader on the above salutation: orange be my favourite colour, purple be Grace’s mum’s favourite colour, and pink be Grace’s favourite colour)
-
Recent Posts
Archives
…on what this site initially became…on what this site is now becoming…on what this site cannot become…
Categories
- Academia
- Bedfordshire Chess
- Chess
- Chess in Thailand
- Dear Ken
- Documentaries
- FIDE
- History of Bedfordshire Chess
- Humour
- Kasparyan
- Life beyond the chess board
- Luton Chess Club
- Meme
- Moves I could never play
- My daughter
- My own endeavours
- My Own Games
- My own warped humour
- On-line journal
- Personal Interest & Experience
- Postmodern History
- Quaint Chess History
- Reflections
- Reviews
- Selected on-line games
- Sources of inspiration
- Tournament Chess
- Trivia
- Viz inspired material
- Who wants to be a millionaire chess special
- World Championships Analytics
Posts which McCready is mighty pleased with
Luton & The University of Bedfordshire Chess Club
01582 743921/07710036246 (Humuyan)Tuesdays from 7.30 pm, The Library, Ground Floor
Please go to:
https://www.lutonchessclub.com/Blog Stats
- 32,352 hits
-
Join 39 other subscribers
-
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.
Gallery
-
- I’m either 10 or 11 here
-
- 1982, myself versus Brian from Sunderland.
-
- At the Thai Junior chess championships. My daughter of course.
-
- Pattaya 2011
-
- 2011
-
- Thai Junior Championships
-
- 2008
-
- 2011
-
- Around 2011
-
- 2011
-
- Pattaya 2009
-
- 2011
-
- Kuwait 2008
-
- 2012
-
- 2012
-
- 2011 BKK Chess club
-
- 2011
-
- 2011 Thai Open
-
- 2011 Thai Open
-
- 2013 approx
-
- Around 2014
-
- 2010
-
- 2012
-
- Around 2011
-
- 2011
-
- 2011
-
- 2013
-
- Around 2011
-
- Around 2011
-
- 2020
-
- 2011
-
- 2008
-
- 2011
-
- 2013 or thereabouts
-
- 2010
-
- 2017
-
- 2014?
-
- 2010
-
- 2024
-
- 2024
-
- 2024
-
-
To add comments, please see the bell at the top of the page.
McCreadyandChess 