Archive for August 11th, 2026

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

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, Luton Chess Club, My own endeavours on August 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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

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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

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Two short videos

Posted in Documentaries on August 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

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

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