Television has a role in modern western society which is being decentralized by the internet and the so called digital revolution we are, apparently, undergoing.
Nonetheless, important it remains and compelling it may be too…especially when Bedfordshire’s finest chess players appear on it. Who might they be and what was that all about then?
1 (The man who failed to beat me with the King’s Indian Attack)
The first was Bedford’s Dave Ledger, who appeared on the Channel 4 daytime show Countdown around 1993 (apologies for my imprecision). I did ask him about his experience on the show once, and he informed me that it (Countdown) was far less glamorous than it appears on tv! Dave did win on his debut it, I remember watching him, and gave a good account of himself. https://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_1571 . It is also claimed that Dave appeared on a show called Brainteaser but I have no evidence of this.
2 (The man who dismantled my Bird’s opening far too quickly)
Staying with Bedford, second was Paul Habershon, who also appeared on countdown some eleven years later, and like Dave, won in the first but lost in the second show. Further information can be be found on the Countdown Wiki here. https://wiki.apterous.org/Paul_Habershon
3 (The man I never met over the board)
Third in line was Bedford’s James Plaskett, who famously appeared on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2006, and in all probability, won more money on a gameshow than any other chess player in history.
4 (The man once rated 200+ who once saw me off with with his Catalan)
Forth comes Dunstable & Luton’s Colin Garwood, who recently appeared on University Challenge and did rather well for himself.
5
The exclusion of the fifth element! Mr. M. J. McCready once appeared as an extra in the film Whoops Apocalypse in 1986, and then appeared on tv many times thereafter in the crowd at Luton Town football club. I’ve also appeared on tv in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. But I’m not linking any of that nor should I include myself. All appearances were fleeting and I never said very much. Additionally, I’m both shy and rubbish at chess, which makes my inclusion rather unnecessary and quite unjustifiable!
MJM
McCreadyandChess 