Archive for the ‘Life beyond the chess board’ Category

33545

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, My own endeavours, Personal Interest & Experience on March 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Word count is 33545.

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The Relief

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, My own endeavours on March 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

It’s 0446 March 13th. Finally I’ve finished. The project I have been working on for 19 months was completed in November but much re-writing had to take place and the editorial procedure was drawn out and repeated twice, so that’s three times in total. Finally its all done now and I don’t have to write anymore.

Just need to add about ten quotes and selected pics. I doubt whether I shall bother with an Appendix, so a proofread and off to the publishers it is.

Phew!

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How quaint self-imposed exile is.

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, My own endeavours, Personal Interest & Experience on March 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »

I -and no I’m not telling you where- came here to write and to read. I am engaged in a major project that will have to be sent out for publication, what comes of that you shall stay informed of. There is a second project too a second too perhaps but for that I am still reading more postmodern history than doing the research, which per se only started a few weeks back…

I’m very happy to say that I have just finished the second draft/editorial procedure of my main meaning only one more is left. My writing style has tightened so much there may be much to do but I doubt it. Should I stay focused it should be finished. Then I have to let it slip in case something I have forgotten emerges. The publishing company will have decide the genre themselves. Of course I know exactly what it is but I am as unpretentious as I was 1000 years before I was born, so it is up to them. Six-eight hours of writing and 2 hours of reading a day undisturbed. Bliss.

And so an afternoon of rest beckons then the final draft begins. It’s probably the only thing I will ever write where I do want people to read. When I said I come from a hardened working-class background, believe me I was not joking. How many of you reading this have seen with your own eyes your board knocked over because your opponent his ripped of table legs and -Bruce-Lee like- went smacking pupils in the head, bollocks, shins, back, legs, arms…ok so he was going to be expelled shortly anyway for throwing a typewriter at another students head but yes, there is plenty of contact which will raise however many eyebrows you have. Oh btw I never lowered myself to such behaviour, whilst all that went on I only booted in study cubicles, booted chairs about, and hilariously threw hundreds of books out of the windows along with several classmates…there is content far more graphic than that believe me. I’ve had a colourful life, let’s just leave it at that, word count is at present 32793. That will jump at least 5000 words as sections and quotations are missing.

I will keep you posted.

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Who’s zoomin’ who?

Posted in Academia, Life beyond the chess board, Personal Interest & Experience on March 7, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Oh boy it gets so hard. The Westminster Gazette publishes something in full. The next day about six other newspapers follow suit. Do I assume they just copied? I’m an academic! I can’t just do that! It is as reprehensible as it is irresponsible. Ohhh, headache time… .

Big job ahead… .

MJM

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Progress has been made…

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, My own endeavours, Personal Interest & Experience on March 4, 2020| Leave a Comment »

The writing project I have been engrossed in for the last 18 months was completed months ago but the editorial procedure is based on ultra-perfectionism and is thus drawn out… .

The second section, which is based on what I didn’t gain from chess in my youth, had a flaw. There was a missing adjective.

Whilst listening to the British Radio station TalkSport, I heard the word I so badly needed. Whilst watching the world champion defeat Svidler on-line another crucial missing adjective was overheard.

I am now in a position to take care of section two; progress has been made.

The finish line is closer than I think.

Courtesy of the word count, it has to be proofread and sent for publication. Should that not happen I will post it here.

From memory alone, my Dissertation was around 14500 words. Most likely it will be thrice that.

Mark

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Concerns are growing…

Posted in Life beyond the chess board on February 25, 2020| Leave a Comment »

To that great many across that on-line world of ours, so many suppose somehow they I am thee President of Thee Bedfordshire Chess league. I am not…well not yet for I don’t live in England and am finding it difficult to return home: so shifty looking teams asking me to join the league is a waste of their and my time. I had a group of lads contact me recently saying they’d like to start in Div 2 next season. There request ‘You’s Mark yeah -stik us in the league next season init,not divison A -were’d get mullered. They’ll be a few quid in it for ya like’. He hadn’t taken in my point. I can’t make decisions of any kind, and from the tone of the emails I’m not sure it’s if its a good idea at all to further the conversation…

The latest images to be sent by them are these, and they’ve changed their name the C-Firm now.

Battered by a brick to the head by GM playing The Benoni
Northampton Chess club with table put through window after a dart went though the head of the board 5 player. Only the TV Satellite is showing.
Simul gone wrong

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Endgame Clothing

Posted in Life beyond the chess board on February 23, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Down to my last item of chess clothing now… .

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A new team applies…

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Life beyond the chess board, My own warped humour on February 15, 2020| Leave a Comment »

The number of visitors which have mostly visited this site over the years went into the tens of thousands a long time ago. Mostly they find it amusing and informative but the last request made was very different to all others preceding -simply put I was stumped. I thought about calling the old bill for advice even ,anfd perhaps I should. An team captain e-mailed me asking if they could join next season, they call themselves the ‘Clophill Killers’ Some feedback required here, as agreeing to their wishes may not be for the best. Have a look and decide yourself.

The ‘Clophill Killers’ club captain was arrested and detained during a match against Leighton Buzzard for banging the clocks off the table during matches, and letting tires down in the car park after he lost his game.
Studied the Catalan extensively, throws a solid right-hook.
A Caro-Kann King. Will put his head on you in the corridor before the game. if he gets the chance
Will play the St. Georges defense, will try to break into your car when its your turn to move.
Nasty fucker in time-trouble, likes to turn tables over in the end-game.
Usually plays the English Opening. Rating below 100. Never does much during matches. Often looks edgy.
Looks like a young Peter Svidler. Strong tactically, works out at the gym a lot.
No real interest in chess. Rating less than 70. Doesn’t usually make it out of the opening. Good to chat to.
Likes the Benko Gambit. Always gets hammered during play. Always in court.
The team reserve drafted in away to Northampton. Opened with The Grob and got a dart in the head for it on move two by the team captain: the match had to be cancelled, then there was a right rumpus.
Aftermath of the abandoned match. A Northampton player had his jaw broken as a result.

They want to enter Division two next season and call themselves ‘The Clophill Killers’ as mentioned. I smell danger here: they look like a right roudy bunch to me. But as they say, the more the merrier. A new club with more members may improve the league no end. Their inclusion may give them a psychological edge over other clubs in the league so strong they will take Div 1 by storm even though I do know they are all steaming before 9pm….perhaps many opposing teams will default,

I should add for the last 18 months I have been fully engaged with two writing projects, one of which is well over the 30,000 word mark. The reading list accompanying both is far more voluminous than when I wrote my dissertation on early 19th century German Philosopy. It’s broad and makes me read content for characterization I am unfamiliar with. A day without 6 hours of research and writing is a blessing…sometimes something lighthearted like this helps alleviate the tension. I doubt whether the aforementioned posts will remain as posts only. The proof reader is pushing towards publication but vanity aside, saying ‘I’m an author means fuck all, for myself, vanity refers only to appearance: humble brags over how I wrote this and that mean fuck all much because I write for myself and myself only. I prefer not to be read: if I am read so be it, if not so be it, comment so be it, don;t comment so be it…I just don;t care. I am an artist I write only for myself and no one else.

Mark.J.McCready

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Grace and I

Posted in Life beyond the chess board on October 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

In the first video you see my daughter in the pink dress take her place.

In the second you see me for what I really am. I Still do not have full use of all my limbs and the damage to my nervous system is much worse than I thought.So did I stay at home and do nothing but recover? Like fuck I did. I run non stop and push it so hard on my bike at all times even though I can’t grip the handlebars with my left hand very well. I posted this because I have spent over a year writing a post that dispels many myths surrounding chess, and I am tremendously proud of it. My upbringing is very much different to what you might expect. So now you can see me as I really am and not whoever you thought I were.

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A rise from the ashes…

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, My own endeavours, Personal Interest & Experience on September 5, 2019| 2 Comments »

Greetings my dear friends and sincere apologies for my absence. I am still in recovery from a major accident three years back and have found the adjustments to that difficult to say the least. I recently suffered from a seizure which so nearly cost me my life. It did not and instead has jolted me back into action even though I am still injured.

It is my intention to offer a post-modern historical account on the history of Bedfordshire Chess, and I do have a publisher lined up, should I stay alive long enough to complete it. Last year I underwent the process of teaching myself the finer points and methodological procedures of Britain’s most prominent post-modern historians, of whom Jenkins is the one I am learning the most from. But with the British Library remaining rather guarded over their resources, this project has barely got off the ground (although the groundwork is being put in).

More recently I spent a year and more writing about what I gained and did not gain from chess in my youth. That far from finished project is at the 20,000 word mark already and has not one but two appendices; one written within the confines of academic procedure, the other a stylistic device written in ‘teen speak’ if you like…or put differently how I used to speak as the street kid I was and still am. It’s a very broad project which has a narrative beginning many decades before I was born, strictly speaking its a mimeses of life itself, and by mimesis I specifically refer to the term used when Plato’s writings are referenced (more on that to come). Once again, I’m sad to say for local readers, it isn’t the greatest advert for the Bedfordshire Chess League, and worse, to a lesser extent the post prefaces the one preceding this (yes the one with the rather pretentious title).

A devoted reader of this site pointed out that when she knew me, I had dropped my accent. For some time I have wondered about that, as rebuilding who you are after losing your entire memory isn’t exactly easy. Well, anyway, it was because chess players generally don’t speak with the same crude, working class accent I grew up talking with. So, snippets of super-exciting content left to one side: when the project will be complete I don’t know. Will it be worth reading? Not sure also. But what I do know is that health comes first, oh and in addition my writing style has changed considerably, more on that to come later…. .

I don’t yet have full use of my limbs after my most recent seizure and until my health is restored I can’t really write much if anything at all, well not without the concentration it requires that is… .

It was also my intention to rejoin The British Newspaper Archive and post content from that. Again, this is of local interest only and partially explained by the fact that my world view is altered by personal injury, as is the case with everyone else who has had to fight to have their life saved. It’s no longer the case that I can post about anything beyond personal experience within the environment I developed as a player, and offer interpretations of that environment itself -by this I mean differing historical accounts. The world beyond that is too far removed from play, and since when was I ever good enough as a player to comment on it anyway?

Health permitting, and ability to remain alive with an uncrashed head on my bicycle, I do hope to return home around christmas this year, and hopefully play some chess at home. So to conclude, I will bring this site back to life when I am strong enough to do so, and hopefully that will be sooner rather than later… .

Until then… .

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