On Sunday April 24th, 1988 Luton town centre was quiet indeed because half the town went off to see Luton beat Arsenal in the Littlewoods cup final. I didn’t go. Instead, I entered a Barcley’s bank office next to the Polytechnic college and played a Grandmaster in a simul. Since I’d only being playing competitive chess for three months and he has a 100% record against GM Gary Kasparov, considered by Carlsen to be the greatest player of all time, and also published what was considered to be the best book on the Ruy Lopez for many, many years, which was the opening of our game…erm my chances were rather slim. Nonetheless back then chess was more important than football.
Speed forwards two years and the 1990 world cup was wonderful to watch but I entered a tournament in Hitchin and missed two games on the Sunday (sorry can’t remember which two) but do recall when asked how I got on, I was able to answer I won both my games.
So there you have it, as a teen playing chess took precedence over watching football (and also playing).
Before spending 1 year at a higher college and 4 years at university, my youth reflected an uncritical attitude towards most things and chess was no exception.
In the 91/92 season, depression lifted for the first time in years and I started getting good. I went on a long winning streak and was voted player of the year that season. In the winter of 92, my team had to drive to Rushden to play a league match one evening. I faced S. Ruthin, rated 172. I wore a black fedora hat and plain light blue T-shirt, and had navy DM boots on with purple laces -please do not ask why!
Not exactly a fashion guru and something of a detached creature of habit also! Regarding the draw that evening, I was white and played the birds opening, which you probably know is very drawish (or so said the FM I once beat with it!). I fianchettoed my queen’s bishop and my opponent fianchettoed his king’s bishop to cancel it out. After the were both exchanged there was absolutely no life left in the dead drawn position and a draw was agreed. After the shake of hands I said ‘there goes my winning streak‘, to which my opponent, rather unpleasantly added ‘well, you should have played more for the win then’. But the thing is, of course he had a point. Who in their right mind wants to perpetuate a winning streak by playing very drawish openings? Some kind of detached creature of habit with an uncritical mindset or attitude, that’s who.
I was young, it was over three decades ago, I had not yet entered higher education…
Last month I participated in a classical tournament for the first time in eight years – I didn’t enjoy my chess. It wasn’t a mistake to play because my family enjoyed the experience as a whole -and I was chuffed to see my daughter helping out! Nonetheless, what can we learn from such experiences? What is that one thing, above all else, we should take from chess and apply to life itself? In my humble opinion, it is learning from your mistakes. Okay, so why exactly was it I enjoyed the occasion but not the chess? I shall leave you in the capable hands of GM Speelman.
“…one doesn’t always mind losing, it depends on how you lost. If you played extremely badly you can mind or if its very important but if you are beaten by a very good player in a very good game you mind quite a lot but its not so terrible…”
Grandmaster Clash 16.26 (see previous post)
I agree it is how you lose that matters and not that you lost. I didn’t like being out of practice and being conscious I was playing below par. I didn’t like the sense in which I felt I was letting myself down. I didn’t like seeing carelessness in my play. I didn’t enjoy being out of shape, too rusty, and not really up for it: it wasn’t that I lost, it was how I lost that stopped me from enjoying my chess. Furthermore, I didn’t care for the victories either because once again I felt I was not up to it. Yes I won a prize. A medal and some money but I finished the final game is quickly as I could and left hours before they were awarded. I was done with playing chess like that by then.
Today I saw this:
I have the time. I have the money. I like the city it is hosted in. I will not participate.
The month before there is a tournament in Phuket. I like Phuket. I will not participate.
To reiterate: chess teaches us to learn from our mistakes, and I believe this skill is transferable. I will not endure a repeat of last month this summer. Case closed.
Classical chess is to stay out of reach. A bit of blitz or rapid here and there yes -nothing too serious. That’s it. That’s as far as it goes.
For a reason which eludes me somewhat, I made some audio files during the tournament I played in most recently. I strongly suspect I wanted to be sure I didn’t forget how hard I found the whole thing, and I’m fairly sure it’s because I don’t want a repeat of that ever again.
It’s seven and a half years since I last played competitive chess and my-oh-my do I miss it. So much so how wonderful was it to learn that slap-bang in the middle of next month’s break lies a chess tournament just up the road from where I will be based. Load on in I did – now 2650 Baht (£58) poorer as a result cheap at half the price!
Still with some seventeen days to go, what were those early considerations?
First, which pen to use? The two chosen are both orange inked -here they are.
The black one is better, it writes in orange and is smoother, the other is back up.
Second was headwear. I have worn many hats playing chess over the years and bandanas too, inspired by Mike Muir the singer of Suicidal Tendencies, a band I went to see on October 14th, 1990 and March 6th. 1993.
I have three bandanas; one white and one black (these I always wore to metal concerts), and one multi-coloured (this I wore in Kyoto Japan a lot), and so I thought I would give them a wash and get them ready.
I’m leaving them in there to soak overnight -bandanas in the wash!
Third was, refresh and tidy up my opening repertoire. I looked into the Breyer against the Caro-Kann and am on board with that. The other change is to revert back to the Sicilian Kan from the Taimanov. I don’t like this early Nb5 stuff in that, which FM Gayson played against me recently, and I also don’t like it when white captures on c6. So the Kan, again, it is.
Preferable since I think you bring your queen’s knight out too early in the Taimanov.
The remaining considerations are what food and drink to bring to the hotel, whether to arrive on the day or the day before, and what to do in the half-day we have (ATV Tour looks most likely).
I am reading Rowson’s T7DCS, and analyzing chess positions deeply, that’s enough for now.
The province it is being held in Nakhon Nayok, just north-east of Bangkok. It is shaded light green and if you look in the top right corner you will see a blue dot. That is a lake and next to it is a white dot, that’s where the tournament hotel is (see below).
One of the benefits chess gives us is it teaches us the importance of learning from our mistakes. Entering a tournament rusty is something I have done before quite a few times and do not wish to repeat. And so… .
Forth was putting a PGN viewer (Chess PGN Master) and Engine (Stockfish 15.1) on my Samsung Tablet, so that I have better access to analysis, where I may choose to store my games. Because the interface is customizable, after looking and playing around I settled on the aforementioned.
My LTFC look 🙂
Fifth was entering a Rapid tournament the weekend before.
It is a necessity to bring chess back into my life and reacquaint with that presently not within my reach. The following question is what comes next?
As it stands: March 29th Bangkok Chess Club visit
March 31st FIDE Rated Rapid Tournament
April 5th-9th CAD Nakhon Nayok International Open
Sixth consideration is how much cider is consumed throughout? A tough question indeed.
If, like thyself, you’ve put your back into reading up on all that past, across days, weeks’, bank holiday week ends and months woven together, pat yourself on the back, sit yourself back down, and have a cup of tea, just ad milk and 1-2 sugars.
As a first year undergraduate writing away in leafy Hertfodshire, the two modules I took for history 15/16th century English history and the Industrial Revolution -both well worthy of study for this unbiased Brit with nothing better to do anyway.
My lecturer used to makes jokes about our industrial revolution, one was him going back in time asking people who it’s like to through the industrial revolution, with one answer being ‘oh are we, I thought we just sold more stuff’!
Back in the hallowed antiquities in the 1990s, where governance in the UK went into slow decline, everyone watched The Spice Girls and Mr.Blobby: unspeakable acts of crime were committed at my chess club in a manner that was as perfunctory as it was unforgiveable.
The 90s was not a digital era as such, clubs that had records kept them on paper. It was all paper back then. All our league tables, match cards, team lists, and rating lists were sent to the lockers in the football club’s changing room, then some months later lobbed out. Makes your spine chill doesn’t it?
In our modern age everything is digital and exists in the form of data. It doesn’t get lost.
It’s very saddening to think back to those evenings where match results were thrown out. No historian would do that. Instead they would classify them as primary source material, most likely they would remain covered. It was a great shame that our president Ken Liddle saw them as taking up space and to be slung out.
We value data and information much more now, which in turn means we are compelled to think of the 90s as depressing, from a historical perspective. Sadly the question of who a game scoresheet belong to in the modern game is a complex one, and to some degree, debatable.
Note to self: If you are interested in playing through the 496 competitive matches you wrote scoresheets for, erm, maybe not go up into loft and chuck the lot out -bloody hypocrite!
As the shy teenager I was, I so loved how after dusk fell I was driven to league matches along dark country roads. What a wonderful way to explore Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Northamptonshire in your youth. A supressed excitement in seeing small towns and cities such as Bedford, Leighton Buzzard, Cranfield, Milton Keynes, and Northampton kept me wide-eyed always. Those dark A-roads and narrow country lanes, that amber street lighting, the knowledgeable teammates who drove me to the venue, their respectful inquisitiveness and oh-so careful driving, the sensation of parking up. Entering the building and readying yourself for your game, the shake of the hand…game on… .
A brave new world where a long game of competitive chess was the light at the end of the tunnel. Then, a drive home where we could converse about our games and indulge in more general chess conversation. Once Ken Grogan picked myself and Marcus Dunne up for a match. On the way home I asked Ken ‘Is it difficult to concentrate on driving after your match?‘ Marcus interjected, ‘that’s a good question’, I was only 16. What should I know about driving, I wasn’t even old enough to get behind the wheel!
Through chess I learnt the importance of travel and how it broadened your horizons. It was -if you like- a perpetual night out. A ride away from the drudgery and monotony of daily life into the endless evening ahead. No one in my family took me anywhere ever, except to clinics, surgeries and hospitals. But where they stepped back, team mates stepped forwards.
It is the sense of occasion that chess offers which appeals the most. Chess is a game of calculation. We cannot follow our game thoughts so easily afterwards but mood we may remember still, especially mood both before and after the game. Those sentiments are not so easily lost and may stay with us five decades on, as mine have. The drive to the game. Those dark roads. The game play. The journey home. The companionship en route. The occasion and all it has to offer.
Mark John McCready, 0700, February 19th 2024, Al-Fursan, Dammam, KSA
What sort of engine splutters? 1 full of rust! 8 months of no chess at all has been vanquished but even already I am taking my foot off the pedal. I played five games on-line with a 30 minute time control and won them all and have agreed to represent my county online in 2 games with a 3-day a move time limit. Alas I am regretting it already! And why’s that? Because its the sense of occasion that I cherish most of all, the social aspect of the game if you like, and of course, that is noticeably lacking with online chess. Is if that wasn’t enough, here’s a position from the 3rd win, just look at the obvious tactic I went and missed due to rustiness! (the title of the post is the Thai word for rustiness: ความ [kwam] state of mind/being, เป็น [pen] be สนิม [sanim] rust}.
Game 3faux pax. Thinking I was winning, here I played 28. Kh1? What should I have played?
The best move is 28. Nxc5! winning material. Quite obvious really! That’s rustiness for you! Or is it me just being rubbish anyway?
Only a fortnight away…
Bangkok chess awaits once more, this time I intend to visit with Grace, my daughter, and will make videos that focus on the social aspects of chess rather than the play itself. I shall be there. You shall see. Videos to follow.
Mark. J. McCready, 03:50am, Wednesday February 7th
…on what this site initially became…on what this site is now becoming…on what this site cannot become…
On what this site initially became…
…once upon a time, the chess-related musings of an adrift academic were bound playfully and electronically in this online journal of sorts. They grew and grew as the decade did too. I kept on because I love to write whether I had much to say or not; therefore, being read by others was usually of little or no importance, comparatively speaking. Content was based on personal thoughts and experience on various topics with no intended audience borne in mind. With topics broadening, my own take on things always shaped the narrative I constructed: I often thought I was insightful but never that I was right. Sometimes imagination gave rise to originality: and of that I have always remained proud. I often introduced humour, believing that I am funnier than I really am. Sometimes, I found my own style antithetical to the conservatism I believe chess is plagued by -oftentimes that has put a gracious smile on my face… .
On what this site is now becoming…
…this site is now becoming a collaboration of chess in Bedfordshire: much more so of the past than the present -that has become the dominant trend. I document the history of chess in Bedfordshire as much as I can, and as time has passed I have become more thorough and resourceful. However, I am not a trained historian as my background lies principally in philosophy but yes it is true I did study some modules on history as both an undergraduate and a post-graduate too; furthermore, I have trained myself up, particularly in terms of postmodern history. Since 2015, I have only read history and historiography as well as those philosophers who have been so influential on postmodern history, such as Nietzsche (whom I once wrote a 19,000 word dissertation on, entitled: Can the Will to Power be Found in The Birth of Tragedy?), also Richard Rorty and Foucault and I suppose certain structualists such as Claude Levi-Strauss too. Regarding postmodernism, mostly I keep to Hayden White, Keith Jenkins and Alan Muslow.
Some friends and former playing partners back home describe me as the ‘go to guy’ for the history of chess in Bedfordshire. This compliment says more about the lack of interest in the subject than my own endeavour. As mentioned, I am too adrift from academia to feel chuffed. Rather. I tend to lament that my historical research, like my chess, just isn’t what it should be. Even though I may well have a broad understanding of Bedfordshire chess history courtesy of the volume of research put into it, all of which began in 2014, this is not something I am particularly proud of. Nonetheless, out of courtesy compliments are graciously received. If the truth be told, I just see it as my job and only that – after all someone’s got to do it and no one else is that interested!
Amongst the many others, I have created three categories: ‘Bedfordshire Chess’ and ‘History of Bedfordshire Chess’ and ‘Luton Chess Club’. This website is slowly moving towards a consolidation of those (all of which can be found in one of the toolbars to the right).
On what this site cannot become…
…I like to be both creative and amusing when I can be, factor in that playfulness has been an ever-present factor, the content of this site should be thought of as multifarious. It could be said I continue to enjoy undermining the conservatism I believe chess is underpinned by even after all these years, and often try to use humour to do it still, believing I have got better at it. Consequently, despite the general direction its going in, this site cannot only be about Chess in Bedfordshire and nor will it be. It may become noted for that yes -in fact that’s been the case for years already even by established historians, archivists, and whoever else. External factors aside, this site is titled McCreadyandChess. I cannot, nor will I not, remove my own personal thoughts and experiences of chess from the posts of this site -especially if I think they are funny or original for they constitute my writing at its very, very best. In addition, the number of categories alone tells you that breadth of content is important to me. I am proud of my site, it is identity conferring and that is how it shall stay -end of story. All you really have are: ‘Some thoughts on the beautiful game’, which, incidentally, just happen to be my very own; nothing more, nothing less, take of it whatever you please… .
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
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