Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess from 1980-2000, History of Bedfordshire Chess in the 21st century, Trivia on June 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Trivia means three ways in Latin but this question has more than three possible answers, here it is.
Our Mr. Paul Habershon was supplanted twice only at the top of the B.M.S team throughout his many years on Board 1 for his team that reigned as champions in 75. First to do it was GM Plaskett. Who seconded him please?
M J M
Luton
Posted in Trivia on June 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Because I read a lot, I encounter chess triva often. And so it is the case I just cant stop making questions about it, as I get a real buzz from it. And it is true sometimes -not all times- it goes down really well and stimulates real interest. Here’s the latest on the ECForum.
Please note this post is placed in the trivia category where you will find hundreds of other trivia questions. Aside, do you fancy a bit of Dutch punk with a Japanese twist?
M J M
Harpenden
Posted in Trivia on June 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Trivia on May 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Which internet bank -started in 2005- has a founder who shares the same surname as a former world champion?
Posted in Trivia on April 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Trivia on September 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Which renowned tournament began one summer’s day. The following day war broke out and came within 30kms of the playing venue, so it is claimed. One of the participants left the tournament early to go and fight in it.
M J M
Posted in Trivia on September 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »
This comes from knowledgeable and respectable chess friend Mark Ruston who went to school in Charlton, London. There he was taught by former British chess champion IM Bob Wade OBE. Where did IM Wade live in London and which former British champion did he rent a room from in his palatial mansion?
Helpful but chronicled clue: whilst teaching south of Charlton in New Eltham one summer, I used to cycle to The British Library to look at the chess books available to the public in its reference section (especially Sargeant’s A Century of British Chess). En route, and after a tough climb, where IM Wade lived I fell for because it was the first part of the city I rode through that was very green and quiet, and not like London at all. Still to this day, I often think if I could choose a part of London to live in, that would be it.
Shorter helpful clue
It would be more accurate to hyphenate the term ‘champion’ in the question.
Posted in Trivia on September 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Apologies if this sounds rhetorical but with conservatism so rampant in chess “What are we supposed to do?” Buck the trend and become more playful with language perhaps?
Which former British Chess Champion wanted to reach out and touch children through his chess the most?
Naughty clue: ‘ee by gum, it ain’t just folklore this. And if ya think otherwise you’re as daft as a brush’
Less naughty clue: he became British champion the year I was born (early 70s).
Inpiration
M J M
Bahrain
Posted in Trivia, Who wants to be a millionaire chess special on June 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Unlike the popular gameshow, features such as ‘ask the audience, phone a friend, and 50/50‘ are inapplicable here -sincere apologies. Unfortunately, there’s no money to be made from this also. However, do your best but do it alone please -no googling!
Question 1 £100
Which piece is sometimes mistakenly called the castle by beginners?
A: The Rook
B: The Queen
C: The Knight
D: The Bishop
Question 2 £200
According to chess annotation, what does ?! signify?
A: Interesting move
B: Brilliant move
C: Blunder
D: Dubious move
Question 3 £300
Who defected from the Soviet Union?
A: Karpov
B: Kasparov
C: Korchnoi
D: Kramnik
Question 4 £400
The publication ‘Chess Praxis’ was written by whom?
A: Emmanuel Lasker
B: Aaron Nimzowitch
C: Jose Capablanca
D: Seigbert Tarrasch
Question 5 £500
How many ply does a game of 40 moves amount to?
A: 20
B: 40
C: 60
D: 80
Question 6 £1000
GM Richard Rapport is from which country?
A: Poland
B: Romania
C: Austria
D: Hungary
Question 7 £2000
The term ‘fianchetto’ means what in Italian?
A: Little Flank
B: Long Diagonal
C: Enclosed Bishop
D: Strong piece
Question 8 £4000
The 2018 Chess World Championship was held in which city?
A: New York
B: London
C: Dubai
D: Bangkok
Question 9 £8000
Savielly Tartakower was born in which decade?
A: 1860s
B: 1870s
C: 1880s
D: 1890s
Question 10 £16,000
The Australian Cecil Purdy was the first world champion at what?
A: Correspondence chess
B: Problem Solving
C: Fischer Random chess
D: Blindfold chess
Question 11 £32,000
Which GM’s rating peaked at ELO 2817?
A: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
B: Anish Giri
C: Vladimir Kramnik
D: Alexander Grishuk
Question 12 £64,000
The ECO code E11 sginifies which defence in chess?
A: The Bogo-Indian Defence
B: The Nimzo-Indian Defence
C: The Queen’s Indian Defence
D: The King’s Indian Defence
Question 13 £125.000
The 2022 World Team Chess Championships was held in which city?
A: Lucerne
B: Astana
C: Ningbo
D: Jerusalem
Question 14 £250,000
Who was the first reigning world champion to win the Hastings Premier Event?
A: Euwe
B: Botvinnik
C: Capablanca
D: Alekhine
Question 15 £500,000
What opening in chess is sometimes referred to as The Hungarian Opening?
A: Reti Opening
B: Kings Fianchetto Opening
C: Colle System
D: King’s Indian Attack
Question 16 £1,000,000
The poem Caïssa or The Game at Chess was written by whom?
A: Artur Schopenhauer
B: Marvin Howard Alburt
C: William Jones
D: James Pierce
So there you are, well done if you did well. No money once again I’m afraid owing to being a poor English teacher. I do put thought into this, so if you got more than half right, you did well. Hope you enjoyed, you might even want to give it a shot yourself!
Mark. J. McCready
Posted in Life beyond the chess board, Trivia, Who wants to be a millionaire chess special on June 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
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.
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