McCreadyandChess

The Morals of Chess

October 20, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

Whilst reading the truly wonderful ‘Chess: the history of a game’, by Richard Eales, I discovered that Benjamin Franklin once wrote an essay on ‘The Morals of Chess’. His comments show that he understood our beautiful game very well. The piece certainly reveals it age, his comments regarding ‘the rules of play’ made me chuckle. I would like to add that I am in concordance with the view that singing at the board whilst your opponent is thinking is rather ungentlemanly. After all, the last thing you want whilst deep in concentration is for renditions of the latest death metal number to waft across the board… .

You can find it in the Appendix on pg. 6.

http://www.benfranklin300.org/_etc_pdf/Chess_John_McCrary.pdf

Founding fathers of the USA or death metal?

A founding father of the USA or death metal?

Posted in Life beyond the chess board | Tagged benjamin franklin the morals of chess | Leave a Comment »

Two wins & A draw

October 19, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

The positions below are from Hodgson’s ‘The Chess Travellers Quiz book’

1) Wahls – Bjarnason Malo 1986, white to play and win.

2) Gogolov – Varshavsky, Luksena 1967, black to play and draw.

3) Pagilla – Carbone, Argentina 1976, white to play and win.

Answers to come soon.

Posted in Life beyond the chess board | Leave a Comment »

Plucky Bedfordshire do it again.

October 13, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

On September 14th, my home county Bedfordshire showed great resolve by beating Buckinghamshire in this year’s Fleming Trophy despite the fact that we were out-graded on 15 of the 16 boards.

You can find the match result by clicking on the following link.

http://www.bedfordchess.co.uk/beds-beat-bucks/

Well done Bedfordshire.

Posted in Personal Interest & Experience | Tagged bedfordshire chess | Leave a Comment »

Locating your nearest club.

October 9, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

If you are in England and want to find the club nearest to you, click on the following link

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zWKYm66MxysA.kC97MoNcSLBk

Posted in Life beyond the chess board | Tagged nearest chess club england | Leave a Comment »

Seen but not heard

October 6, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

Just when you finally get a day off during the week, the latest international tournament to roll into town just had to have a free day too. So what better way could there be to spend a day than lounging around watching archive footage of ex-world champions whilst the little one runs amok with her new shopping trolley, the last of nanny’s birthday presents! Whilst flicking through a few playlists, I came across a montage showing the rivalry between Kasparov and Karpov. It’s well edited, there’s a lot of great footage, and the music is quite listenable too. A nice way to spend 15 minutes for sure.

Posted in Life beyond the chess board | Tagged kasparov karpov montage | Leave a Comment »

Underwater Chess

October 5, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

For the lads the tropics is a great place to laze around on the beach whilst trying to pull scantily-clad local girls but for us real men its an ideal place to turn our backs on society and play some underwater chess instead. In the linked video, two machismo IM’s turn up, swap their thick goggles for scuba masks and go to war in the aqua waters of Curacao, much to the delight of some bemused tourists.

The footage, however, contains scenes which will cause uproar amongst hardcore chess purists. There’s so many fish in the water that it’s hard to follow the action, and a stingray went unpunished by the arbiter for swimming over the board whilst the players were deep in concentration. Obviously, it should have received a verbal warning at least. It’s hardly surprising that no one has played underwater since the video was made in 2008 given the etiquette of the marine life in it and the double-standards employed by the officials. Yet again, its one rule for marooned International Masters and another for the occasional passing stingray….when is FIDE going to get its act together?

NB Chess fans suffering with high-blood pressure should seek medical advice from a doctor before clicking on the link below. Discretionary viewing advised.

Posted in Life beyond the chess board | Tagged underwater chess | Leave a Comment »

Cryptic chess-bridge crossword

October 5, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

Viz, the most informative chess magazine in Britain, has brought out a chess/bridge cryptic crossword. I had a go at it myself but found it too hard. After contacting the publishers, they told me that it was for players rated 2900+ only before putting the phone down! Anyway, why don’t you see if you can do it.

Posted in My own warped humour | Leave a Comment »

May the force be with you.

September 29, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

If you were thinking of splashing out on some snazzy new software like Komodo 8 then think again. You can join the dark – or light- side with Lucas chess instead. It’s free, open source and has a great GUI. It’s user friendly and there’s lots of options. It’s the sort of thing that makes you wonder why people pay for software. I very much doubt whether I will purchase Fritz again.

http://www-lucaschess.rhcloud.com/index#

Posted in Life beyond the chess board | Tagged lucas chess | 2 Comments »

Chess – A State of Mind

July 8, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

I have stumbled across another documentary on chess, entitled ‘Chess – A state of Mind’. It hails from the 80’s and accredits Bill Hartston as the writer. Leaving the narrative aside, there’s lots of rare footage to be seen making it worth a watch. There’s Bent Larsen discussing the stories he told Fischer as a child and a few glimpses of Smyslov here and there. You might even see Raymond Keene out jogging with Michael Stean and Korchnoi, a sight for sore eyes certainly.

Posted in Documentaries | Tagged chess a state of mind | 3 Comments »

Chess News 5: Chess vandals causing mischief in quaint English town.

June 17, 2014 by mccreadyandchess

Someone in my homelands is going around town, spray-painting chess pieces onto walls, prompting a police investigation. What naughty person is doing that I wonder?

http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/towns/devizesheadlines/11254634.Police_ready_to_move_against_Devizes_chess_pieces_vandal/

Posted in My own warped humour | Leave a Comment »

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…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 by it. 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… .

Mark. J. McCready

9.56 pm Monday, October 28th 2024

Bangkok, Thailand
Categories
Posts which McCready is mighty pleased with

Malpractice — Replete with dark humour and literary devices

Bedfordshire Chess in the 70s its past and its future — Local History

Our Clash of Future Champions — Local History

Fond Memories of Bedfordshire Chess — Humour & Reflection

Meme 16 — Dark Humour & Parody

Reflections 20— Reflection & Warm Condolence

Reflections 17 — Colourful reflections from afar
Luton & The University of Bedfordshire Chess Club
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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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