1 C
2 A
3 D
4 B
5 C
6 A
7 C
8 D
9 A
10 B
11 C
12 B
13 D
14 B
15 D
16 D
A love of travel has pushed me far and wide. Two months ago I arrived in my 38th county, down yonder Latin America to Colombia in fact, courtesy of that leitmotiv of mine (all that is left now is Africa and Australasia). This afternoon, I headed further north than usual in the capital city, to give training to a headmaster at an International school. After it had concluded, I cut through the small but exclusive shopping mall I saw opposite his luxury apartment -you can find it and its name on the map here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ixdGsHkqyfmaRcsH9.
It had two floors only, the second being a food court, so I decided to take a look. Much to my surprise I noticed ten or so elderly gentlemen -like me- playing skittles. Within minutes I was beckoned to play at a table by the windows. This was to be my first game in Colombia, my first game in Latin America. Perchance I looked English for I was offered the white pieces, and being English, naturally I opened with 1. c4. I played all my moves almost instantly except one or two -as if it were bullet chess with no clock! But with my heroes being Carlsen and Karpov, yes I went for a Catalan, opting for some space grabbing on the queenside with an a-pawn thrust that knocked his knight on b6 back to the eighth rank before opening the centre up with a d-pawn push that put my opponent on the backfoot even further in order to blockade it. He made no mistakes, however, but his defensive minor piece placement in the middlegame allowed me much activity in the endgame, which when my king came marching in, eventually cost him the full point. I did not write anything down for it was only skittles but I do recall the final position.
Even though the weather is inclement, the start to the day often inauspicious, the culture in Bogota is vibrant nonetheless. They like to live their life to the full here, they are pragmatic about it also, well for the most part. They don’t only play chess in parks, they also congregate in food courts to deliver checkmate, until of course they come up against McCready the conquistador! My play was consistent in approach and effective too, and that made me proud, putting a smile on my face as I left. It was already dark then, the time some twenty minutes or so after dusk had fallen. I walked towards the Transmilenio bus stop named Alcalá, my mood jovial, my state of mind aloof somewhat. Getting on the right bus, that being number 8, but going several kilometers in the wrong direction towards the northern edge of the city was more laughable than it was regretable, such was my mood: I came, I saw, I conquered I told myself, and not I came, I saw (the bus), I conquered a seat on it but off it went in the opposite direction and I almost got myself bloody lost again! It wasn’t an unfitting end to an afternoon of discovery followed by achievement but simply a brief return of ‘old dafthead’ as Worzel Gummidge would have put it -or so I like to jest!
To end, my greatest passion in life isn’t chess, it’s music; therefore, the thing I connect with the most here isn’t that chess is enjoyed in public but rather heavy metal is popular indeed instead. The song of the day, then, has to be this appropriately named, and rather catchy, 1980’s German metal massacre.
Mark. J. McCready
Colombia
Posted in On-line journal, Personal Interest & Experience | Leave a Comment »
Whenever I discover chess content incorporating history by historians, keen to post it I am for perhaps obvious reasons. One popped up in an audio lecture yesterday.
In case you don’t know or can’t guess, the well-respected historian Steinberg argues that it was Lenin.
Here he is. In my opinion no other westerner understands the history of Russia better than him. Watch him, listen to him or purchase one of his many publications and you might see why.
MJM
Posted in Trivia | Leave a Comment »
Former world champion Kasparov has extended his presence on youtube further with new channels full of interesting content. In this video, Kasparov gives us some background and analysis on his first game against rival Karpov.
MJM
Posted in Chess | Leave a Comment »
Two, perhaps, audaciously theatrical videos here; one on the Milner-Barry Gambit, and the other on the Halloween Gambit. Highly interesting stuff right? Well worth a watch, yes? 10 out of 10 for creativity agreed? Youtube links follow below.
The creator does indeed have his own youtube channel. Do make of it what you will. Quite a find I’d say but nor really my cup of tea tbh.
https://www.youtube.com/@ChessMakta
MJM
Posted in Chess | Leave a Comment »
Here Jon Speelman defeats Kasparov. Much quality analysis can be found between the two players also.
MJM
Posted in Documentaries | Leave a Comment »
It could be argued that the coverage leaves a lot to be desired, however, it is worth a watch -but only just!
MJM
Posted in Documentaries | Leave a Comment »
You may watch the game or you may flash through it on the link below, either way I am not going to tell you what the bravest move I have ever seen played is, I’m sure you can work it out for yourself.
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1956850
MJM
Posted in Chess | Leave a Comment »
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A side note on how to read old Tom Sweby's columns
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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
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- I’m either 10 or 11 here
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- 1982, myself versus Brian from Sunderland.
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- At the Thai Junior chess championships. My daughter of course.
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- Pattaya 2011
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- 2011
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- Thai Junior Championships
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- 2008
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- 2011
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- Around 2011
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- 2011
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- Pattaya 2009
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- 2011
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- Kuwait 2008
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- 2012
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- 2012
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- 2011 BKK Chess club
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- 2011
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- 2011 Thai Open
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- 2011 Thai Open
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- 2013 approx
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- Around 2014
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- 2010
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- 2012
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- Around 2011
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- 2011
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- 2011
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- 2013
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- Around 2011
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- Around 2011
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- 2020
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- 2011
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- 2008
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- 2011
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- 2013 or thereabouts
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- 2010
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