Early preparation games

March 22, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

To prepare for a visit to Bangkok Chess Club and a FIDE rated Rapid tournament next weekend, and then a 9-round classical chess tournament the week after in the countryside, I have begun to ready myself…to prepare.

I’ve tidied up my opening repertoire already and begun reading Rowson once more. I’ve also noted down what my weaknesses are and how to work on them. I’ve begun playing 10 minute games as well, to implement what I have learnt from Rowson and what I have taught myself. You can find selected games below, which I hope illustrate the size of the task ahead and help raise my awareness of what needs to be done.

Game 1

Game 2

MJM

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

What Stockfish sees I do not

March 22, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

I decided to look at an early career victory by GM Plaskett over GM Speelman. And although the position below looks rather promising, I don’t see how Stockfish evaluates it so. I wouldn’t even call it winning…just promising.

All info required is in the image below.

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The wise words of Rowson

March 21, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

GM Rowson’s first published book was The 7 Deadly Chess Sins. It gained attention at all levels and sold well. I have added points he italicized through the book, there is food for thought here.

…all thought has some emotional content…

…when you realize that thinking means so many different things, your ability to understand your own thoughts is significantly enhanced…

….indeed, it seems that what chess want is not just to improve their intuition but to become more intuitive…

…’The master doesn’t calculate more than the expert. Rather, he sees more, especially the important things.’ Adrian De Groot…

…the stronger the player, the more abstract the visual image…

…your thoughts always have emotional content…

…all chess thinking is evaluation…

…there is definitely some sort of pre-intellectual awareness in your chess thoughts…

…rules are a wonderful servant but a terrible master…

…in chess the golden rule is there are no golden rules…

…confusion is caused by the non-existence of a concrete answer to the questions of a position…

…if a move strikes you as correct, it needn’t require an explanation…

…it is very difficult, if not impossible, to give any clear definition of what a key moment, or critical position, actually is…

…the main thing is to have a way to gauge the changing nature of a chess game, how it ebbs and flows…

…so another way to become more sensitive towards key moments is to be aware of the centrality of transformation in chess…

…what matters is not space but capacity…

…we need calculation to help us make the necessary transformations but more important is our judgement about which transformations are necessary…

…there maybe some positions where one side is better and worse, depending on whether you look at the position at hand or the direction of the game…

…you need to assess not only the position as it stands but the position as it has changed and how it is likely to continue to change…

…with improved ‘trend sensitivity’ and ‘position sensitivity’ you are much more likely to spot ‘gateway positions’, which are the turning points between one trend and the next…

…the best way to get a big advantage is to play for a small advantage…

…you often only see what you want to see…

…it’s a mistake to ever think you are winning…

…it is extremely difficult for most players to separate the general from the specific…

…there are more exceptions than rules when it comes to the value of the pieces…

MJM

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Those early considerations

March 17, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

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).

https://www.ingtarnresort.com

Updates a day on…

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.

Mark. J. McCready

Posted in Chess in Thailand, My own endeavours | Leave a Comment »

Bedford 1 loses to Bedford 2

March 15, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

The strongest Bedford based player ever is without doubt GM James Plaskett -let’s call him number 1.

The second strongest Bedford based player ever is without doubt IM Andrew Ledger -let’s call him number 2.

Despite being a generation apart, they’ve met over the board more than a few times over the years with our number 1 obtaining noticeably better results. However, on this occasion 1 our number 2 defeated our number 1.

Black has just played 27. … Nf5, which will win him the game shortly.
  1. https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2280253 ↩︎

MJM

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess in the 21st century | Leave a Comment »

James the 2nd

March 15, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.”

F. Nietzsche

One day in the distant future, the times we live in will most likely be described historically as part of the 4th revolution, or the digital revolution, which shapes how we gain and store information, amongst many other things.

Even me the academic that once was, concedes we do things differently now to when I was young. Through social media and ‘chat’ I have acquired knowledge which in itself can be placed into a narrative for further discourse on the history of Bedfordshire chess -something very close to my heart.

My very own research has revealed that Dennis Victor Mardle was the first from Bedfordshire to represent England but was he the only one to do so? I contacted GM James Plaskett on facebook, this is what I sent via Messenger.

The reply James gave me was as follows:

CIR Benedict, 1979

Telex match Vs Iceland, 1981

Lucerne World Team Championship, 1985

GM Plaskett was, then, the second from Bedfordshire to represent his country, however, there is a difference. Dennis, the first, played for England in England in a national match once only whereas James, the second, represented England abroad in an international tournament, helping England to achieve the Bronze medal 1 upon his third appearance. With certainty we can say that GM Plaskett’s representation of his country is, therefore, of greater significance for our purposes. His games are documented, notably his victories for England can be found here 2 and here 3, and the tournament as a whole here 4.

Interestingly, James won both games with the Benko Gambit, the games are quite interesting.

Round 1. After 28. … Nd3.
Round 3. After 27. … Qe3.

Should this not be enough to persuade you of my claims, I shall add also that as a senior, GM Plaskett went on to represent England 6 more times!

Dresden 3 times

Rhodes 1 time

Vilnius 1 time

Crete 1 time

Unfortunately, locating game information is proving tricky. I shall add when I find it… .

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Team_Chess_Championship ↩︎
  2. https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1429344 ↩︎
  3. https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1615441 ↩︎
  4. https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=90335 ↩︎

Mark. J. McCready, 00.05 Saturday March 16th, Al-Fursan, Dammam, KSA

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess from 1940-1960, History of Bedfordshire Chess from 1960-1980, History of Bedfordshire Chess from 1980-2000 | Leave a Comment »

IM Andy Ledger’s county clash as Bedfordshire claim the trophy

March 11, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

When the county first team won the minor section of the national county championships on June 20th 1992, IM Andy Ledger was on board 1 for our county. Courtesy of former team mate and county captain Kevin Williamson, I have procured his game as well as information concerning his opponent. The source can be found here 1, the scoresheet is below, it’s quite an interesting game.

Let’s have a brief overview of a few positions:

We have the Breyer variation with e5 (not the main response).
After 7. …Re8, not your average Caro-Kann position.
Here Andy plays 12. ….Bxf5. There’s no immediate threat since the position is closed but definitely understandable as who would want that Knight to sit there on f5?
18. … Nc3. This lone attacker isn’t likely to win the game but is, perhaps, eyeing up d4 after being shunted from b6.
25. Qf4 played. Quite a complex, imbalanced position. White’s spatial advantage looks promising.
Andy plays 28. … Qh4. I’ve run it through the engines, which assess the position as -2.2, and yes his opponent’s next two moves are computer approved.
After 32. Ng5, the LiChess engine I am using assesses the position as -3.0 and recommends 33, Nc1 (which Andy’s opponent plays)…thankfully white is about to go awry.
Lichess thinks white slipped up with 34. Qf4 and that 34. …Rxh3 secures the draw. Hey presto, a draw by perpetual check is indeed soon to follow.
Draw agreed by perpetual check.
  1. https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13950 ↩︎

MJM

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess from 1980-2000 | Leave a Comment »

Tom’s old friend plays for England

March 8, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

“The beast lives unhistorically; for it ‘goes into’ the present, like a number, without leaving any curious remainder.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche, On the advantage and disadvantage of history for life

Old Tom Sweby’s former playing partner, friend, and team mate Dennis Victor Mardle, was the first from Bedfordshire to represent England, and the only from Luton. Even though William Ward, who participated in the (1896-1911) Anglo-American cable matches numerous times did indeed play for Luton before moving to London, he is in fact from Abotts Langley, Hertfordshire.

Once again I am indebted to John Saunders and his excellent site Britbase for the latest discovery, and indeed it does appear that on the back of Mardle’s success on the circuit in 59, come late October, he was asked to step up to the mark and play for England in a match against the Dutch, please see below:

You may find the link here 1. Please note that Dennis Mardle is well documented on this site and for further information, please follow the instructions below.

Go to Categories on the right-hand side of the site, select the option highlighted below:

  1. https://www.saund.co.uk/pdf.js/web/viewer.html?file=../../britbase/pdfs/ned-eng-matchrecord.pdf ↩︎

MJM

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess from 1940-1960 | Leave a Comment »

Mr. W. Ward (previously of Luton) in London

March 8, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

Past his prime, but not by much in terms of his results, Mr. William Ward (previously of Luton) has had his 1911 City of London Championship success, his sixth at that club, documented on the glorious website Britbase, you can find the exact page here1. For those of you who do not know who he was, please look to the right of my site, click on Category History of Bedfordshire Chess on my site (see below: highlighted option).

  1. https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/191011cityoflondon-viewer.html ↩︎

MJM

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess from 1900-1920 | Leave a Comment »

Time it waits for no man…

February 21, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

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!

Posted in My own endeavours | Leave a Comment »

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