As you know, I am one of the most famous bloggers in the world and also one of the most handsome. I’ve been approached by a top film company to write the script for a chess film, which they produce with some of the leading actors across the globe. They said, ‘take inspiration from a flick from the past but make it chess related. There’s a few bob in it for you’

This is what I’ve come up with so far:

Chainsaw massacre at Bedford Chess Club

In this film, someone playing for Bedford is in a match against Luton. He has a winning position but makes mistakes and only draws. He goes bezerk, storms out only to come back ten minutes later and massacres everyone in sight with a chainsaw.

Driller Killer at Milton Keynes Chess Club

In this film, someone playing blitz in Milton Keynes forgets to press his clock and goes bezerk. He runs to his car and returns with a drill which goes through the head of his opponent straight away. Then he unleashes on others playing.

Leighton Buzzard Chess club members sink on the titanic

In this film, Leighton Buzzard chess club organize a ten round tournament whilst cruising on the titanic. But it sinks and none of them make it to a lifeboat.

Northampton Chess club match stopped by possessed girl

In this film, a match at Northampton chess club is stopped by a possessed girl who sprays vomit everywhere and is abused by the devil whilst a priest performs an exocism.

Luton Chess Club shaken by godzilla

In this film, an evening at Luton Chess Club was jeapodized by godzilla who happened to pass by.

Cranfield Chess club taken over by Freddy Kruger from a Nightmare on Elm Street.

In this film, Freddy Kruger becomes the club president at Cranfield and scares off teams from visiting clubs.

Slasher from Halloween stalks Dunstable Chess Club members

Dunstable chess club members are followed home and then get broken into and slashed in their sleep.

County match delayed by Dracula

In this film a match between Bedfordshire and Norfolk is delayed due to dracula drinking someone’s blood whilst he was waiting for his opponent.

Local tournament interrupted by Frankenstein

In this film a tournament organizer demands all the clocks are stopped when Frankenstein appears and starts staring at him.

That’s the best I can come up with. I tried to make them as true to life as possible, and nearly all of them are based on events from the past.

A new readership?

Earlier this evening, whilst I was downtown looking for a friend, a man approached me in the street and said ‘hey, your the guy who writes that mccreadyandchess website aren’t you?’ Naturally I told him I was. He then asked for an autograph and paid me a large sum of money to not write about chess anymore but something else instead. I deposited the money on my way home. But then when I arrived, I accidentally put the piece of paper which he wrote what I should write about on the table. Minutes later the dog ate it. So I went back to find him and as soon as I saw him on the street a taxi came to a screeching halt, then two men got out and shot him. Now he’s dead and I can’t remember what it was he asked me to write about. I reported it to the police and they told me if I post anything about this on my site, they will come round and blow up my apartment whilst I am asleep, so I’d better stop.

Chess: yes. Erm, try to avoid playing online too much, it causes bad habits to develop.

Read the title

You are reading this right now. Why? I cannot know who you are, and conversely you cannot know me but still you read. Why? The title of this website is mccreadyandchess. It doesn’t necessarily follow that I will write about chess. Why? Don’t ask me, how would I know?

When I look back on how I played chess in my youth, there is nothing that impresses me about it -nothing at all. Apart from everything else, I just didn’t take it seriously enough. With regards to my opening repertoire, around 1991/1992 I found the Sicilian defence to be a source of much frustration and didn’t quite know what to do against it. And so in 1992 I made the leap from 1. e4 to 1. f4, which I became noted for. Looking back there was a lot wrong with that decision. 1. f4 is a poor opening move and is at best drawish. It never really occurred to me to think about the consequences of consciously choosing something drawish. But more importantly, it lead to great inflexibility in my chess because white invariably goes for a similar set up every time with the intent of keeping the centre closed for attacks on the kingside. It also didn’t occur to me to think about the consequences of playing the same way all the time and the impact that would have on my game overall. Nor did it enter my head to stop and evaluate the type of position I often ended up with (usually closed). And it was only 2 or 3 years later that I started experimenting with move order and changing things up that I got any kind of handle on it. The problem is here that in every game the position changes and flexibility is the key. Trying to force a certain type of win is never a good way to play but that’s the way it went. My decision making process exuded amateurism and I certainly am not the only one to evade opening theory with opening moves lacking in credibility. But the bottom line is that a change from 1. e4 to 1. f4 really is bad and it’s far better to just stick it out and delve further into opening theory. That I never did, I was kinda afraid of it. Silly me.

Social media means so much to some yet so little to others: often dependant on age as well as various other factors. But no matter what you make of it, or don’t make of it, as viewers we are spoilt for choice on what to watch. Ever since The Queen’s Gambit became the number one show on Netflix, we have seen an upsurge of young girls posting social media of them playing chess. Youtube, Instagram, Twitch, and Twitter have all become home to some very pretty females strutting their stuff. And so enter akanemsko on youtube. She’s got her own channel and its quite something. Incredibly pretty, eloquent, well-mannered, very sexy indeed, and good at chess -what more could you ask for in a woman?

Here she is playing the famous ‘Russian Paul’ of NYC and beating him.

The big question is, of course, if you were coupled up with this babe, would you ever make it out of bed?

Pan-din-wai is the Thai word for earthquake. It has been reported that an earthquake of 4.2 on the Richter Scale struck just to the east of Chiang Mai, where the current Bangkok Open is being held. It stuck last Thursday, on the eve of the tournament – a welcome introduction. Details can be found here: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000iuyr/executive

The EARTH SHAKER has spoken.

I’ve decided to stop playing chess online. Two bad habits are taking hold and turning my play into something of a joke, so I have stopped. I feel much better for it somehow. A righteous path has been chosen or so it feels. All that is left is to do nothing. Shouldn’t be too hard… .

I’ve noticed recently that I am playing too much chess on line and that a lot of it is poor. I’ve had to think about why that is and I have noticed two things in particular, both of which spring from the fact that online chess isn’t taken very seriously, generally speaking and myself included.

  1. I’ve noticed I have fallen into the habit of playing bad moves, mostly because the result of the game isn’t so important and also because of point number two.
  2. I have become used to bad moves being played against me. This causes me to stop trying so hard, then I make mistakes myself.

Overall, it’s not good and doesn’t lend itself to playing with any sense of pride. A quick game online here and there to fill in the time isn’t for the best, and so it’s something I shall put a stop to soon. That is for the best.

MJM

The Bangkok Chess Open has reached its twentieth year and can be followed on the link below:
https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/20th-bangkok-chess-open-2022/1/1/1

The tournament is being held in Chiang Mai this year at the beautiful 5-star Shangri-la hotel.

The field is stronger than usual, with the Norwegian number two, Aryan Tari joining the already strong contingent of GMs. Oftentimes in the past the tournament was held in April and clashed with the Dubai Open, however, despite having much less prize money in play comparatively, the tournament remained popular and has continued to flourish across all levels in the game. This is down to the fact that it is known to be a well-organised tournament in a popular destination, with many participants wanting a bit of holiday thrown in with their chess -which they get!

Chiang Mai? Where’s that then? It’s in the north of the country and is the largest city up there. Steeped in tradition more so than anywhere else, the city centre is encompassed by a huge wall, within which is no end of temples both ancient and modern. Some have so much care and attention poured into them that an epicentre for Buddhism is the vibe floating through the streets which criss-cross it. There’s a great, sprawling night market there too, with something on sale for everyone, and a chilled atmosphere amongst the many bars and restaurants discovered. And yes, as you can perhaps guess, it is your beloved author’s favoured location in Thailand, and for many reasons too! Besides Chiang Mai there’s a huge mountain. It’s easy to travel up and you can find a famous temple offering stunning views of the city as well as indigenous people -who are more than happy to have their photo taken with you! What is the symbol of Chiang Mai and how do I find out more about the chess scene in Thailand? Just click on this link http://bangkokchess.com/

Sadly, I just can’t make it this year. I played in and functioned as photographer enough times in the past but this is the sixth consecutive year of non-participation. In truth, since suffering from a major head injury in 2016 I haven’t been able to play competitively, and perhaps that’s how it has to stay.

Bias aside, should you ever consider participating in an international tournament, I strongly recommend the Bangkok Open -it ticks all the boxes. May I also strongly suggest that you don’t party too hard if do you sign up and play on. So many have done in the past, including visiting GMs, and were much the worse for wear because of it. It’s perhaps an exaggeration to say its become something of an embarrassment amongst those of us in the know but the preferred option is that we see less of it -of that there is no doubt. Defining what a ‘chess’ holiday should be something of an open question…but still. Moderation is what I, your beloved author, recommends along with fighting chess each and every day.

Mark. J. McCready

Room 306, Helwa Apt.

10.26 pm, October 22nd 2022

Sakaka, Saudi Arabia