How quaint self-imposed exile is.

March 11, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

I -and no I’m not telling you where- came here to write and to read. I am engaged in a major project that will have to be sent out for publication, what comes of that you shall stay informed of. There is a second project too a second too perhaps but for that I am still reading more postmodern history than doing the research, which per se only started a few weeks back…

I’m very happy to say that I have just finished the second draft/editorial procedure of my main meaning only one more is left. My writing style has tightened so much there may be much to do but I doubt it. Should I stay focused it should be finished. Then I have to let it slip in case something I have forgotten emerges. The publishing company will have decide the genre themselves. Of course I know exactly what it is but I am as unpretentious as I was 1000 years before I was born, so it is up to them. Six-eight hours of writing and 2 hours of reading a day undisturbed. Bliss.

And so an afternoon of rest beckons then the final draft begins. It’s probably the only thing I will ever write where I do want people to read. When I said I come from a hardened working-class background, believe me I was not joking. How many of you reading this have seen with your own eyes your board knocked over because your opponent his ripped of table legs and -Bruce-Lee like- went smacking pupils in the head, bollocks, shins, back, legs, arms…ok so he was going to be expelled shortly anyway for throwing a typewriter at another students head but yes, there is plenty of contact which will raise however many eyebrows you have. Oh btw I never lowered myself to such behaviour, whilst all that went on I only booted in study cubicles, booted chairs about, and hilariously threw hundreds of books out of the windows along with several classmates…there is content far more graphic than that believe me. I’ve had a colourful life, let’s just leave it at that, word count is at present 32793. That will jump at least 5000 words as sections and quotations are missing.

I will keep you posted.

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, My own endeavours, Personal Interest & Experience | Leave a Comment »

Who’s zoomin’ who?

March 7, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

Oh boy it gets so hard. The Westminster Gazette publishes something in full. The next day about six other newspapers follow suit. Do I assume they just copied? I’m an academic! I can’t just do that! It is as reprehensible as it is irresponsible. Ohhh, headache time… .

Big job ahead… .

MJM

Posted in Academia, Life beyond the chess board, Personal Interest & Experience | Leave a Comment »

Reportage and primary source material…

March 7, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

I have begun collating material for what is a second project but it may take some years but then of course it may only take months. Rather expensive it is and I’m sorry but reading through Victorian Newspapers isn’t as easy as you might think. Journalism back then was so very different to how it is today. I can assure you that in locating primary source material, what is read in today’s pamphlets and what is read on-line differs greatly to what was written then -lest must we not forget that history written by those with no real interest in it is going to be rather messy, to put it nicely… .

If the past is a foreign county (to refer to an article you might see sooner rather than later I sincerely hope) chess players with no background in history are its immigrants.

Posted in Academia, My own endeavours, Personal Interest & Experience | Leave a Comment »

Could a Bedfordshire protégé outplay the current world champion?

March 4, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

Most likely not, unless of course, the current world champion has had a litre of Vodka for breakfast and our Bedfordshire protégé is stone cold sober. Okay, so has a protégé from Bedfordshire ever outplayed our current world champion? The answer to that depends upon how you define what ‘a protégé from Bedfordshire‘ is. If you mean someone born in Bedfordshire, then no. If you mean someone who grew up playing chess in Bedfordshire, then yes. But -and yes it is okay to start a sentence with a conjunction, don’t go buying into Prescriptivism now -was the current world champion entitled so at the time? Sadly not. Was it a blitz game? Yes it was.

I shall now show you six diagrams and add some comments.

The Bedfordshire protégé plays with the white pieces, here. 3. …h6 has just been played.
Magnus Carlsen, a future world champion in 2006, has just played 10. …Nc6 and seems in sound shape as the middle game begins.
The Bedfordshire protégé has only just played 18. f3. As you know, every chess player’s favourite move is always moving your f-pawn one square only. Is the position equal, well I’m not an expert but notice that central pawn majority white has?
Ooh la la, sacre bleu, what is going on ‘ere? Zee future world champion has just played 26. ….Qxd6. Did he not see 27. c5 and the double-attack it unleashes?
This protégé from Bedfordshire is the exchange up and attacks the queen with 33. d6, surely the game is already won?
What trouble the future world champion is in here.? Or is he in any real trouble I should say? What is the result likely to be after black plays 37. … Qg5?

Some of us are proud of our county. I always have been. I am still. I will be always. Who was it that played our current world champion? The answer lies below.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1820780

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess | Leave a Comment »

Progress has been made…

March 4, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

The writing project I have been engrossed in for the last 18 months was completed months ago but the editorial procedure is based on ultra-perfectionism and is thus drawn out… .

The second section, which is based on what I didn’t gain from chess in my youth, had a flaw. There was a missing adjective.

Whilst listening to the British Radio station TalkSport, I heard the word I so badly needed. Whilst watching the world champion defeat Svidler on-line another crucial missing adjective was overheard.

I am now in a position to take care of section two; progress has been made.

The finish line is closer than I think.

Courtesy of the word count, it has to be proofread and sent for publication. Should that not happen I will post it here.

From memory alone, my Dissertation was around 14500 words. Most likely it will be thrice that.

Mark

Posted in Life beyond the chess board, My own endeavours, Personal Interest & Experience | Leave a Comment »

Unprinted material

March 3, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

In the only publication in existence on Bedfordshire chess, there are more games from foreign masters in it than local players.

https://mccreadyandchess.com/2015/09/09/chess-in-bedfordshire/

I’ve found in a Sussex Newspaper a game attributed to Bedfordshire Chess below some thoughts by H. E. Bird. None of this appeared in the text above.

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess | Leave a Comment »

Predating the so-called ‘English Chess Explosion’

March 2, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

Is there anything better to do than grabbing journalists and giving them a kick up the backside? Probably not…well probably there is. Seek out Primary Source material perhaps?

According to folklore and legend my hometown had it’s own league in the 70’s. Thankfully, we postmodernists do realize that history is per se discourse thus develops. Okay. Let’s look at things before the…before thee…thee so called Fischer-fiasco as our comrades once put it.

So a wintery 1952 it is. Here’s a snapshot of the Beds league. Even then Luton already has almost an entire league of its own, some 19 years before the famous Fischer – Spassky match and the ensuing ‘chess-explosion’ England underwent thereafter.

As some of you may know Dennis.V. Mardle went on to be given a C.B.E for his work on Polio, from which he suffered. He was an exceptionally strong player and many of his games can be found of this site.

Together the pgns above shows us that chess clubs flourished across Luton not long after the war had ended… .

More on Mardle can be found here:

https://mccreadyandchess.com/2016/12/07/mardles-battle-against-polio/?preview_id=6870&preview_nonce=9cae60ad6f&preview=true

MJM

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess | Leave a Comment »

Rolling back those years…

March 1, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

As a reader of this post or as a frequent visitor to this site you can with safety, or assuredly if you prefer, assume I both love to write and love chess. The principle difference between them being, and this will indeed sound odd I only write for myself. In chess of course we have an opponent, team mates, tournament participants and so on. Even when we read alone, chess theory or history or whatever chess you are reading has been written by another individual.

This site is all my own. It is the lifeblood of an injured soul, if you like. I do not care whether I am read and the two requests I received last year to write for whatever those publications were, were politely declined…you could, if you like, call this whole thing a personalized prolonging of my love of chess, which in itself is a form of convalescence. Still it is the case that I am engrossed in a writing project already over 30,000 words and with much work ahead still.

Counting the countries I’ve visited has become tiresome. I think its 37. 34 at least. The number of chess clubs around the world I have played in is also numerous, with some being far easier to play chess in than others. The one club which I have now been a part of longer than any other is Bangkok Chess Club. I’ve photographed main events, met world champions and many things on top, I’ve even played some strong chess there too but never organized a tournament.

Last Friday we had around 19 players, of which 16 were up for the weekly blitz tournaments that occur each Friday at Herrity’s Sports Bar on Sukhumvit Soi 33/1.

So I rolled back those years to when I was the tournament organizer for the Kents/Luton Chess Club for 3/4 seasons and got involved. We used a Swiss system of course but it was daunting to organize one section all by myself when it was not I who wrote the names of the players, making me mispronounce them all the time. I did it effectively but found it hard to focus on my chess. Given I am rusty anyway, my results should have been better. Still it was fun, and being thanked for volunteering meant a little something… .

I always write in orange.

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

Concerns are growing…

February 25, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

To that great many across that on-line world of ours, so many suppose somehow they I am thee President of Thee Bedfordshire Chess league. I am not…well not yet for I don’t live in England and am finding it difficult to return home: so shifty looking teams asking me to join the league is a waste of their and my time. I had a group of lads contact me recently saying they’d like to start in Div 2 next season. There request ‘You’s Mark yeah -stik us in the league next season init,not divison A -were’d get mullered. They’ll be a few quid in it for ya like’. He hadn’t taken in my point. I can’t make decisions of any kind, and from the tone of the emails I’m not sure it’s if its a good idea at all to further the conversation…

The latest images to be sent by them are these, and they’ve changed their name the C-Firm now.

Battered by a brick to the head by GM playing The Benoni
Northampton Chess club with table put through window after a dart went though the head of the board 5 player. Only the TV Satellite is showing.
Simul gone wrong

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

Another from Kasparyan

February 23, 2020 by mccreadyandchess

I couldn’t solve it although I didn’t quite spend the time I should have. Please study the image first before looking at the solution below it.

Posted in Kasparyan | Leave a Comment »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »