Owner: Streatham & Brixton Chess Club URL:http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2007 10:34:09 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Daily chess stuff - not just updates about our club, but much else besides, like puzzles, news, games, photos, links and general interest articles. Site statistics:Click here
Quote for the Week 1970-01-01 00:59:59 It might be nice to do a 'quote for the week' slot - quotes that are about or relevant to chess, or otherwise of definite interest to our club.So, I will accrue quotes in this post, with that in mind for the future. Please feel free to suggest your own."In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." - Yogi BerraThe format I would have in mind would be two lines of brief pre-amble; quote; paragraph (plus position if required) of chat. Read more:Quote
Team Updates: London League 1, Croydon League 2 1970-01-01 00:59:59 "Was it Wimbledon v Streatham, Wimbledon v Watford, Watford v Streatham, or Watford v Watford?" writes Martin about our London League
Division 1 match on 30th November. "It was impossible to tell. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and had played each other a hundred times before - all very convivial, but it didn't stop the slugfest."Well, I'll solve the mystery. It was Streatham 1 versus Wimbledon 1. And, indeed a slugfest it was. The score of that match currently stands at 5½-5½ - with only three draws amongst all that. I blogged the finish of my game from the evening here - while the match will be decided by Adam W's adjourned game.The above position is taken from Adam F-F's game on the evening. He had black against Mark J Dubey on board 5, and describes the action as follows:After a dull "strategic' game we were both down to around 15 minutes left to complete the game. I made an error on my previous move, leaving us in the above position. Can you spot White's move?
October 2006 Posts 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Streatham & Brixton Chess Club's blog was started in November 2006.Posts back-dated to the October
archive are house-keeping posts only.For instance, there is an index of the puzzles. Also, I will save stuff here for future use on the blog, so as not to forget them. And experiment with things to see how they look, before dating them correctly. There might the odd draft too.Anyhow - you should basically ignore the October posts, unless you have come here for a particular reason.You can see the 7 most recent posts on the blog by clicking here.Or click on one of the archive links to your left, to see a whole month's worth of posts.i{content: normal !important}
Smallville 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Fans of the successful Superman spin-off TV series Smallville
will wonder why their favourite show is being blogged about on a chess site. Chess fans, meanwhile, think of Smallville as the on-line user-name, nickname and playing handle of Hikaru Nakamura: a 19 year old American chess prodigy, Grand Master, and already one of the world's top 100 players.Whilst it's not uncommon for chess players to like science fiction - there is typically a Star Trek t-shirt or ten seen at any old chess tournament - liking science fiction with good looking heroes (as opposed to emotionally stunted nerds) is somewhat rarer. But perhaps Smallville's attraction to Smallville is not to hard to explain - in terms of the way he plays chess. Uh?!? I hear chess players and TV fans alike respond. Well, Smallville's style is famous for three reasons - and each seems to correspond to a certain character from Smallville . . .Firstly, Smallville thrives on complexity, difficulty, a refusal to make life simple.
What's Your Kasparov Number? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Bit of fun this.So, one time you beat player A. Another time, A beat B - who also has beaten C. C beat D, D . . . How long is that chain until you reach Player Z who beat Kasparov
? Well, how long is, in fact, your Kasparov Number
. And this is the website that will work it out for you.For instance, Adam FF beat David Howell in 2001. Two years later, Howell beat Speelman - who had in 1996 beat Yermolinksy. And way back in 1975, Yermolinsky beat Kasparov. So Adam has a Kasparov Number of 4. Impressive!Of course, not every Streatham & Brixton Chess Club player will be on Chessbase Megabase 2005, which IBeatGarry.com use to work out these degrees of separation. I'm not, for instance. But then I beat Antony Cullen earlier this year - and he's there, with a Kasparov Number of 6. So, my Kasparov Number is 7. Dang, I need to work on that!What's your Kasparov Number?
The Clockwork Ending 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Click here: piece originally posted on A Few Words Before We Go.(Diagram shows position after Black's move 43.)(Some Streatham and Brixton members may remember this ending being demonstrated at the club one evening a couple of years ago!) Read more:Clockwork
, Ending
White's Move 1970-01-01 00:59:59 "Perhaps I should just give up with puzzles altogether?" commented an exasperated Jonathan, after being stumped by Justin's very tricky post. Well, we wouldn't want that.So - here's a brief, witty little number, that hopefully won't hurt the brain cells too much, and will entertain to boot. It was composed by puzzle-legend Sam Loyd in 1858 - although I encountered it just the other day in the ChessWorld Chess Forum.Previous puzzles are indexed here btw. And if you fancy something different, don't forget our growing collection of Ultimate Blunders. Read more:White
World Championship Quality Blunders - II 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Do you recognise this position?I'm betting that a fair few people will know it's taken from the first game of the Fischer - Spassky match in 1972.Spassky, playing White, had just exchanged a pair of knights on d6 and after Fischer recaptured with the bishop, pushed his pawn to b5. What happened next was so shocking that journalists still wanted to ask Fischer about it 20 years later.The genius that is Bobby came up with …29 … Bxh2 ??and after Spassky replied with the far from difficult to spot30. g3the bishop was trapped.What's so incredible about this blunder is that it's exactly the sort of move an early chess computer would play. It sees the bishop will be trapped but the number of moves it takes to actually capture it is beyond the machine's ability to calculate (the "horizon effect') and as a result evaluates the position as better for Black because he will be material up as far as the computer can reach in its analysis.But Fischer was no silicon muppet so wh Read more:World
, Quality
, World Championship
January Rapid Play 1970-01-01 00:59:59 What does January
mean to you?As a child, I would have said snowball fights in the back garden, a new BMX to race across the fields, to the mirror magic of an ice pond; or spotting a bird's nest amongst white branches, the glimpse of a wing lifting through frozen morning. Now it's more likely to mean a new pile of books I don't want to read, an emptied overdraft, and a barely-functioning liver.Still, this January offers something different from either of those. Yes, that's right. The 69th Richmond Rapid
play has just been announced, and it will take place on Sunday 7th January. There are four sections - an Open, an under 160 Major, under 120 Intermediate, and an under 80 Minor. Rather nicely, this tournament has an excellent 4½ point rule: "if you score 4½ or more out of 6 you are GUARANTEED A PRIZE."Oh - and it's organised by Streatham & Brixton Chess Club members Angus & Sue, amongst others, to boot. Personally, I can't think of a reason not to go. So click the above link to f
World Championship Quality Blunders - Leaderboard 1970-01-01 00:59:59 A post to keep track of all the blog entries in this series.In Ultimate Blunder Rating order...11.5/20 Spassky - FISCHER8/20 Kramnik - TOPALOVPS:if you don't know what an Ultimate Blunder Rating is then go to the first installment in the series to find out. Read more:World
, Quality
, World Championship
Name that Position 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I came across this somewhat random position earlier today (Black to play).Who's playing?What's the objective assessment of this position?How did the game actually end? Clue:it's from a World Championship match.
You can't fail . . . 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The open goal you can't miss - and bang, the ball is fifty foot up in the crowd. Six wickets in hand, three runs to win - and then, ouch: it's Shane Warne bowling, and the Ashes crumble in your fingers that very over. Or in chess terms, you're three rooks, five queens, twelve knights, and three hundred bishops ahead - and drat, his king's stalemated. You never even saw it coming.Yep - we've all been there, ruining those certain wins. However, I promise you that you'll solve this puzzle by V. Röpke (Skakbladet, 1942) correctly. In fact, try not to.(Of course - were it a game, you'd have lost on time.)____________________________________________________Oh - just one little thing extra. If you don't yet know your Kasparov Number, go work it out, and let us know in the comments. I've just remembered I beat Adam FF in the Portsmouth Major eleven years ago when we were both Juniors - so that increases mine to 5.
The Tenth Annual ChessCafe Holiday Quiz 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The hardest quiz in the world of chess made its annual appearance today*: scroll down for the questions. You'll have to scroll quite a way - the section describing the prizes is even longer than the quiz itself. Come to that, in this particular quiz the list of prizes is usually longer than the list of completely correct entries. Substantially longer.So, while we could all pretend to have a go at it ourselves, and be lucky to get one or two correct, I would propose, in the spirit of the Kasparov v The World chess game, that we pool our resources and try and get as many answers as we can between us, much as people do with the King William's General Knowledge Paper. After which the only question will surely be - what to do with the prizes?I would start off, but at first glance I don't think I know any of the answers at all.So...who does?[* = this link may become defunct in which case I'll try and update it] Read more:Tenth
, Annual
, Holiday
Fireworks 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Now the fireworks are forgotten and put away, and the fizz has gone from the champagne. The bottle bobs about, there in the cooling bucket's melted ice, where the paper from a party popper dissolves, slowly. Comfort food and aspirin determine the day.Fireworks
on the chess board have a remarkable property, different to those of New Year's Eve: the delight their display allows spans years, rather than merely mark a few passing moments, the flick of a calendar. This one was created by Al-Adli in the ninth century, for instance. It's white to play and win - and a bit of an easy one to ease you into 2007.
Want To Live Long? Then Don't Prosper . . . 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Or at least, don't prosper at the chess board if you want to live long. That's the message from Sciurus of Squirrel Chess, who blogged here howchess grandmasters have to pay a price for their extraordinary ability. I browsed through a copy of "The psychology of chess skill" by Dennis H. Holding and found that the average life expectancy of outstanding chess players is almost one decade shorter than the life expectancy of minor masters (60.1 vs. 68.1 years, respectively.)Well, I guess a minor master is an IM; a few hundred Elo points below them are FMs, and then a few hundred Elo points below FMs are me. So by that reckoning, I ought reach the age of 84.1 years! I can live with that.My friend Michelle, meanwhile, revealed in the comments here that she can't quite remember the rules of our deadly game. Now I'm no scientist, but I am pretty sure that makes her immortal. Good news indeed.Happy New Year, Streatham & Brixton Chess Club and everyone else. May it be a healthy one, what
What are you doing on Sunday? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Just a little reminder.If you spent too much of your hard earned cash over the Christmas period & New Year's celebrations, why not try winning some of it back this Sunday
- 7th January 2007 - at The 69th Richmond Rapidplay? There are four sections - an Open, an under 160 Major, under 120 Intermediate, and an under 80 Minor. This tournament has an excellent 4½ point rule: "if you score 4½ or more out of 6 you are GUARANTEED A PRIZE." Plus, it's organised by Streatham & Brixton Chess Club members Angus & Sue (amongst others) too.Good luck! (& for those who plan a bit further ahead than me, you might want to take a look here at a promising tournament coming up mid-February . . .) Read more:doing
Every Cloud 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Some good news for English patzers like me - via Australian blogger The Closet Grandmaster - from an interview with Nigel Short:"I am very disappointed with the state of chess in England. We don't have enough tournaments, so how can we produce players? Even Adams is getting long in the tooth. He was the last of the greats. Matthew Saddler has retired. Luke McShane will not become a professional player; you can't make money out of chess. And he is a bright kid. Maybe he will play for a year or two."No more English Grandmasters! When enough Goliaths have fallen, the Davids stand tallest. I see myself clearly now at the Chess Olympiad of 2020, blundering cheerfully away on Board 1 - against those giants of the 64 squares, who play for the countries at the bottom of this list . . . Read more:Cloud
The Christmas Tree 1970-01-01 00:59:59 January, and Christmas
Trees across the land are shedding their needles into carpets, fairy lights packed away for another year.In the Christmas Tree (Chessmas Tree?!) on the right, it's black to play - and mate in two. Which needle is about to fall, and why?(Via Imperial's nice site, where you can also currently find the solution.)
Thematic Strategic Pawn Structures 1970-01-01 00:59:59 (1) The following position is a typical pawn structure arising from the Queen's Gambit Declined. Assume there are several pieces left on the board - enough to do something with - but that none of them are in particularly aggressive positions. What would your plan be as white, focusing on pawn moves?Clue for the above: the plan is called a 'minority attack' and involves creating a weakness in the black queenside.(2) The following position features a typical pawn structure that might arise from the King's Indian Attack. Assume both sides have all or nearly all their pieces left on the board, but again in relatively normal positions. (Eg, no knight on d4 for black& nothing on e6 for white, etc.) What plan with the pawns do you think white should pursue? What plan do you think black should pursue?(3) White's pawn structure in the following position is typical of the Stonewall Attack - so called because his position is very hard to breach. Assume that both players have ALL their piec Read more:Strategic
, Structures
Happy Holidays! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Christmas is coming - and that means, no internet connection for me down at my mum's.So, Streatham & Brixton Chess Club's blog is now officially on holiday until the New Year.In the mean time, don't forget the Richmond Rapidplay coming up early January - nor the Chessabit Tournament later in the month.And if Santa brings you nothing interesting to read, why not download a free book on Botvinnik's secret games? Or if there's nothing on TV - Chess Fever (featuring a cameo from Capablanca) is well worth a watch.Or if you fancy stretching your brain power, you can try a nearly impossible quiz - or more realistically, some fun chess puzzles. Also on the fun front, find out your Kasparov Number, and check out the Blunders of His Great Predecessors.So, happy holidays; have a great Christmas and new year. Barring surprises, our blog will be back in 2007 with more chess news, puzzles, links, fun, games, and anything else anyone can think of. Read more:Happy
, Holidays
, Happy Holidays
Test 1970-01-01 00:59:59 problems with the play through - another test
Chessabit: One, Two, and (Soon) Three 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Chessabit held their second one day rapid event at the beginning of this month. Jerry Bloom from Hackney Chess Club was the outright winner, with 7½/9. I finished in the chasing pack on 7/9: Second place, you might think. But alas a statistical tie-break put me out of the money prizes, that went instead to Peter Ackley (second) and David Haydon (third.) The fact I beat Haydon in the final round didn't count for much either, since the tie-break used was apparently the 'Median Buchholz' - which ignores the result of one's highest placed opponent. Ho hum.Still - it was a fun and interesting day in a pleasant venue (pictured.) Two other Streatham & Brixton Chess Club players took part - Adam W, and James who emailed me for this report to say: "I will definitely play again. It's a great addition to the London chess scene, the organisers are great." Well, the good news for James and others interested is the wait won't be too long. The Third Chessabit Rapid Tournament is coming up Read more:Three
Your Name Here 1970-01-01 00:59:59 If you are a member of Streatham & Brixton Chess Club, and would like to post articles on our blog - great.Just email me, and I'll invite you to post. All the stuff you need to know will take around 20 minutes to learn, maybe a bit more.There are a few other things anyone would need to know though, so I'll list those points here.- For the diagrams, I use a programme called 'DiagTransfer'. You can download it via the sidebar, under 'Chess Downloads'. When posting diagrams, post them 'large' size - ironically, this makes the file-size smallest.- For playable games, you can also try this: http://chess.maribelajar.com/chesspublisher/index.php . However, it is unreliable, not always visible. So if a game is the centre piece of your post, make sure you have a back up (eg diagram and the moves as text.)- The blog's primary focus is Streatham & Brixton Chess Club.- The blog's primary readers are Streatham & Brixton Chess Club.- But, it's not as if there is chess club news every day
Chess Fever 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I saw this movie at an exhibition in London a few years ago, The Art of Chess: now, as Chessbase report, you can watch it yourself on Google. It's known among chessplayers for its chess content, notably Capablanca's appearance in which (not out of character) he's depicted picking up the hero's girlfriend. It's not just a curiosity though: it's actually a good, funny movie. You can watch it here. Read more:Fever
Enter The Endgame 1970-01-01 00:59:59 "Thirty next Friday, aren't you Tom?" an office buddy asked me today. Indeed . . . and then we got on to discussing the ways age brings change, and also the ways it doesn't.For me, it mostly doesn't - or so I told my friend. I still have very similar dislikes and likes to when I was twenty, I said. With age, I've not developed the sophistication that prefers wine to beer, and I still can't stand anything Martin Amis has written. I still like Bach, but I still like Oasis, too. And much to my regret, I can't pretend to enjoy Citizen Kane when Jurassic Park is available on the shelf of DVDs instead.My office mate is not a chess player, but then it struck me maybe my chess tastes have transformed over time. Ten years ago, my heroes were Kasparov and Tal. And mostly Tal, too. Yet once our office conversation was over, I spent too much of the rest of the afternoon contemplating the position in the diagram.Dull, I would have called it ten years ago. But in fact, white faces a simple but Read more:Endgame
David Howell, Grandmaster at 16 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Some good news for English chess from The Guardian (via Susan Polgar): "David
Howell became the UK's youngest ever grandmaster in Stockholm yesterday. . . At 16 years one month Howell breaks Luke McShane's UK age record set in 2000 by around six months. Before that our youngest GM was Michael Adams, now the world No9, who did it at 17."I don't know much about David Howell - and not helping matters, his homepage has apparently been abandonned, and his wikipedia page is not up to scratch. Anyhow, below you can play though a commanding victory of his as white against Graeme Kafka in the 2004 British Championship. The diagram position (white to play; click it to enlarge) is taken from that game too - where Howell's next move forced black's resignation. Read more:Grandmaster
Winning and Losing with Chess on the Web 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Some interesting stuff to mull over.The Kenilworthian quote approvingly Canadian paper The National Post's report that chess is "no longer just for nerds" (was it ever?) largely due to the "gain in popularity thanks to the internet." Yet, Patrick's dissenting voice quickly booed back at this fanfare, with the following in the comments over there: "Instead of an erudite 'mental realm', i consider the internet to be a cesspool for all things carnal and vulgar, and a place where anonymity replaces accountability." Carnal? And I thought I was just wittering away to myself about the London chess scene, our club, and any other bit or bob that caught my eye . . .On the other hand, it's clear something like Patrick's worries are shared by others. Chess blogger The Closet Grandmaster has been regularly reporting on the case of Matthew Sweeney, for instance. Sweeney is an Australian coach and player, who has been banned from playing over the board in his country for 18 months. Why? Because Read more:Winning
Chess for Blood; Chess for Girls 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The blog Chess for Blood
chronicles 'an improving player's adventures in chessical ultra-violence.' Or so it says - since it recently pointed out this video called 'Chess for Girls
', at the opposite end of the spectrum:A little bit of light amusement for a grey London Monday - dedicated to all my lady readers everywhere.
Disinformator 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I've represented, I should think, about a dozen different chess clubs in my time, and most of them I can take or leave. One obvious exception is Streatham and Brixton Chess Club - I wouldn't be contributing to its blog from a thousand miles away if I didn't think it had something to it that most of the others didn't. Another is Oxford City, whose magazine, Disinformator, has just produced its latest issue.Same principle applies: if somebody's prepared to put in a real quantity of time - and quality of effort - on behalf of a given club, there might well be something to that club that not all other clubs have got. In this instance the someone is Sean Terry, who puts together the magazine (with the help and contributions of a number of other people).Disinformator has been running for about ten years now - I'm not sure of the exact date it started but I left the city in 1999 and it had been running for a good long time already. The new issue has 46 pages of games and reports, from O
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