Part 2 : Bayswater – Tales from the Crypt Jimmy Adams At the beginning of the 70s I joined the Bayswater club, holed up in a long narrow side section of a Serbian Orthodox church quite near to Notting Hill in West London….
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Part 1: A memorable introduction Jimmy Adams I was an eleven-year-old chess novice and had recently joined the Islington club, which met on Friday nights in the lecture room of a library further down the road from where I lived in north London. The…
Read MoreHugh Alexander: my favourite game ‘good judgement rates at least as high in chess as accurate analysis’ Asking someone who has been playing tournament chess for well over thirty years for his favourite game, is rather like asking an ageing Lothario about his favourite girlfriend. He…
Read MoreOlaf Steffens Long ago in Ancient Greece the Olympic Games were invented to celebrate all sports. In the searing heat men would wrestle, run and throw the discus, sometimes even stark naked. Then they would take a break and meet again four years later to compete…
Read MoreAndrew Whiteley, who has died aged 67, belonged to the generation of players who ushered in the ‘English Chess Explosion’ of the late 1970s. Most of them cut their teeth as students at either Oxford (Botterill, Lee, Markland, Whiteley) or Cambridge (Hartston, Keene, Stean, Williams)….
Read MoreWhen he took up playing poker seriously Alexander Grischuk was already an elite grandmaster. He’s convinced that chess skills such as concentration, psychology, logical thinking and endurance helped his poker no end, but he’s less persuaded that poker has helped his chess. But for his habitual…
Read MoreMaurice (‘More-Reese’) Ashley’s commentary style is not everyone’s cup of tea. If his pants-on-fire delivery seems better suited to boxing than chess, then that’s the whole point. But hose him down and he’s a decent interviewer, if more Piers Morgan than John Freeman. He’s the Morgan…
Read MoreDragoljub Velimirović v Nona Gaprindashvili Bela Crkva Open 1984 Notes by Tibor Karolyi 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 Gaprindashvili also played the Rauzer. In my database I found 13 Najdorfs and 12 Rauzers with Black. 6…
Read MoreIf you’ve missed the US Chess Championships until now there’s still time to catch the final round. Well worth watching not only for the chess but for the engaging commentary team of Jennifer Shahade, Maurice Ashley and Yasser Seirawan. If their observations seem more entertaining…
Read More‘Ulf Andersson’s style is a remarkable blend of Stahlberg and Petrosian, with a sprinkling of Nimzowitsch thrown in for good measure. Its subtlety must appeal to the connoisseur, and his deep understanding of the game make him a Grandmaster of the highest order.’ Harry…
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Gary Kenworthy
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