Chess Scotland Juniors
designed by kids, for kids!

Anecdotes

This could only have happened in Ireland. Last year I played at the Bunratty Festival, near Limerick. In Ireland it is normal practice for players to bring their own sets, boards and clocks. Foreign players do not need to. Being Scottish, I was 'foreign'. In round two I was paired against an Irish player (whom I didn't know), but, with about five minutes till the start of the round, there was still no sign of him, so I went to the controller and asked if I could borrow the necessary equipment to set it up and be ready. "Don't worry," said the controller, "your opponent's a regular competitor. He'll be here in a minute." So I went back to my place and sat down.

The round duly started with still no sign of my opponent. There was neither set, board nor clock in front of me, just an empty space. To pass the time I watched the other games. The game on the next board was over very quickly, one of the players blundering a piece and resigning on about move seven or eight.

After an hour had elapsed, I told the controller that my opponent hadn't turned up and was given a win by default. I left the playing hall and went off into the local village to wander around.

When I turned up for the next round, the controller came up to me in a bit of a tizzy and asked me to tell him again what had happened that morning. I did so, whereupon his reaction was a mixture of relief and confusion. It turned out that my opponent HAD turned up, but sat down at the WRONG place............and had won in about seven or eight moves after his opponent blundered a piece! Get the picture!? (The question remains - what happened to the real opponent of the poor guy who blundered the piece??)

So I claim to be the only player to have won a game not only without actually playing it, but without a set or board to play it on.

Sent in by Ian Marks

Chess Scotland Juniors designed by kids, for kids!

Chess Scotland Juniors
designed by kids, for kids!