http://chess-results.com/tnr434677.aspx?...ES&flag=30

Teams are listed. Scots bottom seeds this time round , 37/37

Just a reminder, there are only 19 places left.

Please book in plenty of time to make sure you get in.

Available places keep going down almost daily.

http://congress.org.uk/congress/45/home

2 weeks to go until the Arran Rapidplay should take place. 


A total entry of 6 so far will see the event being cancelled unless entries pick up in the next week or so.

Hopefully they will and we shall have another successful event.

(Posting on behalf of Grangemouth Club)

Kevin Feighan, ex-Grangemouth player, died last week (possibly on 23rd August 2019, date not yet confirmed).
 
He was a very strong club player (once famously defeating a Scottish GM at the 1996 Scottish Open in Oban) and was well known as a national arbiter.  
 
He particularly relished the mathematical precision of end game positions.  On occasion, if a club colleague derided end games as "boring", Kevin would passionately demonstrate otherwise.
 
He was a first-rate coach who readily spent time passing on tips to beginners and inexperienced players at the club.
 
He was also for a while treasurer of the Central Chess League.
 
In short, he was a friendly, knowledgeable character who, until his retirement from over-the-board chess a few years ago, made a significant contribution to Scottish chess.
 
His funeral will be held at Falkirk Crematorium, Camelon at 1:45pm on Monday 2 September, 2019.
 
Bill Gray
Secretary Grangemouth CC

Just a few thoughts and questions about grading:

1. Junior grading addition. If an older junior plays a younger junior is the grading adjustment the difference between the two junior additions?

2. Grading calculation: If the grading system were to change from an annual system to a 6 monthly one would the way grades were calculated  have to change? If so in what way.

3. Genesis of grading system: Before anyone had a grade how were they calculated? Was there a default number used say 1200 and everyone was matched against that?

Question 1 is just for interest but your answers to questions 2 and 3 would be beneficial as I have just devised a grading system for the chess club I run and it would be interesting to see how it compares.

Tom Brown Legacy
 
“Monday 26th August Beefeater Hotel, Upstairs venue, Edinburgh Road, Newhouse , Motherwell , ML 1 5 SY 01698 860 277
 
A private room has been booked upstairs with refreshments. Tomorrow’s meeting will mainly be addressing how to promote Junior Chess in Scotland as part of the Tom Brown legacy
There will be representatives from Junior officials and volunteers in Central, Lothians, Lanarkshire, Glasgow,  and Ayrshire. Representing Chess Scotland will be Ian Brownlee and David Congalton.
Anyone with an interest in Junior Chess are also welcome
Any enquiries please contact the Admin Director, Ian Brownlee on 07899 832770”

Hi All
I've had a request from the Jester to see if i could organize a blitz tournament, possibly on a Thursday evening or on a Saturday or Sunday. Is anyone else interested on this or a one day rapidplay

Hi All
I've had a request from the Jester to see if i could organize a blitz tournament, possibly on a Thursday evening or on a Saturday or Sunday. Is anyone else interested on this or a one day rapidplay

Lanarkshire League AGM will be held on Wednesday 21st August at 7.15 pm at the Layby Inn, 73 Main Street Salsburgh, ML7  4 LW

All existing and new clubs are welcome Please contact Ian Brownlee (ian.brownlee@systemsit.co.uk) or tel 07899 832770 for any agenda items or enquiries

I am getting older but even when I was younger I had the same complaint against almost all chess books written in algebraic: the font - the small c with its blob at the top end of the c looks almost identical to the small e with its very faint horizontal line.  I think what moved me to finally complain about this was Bologans books on Ruy Lopez and Black weapons in the open games where he takes it a stage further by, in headings, having moves in pale white on a black background - almost unreadable!  (revision 12/8/19 - New in Chess books do not have the problem with the font making it difficult to tell c from e this only refers to the moves in white on a black background especially the figurines.)   So why bother with books?  Why not just use chess databases?  OK for actual games data they are fine but they are all based on a false premise that I first saw in a real book whose title (I think - if my memory serves me well) was the blue book of chess. That premise was that you could determine the best move by finding the one with the highest percentage score.  In the blue book this method showed 1.g4 to be white's best move.  Another situation is where a move might have done well then someone discovers a refutation and no one plays it anymore and it still shows up as a good move statistically.  In other words they can be misleading.