A reminder that the Team Lightning is once again on the final day of the SNCL, after the AGM - Sunday 27 March. Entry form on the calendar section.
Please let me know of as many entries as possible in advance to assist planning (but pay entry fees at the event). Although I can probably take entries at the event, they should be a small proportion of the whole.
I shall probably be at the venue from about 2pm. Please try to see me as soon as possible after that to confirm entry numbers and pay. Thanks.

Eh........not the best of results from Zoe Ng from my club in the Primary event this year. Set my mind thinking as to how she could have played so poorly given that she was top grade in the event.

Then I remembered that I hadn't entered her and hadn't driven her to Johnshaven as in previous years!

This, combined with the fact that she isn't in Primary school anymore, makes me think that there's possibly been a case of mistaken identity.

Can someone sort this please as you really don't want to see Zoe when she gets mad :-)

I note the regulations now published for the Euroyouth 2016 in Prague...

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fide.com/images/stories/FIDE_Calendar_2016/EYCC-2016.pdf">http://www.fide.com/images/stories/FIDE ... C-2016.pdf</a><!-- m -->

3.3. The organization fee of 150 EUR for covering part of accommodation expenses, required for each invited
player, player with a personal right and the chief of delegation must be paid by 30th June 2016.

In the Porec Euroyouth 2015 regulations...

3.3. The organisation fee of 100 EUR for covering part of accommodation expenses, required for each invited player* (2.1) , players with a personal right (2.2) and the chief of delegation must be paid until August 20, 2015.

Up until now the 100 Euro "organisation fee" is fairly standard for this and similar events.

This year Prague looks easily by far the best individual tournament for Scottish players from a travel and transfer point of view, certainly compared to the World Youth event, ludicrously located in Khanty-Mansiysk in deepest Russia, two or three planes and a dog sled or two away.

I can't help feeling that the Prague organisers, maybe to a small extent, are cashing in.

The past two times that I have played in Blackpool I have thought that the height of the tables was too high. Two years ago I tried to get round it by putting one chair on top of another and this seemed to work until I nearly fell off so I stopped. This year, after I had seen many reports that sitting down is bad for a person anyway, I tried standing a lot of the time. Again this worked ok to start with but, as time went on, I got tired and played less well. I would not be writing this post had it not been for playing in a league match v David Begg of Pentland Hills on the Tuesday. To my horror their tables were also too high so I stood to play my game only for David Begg, when it was my turn to move, to come round to my side and stand right next to me, practically touching me and towering over me in a most intimidating manner. When I complained to the arbiter he said that he was upset that I had not politely asked him to stop. I thought it was against the rules to speak to your opponent during play. However, I have since discovered a 2015 FIDE document on standards of chess equipment which state categorically that the height of chess tables should be 74 cm. This document also mentions sizes of boards and pieces - I can think of some clubs and events that might to meet these standards either. Of course all this is academic unless we are playing under FIDE rules which, most of the time, we are not. By the way I am sure that some people will say that I should just take a cushion. For Blackpool travelling by train this would be difficult as I am already at my limit as to how much I take with me (luggage racks on trains are not that big). As for other places - this might be possible if I knew in advance. I am working on the Shirov solution - learning to go through games without a board or set but for now this takes me a lot longer (maybe in time, with practice I will be just as fast without a board and not need to see the board other than to see what the last move was). Any other ideas would be welcome.

http://blog.chessbomb.com/2016/03/candid...-with.html

Really like chessbomb red font to highlight blunders etc. Anyone know of any software that charts a whole game so you can see the yo yo effect in games?

Thanks to Alistair Maxwell for inputting games from Oban 2015
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chessscotland.com/gamedownload/ObanOpen2015.pgn">http://www.chessscotland.com/gamedownlo ... en2015.pgn</a><!-- m -->

Also here are games captured from the Live boards at Livingston & Perth 2016
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chessscotland.com/gamedownload/Livingston2016.pgn">http://www.chessscotland.com/gamedownlo ... on2016.pgn</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chessscotland.com/gamedownload/Perth2016.pgn">http://www.chessscotland.com/gamedownload/Perth2016.pgn</a><!-- m -->

Enjoy :-)

Anyone who is interested in playing the following tournament please contact me on <!-- e --><a href="mailto:abburnett@hotmail.com">abburnett@hotmail.com</a><!-- e -->

Regards,
Andy Burnett
(CS International Director)


The European Individual Chess Championship is open to all players representing Chess Federations, which comprise the ECU (FIDE zones 1.1 to 1.10), regardless of their title or rating. There is also no limit of the number of participants per federation; However applications have to be sent by the national federations only.

The registration deadline is March 26th 2016

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.europechess.org/european-individual-chess-championship-2016-regulations/">http://www.europechess.org/european-ind ... gulations/</a><!-- m -->

Very well done to Euan Gray's brother Peter (j7) who won the novice event at the NEJCA Keith Hoban Memorial at the weekend.

Division 1
Division 2
Division 3
Division 4

Please check the results and let me know of any errors. Will work out the permutations later

This morning is it boards 1 to 4 of Edinburgh 1 v Hamilton A and the top three of CSBOS1 v Oban.

http://www.chessscotland.com/livegames/2...d5/tfd.htm