There was a slight delay due to problems at the replicator but the first batch of DVDs have already been sent out. We await to hear your reviews!

The minds behind gingergm.com thought that it was worth applying for the title of  ‘ECF website of the year’ award. http://www.englishchess.org.uk/?p=5588 but in the end it went to another site.

We had a quick discussion about this last night and came to the conclusion that if we ever won the award then we really should hold our heads in shame. (we not jealous, really we are not…)

Why don’t we want such a worthy title you may ask? Well for a start it means that we are not being edgy enough and I also suppose that we kind of enjoy being a bit outside of the norm here at gingergm.

In honour of this attitude the  ‘bottom board man’ sent me today’s lesson, which can be seen below…

Now before we move onto the lesson I just want to mention that at some point in the future we are going to start a discussion about the state of chess in England and about it’s sad, gradual, decline.

20 years or so ago, chess was booming in England, with top tournaments, top players and top prizes. The sad fact is that chess has only gone one way since then, downhill. Now who or what is to blame for this?

Maybe the ECF or some of the minds behind the ECF? (I know that some individuals have done a brilliant job but the federation have been in charge of English chess for the last 20 years).

The breakup of the USSR?

The ‘geeky’ reputation that chess holds to the general public?

What is the reason?

Anyway, more about this at another time. Let’s now move onto the ‘ Bottom board mans’ lesson of the day….

LESSON FOR TODAY 

Sometimes, we try  too hard to get to the greener grass.
In the process, we end up in  trouble…….. 
And when you find yourself in trouble and you’re stuck in a  situation that you can’t get out of, there is one thing you should 
always remember…….

Not everyone who shows  up……. 
Is there to help you!!!! 

I have been playing like a bit of a patzer of late, so I now welcome ‘bottom board mans’ attempt at cheering me up.

‘Bottom board man’ has found some interesting signs of when one is in danger at chess, on top of this he has also searched the internet for some chess related jokes.

Any other comments/jokes are always welcome!

Moments when you should feel danger at chess

1) There has been a change in the pawn structure. Your opponent has 8 and you don’t have any.

2) Your opponent begins to throw pawns at your eyes.

3) You have a position won but your opponent has a gun. 

4) The Director tells you not to bother turning in your score sheet after the game.

5) Before game begins you notice your opponents 1st initials are ‘GM’.

6) After completing your development you sense your opponent playing the endgame.

7) Just as you make your opening move your opponent announces mate in 11.

 You don’t control any squares at all.

9) Your draw offer sends all the people watching your game into uncontrollable laughter.

10) Your opponent has 3 bishops.

And now some dangerous moments that I have encountered… (Simon Williams)

11) The smell of ‘chess sweat’ makes it hard to see the board

12) Your opponent turns up completely drunk then suddenly rushes off and returns 10 minutes later with sick dripping down his chin.

13) After winning a fair bit of money at ‘Blitz chess’ your opponent decides to lock you in his house, call his friends into the room from upstairs and demand his money back.

14) The board next to you breaks out into an argument, then a fight and the victor (of the fight) turns to you and asks, ‘you saw what happened didn’t you?’

There are plenty more but I can not go into all of them here…

Some chess jokes

A chess master died – after a few days, a friend of his heard a voice; it was him!
“What’s it like, where you are now,” he asked.
“What do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news.”
“Tell me the good news first.”
“Well, it’s really heaven here. There are tournaments and blitz sessions going on all the time and Morphy, Alekhine, Lasker, Tal, Capablanca, Botvinnik, they’re all here, and you can play them.”
“Fantastic!” the friend said, “and what is the bad news?”
“You have Black against Capablanca on Saturday.”

Q: What is the difference between a large cheese pizza and a chess Grandmaster?
A: The pizza can feed a family of four.

And now a joke that a friend of mine told me. To set the the scene he was the best man at a wedding of a chess player and he mentioned the following in his speech…

‘I once asked *** whether he preferred chess or sex and he replied, “well it depends on the position!”

That’s enough for now and I am sure that a number of readers out there can improve on our pitiful attempts…

To be opposite

1. To be in contention or conflict with: oppose the enemy force.

2. To be resistant to: opposes new ideas.

3. To place opposite in contrast or counterbalance.

4. To place so as to be opposite something else.

To act or be in opposition.

A quick post, but this is the scenario:

Last night I had a bet with GM Keith Arkell, the bet is…

I bet £10 that he wont sacrifice a piece tomorrow morning (10am game)

If he loses all bets are void, if he draws or wins and sacrifices a piece then he wins £10!!!

No sacrifice, I win £10!

Time to rock and roll!!!!!!! Lets unleash the inner Keith, a crazy hacking genius, who can take anyone out in tactics. Now you may think that I ‘am taking the ‘Mickey’ here but  Keith can play all sorts of positions. If you’re in doubt then search out his game against Hodgson at the Surrey Easter tournament. Anyway, only time will tell!

PS this post is only going up at 9.55am Sunday morning so that his opponent does not smell a rat!!

http://www.e2e4.org.uk/international/2010/Uxbridge_Aug/index.htm

For Details!

Simon chose to wheel out the French – not a bad idea, especially when you have just released two DVDs on the same opening. (Good bit of promotion there, Simon!) ;o) Stuart, a notoriously difficult player to prepare against due to his vast opening repertoire, decided to play a fairly offbeat line in the Advanced Variation. In fact, the position that arose after 8…Nh4 cannot be found in any chess databases at Ginger HQ. Following on from the opening, Black had more control of the centre whereas White had a useful space advantage. The position was fairly dynamic and White seemed to have a slight advantage, however, when given the chance, Stuart should have swapped off Black’s most active piece, namely the dark squared bishop on f6.

Later on in the game, Black exchanged White’s dark squared bishop on d4 with his knight and made full use of his bishop pair by opening the position up. Stuart mistakenly allowed Black to roll his centre pawns down the board. Take a look at the final position below to see Black’s overwhelming pawn storm.

Simon now faces tournament leader and number one seed Mickey Adams with the black pieces. If anyone can stop Mickey in his tracks, it’s Simon. Stay tuned for the outcome!

Adam chose to play the Richter-Rauzer Attack against Simon’s Classical Sicilian setup. In typical fashion, White quickly completed his development and started punting his h-pawn down the board with the sole aim of creating havoc on Black’s kingside. Meanwhile Simon, who wisely chose to leave his king in the centre for the time being, wasted no time in mounting an attack on White’s queenside-castled king with the typical a7-a6 and b7-b5 plan. Whilst Adam’s attack seemed to run out of steam, Simon’s was gaining full momentum, so much so that he managed to play b3 in the following position:

On move 24, Simon missed his chance to take full advantage of his huge attack. He chose to play 24… Qa4 in the position below, whereas 24… 0-0 followed by either Na5 or Rc7 would have been better. White is never really threatening to capture on b3 because 25… Qa4 gives Black a big advantage due to the fact that the knight is pinned to the rook on d1.

Later on in the game, Simon sacked the exchange on c3 – now let’s be honest, we all knew that he would be itching to sack somewhere along the lines. It was more a matter of when rather than if. You can see Simon’s moment of glory below:

It was soon clear that Black had more than enough compensation for the exchange so Adam felt that he had to sacrifice the material back in order to keep his position alive. Although Simon was a pawn down in the later stages of the game, he still had a slight advantage as White’s king was so vulnerable. Unfortunately, Black needed a few extra pieces on the board if he wanted to mate White and the position soon petered out to a draw where both players were unable to make progress.

Sadly, the title of ‘Ginger Champion’ cannot be awarded as the game was left undecided. Perhaps we can arrange for a re-match soon. Best of three guys?

It’s every chess player’s worst nightmare – scrolling down the pairings only to find that you’re paired against a friend who also happens to play in the same team(s) as you. This is exactly what happened in round 4. So, how did the two Drunken Knights prepare for such an occasion? The answer’s pretty obvious given the team they play for – they headed down the pub the night before to celebrate the encounter!

Anyway, back to the game. Mark decided to play the Nimzo-Indian against Simon but made a positional mistake in the opening when he played 6…b6 because after 7. Bg2, Black can never really develop his bishop to b7 as White can play Nd2, exploiting the fact that the black knight on e4 is pinned.

Mark realised this and played 8…d5 in the game, however, by doing so, he weakened his position further. Simon quickly took advantage of this and won a pawn on move 13 in the position below:

Black’s position collapsed shortly after this and the game ended on move 25 in White’s favour.

Simon now has 3 points out of 4 and is back in business!

Due to the accelerated pairings in use at the British, Round 2 played host to the first GM clash on board 1 between Grandmasters Michael Adams and Aaron Summerscale. Mickey, on the white side of an advanced Caro Kann, played impressively to beat Aaron in 29 moves.

After 2 rounds, only 5 players remain on maximum points. In round 3, Simon will play IM Jack Rudd, a player known for his speed. Time for some ginger magic!

Shortly after, an ending was reached whereby Simon had the bishop pair and an extra pawn against his opponent’s bishop and knight combo. He successfully managed to convert his advantage and the game ended on move 50. Simon now faces IM Paul Littlewood in round 2. Here’s hoping for another successful day!

I am afraid to announce that there is going to be a slight delay in the release date for the Killer French DVD’s.

I have just been told that the replicator had a slight problem that took a bit of unexpected time to overcome.

This means that the new release date for DVD 1+2 will be the 1st August – For Europe

15th of August – For the USA and Canada.

I must sincerely apologise for this. The delay has annoyed me somewhat but the product must be perfect before we send it out. I hope that you will agree that it is worth the wait.