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Jul-04-05
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| tpstar: An annual toast to that grand icon of American culture James Mason who so proudly exemplifies our three key virtues: chess, insanity, and alcoholism. Happy Fourth of July, gang! (Timmy.) |
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| Jul-04-05 |
| James Tiberius Kirk: Whoose he?
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| Jul-04-05 |
| James Tiberius Kirk: Whoose he?
Are you talking about the English actor who played Rommel? |
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| Nov-19-06 |
| BIDMONFA: James Mason MASON, James
http://www.bidmonfa.com/mason_james...
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Jul-25-07
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| Sneaky: <Attention has been often directed to the unsatisfactory results usually obtained in chess tournaments as regards the matter of draw games. There have been too many draws in these pool competitions. For this the present system of scoring, whereby a drawn game is reckoned as 1/2 won to each of its players, must be held largely accountable. --- James Mason, 1896>
The problem of "too many draws" is not just a modern phenomenon. The irony, of course, is that in James Mason's day, "too many draws" meant one game out of three. And here he is, suggesting the very same solution that people suggest 100 years later, to abandon the "1/2 point for each player" tradition with drawn games. |
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| Jul-25-07 |
| gauer: Why not issue the 1/2 point only to the player who is initiating the forcing of a repetition of position, and give the other player a 0? A simiar argument coud be made for the person who is earning a stalemate fortress by running himself out of moves. The final player capturing down to a material insuffient position might also be the more likely player to have been awarded a 0, giving the other player a 1/2 point (meaning that one should aim be on the forcing side of a rep, or force a stalemate, or assure to not force a lack of material requirement for checkmate - not the other side). I would also toss the draw by agreement rule completely. |
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Jul-25-07
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| strifeknot: Why do I hear the sound of a roomful of infants crying whenever I see posts by patzers whining about draws and suggesting they be either banned or rewarded no points? |
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Jul-26-07
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| acirce: <Why not issue the 1/2 point only to the player who is initiating the forcing of a repetition of position, and give the other player a 0?> Why not deport the anti-draw fanatics to a desert island? |
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| Jul-26-07 |
| FHBradley: What's wrong with draws? I'm such a lousy player that when I manage to steal a ½ from my opponent, I'm quite happy. My personal problem is not too many draws but, rather, too few draws. |
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Mar-08-08
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| Knight13: I swear to GOD this guy looks like that basketball-kid's father in Prison Break season 3 based on his profile picture! |
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Mar-18-08
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| A.G. Argent: <Knight13> Speaking of eloquent, humourous Irishmen, I think he looks like David Feherty. |
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Mar-26-08
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| Knight13: <A.G. Argent> I don't know about THAT one. ;-) <FHBradley: What's wrong with draws?> Nothing. |
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Apr-28-08
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| whiteshark: Quote of the Day
" Harmoniously uniting itself the curious, the beautiful, and the true, Chess appears to hold a permanent relation to innate susceptibilities of intelligence. " -- James Mason
How true. :D |
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May-16-08
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| Knight13: Chessmetrics Player Profile: James Mason
Born: 1849-Nov
Died: 1905-Jan
Best World Rank: #1 (11 different months between the August 1877 rating list and the June 1878 rating list ) Highest Rating: 2715 on the October 1876 rating list, #2 in world, age 26y11m Best Individual Performance: 2732 in Vienna, 1882, scoring 15/23 (65%) vs 2622-rated opposition |
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May-31-08
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| keypusher: Here's what Cheshire in the Hastings tournament book had to say about Mason: <He commenced the study of the game about twenty-five years ago and quickly showed his real talent; but Mason's chess career has contained so many disappointments, always showing what he could do but rarely doing much. He lacks the strength to take the game seriously, playing for recreation only, and is an extreme illustration of what the English players generally have been accused of -- playing when the clocks are ticking and taking no heed otherwise. Frequently, by pulling himself together, he has bowled over his opponents like nine-pins, but often when a brilliant success seemed inevitable he has apparently had enough of it and takes a lower position than expected. Training in any form seems altogether foreign to his nature, and in this respect he is the exact opposite of Steinitz, who lives for chess. But in style of play he resembles him very closely, though less eccentric. He has splendid conversational powers, makes a first-rate companion with a lively vivacious manner, and is generous to a fault. "Begone, dull care! you and I will never agree." Most of his games are of the very highest class, displaying the finest judgment and a keen insight into the intricacies of a position. He is subtle to a degree, spotting the slightest weakness. however obscure in nature. He is a good writer, using particularly fine English, and a first class annotator also. Several books are the outcome of his pen, and nothing could be clearer or more instructive, showing him to be as good a teacher as he is a chess player.> |
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| Aug-26-08 |
| myschkin: . . .
Photograph:
http://www.endgame.nl/Mason.jpg |
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Nov-19-08
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| brankat: R.I.P. Master and Teacher. |
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Feb-16-09
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| fred lennox: a great talent. he was rated number two and even number one for a while. He is the only player i know that steinitz refused to play a match for the world title. Steinitz didn't officially refused, but his indifference towards the idea was obvious. Am i indicating that steinitz feared him? I seem to think so, yet im not convinced myself. Mason big weakness was a fondness for whiskey. |
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Feb-16-09
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| percyblakeney: <Am i indicating that steinitz feared him? I seem to think so, yet im not convinced myself> I doubt that Steinitz feared Mason, who never won a top tournament or a game against Steinitz (until in 1899). When Steinitz became World Champion Mason was already well behind his peak, and when he could have had a chance to play Steinitz he was no longer a top ten player according to Chessmetrics. |
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| Feb-28-09 |
| WhiteRook48: this guy was a great player, but champions often get in the way |
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Nov-17-09
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| An Englishman: Good Evening: A sudden and sodden thought--if we know that James Mason was born on a specific date in a specific place, why can't we figure out his real name? Are his birth date and home town not the truth? |
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Nov-17-09
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| pawn to QB4: Good evening to you too Sir. The attempt has been made. I've tried to link to a web page of the Irish Chess Union. Didn't work I'm afraid. But a google "James Mason Patrick Dwyer" will reveal the results of research into baptismal records, Kilkenny, 1849. |
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Nov-19-09
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| Phony Benoni: If you're going to try that Google search, better make it two sets of quotation marks: <"James Mason" "Patrick Dwyer">. |
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| Nov-19-09 |
| edbermac: He was in Lolita, making a risky move with the landlord's daughter. http://www.clubedexadrez.com.br/por... |
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Nov-19-09
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| HeMateMe: They are doing a remake of Lolita, for the new century. |
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