A wee bit disappointed the site will not be doing a weekly or fortnightly take on chess things or making any comments at all.

I do not have a twitter account and if I was seen buying a copy of the Times in my neighbourhood I'd get slaughtered.

OK. Time to put you on the spot.

Carlsen v Caruana, who will win and go for a score. (just think of kudos you can sneak into the introduction of the Everyman book if you get it exactly right.)

You were very close with your 'Contenders for the Crown' written in 1994.

Anand and Kramnik made it, Gelfand and Shirov got within touching distance. A wee bit out on the strength of computers. You predicted another decade before a computer would beat a world champion.

In 1994 I would have said even later than that.

Hi Joshka,

I gave up trying to understand this planet years ago. We get by not trying to understand each other.

I'll get Ray's book as soon as it is out, Sadly no wins to get our teeth into but a few games will appear over my board and a few won't. (game 11).

I thought '78 was a well written classic. It could hardly fail with some great games and the off the board incidents described in a funny and wry manner.

I've seen the documentary about it. Worth seeing. All the young Edinburgh players (those born after '78) are gob smacked and loved it.

Brilliant accident. It's full of narrative and exposition as well as narrative: reminds me so much why I loved chess. Different reasons now (probably more an intellectual puzzle, but in those days I loved the feel of the pieces, and when I was playing well, it was like they talked to me in our own private world).

This generation can posture all they like about engines. In those days it was more like poetry. When it was exactly right, my chess was about the occasional glimpse into a platonic world of absolutes, guided by the pieces on my school chess boards. Always unknowable, but if one tried hard and sometimes even if one didn't deserve it, great things would happen.

So happy that my book on the Tarrasch French is liked. Yes Shaun Taulbut and I are still around.

Final score in Carlsen v Caruana was 9-6 so my prediction was in the right direction even tho there was a rapid shoot out.

Yes I have seen and annotated the Alpha Zero games see @times_chess on twitter for links to my column in The Times.

Yes Fide must change WCC format. Now that Nigel Short is Fide VEEP I expect great things😀

My book on the match is out and achieved the distinction of silver medal in the Chess Club Live book poll.

On @times_chess I shall post some entertaining games for The Christmas Holidays.

God bless you all especially our friends who keep chess games.com alive and well through thick and thin.

<
Chess & Bridge Shop
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Carlsen v Caruana by @Times_Chess & Byron Jacobs has been removed from sale. We apologise to customers who purchased it from us and offer a refund/exchange. Our customers deserve better See review by @olimpiuurcan http://tinyurl.com/y96ec699 @thetimes 1/2>

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<Chess & Bridge Shop
‏ @chessandbridge

Our action is unprecedented but we believe justified. Annotations by Jacobs are fine. Foreword by @nigelshortchess is interesting and thought-provoking yet even there, "finallist" (sic) is spelt incorrectly. If you still want to buy the book, it’s being plugged via @thetimes 2/2>