Aug-02-25
 | | offramp: I am watching the chess from the very beautiful St George's Hall, next to Liverpool Lime St Station. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPV... The commentator is Danny Gormally, at the moment. Is he slowing down in his chess career? |
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Aug-02-25
| | offramp: The intro gives the time format for the first 9 rounds: <"First 40 moves in 90 minutes, then 30 minutes added for remainder of game, with 30 second increments added from move 1."> I think Geoff agrees with me that the "30 spm from move 1> is too much. I think that "10 spm from move 40" is more exciting. BUT here is something a real Samy Shoker <
GM, IM, WGM, WIM: Free
FM, WFM: ยฃ85
2150 and above untitled: ยฃ150
2000 โ 2149 inclusive: ยฃ210
<๐ค๐ท๐ญ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐๐ <ยฃ๐๐๐>>>!! Call a copper!๐โจ๏ธ๐ฅ๐ฅฉ๐ฅ๐ณONLY IN OHIOโ |
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| Aug-02-25 | | keithbc: Think D Gormally is stepping back as he is finding playing (and losing ) too painful for him which he readily admits. Shame as he was a contender for several years but not recently. |
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Aug-02-25
 | | MissScarlett: I'm not enjoying Gormally's commentary, and neither it seems is he. |
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Aug-03-25
 | | HeMateMe: don't players really need the time bonus in the early middlegame, when the structure of the board is determined? Flear is 66 years old. why doesn't John Nunn jump in? Nigel Short and Staunton? |
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Aug-03-25
| | offramp: <MissScarlett: I'm not enjoying Gormally's commentary, and neither it seems is he.> The co-commentator was Nick Pert. His surname is also an adjective: pert. I didn't hear him say anything. He's like a lobotomized Dick van Dyke. I <like> Danny Gormally. He chose the life as a chess professional. if he travels a long distance to get to a Weekender, but then drops a few draws AND a loss - he loses money: train fare, hotel room and...he gets zero prize money. I hope he gets on as a commentator, but I won't hold his breath. His sense of humour is <ARID>. He likes to give disquisitions on the state of the royalties from his latest book, "Something something something Plan something" ยฃ35.
The people at <Thinkers Publishing> sent him a cheque for 2 pengล. I hope he does well.... |
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Aug-03-25
 | | Sally Simpson: Danny's commentary style is genuine, it is who he is and if he looks a wee bit cheesed off I suspect it is because he would rather be playing. I like his laid back style and his dry but honest comments and his tendency to sometimes go way off track. He is much better than the screamers and ass kissers that frequent the other events. ---
Yes, increment from move one is ridiculous.
I have been told by arbiters and controllers they want it and like it because then you do not have a whole load of boards getting into time trouble at the same time. This 30 second increment stops all those mad moments which were fun to watch. Fair enough, without these important people OTB chess events would not happen (can AI not replace them.) though I still wonder how chess ever survived before digital clocks. |
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Aug-03-25
| | offramp: At the Women's Euros the Swiss hosts issued the referees with Swiss Caesium Watches which can be accurate down to 1 picosecond. For example, the match Switzerland v Germany began at 15:00:000001 GMT and ended 90:00:0002 minutes later.
Hopefully the arbiters have similar punctuality. |
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Aug-03-25
| | HeMateMe: Mark hebden is a familiar name here.
Isn't Harriet Hunt also a character in fiction? The name seems awfully familiar. |
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| Aug-03-25 | | Nosnibor: I have played all Leicester players in this event including Flear, Hebden and also Willow. |
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Aug-03-25
| | Sally Simpson: <HeMateMe>
You are thinking of the book; 'The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt' https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peculiar-G... I think I've read it:
Is that the one where a female chess player pretends she is a beginner to lure online male chess coaches to her county mansion where she poisons them and buries them in her garden.
She finally gets caught after burying victim 31, one short of the chess set she was aiming for.
She escapes from prison on the last page so the I expect there will be a sequel as she goes looking for victim No.32. The missing piece. |
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| Aug-03-25 | | dehanne: Great setting for sure. |
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Aug-03-25
| | HeMateMe: I think cate blanchett should play the lead. |
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Aug-04-25
| | MissScarlett: The leaderboard is full of foreign names...ah, wait, William Claridge-Hansen. This is more like it! |
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| Aug-04-25 | | stone free or die: Let's split the diff - <Shreyas Royal>. |
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Aug-05-25
| | HeMateMe: How much money does Flear make, hustling deep pocketed rubes in Backgammon? |
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Aug-05-25
| | offramp:
<I liked the sandwich named after Ted Danson,
And I have survived two marriages.
BTW I paid for the receptions in advance in
2020, that's why I'm William Claridge-Hansen.> |
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Aug-05-25
| | offramp: Nick Pert hasn't said anything <yet>.
I think he will say something at the end of the prize ceremony. |
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Aug-06-25
| | HeMateMe: Not to get too far away from chess but exactly what is a Ted Danson sandwich? |
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Kibitzing
