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John Nunn vs William Hartston
"One Big, Beautiful Bill" (game of the day Jun-01-2025)
BBC TV Master Game (1976), London ENG, rd 3
Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen. Classical Variation General (B83)  ·  0-1

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White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
0-1

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
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Kibitzer's Corner
Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  Williebob: An extremely rare example of a chess game which ruins a nation’s economy!

I suspect this was the British plan for the USA all along.

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <Williebob....I suspect this was the British plan for the USA all along.>

Delayed retribution for events of many moons ago, don't you know.

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Yes, you know us Americans well! Donald Trump has declared bankruptcy several times, in failing business ventures. He thinks the USA treasury is an American Express card--you just don't pay your bills if you don't feel like it.

Apparently chess never caught on re: British television. A very young John Nunn here, perhaps just out of college.

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  Breunor: Computer had white slightly behind until the blunder of 22 Bg5? Then white is lost after Ne4. 23 Rc1 or c4 appear to be best.
Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  Ogaard: A quite bad game. Why this is the game of the day?
Jun-01-25  goodevans: Love the pun!

<Apparently chess never caught on re: British television.>

Well here’s one Brit that never missed an episode of ‘The Master Game’ and without it my budding interest in chess might never have blossomed.

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: 🐰ྀི🐇 ׂ 𓈒 🐇 / ⋆ ۪
A pinch and a punch for the first of the month.

<HeMateMe: ...A very young John Nunn here, perhaps just out of college.>

Nunn went to Oxford University when he was 14. Nunn was the youngest entrant since Christopher Marlowe.

Jun-01-25  vonKrolock: Kit Marlowe, the Elizabethan playwright?! This was a most axtraordinary feat..
Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Yes a gifted prodigy. I was thinking nunn stuck around for a few more years to do graduate/PhD work?

I'm always reminded of John Nunn when I see bits of 'The Imitation Game ' on the internet. Alan touring was the leader, a maths PhD, C.H.O.D. Alexander, a young chess champion was on the Bletchley team.

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: No offence but Hartston was/is neither big nor beautiful. I have in mind the Canadian snooker player, <Big Bill Werbenuik>:

<Some of Werbeniuk's alleged feats of drinking include: 76 cans of lager during a game with John Spencer in Australia in the 1970s;[2] 43 pints of lager in a snooker match/drinking contest against Scotsman Eddie Sinclair in which, after Sinclair had passed out following his 42nd pint, Werbeniuk was reported to say "I'm away to the bar now for a proper drink";[9] 28 pints of lager and 16 whiskies over the course of 11 frames during a match against Nigel Bond, in January 1990 – after which Werbeniuk then consumed an entire bottle of Scotch to "drown his sorrows" after losing the match.[2]

A memorable incident occurred during a televised match against Dennis Taylor in the World Team Tournament. Werbeniuk tried to stretch across the table, but due to his size was having some difficulty. Eventually he split his trousers. The ripping noise it made caused many in the audience, including his opponent, to laugh out loud. Werbeniuk took it in good humour, asking the audience "who did that?" as if insinuating that the noise was attributed to flatulence.>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_...

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp:
<A memorable incident occurred during a televised match against <John Nunn> in the <Master Game> Tournament. <Hartston> tried to stretch across the table, but due to his size was having some difficulty. Eventually he split his trousers. The ripping noise it made caused many in the audience, including his opponent, to laugh out loud. <Hartston> took it in good humour, asking the audience "who did that?" as if insinuating that the noise was attributed to flatulence.>
Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <Ogaard: A quite bad game. Why this is the game of the day?>

Good question.

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  saffuna: <Nunn was the youngest entrant since Christopher Marlowe.>

What was Marlowe's ELO?

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <saffuna> It's Elo, named for Arpad. ELO is the Electric Light Orchestra.
Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  saffuna: <ELO is the Electric Light Orchestra.>

"Don't Bring Me Down."

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: Ole ELO.
Jun-01-25  Granny O Doul: <Nunn went to Oxford University when he was 14. Nunn was the youngest entrant since Christopher Marlowe.>

...Since Cardinal Wolsey. Marlowe attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, per Wikipedia.

Jun-01-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: I thought marlowe was one the traitors, with Kim Philby? The oxford Five?
Jun-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: That was a few hundred years later.

Some theorizing that Marlowe was involved with Walsingham�s spy network (and maybe with Walsingham?).

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/fron...

Jun-02-25  Granny O Doul: <That was a few hundred years later>

Yes, and once more, Cambridge.

Jun-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <saffuna: <ELO is the Electric Light Orchestra.>

"Don't Bring Me Down.">

OK, Bruce. Or should that be "Groos"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%2...

Jun-02-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Ok, so there was a Marlowe in Philby's spy ring, the Cambridge five?

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