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Oct-25-13
 | | offramp: So to defuse the Anastasia mate why didn't black take the rook on c4 last move? |
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| Oct-25-13 | | Shams: <offramp> Yeah, looks like Black was being cooperative. I should have said it wasn't a quality composition. |
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| Oct-25-13 | | Nonnus: Black's last move could have been ...Qc6 - b5, after White played Nf5 (threatening a fork at e7). Black opted to move his Q to b5 instead of protecting e7 with a Rook thinking maybe that the c4 R can't be defended because even if it gets out of there, say, Nd2 d5, Rg4 black mates at f1. |
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| Oct-25-13 | | Pulo y Gata: Let's hear from Rowson:
1. Ne7+ Kh8 2.Nxd6 cxd6 3.Qxh7+ Kxh7 4.Rh4 Mate.
"The finish is no less stunning for being familiar, though part of me wonders about the moves leading to the diagram position. That example came from the manuscript Coffee House Tactics, written by Healy but as yet unpublished." So, he shares offramp's doubt, which I also share bdw. Still, I find the man's story interesting and I look forward to reading his published book. Another quote:
"Part of the code is to shake hands, win or lose, with friend or foe alike. The ritual is repeated before and after each game, regardless of results. Over come the hands: small, large, medium, enormous, clean, not so clean, dainty, delicate, strong, weak, hard, soft, limp, damp, dry. After this sporting gesture, one is free to cheat, lie, hustle, harangue, pace up and down, fart loudly, sneeze, bang the poeces down, intimidate, glare and stare until the game ends, once more with a gentlemanly handshake." Shake hands, gentlemen! |
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Oct-25-13
| | offramp: I wish the grass arena John Healy had his own rightful page. I feel sport for this John Healy, a genuine chess player. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_... says:
< In jail a fellow inmate teaches him chess and he demonstrates an extraordinary ability at the game. He is soon beating grandmasters and having his games published in newspapers.> It's a pity we don't have even one of those games available as we could then begin a <chessgames.com> page for him. |
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| Oct-25-13 | | Pulo y Gata: Beating GMs is a beat of a stretch, Rowson mentioned a draw against Vaganian (again, no score!)...in a simul conducted by... the GM. |
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Oct-25-13
| | offramp: In my last post the word "sport" should have been "sorry". Sorry, sport! I think a better title for Healy's book would have been <32 Little Pieces>. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill... Once again I wish this obloquy was not on the blameless John Healy's page. |
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| Oct-25-13 | | tjipa: Well, I think the message of the Healy story is that chess can sometimes do something good for communities and for all kinds of individuals therein, and that there can be hope in chess even for the most difficult cases (to which category the author Healy definitely belonged). His book on Coffeehouse chess tactics has recently been published (by New in Chess, no less), so everybody who is interested enough can get a hold of it and then make judgements (Although, I guess it might have gone through quite thorough editing.) Anyway, the story of his life deserves respect, while the advertising blurbs about his chess titles are just that, advertising. My guess is, he reached a decent club player level of ELO about 2000-2100, probably won some local tournaments, had lots of struggle and revelations in the process,and wrote a good, hard-hitting book after that (I mean, The Grass Arena, 1988). So, what is wrong? I think, it is not his fault people make films about him! |
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Oct-25-13
| | offramp: I agree... I agree <tjipa>.
I agree 100%. |
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| Jun-07-14 | | renumeratedfrog: This is not John Healey the ex-alcoholic author. This one is Irish and was born in 1983, according to FIDE. The "real" John Healey is English and was born in 1943. |
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| Jun-07-14 | | john barleycorn: <renumeratedfrog: This is not John Healey the ex-alcoholic author. This one is Irish and was born in 1983> An Irish, ok. Then, no need to distinguish him from an ex-alcoholic. :-) |
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Jun-07-14
 | | OhioChessFan: Maybe the ex- part anyway. |
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| Jun-07-14 | | john barleycorn: < OhioChessFan: Maybe the ex- part anyway.> Thanks, my wording was not good.
Maybe, "there are no Irish ex-alcoholics" would have been clearer :-) |
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Jun-08-14
 | | HeMateMe: I knew a John Healy from Galway. He didn't know how to play chess. However, he was getting an engineering degree, which counts for something. And, he could drink your azz UNDER the table, a lesson I learned well. |
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Jun-08-14
| | offramp: There is still no page for the <Grass Arena> John Healy; this is almost certainly owing to no one having submitted any of his games. It is very hard to find any complete games of <Grass Arena> John Healy. This is despite the blurb on the book informing us that: "<In this prize-winning autobiography, John Healy describes his transformation from homeless alcoholic to champion grand master tournament chess player.>" Wow! A champion grand master tournament chess player! That's impressive! The <Grass Arena> John Healy fills in some missing information at
http://thequietus.com/articles/0888... "<I was supposed to play chess with Stanley Kubrick at a garden party once but it never came off. I don't want to denigrate him but I didn't think he was that good. ... I've played a few top grandmasters. One of them was called Bent Larsen. He was Danish. He was very well known at the time, ranked above Bobby Fischer. I drew with him... Bobby Fischer always said he wanted to write but he couldn't. Bobby Fischer could only be a chess player. <There's nobody like me in that respect. From an uneducated background: a writer, chess player... <I seem to have mastered most things I've got into: writing, chess, boxing.>>> " At http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic... there is a slightly more jaundiced opinion, from the well-respected Andrew D Martin: "<In the 130-150 range I would estimate. I played many blitz games with him at London Central YMCA.>" 130-150 range?
Elo 1640 to 1800.
That's a trifle below "<champion grand master tournament chess player>". |
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| May-14-16 | | dunne: To be fair, the blurbs on the backs of books are rarely (never?) written by the author. Some intern usually cobbles some stuff together and they slap it on. Healy's book "Coffeehouse Chess Tactics" was published by "New in Chess" in 2010. Not a bad read at all, and there are a few of his games in it, including a draw against Larsen in a simul in 1973. All the positions are from his games. It is basically a tactics training book with a few games and some biographical matter and anecdotes. |
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May-14-16
| | offramp: WANTED
10,000 Chessbucks reward!!
A single chess game by "Chess Arena" John Healy, so that a page can be opened up for him. |
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May-14-16
 | | Retireborn: <offramp> I remember watching the tv version of The Grass Arena many years ago and thinking that this Mark Rylance guy was just too ugly to be on tv and would soon disappear forever. Which shows how wrong I can be! |
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May-14-16
| | offramp: <Retireborn: <offramp> I remember watching the tv version of The Grass Arena many years ago and thinking that this Mark Rylance guy was just too ugly to be on tv and would soon disappear forever. Which shows how wrong I can be!> I won't put too much reliance on your prognostications in future! |
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| May-14-16 | | luftforlife: <offramp>: J Healy vs E Kass, 1993. |
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May-14-16
| | offramp: <luftforlife: <offramp>: J Healy vs E Kass, 1993.> I hope that is right; but the white player redirects back to here! |
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| May-14-16 | | luftforlife: <offramp>: Yes, for now that is so; I just submitted a correction slip, and I believe soon there will be a separate player listing for John Healy the author, born at London in 1943, and the game to which I linked, played against E Kass at the Hardiman Championship in 1993, and currently located as we know here, under the biographical page for John Healy the Irish player born in 1983, will be relocated under John Healy the author's yet-to-be-created biographical page. Please see my kibitz in the reader commentary upon that game for more information. Thanks for all your kibitzes, which have bettered collective understanding of John Healy the author and chess player, and which have helped to distinguish him from his fellow player bearing the same first and last names, who is some forty years his junior. |
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May-14-16
| | offramp: Thank you. Thanks <lustforlife>. I was annoyed that the wrong guy had a load of garbage at his page. |
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| May-14-16 | | luftforlife: <offramp>: You're welcome. Perhaps some of the commentary here will be migrated to the new page, obloquy and objurgations and all, and leave John Healy the Irish player in relative peace. Feel free to call me <luft> if you like; of course my handle is a play on words, but I like to emphasize "luft," as it connotes uplift, and reminds me to avoid those awful back-rank mates! :-) Cheers. |
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May-14-16
 | | Sally Simpson: Another English John Healy Game.
He was interviewed by Dominic Lawson's 'Across the Board'. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03...
The link has a picture of John.
Here is the game they played during the interview.
John Healy - Dominic Lawson, BBC England, December 2013 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bf4 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Be2 Nbd7 6. Bg3 O-O 7. h3 Qe8 8. O-O e5 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Nc3 h6 11. Rb1 c6 12. Qd2 b5 13. a3 a5 14. Qd6 Nh5 15. Qxc6 Ra6 16. Qxb5 Nxg3 17. fxg3 e4 18. Nd4 Kh7 19. Nd5 Draw agreed - final position.
click for larger view |
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