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Jul-08-15
 | | Gypsy: <norami: Her name means, loosely, "Truly Male-female"> Not really. You see a phonetically anglicised version of <Mensik> (soft 's' and long 'i') -- it is a common Czech name. It is derived from 'mensi' = 'smaller'. Incidentally, <Mensik> is the masculine version of the name; in Czechoslovakia, Vera has been commonly referred to by the feminine version of her name <Mensikova>. |
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Jul-08-15
 | | Honza Cervenka: <Gypsy> I think that Vera's maiden surname was Menèíková, not Menšíková. |
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Jul-08-15
 | | Gypsy: <Honza Cervenka> Ah, you are right. (In South Moravia, the 'Menšík' version of the name is more common -- the source of my error.) |
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Jul-08-15
 | | Honza Cervenka: <Gypsy> Yes, I know. And especially thanks to Vladimír Menšík the version with "š" is better known...:-) |
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Sep-18-15 | | JonDSouzaEva: According to freebmd.org.uk, Clifford Glanville Rubery, the husband of Olga Menchik, was born in the 3rd quarter of 1912 and he and Olga married in the 4th quarter of 1938. Elsewhere it is recorded that he died in 1999 at the age of 87. |
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Feb-16-16 | | TheFocus: Happy birthday, Vera Menchik. |
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Jul-26-16 | | TheFocus: On this day, Menchik won the 1931 Womens' World Championship. (Again) I really respect Vera. |
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Aug-12-16 | | sudoplatov: As Vera Menchik was the first really strong woman playing competitive chess (as far as is known), perhaps she could be call "La Prima Vera." |
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Nov-22-16 | | TheFocus: This games collection is rather poor, in my opinion. I have plenty of Menchik games not in CeeGee. |
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Jan-28-17 | | zanzibar: <Searching for Menchik> MCO-13 p99 has mention of a Giuoco Piano game she lost to Emery, played in 1939 in Biarritz. This tournament isn't mentioned here:
http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/conte... Anybody know anything? Is this Menchik her? What's the original source of the game? <CG> does have it: T Emery vs Menchik, 1939 OK, thanks. |
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Jan-28-17
 | | perfidious: <zed>, believe Emery-Menchik was also mentioned in Botterill's <Open Gambits>, published in the mid 1980s, but my copy of Botterill is in mothballs. If I ever get to France again, Biarritz is a place I would like to visit, besides the Cote d'Azur. |
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Jan-28-17 | | zanzibar: <perf> I don't know about that France place, I heard the beer ain't too good. But someone did tell me the wine was mighty fine. So maybe. Kidding aside - here's some postcard pictures from Biarritz: http://www.britishairways.com/asset... http://www.venuesworld.com/france/w... http://www.france-voyage.com/visual... http://cabinflooresoterica.com/imag... Yeah, looks like a nice place to visit. |
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Jan-25-18 | | TheFocus: I received a copy of the Menchik bio by Robert Tanner, and I have to say that it was a disappointing book. With McFarland, you get half good books, half bad books. |
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Jan-25-18 | | zanzibar: Winter seems to suggest the percentage is better, or at least doesn't seem to mention the other 50%: <In recent decades, historical chess biographies have seen a major advance in scholarship, with far greater recognition of the need for precise sources. The world’s leading publisher in the field is McFarland & Company, Inc., and any list of its best biographical works is likely to include the following:• Stephen Davies: Lipschütz;
• Richard Forster: Burn;
• Stephen W. Gordon: Reshevsky;
• Tim Harding: Blackburne and Eminent Victorian Chess Players;
• John S. Hilbert: Hodges (with Peter P. Lahde), Kemeny, Leonard, Pollock (with O.G. Urcan), Shipley;
• Martin Frère Hillyer: Frère;
• Hans Renette: Bird;
• Miguel A. Sánchez: Capablanca;
• Leonard M. Skinner and Robert G.P. Verhoeven: Alekhine;
• Per Skjoldager and Jørn Erik Nielsen: Nimzowitsch;
• Olimpiu G. Urcan: Albin, Finn, Kaufmann (with P.M. Braunwarth), Pollock (with J.S. Hilbert);
• Joost van Winsen: Mason;
• Aidan Woodger: Fine;
• Fabrizio Zavatarelli: Kolisch.
>
C.N. 10661
Gotta admit, just from my limited viewing of these titles, they're pretty darn good. |
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Jan-25-18 | | zanzibar: Winter seems to suggest the percentage is better, or at least doesn't seem to mention the other 50%: <In recent decades, historical chess biographies have seen a major advance in scholarship, with far greater recognition of the need for precise sources. The world’s leading publisher in the field is McFarland & Company, Inc., and any list of its best biographical works is likely to include the following:• Stephen Davies: Lipschütz;
• Richard Forster: Burn;
• Stephen W. Gordon: Reshevsky;
• Tim Harding: Blackburne and Eminent Victorian Chess Players;
• John S. Hilbert: Hodges (with Peter P. Lahde), Kemeny, Leonard, Pollock (with O.G. Urcan), Shipley;
• Martin Frère Hillyer: Frère;
• Hans Renette: Bird;
• Miguel A. Sánchez: Capablanca;
• Leonard M. Skinner and Robert G.P. Verhoeven: Alekhine;
• Per Skjoldager and Jørn Erik Nielsen: Nimzowitsch;
• Olimpiu G. Urcan: Albin, Finn, Kaufmann (with P.M. Braunwarth), Pollock (with J.S. Hilbert);
• Joost van Winsen: Mason;
• Aidan Woodger: Fine;
• Fabrizio Zavatarelli: Kolisch.
>
C.N. 10661
Gotta admit, just from my limited viewing of these titles, they're pretty darn good. |
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Jan-25-18
 | | OhioChessFan: You can say that again! |
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Jan-25-18 | | zanzibar: ... they're pretty darn good. |
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Jan-26-18 | | Retireborn: I put an order in for the Woodger book the other day. It had better be Fine! |
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Jan-26-18
 | | MissScarlett: Is there an A H Coe in here? |
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Jan-26-18 | | zanzibar: <<RB> ... It had better be Fine!> About Fine isn't good enuff?! |
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Jan-26-18 | | Retireborn: <z> The book certainly has a fine old price on it! I'm hoping to get a few more annotated games for my collection, though. |
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Jul-20-18 | | swampdragon: I have more of these than I should. The Alekhine book is marvelous, a true desert island book, and the Blackburne book isn't far behind. |
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Sep-27-18
 | | sachistu: I'm afraid I'm going to have to fall in the camp of <TheFocus>. I recently acquired the Tanner book, and although I probably should reserve judgment until I go through it in its entirety, what I have seen so far is not favorable. For example, on page 35, the score from game 4 from the first match with Edith Price (April 20-23,1925) is badly mangled. Black's 38th is impossible, and it's not clear exactly how to reconstruct it. By the way, the book gives the ECO code of A16 with the description of French, Classical Variation! Clearly, the opening was C13. Next, on page 36, from the 2nd match, played in June, the book gives the date as October 6th! (June 10th seems much more likely.) Moreover, the score is also mangled as it evidently leaves out the actual 42nd move-pair (42.Qf5 Rc8). As given, the score makes little sense, and then goes completely haywire on move 45. Tanner cites the Times Literary Supplement, but gives no day, month or year. In fairness to Tanner, he does give complete source references e.g. day, mth, yr, and page in other instances. In scanning through the game source references, I was surprised (and disappointed) to see numerous references to chessgames.com and 365Chess.com. No offense intended for this site (CG), but using such a reference does not suggest a very exhaustive source search. In other cases, Tanner cites some of Tony Gillam's works, but does not include the actual source used in Tony's books. Using a 2nd or 3rd hand source reference does not create a favorable impression. So far, not so good. I expected a better book. Anyone using the games scores from the book should check them carefully, but wasn't that the author's job?? |
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Sep-27-18
 | | MissScarlett: <Crowley’s acerbic side is also much in evidence in his diaries of the 1930s, the opening of the National Chess Centre in November 1939 occasioning a characteristic piece of rudery, this time at the expense of Vera Menchik:
“Stop! Look! & listen! ere you enter the grand new National Chess Centre.
For there you will find as manag’ress The most unGodly cow in chess.”> http://www.hastingschess.club/edwar... |
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Sep-27-18 | | TheFocus: The British press actively sought to downplay Vera's achievements. You will notice that not very many of her games appeared in British chess periodicals. This was a deliberate thing. |
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