The topic regarding the location of the ChessScotland Girls Championships made me think about chess in schools, particularly secondary schools, over the time of my playing career.

In my third year at Greenwood Academy in Ayrshire (a state comprehensive), along game this maths teacher called Stephen Taylor who started the school chess club. Soon he was overrun by (mostly) guys and girls wanting to play chess at lunchtime and after school finished. He formed some teams, we entered the Ayrshire school league, then the national jamborees that were held throughout Scotland for teams of ten.

At that time there were four divisions of ten teams mostly made up as I recall by private schools. It was great fun to travel to host places like Madras and Robert Gordons staying in youth hostels and trekking everywhere in Scotland to play chess as a team. Our school didn't have much money but Stephen was creative using his youth hostel leader's badge and family railcard/vouchers off the back of cornflakes packets to get us all to events.

Stephen is still there at Greenwood running the school chess club and is as enthusiastic as ever. Many of his former chess students like Elliot Frew, David Deary, David Congalton, Crawford MacNab and myself are just as enthusiastic today, right through to guys like Daniel Deary and Jack Stewart who are the cream of the current Greenwood crop. I am sure all of us would consider Stephen as a good friend and always will.

What has changed nationally and above all why has it changed?

Has the Scottish school curriculum made it more difficult for enthusiastic teachers to commit their time to out of hours activities like chess?

Is money the reason? Are parents unable to afford to send their children to regional and national school events?

Have children got different interests in our modern technology driven society?

Would be good to hear the views of guys who played school chess in those "golden years" of the post Fischer era, both from a private and state school perspective.

I have merged the three topics and now have links to the draw and results

Premier
Championship
Plate






Round 1 Results

Nisbet, Charles Hedge, Stuthi 1-0
Watson, Jim Smith, Mark 1-0
Williams, Hutch McCullough, Andy 1/2
McGillivary, Calum Rutherford, Kathleen 1-0
O'Brien, Bob bye
Underwood, Jamie HPB

Hi,

I would like to highlight that the decision to host the "Official" Scottish Girls championship in a fairly remote part of Scotland (2.5 hrs from Glasgow & Edinburgh, and over 3.5 hrs from Ayrshire) shows poor judgement. Are we to subject our children to 5-7 hours travel that day, or is the ideal to implicitly restrict it to those that can afford the accommodation costs (and disruption) that will be incurred? That in conjunction with the choice of a private boarding school is not necessarily the message I would have hoped we were trying to send to Scotland's youth.

Clearly a national event should be held in a central location (near main population centres) to encourage as much attendance as possible - in a game based on reason and logic, I would have hoped that was self-evident.

This is a poor decision on many levels, only compounded by the fact that it has apparently been fixed for the next two years.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

In August sometime, I have to cast our vote on who should be President.

I intend to bring this up as a discussion point in the Council meetings running next year. Any information I have will be posted here.

I have asked questions of the Kaparov campaign but as yet have not had a reply. Will chase again at the end of the month.

Thoughts?

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25429658">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25429658</a><!-- m -->

Quote:Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams said the new series featured "a surprising list of chess devotees from all walks of life".

Quote:...former homeless alcoholic, John Healy, who believes that the world of chess is harsher than life on the street, complete the line-up

Ronald Biggs, the Great Train Robber, died today.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.kingpinchess.net/2013/08/the-chess-player-and-the-train-robber-3/">http://www.kingpinchess.net/2013/08/the ... -robber-3/</a><!-- m -->


What do chessplayers do on their day off at the world team Olympiad? Why, go and visit Ronnie Biggs in Rio of course. That was the itinerary for IM David Levy, the 1968 and 1975 Scottish Champion, when he visited the Great Train Robber in Brazil while playing for Scotland at the 1978 Olympiad in Buenos Aires in neighbouring Argentina.

Levy recounts his association with Biggs in The Biggs Defence on ionoxford-tube.com. Levy had some success in the chess publishing business but wanted something more lucrative. An autobiography of, “someone really famous” who may not be able to deal with a large publishing house would be the ideal candidate. Levy’s rejected two potential subjects, Princess Margaret and the Shah of Iran, as too wealthy to be receptive to the idea. Ronnie Biggs was still wanted by the British police and may be easier to contact. Levy sent letters to Biggs to set up a meeting. Although he had not yet received a reply he visited Rio in April 1978 en route from a chess event in South Africa to another business venture in the US.

Levy found Biggs an affable companion and keen on the book. Later that year Levy spent three weeks in Rio after the Olympiad interview-ing Biggs. The Biggs tapes were transcribed by Margaret Fitzjames, a friend from Glasgow, who found the subject more interesting than previous work she had done on Levy’s chess books.

Just as the book was about to be published Biggs was kidnapped by John Miller, a former Scots Guardsman, in March 1981 and taken to Barbados to arrange extradition. Levy assisted in getting a team of New York lawyers who found the key legal loop-hole there was no extradition treaty in force at that time between Barbados and the UK. Levy arranged a private plane with which he accompanied Biggs back to Brazil, a boat deemed too risky since it could have been intercepted by the Royal Navy.

The first game which appears in a search for Levy in the Chessbase.com Mega database is this miniature from the British Championships in Bath 1963. The robbery took place on August 8 while this tournament was underway. Peter Jamieson, an Olympiad teammate of Levy in Argentina, is still active and played top board for Scotland in the European Seniors (Over 60) team tournament in Austria in April.
British Championship Under 18, Bath, August 6, 1963. White: Peter Jamieson, Black: David Levy, 1 d4 c5 2 d5 Nf6 3 Nc3 e6 4 e4 exd5 5 exd5 d6 6 Nf3 g6 7 Bb5+ Bd7 8 0–0 Bg7 9 Re1+ Kf8 10 Bf4 Ne8 11 Qe2 a6 12 Qxe8+!! Bxe8 13 Bxd6+ Kg8 14 Rxe8+ Qxe8 15 Bxe8 Bf6 Black resigns in a hopeless position before 16 Ne4! 1–0.

First published: SOS Aug 16, 2009

The following I received only last night from the Czech Republic.
Details will be on website - not had time to check but they were in previous years.

Last time I looked into travel options the best route seemed to be to fly to Prague then travel on by train.



**************************************************************************************************************
Perhaps you can send us the E-mail adresses of important youth chess centres of your country ?
Vielleicht Sie können uns senden einige Kontaktadressen an andere Jugendschachzentren ?

Dear chess friends,

the city of  Frýdek-Místek is one of the most important chess centres in Czech Republic (CR) and Beskydská šachová škola (Beskydien Chess School) is the best in CR from the point of view of results in youth competitions.
            As enclosure I send to you the information and invitation for your chess players to our 35th Tournament of young talents in term 17th – 21st April of 2014. The foreign groups can arrange the longer staying in our country.

            In addition to it we give the special offer for groups, which will come to us for the first time. We accomodate for free one coach per 4 playing kids or two coaches per 8 playing kids (in tournaments under 9, 12 and 15) during the time of Tournaments.

            In the tournament´s history the youth national team from England, from Belorussia the players from chess schools SCS Minsk and MDDM Minsk have regularly taken part. And in recent years the players from chess school Perovo in Moscow and many others have participated too.

The next information you can find on website <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chessfm.cz">http://www.chessfm.cz</a><!-- m -->.

On behalf of the organizational team
Karel Kubala


Sehr geehrte Schachfreunde,

            Die Stadt Frýdek-Místek ist eine der bedeutendsten Schachzentren in der Tschechischen Republik und Beskydská šachová škola (die Beskidener Schachschule), aus der Sicht der Ergebnisse in jugentlichen Wettbewerben, ist  die beste  in der Tschechischen Republik.
            Als Anlage sende ich Ihnen die Einladung zu unserem 35.Turnier der Schachstalente im Termin vom 17. – 21. 4. 2014. Die ausländischen Gruppen können sich auch einen verlängerten Aufenthalt bei uns vereinbaren.

            Außerdem haben wir ein spezielles Angebot für die Gruppen, die zu uns zum erstenmal kommen. Wir übernehmen alle Kosten für die Übernachtung für eine Persone (Betreuer) mit 4 spielenden Kindern oder für zwei Betreuer mit 8 spielenden Kindern (in Turnieren bis 9, 12 und 15 Jahren) während der Zeit der Turnieren.

            Seit vielen Jahren nehmen die Jugendrepräsentation aus England, die Schachschulen SCS Minsk und MDDM Minsk aus Weißrussland, in den letzten Jahren die Schachschule Perovo aus Moskau und viele andere an unseren Schachturnieren teil.

Die ausführlichen Informationen können Sie auf unseren Webseiten <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chessfm.cz">http://www.chessfm.cz</a><!-- m --> finden.


Im Namen der Organisatoren
Karel Kubala

Gender equality!

By George Neave (Age 50 years 4 weeks)!

(How did that happen...where do I go to collect my bus pass?)

Chloe Howl wins a chess tournament:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brFKqr0BZcE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brFKqr0BZcE</a><!-- m -->