I'd like to remind people that the Team Lightning takes place on Sunday at Dunfermline at 3pm - after the last round and AGM of the SNCL.

I hope we can get a good number of entries - please let me know by Friday. See the entry form elsewhere on the website for full info and the details to send me.

Good luck to Alan Tate in the Euro Individuals. I don't know what Alan would consider a succesful tournament and with a starting rank of 262 out of 350 it will be tough but I hope he does well.

I see Sarunas Sulskis, who is taking part in Prestwick 2012, will also be playing in the event, so I'll be keeping an eye on him too.

Opening ceremony today. Round 1 tomorrow.

Evening Everyone,

Peter has asked me to put a posting up as follows


Can you do me a favour and put a post/reminder on the CS board that the competition entries
from the magazine have to be in by March 28th. I just realised that I didn't put a deadline for submissions in the mag.
so thought the noticeboard would be a good place to highlight it.
Prizes are the latest copy of the Chessbase Magazine and a copy of Kasparov's new book from Everyman.

Regards

Thanks to Alistair Campbell for 66 games from Oban 2011 events

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I am considering playing in the Glasgow Congress this year. However, the venue for the tournament is not shown on the website. Has the venue been decided yet?
I played in the tournament in 2010 when it was held at the Kelvingrove Museum but I think that someone said that it was just a one-off use of the venue.

Players of all levels are warmly invited to take part in the first ever national championships for Othello (Reversi) in Scotland. The tournament is organized by the British Othello Federation and is open to anyone living in Scotland or the rest of the UK.

The title of official Scottish Champion will be on offer to the winner, but this is also a very beginner-friendly event. We'll play seven rounds with Swiss pairings and chess clocks. All competitors will receive an official British Othello Federation rating.

The tournament is free to enter and a fun day out is guaranteed for everyone who takes part.

More information at the tournament website: http://www.scottishothello.org.

James Gillespies will be competing next Thursday (22nd) in the last 16 (or Rd 1 of the National stage - but the former sounds better) of the UK Schools event against Nottingham High School. The match will be played in York, which while significantly closer in miles to Nottingham is only slightly further in traveling time: highlights a major issue with public transport!

Based on the evidence of the ECF grading database, we may have a small grading advantage on the top three boards but a (larger) disadvantage on the bottom three - so almost any result is possible.

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I'm not especially hopeful but maybe somebody can through more light on a question than I could, when I recently tried to find out more about Karl Gilg's time as German POW near where I now live in East Lothian. I played against him in the mid-1970s in southern Bavaria. History buffs will know that his most famous scalp was against Alekhine in the mid-1920s.

See the link above and click on the first (and so far only) response to the main BCM website article for details. Gilg probably spent at least 18 months in East Lothian and I'm sure I found a pretty certain reference to a strong chess player who was almost certainly him ... but couldn't corroborate this completely.

I had no idea when I played him that Gilg - then still a very good player and a typically strong old IM, comparable in strength and in his lively, enterprising playing style to the likes of his close contemporaries, Ludwig Rellstab (who got into a Hastings Premier in the mid-1970s), and Kurt Richter, whose life has been the subject of longstanding research by our own CS chess historian, Alan McGowan - had a strong Scottish connection ... he never let on.

It's a small world!

Feb 2012 copy dropped through my letter box this mornign and have to say I was completely bowled over with new layout and production quality. Very impressive!

Thanks Peter!

All

Apologies for the fairly random downtimes we have been experiencing over the last week (for those of you who noticed). We have been changing a few things and had a couple of problems along the road.

Please advise if you spot any problems.

Thanks
Andrew