World Champion Magnus Carlsen will make an appearance on primetime TV today. Magnus will be a guest on BBC 1’s One Show, which airs tonight at 7pm GMT

The One Show is one of Britain’s most popular daily shows with between 4 and 6 million people tuning in every evening. Magnus will be taking on host Matt Baker in a blitz game; similar to the one he played against Bill Gates (you can watch that video here). You will be able to watch the show live on BBC’s iPlayer, as well as replay the game on the official LCC website.

Hi,

An instructive position deep in the endgame appears in a Orlav - Fridman game in 1991.

Later the same year Topalov plays Fridman.

Fridman shows Topalov his game v Orlav (maybe he did - that bit I'm making up)
and in 1992 Topalov has the exact same position on his board in a game against Antunes.

Topalov plays the exact same move as Fridman- and the position is used as a White
to play and draw puzzle quoting the Topalov game.

I cannot find the same position anywhere except in these two games.

One for teachers this one. By sliding a pawn 2 and 3 files to the right you can
demonstrate different winning and drawing methods.

http://www.redhotpawn.com/chess-blog/lin...ogpost.279

Also a really naff chess book (it's not a chess book) for someone's Christmas.

I also mention Bill Hartston.....

(What is so clever about that?)

I spell his name right! :ymhug:

Is it theoretically possible to obtain a norm through results in the Scottish National Chess League?

Division 1
Division 2
Division 3
Division 4

Let me know if I have done something daft

There is no bye in Div 4 as a junior team has stepped in for the rest of the season so I expect to see all teams.

It is forecast to be heavy rain tomorrow -- it is already battering my windows.Due to this the venue has decided to save staff costs and only have the main cafe open, not ours. This means we will be paying their cafe prices. I have been told that you are not allowed to bring your own food and drink onto the premises so I have passed that information on to you. I will be having discussions with the manager about the future of SNCL at the venue as they have also raised the venue fees by 25% this year.

We have a new bookstall which will hopefully start tomorrow, if Howard Wood is able to travel to us.

GG

The 42nd World Chess Olympiad is due to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan from 17 September-2016 until 30 September 2016 and Chess Scotland will be looking to field teams in the Open and Women's events as is usual.

In order to make travel and other arrangements as early as possible, would interested parties please contact me as soon as possible. I would hope to have teams selected by the end of January 2016.

I realise this is very early, but those not selected also need time to reply to alternative tournament organisers, as well as for the reasons mentioned above.

Interested parties include prospective players, team captains, potential selectors, potential sponsors at any level, those with knowledge of travelling to Azerbaijan and anyone who might be interested in coaching prior to the events.

Kind regards,
Andy Burnett (CS International Director)

The SNCL team tournament is, for me, one of the highlights of the season. Many of Scotland’s best players appear, and with 8-team divisions with two promoted and relegated each season, most are involved in significant games right up to the last round. Exciting stuff.

It is, however, marred by Rule 7, which requires clubs with more than one team to play its members in order of grading across all its teams taken together. This means that a ‘B’ team (or, for that matter, ‘C’ team) is forced to become no more than a reserve pool for the team above it, and has no identity of its own. This is not very encouraging for its players, and especially its captain who may work conscientiously to complete his five, only to have his best player snatched by rule because someone pulled out of a higher team at the last minute. The top team captain, of course, has no worries; he knows he has a replacement handy should one of his team not show up, and can blame it on the rule book.

It gets worse. Coupled with Rule 9, the lower team captain, through no fault of his own, could find himself suddenly flagged with a ‘no-show’ penalty that should have gone to the ‘A’ team. Under Rule 9, if this happens three times he loses a precious league point.

There’s more. Suppose the ‘B’ team is a ‘nursery’ team for young players to give them experience, and I’ve seen some of those at the event, with an adult and four young juniors. If the ‘A’ team fails to provide a full team, the ‘B’ team’s highest ranked player, quite probably the adult, is grabbed for ‘A’ team duty. What is he supposed to do? Play for the ‘A’ team while looking after the ‘B’ team, or hand captaincy to one of the inexperienced, and by this time possibly disheartened, juniors? Because Rule 7 is unequivocal on this; he must not move his strongest junior up so that he can look after the rest.

Rule 7 is thoroughly unjust, and should be changed. It is also slightly ambiguous with the use of ‘must’ in the first sentence making the raid on the lower team compulsory, while the presence of ‘can’ in the second hints that it could be optional. This needs clarified. However, I cannot see why, as in other leagues, each team cannot have its own pool, and thus its own identity, with the responsibility for completing his five on tournament day resting with each respective captain.

Jim Robertson

East Kilbride

The 32nd International Open of Cappelle-la-Grande will take place from February 13 till February 20, 2016.

Chess Scotland has been offered 4 places in this event. Entry fee, accommodation (2xtwin rooms) and food is included.

Interested players please contact me before December 20th.

Regards,
Andy Burnett ( CS International Director)

Just witnessed one of *the* games of the tournament so far. Just have to share this with you

[pgn]1.e4 e5 2.Nf3[/pgn]

Draw agreed

Struggling a bit with the analysis. Can someone help?

Round 1 Flash Multiboard Mobile
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Round 4 Flash Multiboard Mobile
Round 5 Flash Multiboard Mobile