The Scotland on Sunday in the supplement The Spectrum
Three pages of the chess scene in Scotland.
Interviews with GM's Rowson and Araakhamia-Grant and other chess players.
I appear on the third page:
"Chandler settles on the couch in front of the window, the afternoon sun
making a halo of what remains of his bushy hair and rolls a cigarette."
'...What remains of his bushy hair.....' I'm suing the lot of them. 🙂
The full interview will appear online sometime next week.
I do sneak in a mention for Red Hot Pawn!
Went to the Edinburgh Lothian Championship today to browse tthe bookstall.
It was not there. Not an entirley wasted day.
In the last round someone had gone home making it an odd number and
I was asked to play just to give the lad a game instead of him getting a bye.
I was a bit reluctant. Been 2½ years since I pushed a tournament pawn also
I was tired as I had finished work at 4.00 am that morning.
But what the heck - a free game of chess.
Last tournament game I played was v IM elect Neil Berry.
It was nice and messy and I'm pondering cheapo's. Suddenly this lad starts
talking to me during the game about the brilliancy prize I am supposed to be
judging. I'm pulled away from the board for a minute or two, return, blunder and
resign. This wee tale is relevant.
G.Chandler - M.Ridge (1890) Edinburgh 2011
Here is another game with same opening.
G.Chandler - D. Patterson, Edinburgh Leaguie 1996
Hi Paul.
In 1996 it was part of my main rep. Still is.
First played it in 1983/84. I was looking at this v some 2000+ player.
So what is it today. The Najdorf or the Dragon?
Suddenly without knowing anything at all about it. I played 3 Bb5+ got a
nice 'me' middle game and won.
A good not too common side line that was doing me just fine till one chap
called Bobby Fischer played it v Boris Spassky in the re-match.
More people started playing it, it lost it's surprise value and the updated
books started appearing....Cheers Bob.
Originally posted by greenpawn34Chandler is a rangy, restless man of 60 and has been obsessed with the game since he
There were 6 with the article. One of me infront of a demo board.
I'll blog it for your collection. 🙂
(also a blurred me holding a handful of white chess pieces.)
was 12. He tried to give it up in 1995, feeling he was getting too old to compete, but
has since become hooked once more. His flat contains two untidy study areas
dedicated to chess, books on the subject – some in Russian – piled up everywhere;
above a desk hangs a framed portrait of the great American player Paul Morphy,
who died in 1884.
ahh the great man, I have a tee shirt with Mrs Alexandra Kosteniuk on the front, it
inspires me in the same way.
It is what they know call the analysis room, then it was my bedroom.
After I left the club they had the idea of making the bedroom into a
a storeroom which later became the analysis room.
We had one false alarm so I thought this another, I carried on playing chess
with Jonny Marr. My wife called me and as this was my first born I did not much
about these things.
I called Jonny who had a couple fo kids, he said call an ambulance.
We played a few more moves then called the game a draw.
(I was winning.) 😉
Originally posted by greenpawn34And they say romance is dead...
It is what they know call the analysis room, then it was my bedroom.
After I left the club they had the idea of making the bedroom into a
a storeroom which later became the analysis room.
We had one false alarm so I thought this another, I carried on playing chess
with Jonny Marr. My wife called me and as this was my first born I did not much
abou ...[text shortened]... ll an ambulance.
We played a few more moves then called the game a draw.
(I was winning.) 😉
Still, a shame you couldn't play out to get the win.
The club really did need a storeroom.
Members who has passed away always left their books and sets to the club.
There were dozens and dozens and dozens of boxes full of books, sets, clocks,
magazines and score books.
(some of these score books had famous names, Menchik, Thomas, Mieses
and Alekhine - Alekhine gave a simul there when he was world champion.)
Also they had bought new inlaid tables so the old ones were stacked up in the
corridor, in the bathroom and at the back of the club.
Eventually they held a 'everything must go' sale and sold the books in
an evening for 50p each. I popped along to pick up one or two and ended up
with three boxes full of chess books and had to get a taxi home.
The inlaid tables were sold to members. recently a new set of tables were bought
and the old ones sold to members. That lad who I played in the game above
bought one. That's a nice link.