Archive for the ‘Bedfordshire Chess’ Category

Hats off to Luton

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, History of Bedfordshire Chess on April 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Luton A team has won Division 2 of the Bedfordshire League with only one loss all season.

So who makes up the Luton A team this season?

Congrats on a fine season, now its time for division 1!

Mark. J. McCready

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Celebrating success…

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess on April 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

GM James Plaskett has a DVD out where he celebrates many of his greatest victories. As you may know, James is the only one who emerged from the Bedfordshire league and went on to become British champion, a feat unlikely to ever be equalled. So for those interested in Bedfordshire chess, its a worthwhile acquisition. You shouldn’t expect to find games from the Beds. league contained within, still it is something we should all be proud of. It can be found below, I have placed an order myself.

https://gingergm.com/library/plasketts-greatest-hits

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McCready v Gayson (Beds. Chess Challenge 1)

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Life beyond the chess board, My Own Games on February 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

We played on the same team on 87 (Luton A), and were members of the same club in its final year, so let’s see if Board 1 can beat Board 4! (most probably!)

Game on

1. e4 c5. We start with a Sicilian because it offers more counterplay than the French, which I grew rather tired of as the years rolled on by.

2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 (note to self: try to remember the correct bloody move order next time please!). Uppsala! Having not played one single game in 8 months, I simply forgot 5. …a6 or 5. …Qc7 are the most playable responses that avoid transposing towards the deluge of open Sicilian theory -clumsy.

6. Ndb5 d6 (almost a necessity and frighteningly transpositional!)

7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Nd5 Be7

We have transposed into the Sveshnikov but that’s quite alright as I played it for a few years and read up on it too! But as GM Rowson once said ‘the Sveshnikov is full of holes’. They can appear on both flanks, some caution is needed.

11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. c4

Yoicks, not the main move, so now I am out of book. Although 12. …Qa5 may look tempting, its not at all, its premature. Black has threats to attend to before any counterattacking ideas can be put into play. I could lose the exchange or a pawn easily if I am not careful. So the plan is to shut things down and shore things up, that way the position should stay in tact – hopefully should! I can’t really tell because I am out of book already, so will stick to the few opening principals I learnt some ten years ago.

12. …b4 (let’s shut things down) 13. Nc2 a5 (and shore things up) 14. Qf3! I chose exclamation mark because I’ve never seen that move before and don’t know why it’s played. Here I play 14. …Be6 because usually the light-squared bishop goes to either e6 or b7 and I never worked out why the latter was the preferable option so, once again, I stuck it on e6, and also because I couldn’t work out what else to do, so blindly follow opening theory and principles I shall but this is really just about as far as I can go, I’m pretty much on my own from now on. I know I may get double f-pawns but that’s okay, all it means is the king should stay in the centre, and that’s okay, its quite safe there with the bishop on e6.

15. Nxf6 (from what I understand this is thematic as black usually ends up with doubled f-pawns)

15. … Qxf6. I spent around 5 minutes thinking about this. In principle, white’s remaining knight is heading to d5, so why would I want to put my queen on f6? I played it because the white queen is on f3, and unless white exchanges, I gain a tempo, which I can lose with, say Qg6, should the knight land on d5. I’m not expecting an exchange of queens.

16. Qxf6 gxf6 17. 0-0-0. Now what do I do?

Much thought required here. Where does the king go? I don’t really want to place it on e7 if a knight can pop into d5. I have to keep my bishop on e6 and exchange off if that happens but if it does, I think my knight is slightly better than white’s bishop as it can stay unchallenged on d4. Do I castle queenside? My rook can gain counterplay on the a-file, do I want to take it off that file?

18. … 0-0-0

Updates to follow

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The televisual quadruplet from Bedfordshire

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, History of Bedfordshire Chess, Life beyond the chess board on October 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Television has a role in modern western society which is being decentralized by the internet and the so called digital revolution we are, apparently, undergoing.

Nonetheless, important it remains and compelling it may be too…especially when Bedfordshire’s finest chess players appear on it. Who might they be and what was that all about then?

1 (The man who failed to beat me with the King’s Indian Attack)

The first was Bedford’s Dave Ledger, who appeared on the Channel 4 daytime show Countdown around 1993 (apologies for my imprecision). I did ask him about his experience on the show once, and he informed me that it (Countdown) was far less glamorous than it appears on tv! Dave did win on his debut it, I remember watching him, and gave a good account of himself. https://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_1571 . It is also claimed that Dave appeared on a show called Brainteaser but I have no evidence of this.

2 (The man who dismantled my Bird’s opening far too quickly)

Staying with Bedford, second was Paul Habershon, who also appeared on countdown some eleven years later, and like Dave, won in the first but lost in the second show. Further information can be be found on the Countdown Wiki here. https://wiki.apterous.org/Paul_Habershon

3 (The man I never met over the board)

Third in line was Bedford’s James Plaskett, who famously appeared on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2006, and in all probability, won more money on a gameshow than any other chess player in history.

4 (The man once rated 200+ who once saw me off with with his Catalan)

Forth comes Dunstable & Luton’s Colin Garwood, who recently appeared on University Challenge and did rather well for himself.

5

The exclusion of the fifth element! Mr. M. J. McCready once appeared as an extra in the film Whoops Apocalypse in 1986, and then appeared on tv many times thereafter in the crowd at Luton Town football club. I’ve also appeared on tv in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. But I’m not linking any of that nor should I include myself. All appearances were fleeting and I never said very much. Additionally, I’m both shy and rubbish at chess, which makes my inclusion rather unnecessary and quite unjustifiable!

MJM

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Wir vergessen nicht was war 2

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Luton Chess Club on September 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Or ‘we don’t forget what was’ in English.

More pics and details about the revival of Luton chess club to follow…and yes it is only a matter of time before I return to the helm and run the club myself (marooned abroad so about a decade)…assuming it hasn’t folded by then of course.

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The Freshers fair 22

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Luton Chess Club on September 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The University of Bedfordshire/Luton chess club recently attended the freshers fair in the student union at the university main campus in a bid to attract new members. There are pictures below where lifelong club members put their wits against the freshers!

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Updates

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Luton Chess Club on July 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Regarding Luton Chess club, talks are taking place with the student union in The University of Bedfordshire main campus, which is where the club will be based. Plans are being put together and the local media will be contacted once things are in place. It is beginning to look like the hangover from COVID is leaving now and the club will be open for business again soon, hopefully with a team in the Bedfordshire League. Now that the club is affiliated to The University of Bedfordshire, this offers a level of security and stability the club hasn’t had in a long time. And with a population of over 200,000 there should be a chess club in town. We really ought to have a secure playing venue and at least 30 members…let us hope for brighter days or put differently a return to normality now that there’s no pandemic interfering with matters. Sadly I cannot be there to oversee operations and tidy things up but the club is in good hands, and so we are hopeful that Luton will have its own chess club again.

I shall post further details in due course.

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‘Only the good die young, all the evil seem to live forever’

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Life beyond the chess board, Luton Chess Club, My own endeavours on June 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

‘The moon is red and bleeding, the sun is burned and black.’

I can’t begin to tell you how colourful and oftentimes chaotic my life has become, having been abroad for 22 years now, and visited some 36 countries along the way (many of which I worked in more than once). But the day when it is time to head home will one day come.

‘Time it waits for no man my future it is revealed. Time it waits for no man my fate is sealed.’

When that does happen, when I am a retiree of sorts, I will reach my rightful place. It’s only a matter of time before I become the Secretary of Luton Chess Club and also President of the Bedfordshire Chess Association.

‘If I cancel tomorrow the undead will thank me today.’

Administrative roles and obligations have been in place for the online versions of our club for some time now, the history of our country has been in my hands alone for many years, moreover in a bid to revive the club, much advertising will take place here. Moves are being played.

‘The demon in your mind will rape you in your bed at night.’

Lyrical encores aside, I am unflustered by what lies ahead and do not lie awake at night, erm…well singing Iron Maiden songs. The diagnosis is, I will live forever and am not ‘too evil’ to be the club secretary (when that day comes). More honest chaps might ask, since I won’t die young, can’t I run the thing from abroad…and perhaps I can.

Evil updates soon to follow…oh and lastly, do enjoy the song below (it has a chess reference).

Mark. J. McCready

11.15am, June 30th.

Room 7113, Intown Holiday Hotel,

Pattaya Saisong Soi 11

Pattaya

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News to follow

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Luton Chess Club on June 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

In due course I will post information about Luton Chess Club. Sadly, it has fallen into disarray since the lockdown, with it remaining closed for long periods and then unable to field a team in the Bedfordshire Chess League, due mainly, to a lack of interest.

There are plans afoot to revive matters and soon I shall spell out the details. For a town its size, and university backing, Luton Chess Club should be in much better shape than what it is. Let us hope for a move in the right direction before the summer is out.

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International man of mystery caught out by rodent on the run

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, On-line journal on January 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“It is nobler to declare oneself wrong than to insist on being right –especially when one is right.”
― Nietzsche, Friedrich

On the morning of Saturday September 3rd 1988, I sat reading Simon Webb’s Chess for Tigers, in the spare room of my very first home, just up the road from where I am now. And although it may well be a false antitheses, his idea of playing the man/playing the board has stuck throughout the years…

My entry into the national league ended in victory, but a fortuitous one at that for I know not to play on emotions, but that I did…I won for the team but it was nothing to be proud of…

“The final reward of the dead – to die no more”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

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