Test Your Chess Knowledge No.300 – Bits & Pieces!
Which music composer was a strong enough chess player to beat each of Lasker, Capablanca and Rubinstein in simuls?
A) Sergei Prokofiev
B) Maurice Ravel
C) Dmitri Shostakovich
D) Aaron Copland
E) Edward Elgar
Answer: A
Prokofiev was a keen follower of chess, a personal friend of Capablanca and played several games with Botvinnik who described him as “a first-rate chessplayer”.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.299 – International Chess
Fabio Caruana has lived in several countries to further his chess career. Which of these lists comprise 3 countries he has lived in for at least a year each?
A) Russia, USA, Italy
B) Sweden, Hungary, Spain
C) Spain, USA, Hungary
D) Italy, Sweden, Spain
E) Czechia, USA, Italy.
Answer: C
Caruana lived the first 12 years of his life in Miami. He moved with his family to Madrid in 2004 and then he moved to Budapest in 2007. He also lived for most of 2010 in Lugano before moving back to the USA in 2014. Despite have dual US and Italian nationality and representing Italy for several years he has never lived there!
CC BY-SA 4.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.298 – National Chess
On 21st May 2004, which English Chess player(s) set a new world record for simultaneous chess?
A) Andrew Martin
B) Keith Arkell
C) Nigel Short
D) Chris Ward / John Emms
E) John Nunn
Answer: A
Andrew Martin faced 321 chess players at the same time. His result was 294 wins, 26 draws and only one loss. That’s more wins than many of us will achieve in our lifetimes!
CC BY-SA 2.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.297 – Local Chess
In Bulletin No.58 we reported on more Riveting Rapidplay games including two well played games by the players who came equal 4th but who were they?
A) Mike Duggan & Richard Allis
B) Allan Pleasants & Ian Clark
C) Richard Allis & Allan Pleasants
D) Ian Clark & Richard Smith
E) Richard Smith & Mike Duggan
Answer: C
Two players came equal 4th with 5.5 points and these were Richard Allis & Allan Pleasants.
Five players came equal 6th with 5 points and these were Mike Duggan, Ian Clark, Richard Smith, Georgia Headlong & Tim Jones. The full results can be found here.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.296 – Chess Laws / Trivia
What is the birth order of the Polgar sisters (oldest first)?
A) Susan, Judit, Sofia
B) Susan, Sofia, Judit
C) Judit, Susan, Sofia
D) Judit, Sofia, Susan
E) Sofia, Susan, Judit
Answer: B
Susan led the way with spectacular results and a full GM title, showing what girls and women could accomplish in chess. Sofia famously beat Korchnoi (and got a typical bad tempered Korchnoi reaction for her efforts!) but perhaps her greatest achievement was helping to train her sister Judit, to whom she devoted considerable time and energy when they were young. Nothing needs to be said about Judit’s achievements!
Photo by R. Cottrell CC BY-SA 3.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.295 – Bits & Pieces!
Who wrote The Defence, a novel about chess?
A) Jovanka Houska
B) Ian Rankin
C) Dan Brown
D) John Le Carre
E) Vladimir Nabokov
Answer: E
Nabokov is more famous for writing Lolita but The Defence is meant to be pretty good and follows the development of chess obsession in the lead character, Luzhin, through from his childhood to adult life. It was subsequently made into a film, The Luzhin Defence.
As well as being an author, Nabokov was a composer of chess problems and published Poems and Problems which comprises 53 poems and 18 chess problems.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.294 – International Chess
With thanks to Graham White (Wimborne) for supplying the following question.
The Linares International Chess Tournament was an annual chess tournament, usually played around the end of February. It began in 1978 and was held annually from 1988 to 2010 (with the exception of 1996).
It was sometimes described as the Wimbledon of chess, being one of the strongest annual tournaments held on the chess tour, along with the Tata Steel, Wijk aan Zee, Tal Memorial and Dortmund events. Since 2010, the tournament has not been held for financial reasons.
As one of the strongest tournament, a performance of only +3 or +4 could be a winning score. Anatoly Karpov won the 1994 Linares chess tournament. What was his score from his 13 games?
A) 9
B) 9.5
C) 10
D) 10.5
E) 11
Answer: E
It was a truly amazing tally by Karpov, possibly one of the best, demonstrating that even at the age of 42 at the time, he was still an outstanding chess player.
GNU Free Doc License, V 1.2
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.293 – National Chess
Since 2011 which British Grandmaster has been the The Director of the Gibraltar International Chess Festival?
A) Julian Hodgson
B) Stuart Conquest
C) Glenn Flear
D) Jim Plaskett
E) Raymond Keene
Answer: B
Conquest had been a prolific player at international tournaments for many years, and has in recent times been a regular commentator and (since 2011) tournament director of the Gibraltar Chess Festival, held annually at the Caleta Hotel in Catalan Bay.
CC BY-SA 3.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.292 – Local Chess
On the 29th March 2021, Poole scored a record amount of points in the Ringwood Online Team Battle but how many points did the team score?
A) 87
B) 97
C) 107
D) 117
E) 127
Answer: E
Poole scored 127 and won by a massive 74 points. Oscar Garcia also had the highest individual points total with 44 points.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.291 – Chess Laws / Trivia
Which famous artist was photographed playing chess with Alexander Alekhine?
A) Georges Braque
B) Paul Cezanne
C) Salvador Dali
D) Marcel Duchamp
E) Pablo Picasso
Answer: D
You can see the picture here
This and other facts about the world champions were covered in Bulletin 46 Part 1 and Part 2.
Duchamp was a strong player who won Paris tournament in 1932 (ahead of Znosko-Borovsky), drew with Marshall in a France-USA match, and played for France in 4 Olympiads.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.290 – Bits & Pieces!
When was the first known computer program for playing chess developed?
A) 1941
B) 1951
C) 1961
D) 1971
E) 1981
Answer: B
The first known computer program for playing chess was developed in 1951, by Alan Turing. However, no computer was powerful enough to process it, so Turing tested it by doing the calculations himself and playing according to the results, taking several minutes per move!
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.289 – International Chess
The 2006 World Chess Championship was a match between the Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov. It was designed to reunite the two World Chess Championship titles and produce an undisputed World Chess Champion. Why did Kramnik forfeit Game 5?
A) He was ill.
B) He overslept and failed to turn up on time.
C) His taxi broke down and he failed to turn up on time.
D) He was no longer allowed to use his private bathroom following an allegation by the Topalov team that he might be using computer assistance whilst in there.
E) There was an issue over secret messages during the match being sent by colour coded yoghurts.
Answer: D
The controversial incident became known as Toiletgate as Kramnik was often seen visiting the his private toilet (the only place without CCTV) during the earlier games and then immediately playing a move when he returned to the board. Kramnik was two wins up by Game 4. The Topalov team became suspicious and started to make allegations that Kramnik might be receiving computer assistance (Fritz 9 was the top chess engine at the time). While there was no evidence of this, the organisers shut down the private bathrooms stating the players needed to use the same bathroom instead.
As a result, due to his principles, Kramnik forfeited Game 5 in protest that he could not use his private bathroom as per the original contract conditions for the World Chess Championship Match. However, he was later persuaded to continue the 12 game match which was eventually drawn 6 each. Kramnik won the Rapidplay play-off matches and became the undisputed World Chess Champion. Here is a link to some analysis by Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley over the match and, in particular, the unsavoury incident …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCxlEv86LtU
And here is an interview with Kramnik covering the incident …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqbakemLUy8
Who said chess was boring!
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.288 – National Chess
Which of these English Grandmaster has written the fewest chess books?
A) John Emms
B) Chris Ward
C) Mark Hebden
D) Jon Speelman
E) John Nunn
Answer: C
We think Mark has never written a chess book, instead he mainly relies on playing (and winning) chess tournaments. He also coaches players.
CC BY-SA 2.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.287 – Local Chess
Which Highcliffe player secured the vital draw to help Highcliffe win the B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Cup Final in 2016?
A) Adam Ursell
B) Richard Ursell
C) Ron Salinger
D) Robert Halse
E) Christian Westrap
Answer: B
Due to the handicap system, Highcliffe only needed to obtain one draw across the six boards to win the match and Richard Ursell secured it … somehow! Analysis of how he bravely did it can be found in Bulletin No.55.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.286 – Chess Laws / Trivia
You probably will not know the answer to this question unless you were there watching the game(!) but how many consecutive queen moves by one player were played in the Mackenzie v Mason chess game in London in 1882?
A) 33
B) 43
C) 53
D) 63
E) 73
Answer: E
The game is given below and starting at his 72nd move Black plays queen moves right to the end of the game. Rumour has it that Mason’s hand was permanently attached to his queen!
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.285 – Bits & Pieces!
Which famous chess player came out with this quote? …
‘I used to attack because it was the only thing I knew. Now I attack because I know it works best’
A) Garry Kasparov
B) Nigel Short
C) Mikhail Tal
D) Hikaru Nakamura
E) Bobby Fischer
Answer: A
Garry Kasparov is well known for his uncompromising attacking play. It’s all in the eyes!
GNU Free Doc License, V 1.2
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.284 – International Chess
Who won the 2021 Bullet Chess Championship, presented by SIG, on 5th to 7th April 2021?
A) Hikaru Nakamura
B) Magnus Carlsen
C) Levon Aronian
D) Alireza Firouzja
E) Andrew Tang
The Bullet Chess Championship was held on 5th to 7th April 2021 and was won by Iran’s Alireza Firouzja who beat the tournament favourite, Hikaru Nakamura in the semi-final and Andrew Tang in the final.
If you want see how the players can move so quickly (and accurately!) here is a link to Firouzja’s semi-final win over Nakamura … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kUdlvrLokY Not sure how the commentators managed to keep up!
Magnus Carlsen did not participate but it was still a star studded field.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.283 – National Chess
Which of these English Chess Grandmasters also teaches Salsa dancing?
A) Chris Ward
B) John Emms
C) Jon Speelman
D) David Howell
E) Simon Williams
Answer: A
Chris Ward also won the British Chess Championship in 1996 in Nottingham obtaining his Grandmaster title at the same time.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.282 – Local Chess
Which four local players took part at the Jersey Chess Tournament in 2013?
A) Mike Waddington, Bruce Jenks, Allan Pleasants, Ian Clark
B) Mike Waddington, Bruce Jenks, Allan Pleasants & Martin Simons
C) Mike Waddington, Bruce Jenks, Ian Clark & Martin Simons
D) Mike Waddington, Allan Pleasants, Ian Clark & Martin Simons
E) Bruce Jenks, Allan Pleasants, Ian Clark & Martin Simons
Answer: E
Bruce Jenks, Allan Pleasants, Ian Clark & Martin Simons had quite an adventure at the Jersey Tournament in 2013 which did not go exactly to plan. Full details can be found in Bulletin No.56
Mike Waddington played at the Isle of Man Tournament in 2019, did extremely well and produced an excellent bulletin (number 50) covering the event.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.281 – Chess Laws / Trivia
Prior to Covid times, and in particular had you been playing in the Corus Chess Tournament in 2008, what would have happened if you had refused to shake your opponent’s hand?
A) You would have been deducted time.
B) Your opponent would have been given extra time.
C) You would have forfeited the match.
D) The arbiter would have been called over and given you a verbal warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
E) Nothing but it would not have been good etiquette.
Answer: C
In this tournament, and in a lot of tournaments at the time, you were required to shake your opponent’s hand before the match. If you did not do this, you would have forfeited the match. This almost happened to GM Ivan Cheparinov in his match versus GM Nigel Short in the Corus tournament in 2008. Cheparinov refused to shake Short’s hand, Short complained, and Cheparinov forfeited the match. The decision was appealed and overturned, and Cheparinov had to apologize. The game eventually took place, with Short winning. Full details can be found under the header Handshake controversy in the link below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Cheparinov
The incident was captured on video here …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Gb4lJeXqI
And here was Short’s account …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YI-zIo4AzQ
There does not appear to be any specific FIDE rules these days but it may still be covered under …
FIDE Rule 11: The conduct of the players 11.1 The players shall take no action that will bring the game of chess into disrepute.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.280 – Bits & Pieces!
Chess novice and speed learner Max Deutsch lost a game to Magnus Carlsen in 2017 after he had one month to prepare. Then, at the beginning of April 2021 there was a rumour that Magnus Carlsen had retired from chess as a result of losing a bet when he lost a chess rematch against Max Deutsch. What was the gambit opening supposedly played by Max Deutsch?
A) Evans Gambit
B) Morra Gambit
C) Kings Gambit
D) Danish Gambit
E) Blackmar Diemer Gambit
Answer: A
A great game but was it part of a real bet?
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.279 – International Chess
How many official World Champions have lost their title to their very first challenger, never to regain it?
A) 4
B) 5
C) 6
D) 7
E) 8
Answer: B
Capablanca, Euwe, Smyslov, Tal and Spassky have all suffered this fate. Perhaps the unluckiest not to get a rematch was Capablanca (pictured).
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.278 – National Chess
Baruch Wood (B.H. Wood) was not only a good chess player but he founded the now famous CHESS magazine? How long was he the Editor of this magazine for?
A) 23 years
B) 33 years
C) 43 years
D) 53 years
E) 63 years
Answer: D
Baruch Wood (1909 – 1989) was Editor of the CHESS magazine from 1935 to 1988 when it was acquired by Pergamon Press.
He also represented England at the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aries in 1939 and tied for second place at the British Championship in London in 1948.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.277 – Local Chess
Which club narrowly lost the last B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Cup Final played in 2019?
A) Poole
B) Purbeck
C) Wimborne
D) Weymouth
E) Highcliffe
Answer: B
Purbeck narrowly lost the B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Cup Final in 2019 to Highcliffe 4–2 with the match result not being known until the result on the final board. More details are in Bulletin No.55.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.276 – Chess Laws / Trivia
At the beginning of April 2021, it was alleged that FIDE had changed an international rule of chess with immediate effect but what was this rule change?
A) That en passant can be played on any move not just on the move immediately following when an adjacent pawn moves forward two squares next to the opponent’s pawn which is on the 5th rank.
B) That castling can be played regardless if either (or both) the king and rook have previously moved.
C) The removal of the 50 move draw rule.
D) The removal of the stalemate rule – the player moving last and creating the stalemate now wins!
E) The removal of all draws.
Answer: E
Some people may think this was a hoax perhaps even a fool’s joke!
https://www.chess.com/news/view/breaking-official-rules-of-chess-updated
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.275 – Bits & Pieces!
Which past World Chess Champion made the following interesting statement? … ‘I am convinced, the way one plays chess always reflects the player’s personality. If something defines his character, then it will also define his way of playing’.
A) Magnus Carlsen
B) Vishy Anand
C) Vladimir Kramnik
D) Garry Kasparov
E) Anatoly Karpov
Answer: C
Kramnik has greatly influenced opening theory and he is highly regarded for his endgame skills. As suggested in his statement in the question, he also appears to have a good understanding of the personality of other chess players, and how to play against them, which may have helped him to become the World Chess Champion in 2000 when he defeated Kasparov without losing a game, and then retain it until 2007.
CC BY-SA 3.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.274 – International Chess
How many moves were played in the longest World Championship game of chess?
A) 94
B) 104
C) 114
D) 124
E) 134
Answer: D
The longest game of chess in a World Championship Match was played in Game 5 between Karpov and Korchnoi in 1978 which lasted 124 moves. In this game, due to time trouble, Korchnoi missed a mate in 7.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.273 – National Chess
Which English player won the World Under 10 Chess Championship at the age of eight?
A) Nigel Short
B) Mickey Adams
C) Matthew Sadler
D) Luke McShane
E) David Howell
Answer: D
Luke McShane won the World Under 10 Chess Championship in Duisburg in 1992 at the age of eight.
In January 2004, McShane was ranked 2nd in the world among junior (under 21) players behind Teimour Radjabov. However, unfortunately for many, he chose to pursue a career in the financial trade sector. He has often been regarded as the world’s strongest amateur.
CC BY-SA 3.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.272 – Local Chess
Which is the only local club to have won the B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Cup in three consecutive years?
A) Wimborne
B) Highcliffe
C) Poole
D) Southbourne
E) Weymouth
Answer: A
Wimborne is the only club to have won it in three consecutive years (from 2010 to 2012).
You can read more about the Knockout Cup in Bulletin No.55.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.271 – Chess Laws / Trivia
In the UK, as things stand, when is the earliest that B&DCL and Dorset league chess matches might be permitted to resume indoors?
A) 12th April 2021
B) 17th May 2021
C) 21st June 2021
D) This has not yet been determined by the UK Government.
E) This will determined by the English Chess Federation.
Answer: C
The government have stated that June 21st is the earliest that activities such as chess could be recommenced. You can read more about this in the government’s summary.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.270 – Bits & Pieces!
What do Grandmasters Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Hou Yifan both have in common in relation to a FIDE tournament game?
A) They have been defaulted for not shaking their opponent’s hands.
B) They have been defaulted for turning up to their boards late.
C) They have tried to castle by touching their rooks first (instead of their kings) which was not allowed. They were then both made to make a legal move with their rooks.
D) They forgot to press their clocks and lost on time.
E) They have both made illegal moves.
In many FIDE tournaments there is an extremely strict rule that has hurt many grandmasters. FIDE’s zero-tolerance rule is simple… your game will be forfeited at a tournament unless you are seated at the table directly when the match is supposed to start.
Women’s Chess Champion Hou Yifan of China had to forfeit a huge match in 2009 because she was five seconds late!
Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov forfeited a game in 2012 after arriving at the board 10 seconds after the official start time.
We are not sure if this rule would go down well in our local leagues given there are a few well known local players who have a reputation for turning up late!
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.269 – International Chess
Which of these players served as a second to Nigel Short in his 1993 World Chess Championship match versus Kasparov?
A) Robert Hübner
B) Mickey Adams
C) Boris Gelfand
D) Artur Yusupov
E) Boris Gulko
Answer: A
Over the chessboard, Hübner’s technique has been described as efficient and ruthless. According to Bill Hartston ‘His perfectionist and rather pessimistic approach prevented him from reaching the very top.’ However, we are sure he made a very good second.
CC BY-SA 3.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.268 – National Chess
The ECF Yearbook 2021 has recently just been issued. How many pages long is it?
A) 121
B) 151
C) 181
D) 211
E) 241
Answer: D
The ECF Yearbook 2021 is 211 pages long and contains many interesting reports, articles, puzzles and games. You can view a copy here.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.267 – Local Chess
Which Highcliffe player has managed to retrieve the B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Trophy after it had been in self-isolation for a year?
A) Adam Ursell
B) Richard Ursell
C) Robert Halse
D) Christian Westrap
E) Ron Salinger
Answer: E
As reported in Bulletin No.55, Ron Salinger went under cover wearing his black mask (like everyone else!) to retrieve the B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Trophy which went missing for a year!
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.266 – Chess Laws / Trivia
Which famous chess player once made this amusing comment ‘Up to this point, White has been following well-known analysis. But now he makes a fatal error, he begins to use his own head’?
A) Wilhelm Steinitz
B) Emanuel Lasker
C) Mikhail Chigorin
D) José Raúl Capablanca
E) Siegbert Tarrasch
Answer: E
Siegbert Tarrasch (1862 – 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest ones, and one of the most influential chess theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. How often can we relate this comment to our own play in our chess games?
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.265 – Bits & Pieces!
In 1973, a chess tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, was raided by the police. They arrested the director of the tournament as well as confiscated the chess sets but what were the charges?
A) Aiding and abetting.
B) Permitting gambling and on the possession of gambling devices.
C) Possessing stolen property.
D) Tax evasion
E) Money Laundering
Answer: B
The police arrested the tournament director and confiscated the chess sets on charges of allowing gambling (cash prizes to winners) and possession of gambling devices (the board and chess sets)!
We had better be careful with our future Dorset Rapidplays!
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.264 – International Chess
Which Indian chess player won an award in the Indian BBC Sports Personality competition for 2020?
A) Vishy Anand
B) Pentala Harikrishna
C) Koneru Humpy
D) Dronavalli Harika
E) Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
Answer: C
Koneru won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award.
GNU Free Doc License, V 1.2
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.263 – National Chess
Which County has recently won the Western Counties Online Championship?
A) Devon
B) Gloucestershire
C) Somerset
D) Cornwall
E) Dorset & Wilts
Answer: A
Dorset & Wilts performed well, defeating Somerset in the final round to achieve 4th place.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.262 – Local Chess
Up to 31st March, which local player has won most Monday evening individual Ringwood Online Chess Tournaments in 2021?
A) Richard Ursell
B) Adam Ursell
C) Reenen Du Toit
D) Jon Catchpole
E) Martin Clancy
Answer: C
Only six Monday individual tournaments have been held as these are held fortnightly on alternative Mondays to the Team Battles. Reenen Du Toit has won it twice with Richard Ursell, Adam Ursell, Jon Catchpole and Martin Clancy each winning it once.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.261 – Chess Laws / Trivia
Which famous chess player once said ‘Those who say they understand chess, understand nothing.’
A) Aron Nimzowitsch
B) François-André Danican Philidor
C) Fred Reinfeld
D) Robert Hübner
E) José Raúl Capablanca
Answer: D
Robert Hübner is a German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist. He was one of the world’s leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s.
However, we hope he was joking when he made this statement!
CC BY-SA 4.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.260 – Bits & Pieces!
We all know Magnus Carlsen loves football, quite possibly because he was coached chess by Simen Agdestein (who played football for the Norway international team) when he was as a junior but which is Carlsen’s favourite football team?
A) Manchester United
B) Barcelona
C) Real Madrid
D) Rosenborg
E) Bayern Munich
Answer: C
Here is a youtube clip of Magnus Carlsen kicking off the start of a Real Madrid match in 2013 as a special celebratory guest star. We think he enjoyed himself!
CC BY-SA 2.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.259 – International Chess
How many World Chess Champions have regained their title in a match situation against the current World Champion having previously lost it?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5
Answer: B
Only two players have regained the classical title having lost it. These are Alekhine (against Euwe) and Botvinnik, (twice against Smyslov and Tal).
Pictured below is Botvinnik (left) losing the World Chess Championship title in 1957.
Karpov regained the FIDE title in 1993 when Kasparov split away, and that Anand won the FIDE title during the split and then subsequently won it outright once unification was complete, though neither of those is the same as hanging on to it in the first place nor regaining the classical title.
More information is available in Bulletin No.52 on the world championship matches.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.258 – National Chess
In March 2021 the ECF announced that it has had to cancel the 2021 British Chess Championship. Do you know where it is now planning to hold the 2022 British Chess Championship?
A) Torquay
B) Brighton
C) Eastbourne
D) Scarborough
E) Swansea
Answer: A
The Rivierra Centre, Torquay, was the planned host venue for 2020 and 2021 but both have been cancelled. The ECF agreed with Torquay Council that the venue booking will be carried forward a further year to the summer of 2022, for next year’s British Chess Championships.
The ECF can confirm that it will be organising a second British Online Chess Championships for the end of July/beginning of August
2021, with the same set of qualifiers, championships and rating-limited events as there were in the first, and very successful, BOCC held in December 2020/January 2021.
In addition, the ECF is planning to organise a 2021 over-the-board British Championships in a slightly different format to take place in the first two weeks of October 2021.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.257 – Local Chess
The 2021 1st Dorset Online Rapidplay Championship ended in a 3 way tie but who between?
A) Andrej Furjel, Allan Pleasants & Peter Anderson
B) Andrej Furjel, Allan Pleasants & Richard Allis
C) Christian Westrap, Richard Allis & Peter Anderson
D) Allan Pleasants, Christian Westrap & Richard Allis
E) Andrej Furjel, Christian Westrap & Peter Anderson
Answer: E
Andrej Furjel, Christian Westrap & Peter Anderson came equal 1st on 6 points.
Allan Pleasants & Richard Allis came equal 4th on 5.5 points.
Full details can be found in the tournament report.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.256 – Chess Laws / Trivia
What is the world record for the most number of blindfolded simultaneous games?
A) 18
B) 28
C) 38
D) 48
E) 58
Answer: D
GM Timur Gareyev set a new world for this format on 4th December 2016 in Las Vegas when he played 48 opponents at one time. He scored 35 wins, seven draws, and six losses. Most of us may struggle with one blindfold game!
CC BY-SA 4.0
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.255 – You are the Arbiter!
The position below has been reached. Black plays 46…Rc1+, lets go of the piece but fails to press the clock in time and their ‘flag’ falls. All of this is seen by the arbiter who is watching closely. What should happen next?
A) The arbiter should automatically intervene and award a win on time to White.
B) The arbiter should award a win on time to White only if White claims it.
C) The arbiter should automatically intervene and declare the position a draw as the following forced sequence of moves 47.Qxc1+ Qxc1+ 48.Kxc1 leads to stalemate!
D) The arbiter should declare a draw if Black claims one as the following forced sequence of moves 47.Qxc1+ Qxc1+ 48.Kxc1 leads to stalemate!
E) If neither White claims a win nor Black claims a draw immediately the arbiter should let play continue and see if White claims a win on time before the inevitable stalemate is reached.
Answer: C
This is a difficult one and we would not be sure if all arbiters would get this right. Perhaps the FIDE rules need clarifying. It has caused some debate, please see https://en.chessbase.com/post/ecu-what-should-the-arbiter-do
Key FIDE rules:
FIDE Rule: 4.7 – A move is complete, when, as a legal move or part of a legal move, a piece has been released on a square, it cannot be moved to another square on this move. The move is (also) considered to have been made in the case of:
- 4.7.1 a capture, when the captured piece has been removed from the chessboard and the player, having placed his own piece on its new square, has released this capturing piece from his hand,
- 4.7.2 castling, when the player’s hand has released the rook on the square previously crossed by the king. When the player has released the king from his hand, the move is not yet made, but the player no longer has the right to make any move other than castling on that side, if this is legal. If castling on this side is illegal, the player must make another legal move with his king (which may include castling with the other rook). If the king has no legal move, the player is free to make any legal move.
- 4.7.3 promotion, when the player’s hand has released the new piece on the square of promotion and the pawn has been removed from the board.
FIDE Rule: 5.2.2 which states: “The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves. The game is said to end in a ‘dead position’.”
FIDE Rule: 6.2.1 – During the game each player, having made his move on the chessboard, shall stop his own clock and start his opponent’s clock (that is to say he shall press his clock). This “completes” the move.
FIDE Rule: 6.9 – Except where one of Articles 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3 applies, if a player does not complete the prescribed number of moves in the allotted time, the game is lost by that player. However, the game is drawn if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player’s king by any possible series of legal moves.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.254 – International Chess
Excluding the FIDE World Chess Championships between 1993 and 2005, how many official World Chess Championship matches have there been since 1886?
A) 25
B) 35
C) 45
D) 55
E) 65
Answer: C
In the same period there has also been:
- One candidates final match that effectively became a world championship match when Fischer declined to defend his title
- Two tournaments to determine the champion. One tournament was in 1948 when Alekhine died whilst holding the title. The other was in 2007 just after the title was re-unified. FIDE in their infinite wisdom decided the next world champion would be decided by tournament rather than a match, though they did give the previous champion (Kramnik) the right to a rematch if he did not win the tournament.
More information is available in Bulletin No.52 on the world championship matches.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.253 – National Chess
Who is the current Executive Editor of the CHESS magazine based in the UK?
A) Richard Palliser
B) Murray Chandler
C) Byron Jacobs
D) John Saunders
E) Malcolm Pein
Answer: E
Malcolm Pein is the Executive Editor and overall in charge. He has done so much to promote UK chess. Richard Palliser, Byron Jacobs and John Saunders are all Editors of the magazine. Murray Chandler was Editor of the British Chess Magazine during the 1990s.
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Test Your Chess Knowledge No.252 – Local Chess
Who has been Dorset’s longest serving Correspondence Chess team captain?
A) Ian Clark
B) Frank Kingdon
C) John Kelly
D) Greville Marples
E) Alf Bullock
Answer: B
Frank was the hard working, long standing County Correspondence Captain, we think from 1969 to 2001.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.251 – Chess Laws / Trivia
Henri Grob (4 June 1904 – 5 July 1974) was a famous Swiss chess player, artist and painter. He pioneered eccentric chess openings, such as 1.g4 sometimes known as Grob’s Attack but can you guess how many times he was married?
A) 5
B) 6
C) 7
D) 8
E) 9
Answer: E
We think he might been married the most times amongst the most famous chess players (If you know different, then please let us know). Once when asked if he was married he replied “Fast immer” (“Almost always”).
