Over the summer months until face-to-face chess is widely restarted in Dorset there will be a daily ‘Test Your Chess Knowledge’ quiz question (with 5 possible answers). For local quiz questions you may find the Bulletins and Chat articles helpful.
Martin Simons welcomes your feedback on the quiz and any submissions you have for questions.
Every day we will be publishing the Answers to the latest questions.
Questions 1-50 can be found here
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.100 – You are the Arbiter!
A team captain in the B&DCL wishes to postpone a match. What is the correct process?
A) S/he must give 5 days notice to the League Controller and then advise the opposing team captain.
B) S/he must give 5 days notice to the opposing team captain and then advise the League Controller.
C) S/he must give 7 days notice to the League Controller and then advise the opposing team captain.
D) S/he must give 7 days notice to the opposing team captain and then advise the League Controller..
E) S/he must give notice to both the League Controller and opposing team captain within the required 5 day or 7 days notice period as stipulated within the B&DCL League Club Tournament Rules.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.99 – International Chess
Which chess player said ‘pawns are the soul of chess’?
A) Ruy Lopez
B) Howard Staunton
C) Gioachino Greco
D) François-André Danican Philidor
E) Emmanuel Lasker
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.98 – National Chess
Since the competition started which UK player has won the World Chess Solving Championship most times?
A) John Nunn
B) Jonathan Mestel
C) Jon Speelman
D) Matthew Sadler
E) Michael Stean
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.97 – Local Chess
The Dorset Championship Trophy is the oldest trophy but when did we have our first ever winner?
A) 1909
B) 1919
C) 1929
D) 1939
E) 1949
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.96 – Chess Laws / Trivia
Name the most recent World Champion whom Fischer has beaten in a tournament or match chess.
A) Boris Spassky
B) Anatoly Karpov
C) Garry Kasparov
D) Vishy Anand
E) Alexander Khalifman
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.95 – You are the Arbiter!
Following a decision made on the game by the arbiter, player A reluctantly but politely shakes hands with player B, and both scoresheets have been signed by players A and B. However, within the next 5 minutes (and before the start of the next round) player A reflects on events and wishes to appeal. What do you do?
A) Dismiss the claim as the Arbiter’s decision has already been made.
B) Dismiss the claim as both players have shaken hands.
C) Dismiss the claim as both players have signed both scoresheets.
D) Dismiss the claim as both players have shaken hands and signed the scoresheets.
E) Allow the claim.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.94 – International Chess
After the title of World Chess Champion was made official, two people have become undisputed world champion without defeating the previous champion in a title match (this question excludes the period 1993 – 2005 when the title was split). Who are they?
A) Jose Raul Capablanca
B) Mikhail Botvinnik
C) Vassily Smyslov
D) Anatoly Karpov
E) Vladimar Kramnik
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.93 – National Chess
The European Senior 50+ Chess Championship has been held since 2014. Who is the only British player to have won it?
A) Keith Arkell
B) Mark Hebden
C) John Nunn
D) Jonathan Speelman
E) Nigel Short
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.92 – Local Chess
Which club won the B&DCL Division One Championship 4 times in 5 years in the 1980s?
A) Kinson
B) Parkstone
C) Southbourne
D) Oakmeadians
E) Wimborne
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.91 – Chess Laws / Trivia
The longest official game of chess (excluding any online game) lasted how many moves?
A) 189
B) 209
C) 229
D) 249
E) 269
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.90 – You are the Arbiter!
As arbiter, you notice that a digital clock clearly shows player A has run out of time. What do you do?
A) Award the game to player B as this ends the game – no discussion.
B) To be seen as conciliatory, allow player A to explain why they might have not lost but then award the game to player B.
C) Not to award the game to player B immediately as the clock might be faulty.
D) Not to award the game to player B immediately but to check the scoresheets first.
E) Not to get involved unless the players request you to do so.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.89 – International Chess
Which famous international player once said ‘ If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure’?
A) Bobby Fischer
B) Anatoly Karpov
C) Garry Kasparov
D) Vishy Anand
E) Nigel Short
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.88 – National Chess
Who has been the highest ever rated UK female chess player?
A) Jana Bellin
B) Susan Lalic
C) Jovanka Houska
D) Harriet Hunt
E) Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.87 – Local Chess
How many times has Ringwood won the B&DCL and Dorset League Division One Championships?
A) Never
B) Once
C) Twice
D) Three times
E) Four times
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.86 – Chess Laws / Trivia
Which past or present World Champion has a massive stamp collection?
A) Boris Spassky
B) Anatoly Karpov
C) Vishy Anand
D) Vladimir Kramnik
E) Magnus Carlsen
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.85 – You are the Arbiter!
In which of these forms of chess can the arbiter call a flag fall?
A) Standard (classical) game
B) Rapid game
C) Blitz game
D) All three of the above
E) None of the above
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.84 – International Chess
Question: Which famous international player once said … ‘There are two types of sacrifices: correct ones and mine’?
A) Alexander Alekhine
B) Mikhail Tal
C) Bobby Fischer
D) Garry Kasparov
E) Nigel Short
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.83 – National Chess
Who was the youngest ever British Ladies Chess Champion?
A) Rowena Mary Bruce
B) Elaine Zelia Pritchard
C) Jana Hartston
D) Susan Arkell
E) Jovanka Houska
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.82 – Local Chess
Who has been the longest serving DCCA President?
A) Mr A F Thomas
B) Joe Anderson
C) Frank Kingdon
D) Chris Johns
E) Ian Clark
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.81 – Chess Laws / Trivia
What is the normal letter used for a knight by people who are serious about chess problems and endgame studies?
A) S
B) K
C) N
D) T
E) C
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.80 – You are the Arbiter!
Player A complains to you that their opponent, player B, always responds to Player’s A move before writing it down. What do you do?
A) Tell player A this is allowed.
B) Ask for the clocks to be stopped so the facts can be established.
C) Monitor the game to see if it happens again then take any necessary action.
D) Give player B a warning not to do it again.
E) Give player B a warning not to do it again and award player A an extra two minutes.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.79 – International Chess
Which player beat Bobby Fischer’s record to become (at the time) the youngest IM in history?
A) Garry Kasparov
B) Nigel Short
C) Jan Tinman
D) Gata Kamsky
E) Anatoly Karpov
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.78 – National Chess
Perhaps England’s greatest ever team achievement was when it won the European Team Championship but what was the year?
A) 1980 (Skara)
B) 1983 (Plovdiv)
C) 1989 (Haifa)
D) 1992 (Debrecen)
E) 1997 (Pula)
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.77 – Local Chess
Which current Weymouth player has been a member of the Weymouth Chess Club the longest?
A) Ronnie Burton
B) Frank Pittman
C) Chris Johns
D) Allan Pleasants
E) John Kelly
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.76 – Chess Laws and Trivia
Which of the following permanently prevents castling?
A) The king is in check.
B) A rook has moved.
C) The rook involved is attacked.
D) The king has moved.
E) The king would currently cross a square that is attacked.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.75 – You are the Arbiter!
You notice when walking around the tournament hall that in one game, both flags have fallen yet the required number of moves have not been played. What do you do?
A) As neither player has made the required number of moves and it cannot be determined whose flag has fallen first then both players lose on time.
B) Let the players decide whose flag has fallen first as they are more likely to have a better idea.
C) Black wins as White’s flag must have fallen first.
D) Award a draw.
E) Whoever is on the move with their clock ticking wins as the other player’s flag must have fallen first.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.74 – International Chess
Who is the only player to have drawn all their games in a Candidates Tournament?
A) Anatoly Karpov
B) Tigran Petrosian
C) Anish Giri
D) Levon Aronian
E) Sergey Karjakin
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.73 – National Chess
Question: In its 116 year history, which town / city has held the British Chess Championships the most times?
A) Hastings
B) Scarborough
C) Brighton
D) Swansea
E) Torquay
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.72 – Local Chess
Which decade was the Ringwood Chess Club formed?
A) 1940s
B) 1950s
C) 1960s
D) 1970s
E) 1980s
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.71 – Chess Laws and Trivia
During tournament play, the player is not allowed to leave the ‘playing venue’. What is the ‘playing venue’ normally defined as?
A) The playing area. smoking area and toilets.
B) The playing area, toilets, smoking area, refreshment areas (need permission to use the rest rooms).
C) The playing area, toilets, smoking area, rest rooms (need permission to use the refreshment areas).
D) The playing area, toilets, rest rooms, refreshment areas (need permission to use the smoking area).
E) The playing area, toilets, smoking area, rest rooms, refreshment areas.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.70 – You are the Arbiter!
If noticed by the Arbiter or opposing player, what penalty should be imposed on a player, who is not in check, who then touches a his rook first when castling?
A) The player should be given a warning immediately.
B) The player should be given a warning after the game.
C) The player should be made to move the rook and not allowed to castle.
D) As well as any of the answers above, the opponent should be given two extra minutes.
E) There should be no penalty and the castling move is allowed to stand.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.69 – International Chess
In which important match did the organisers have to put a board under the table between the players to stop them kicking each other.
A) Fischer v Spassky 1972
B) Petrosian v Korchnoi 1977
C) Karpov v Korchnoi 1978
D) Kasparov v Karpov 1984
E) Kramnik v Topalov 2006
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.68 – National Chess
Which of these noted British chess players worked at Bletchley Park during WWII?
A) James Aitken
B) CHO’D Alexander
C) Harry Golombek
D) Stuart Milner-Barry
E) All of the above
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.67 – Local Chess
When was the first Dorchester Chess Jamboree organised?
A) 2000
B) 2002
C) 2003
D) 2005
E) 2007
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.66 – Chess Laws / Trivia
When promoting a pawn which of the following should happen?
A) The pawn has to be placed on the 8th rank then replaced by the promoting piece.
B) The promoting piece has to be placed on the 8th rank and then the pawn is placed on the 8th rank before removal.
C) Either A or B above can be done for the move to be legal.
D) The pawn does not have to be placed on the 8th rank but it has to be removed first before the promoting piece is placed on the 8th rank.
E) Neither does the pawn need to be placed on the 8th rank nor does it have to be removed first before the promoting piece is placed on the 8th rank.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.65 – You are the Arbiter!
Player A claims a draw by repetition. Player B repeatedly refuses to help in the reconstruction. What do you do?
A) Check the claim with Player A only.
B) Award the draw without checking as Player B is not willing to disprove it.
C) Default player B for not complying with the Laws. Player A is awarded the draw claimed.
D) Default player B for not complying with the Laws. Player A is awarded a win
E) As both players are in dispute, ask the players to continue to play.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.64 – International Chess
Garry Kasparov’s name was changed when he was young. What was his name at birth?
A) Mikhail Kasparov
B) Vasilly Kasparov
C) Garry Kasparian
D) Mikhail Kasparian
E) Garik Weinstein
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.63 – National Chess
The British Chess Championships were held in Bournemouth in 2016 but when were they previously last held in Bournemouth?
A) 1926
B) 1936
C) 1946
D) 1956
E) 1966
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.62 – Local Chess
For how many years did the Bournemouth Grand Chess Congress run?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.61 – Chess Laws / Trivia
The first game between space and earth was in which year?
A) 1960
B) 1965
C) 1970
D) 1975
E) 1980
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.60 – You are the Arbiter!
The rules at a weekend tournament do not specify a default start time. The time control is all your moves in one hour 30 minutes plus 30 second increments. One player turns up 15 minutes after the start of the next round. What do you do?
A) The default time is zero minutes so the player is defaulted.
B) The default time is zero minutes so the player would normally be defaulted but the Arbiter has the final say.
C) There is a default time of 30 minutes so the player is allowed to play.
D) There is a default time of one hour so the player is allowed to play.
E) There is a default time of one hour less than the core base time so the player is allowed to play
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.59 – International Chess
Which Grandmaster has expressed strongly that delivering stalemate should result in a win not a draw and caused Chessbase to publish an article examining the topic:
A) Victor Korchnoi
B) Magnus Carlsen
C) Alexander Morozevich
D) Nigel Short
E) Loek van Wely
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.58 – National Chess
Which British chess player is the subject of the chess book ‘It’s Only Me’?
A) Raymond Keene
B) John Nunn
C) Tony Miles
D) Mickey Adams
E) Nigel Short
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.57 – Local Chess
Which current member of Southbourne Chess Club was also present on its opening night in 1974?
A) Russ Pegg
B) Jon Catchpole
C) Frank Hamilton-Taylor
D) John Harris
E) Martin Simons
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.56 – Chess Laws / Trivia
When is a player allowed to write a move down on their scoresheet before it is played?
A) Never
B) All the time
C) Before claiming a draw by the same position appearing 3 times.
D) Before claiming a draw under the 50 move rule.
E) Before claiming a draw as noted in both C and D above.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.55 – You are the Arbiter!
In the last round of a tournament, the game on top board starts with 1.h4 and White offers Black a draw which is accepted as this means both players are joint winners. What do you do?
A) Accept the draw but the game is not rated.
B) Accept the draw and the game is rated.
C) Give Black the point as White was not allowed to offer the draw.
D) Tell both players the game is not valid and the Arbiter may choose from a host of actions.
E) Tell both players the draw is not valid and the current game continues.
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.54 – International Chess
Who produced a bottle of urine during a post game press conference at a Candidates tournament?
A) Alexander Grischuk
B) Nigel Short
C) Vasyl Ivanchuk
D) Bobby Fischer
E) Tony Miles
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.53 – National Chess
What is Private Eye magazine’s nickname for Raymond Keene which has gained traction in some chess circles?
A) The Joker
B) The Penguin
C) The Riddler
D) Poison Ivy
E) The Scarecrow
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.52 – Local Chess
We currently have 10 clubs participating in our two local chess leagues but how many clubs were there 25 years ago?
A) 10
B) 15
C) 20
D) 25
E) 30
Test Your Chess Knowledge No.51 – Chess Laws / Trivia
In which century was stalemate standardised as a draw?
A) 15th
B) 16th
C) 17th
D) 18th
E) 19th