chess.com

[Gwylan]

I love Bridge but have never played online. Which site is that?

Bridge Base

All this talk of the Dupree takes me back. It was a great way to deal with the post-Christmas comedown. I played every year from 1967 to 1974. I never did very well but it was always great fun

Perhaps there's scope for a NSC chess tournament

 

[Moshe Gariani]

I know it's nerdy but it exercises the mind

Anyone play online chess? Particularly chess.com

Thanks very much for this thread. Moshe Jnr is just starting in chess and the video tips on here look good. Have you paid for membership? Any advice?

 

[Dave the OAP]

When I lived in Italy, I used to play chess in one of the local bars. It was a terrifying experience for the simple reason that, like all Italian bar games, it was played in front of a knowledgeable audience who would take a sharp intake of breath every time there was a hint of a mistake by any of the players. Even worse was the knowledge that I was in some mysterious way "representing England".

Online chess sounds remarkably safe in comparison.

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago when we were staying in France. The local bar had a backgammon club and I played a couple of times. It ended up like a national competition and I felt extremely intimidated , especially when I beat the local lothario, who must have shagged most of the women in the bar and I ended up with looks that could strip paint!

 

[Moshe Gariani]

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago when we were staying in France. The local bar had a backgammon club and I played a couple of times. It ended up like a national competition and I felt extremely intimidated , especially when I beat the local lothario, who must have shagged most of the women in the bar and I ended up with looks that could strip paint!

Good story. You weren't going to win a shagging competition but you showed the frogs how to play backgammon..!

 

[Alan Cundle]

Funnily enough I used to play against tony bloom.

I also played against Tony Bloom in the Brighton Dupree back in the late 80's. I remember him running a book during the tournament on the blackboard in the practice room. Won it in 1994 I think, that £100 was very useful at the time...

 

[Gwylan]

I also played against Tony Bloom in the Brighton Dupree back in the late 80's. I remember him running a book during the tournament on the blackboard in the practice room. Won it in 1994 I think, that £100 was very useful at the time...

It's sad that the Dupree is no more (in Brighton anyway, it's still held in Portsmouth). It provided stimulus to hundreds of kids over the years

 

[One Love]

Thanks very much for this thread. Moshe Jnr is just starting in chess and the video tips on here look good. Have you paid for membership? Any advice?

I don't pay at the moment but may do soon.

The tactics trainer comes up with 5 positions to solve a day for free which are good.

You can play long games but I find them a little frustrating waiting for the other player to log back on and prefer to play much shorter games in the "play live chess" section. As I said I play games which allow me 5 mins for my moves and I find that about right for my style of play but I reckon if you were starting out you would probably need longer games until you find your feet.

Another site with free content is chesstempo.com and they have an excellent section in training called chess tactics where there are are 100s of positions one after another for you to solve. I find this really good because for me chess is a lot about recognising patterns. Eventually your mind gets trained to spot mating positions you wouldn't have seen before.

 

[bhawoddy]

I also played against Tony Bloom in the Brighton Dupree back in the late 80's. I remember him running a book during the tournament on the blackboard in the practice room. Won it in 1994 I think, that £100 was very useful at the time...

We probably played each other. My brother won it a few times as he was a lot better than me. I was generally an also ran.........

Had a few trips down to the pavilion to collect prizes. TB was a decent player, not sure if I ever beat him, but I'm fairly sure he never beat my older brother.
Think from memory we used to play at Stamford school, then it moved years later to basvic. Good times!!

 

[atfc village]

Never learned to play chess ,wish i had.

 

[LargeHadronZugzwang]

Great game, fascinating history. It used to be said there are more books on chess than all other games combined, probably a fallacy, certainly not true these days. One advantage is you can replay games from 400 years ago or recent battles to learn strategies.

Would endorse post #27 however: tactics are a huge part of the game and there are thousands of puzzles. It's a different animal when the clocks are ticking than online, but the quoted website is fabulous.

 

[Garage_Doors]

When I lived in Italy, I used to play chess in one of the local bars. It was a terrifying experience for the simple reason that, like all Italian bar games, it was played in front of a knowledgeable audience who would take a sharp intake of breath every time there was a hint of a mistake by any of the players. Even worse was the knowledge that I was in some mysterious way "representing England".

Online chess sounds remarkably safe in comparison.

Are you English?

 

[perseus]

After one and a half pints my game goes down a bit. Missed the easy? mate for white but still won. OTB.



Chess tonight down the pub.

 

[mrhairy]

One of the best sites to join is: Chess By Post. It is free and I have it on my Windows phone. However, it is available for all platforms such as IOS, Android and Windows computers. It is brilliant. It rates you and matches you against players of the same strength. You have up to two days to move but in reality this can be instantaneous. You can play many games at the same time. Ideal for the train or when you have a minute. You will then find you logging in at work to see if any of your opponents have moved. The rating graph is great. Try it. I am BHAseagull on it.

 

[Alan Cundle]

We probably played each other. My brother won it a few times as he was a lot better than me. I was generally an also ran.........

Had a few trips down to the pavilion to collect prizes. TB was a decent player, not sure if I ever beat him, but I'm fairly sure he never beat my older brother.
Think from memory we used to play at Stamford school, then it moved years later to basvic. Good times!!

Ever play for The Holt?!