Marsh Towers

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour: Three Tracks

2012-01-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

Having already featured Bridie Jackson and The Arbour several times before, (most recently when they played a magnificent show at The Sage), readers should be well aware of my high opinion of their extraordinary music.

Bridie Jackson...

...and The Arbour, entertaining a sold-out Sage

Good news! You lucky people can now listen to three songs right here on this page, by simply clicking in the right place below. Please be aware that this is serious music and not background pop, so repeated listenings will be rewarded by greater understanding and appreciation.

Don't forget to visit Bridie's official website for the latest news and tour dates.

Chess Reviews: 194

2012-01-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

Me & Bobby Fischer

A film by Fridrik Gudmundsson

When Bobby Fischer Against the World was released at the cinema in 2011, it reignited discussions regarding the controversies and bittersweet memories of the eccentric World Champion. Even to long-term Fischer watchers, the film had so much of interest it was impossible to ignore.

Yet there was already another Fischer documentary available, standing in the shadows. The range of Me & Bobby Fischer is somewhat limited in comparison to the more famous of the two films. The bulk of it focuses on the extraordinary efforts of Saemi Palsson (Fischer’s bodyguard during the 1972 match) and the RJF Association to rescue Fischer from his spell of captivity in a Japanese police cell and his very uncertain future and his subsequent life – and endgame - in Iceland.

There’s historical footage of the 1972 Reykjavik match, which is concentrated at the start of the film. Some of it was new to me. Some of it is typical Fischer. After being presented with his gold medal by FIDE President Max Euwe at the official ceremony, Fischer eagerly takes it from its box to examine it. Clearly disappointed and confused, he cuts across Euwe’s presentation by asking, ‘Where’s my name? It should have my name, you know?’ Euwe rescues the difficult moment with a little joke. ‘We didn’t know it!’ Fischer smiles but still looks confused as he stands and waits for the orchestra to finish playing the American national anthem.

We then see some extraordinary footage of Saemi Palsson - a.k.a Saemi Rock – giving a virtuoso performance of dancing to rock music (before the 1972 match). It is quite extraordinary to see such a big man dancing so well!

The film's style of presentation is very different from the very user-friendly, fully narrated Bobby Fischer Against the World. Me & Bobby Fischer adopts a much more fly on the wall approach, putting the viewer directly into the story. Occasional explanatory captions appear on the screen, but the film expects a lot from the viewer, certainly in terms of pre-knowledge of the Fischer story.

There’s footage of meetings, phone calls and travelling around Japan as numerous people do their best to free Fischer from his incarceration. At times, things look desperate but then the feeling of positivity steadily grows as it seems that the red tape is finally being cut. Optimism sores. Maybe Fischer will even play for Iceland in the Olympiads…?

And then suddenly, half way through the film, the waiting is over and Fischer appears. His heavy beard and tramp-like appearance creates a shocking impression, even now, when it should no longer be such a surprise.

Whisked away from plane to car, we see a Fischer who should be exhausted but instead talks through the night drive with a tired yet very tolerant Palsson. The conversation switches from Fischer’s tales of his arrest to more relaxed matters, such as Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. Fischer even sings some Dean Martin songs, followed by some Elvis Presley. He seems to be relaxing, but his customary controversy is never far beneath the surface and anti-Semitic comments bubble over at regular intervals.

Life with Fischer in Iceland wasn't quite as the rescue team expected it to be. There are scenes of an obsessed Fischer ranting about the same old fascinations as he does outwardly normal things, such as taking a stroll through the streets and eating a meal in a cafe. He comes across as a man who never switches off, making him virtually impossible to get to know and, frankly, embarrassing company.

When Fischer talks, he doesn’t like interruptions. He states everything as solid fact and is very dismissive of other viewpoints. He doesn’t like debating and claims that those who do have been to college to learn ‘how to superficially win an argument’ using nothing but ‘…debating society tricks.’ If anyone tries to side track him, he will throw in a few impatient and token responses of ‘yeah, yeah…yeah’ before seizing the earliest opportunity to return to his favourite topics: atom bombs, Jews and prearranged games.

He does occasionally talk about chess. He rather surprisingly agrees to be interviewed on the plane to Iceland and one question asks directly about whether or not he has any regrets about not defending his title in 1975. It’s a clash of perspectives. Fischer is adamant that the problem was that Karpov refused to play him, despite setting the challenger ‘…absolutely fair conditions; ridiculously fair conditions.’ Anything else, he says, is ‘all lies.’

He justifies his conditions by comparing them with the 1927 Capablanca v Alekhine match. Alekhine had to win by at least 6-4 to take the title; 5-5 would have left the Cuban on the chess throne. Fischer points out that under his proposed match rules, any challenger would have to lose nine times before his title dream was extinguished, making it much fairer than the 1927 match which ‘…nobody complained about.’ (In fact the tough conditions imposed on Alekhine did have an effect on the future of the World Championship and definitely contributed to the lack of a rematch for Capablanca.)

Fischer tolerates no further discussion on that part of his life and is eager – as ever – to return to the safety of his specialised subjects. ‘Let’s get back to this prearrangement, OK?’ It leads to the familiar rant against Karpov and Kasparov and how they supposedly prearranged all of their match games. Fischer claims that it’s now the top priority in modern chess. His list of the three most important things looks like this:

1) Prearrangement

2) Memorisation

3) Creativity

‘Anyone can analyse my voice and see I’m telling the truth’.
And if the truth was acknowledged, ‘…you’d understand what a rotten game chess is’.

Given his (in)famous earlier connections with religion, an interviewer asks him: 'Is there a God somewhere?' He is quick to respond: 'I’m not into religion at all right now, no. I think all the Holy books are bunk.'

The DVD extras are well worth watching. Running at 125 minutes, they offer extended cuts of the feature material. It sheds even more light on Fischer’s state of mind and how far his paranoia reached. He even brings Michael Jackson (‘I think he’s a very nice person’) into the story, claiming he was victimised due to a supposed Jewish reference in a song, which led directly to the child molestation charges as a form of punishment. The plastic surgery wasn’t Jackson’s fault either, according to Fischer, because as Jackson was ‘…mentally and emotionally ill’ then ‘…doctors had no right to do this to him.’ Ironically, of course, Fischer’s refusal to allow doctors to treat him contributed to his own very painful death.

It's a tragic story, of course. This film will appeal to all Fischer fans, but the general viewing public will find it heavier going. At times, it comes across as a rough cut, awaiting the editing stage. However, I found it to be a fascinating account of a very strange period of Fischer's life and which holds the attention even on repeated viewings.

More information - including ordering details - can be found on the official website.

The Sara Dennis Interview: Part 3

2012-01-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

The Sara Dennis Interview: Part 3

Following on from part 1 and the recently published part 2 of our major interview with Folk singer/writer Sara Dennis, I am delighted to present part 3, in which Sara talks about her musical beginnings, her writing and return to music.

Photo © Gary Mockler

Let’s go back a bit further now. How old were you when you first became interested in music?

I can’t put an age on it because it’s always been there. My father and Grandfather were musicians and they were also music teachers, so for as long as I can remember music has been in my life. As a family, it’s just something that we all did. So my first influence was definitely my Grandfather – Billy. He made music accessible to me and made me want to do it; he was so encouraging.

Apparently, as a child, you used to go to festivals in Saltburn to sing…

…and play piano, yes.

Was that a duet with Billy?

No, it was me solo, really. He used to come with me and encourage me. I started learning to play the piano when I was six. When I was five, my Grandfather said to me, ‘Choose an instrument!’ I loved his piano and I was always playing on it. I fell in love with it – it’s mine now. So I said I’d like to play the piano and I had private lessons from the age of six and he would help me with my theory and I did my grades on the piano.

When I got to eight he said, ‘Look, you need to choose a secondary instrument. It won’t ever be the same as the piano, but you need a second instrument. Pick something different’. I’d say ‘another string to your bow’, but that’s daft, isn’t it! I picked the cello and I did that for about four years. He was a music teacher and he went to all the different schools in the area and he started the Eston Campus band as well, which my Dad took over. I think it’s called The Band of ’78 now, or something like that.

Every time I went to his house he had something new for me. One day I’d walk in and there’d be a tuba. ‘We’re going to play the tuba this weekend, Sara!’ so we’d be out in the garage playing the tuba and then the next there’d be a trumpet, or a clarinet, or an oboe…by the end of the weekend he’d always have me playing something else. So my family were into music in a very big way.

What can you still play now? I know you can still play the piano, but how about the cello?

I can get a tune out of it. That’s the ethos I’ve got now – pick something up and I can get a tune out of it, because that’s the way I was brought up by him. ‘Don’t be scared of anything – just play it, and get a tune out of it!’ He used to say, ‘If you can play the piano, you can play anything’. But I had a break from it and didn’t do music for about 20 years.

How do you write your own songs? What comes first – the music, the lyrics, or does it change from song to song?

For me…it was always the words first. Then I’d go to the piano and I just try playing some chords to go with the words, or fit in with the rhythm of the poem. I think they all start off as poems, really.

We can talk about your poems now. There’s a selection on your website, mainly from the era 2009-2010. You must have a large number of earlier poems.

I do, yes. Some of them aren’t very good and some of them are OK.

Are you planning to add more of them to your website?

I’d like to, yes. I’d like to get a collection published but I’m not quite sure if they will fit in with what’s wanted today. My style is more embedded in Keats and Dickinson, the romantic poets and all the other 19th Century poets as well. When I’ve sent them off to places they say, ‘Oh, you’ve used too many archaic words’, but I just enjoy that type of poetry. Maybe that style will come back one day – who knows?

You could start the style off again! It’s best to set trends rather than to follow them.

Exactly, yes. Everything usually comes back around in a circle anyway, doesn’t it?

‘Unfurling’ is an interesting poem because sometimes I’ll just wake up with an idea in my head and I woke up and just wrote it straight down and that was it. With some poems I’ll pore over for months and months…

…one word at a time!...

…yes! And I’ll edit it and craft it, but that one just flew out of the pencil when I woke up. That’s why I called it ‘Unfurling’ because it really did just unfurl as I woke up.

I think ‘Unfurling’ is my second favourite, just behind ‘Redcar Scars’. Actually, it’s difficult to say ‘favourite’ in some ways when it comes to poetry. Often they are very deep and sometimes about not very nice things, so the word ‘favourite’ doesn’t really seem to suit.

Was there a particular moment which inspired you to return to music after so many years away?

I met Daniel Pettitt, a local folk musician in February 2010 when I was planning the Middlesbrough Literary Festival, he introduced me to the Saltburn Folk Club where I met Andy Broderick and many other local musicians. I started reading poerty there and Andy bropderick asked if I could sing. I said I could but hadn’t sang in public since school. I gave it a go, people enjoyed it and I fell in love with musical performance again. It was just like going full circle back to doing what I always wanted to do.

Are you a happy person?

Very happy. VERY happy now, yes. I’ve got such fantastic friends and a great life. I’m very lucky; I enjoy what I do for a living and what I do at a semi professional level. I’ve cut my hours down so one day a week I can concentrate on my writing, my music and things like that.

Following the successful launch of ‘Time and Tide’ and your new website, what are your future plans?

So far I’ve got some new songs that I’ve been writing. There’s about five that I’d like to do for the next project, so I’m on the ball with that. There’s going to be a bit of a change because I want to do more of my own thing. I’m working on some traditional songs. There’s a version of Scarborough Fair which will be interesting and I found a lovely traditional song called ‘The Blacksmith’; it’s beautiful. There’s a link with that to Nordic mythology which I found and I like the story element of that. There’s a song called ‘Frozen Charlotte’ which is based on a poem; the poem was based on a newspaper article.

It was in 1840 and a young girl had gone to the ball but she’d refused to wear a coat because she didn’t want to spoil her dress and one the way to the ball she froze to death because it was one of the coldest winters that year. So I’ve written a song about that. It’s kind of interesting now that I’m a little bit older; I see young girls and I think, ‘Where’s your coat!?’ and it made me laugh that this happened in the 19th century and it still happens now. Nobody ever learns!

I’ve written a song which is very much on a traditional folk style about a young girl who…what I find with folk music is it always seems to be young girls who are portrayed as quite stupid and are lured by gentlemen who take them off and they end up dying. So I thought it would be interesting if we had a girl lure a young, naïve boy off to his death instead. So that’s one of the songs – I tried to shake the idea up a little bit.

That would be shocking, 200 years ago. Which is why their songs were all the other way around.

That’s true, yes. This one is quite a ghostly one. So all of the new songs are going to be about people and done in a traditional style. There’s one about my Great Grandmother, called Mary Ellen, who was from Ireland. She came over here to work and she married a German who was never naturalised and he was interned in the First World War and went to the Isle of Man to the internment camp and never came back. She remarried – to a Lithuanian! It represents Middlesbrough at the time for me. Everyone came here for the industry and the work and the iron ore mines and the steel works and everything. She had a shop that apparently sold everything from tin baths to eggs and ham and all that type of thing. She could sell anything to anybody! She was a prevalent figure in South Bank at the time. She used to play all these Irish folk tunes on the melodion, so I’ve written this song about her and the people who lived at that time and tried to bond through music. I’m working on a song about the Eston iron ore mines as well.

You’re extremely productive, aren’t you? All of this material pores out of you.

It’s like it’s all been stuck and is now finally coming out, just like a cork has been released from a bottle. I’ve got work as well course, but luckily my job is quite creative.

It helps doing a job you love, of course.

Yes. And I get to meet interesting people. It’s a lovely job.

What about the projected release date for your next CD?

I want to take more time with this one, so I would say about the middle of the year – June or July. Oh – not June, because that’s when we have the Literary Festival…

Well, you could time it to coincide with the festival, so you could launch your CD there. You will be on all of the brochures!

Image © Sara Dennis

Time and Tide is a kind of statement of where I am now and I think all of the songs on it reflect something I’ve just come out of and been through.

...and what a statement it was; full of promise and hope, with one eye on the future and the other glancing backwards to the disappearing past. How has Sara's music and career developed since the interview was recorded? We'll found out soon, as a full update is currently in the planning stages...

Meanwhile, keep an eye on our special event page for news of a very special live appearance!

More Mongoose

2012-01-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

Mongoose Newsletter No.7 is now available for your perusal.

Don't miss the new Mongoose Contest. As usual, a book prize awaits the winner and this time it's this one...

The Sara Dennis Interview: Part 2

2012-01-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

The Sara Dennis Interview: Part 2

Photo © Gary Mockler

Some time ago, we presented the first part of a major interview with singer/songwriter Sara Dennis. A second part was promised, covering Sara's influences, but it took a little longer than originally planned.

As Sara will be performing at our forthcoming musical evening, it seemed a good time to resurrect the interview. There will be a part three too and it will follow very soon. Then there will be a brand new interview to bring Sara's story up to date.

I’d like to talk a little bit about your influences now. You’ve name-checked a couple already: Nick Drake, Natalie Merchant. I’ve got a list here which I found on your website which I’d like to talk about, one at a time. Let's start with Paul Weller…why does his work strike a chord with you?

I’ve liked Paul Weller for a long time; since I was seven or eight. That was back in his Jam days. My cousin was a mod and a big Jam fan, so I heard it through him. I had all the Mod gear and things – a little Mod! I just loved his music. I followed him when he went into The Style Council and when he went into his solo career.

I met him once. In 1991 I was working in Lloyds drugstore. I had a Saturday job there. One day this guy walked in and I thought, I don’t believe it – it’s Paul Weller! He came walking down with a toothbrush. I asked him: ‘Are you Paul Weller?’ and he said, ‘Yes! Did you come to the show last night?’ and I didn’t even know it was on. He said, ‘Oh - it was great!’ He was lovely. I asked him for his autograph and he said, ‘Of course!’ He waited while my friend got a pen. His Dad was there, and he was quite important in his career and he was talking to me too. Paul Weller said, ‘What’s your name?’ and I said ‘Sara – with no ‘h’ ’ and he looked at me and said, ‘Weird!’ That was a great day.

I’ve seen him a few times and whenever you go and see him it’s kind of like he’s playing in your living room; it’s all chilled and laid back. There’s no pomp and ceremony. He’s such a nice guy.

Which era of his work do you prefer?

I loved the stuff he did with the Jam. He was very much ahead of his time – very talented. 'Down in the Tube Station at Midnight'…'English Rose' is a beautiful song…I love loads of stuff that he did in that time. And then his solo stuff he did a while ago, like 'Stanley Road', that was really excellent stuff. He still does good stuff now but I think I prefer the stuff from the early 1990s really but every now and then he’ll bring out a gem.

Jeff Buckley…

He was just a genius, who again wasn’t that famous at the time. He only made one album and then sadly he died. His voice can just bring you to tears and I think he’s quite underrated as guitarist as well. But in terms of song writing, with a song like 'Grace', it’s just a stunning song.

How did you discover his music?

I can’t remember…I don’t think I discovered it until after he died, actually. Probably in the late 1990s. I came across ‘Grace’ and I loved it. There’s no other song in the world like 'Grace' – it’s such an unusual song. It’s an amazing falsetto voice and there’s no words to describe his range, it’s just amazing. He can sing quite ‘rocky’ songs and then he can sing beautiful, tear-jerking songs. One of my favourite live albums is 'Live at Sin-é'. He used to play in a small Irish club in New York and he’d literally just go there with his guitar and just set up and play in the café bar. They recorded him one evening. There’s so many great songs on there – covers of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen songs and it’s a truly moving piece of work. His Dad was famous too – Tim Buckley – but he didn’t really have a relationship with his Father and his songs reflect that. There’s quite a lot of angst in some of them.

You like sad songs, don’t you?

Yes – I’m a misery guts!

Michael Stipe is next on the list.

Oh, yes! We’re getting higher up the list now. REM are one of my favourite bands. I’ve been a fan of them for 20 years. I love the songwriting, his style, their music…everything about them, really. He’s an influence on me because I love his singing style. I came across them just before they became really famous in the UK. I used to get the NME when I was at school and I was reading about this interesting band in America called REM and that got my interest going. Then I heard some of their music and obviously the broke big in the very early 1990s. I became a big fan, collected bootlegs…I’m still a big fan now. I didn’t get to see them though until 2003, which was a big occasion for me.

Was that the only time you saw them?

So far, yes.

So they’ve never been in to buy a toothbrush?

No – if Michael Stipe came in I wouldn’t know what to do!

Maybe one day you will sing a duet with him…?

Hmmm!

Natalie Merchant.

I came across her in the 1990s, from when she was in the 10,000 Maniacs. But when I heard 'Tigerlilly' I thought she’s just amazing. I remember when I heard it I thought, if I was a singer, that’s the style I’d want to emulate. She’s not famous in this country, is she? She’s such a great songwriter and she’s got an amazing voice.

I agree with everything you say. There’s an enormous quality about her and some of her songs really get the emotions going; they seem very personal to the listener. It was an amazing concert she did at The Sage…

I couldn’t believe it! When she came on started doing that…it couldn’t have been more perfect for me: 19th Century poetry and Natalie Merchant – it’s just too good for words! That’s the first time I’d seen her as well. I was really pleased with the response from the audience. They all seemed to enjoy it. It’s funny isn’t it, when you to a gig and everyone in the room has heard of her and knows her work - it’s just such a lovely feeling, isn’t it, when you’re with people who know the work of someone who is maybe not as famous in the mainstream. I loved the way she was just so laid back and said, ‘Right, what would you like?’ She was just so professional that anyone could say, ‘Oh, do ‘Wonder’’ or something and she would just do it. To have rehearsed all of the songs just in case somebody asked was just fantastic.

Natalie Merchant at The Sage

It was remarkable. I can’t imagine anyone else getting away with what she did, coming out and giving a history lesson before each song. It’s hard to imagine any other artist doing that and risking losing the audience.

No, absolutely. I’ve got some gigs coming up and I’ve been researching all of the songs and I’m going to talk a bit about them. Not for as long as Natalie Merchant did! Just a little bit about each song, where it come from and the story behind it. I’d quite like to do that.

Sara and I were both at the concert, quite coincidentally

I think it’s a fascinating approach. We’ve seen that it works, so why not? How many Natalie Merchant songs are in your repertoire?

I do a cover of ‘Wonder’ which is a beautiful song and quite a few off ‘The House Carpenter’s Daughter’ which aren’t her songs, admittedly, but it’s where I heard them first. And ‘The Letter’.

I think the song ‘Tell Yourself’ is one of my favourites of hers. Have you ever considered doing that one?

I can’t remember that one…which album is that off?

'Motherland'.

I haven’t got 'Motherland'.

Haven’t you?

No, I need to get Motherland. I must pick it up. But somebody said to me once – and I totally understand it – it was something about Shakespeare we were talking about and they said, ‘Don’t read everything at the same time, because he’s obviously not going to write any more. Take your time reading them’. And I love discovering things, so I’ll purposely not read something so I can spread things out.

It’s an excellent idea, but there’s a slight problem that we are not here forever either.

Well that’s true, yes.

So you might miss out in something.

True! But people have said to me – with books as well – ‘I’m just reading so-and-so for the first time’ and I think, oh, I envy you so much! You are reading that for the first time!

Top of your list: Eddie Vedder.

He’s my musical hero. He’s an amazing songwriter and again, I’ve found not so well known in this country, I don’t think. In America here’s really famous but not so much over here. He’s just been such an influence on me because I can really relate to what he sings about. I think he’s got the most amazing voice and I like the way he handles himself; to me, I don’t think he’s ever sold out. I like the way he just seems so down to earth. Pearl Jam are my favourite band and their music just really resonates with me. He’s an icon for me as a singer.

Have you seen Eddie Vedder live, with or without Pearl Jam?

I’ve only seen them twice so far. I saw them at the Leeds Festival in 2006 and I saw them in 2009 at Manchester. They were amazing. They don’t tour the UK a lot and when they do it’s only one or two gigs.

It seems to be a running theme through the people you like – they don’t come here very often.

Oh yes – that is true, isn’t it! Or they are dead…

Yes, that is also a slight problem.

That’s a sad thing. I’ll never see Jeff Buckley play.

That’s why I think it’s very important when people do come around, to make the effort to go and see them, otherwise the chance could be gone for good. In addition to those influences, there are some non-people influences in your life. For example: the colour purple. Why purple?

I don’t know. It’s always been my favourite colour. It sounds daft but I always say that purple is an experience, not a colour. You have purple friends, I say…there’s some people I know who love purple; everything they have has to be purple. There’s just something about the colour. I think it’s quite a spiritual colour. It’s just one of those things!

The sea and surf appears to be a recurring theme in your life.

Whenever I’m sad or just need time to think I’ll go to the sea and if I’m writing I’ll sit on the beach and write to get the influence of the sea. I love the smell and the atmosphere there. I think there’s something quite special about the sea; the rhythms, the ebb and flow and the links to the moon. It’s just such an inspirational thing for me the sea. A lot of the songs on my album are linked to the sea in some way.

And your poems, which we’ll talk about a little bit later on.

I’ve written a lot about the sea; I do love the sea.

Flock wallpaper is the next influence on your list.

I love the black and white flock wallpaper. I don’t know if it’s something that reminds me of my childhood; it’s something that my Grandmother always had. I love the feel of it and I love the way it looks. I like black and white things. It might just be the pianist in me!

Black, white…and purple! Pretty notebooks…

I’m really, really terrible for stationery. I’ve got hundreds of notebooks. I like the penguin-themed ones as well.

So you have a house full of notebooks?

Yes and they’re all filled with bits of writing, poetry and all types of thoughts. Everywhere I go I have to buy a notebook.

You’ll have to hide them all in a writing desk…

…until I die, yes!

…but tell me where they are first! Do you use one notebook per job? One just for music, one for poetry…?

Yes, I do, but sometimes there’ll be a crossover; I might turn a poem into a song. So I do, yes. I’ve never thought of that before actually!

Asparagus soup?

That’s my comfort food. Asparagus cup-a-soup.

Fast cars…?

I love fast cars.

Do you drive fast cars?

I’ve got a Mazda RX-8, which is pretty speedy. It’s a very nice car.

Florida.

Yes – I’ve been there twice; it’s like living in a fairy tale. The first time I went, I was 15. I went with my Grandmother. I probably wouldn’t rush to go back there; there’s other parts of I want to see.

Violets. Is that just the purple theme continued?

No, it’s just…I love the smell of violets and I love Parma violets. Oh – and violet crèmes.

Laughing!

I laugh all the time. I laugh when I’m happy, I laugh when I’m sad, I laugh when I’m nervous…

Why when you’re sad?

I just laugh all the time! It’s like a nervous laugh, I think. I always think my laugh will get me into trouble because I’ve got a really loud, quite raucous laugh, really.

Your piano – we’ve talked about already. We’ll talk about your Granddad again later on when we talk about your life. A few of your influences are connected, such as cards, runes and crystals. Do you live your life by the turn of a card?

Not really. I do enjoy them, just out of interest. Before I worked for the libraries I used to work for Adult Education and an interesting spin on basic skills was to do something based Tarot card reading and the origins and history of it. Numerology, which is based in maths, and runes, which used a different type of alphabet and things like that. It was all about reading, learning and listening. So I taught that for quite a while. It was mainly the history, the origins and the meaning of it; why people believed that type of thing, how people use it and how they used it in ancient times and things like that. I just like it out of interest, really.

So it’s more the historical side you are interested in rather than the mystical side?

Yes. But I do enjoy the spiritual side as well.

Fancy coffee. How fancy does it have to be?

Not that fancy!

A latte?

I like a nice, decent filter coffee or a nice, decent cappuccino and I like it with a bit of Amaretto syrup in or something.

Which of the many coffee shops in town would you recommend?

I usually just end up in Starbucks.

Red wine.

I love red wine; it’s my drink of choice. Especially a nice Merlot.

Nice people.

I think I’ve been surrounded by a lot of not-nice people in my life and as I’ve got a bit older I’m surrounded by more nice people than nasty people.

That’s a good balance to have. Are nice people hard to find or easy to find?

I used to think they were hard to find but I’ve met so many nice people over the last five or six years that I think I’d been stuck in the wrong world.

There are some recurring themes coming out of all this…

To Be Continued….

Part Three should be available in the very near future.

Meanwhile, to read more about Sara's music and writing - as well as keep an eye on her gig dates - pop along to the Sara Dennis website.

A full revue of the aforementioned Natalie Merchant concert can be found here.

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour: Live at The Sage

2012-01-16T02:07:00.002-08:00

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour

The Sage

12 January 2012

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour launched their extraordinary CD, Bitter Lullabies, in fine style at The Sage. The CD was reviewed earlier; consider this a pictorial celebration of a very memorable evening.

To sell out The Sage 2 is a remarkable achievement, but it was, without doubt, a fitting reward for the efforts Bridie and her group have put into their own unique brand of music over the years.

Two support acts added to the celebratory feel of the evening. First there was Nathalie Stern who played a very interesting set, complete with some live record and loop technique.

Nathalie Stern

The came Matt Stalker and The Fables, whom I have seen before, albeit in a smaller incarnation.

Matt Stalker and The Fables

There was a drummer to the right but I couldn't see him from where I was sitting. For the first couple of songs I thought the cymbal crashes were due to something very clever on the glockenspiel.

Then, at 9.30 p.m., Bridie Jackson emerged, resplendent in a new green dress. The audience responded brightly. There was, without doubt, a strong sense of love and support in the hall.

Bridie, experiencing a warm reception

The opening song was very well chosen. It was the slow-burning, delicate and moving We Talked Again, which I'd already picked out as one of the main highlights of Bitter Lullabies.

There followed a powerful and involving 60 minutes of Bridie Jackson and The Arbour on top form, with excellent performances all round. The set list included Aliens, Promises are Broken, and My Sister (full set list to follow).

There was the (very) occasional piece of sales talk, although it was presented with humour:

'We've done an album! It's about time, but it's here at last! And I hope you're going to buy it, because this dress did not come cheap!'

The sales looked to be going well at the merchandise stall, post-show, where a radiant Bridie happily chatted and signed for some time.

The dress!

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour in full flow

Everything is going well

Found the camera!

Sans instruments; exquisite harmonies
An Arbour trademark

Keyboards have been added to the repertoire

Flowers at the end of the main set
Petals rained down from above too

Encore!

The evening represented the culmination of a sustained period of very hard work. As a focal point, it clearly revealed how powerful and unique Bridie's music is and how accomplished her performance.

What does the future hold? Great things, for sure.

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour: Album Launch

2012-01-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

As mentioned a couple of days ago, tonight was the night which saw Bridie Jackson and The Arbour launch the new CD, Bitter Lullabies.

The Sage 2 was sold out and the launch received the support it fully deserved.

A proper review will follow soon, but here's a couple of teaser photos to be going on with.

New Event Page

2012-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Please keep an eye on the new event page for all of the latest news regarding the forthcoming Rachel Lyn Harrington & The Knock Outs gig.

Support will be from Sara Dennis (photo © Gary Mockler).

Americana/Folk Evening

2012-01-09T01:56:00.001-08:00

As already mentioned here, Rachel Lyn Harrington & The Knock Outs will be appearing at The Cleveland Bay (Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, TS16 0JE) on Wednesday 28 March 2012, with support by Sara Dennis.

This promises to be an excellent evening and should prove to be one of the highlights of the year.

Further details about the evening will follow soon. Meanwhile, you can now buy tickets by following the link posted at the bottom of this page.

The Wiyos: Twist

2012-01-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Last March, I had pleasure of seeing The Wiyos live for the first time. They (perhaps slightly nervously) unveiled a number of songs from a special project they were putting together - a concept album based on The Wizard of Oz.

Back then, the title was still to be decided but 'We're Not in Kansas Anymore' was mentioned as a possibility.

The Wiyos successfully appealed for support to fund the new CD and it is to be officially released this month. The title is confirmed as Twist, which sums things up nicely. With The Wiyos, there always seems to be a twist.

The track list cements the Wizard of Oz heritage firmly into place:

Yellow Lines

Jolly Roger

Scarecrow

Tinman

Mary

Mama

Poppy Fields

Farewell Weather Bird

Scarecrow 2

Sally May

Penny Arcade

The Lion

Mother Witch

Home (The Ballad)

From the first line on the CD ('Last night my house came down on the witch') to the last ('Yeah, I wanna go home...') The Wiyos continually defy the odds and pull off a remarkable musical achievement. The Wizard of Oz is such a well known, respected piece of work that it could easily have been a messy misfire to weave an innovative set of songs around the story. Yet it succeeds - magnificently.

This is far more ambitious than merely being an attempt to create a modern day soundtrack to L. Frank Baum's eternally popular story. The Wiyos have added huge slices of their own imaginations to create something fresh and adventurous. As usual, the only predictable thing about The Wiyos is that they will always be unpredictable.

Some of the songs have the familiar Wiyos sound (Yellow Lines, Tinman) and others are much more experimental (the driven Jolly Roger, complete with unexpected mid-song organ and guitar break; Mary). There's plenty of changes in tempo over the course of the 14 songs (sometimes it changes several times per song). Just listen with an open mind and enjoy the experience. Try guessing which instrument will be heard next - it will be quite a challenge!

Standout tracks include Tinman, Sally May and The Lion, although it's such a complex piece of work that it will take some time to become fully acclimatised to the extraordinary musical journey The Wiyos have invited us to take.

Back in March 2011, The Wiyos held the Cluny audience spellbound with the small selection of new songs they debuted. Twist has been hugely anticipated ever since and I am delighted to say that it has been well worth the wait.

Personnel:

Michael Farkas: Vocals, harmonica, accordion, percussion

Teddy Weber: Vocals, guitar, steel guitar, cornet, alto horn

Sauerkraut Seth Travins: Double bass, bass guitar, organ

Kenny Siegal: Keyboards, vocals, guitar

Brian Getlner: Drums and percussion

Adam Matta: Vocal percussion

Further information, including the forthcoming UK tour dates, can be found on the official Wiyos website and on the relevant Brookfield Knights page.

If you have the opportunity to see them live, I urge you not to waste it. It will be one of the most entertaining and unusual gigs you'll ever see.

Summary of recent reviews:

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour

Hillfolk Noir

Bard

Cahalen Morrison and Eli West

Bridie Jackson and the Arbour

2012-01-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

Continuing our series of reviews, the third part of our quartet of exciting new releases focuses on an artiste already familiar to regular visitors to Marsh Towers.

Bridie Jackson and the Arbour are all set to release Bitter Lullabies, a brand new CD which is very likely to bring their music to the attention of a much wider audience while at the same time providing guaranteed satisfaction to their existing fanbase.

The suitably mysterious cover art is indicative of the contents. The music lies somewhere in the Folk world, but buried deeply within the genre and unafraid of cross-pollination into other worlds, with Gospel being an obvious example. Alt-folk, post-folk, psyche folk...? The labels aren't particularly important (are they ever, even in real life?). On playing this CD, the listener will definitely experience something new, buzzing with understated power and vitality.

Track list

We Talked Again

Bitter Lullaby

Promises are Broken

Aliens

The Burden of Survival

The Woman with Milk Teeth

Mucky

Please Forgive me my Human Ways

All You Love is All You Are

All bar one of the songs (Promises are Broken, by Sue Kane) were written by Bridie. The Arbour consists of seven people, excluding Bridie. Instruments include guitar, cello, mandolin, bassoon, piano, violin, glockenspiel and bell plates. An unusual ensemble - and a very effective one. Five people have 'backing vocals' on their credits too, and this aspect shouldn't be underestimated. The angelic, choral background to the majority of the tracks is a Bridie Jackson trademark, giving the songs a rich, textured background to counterpoint the obscure, challenging lyrics.

Stand out tracks include We Talked Again, Aliens and All You Love is All You Are, but there's nothing I don't like. The up-tempo Mucky hints at a potential new change of direction, or perhaps broadening of the repertoire. Either way, it would be good to hear more of the Spanish guitar-driven style.

I've been familiar with - and enjoyed - all of Bridie's work to date and I can honestly say she's never sounded better. I found it's no good as background music, as the songs demand attention and won't let go until they get it. Multi-tasking while absorbing a Bridie Jackson number is not an option. There's far too much of interest going on to tolerate distractions.

Fittingly, the CD launch will take place at The Sage (12 January). Some of it was recorded there and virtually everybody who performs at The Sage is quick to praise the wonderful acoustics, so I'm absolutely certain that it will be a night to remember. A review will follow here, naturally.

My advice is to try and snap up a ticket for the launch without delay. It was almost sold out the last time I checked, but you may be lucky.

For further information about this remarkable artiste, pop along to the official Bridie Jackson website and there are some buying options for Bitter Lullabies here.

Hillfolk Noir

2012-01-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

Continuing our review of some of the most interesting new music, it's time to look at Hillfolk Noir and their CD, Skinny Mammy's Revenge: The Gage Street Market Sessions.

I thought for some time about how to sum up the sound but I couldn't produce anything more pertinent than the official word:

'Filtered through a half-century of folk, country and rock 'n' roll, and fed by family history and an affinity for acoustic mountain music, medicine show culture and Depression-era string-band blues, Hillfolk Noir's latest recording is raw and real, captured ''live'' around a single mic in a series of on-location field sessions in various log cabins.'

Or, to cut a long description short, there's the single word answer the band themselves have devised: 'Junkerdash'!

Skinny Mammy's Revenge was '...recorded with one microphone to 1/4'' tape at the old Gage Street Market' and that certainly comes across in the very earthy, roots sound. It's raw and blatantly unpolished; the sort of music one can imagine being played in the backyard or on the doorstep. It's the immediacy which is appealing.

The track listing easily reveals the type of song to expect. Hope, Depression, lost opportunities, unrequited love and trains are all well to the fore.

Red Eyed Crow

Dying Bed Blues

Run, Mollie, Run

Somefolk

Washboard Blues

The Lord Will Come

Do It Again

Broken Record

L&N

Ragged and Dirty Blues

Choo Choo Stomp

Sail Away Ladies

The Love I Thought I'd Never Know

Before the Farm

Mr. Wilson's Lament

Charming Betsy

Jack of Diamonds

Coo Coo

Fast Train Blues

Train Comes Along

Personell-wise, there's husband and wife Travis and Ali Ward (Travis wrote all of the songs), plus Mike Waite and Jared Goodpastor.

The official division of labour reveals some unusual instruments:

Travis Ward: Resonator guitar, harmonica, singing

Alison Ward: Laundraphone, banjo, saw, singing

Mike Waite: Stand-up bass

Jared Goodpastor: Snare, tambourine, floor

It's always interesting to read the thoughts of artistes.

Travis says: 'We basically make the music for ourselves because we love it; we are having a great time and hopefully that is infectious. We sing and play our guts out - every song. We've definitely grown into what we are. Whether it's backwards or forwards, we're not real sure, but I guess we don't really care either.'

'None of it is really contemporary, but I think our attitude is,' says Ali.

'Part of the attraction also is that it's raw,' adds Waite. 'There's no pretentiousness in this kind of music, it's direct. I think people are kind of surprised that they like us, but that's rewarding.'

It's rewarding, too, to play the CD several times before judging the music. At first it's a little tricky to keep the songs settled in the mind and some of them sound similar before repeated listenings reveal the nuances and changes of mood.

For further details about Hillfolk Noir, head for their official website and this page on the Brookfield Knights site.

Bard

2012-01-02T04:11:00.000-08:00

New year, new music. Time to push the boundaries out a little further again.

This week I'll be reviewing four new CDs which may otherwise have slipped under the general radar. Hillfolk Noir, Bridie Jackson and the Arbour and The Wiyos will all fall under the spotlight over the course of the next few days, but I'll start with a look at Bard.

Named after singer/songwriter Theo Bard, the folk group has just released a three-song sampler CD ahead of the launch of their full album.

Rich in harmonies, the songs are very much in the traditional folk genre but with some surprising twists. The first of the three songs, 'Violets', starts off with a slow-building, almost simplistic combination of lyrics and structure but is suddenly elevated by the unexpected introduction of the clarinet, steering the song into a very interesting change of direction.

After a few more listens, it is definitely the combination of the clarinet and the more understated accordion, complimenting each other perfectly and adding a warm texture which consistently draws me into the songs and gives Bard a very fresh feel.

The second track, 'Beating of My Heart' starts slowly but soon explodes into action, becoming a real foot-tapper, again lifted by the clarinet(particularly the mid-song solo).

I found 'Born in London Town' to be the strongest of the fine trio of songs, with wistful lyrics, a sing-along chorus and bittersweet imagery of the capital.

Love, loss and personal history are the dominant themes across the three songs. I'm looking forward to hearing more of their material.

The full band line up is:

Theo Bard (vocals, guitar)

Ewan Bleach (clarinet, vocals)

Louisa Jones (accordion, vocals)

Nick Owen (percussion)

Jay Darwish (double bass)

The new album is all set to launch on 27 January as part of the famous Celtic Connections festival and a full tour is on the cards too. Hopefully I'll get the chance to see them live some time soon.

For further details, please pop along their official website and this page of the Brookfield Knights site.

Best of 2011

2012-01-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

A New Year!

Time for reassessments, adjustments, plans and hopes. Worrying about the future isn't as important or as fruitful as enjoying the present moment.

Before we start the next 12 months in earnest, there's still time for a backwards glance. 2011 was a fabulous year. High on the list of magical memories are the concerts I was fortunate to be able to attend. After careful thought, I'd say these were my top 10.

Reinvention and resurgence for...

Gary Numan

Bluegrass at its finest...

Alison Krauss

Angry old fighter...

Roger Waters

Fun, blues and Rock 'n' Roll...

Wilko Johnson

All-time great...

Emmylou Harris

Angelic, ethereal folk...

Cara Dillon

Magnificent and mysterious...

John Foxx and The Maths

Entertaining and extraordinary...

The Wiyos

Powerful and pugnacious...

Roger Daltrey

The most enjoyable of all...

Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Riot

What will 2012 bring? My diary is already filling up with potentially great concerts and shows. Reviews and photos will doubtless follow. Stay tuned...

Chess Reviews: 193

2011-12-24T04:03:00.000-08:00

The Amazing Chess Adventures of Baron Munchausen

By FM Amatzia Avni

235 pages

Mongoose Press

I have to declare an interest here; I was the editor of this book so rather than write a full review, it's probably best to quote the information given on the Mongoose Press website:

'The legendary Baron Munchausen was famous for telling incredible stories about his astounding happenings and astonishing feats. Munchausen was both a fearless, bold adventurer and a fun, inspiring companion.

Now, imagine the Baron playing chess!

This book presents a series of extraordinary chess tales, describing Munchausen's captivating chess adventures, as told by the great Baron to Amatzia Avni, his diligent biographer. Prepare to be amazed as the Baron engages in chess battles with a range of extraordinary creatures and characters, some of them - quite literally - out of this world!

The reader will accompany Munchausen to Heaven and to Hell; watch him play on a full board and on half a board; in simultaneous exhibitions, Internet and live chess; battling on land, sea and in the air; outsmarting a Cyclops; conversing with a talking horse and much more.

The Amazing Chess Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a compendium of the very best episodes first seen in the British periodical CHESS Monthly, together with a plethora of previously unpublished tales. Instructive, entertaining and sometimes simply baffling, the Baron's adventures are guaranteed to enrich the chess lives of all chess fans.

About the Author

Amatzia Avni is an Israeli psychologist, specializing in the fields of training and personnel selection. He holds the FIDE Master title in both over-the-board chess and composition.

A former editor of the Israeli chess Magazine Schahmat and a frequent contributor to various chess magazines and websites, the author has written a number of original, thought-provoking and entertaining chess books, including Creative Chess (1991, 1997) and The Grandmaster's Mind (2004).'

Readers of CHESS Magazine may recall some early adventures of the Baron. The best of those are included in this volume together with a plethora of new ones. Witty, instructive and entertaining, this boom puts the fun back into chess. It is enhanced by beautiful colour pictures of the Baron and his friends, by Elite Avni-Sharon. The book is beautifully produced and can be enjoyed by players of all strengths.

Chess Camp

Volume 4

Elementary Endgames

By Igor Sukhin

114 pages

Mongoose Press

The first three volumes of Igor Sukhin's ongoing series were reviewed earlier this year. I have used the puzzles extensively during junior coaching sessions and I can confirm how useful they are.

It's not just me who finds them ideal for coaching purposes; as the strapline on the new covers confirms, Chess Camp is now '...the official beginner's puzzle book series of the USCF' ('United States Chess Federation').

The format of the new volumes is the same as the others, with six puzzles on each page and very few clues. The strength is in the simplicity; the puzzles on each page are all very closely linked and often there's just a slight change in the placement of the pieces, making it perfect material to set up on a demonstration board, where a quick change helps to keep disruption at bay!

The material is arranged in three main sections:

Endgames with Three Pieces

Endgames with Four Pieces

King + Two Pieces vs. King

Here's an example for you to try.

Black to play

Make a draw

Chess Camp

Volume 5

Two-Move Checkmates

By Igor Sukhin

116 pages

Mongoose Press

The title is self-explanatory and the checkmates are split into two convenient categories:

Checkmates in Two without a Sacrifice

Checkmate in Two with a Sacrifice

The earlier volumes had lots of checkmate in one puzzles, which proved very popular around the schools. I'm looking forward to testing out these tougher ones on my travels.

It can take a while for Primary School children to grasp the benefits of a sacrifice, so the puzzles in the second category should be quite challenging.

This sample should give an indication of the level of material.

White to play

Mate in two

Two more volumes are due in March 2012, namely Tactics in Attack and Defense and Opening Tactics

All three of the new Mongoose books are very attractively produced, featuring sturdy hardback bindings.

Chess Reviews: 192

2011-12-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

As mentioned yesterday, my final few reviews of the year will have to be kept short and will be limited to a brief overview of the latest releases.

In my opinion, 2011 started quietly in terms of good chess books but it is certainly going out with a bang. The three considered here are all fine works and, unusually, they help to provide a review column completely free of products about chess openings.

Grandmaster versus Amateur

Edited by GM Jacob Aagaard and GM John Shaw

196 pages

Quality Chess

I was expecting this to be in the format of Question & Answer, with a Grandmaster guiding an amateur through top-level games, just as it was in the well-known book by Max Euwe and Walter Meiden, called Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur.

It turned out to be something quite different. Seven Grandmasters present some of their memorable experiences against lower rated opposition and explain how GMs are able to outwit lesser mortals. To keep things balanced, there are also some examples of the worms turning.

The stories are told over the course of eight chapters:

Jacob Aagaard - Danes Eat Fish for Breakfast
Peter Heine-Nielsen - A Tale of Three Stories
Pavel Eljanov - From Amateur to 2700
John Shaw - From 1700 to Grandmaster - and Back
Boris Avrukh - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Tiger Hillarp Persson - The Ulysses Effect
Mihail Marin - It's an Amateur's World
Jacob Aagaard - Fish Eat Danes for Supper

There's plenty of wit to go with the wisdom. It makes for a very refreshing read; it's not so often that one can read really honest thoughts from Grandmasters.

Advanced Chess Tactics

By GM Lev Psakhis

365 pages

Quality Chess

The focus of the advanced chess tactics in question falls firmly on the art of attack as GM Psakhis brings a lifetime of top-flight experience into this packed and entertaining book.

Aimed at players all the way from 2000 to 2600, the material is tough but worthy of the reader's time.

The chapter headings clearly indicate what to expect:

Attacking in the Benoni
Attacking with Hanging Pawns
IQP Positions: Attacking the King with Pieces
IQP Positions: Attacking with the h-pawn
IQP Positions: Versus the c-pawn
Attack in the Sicilian Labyrinths
Attack in the Catacombs of the Caro-Kann
Attack in Rare and Non-Standard Openings
57 Exercises

Psakhis's own games are prominent throughout, but there are plenty of fine attacking examples from other players too. Tal fans will not be disappointed.

Understanding Chess Middlegames

By GM John Nunn

240 pages

Gambit Publications

The basic premise of this book is similar to the one seen in Understanding Chess Endgames. 100 important themes are presented from various stages of the middlegame, each one enjoying two pages of detailed coverage.

Each theme is conveyed via a pair of annotated games (or parts games, depending on whether or not the opening moves are relevant).

A brace of opening essays, 'Myths of the Middlegame' and 'Interconnectedness' provide some background and context to the middlegame in general before the book moves on to the main material, which is split into the following categories:

Material Imbalances
Strategy
Activity
Attacking Play
Defensive Play
Pawn-Structure
Typical Central Pawn-Formations
Typical Mistakes

John Nunn is one of our most experienced and respected chess authors and this volume is easily up to his normal standard.

Strategy University Vol. 4:

The Technique of Realising the Win

by GM Adrian Mikhalchishin

Four hours and 37 minutes

ChessBase

There are to types of advantage: material and positional. This DVD, by a very experienced trainer, looks at ways to convert such advantages and how to learn from cases where the attempt at realisation was faulty.

Essentially, this is a series of lectures on how to win winning positions, a problem that even very strong GMs still struggle with. The presenter offers practical solutions to the problem, whether it be the middlegame or the endgame. The illustrative games feature some of the real giants of chess, such as Botvinnik, Korchnoi and Spassky.

A lot of the advice boils down to appeal for more prophylactic thinking (a favourite of GM Mikhalchishin). Experienced tournament players will benefit most from the material on offer here. Casual and club players may find the heavily accented delivery a shade on the hard going side of things.

The final part of this round-up of recent releases should follow tomorrow, after which the chess reviews will take a little rest until the New Year.

Chess Reviews: 191

2011-12-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

A large amount of chess literature and DVDs has been released over the last few weeks.

Given the volume of material, I shall restrict myself to very short reviews of all products over the course of the next three review columns. More in depth reviews of some products are scheduled to appear in the next issue of CHESS Magazine.

Everyman Chess have just released three interesting books on openings, with a heavy 1 d4 slant.

Chess Developments:

The Modern Benoni

By IM Richard Palliser

281 pages

Everyman Chess

Chess Developments is ‘...a brand new series providing state-of the art openings coverage’, has the stated aim of focusing ‘…on the current trends – concentrating on critical lines, theoretical novelties and powerful new ideas.’

Richard Palliser is a long-term fan of the Modern Benoni and he shares his expertise here. The coverage is not exhaustive or encyclopaedic, but rather it goes into depth with a number of key lines including the Modern Main Line, Taimanov Attack and the Fianchetto variations.

Symbols highlighting 'Tips', 'Warnings' and the like - familiar from the Starting Out series - are used throughout and they joined by a new one to draw attention to a 'Key Development'.

Do we need a new book on the Modern Benoni? Well, considering that John Watson's Gambit Guide to the Modern Benoni is now 10 years old the time does indeed seem right, especially as theory has advanced in the variations covered here. The Fianchetto Variation has become very popular indeed, due partly to Avrukh's works on 1 d4.

An examination of the material shows that Black must be very careful indeed when facing a well-prepared opponent. With the help of IM Palliser, an equally well-prepared Benoni practitioner should be just about OK to keep playing this risky opening at quite an advanced level.

Also from Everyman, there are two new volumes in the 'Move by Move' series. The emphasis is very much on explaining the key ideas and plans behind the openings in question. Both of these volumes would make ideal starting points for anyone interested in adding the openings to their repertoires.

The Nimzo-Indian: Move by Move

By GM John Emms

368 pages

Everyman Chess

John Emms guides the reader expertly through the popular and solid Nimzo-Indian Defence. The recommendation against the Rubinstein (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3) is 4 ...0-0 and that, in a nutshell, sums up the ethos of the recommended lines; Black keeps things as solid as possible and hopes to construct a fire-proof repertoire which will not swept away by a new tide of theory in the near future.

1...d6: Move by Move
By IM Cyrus Lakdawala
400 pages
Everyman Chess

I used 1 ...d6 extensively over a period of two years so I was interested to see the suggestions given by Cryus Lakdawala in this new book.

Rather than head for the relatively popular Lion and/or Philidor set-ups, Lakdawala goes his own way and gives 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 c6 as the anti-King's pawn weapon, followed by 4 Nf3 Bg4 or 4 f4 Qa5. Slppery stuff and not the sort of thing players with the White pieces spend too much preparing for.

Elsewhere, there are the familiar sights of 1 d4 d6 2 c4 e5, 1 d4 d6 2 Nf3 Bg4 and ...d6/...e5/...f5 against the English.

As '...a universal system which can be employed against virtually any first move' I believe the modest pawn move is a useful and versatile addition to any player's repertoire and this book does a good job in priming the reader for action.

ChessBase continue to be extremely active. New DVDs are being released at an incredible rate.

First Steps in Defence
By IM Andrew Martin
ChessBase

First Steps in Defence features IM Andrew Martin on fine form as he takes the reader through a range of well-chosen illustrative games. The idea is to give viewers a basic grounding in the art of defence.

Admitting that most players prefer to be on the attack, the presenter impresses on the viewer the need to understand how -and when - to defend.

There are 17 illustrative games, featuring the likes of Kasparov, Karpov, Short, Spassky and Larsen. Some of these are very recent, such as the big clash between Jonathan Hawkins and Nigel Short at this year's British Championship.

The material is aimed at improving club players, but doubtless more exeprienced players learn a thing or two as well.

Tactics - From Basics to Brilliance Volume 2
By FM Valeri Lilov
ChessBase

On Tactics - From Basics to Brilliance (Volume 2), FM Lilov looks at the functions of the pieces in the art of tactical play.

He takes the viewer through all of the pieces, starting with the pawns and working up to the King. There's a lot of material here - there are 24 video lectures - and it's all very acccessible to club players.

1.d4 - Beat The Guerrillas!

By IM Valeri Bronznik

272 pages

New in Chess

This is an updated translation of a 2010 German language book. The author looks at a large range of 'guerrillas', from the fairly respectable (Budapest Gambit, Black Knights' Tango) to the eminently disreputable (Englund Gambit, Polish...).

The material is presented from White's point of view and, despite some of the lines of analysis being long, it is accessible to club players. The conclusions at the end of each chapter are a particularly useful feature.

Black players who like maverick openings will need to take a look too, to see what they have to prepare against. Some of the suggestions look very strong for White, but it's not all bad news for the second player; for example, the Schara-Hennig Gambit suddenly looks in good health.

The Ragozin Complex

By IM Vladimir Barsky

351 pages

New in Chess

I've never played either side of the Ragozin (1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 d5 3 c4 e6 4 Nc3 Bb4) so most of the material in this book was new to me.

Following a thoughtful introduction looking at the pioneers of the opening, there is an essay on 'How to Study a Concrete Opening'. It's a good read and it clearly outlines the idea behind the opening before the attention is switched to an analysis of the various lines of play.

The material is denser than in the 'Guerilla' book, so club players may find it heavy going. Experienced tournament players will enjoy the depth though and those with the Nimzo-Indianand QGD (and even QGA) already in their repertoires may find some useful transpositions with which to annoy their unsuspecting opponents.

Power Chess for Kids

By FM Charles Hertan

159 pages

New in Chess

After divulging the 'three skills you need to be one of the best players in your school' and 'four ticks to help you think 1.5 power moves ahead', the author runs through various examples of forks, pins skewers interference moves. Cartoon characters and a very lively writing style make this an appealing book for young juniors.

Chess teachers and coaches will be able to put the material to good use too.

ChessBase Magazine

December 2011

Last but not least, the new issue of ChessBase Magazine is now available. Highlights include the coverage of the Grand Slam, the European Cup and the FIDE World Cup.

As usual, there's a abundance of material which should present something of interest for players of all strengths, from beginners to Grandmasters.

More Mongoose

2011-12-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

Mongoose Newsletter No.6 is now available for your perusal.

Don't miss the new Mongoose Contest. A book prize awaits the winner.

Find the newsletter here.

London Highlights: 3

2011-12-20T12:47:00.000-08:00

Time to round off the London coverage with another trip to 'Theatreland'.

To continue the Dickens theme, I was delighted to obtain a front-row seat for Simon Callow's one-man presentation of A Christmas Carol at the Arts Theatre.

It was wonderful to see what could be achieved with the minimum of props and effects. There was the occasional use of a simple bit of back projection to set the mood and one or two chairs.

Other than that, it was all down to the powerful acting and performance skills of Simon Callow.

A Christmas Carol remains an exemplary seasonal story. This show was a real Christmas treat.

He has a book on Dickens due out early in the New Year. An essential purchase, methinks.

Next up was a trip to Islington for another very interesting and enjoyable show, this time featuring Suggs talking about his life and times at the King's Head Theatre.

The King's Head is actually a small pub. A door at the back leads to a very intimate theatre, limited to around 200 seats.

Suggs started his story with his 50th brithday. Everything seemed to be going well the day after that but then his favourite cat died and it started a process of reassessment for him. He made it his mission to find out more about the father he never knew. The narrative of the search then switches frequently to another strand, in which he reminisces about his musical progress from wayward band member (he kept missing sessions to go and watch Chelsea play and was consequently sacked, before being reinstated as the drummer) to his role as a key member of Madness.

Occasionally, he would break into song, mainly to punctuate a moment in the story. For example, we had a quick burst of Baggy Trousers to commemorate his schooldays.

It was a very witty, moving and highly entertaining evening, enhanced further by the very intimate setting (I was in the second row, which was great, but I don't think there was a bad seat in the house).

Suggs - My Life Story in Words and Pictures has just concluded a series of dates at the King's Head and is set to tour the UK in January and February. You don't need to be a Madness fan to appreciate the show; I think most people would enjoy it.

To round off the London visit, I'd chosen The Ladykillers at The Gielgud Theatre on the strength of the excellent reviews it had received.

In contrast to the intimate nature of the two shows mentioned above, The Ladykillers was a full-cast affair.

The set was amazing. For most of the evening it was the interior of a house, but there were some very quick swivels at key moments to show various exterior scenes.

I'm sure readers are familiar with the basic plot. Most will have seen the classic film. This version is excellent too, full of strong performances and laugh-out-loud moments.

Three very different shows - three sets of great memories. What to see next time, I wonder...?

London Highlights: 2

2011-12-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

A few more photos from around London...

...starting with a trip to St Paul's to see the protesters' camp. The slogans speak for themselves.

I was there early in the morning and the vast majority of protesters were (presumably) still asleep in their tents. However, the mid-camp piano was ready for action.

The Museum of London is a short walk from St Paul's. I went to see the Dickens and London exhibition, which was very good indeed.

Moving on to Trafalgar Square, I intended to go and see the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the National Gallery, but having joined the queue for tickets I was told that I wouldn't be able to get to the front of the queue to be served for another three hours, and then wouldn't be able to get in to see the exhibition until another three hours after that. It was also impossible to pre-book tickets, so I had to give it a miss.

However, Trafalgar Square didn't let me down. I was surprised and amused to see an enormous number of Santas arrive from all directions.

I didn't know at the time, but it was all part of the annual Santacon.

There were also some human statues to enjoy.

More serious things were happening too.

I returned to the Square the following morning and it was as quiet as I've ever known it.

On to Covent Garden...

An entertaining juggler! 'I'll start off juggling three balls. I know it's easy, ladies and gentleman, but I'll work my way up to six!'

Juggling four balls looked easy enough for him too, so he repeated his promise to juggle six.

He appeared to move into position to pick up the other two...

...but then he stood up again and started waggling his legs about. 'There you go, ladies and gentleman - I'm juggling six balls!'

Time for a trip to the Transport Museum.

...and so say all of us.

Go on - admit it: you thought of Reg Varney there, didn't you?

Finally, a few Christmas images from Whiteleys.

London Highlights: 1

2011-12-18T03:41:00.000-08:00

As usual, I crammed in as much as possible during my recent trips to London.

The British Library had two interesting new exhibitions: one about Charles Dickens and the other about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I always like to find the time to visit Trafalgar Square. There's usually something going on, no matter what time of year or day it may be.

Lots of people were enjoying a festive visit and the Olympic countdown was a prominent feature.

The National Portrait Gallery is always worth a visit. There was a small display about Charles Dickens and in the same room I saw, up close for the first time, the famous portraits of the Bronte sisters by their brother, Patrick Branwell Bronte.

There was a fine display of portraits featuring comedians too, often catching them in unusual poses.

Then it was on to the Apollo Theatre to see Wicked.

Wicked is a very clever prequel to The Wizard of Oz and having seen the latter earlier this year I was keen to see if the prequel would hold up well against the original story.

Without giving too much away, the basic plot charts the development of two school girls, showing how they end up being the respective lead Witches of Oz.

It's a spectacular show, full of songs, special effects and, most importantly, an excellent script which really does do justice to the whole thing.

It's funny, moving and above all, thoroughly entertaining. For further details, click your heals three times to be taken to the official website (...or if that doesn't work, just click here).

It was an excellent start to December's series of trips to 'theatreland'. There would be three more before my time in London was through...

London Classic Photos: 5

2011-12-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

Here's my concluding set of photos from the London Chess Classic. There are snaps from other bits of pieces from my London trips still to come.

Chess is still a tough game

The World Champion focuses before the start of play

Viktor Korchnoi reunited with his former second, Michael Stean

More friends reunited: Richard Hall and Mike Basman

...and even more, as Garry Kasparov chats with Mr and Mrs Korchnoi

Richard getting his book signed by The Boss

Hikaru Nakamura, enjoying the fact that one of the juniors,

called in to make the first move of the game, chose 1 Nh3

Vladimir Kramnik on his way to a great tournament victory

Nigel Short, ready for action

The players await the start of the round.

Magnus Carlsen likes to avoid the cameras

Gawain Jones playing in the FIDE Open

Garry Kasparov signing copies of his new book

A rare appearance by another Grandmaster and

former British Champion - Jonathan Mestel

Kasparov and the Korchnois

Anand didn't have the best of tournaments

Luke McShane, on the other hand, was on terrific form

Michael Adams, despite excellent recent form, finished last at the Classic

Lev Aronian, during his (eventually drawn) game with Kramnik

Kramnik needed just a draw from his last game

to clinch victory and he made sure he got it

In the V.I.P. room, David Howell demonstrated to Julian Hodgson how could have prolonged his game with Kramnik. Instead of resigning, he could have tried...

...Qf1+, sacrificing a Queen! The following move, ...Qa6+,

will fork the White King and the Rook on c8

The last round in full swing

Kasparov and Short analysing the games

...and finally, Nakamura talks to Danny King and Chris Ward

about his last-round win against Adams, which the latter should

probably have won.

Kramnik The Champion

2011-12-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

I have just returned form London following several days at the London Chess Classic tournament.

Lots more photos will follow this week. Here's a good one to be going on with, showing two former World Champions at the prize giving event.

Garry Kasparov presents the LCC trophy to Vladimir Kramnik

Photo © Ray Morris-Hill

There are more of Ray's excellent photos here.

London Classic Photos: 4

2011-12-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

One impressive aspect of the London Chess Classic is the obvious care and attention devoted to the visual side of things. There are patio chess sets in the foyer area which are in constant use throughout each day and monitors enable spectators to keep up with the live action when they leave the auditorium.

Artwork displaying likenesses of the Classic participants adorns the walls.

London Classic Photos: 3

2011-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

I was also there for day two of the Classic.

The all-English clash between Michael Adams and David Howell.

Lev Aronian and Hikaru Nakamura are ready for action.

Vladimir Kramnik v Nigel Short.

Magnus Carlsen v Luke McShane. Luke should have beaten Carlsen (as he did last year) but finishing off the World's No.1 is never easy; the game ended as a draw.

Viktor Korchnoi and Jon Speelman enjoying the games.

World Champion Anand had the bye on the second day, so he was able to spend some time in the public commentary room. He was also happy enough to let me record a two-part interview with him, for which I was most grateful.

London Classic Photos: 2

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

The opening day of the Third London Chess Classic provided plenty of photo opportunities.

The demonstration monitors are ready for action!

IM Malcolm Pein makes the opening remarks.

The World Champion, Viswanathan Anand. He made a slow start to the tournament and left it until round five before scoring his first victory.

Magnus Carlsen sneaks a backwards glance.

Hikaru Nakamura faces former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. The latter has especially good memories of London, having defeated Garry Kasparov there in 2000, taking the world title in the process.

The British Champion - Michael Adams - is ready to play the World Champion.

David Howell faces Magnus Carlsen.

Luke McShane preparing to play against Lev Aronian.

The Indian High Commissioner Rajesh N. Prasada makes the opening move for Michael Adams.

Special guest Boris Becker makes the first move for Magnus.

Dominic Lawson, Malcolm Pein, Boris Becker and Nigel Short analyse in the VIP room. Note the crutches; Boris broke an ankle playing tennis!

Nigel was quick to use one of the crutches as a pointing stick.

The big exhibition match. Short won but a tennis version of the pairing isn't likely to happen.

Viktor Korchnoi arrived in the VIP to spontaneous applause. Once seated, he analysed non-stop until the end of the games. 80 years old and still full of chess.

Dominic Lawson, enjoying the games.

Julian Hodgson was the MC in the VIP room.

London Classic Photos: 1

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

I took quite a few photos at the London Chess Classic last weekend. I'll present some of them here over the next week or so (when I'm in the same place for long enough to upload them).

Here's one to start off with, taken by the event's official photographer, Ray Morris-Hill.

Interviewing Boris Becker

© Ray Morris-Hill

Ray's website showcases his photographic skill across various genres and it's well worth a visit.

Meet the Baron!

2011-12-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

The Amazing Chess Adventures of Baron Munchausen has just been published by Mongoose Press. The author is Amatzia Avni, well known for his books on slightly unusual chess subjects, as featured in volumes such as Creative Chess and The Grandmaster's Mind.

A review may well follow, but I have to declare an interest: I was the editor of this book, making it my second such project of the year and the third publication in which I have been actively involved.

Another editing project is scheduled for early in 2012 and details will doubtless follow in due course.

Further information and ordering details are available here.

London Classic: Twitter Challenge

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hot off the press...

The highest level game of chess ever played on Twitter will launch the 3^rd London Chess Classic at Olympia.The game will begin at 14.45 UK time 09.45 EST on Friday 2 December at the conclusion of the opening press conference which is being streamed live at londonchessclassic.comUK-based journalists are welcome to attend today (Friday 2 December) at 13.45 at the Olympia Conference Centre W14 8UX. Questions may be put to the players in advance to press@londonchessclassic.com Webmasters note, we will also accept questions from your readers.
All Twitter users will be challenged to a game against the nine grandmasters competing in the strongest tournament ever staged in the UK. The London Chess Classic line-up includes the world’s top four players; world champion Vishy Anand, world number one Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian ranked three, and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Prolific chess 'tweeter' Hikaru Nakamura will be making some moves, as will the four English GMs in the field; Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell.

The game can be followed on @londonclassic and moves should be sent with #lccvworld. The live board will be viewable at www.londonchessclassic.com/live.lccvworld.htm or http://tinyurl.com/dyqjlww.

More Mongoose

2011-12-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Mongoose Newsletter no.5 is now available for your perusal. There is an option to subscribe on the main website, which would ensure the newsletters are sent straight to your email inbox as soon as they are ready.

The newsletter includes the latest Mongoose Contest, which is quoted below.

''For a chance to win a copy of The Complete Hedgehog Volume 1, please answer the following question…

2011 marks the centenary year of a famous American Grandmaster, who was a serious contender for the World Championship title and seven-times champion of the U.S. He died in 1992 and enjoyed a chess career lasting 70 years.

Who was he?

a) Larry Evans

b) Samuel Reshevsky

c) Pal Benko

d) Bobby Fischer

You have until midnight (Eastern time) of Monday, 19 December to submit your answer to contest@mongoosepress.com

The winner will be randomly selected from all of the correct entries we receive. Only one entry per household, please. Entries posted on our Facebook page, correct or not, will be disqualified.

The next Mongoose Newsletter should be available on or before Tuesday 20 December.''

Rachel Lyn Harrington & The Knock Outs

2011-11-30T04:09:00.000-08:00

Rachel Lyn Harrington & The Knock Outs will be appearing at The Cleveland Bay (Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, TS16 0JE) on Wednesday 28 March 2012, with support by Sara Dennis.

This event has been created - and is being promoted - by myself in conjunction with The Cleveland Bay.

Further updates will follow both here and on our Facebook event page.

After three critically acclaimed albums in a row, Seattle's country soul sensation Rachel Lyn Harrington heads for the hills with her 4th CD, a collection of all-new all-original old school country ballads, western honkytonk swing and early rock n' roll. She's wrangled up three other gals for this tour of Europe and the UK, the band comprised of bass, drums, fiddle and guitar. In addition to songs from the new album, the live show will also include a set of the girls' favorite country and rockabilly covers.

Rachel Harrington has toured tirelessly since the release of her 2007 debut, The Bootleggers Daughter (Four Stars, Mojo), her follow-up in 2008, City of Refuge (inspiringly original! Q), and 2011's Celilo Falls (Four Stars, Mojo, Q, The Irish Times). Shes played major festivals throughout Europe and the US, made three live appearances on BBCs legendary Bob Harris Show, and reached millions of listeners through airplay at Starbucks. A 2011 winner in Merlefest's esteemed songwriting contest (previous winners include Gillian Welch and Tift Merritt), this is Harrington's 6th annual European tour but her very first with a full band.

Not to be missed!

For audio clips and more info:
www.rachelharrington.net

With support from Sara Dennis - one of the North East's most in-demand folk singer/songwriters!

http://www.saradennis.net/

Buy advance tickets from:
http://www.skiddle.com/events/11564894?skcampaign=fbe

Only 40 tickets are available and they are going to sell out, so please book early.

London Classic: The Pairings

2011-11-29T13:42:00.000-08:00

The pairings have been announced for the London Chess Classic.

Round 1: December 3rd, starting at 14.00

Vladimir Kramnik v Hikaru Nakamura,

Levon Aronian v Luke McShane,

Magnus Carlsen v David Howell,

Michael Adams v Viswanathan Anand.

Nigel Short bye, assisting the commentary

Round two: December 4th, starting at 14.00

David Howell v Michael Adams

Luke McShane v Magnus Carlsen

Hikaru Nakamura v Levon Aronian

Nigel Short v Vladimir Kramnik

Viswanathan Anand bye, assisting the commentary

Round three: December 5th, starting at 14.00

Levon Aronian v Nigel Short

Magnus Carlsen v Hikaru Nakamura

Michael Adams v Luke McShane

Viswanathan Anand v David Howell

Vladimir Kramnik bye, assisting the commentary

Round four: December 6th, starting at 16.00

Magnus Carlsen v Vladimir Kramnik

Michael Adams v Nigel Short

Viswanathan Anand v Hikaru Nakamura

David Howell v Luke McShane

Levon Aronian bye, assisting the commentary

Rest day: December 7th

Round five: December 8th, starting at 14.00

Hikaru Nakamura v David Howell

Nigel Short v Viswanathan Anand

Vladimir Kramnik v Michael Adams

Levon Aronian v Magnus Carlsen

Luke McShane bye, assisting the commentary

Round six: December 9th, starting at 14.00

Michael Adams v Levon Aronian

Viswanathan Anand v Vladimir Kramnik

David Howell v Nigel Short

Luke McShane v Hikaru Nakamura

Magnus Carlsen bye, assisting the commentary

Round seven: December 10th, starting at 14.00

Nigel Short v Luke McShane

Vladimir Kramnik v David Howell

Levon Aronian v Viswanathan Anand

Magnus Carlsen v Michael Adams

Hikaru Nakamura bye, assisting the commentary

Round eight: December 11th, starting at 14.00

Viswanathan Anand v Magnus Carlsen

David Howell v Levon Aronian

Luke McShane v Vladimir Kramnik

Hikaru Nakamura v Nigel Short

Michael Adams bye, assisting the commentary

Round nine: December 12th, starting at 12.00

Luke McShane v Viswanathan Anand

Hikaru Nakamura v Michael Adams

Nigel Short v Magnus Carlsen

Vladimir Kramnik v Levon Aronian

David Howell bye, assisting the commentary

Nigel Short and Magnus Carlsen will meet in the last round for the third consecutive Classic!

London Classic: Battle of Britain

2011-11-28T02:44:00.000-08:00

An interesting aspect of the London Chess Classic is the participation of four of the strongest Grandmasters in Britain. It is, surprisingly, a rare achievement to get our top players together in the same tournament.

Luckily for chess fans, the London Chess Classic has managed to bring Grandmasters Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell back together for the third consecutive year.

Two all-British clashes at the 2009 Classic

In 2009, Howell was on top of the British bunch, finishing just ahead of Adams (on tiebreak, due to a win with the Black pieces). In 2010, it was McShane's turn to finish ahead of his fellow countrymen.

Who will it be in 2011?

Transatlantic Sessions 2012

2011-11-27T06:10:00.000-08:00

Following on from yesterday's post, another great thing about the Celtic Connections is that various artistes go on to play a few dates after their Celtic commitments have been fulfilled.

I was pleased to see that the Transatlantic Sessions will be on tour again in February. Here is a quote from the Celtic Connections website:

From the award-winning Pelicula/BBC TV series, the Transatlantic Sessions continue to revisit shared roots and forge new common ground between today’s finest Celtic and Americana musicians. Fresh from the success of last year’s sold out tour are musical directors fiddle maestro Aly Bain and dobro legend Jerry Douglas.

Making their Transatlantic Sessions debut are Grammy-winning ex-Mavericks frontman Raul Malo, the Wailin’ Jennys’ dulcet soprano Ruth Moody and Irish balladeer Declan O’Rourke.

Further gracing the stage are Scottish stars Eddi Reader and Karen Matheson, while the stateside posse features Tim O’Brien and Bruce Molsky, flanked as ever by the ultimate house band of John Doyle, Russ Barenberg, Phil Cunningham, John McCusker, Donald Shaw, Michael McGoldrick and James Mackintosh.

I was fortunate to be able to see one of the shows in 2010 and very good it was too.

Transatlantic Sessions 2010 - Complete with Cara Dillon!

Take a look at the 2012 tour dates here.

Celtic Connections 2012

2011-11-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

The Celtic Connections Festival will return in 2012 and there'll be nearly a full month of musical entertainment.

There will be an incredible amount of artistes on display, including The Wiyos, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West and Bard (all of whom have been mentioned here at Marsh Towers in recent times).

The Wiyos

For the full listings and all other details, please take a look at the official website.

London Classic: FIDE Open

2011-11-25T14:28:00.000-08:00

The entry for the FIDE Open section of the London Chess Classic reveal a very formidable bunch of players, including plenty of strong Grandmasters.

The top two English players in the Open are Grandmasters Gawain Jones and Nick Pert (seen here playing against each other at the British Chess Championship). Will we see an English success?

The current list of entries can be seen here.

New CDs

2011-11-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

Two new CDs have arrived for review.

Skinny Mammy's Revenge by Hillfolk Noir and an EP from Bard are currently being played - and enjoyed - here at Marsh Towers and full reviews will follow in the not too distant future.

London Classic: Korchnoi Returns!

2011-11-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

Grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi will be at the London Chess Classic again this year.

I watched his two simultaneous displays at the Classic in 2009 over the course of two very exciting and memorable evenings.

Despite being 80 years old, GM Korchnoi always plays with extraordinary energy and possesses a phenomenal will to win.

Places are still available for this year's simultaneous displays. Full details can be found on the official website.

Coming Soon...

2011-11-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

I am currently putting the final touches to a new music project, which promises to be very exciting indeed.

A full announcement will follow at the end of the month, so stay tuned!

London Classic: Nakamura + GK = ?

2011-11-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura will be at the centre of a considerable slice of attention at the forthcoming London Chess Classic.

Word spread recently that Nakamura has been working with Garry Kasparov.

However, the news wasn't quite the scoop some thought it was. Diligent readers of ChessBase Magazine 189 would have already known that the two players had started to work together.

The question is, will the 13th World Champion's insider knowledge of the London participants help GM Nakamura on his way to a memorable success?

Fischer

2011-11-20T12:51:00.000-08:00

I finally managed to obtain a copy of the remarkable film, Me & Bobby Fischer. This should not be confused with Bobby Fischer Against The World, which I saw in Greenwich earlier this year.

The first time I requested a copy of Me & Bobby Fischer from Iceland, it was swallowed up by the volcanic ash cloud.

It has been worth the wait. My review should follow soon.

Bridie Jackson: Album Launch

2011-11-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

I last saw Bridie Jackson just over a year ago, when she performed as part of the Banoffee Pie Tour Collective. Bridie was also the subject of a three-part, in-depth series of interviews here at Marsh Towers.

Exciting news - Bridie will be launching her album at The Sage on Thursday 12 January 2012.

Further details may well follow here. Meanwhile, pick your seat at The Sage!

'Pitch In' for Rachel

2011-11-18T14:57:00.001-08:00

It's not too late to pitch in and help Rachel Harrington reach the target required to fund her forthcoming CD.

Several packages are available for those pre-ordering and/or donating a set amount to help fund the project.

So far, the campaign has reached the 73% mark. That's about $2,000 more than when I last wrote about it.

One more big push could do it!

For further details, head for the official 'pitch in' page.

Mongoose Newsletter 4

2011-11-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

The latest issue of the Mongoose Press Newsletter is now available.

There are two ways to see the newsletter.

1) Visit the Mongoose Times blog.

2) Subscribe to the newsletter at the Mongoose home page and have each issue sent straight to your email inbox as soon as it appears.

CSC Update (November)

2011-11-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

My latest update for the Chess in Schools and Communities website is now available.

It features press clippings covering our recent trip to Westminster and you can read it here.

Alison Krauss & Union Station at The Sage

2011-11-15T03:01:00.000-08:00

Alison Krauss & Union Station

Featuring Jerry Douglas

The Sage, Gateshead

5.11.2011

With the voice of an angel and a Bluegrass fiddle fit to challenge the devil, Alison Krauss was back in the UK with Union Station for the first time in too many years. Definitely a date not to be missed...

It seems I've accidentally set a tradition of going to shows on Bonfire Night. It means I miss the fireworks but I'm more than happy with the entertainment I've been treated to. In 2010 I attended - and enjoyed - the Banoffee Pie Tour Collective. It doesn't seem like a year ago.

This year I was delighted to be in possession of a pair of tickets for the great Alison Krauss & Union Station. I bought them many months ago and I'm glad I did; any delay would have meant missing out on this special tour, as The Sage was absolutely packed out on the night.

There was no support act. Just like it was for the Rhythm Kings, the show started promptly at 7.30 p.m. The very appearance of the artistes was enough to produce enthusiastic and appreciative applause from the packed audience. Two hours of authentic Bluegrass followed, delivered in style by the undoubted modern masters of the genre.

There is a new CD to promote this year called Paper Airplane. We got to hear roughly half of the tracks from there, along with an excellent selection of songs from Alison's career both with Union Station and without. Indeed, the opening number was the title track of the new CD and it drew more applause, this time happy recognition.

Set List

(I think this is correct; please send me a comment if you were there and spot any errors)

Paper Airplane

Dustbowl Children

Who's Your Uncle

Daylight

Sinking Stone

Let Me Touch You For A While

Ghost in this House

Baby, Now That I've Found You

Rain Please Go Away

Sawing on the Strings

Wild Bill Jones

Every Time You Say Goodbye

Jerry Douglas Medley

Pastures of Plenty

Dimming of the Day

Lie Awake

Searching

Stay

Bonita and Bill Butler

Miles to Go Man of Constant Sorrow

Any Old Time

Oh, Atlanta

Encore

When You Say Nothing At All

Down in the River to Pray

Your Long Journey

There is a Reason

The first few songs came think and fast, with little time for talking in between. This changed somewhat after the first half hour and we were given various anecdotal snippets and band introductions.

Alison said they were '...so happy to be back in England; it's been a number of years since we travelled here as a band. I spent some time over here a few years ago with a curly haired person...' (we know who she means).

Introducing Ron Block (banjo, guitar) led to a story about him being in London and of him trying to take some photos '...at the big gallery there.' He was stopped by a guard and, according to Ron himself, ‘...they forcibly threw me out.'

Characters in Bluegrass songs don't always have the happiest of lives and some don't even survive the experience. Alison mentioned this in passing: 'A lot of time people will come up to us and say , hey what’s your problem, doing those sad songs all the time. After a long time of careful study, we finally figured out that we were just... sad people...' But they didn't look it; they were clearly enjoying playing as much as we were enjoying listening.

Indeed, the artistes were in good humour throughout the show. Left alone on the stage to play his medley, Jerry Douglas (Dobro virtuoso – and musical director of the famous Transatlantic Sessions tours) hinted about the perils of being involved with a touring band. ‘I’m going to play a couple of tunes while they’re gone…rearranging all my stuff on the bus…’

Later, Dan Tyminski (George Clooney's singing voice in the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou) took a break from guitar and vocal duties to enthuse about a coffee machine in a previous hotel. It's hardly Rock 'n' Roll, but we like it.

Bass player Barry Bales completed the main line-up. He looked way too young to have been in the group for 21 years. Various songs were enhanced by the talents of a drummer and pianist who appeared and disappeared when required (whose names, alas, I did not catch).

It was a wonderful evening. Let's hope they come back soon.

Follow the the latest news and tour dates for Alison Krauss & Union Station over at the official website.

UK Chess Challenge

2011-11-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

The UK Chess Challenge, organised by IM Mike Basman, has a new sponsor.

Delancey, who are (according to the UKCC website) '...a specialist property investment advisor and development group' have signed up for a two-year spell.

There is a new website too, with a facility to enter your school and/or chess club online. Entries are being accepted right now, so don't leave it too late - join in the fun with the biggest (and best) chess tournament in the world.

The Holy Coming Of The Storm

2011-11-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

The Holy Coming of the Storm

Cahalen Morrison and Eli West

Having thoroughly enjoyed Alison Krauss and Union Station in concert last week, fate followed up quickly with another slice of high-class bluegrass. Just as I was set on exploring more of the Krauss back-catalogue, I found myself repeatedly playing a new CD which arrived unexpectedly at Marsh Towers.

Cahalen Morrison and Eli West were new names to me so I wasn't sure what to expect from 'The Holy Coming of the Storm'. Gospel? Folk? Country...? There were touches of all three, but none of them offer an adequate description on their own.

In fact, the best description is probably one supplied with the promotional material: 'old-time music styled for the 21st century'. Contradictory? Maybe...but it's not so easy to explain the fusion between the authentic sound of old-time, soulful bluegrass and the thoroughly modern, fresh approach taken by the duo.

From the very first track, 'Lost Lovin' Girl', the strengths of this body of work are immediately apparent; it's all in the harmonies. As clawhammer banjo meets delicate, intricate guitar riffs, so the two vocalists compliment each other very nicely indeed.

Track list:

1. Lost Lovin' Girl

2. On God's Rocky Shore

3. My Lover, Adorned

4. Fleeting Like The Days

5. Weathervane Waltz

6. My Bloody Heart

7. Cutting In/Weymann's Last Run

8. Jealous Sea

9. Over There

10. Since You Took Your Leave

11. Won't Be Long

12. Kingsfold

13. I'll Not Be A Stranger

14. My Bloody Heart Reprise

The songwriting duties have mainly been fulfilled by Cahalen Morrison, with four exceptions. Tracks three and seven have shared credits with Eli West and 13 & 13 are under the 'traditional' umbrella.

The subject matter is familiar. We hear of lost love, desire, loneliness, and, as suggested by the title, coming storms, both real and metaphorical.

My favourites are 'On God's Rocky Shore', 'Fleeting Like The Days', and 'Jealous Sea' although there's nothing I don't like.

There's an impressive number of different instruments used on the CD, displaying the versatility of the musicians.

Cahalen: clawhammer banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, lap slide guitar

Eli: guitar, bouzouki, clawhammer banjo

Four more artistes are credited too

Ryan Drickley: fiddle

Eric Thorn: upright bass

Aaron Youngberg: banjo

Matt Filner: bouzouki, mandolin, tenor guitar

That's quite a range. When I encounter a musical showcase such as this, I like to concentrate while I try to focus on each individual instrument so I found it best to out everything else aside, plug the headphones in and really listen. I found that this approach gave me a very good insight into how the instruments interacted with each other and how cleverly the songs were constructed.

Cahalen and Eli (pictured above) are currently in the middle of a UK tour. This Thursday (17 November) they will be at The Cluny in Newcastle, which is where I saw Little Miss Higgins and The Wiyos earlier in the year.

For all of the other tour dates and further details of a general nature, please visit their official website.

Chess Reviews: 190

2011-11-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

Time to catch up with some recent chess releases. This time, I will provide a brief overview but longer reviews of some products will follow in a well known chess magazine.

Koltanowski-Phoenix Attack

The Future of the c3-Colle

By David Rudel

256 pages

Thinkers’ Press

In his 2009 book, ‘Moment of Zuke’ David Rudel proposed a new way of playing one of the main lines of the Colle System. After 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e3 e6 4 Nbd2 c5 5 c3 Nc6 6 Bd3 Bd6 7 0-0 0-0, the idea was to play 8 dxc5 Bxc5 9 b4.

He promised to return to the subject, and he was as good as his word. This new book is an in-depth study of the Koltanowski-Phoenix Attack. The author has identified a problem for White in the traditional method of play. In this key position…

…Black has a high-class waiting move in 10 …h6. It doesn’t look like much, but it throws a spanner in the works.

White is hoping for one of two things in this variation of the Colle: pushing e4-e5 or isolating the d-pawn with a timely exd5. Yet neither can occur without Black’s cooperation and with 10 …h6 the second player steadfastly refuses to be compliant with moves such as 10 …Bd6 or 10 …Ng4.

The upshot is that White may struggle to find a meaningful move. For example, 11 Re1, trying to push e4-e5, is met by the annoying 11 …Ng4 and the waiting move 11 h3 is frustrated by 11 …Nh5, when the weakness on g3 is apparent. This is the argument which gave rise to the creation of the Phoenix Attack.

The material is presented in five main parts:

First Things First

A Simple Mini-Repertoire (SmR) for the Phoenix

Additional Weapons

Reference Analysis

Practice

After taking the reader through the analysis, goals and nuances of this intriguing new plan, the author finishes off with a substantial number of test positions to enable students to see how much of the material has been absorbed.

As a former Colle player, I'd be happy to try these new avenues over the board.

It's a well-written book with an impressive amount of space devoted to prose explanations.

For further details, head for new Koltanowski Phoenix Attack website.

Yearbook 100

New in Chess

Congratulation to New in Chess on reaching such an impressive milestone. 100 Yearbooks! There is a celebratory tone to the volume, yet they keep an optimistic eye on the future

‘Already the 100th Yearbook? We prefer to say that this is ‘only’ issue 100, as we don’t intend to stop here.’

One of the many highlights of this bumper volume (it has an extra 56 pages) is a special survey by Garry Kasparov on the Zaitsev Variation of the Ruy Lopez, which is 13 pages long. It brings many memories of the ear in which Kasparov and Karpov used to head for this position:

Needless to say, the opening surveys are of a very high standard, as always. This time the authors include Anand, Ivanchuk, Adorjan, Vaisser, Kuzmin, Van der Wiel, Palliser...

There is also a (tough!) prize Anniversary Quiz (deadline: 1/1/2012) and various anniversary columns, including Glenn Flear's personal list of the best opening books he's reviewed over the last 10 years.

There's nothing quite like a New in Chess Yearbook. Every volume contains something of interest, regardless of one's repertoire.

Here's to the next 100 volumes. Probably, Kasparov will still somehow find time to write something special and I'll still be reviewing...

The Four Knights Game

By IM Andrey Obodchuk

238 pages

New in Chess

The Four Knights has suffered from a dull reputation for many years. This can be due to the eternal popularity of the Ruy Lopez and a natural desire for junior players to move away from their early years of simply brining out their pieces and ending up with a symmetrical game every time.

This book aims to bring some of the freshness back to the old way of playing, offering ‘A New Repertoire in an Old Chess Opening’.

Contents:

The Three Knights’ Opening

The Four Knights

Black avoids the main line on move 4

The Symmetrical Variation 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bb5 Bb4

The Metger System

The Rubinstein System

5 Bc4 in the Rubinstein

The Belgrade Gambit

One advantage of trying this old opening is that your opponent may not be familiar with the most accurate responses. That was certainly the case in the game Short – L’Ami (Wijk aan Zee 2009) when after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nc3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nd4 5 Nxe5, Black immediately committed an inaccuracy with 5 …Nxb5?! (5 …Qe7! Leads to equality, according to this book). Short won in just 19 moves.

Frankly, Black remains in good shape, theoretically speaking. It’s not easy for White to make any impression the ‘creative’ Belgrade Gambit and in the main lines he is fine too, if he knows what he is doing. The Metger System has not changed much at all over the last 80 years or so and remains fully viable for Black.

The author has most fun in chapter 6, ‘5 Bc4 in the Rubinstein’.

5 …Bc5 6 Nxe5 Qe7 7 Nf3 d5! 8 Bxd5! After the further moves 8 …Bg4 9 d3 Nd7 10 Be3 Ne5 we reach a key game; in fact, Sutovsky – Naiditsch, Wijk aan Zee 2010 ‘…the very game which induced the author to write this book!’

White played the surprising 11 Nxd4!? Here, allowing 11 …Bxd1 and then followed up with the very complicated 12 Nf5. This leads to 14 pages of complicated analysis.

The author is honest about the merits of his subject:

‘Does the Four Knights give White real chances to fight for the advantage? No, of course not! But it does guarantee a lot of adventures, and adrenaline rushes, especially if both sides are disposed to a sharp fight!’

The Ruy Lopez

Move by Move

By GM Neil McDonald

317 pages

Everyman

GM McDonald provides lucid explanations and pertinent examples to present a high quality guide to one of the most popular of all chess openings. There’s always plenty of prose in the books of GM McDonald. He never leads readers into a forest of analysis and just leaves them there. I like the way he takes the time and space to explain things properly, even in very familiar positions.

‘No other mainline opening exposes the black pawns to such long-term attack. Black is buying a safe and full development, and restraining the power of the white pieces, at the cost of a couple of static blemishes in his structure.’

Contents:

White Plays d2-d3

White Plays d2-d4

Black Plays …Bc5

White’s e5 Pawn Centre

Gambit Lines

The first 60 pages are sensibly spent giving the reader ‘A plan to get you started with the Ruy Lopez’. This involves playing d2-d3 at a very early stage, rather than following the main lines (c2-c3 followed by d2-d4).

This ensures that readers can start playing the Ruy Lopez with the minimum amount of preparation. The positions may not be as potent or testing as the main lines but White will have a clear plan to follow.

After that, it’s straight into a voyage through the main lines, encompassing journeys through the well-travelled lands of the likes of the Chigorin, Breyer and Zaitsev systems.

The book does not pretend to supply an encyclopaedic coverage of the Ruy Lopez (for example, the Exchange Variation is mentioned only in passing) and there are no refutations of Black’s established stalwarts (the author prefers Ant-Marshall lines to accepting the gambit) but it is very strong on no-nonsense explanations, presented in terms club players can easily understand.

I wasn’t totally convinced by the previous book in this series (on The Slav), but GM McDonald has provided a template others would be well advised to follow.

Beating Unusual Chess Defences: 1 e4

By IM Andrew Greet

304 pages

Everyman

Playing the Ruy Lopez is one thing, but to use 1 e4 in serious games requires knowledge of numerous other openings. This new book should help readers deal with some of Black’s other responses.

IM Greet covers…

Scandinavian Defence

Modern Defence

Pirc Defence

Philidor and Czech Pirc

Alekhine’s Defence

Other Defences

‘My approach has been to meet each of these openings in a principled manner, choosing well-established main lines for White. Generally we will be looking to seize space in the centre and pursue the initiative in whichever way best meets the demands of the position.’

To this end, he analyses: 3 Nf3 against the Scandinavian (whether Black plays 2 …Qxd5 or 2 …Nxd5) with the basic plan of castling quickly and gaining space with c2-c4 An early f2-f4 against the Czech Pirc, Modern and Pirc (heading for an Austrian Attack) and some of the Philidor lines.

Against 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 e5 (which some of us prefer to call The Lion) he likes 4 dxe5 dxe5 5 Qxd8+ Kxd8 6 6 Bg5 and on 6 …Be6 he continues with 7 g3!? (‘This venomous and slightly unusual move offers White good prospects.’)

Alekhine’s Defence is met classically by 1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 d4 d6 4 Nf3. ‘Other Defences’ refers to 1 …Nc6, 1 …b6, 1 …a6, 1 …g5 and 1 e4 g6 2 d4 Nf6. Most of the illustrative games are taken from 2000 up to 2011, with just one or two examples from the 1990s.

Chess Secrets: Giants of Innovation

By IM Craig Pritchett

288 pages

Everyman Chess

The giants in question are Steinitz, Lasker, Botvinnik, Korchnoi and Ivanchuk. Each of them is given a chapter all to himself. Essentially, the format is a series of well annotated games for each hero, interspersed with biographical snippets and a few pertinent quotes.

The criteria for a player to be classed as a 'giant of innovation' is explained thus:

'...innovation is about much more than just coming up with new opening moves. It certainly includes the discovery of new stratagems and tactical motifs as well as the development of whole new game plans.'

It's interesting to see the development of the opening phase through the journey from Steinitz to Ivanchuk. In 1866 we Steinitz and Anderssen giving it their all and trading blows in a wild King’s Gambit, where theory was being created virtually as they went along. By the end of the book, Ivanchuk is playing a new move on his 12th turn against Beliavsky's Caro-Kann and giving the latter no chance of recovery.

Of course, some of the games will be very familiar to readers, such as Lasker’s famous win against Capablanca in an Exchange Spanish at St. Petersburg in 1914, but others are less well known.

It's good to see one of the big Reshevsky v Botvinnik clashes getting an airing. It shows Botvinnik using a system rather than just an opening; something which became a very valuable part of his chess armoury.

Reshevsky - Botvinnik

World Championship Tournament, 1948

Botvinnik decided against giving up his Kingside pawns with 7 ...Ne7 and played instead the unusual (for the time) 7 ...f5, leading to a different sort of game. Black went on to win.

'The American, Samuel Reshevsky, felt the full force of Botvinnik’s mature powers at the 1948 Championship, losing 1.5-3.5 to him in their individual games.’ The score may be the all-important factor, but the mini-match between the two players was extremely close and Reshevsky certainly had his share of opportunities.

With a bibliography spanning the years from 1847 up to 2010, the depth of research is evident. This is one of the better volumes in Everyman's 'Giants...' series.

London Classic: 4 x 2800

2011-11-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

December will be here soon enough. That means, of course, the return of the London Chess Classic!

I will be posting teasers here and elsewhere during the run-up to the first weekend of December.

This is some news just in from the press office:

'The 2011 London Chess Classic is now just a month away - and it’s just got a little bit stronger. The latest ratings published by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, are the ones which will apply to the event. At the top of the list, for the first time in the history of chess competition, there are four players rated 2800 or more. And it just so happens that these four gentlemen are playing in London next month!'

The top-class field includes...

Former World Champion - Vladimir Kramnik

World's Number 1 rated player - Magnus Carlsen

Reigning World Champion - Vishy Anand

For further details, please visit the London Classic Website

Short Story

2011-11-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

My good friend Kevin Winter kept up his terrific record in simultaneous chess displays with a great win against GM Nigel Short.

GM Short looks happy -

but this was before he played Kevin

Peter Lalic has created one of his special chess videos to present the game. As usual, Peter brings the action to life with his very insightful comments and analysis.

One thing is for sure; GM Short doesn't take his simultaneous games lightly and he very rarely loses in them, so Kevin's exciting victory is a notable achievement.

Together with Kevin at the

Guisborough Rhythm and Blues Festival

For a full selection of Peter's excellent chess videos, please pop along to his very impressive YouTube page.

Peter also produced a whole series of videos devoted to the memory of Mike Closs during our memorial season.

WorldJam 2011

2011-11-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

People in the Teesside area may like to know that November will feature numerous events as part of WorldJam 2011.

'Throughout November 2011, Middlesbrough Libraries & Information Services will be delivering a series of events, entitled WorldJam. There will be a variety of events and activities including poetry, creative writing, knitting, Christmas crafts, music, a publishing workshop and a variety of holistic health and wellbeing events.'

Among the highlights is an afternoon event called 'The War Poets: Creative Reading, Creative Writing' which will be held at the Middlesbrough Central Library (Reference Floor), 2.00 - 4.00 p.m. on 11 November.

'More than any other conflict, The First World War inspired some very great works of poetry from both soldiers and civilians, across various classes and generations.

During the session, we will read a variety of poems from the era, by poets such as Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and John McRae, sharing our thoughts about them as a group.

We will also look at the often overlooked women poets of the time and take inspiration from local images taken during wartime as prompts for our own writing.

Please bring along any favourite war poems to share or your own poetry on the subject.

All are welcome.'

For further details, head for the Middlesbrough Libraries News and Events page.

There's a PDF link on the right hand side of the page will full listings of all the WorldJam events.

Chess Reviews: 189

2011-11-07T02:01:00.000-08:00

The Gambit Book of Instructive Chess Puzzles

By FM Graham Burgess

160 pages

Gambit

Gambit's new puzzle book takes a different approach to the norm, presenting very recent - and relatively obscure - positions which are not merely 'White to play and smash Black in two'. Instruction is the aim and this book confidently hits the target.

Graham Burgess explains the ethos of his work in the Introduction.

'The aim of this book is to help my readers make better chessboard decisions. On every single move of every chess game you will ever play, you need to make a decision. Tactical skills are vital if you are ever to make a good decision, but if you try to solve every situation with tactics, you will squander a lot of opportunities.'

'In this book, in addition to tactical exercises, I present positions that call for a calm decision, or for a good assessment based on intuition and analysis.'

I have to declare an interest here. Together with Wolff Morrow, I was a tester for this book and worked my way through 300 puzzles, providing feedback along the way. I can verify how tough some of them are and I did learn a lot from the book.

The puzzles are split into eight chapters:

Not Just for Beating Your Dad!

Putting Your Knowledge to Work

Endgame Skills

Creativity

Attack, Defence and Counterattack

Vision

Leaving the Comfort Zone Behind

A Tough Day at the Office

The 300 puzzles are all from very recent games (2010/2011) and I’m sure that the vast majority of them will be new to most readers. The answers provide full explanations of what is happening, rather than just giving the basic moves.

Here are three examples to give you an idea what to expect. As usual, I won't give the answers here; you'll just have to do some work for yourself (and/or buy the book).

From the chapter on Creativity:

Vallejo Pons - Onischuk

How does White add the finishing touch to his attack?

From Leaving the Comfort Zone Behind:

Olszewski - A. Mista

Warsaw 2010

Black has four pawns for a piece, but needs to play precisely to

make the most of his far-advanced d-pawn.

The move-order is important here, so choose carefully.

From A Tough Day at the Office:

Hammer - Sethuraman

Moscow 2011

A tricky pawn ending! you must decide how to use the tempo moves

with the a-pawns, and how they affect the battle between the kings.

The book is a smaller size than normal (194 mm x 132 mm) making it easier to carry around on the way to chess matches, to enable a bit of last minute warming up.

Strong club and tournament players will find this book particularly useful.

A summary column featuring a lot more of the recent chess releases will follow here before the end of the week.

Alison Krauss

2011-11-06T09:06:00.000-08:00

It was great to see Alison Krauss & Union Station at The Sage last night.

A fill review will follow soon...

Bill Wyman and The Rhythm Kings

2011-11-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

Bill Wyman and The Rhythm Kings

The Sage, Gateshead

29.10.2011

Nearly four years after I last saw them, The Rhythm Kings were back in the North East. Two hours of high-class musical entertainment followed...

The show started promptly at 7.30 p.m. There was no support act. Bill Wyman was the first person to arrive on the stage and was greeted by a call of 'Happy Birthday!' from a member of the audience (he had turned 75 five days before the concert).

Bill explained the ethos of The Rhythm Kings: ‘We do a mixture of music, we play some Jazz, Blues, Soul, Rock and Roll Music..and we just have fun, that’s why it’s all about, that’s why we’re here...so have fun with us and it’ll be a great night.’

Then he introduced the band, one by one, until the stage was packed with personnel.

Seven of the nine were to take a turn as lead vocalist before the even was through. The first few songs all featured different singers.

Georgie Fame sang on ‘Good To Me’ and this was swiftly followed by:

Albert Lee - ‘Jitterbug Boogie’...

Beverley Skeete - 'Tell Mama'...

Terry Taylor - 'Too Late' (complete with virtuoso harmonica from Frank Mead)...

...and Geraint Watkins - ‘Man Smart, Woman Smarter’.

Then it was back to Georgie for ‘Three Cool Cats’, featuring some fine saxophone interplay from Nick Payne and Frank Mead.

Then a special guest was announced - Mary Wilson, original member of The Supremes, who sang the classics ‘Baby Love’ and ‘Stop In The Name Of Love’, followed by a duet with Georgie on 'Stormy Weather'.

Mary left the stage with a promise to return in the second half. Four more songs followed before the interval, namely 'Mule Skinner Blues' (Albert on vocals), 'I'll Be Satisfied' (Beverley), ‘It’s Raining’ (Geraint) and then Bill at last took a turn, on one of Chuck Berry's ‘Never Can Tell’.

After the first hour, there was a 20-minute interval.

The second half started with Beverley on a slow-burning 'This Is A Man’s World'.

Geraint was next up with '300 Pounds Of Heavenly Joy' . He prefaced it with an in-joke at Bill's expense: ‘Some of you, or course, might be still working in stones...’

Albert Lee was then unleashed again to pick up the pace on 'Race With The Devil', followed by Georgie Fame announcing ‘...the oldest song in the programme tonight - suggested by Bill Wyman...’ which turned out to be ‘Just For A Thrill’.

Back to Beverley for ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You’ and then Frank Mead stepped forward to blast our a stirring 'Sugar Bell'.

Frank was on great form on the harmonica between verses too.

Just two of the band didn't get an opportunity to take the lead vocals. One was Nick Payne...

...and the other was drummer Graham Broad (although both helped out on the backing vocals from time to time).

Mary Wilson returned to sing 'Can’t Hurry Love' followed by 'Don't Know Why' and 'Green River'.

Then, after 'That Is Rock And Roll', Frank's tapping on the cowbell heralded 'Honky Tonk Women', sung by Bill, after which the second half of the show drew to a close (although there was still the encore to come, of course).

Albert took to the keyboards and shared duet vocals with Beverley on 'So Sad' accompanied only by Terry Taylor on guitar, before the rest of the band re-emerged.

This included Mary Wilson, who finished the show with a terrific 'Dancing In The Street'.

The final bow...but hopefully The Rhythm Kings will return soon.

Historic York

2011-11-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Just before seeing Tara Busch followed by John Foxx and The Maths, I took a look around historic York.

Here's a few photos...

Clifford's Tower was originally part of York Castle. The site has a long history; back in 1068, the first castle was built there on the orders of William the Conqueror.

Perched on a hill, it grants an impressive view of the city and it would not have been easy to attack.

It's possible to have a look around Clifford's Tower (for a small fee).

An impression of how the castle used to look.

The top of tower offers an excellent view of the city of York.

St. Mary's church and York Minster can be seen, towering above the rooftops.

The Tower has a very dark side too. There was a massacre of the Jewish community on the site back in 1190.

St. Mary's church is very close to York Minster. It could date from as far back as 1020, but this is unconfirmed.

York Minster is a very impressive building. It costs £9.00 to enter, but the ticket remains valid for a year.

The detail inside the Minster is extraordinary.

I lit a candle while I was there, for absent friends.

Emperor Constantine still sits outside the Minster.
Authentic Roman column.

More familiar sights awaited me back at the hotel...

Marsh Towers

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour: Three Tracks

Chess Reviews: 194

The Sara Dennis Interview: Part 3

More Mongoose

The Sara Dennis Interview: Part 2

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour: Live at The Sage

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour: Album Launch

New Event Page

Americana/Folk Evening

The Wiyos: Twist

Bridie Jackson and the Arbour

Hillfolk Noir

Bard

Best of 2011

Chess Reviews: 193

Chess Reviews: 192

Chess Reviews: 191

More Mongoose

London Highlights: 3

London Highlights: 2

London Highlights: 1

London Classic Photos: 5

Further Reading

Kramnik The Champion

London Classic Photos: 4

London Classic Photos: 3

London Classic Photos: 2

London Classic Photos: 1

Meet the Baron!

London Classic: Twitter Challenge

More Mongoose

Rachel Lyn Harrington & The Knock Outs

London Classic: The Pairings

London Classic: Battle of Britain

Transatlantic Sessions 2012

Celtic Connections 2012

London Classic: FIDE Open

New CDs

London Classic: Korchnoi Returns!

Coming Soon...

London Classic: Nakamura + GK = ?

Fischer

Bridie Jackson: Album Launch

'Pitch In' for Rachel

Mongoose Newsletter 4

CSC Update (November)

Alison Krauss & Union Station at The Sage

UK Chess Challenge

The Holy Coming Of The Storm

Further Reading

Chess Reviews: 190

London Classic: 4 x 2800

Short Story

WorldJam 2011

Chess Reviews: 189

A summary column featuring a lot more of the recent chess releases will follow here before the end of the week.

Alison Krauss

Bill Wyman and The Rhythm Kings

Historic York