Very sad times indeed. The only good pub in central Torquay too! I've enjoyed a pint there on every Torquay visit since 2009. Only this government and the last one to blame.

Tony has just played 9 Bg5 in this classic game where he out-Anderssoned Andersson in the opening then exploited the initiative with great verve. I've enjoyed studying this game by an English chess legend a few times over the years and even revisited it earlier this year! #chess

Just had with Malcolm Pein & Alex Longson, the final English Chess Federation (ECF) and Department for Culture, Media and Sport elite chess grant meeting, the funding from the Rishi Sunak-inspired scheme having sadly ended on March 31st. Been a great partnership and successful overall, not least 3 new English Grandmasters! #chess

Thanks to Simon Ansell, I can reveal my latest Chesspublishing column is my 250th update! 🫢 It's already online and contains some very dramatic games, not least Xu Xiangyu - Yu Shaoteng, h/t Malcolm Pein. Absolute madness! #chess

Standing in for Simon Williams with the May Daring Defences Chesspublishing update, I've covered wins by the classical star of 2025, Praggnanandhaa, as well as Magnus, and enjoyed Leela Chess Zero and Stockfish Chess serving up another exciting duel with, yes, an early h2-h4! #chess

Almost exactly 12 hours left of Chessable's Greatest Hits sale! I'm currently doing some minor tweaking of The Killer Colle-Zukertort to turn it into a book. Simon Williams is busy too, at Norway Chess, but the Colle, The Iron English and his Black Lion are on discount! #chess #sale

Enjoying Simon Williams and #GrandChessTour breaks from proofing today! And my latest Chesspublishing column is up! It features a fine rook sacrifice from Daniel Naroditsky, lots on the 2 Bf4 g6 3 Nc3 London and a fine piece of meistering from a Ukrainian GM in Kostov-Bernadskiy. #chess

All quiet in Trafalgar Square as we wait for noon and ChessFest 2025 to begin! Warming up in all senses! #chess

It was warm, but on a superb day of news for English chess, XTX Markets-supported ChessFest 2025 was a fitting place to be. Numbers very impressive all day, as were the actors. Very well done, Malcolm Pein, Chess in Schools and Communities. Now name the two famous GMs in yellow! #chess

Latest Chesspublishing column is up as I stand in for Simon Williams! Instructive play from Nihal Sarin and Magnus Carlsen, but I rather fancy that Simon will most enjoy the Dutch hack - sorry, meistering - that was Di Benedetto-Moussard! #chess

Latest Chesspublishing just finished, featuring the topsy-turvy slugfest that was Meshkovs-George, a win for the Simon Williams, various gambit lines for both sides (1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Bg5 c5 4 e4!? isn't so toothless) and overall something of a dangerous d-pawn Bg5 special! #chess

This afternoon in Liverpool, Simon Williams faces Steven Jones, who so impressed at the 2023 British in Leicester. Standing in for Simon at Chesspublishing, I've focussed on the Benko and English Defence, where 5 Nge2!? is a trendy modern gambit. It looks shocking, but works! #chess

Latest Chesspublishing column is up, featuring a crisp win by Peter Wells and lots of drama, not least Heimisson-Aveskulov, where both sides appeared to miss major resources (10 Qa4 after 9...0-0 and 18...Na7 after 18 Nd2-c4). Gukesh D vs MVL was also wild! #chess

Latest d-pawn specials update finally finished for Chesspublishing! Lots of hard-fought games to enjoy. Not just Gukesh-Erdogmus, but Demchenko-Mamedyarov, also from #FIDEGrandSwiss, which saw a positionally critical exchange sacrifice then narrow escape for White! #chess

Mainly a Chesspublishing PM, with lots from #eccc2025, including the instructive Badelka-Tsolakidou. In the first diagram, Black needed to find 21...c5! to avoid drifting into big trouble. The second shows a variation where 30 Qa3! isn't novel, but is striking and strong! #chess

👀 A wise chess lover keeps an eye on Chess & Bridge: London Chess Centre's 'Coming Soon' page, where there's currently much to look forward to! I spy a certain Colle-Zukertort work, based on a successful Chessable course, as well as a second edition of Under the Surface from Quality Chess! #chess

Great to see that The Killer Colle-Zukertort System is out and available from Chess & Bridge: London Chess Centre! It's an expanded and updated version of the Chessable course. An ideal weapon for the club and online player, combining solidity with attacking chances! #chess chess.co.uk/collections/ne…

A long Chesspublishing day, but much of interest in the next column! Here's a Trompowsky line White should avoid - yes, Harry did go all the way to f2, Simon Williams! - as well as the brutal 15...c5! from Hebden-Smirin at London Chess Classic. If 16 Nxc5? Nc6 or 16 Qxc5 Qa6!. Ouch. #chess