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On an unrelated note, Geeker - I was recently watching this video of Flo-Jo's world record 10.49 in the 100m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDdy5CX33b4

I know there are questions over it, especially regarding possible steroid use but, that aside, her form over the second 50m is a thing of beauty - you could balance a tea cup on her head!

Thank you, brendan@58, and happy new year to you, geeker and to chrise who contributed to my bid for immortality in his choice of title for this thread, despite somewhat mangling my name. I enjoy your contributions, nothing to do with crosswords but a sort of offshoot of 'coffee and chat'.

I have maintained subscriptions to the magazines 'Chess' and 'British Chess Magazine' since 1961 and 1964 respectively and often wonder why I don't cancel, now that there is all this free chess-related stuff on the internet. Every copy eventually gets relegated to boxes in my garage, hardly ever to be referred to again. BCM is a sorry shadow of its former self.

Although I play loads of blitz chess online (mainly on ICC and, again, why am I paying instead of using a free site?), my new year resolution is to look at far more internet chess sites. I have even neglected this one by a member of my own club: https://youtu.be/3olSYkZhszE

Happy New Year to you too Paul and Happy Birthday!

(I was reading your Google entries which include your DOB - I particularly liked that "who are they" 1964 B/W photo)

brendan@63

Don't know where 1st Jan for my birthday came from. Not true. Born in an April on the same day as Hayley Mills, which information is now met with a blank look from younger generations.

Now to crossword clues. Yesterday's Times 28,488.
21ac: Support position of white knight in resolution (8)
It surprises me that the setter expects non-chessplayers to know that a white knight starts on b1 (solution ends in BONE)

25ac: Man in stronghold (6)
'Man', unfortunately in my opinion, refers to a chess piece.
Admittedly Collins defines CASTLE as a chess piece which can move forwards, backwards or sideways. Chambers has 'A rook in chess'.
I tell beginners that if they call a rook a castle we will know they are not a chessplayer.

I’ve seen a number of clues involving chess starting positions. They can be quite useful from a setters perspective. I do think “starting” position needs to be included though, for fairness.

I recently wrote a clue involving a rook. Pleased to say it didn’t include a ‘castle’!

Thanks Paul, sorry about the DOB mix-up, I got it from your profile on Chess.com, but maybe they just assign Jan 1st to any player who's DOB they're unsure of.

Of those two clues, I preferred 21a - I thought the other one was a tad too short IMHO.

Ah, the lovely Hayley Mill, I remember her in the classic Whistle Down the Wind.

Paul, speaking of Chess: I got a free .pdf of their Jan. 2023 issue (iirc Chessbase site offered a free download), and was not overly impressed. I stopped subscribing to physical chess magazines long ago...used to get Chess Life (USCF), and even physical issues of Informator 🤣 when I was playing correspondence chess.

paul @64
if calling "rooks" "castles" is a solecism, why is the special move not called "rooking"?

chrise@68

Castling is not called rooking because it's a verb referring to a move, not a noun referring to a piece.

Thanks for your response, paul! I wasn't entirely serious, but from whence does the "castle" in "castling" derive?