Today I'm neither Angry nor Happy about....

[Montreal Wanderer]

Our Maud had never heard of Harold Shipman! I was genuinely gobsmacked.

Well he is the sort of fellow one would want to forget....

[Wandering Willy]

Our Maud had never heard of Harold Shipman! I was genuinely gobsmacked.

Make the most of it - you're way out of your league.

[Prufrock]

And how do you know*?! I could be a sophisticate raconteur, the dashing dandy about town. Possibly.




*Though yes, I probably am

[Athers]

Fast becoming a thread about Not-Mrs-posters but NM Athers saw someone an old dear other day asking for a prescription for some ailment or other, "Dr Shipman used to prescribe me..."

ERM

[Bruce Rioja]

Was driving through that stretch the other day on the way to Sheffield with a colleague who's not from these parts. I doubled as a handy tourist guide pointing out 'there's Hyde, Dr Shipman's killing field and look what we have here - the Hattersley Estate, famed by The moors Murderers and by Dale Creegan as this is where he murdered those two Police women about a year ago. Just down here we have Hadfield, better known to you as Royston Vasey.... He began to look uncomfortable.

[Gooner Girl]

Nothing like waking up to an email asking when would be convienient for the head to do some lesson observations to put a downer on your day before its even started...

[Prufrock]

Why is it news that the 'leader' of the EDL has 'stepped down'. Are they going to report it when Norris, the leader of our Neighbourhood Watch finally calls it a day ?

[mrkint]

first ever competitive chess game tonight! i'll get destroyed but hey ho.

Yep, i am cool

[Harry Genshaw]

We've been going through a job evaluation exercise at work for what seems like the last 27 years. Tomorrow we get the results, with most of us expecting a pay cut of anything from 1k to 5k a year. Right now I'm wearily indifferent, but I may be posting in the angry thread tomorrow

[Gary the Enfield]

We've been going through a job evaluation exercise at work for what seems like the last 27 years. Tomorrow we get the results, with most of us expecting a pay cut of anything from 1k to 5k a year. Right now I'm wearily indifferent, but I may be posting in the angry thread tomorrow

That's pretty shit mate. Hopefully it's not too bad news.

[mrkint]

first ever competitive chess game tonight! i'll get destroyed but hey ho.

Yep, i am cool

And destroyed I was. But was fun and that's the main thing

[Athers]

first ever competitive chess game tonight! i'll get destroyed but hey ho.

Yep, i am cool

And destroyed I was. But was fun and that's the main thing

Ace

What grade was he? Did you manage to have a post-game analysis if he was up for it? Put your game through Fritz or similar if you have it on PC.

[mrkint]

Cheers

134 ecf - not amazingly high, but I played a bad opening (got move orders wrong) and he punished me for it. A bit annoying as it meant i was down in material and in a horrible position all game, meaning i couldn't get into a proper middle/endgame (which is more a strength for me). Still, you can't open right you'll never get a good MG i guess. He did compliment me on some of the traps i set him though bastard could've fell into them though couldn't he! wasn't really an analysis though, just a brief minute-long chat.

Also managed to lose my scoresheet so can't run it on the engine at home. Next time though. For the moment, i am going to learn some openings and actually go beyond three moves

[Athers]

Cheers

134 ecf - not amazingly high, but I played a bad opening (got move orders wrong) and he punished me for it. A bit annoying as it meant i was down in material and in a horrible position all game, meaning i couldn't get into a proper middle/endgame (which is more a strength for me). Still, you can't open right you'll never get a good MG i guess. He did compliment me on some of the traps i set him though bastard could've fell into them though couldn't he! wasn't really an analysis though, just a brief minute-long chat.

Also managed to lose my scoresheet so can't run it on the engine at home. Next time though. For the moment, i am going to learn some openings and actually go beyond three moves

134 is a bit of a baptism of fire! Would have thought you'd be playing below 120 if they put you on bottom board of a club match!

Yeah learning openings so you're ready for any variation is the dry side of study I used to find. Having a couple of favoured lines against all the usual suspects is essential, but it's a lot like homework!

[Montreal Wanderer]

Cheers

134 ecf - not amazingly high, but I played a bad opening (got move orders wrong) and he punished me for it. A bit annoying as it meant i was down in material and in a horrible position all game, meaning i couldn't get into a proper middle/endgame (which is more a strength for me). Still, you can't open right you'll never get a good MG i guess. He did compliment me on some of the traps i set him though bastard could've fell into them though couldn't he! wasn't really an analysis though, just a brief minute-long chat.

Also managed to lose my scoresheet so can't run it on the engine at home. Next time though. For the moment, i am going to learn some openings and actually go beyond three moves

134 is a bit of a baptism of fire! Would have thought you'd be playing below 120 if they put you on bottom board of a club match!

Yeah learning openings so you're ready for any variation is the dry side of study I used to find. Having a couple of favoured lines against all the usual suspects is essential, but it's a lot like homework!

I'm a bit of the opposite as I know openings pretty well, but get a little foggy in the middle and end games even if I have gained a slight advantage in position or material. This said, as white, I always open Queen's pawn because I hate playing against the seemingly endless variations of the Sicilian.

[mrkint]

Cheers

134 ecf - not amazingly high, but I played a bad opening (got move orders wrong) and he punished me for it. A bit annoying as it meant i was down in material and in a horrible position all game, meaning i couldn't get into a proper middle/endgame (which is more a strength for me). Still, you can't open right you'll never get a good MG i guess. He did compliment me on some of the traps i set him though bastard could've fell into them though couldn't he! wasn't really an analysis though, just a brief minute-long chat.

Also managed to lose my scoresheet so can't run it on the engine at home. Next time though. For the moment, i am going to learn some openings and actually go beyond three moves

134 is a bit of a baptism of fire! Would have thought you'd be playing below 120 if they put you on bottom board of a club match!

Yeah learning openings so you're ready for any variation is the dry side of study I used to find. Having a couple of favoured lines against all the usual suspects is essential, but it's a lot like homework!

I'm a bit of the opposite as I know openings pretty well, but get a little foggy in the middle and end games even if I have gained a slight advantage in position or material. This said, as white, I always open Queen's pawn because I hate playing against the seemingly endless variations of the Sicilian.

Athers - yep i hoped so too! especially since we're in bloody division four of the london league...the strength in depth there is ridiculous though, Wood Green's 1st team has about five GMs in it. I was on board 5 of 8 (no idea why i wasn't on bottom board), just hope i can get past 20 moves next time. Yeah it does feel a bit like homework, there's some decent lectures on youtube though which are quite engaging on the subject.

Monty - I'm similar, prefer using QP as white. I was completely useless at the ending but decided to get a book on it and it's helped me steer home some games, as well as save some losses. It helped me learn some basic positions and draws, whcih can give you a big edge as many people kinda meander through the endgame without having a plan.

[Athers]

I remember Wood Green's team they are like the Man City of the league, what glamour is taken from bankrolling such stars I'm not sure!

[Harry Genshaw]

We've been going through a job evaluation exercise at work for what seems like the last 27 years. Tomorrow we get the results, with most of us expecting a pay cut of anything from 1k to 5k a year. Right now I'm wearily indifferent, but I may be posting in the angry thread tomorrow

Relief in the Genshaw household this evening. Pay has more or less stayed the same. No change in salary just have to work an extra hour a week. Felt majorly sorry for some who were losing up to 6k a year and have young families

[bobo the clown]

We've been going through a job evaluation exercise at work for what seems like the last 27 years. Tomorrow we get the results, with most of us expecting a pay cut of anything from 1k to 5k a year. Right now I'm wearily indifferent, but I may be posting in the angry thread tomorrow

Relief in the Genshaw household this evening. Pay has more or less stayed the same. No change in salary just have to work an extra hour a week. Felt majorly sorry for some who were losing up to 6k a year and have young families

A proper re-evaluation should have more or less as many winners as losers Harry. Is this the case or is it a general downward re-evaluation ?

If that is what's happened there are two possible reasons ... a genuine correction of years of grade drift. All those stupid promotions and re-titlings that irritated you at the time do add up over a while. OR ... it's just an opportunistic downgrading and cash saving exercise.

[Harry Genshaw]

A proper re-evaluation should have more or less as many winners as losers Harry. Is this the case or is it a general downward re-evaluation ?

If that is what's happened there are two possible reasons ... a genuine correction of years of grade drift. All those stupid promotions and re-titlings that irritated you at the time do add up over a while. OR ... it's just an opportunistic downgrading and cash saving exercise.

Financially there appear to be far more losers in that those that are losing, are losing a lot. Whereas the gainers are only getting small increases. Hard to know for sure cos while everyone's salary was listed, the Chief Exec and 2 directors were left blank. I could get worked up about it but tbh I'm just keeping mi head down