The say anything, what's on your mind thread

[Magicme]

Bonnie you are a young pup going back compared to me. I left college the first time 20 years ago and am now contemplating a 3rd year of college starting in October. Jaysus its great craic though.

[nigel-harps1954]

Tonight, I shall drink some locally brewed craft beers before playing a gig in town with a few other local original music bands in a small venue dedicated to local music, where I'll probably drink some more locally brewed beer. I'm good like that.

[nigel-harps1954]

Party off, Garth.

[Acornvilla]

After I quit my job there last month, I've been giving this art craic a bit more of a blast. I'm in a few exhibitions soon and have been taking new photos and making new drawings. Finally decided it was time to build myself a real website, and even made myself one of them facebook pages. If you'd like to have a look anybody and let me know what you think, please do!

Facebook
Website

[DannyInvincible]

Fair play! Some lovely stuff there. Really like the photography.

[pineapple stu]

This is worth dropping on if anyone's still up.

The Irish chess Grandmaster, Alex Baburin, is trying to set a new world record for blindfold simultaneous games. He's taking on 16 players (all of whom can see the board; he can't)

So far, after 6 hours of play, he has won 5, drawn 2 and lost 2. He needs a score of 12/16 to set a new world record, I think (a win is 1 point and a draw is ½).

Genuinely incredible that anyone can even think of achieving this feat.

[Charlie Darwin]

How the **** is he playing blindfolded, using echolocation?

[pineapple stu]

Keeping all the games in his head. Pure memory exercise.

[Charlie Darwin]

But how does he know where the other guy has moved?

[pineapple stu]

When he comes around to the board, his opponent makes his move on the board and calls it out.

[Charlie Darwin]

Ahh, I'm a gobsheen. That is masterful though. Grandmasterful even.

[osarusan]

Will there be a Simpsons-style 'checkmate, checkmate, checkmate' moment later in the event?

[Acornvilla]

He's a witch!!

[pineapple stu]

The wiki article on blindfold chess is quite interesting actually. Some of my favourite snippets -

Blindfold chess was considered miraculous for centuries

Harold James Ruthven Murray recorded another type of unseen chess: two Central Asian horsemen riding side by side playing chess by calling chess moves to each other without using a board or pieces.

Simultaneous blindfold exhibitions were officially banned in 1930 in the USSR as they were deemed to be a health hazard

[In 1943, Miguel Najdorf, one of the top players in the world at the time, played 40 players] in Rosario, Argentina [...] in an effort to gain sufficient publicity to communicate to his family that he was still alive, as he had remained in Argentina after travelling from his native Poland to compete in the 1939 Chess Olympiad

Also, turns out it wasn't a world record, but an Irish record attempt. Mea culpa! More info here.

[BonnieShels]

Sitting in Ottawa airport... I'm coming home lads... waheyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

Get the kettle on.

[OwlsFan]

Will the bottom not be burnt out of it by the time you arrive?

[BonnieShels]

Well I would think they'd throw in more water now.

[Acornvilla]

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-s...tNSM8.facebook

The quotes in this article are just great. The fact that I grew up down the road and know whose saying them helps. But you'll be hard pushed to find a more culchie Irish news story this week.

[BonnieShels]

Will September come already...

[nigel-harps1954]

https://vine.co/v/MEn2tnXTWKu

Former Finn Harps player and manager Anthony Gormans son Dale was tackled by an invisible man before being kicked in the head by an angry Mexican at the Milk Cup tonight while playing for Northern Ireland under-19s. Absolutely mental scenes here.