Not made this for ages… Smoked Haddock with Cannellini Beans in a cream, mustard and parsley sauce. Just steamed veg to go with. OMG!! 🤤

On a gorgeous sunny Sunday in Yorkshire what could be better than a wonderful moor top walk in Calderdale to clear the cobwebs and lift the spirits. 🤩 There might have been a slice of cake at the end of it too… 🍰 😋

Visited Dominic’s top castle today as we took a trip to Yoros. Excellent recommendation and an antidote to Topkapi. The views are stunning and there is indeed no health and safety on the ruined walls. Whilst there the call to prayer echoed across the Bosphorus. Wow! 🤩 @theresthistory.bsky.social

Whassup #chesspunk! Been a long time since I last posted but here’s an interesting position from my classical game last night in a friendly match against Burnley chess club. Black to play. In a tough position I had elected to give up material to try and expose the White king. What would you do here?

What’s up #chesspunks? Today I wanted to thank @danielkingchess.bsky.social for featuring one of my games on his ever-excellent PowerPlayChess YouTube channel. I’ve been using his Anti-Sicilians for black repertoire recently and have been getting some encouraging results. youtu.be/EMEK3LIVgCQ?...

Morning #chesspunks! This is from my game in the 4NCL Online last night. I’d been slowly outplayed by my higher rated opponent. I’m positionally busted what to do? What would you play with Black here?

R.I.P. Boris Spassky Hey #chesspunks, The 10th World Champ was one of my chess heroes. Today’s sad news triggered a memory of an old post I put on my chess club website in the days when writing about chess was as important to me as playing. (1 of 2) www.hebdenbridgechessclub.co.uk/learn-french...

Here’s the final position from my 5th round game at Blackpool #chesspunks. As Black I was under pressure for much of the game but survived and got to this position. I decided to accept my young opponent’s draw offer. Would you have done the same? If not, how would you have proceeded in the game?

Ok #chesspunks, here’s one of the key positions from my round 4 game at Blackpool this morning. It was a wild and complicated Two Knights Defence. White is winning but it’s extremely complicated and I went wrong here and ended up losing. What would you play after Black’s 20…d4!?

Morning #chesspunks! I am currently playing at Blackpool, one of the biggest weekend chess tournaments in the UK. I’m in the Major (U2050) and it’s very competitive. I’m grinding hard for everything. Yesterday morning I caught a massive break when my opponent touched his king in this position… oops!

Morning #chesspunks and Happy Friday! Here’s a position for you to consider from an OTB game I played earlier this week. It’s White to play and he’s just pushed the Black knight back to g8. How would you follow up?

Here an easy but pretty one for you #chesspunks. Black to play. What’s your move and why?

Knighty-Knight! Part1 Hi #chesspunks, Hope you’re all doing well. This week I have been the beneficiary of some generosity from my opponents. Last night in my OTB match in the Calderdale League came this. White has just played 19.g4. How do we meet that?

This is an interesting new feature… a nice way to get a feel for how you’re doing here. I don’t much care what more score is but if you want to find more you can check my BlueSky-Score and cal quote your own on: blueskyscore.com/inter-mezzo....

Here's a nasty swindle from an online game. This one just goes to show that you should never give up hope while material is still relatively balanced. Black just played 35...Qh4 threatening mate in 1. But what had he missed #chesspunks?

Happy New Year #chesspunks! Here’s a little bit of fun from an online Rapidplay game. Black just played 29…Qf5 and I thought ‘Oh no!’ as my rook and bishop are both attacked and the rook is also pinned. But after a moment of panic. I spotted what?

New Year’s Eve Hiking at the Sound of Sleat on the Isle of Skye in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Weather conditions were pretty hostile at times but the few breaks in the clouds were well worth the wait. The Sound of Sleat Beach was particularly pretty.

Spending New Year hiking on the Isle of Skye in the north west of Scotland was always likely to involve enduring some severe weather, but there have been some very pleasant interludes so far. Looking forward to hunkering down in the pub with a fire, good beer, good company and good music tonight.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT! 🚨 @healthinnovyh.bsky.social are hosting our first collaborative networking and peer support event focused on supporting and empowering women in the HealthTech and innovation industry. Find out more and register here: www.healthinnovationyh.org.uk/events/empow... Please share!

A few final snaps from a stormy weekend in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria. Managed to hike up Glaramara on Sunday in fairly hostile conditions. Cloud came down on the descent via Langstrath under the brooding presence of Great End which, like many of the high peaks, was dusted with snow.

After a wet and windy day hiking in the Lake District yesterday, what could be better than a delicious dinner at the Fell Pack in Keswick. Butterbean and winter veg hummus, pigs in blankets and lamb rendang pictured😋 No wonder it’s a firm favourite with locals. Highly recommended! fellpack.co.uk

What’s up #chesspunks? ‘Bout time for another snippet from one of my OTB chess games. This one’s from last Monday night. It’s White to play. What’s the best continuation here? Also, bonus point if you can guess the opening variation from this position. 😜

Escaped for the weekend to the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria 🏔️. The weather’s been challenging 🌧️ but still managed to squeeze some hiking 🥾 in. Yesterday it was Cat Bells and Derwent Water. Predominant colours were rusty browns and reds from the land and steely greys from the water and the sky.

It’s going to be critical for the NHS to adopt innovation faster and at greater scale if it is transform itself and deliver the ‘three shifts’ set out by the UK Government. These recommendations and the health innovation networks will be central to that effort.

One of the great features here on Bluesky are these starter packs which,if you’re new to the party, are a great way to find your communities and connect. Here’s one for NHS communicators: go.bsky.app/6NfZx5Q

Took a quick hike up Manshead End from the house this afternoon. The clouds were grey and brooding and then suddenly the sun lit everything up blue and pink and orange. Minutes later it was grey again. Beautiful West Yorkshire! 😍

Today UK MPs will vote on an assisted dying act. It’s a moral labyrinth and I don’t know where I stand on it. I do know that Yorkshire MP @kimleadbeatermp.bsky.social who brings the bill to the house has lobbied for it thoughtfully and sensitively. It’s a huge decision. apple.news/Au_QsWTIeTgW...

For any #chesspunks who (like me) struggled to understand what was going on in Game 3 of the World Chess Championship yesterday, GM Daniel King’s ‘Power Play Chess’ YouTube channel is here to help you. Clear sighted and calm exposition is his style. Highly recommended! youtu.be/Od4uKC3GO7U?...

Morning #chesspunks! Here's the key position from my OTB game in the Calderdale League last night. Black has just played 24...Ne5. What is White's best move here? You'll need to provide some supporting analysis to show how you'd meet Black's responses. It's a complicated position so take some time.

After round 1 of the Ding vs Gukesh world chess championship match, who’s your pick to win? 1️⃣ Ding 2️⃣ Gukesh 📊 Show results

Well #chesspunks! That’s put the cat amongst the pigeons hasn’t it? What are your predictions for the match after round 1 of Ding vs Gukesh?

For anyone arriving new to this place and looking for a chess community and chess improvement content this #chesspunks starter pack is a good place to start finding your tribe. go.bsky.app/BaQt1Td

Lot’s of overnight snow here in Yorkshire followed this morning by high wind and torrential rain so today is definitely a day for hunkering down. Lucky I got company!

How often do you find yourself making the mistake of playing for the result you expect #chesspunks? Often when we know we’re better, we coast a little bit and suddenly find that our advantage has slipped away. (1/4)

I’ve just spent an interesting morning at the Yorkshire Post Health and Life Sciences Business Breakfast in Leeds. @healthinnovyh.bsky.social were one of the sponsors of this event which was designed to build collaboration and energise growth in one of Yorkshire’s most dynamic sectors. (1/5)

Evening #chesspunks! Tonight I will be playing for my club, Hebden Bridge, in the top division of the 4NCL Online. It's a national team competition played at 45+15. Quite a generous time limit for online games. (1/2)

The first snow of the winter arrived in Calderdale last night. The view this morning was silvery-blue like the full moon and the tree tops dusted white like icing-sugar had been sieved onto them. Beautiful Yorkshire! 🤩

Morning #chesspunks! Here’s a nice easy test from one of the two Rapidplay games I had last night in the Calderdale League. I had Black in both games. I faced ubiquitous London System in both games. I lost the first and won the second. In the diagram Black’s next move effectively won the game.

I noticed that our chums from Chessfeels have amusingly grabbed the @fide.bsky.social and @chesscom.bsky.social usernames🤣 What I really can’t believe is that no one has yet grabbed @elonmusk ! Serious 💩 posting opportunity going begging here no?

Hey #chesspunks! I promise this is the last snippet I’ll share from my OTB game from Wednesday night in the Leeds league. I managed to reach this endgame position. I’m a pawn up and this should be winning easily. However, we were both very short of time and playing pretty quickly by this point…

The chess game I played on Wednesday night was interesting throughout. There's so much to analyse and reflect on, partly because the opening phase was so unusual. Here's another key position. After 10...e6 how would you play here with White #chesspunks? I considered the best move but rejected it.

Well #chesspunks it’s hard to believe this very normal looking position is from the same game I posted earlier today. I’ve got an extra pawn here but it’s not so obvious how white should proceed what with the pressure Black has on g2. How would you assess the position and what’s White’s best move?

Good morning. Word of the Day is as beautiful as it is underused. ‘Confelicity’ is finding joy in the happiness and success of others.

Why am I so bad at chess? #1 ‘When you see a good move, look for better one’ (Emmanuel Lasker) Great advice. Why didn’t I follow it last night? Black just played Ndf6?? and I bashed out my planned response exf7+. It’s good, but if I’d thought a moment longer, what should I have found? #chesspunks

I’m looking forward to attending this event next week. It’s an interesting and exciting time for the #HealthTech and #LifeSciences sectors in #Yorkshire right now. It will be great to get the community together to explore how we can support and grow this crucial sector in our region.

Hey #chesspunks! S’been a while. Here’s a position from a game I played last week. You couldn’t get a clearer example of a clash between one side playing on the flanks and the other in the centre. Black’s king is stranded in the centre. But he seems hard to reach. What’s White’s best move here?

@bsky.app is there a reason why all my feeds stopped working over the weekend. Did I do something wrong or have you guys got an error to sort out?

Listening to the news in the UK this morning… am I the only person who finds it ironic that a school's performance is too nuanced to be summarised with a ‘reductive analysis’ of one word, whereas it's perfectly fine to summarise every pupil's ultimate performance with a series of letters.

Hi Chesspunks 👋 Saw this position on ‘another’ platform this evening. It’s from a variation taken from the 7th game of Karpov-Kasparov, Moscow 1984. White to play and win. Not easy, but very beautiful…

Morning chesspunks! Ok, here’s a little bit of fun and it’s very easy. It’s from a casual online blitz game that I played on Lichess. After I played Rd1 Black played the worst possible move in this position. What do you think they played?