Hmm, don't much like the size of the pieces relative to the board either. 
I guess when you're worth billions ...
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Good Queenside development, though, .......... or is that the Kingside ? 
AussieRookie wrote:
Good Queenside development, though, .......... or is that the Kingside ?
Yeah The Virgin Queen side lol.
Apparently Ronbo's is a legit, not photoshopped, photo.
A quick Google said Richard Branson is left-handed and since he's reaching out with his right hand in Ronbo's photo, I thought there's a good chance that photo was mirror-imaged by a photographer who didn't play chess.
Then I found another photo at the same table and board and since almost all of us lefties wear our watches on our right wrists, I thought it was another mirror image:
The original of the above picture was over 3000 pixels wide so I started looking over the furniture for letters, logos, etc. to see if they were backward when it occurred to me -DUH- he's wearing that watch. So here's the watch blown up a little for the above dark-on-right board pic:
If you can see upside-down you can see the numbers are NOT mirror images. Rotated 180 degrees:
So, yes, Richard Branson's got the board wrong and either he's ambidextrous or he's right-handed!
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Nice detective work, Encyclopedia Brown.
Nice catch by looking at the watch.
SilentKnighte5 wrote:
Nice detective work, Encyclopedia Brown.
Haha, what a reference.
MickinMD wrote:
Apparently Ronbo's is a legit, not photoshopped, photo.
A quick Google said Richard Branson is left-handed and since he's reaching out with his right hand in Ronbo's photo, I thought there's a good chance that photo was mirror-imaged by a photographer who didn't play chess.
Then I found another photo at the same table and board and since almost all of us lefties wear our watches on our right wrists, I thought it was another mirror image:
The original of the above picture was over 3000 pixels wide so I started looking over the furniture for letters, logos, etc. to see if they were backward when it occurred to me -DUH- he's wearing that watch. So here's the watch blown up a little for the above dark-on-right board pic:
If you can see upside-down you can see the numbers are NOT mirror images. Rotated 180 degrees:
So, yes, Richard Branson's got the board wrong and either he's ambidextrous or he's right-handed!
I see this wrong board set up all the time on television as well. Alas ...
fburton wrote:
Hmm, don't much like the size of the pieces relative to the board either.
must be a virgin thing ...
The_Chin_Of_Quinn wrote:
SilentKnighte5 wrote:
Nice detective work, Encyclopedia Brown.
Haha, what a reference.
had to look it up - never read the series - but then again i don't read much :-(
badenwurtca wrote:
Well perhaps he should hire some poor GM as a chess-advisor ( Branson does seem to have the cash lol ).
he did. he fired the poor guy when he pointed out the square thingy.
See him pointing in the picture?
He's so bad he's reminding his opponent as a handicap their agreement was white could only move pieces from those 3 files.
I mean seriously, it must be past move 10, and only those 3 files. No one plays this way, or analyzes these positions. Seriously, sit a 5 year old in front of a board and they wouldn't do that.
And as has been pointed out, the pieces are too big. No serious player plays on a board meant for display.
I wonder if he even knows how all the pieces move.
The_Chin_Of_Quinn wrote:
I mean seriously, it must be past move 10, and only those 3 files. No one plays this way, or analyzes these positions. Seriously, sit a 5 year old in front of a board and they wouldn't do that.
And as has been pointed out, the pieces are too big. No serious player plays on a board meant for display.
I wonder if he even knows how all the pieces move.
He's castled 
!! But then again maybe that's where those pieces started 
White is not castled. Look at white's pieces. Only those 3 files have moved. The other 5 files only contain pieces on their original squares.
What I'm saying is it's obviously not a game, or an analysis session. It's a photo of a nonsense position set up illegally on a board experienced players wouldn't even use for a game.
The_Chin_Of_Quinn wrote:
White is not castled. Look at white's pieces. Only those 3 files have moved. The other 5 files only contain pieces on their original squares.
What I'm saying is it's obviously not a game, or an analysis session. It's a photo of a nonsense position set up illegally on a board experienced players wouldn't even use for a game.
Um I am talking about MR. BRANSON . Look at where he is sitting (BLACK).
Ok, I'll try one more time.
There is no white opponent.
It is not a a rational or an analysis position.
Therefore he is not playing or analyzing, regardless of how rational black's half of the board looks, and regardless of which side of the table he is sitting on.
The_Chin_Of_Quinn wrote:
Ok, I'll try one more time.
There is no white opponent.
It is not a a rational or an analysis position.
Therefore he is not playing or analyzing, regardless of how rational black's half of the board looks, and regardless of which side of the table he is sitting on.
I did not say WHITE was castled (Your presumption). I said HE'S castled. It was an attempt at levity.
The dark square really can go in the right corner
... 