Hi!

I would like to suggest a new subforum, "Chess training" - a unified place where chess players would be able to discuss what they do in order to improve their game. I think those would be most interested topics with plenty of useful advices.. How to organize your training?

What do you think about it?

I think there are already plenty of threads like that in the General subforum. I don't know if there's really a need for a separate subforum, though I suppose it couldn't hurt.

--Fromper

i think that is perfect

Hurin:
Does the BBC interviewer pronounce Alekhine’s name correctly here? I've been told he didn't.

YouTube - Alexander Alekhine interview

There are different spelling of Alekhine's name. The BBC guy pronounced the name from a spelling I have seen in more than several publications.
When I started a Post on Alekhine a few years back, someone posted the BBC interview. Somewhere in Chessforums just about everything about Alekhine including the BBC interview was included. The information was also posted in the Alekhine Memorial Club which is totally online.
Soltis has revived the NY International Tournament 1924- edited by Alekhine.
The publication is now in Algebraic with revisions in the notes - but keeping the original Alekhine writing.
I have not seen the book as it is new. But if anyone has a copy please post a review.

I think a Chess Training subforum is a good idea if there is enough interest.

I wouldn't mind whether the improvement threads are under the General forum or a separate subforum.

Depends on how long it would hypothetically take.

The correct pronunciation of Alekhine is interesting. Did you notice Hanon Russell's pronunciation is different from the BBC interviewer. Russell says
a-LE-kin and the interviewer says al-le-KEEN. Subtle but distinct differences. We will never learn how to pronounce these guys names---what about Euwe?

What about fianchetto? At the club I used to attend several of the players pronounced Ruy Lopez as though they were ordering a ham on rye!!!

The OP is at the very least in the right direction (I've heard some folk say it should be alyohhin), though I might add I've heard Houston pronounced a million different ways as well. I personally pronouce the KH as the CH from the germanic languages for example as in Bach (as in Johann Sebastian Bach) and loch.

Fianchetto is a commonly mispronounced italian term. The CH = K here, making it fianketto, I suspect the (usual) two first syllables are pronounced as one 'FYAN' instead of two 'FEE-an' in italian. Maybe someone who actually speaks italian could confirm that.

Euwe isn't as hard as you might think. UH-wuh is acceptable for english speakers as it's a very close match to the dutch pronunciation.

It's very simple to avoid mispronouncing Ruy Lopez. I know a guy who got laughed at consistently because he pronouched it 'RUI' (with a dutch UI) and couldn't get that out of his system. He started calling it the 'Rodrigo López', Ruy being a diminutive of Rodrigo.
Ruy Lopez is correctly pronounced as ROO-ee LO-peth, the TH sound is a spanish thing.

If you want the most consistently mispronounced piece of chess nomunclature, I give you Scheveningen. In fact, 9/10 people can't even spell it

"though I might add I've heard Houston pronounced a million different ways as well."

Well Perseus, I have never heard Houston mis-pronounced but that is not the question.
The question is how do the people in Houston pronounce it. How did Alekhine pronounce his name---that is the question. How did Euwe pronounce his name.

I have heard Euwe pronouced a hundred different ways but I have never heard it pronounced the way you say is correct. I think the most correct way of saying Euwe is Er-vuh.

Lopeth? Perhaps some Hispanics say that but the Chess world says Lopez. I've heard that it was a Spanish king who had a speech impediment and prounced words like Lopez as Lopeth and his subjects, not wanting to displease him, started prouncing words as though they had an impediment too and that has continued in some Spanish communities to the present day.
But, be that as it may---On dvds and chess tapes you can hear GMs all over the world saying Lopez!

The same holds true with fianchetto. The correct pronunciation may be fianketto in Italian but you are going to sound stupid if you are talking to a bunch of GMs, or people who really know chess, who are saying fianchetto. There is too much information on the internet for people to continue mis-pronouncing chess names and chess terms.

Its in the book, you can look it up!