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07 February 2019 / Giles Tagg
Issue: 7827 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
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Ever been zugzwanged?

Chess masters & litigators have a lot in common as Giles Tagg reports

 

After the FIDE world chess championship which took place in London at the end of last year, I noticed how the strategems in chess and the terms of art involved feed directly into how one might think about litigation and, even, dispute resolution. The result? An A–Z of chess...as seen through the eyes of a litigator.

A is for attack: Traditionally white, which has the first move, is the attacking force making aggressive advances towards black. White is the claimant in litigation.

B is for blitz: Blitz chess is an extra-fast form of the game where both players have to make all their moves within a set time of ten minutes or less. This is chess as adjudication, where both sides have to act within a swift time-frame and unusual results can occur.

C is for checkmate: The end of the game where either white or black emerges with victory. This is what happens when a judgment is

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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