Seems that the push to get chess accepted as an Olympic sport isn't quite dead yet. Although the door to the Summer Olympics seems closed, there were hopes that chess might become a Winter Olympic sport. There is one problem however. Winter Olympic sports must be played on ice or snow.
It seems pretty unequivocal, but FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov seems to have found a loophole. He has suggested* that the chess tournament use pieces made of ice, thereby fulfilling the requirements for a Winter Olympic Sport . He apparently did this an interview in China, while attending the recent FIDE Presidential Board meeting. The story has been picked up by a few news outlets, but at this stage is yet to qualify as the "bizarre chess story of the week". Whether it does rival the So/Nigalidze/Short media storms is not clear right now, but like a good Art House film, box office returns might be slow to start with.
*Normally with stories of this type a 'translation error' will inevitably be blamed for the statement, so I am flagging this explanation early.
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4 comments:
Well, this idea certainly will make the temperature inside the venue an interesting topic :)
That's the silliest thing I've heard in a while (and it's not April 1). Why not play on an ice rink or in the snow. Coping with the freezing conditions could be part of the challenge. Perhaps the players should have ice stuffed in their underwear. Or you could drop them through an ice hole with some scuba equipment. I could go on...
AO
The idea is brilliant taking into account that pieces will be melting and eventually disappearing, first pawns which are smaller. So the time factor is becoming even more important. When the queen is half-melted it becomes a rook losing some of its power.
Any chance of getting chess into the paralympics by some loophole?
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