Not just chess

One of the arguments against chess being a proper sport is the 'beer test'. Basically, any activity that can be carried out successfully while holding a beer is not a proper sport. So it gladdened my heart (and tickled my funny bone), to see a story about a Curling team being disqualified for being too drunk to play.
Of course chess has had a number of 'playing while drunk' incidents, and as Curling is sometimes described as 'Chess on Ice', there seems to be a weird kind of synthesis here. But where this story seems to have it over chess is the ranking of the players. At least some of them have serious international recognition in the curling community, and now it seems, in the drinking community! 

Too many players on the field

There has been a big sporting controversy in Adelaide when one team in the Preliminary Final of the local Australian Rules Football competition started the 4th quarter with an extra player (18 players is the usual number, but they had 19 on the field). During the period they had the extra player, they scored 8 points, and eventually won the game by a margin of 5 points. After a hearing the result was allowed to stand, although they have penalised in other ways.
Interestingly, if they were using the Laws of Chess during the game, they may have been able to resolve it differently. Once the irregularity was observed, the umpires could have simply removed the points scored, reset the clock to the start of the quarter, and began again. Indeed this approach may have been better than what was decided (which I disagree with), or simply awarding the game to the opposition by removing the 8 points in question (which I thought should have been the decision).
Anyway, here is a related puzzle, concerning an extra man on the field. It is White to play and Mate in 1 move.

Bad officiating - What do you do?

I suspect all chess players have been the victim of bad officiating at one time or another. Whether it's an opponent who stops writing their moves and gets away with it, or a spectator/friend casually suggesting a strong move to your opponent, there are always situations where we can feel that the rules have not protected us.
But that pales in comparison to what happened to the Canberra Raiders in the NRL on Friday night. Not one, but two officials indicated that an infringement by the other side had occurred, so the players waited for the referee to stop play. While waiting, a Cronulla player casually put the ball down for a try, which on review was awarded, on the grounds that no infringement had actually occurred.
After the game the usual apologies and 'we are looking into it' comments were made by the games governing body, although the result will of course not be changed. Apparently action has now been taken against the one of the officials (a two week suspension), with a strong hint that the official concerned won't be appointed to top level games again.
Is anyone aware of a similar occurrence happening in a chess tournament or series? The closest I can think of was an Olympiad arbiter who found himself dropped for the rest of the event after telling a noisy senior FIDE official to be quiet during a top board game. Otherwise nothing springs to mind.

England v Sweden

One of the historical anomalies of sport is the existence of separate teams for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island in world football. The anomaly actually extends to a number of other sporting arenas, including the Commonwealth Games and Chess (although Chess does not have Norther Island, but does have Jersey and Guernsey).
I can remember a few years ago Nigel Short wrote on this topic, and drew the ire of Scottish chess players by questioning whether Scotland should be a separate chess entity. A recent conversation has also reminded me that many in Scotland have not forgotten this.
But as I type this one of the other UK regions is currently playing Sweden in the World Cup. While I am tipping a win for Sweden, the game I have chosen to represent this match is actually a draw. Played between Tony Miles and Ulf Andersson, it saw Miles play the 4.Bf4 line against the Queens Indian. At the time this system was both novel and successful, but eventually Black worked out how to meet it and it is a much rarer line these days.


Miles,Anthony J (2565) - Andersson,Ulf (2545) [E12]
IBM Amsterdam (5), 1978

Negligible Physical Element

The English Bridge Union has lost a further case concerning the classification of Bridge as a sport. The goal had been to receive exemption from VAT charges (the UK's Goods and Services Tax), as well as access to sports funding. The European Court of Justice has rejected the claim, stating that a sport must involve "a not negligible physical element".
I'm not sure if this is the first time a court has actually defined sport in these terms, but it seems to me to be a fairly clear cut definition. This of course would apply to arguments concerning the status of chess as a sport (at least in Europe), but oddly enough allows Ballroom Dancing (another contentious case) to become one.

It depends upon your background

While listening to Australia spin its way to victory in the 1st Test Match against India, I heard on of the commentators say "Smith is like a chess grandmaster, moving the pieces around the board". It was of course one of the Indian commentators, who said this, while the Australia commentator did not seem to react.
I suspect for an Indian sports fan, or commentator, such a comment was perfectly sensible and understandable, tapping into the cultural awareness of chess in that country. For Australian fans, the comment might be a little bit more confusing or odd, although even then I think that most Australian fans would at least recognise the terms.
Anyway, I thought it was a nice intrusion into the normally dry cricket commentary (at least in Australia), and I hope to hear more of it over the next couple of tests.

Chess misses out again

The dream of having chess as a medal sport in the Olympics has been dashed once more, with the IOC announcing 5 new participation sports for the 2020 Games. Baseball/softball and karate are hardly a surprise, as they have previously been in the games (and are popular in the host country of Japan). The other three sports are a little more left field, with Rock Climbing, Surfing and Skateboarding(!) making the cut.
In fact chess had not even made the shortlist this time, which of course raises the issue of why FIDE keep pursuing this recognition. Since it became a goal of FIDE to become an Olympic sport, a number of policy changes and decisions directly related to this have been implemented, not always to the benefit of the chess community. In return there have been kind words from the IOC but not much more than that.
I suspect Chess has now done its dash, and unless the IOC radically expand the concept of the Olympic Games (to include a separate event for indoor activities) then I can't see Chess making it to the main arena.

Someone still loves you Nick

The 2015 ACT Secondary Schools Open Teams Championship ended in a run away victory for the Lyneham High School Team. There score of 27 points from 28 games showed the depth of the team, with all 4 boards being fairly high rated (and experienced) players. They finished 7 points ahead of the second placed team from Radford, with Canberra Grammar finishing third.
It was an enjoyable days chess, and by the looks of it, everyone had a good time. But the real highlight of the day for me was the choice of name of one of the other Radford teams. Taking a cue from this recent story, they decided to salute a sports star who previously attended their school. To the players who fronted up as "Radford Kyrgios" I say, well played!

Bridge is not a sport (in the UK)

The English Bridge Union had attempted to get the definition of what is a 'sport' changed by the UK High court, so as to access extra funding from the UK Government (through the National Lottery). If successful this would have had implications for chess, as it was highly unlikely that chess would have excluded under a redefinition.
Sadly for Bridge (and Chess), the application was rejected, as it could not be considered a physical activity. So for now chess/bridge/backgammon/scrabble are out, while dwarf tossing and bog snorkelling are (presumably) in!

Being distracted by sport

Winding down from the Oceania Zonal, I find myself increasingly distracted by late night sport. The collision of Australia v England in the Cricket, the Tour de France, the British Open Gold, as well as various other options has resulted in late nights, and less of a focus on chess. Not that I am complaining, as every now and then the brain needs a break of 64 black and white squares.
However it will ramp up again in the next week, with the 2015 ANU Open. As this event is part of the ANU Chess Festival, there will be other events (Blitz, Schools tournaments) to go with it, meaning I should have my hands full.
Speaking of the Oceania Zonal, almost all the games from the event have been uploaded. These can be found at chess-results.com, as part of the tournament results (just some round 8 games in the open to go). Many thanks to Alana Chibnall, Charles Zworestine, Brian Jones, Ian Rogers, Cathy Rogers, David Webster and Nick Cooper for typing these in (apologies if I have missed anyone btw)
And speaking of sport, Steve Smith just brought up his double century!

Zero tolerance in Rugby League

In certain chess events (Olympiads, Candidates matches etc) you will be forfeited if you are not at the board at the official starting time. The oft cited reason is that chess should be like other professional sports, and they manage to start on time. Of course this claim does not always stand up to closer scrutiny, and an incident from the 2014 National Rugby League Grand Final in Australia shows this.
South Sydney had not won (or even played) a Grand Final for 43 years, and there opponents, the Canterbury Bulldogs decided to try an exploit that. While the South Sydney team ran out on the field at the correct time, Canterbury waited for 5 minutes before emerging from the dressing rooms, hoping that the extra wait would throw South's off their game. It turned out that it did not work and South's scored an emphatic victory.
Roy Masters (who knows a thing or two about chess*) reports on the incident. The take away quote is "they can't start without us". Of course if this was a chess event, there may not have been a match played at all, and South's could have taken the trophy home a couple of hours earlier.

*He once described two star wingers as being "like bishops of opposite colours" as they never came into direct contact during a game he was reporting on.

Le Tour 2014

Late night TV* return to my house, with the start of the Tour de France. In fact the start of this years event was even more interesting as it began in the French city of Leeds (in Yorkshire). Having spent a few weeks in that part of the world last year, there were plenty of familiar landmarks as the cyclists sped bye. In fact one of the first villages they went through was Pool-in-Wharfdale, home of my PNG teammate, Rupert Jones. After that Otley was the next destination, home of one of the best Milkshake shops I've ever been too.
However like last year, the middle part of the race will be a little confusing for me. I have a very brief trip to Italy for work with the FIDE/ACP Anti-Cheating Committee, so the fact that the race will be on during the day will be a little disconcerting. Of course it is unlikely I will see much of the race anyway, as there is more than enough committee work to fill in the time.
If you are reading this sometime tomorrow, I would suggest you try and catch the highlights of today's stage, as it really does show off Yorkshire, especially the wide open spaces that you miss when visiting urban Britain.

The World Cup - no not the chess one

The FIFA World Cup starts early tomorrow morning Australian time, and I assume that there will be no other sports coverage for the next month. As the father of a football mad teenager I guess I will have no choice but to get into it, especially as he will probably be waking the house at 2am most mornings to catch the early game.
While the scheduling of the World Cup once again provides the Australian sports fan with the usual time zone challenges, we at least get the last game of each day at a reasonable time. On almost all days there are 3 games, at 2am, 5am and 8am Eastern Australian Time. An early wake up will get some of the middle game, while the late game can be watched at home/work. And if you are in Canberra on Saturdays, once the final game is finished, come on down to Street Chess (from 11am), to catch the replays at King O'Malleys's while playing a bit of rapidplay!

Winter Olympics -> Chess

Note: This post does not condone or encourage the excessive consumption of alcohol.

The Winter Olympics are starting in a few hours, but to be honest I'm not that fussed. One interesting story is about the quality of accommodation for the journalists, but if the 2010 Chess Olympiad is a guide, the Russian Government will just throw money at the problem until it is fixed.
In past years there has always been chatter about Chess being added to the Winter Olympic schedule, on the grounds that it is an indoor sport, but I'm not even hearing that talk this time. Of course chess will have a presence at these games, via the commentary box.
If you do need an excuse to have a tipple, then maybe taking a shot every time you hear a variant on the tried and true "It's a game of chess out there". Of course if you want to kill as many brain cells as possible, try watching the Curling, which is *always* described as "chess on ice".

Are the Norwegians best at sport?

One of the books I picked up overseas was a book called 'Soccernomics'. It is about the application of the whole 'Freakonomics' style of analysis to football, although its original title 'Why England Lose' was probably a better choice.
In the chapter 'The Curse of Poverty' the authors attempt to rank the best sporting nations in the world, based on their performance at various 'global' sports. They are fairly generous at including sports (Cricket, Rugby Union and Baseball all get in), and they also include Chess as one of the sports. There ranking criteria for Chess is the number of years the World Championship was held by a player from that country. So for Chess Russia/USSR is ranked first followed by Germany (Lasker), then France (a dubious Alekhine I assume), USA (Fischer) and Cuba (Capablanca).
Overall the USA come in at number 1, followed by Russia/USSR. But the authors then adjusted for population, and it turns out that Norway come out on top (even without Carlsen adding to their total). Sweden is second, with Australia third (they were 8th on the initial list). But it was a close run thing, with Australia finishing 0.01 points ahead of fourth placed New Zealand!

Sports Administrator of the Year

Courtesy of the FIDE website comes the news that Tshepo Sitale has been awarded the Sports Administrator of the Year by the Botswana Sports Council. This is both a well deserved award, and quite a big deal, as Chess is one of the major sports in Botswana, after Football and Athletics. One of the reasons that it is such a big sport in Botswana is due to the efforts of the younger generation if chess administrators in that country.

Not quite a game of chess out there

While flicking across the various sports channels I happened upon the half time summary of the Sydney v Collingwood game played this event (Australian Rules Football for those unfamiliar with the team names). One of the analysts was using a chess board to show the movements of the players when his fellow commentator piped in "The way you move those chess pieces reminds me of the great Boris Spassky, who was World Champion in 1985 (sic)".
I give 8/10 for making the effort, but 1/10 for historical accuracy.

A very pleasant Saturday

Ran a very successful Street Chess today, with 2 FM's and a WIM part of the 26 player field. FM Junta Ikeda took home first prize with 7/7, while FM Endre Ambrus was runner up with 6/7. Then followed this up by watching the ACT Brumbies flog the NSW Waratahs 35-6. All in all an excellent Saturday!

Chess as a sport

When I have debated the whole "Is Chess is a sport?" issue with people, there is one argument that I sometimes put forward. It is based on the idea that "sports" are played by athletes. If you accept this definition (I'm not saying you have to btw), then you can find some fairly obvious counter-examples at any chess tournament. And I suspect this is one reason why chess is not accepted as a sport in Australia, US etc
But one consequence of this argument is that if you do recognise chess as a sport, then you may be obligated to prove you are an athlete. This is what has happened in India, to Chetna Karani. She applied to Delhi University under the sports quota category, based on her results as a chess player. While the university seemed happy to include her in that category, they required her to pass the same physical fitness test that other applicants undergo. Unable to do this, she took her case to the High Court.
Based on this report, it looks like she didn't get a place in the University, although the court has asked Delhi University to revisit their regulations.

Chess -> Olympics

Around every Olympics there is a debate about what sports 'belong' and which do not. When I was younger I was passionate about Chess being the equal to some sports that were in, but these days not so much. One of the reasons is that the Olympics are crowded enough as it is, and could probably do with a few sports getting cut (Trampolining, some of the odder cycling events, tug of war). Around the last Olympics I suggested that alongside the Summer and Winter Olympics, they have a Mind Sports and an xTreme Olympics in the intervening years, but no one has taken up (or even stolen as their own) this idea.
But I'm not the only one thinking about this idea. While Chess gets short shrift in the article, I do like his suggestions for other sports.