There was a degree of excitement today, as Amazon opened its Australian 'shop' for the first time. Early reports indicate that this wasn't as momentous an occasion as expected, with nothing too ground breaking hitting the market, and prices not being much lower than normal Australian retail.
Of course I had to test the system by seeing what chess items they had. Turns out all the usual books, although Amazon seem to sell a lot of titles by obscure authors. In some cases they are reprints of out of copy right works (eg 'Chess' by RF Green) or more recent works aimed at the beginner/school market.
In the end the only item of note was a neon sign that read "Chess Player Parking Only". I don't know whether Amazon have vastly overestimated the number of chess centres in Australia (which seem to be the obvious market) or if it is intended as a 'gag' gift to be placed at the end of the garage on Christmas morning. I think the second theory is more likely to be correct.
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Didn't someone once comment (both historically, and even today with e.g. Carlsen) that most chess players don't drive?
(Pachman's book of course has a counter-story, with the car being the hero, as he puts it)
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