Secret Sport

ABC Radio in Canberra does a weekly segment on Canberra's "Secret Sports". This week it was Chess's turn to be the 'secret sport' so Alana Chibnall, Stephen Mugford and myself hit the studio to talk up chess, as a sport. The response was generally favourable, although of course there was at least one sceptic. You can hear the 20 minute interview here, starting at the 7:30 minute mark of the recording.
After the interview Stephen Mugford mentioned a quick win he had at his local club. I'm always a fan of the quick finish in chess, so here it is. It is a good example of what happens if you move too many pawns in the opening, although ironically, it was Black who was finished off by a pawn at the end!


Mugford,Stephen - Gibson,Bernard [C00]
Tuggeranong, 30.07.2018

I might not have been the best person to ask

I was asked to do a radio interview today on why there are so few female players in the Worlds top 100. Fortunately I was assisted by a couple of Australia's top female players. You can hear the interview here http://www.abc.net.au/radio/canberra/programs/drive/chess/8431978

Where I critique a movie I've yet to see

At very short notice I was called upon to a radio interview about the newly released move "Queen of Katwe". The difficulty I faced was the movie hasn't been released where I live, so I was kind of flying blind. However I had read a number of reviews and summaries, and coincidentally, had previously met Tim Crothers, the author of the book it was based on. Armed with a summary of the movie I managed to get through the interview without saying anything too dopey (I hope), and was able to talk about other chess topics as well.
If you want to hear the interview, I think it will be up for a few days, on the ABC Radio website. It part of the Canberra Drive program and the link to the page is here. As the full recording is 3 hours long, you can jump to my bit, which is around the 2 hour 35 minutes mark. However if you play it from the start you do get the added bonus of hearing the call of this years Melbourne Cup!

GM Ian Rogers speaks!

While no longer active as a player Grandmaster Ian Rogers is still heavily involved in the chess world. He is still a sought after journalist, writing for a number of publications  around the world (including the Canberra Times), and is also a well respected coach and trainer.
Just as importantly for Australian chess he spent a lot of his career promoting chess in this country, both as a player and a journalist. And even in retirement (as a player) he is still carrying out this role.
Just today he gave an interview on ABC Classic FM. The host, Margaret Throsby, spent an hour talking with Ian about chess, chess history, his mown career, and the current state of World Chess. Interspersed throughout the interview was music chosen by Ian, starting with "Smoke gets in your eyes", which he sais was a tribute to his early years playing at the Melbourne Chess Club.
Even if you missed the interview, you can hear it again, either as a podcast or in streaming format at http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2014/11/17/4130036.htm Do to copyright restrictions you may miss out on all the music, but the rest of the interview more than makes up.

Why chess and economics don't mix

An interview with GM Ken Rogoff on BBC World Service. His bit is towards the end.