Aditya Verma

[Carl Hibbard]

As this thread enters its fifth page I really, really think that there is nothing more to say and Carl or Jack should lock the thread.

Also agreed - much more than enough has already been said.

This topic much like the forum is turning into a bit of a pain the backside I still work full time and the complaints never seem to stop.

I am far too warm maybe

[Andrew Zigmond]

I also stand by my view that the "hey look at this, what a ..." response of so many chess players is driven by underlying racism.

This is a reckless and irresponsible thing for you to say, Andrew. If any given individual were to challenge you and ask if you were referring to them, would would you say? Yes? No? What would the consequences be either way?

I am not getting involved in a slanging match in this one. I stand by my statement which is that a certain amount of the interest in this case is driven by UNDERLYING racism. I am not publicly accusing any specific individual of racism and have no intention of doing so.

There has been a positive update today which suggests that the player concerned is now back at home with his family although the case is not yet entirely resolved. I stand by my main point which is that there is no chess connection here apart from the fact the individual concerned happens to play it.

[Carl Hibbard]

More updates here:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... dness.html

[Nick Grey]

I am not sure how grenfell used IMO inappropriately.

[R G Edwards]

I am not getting involved in a slanging match in this one.

In that case, it's probably better not to start one.

I stand by my statement which is that a certain amount of the interest in this case is driven by UNDERLYING racism.

That's slightly inaccurate. This was your original statement:

I suspect there is a lot of abuse in there bordering on racism (which incidentally is the reason many older chess players are taking sick glee in it)

Without supporting evidence, a person might interpret that comment as ageist, which would be ironic given that you appear to be accusing others of prejudice. But I'm sure that's not the case. So perhaps you could clarify why you specifically identified older players in this context.

Many thanks.

[NickFaulks]

Despite this both have gone on to extremely successful careers.

Given who their fathers were, that is hardly a surprise. As has already been alluded to in this thread, had their fathers not been New Labour politicians holding great officers of state, matters might not have gone so well for them.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"I am not getting involved in a slanging match in this one. I stand by my statement which is that a certain amount of the interest in this case is driven by UNDERLYING racism."

The two sentences don't really go together, do they? It reminds me of someone saying, "You're a c*** - no offence."

Anyway, R G Edwards has commented more elegantly.

And as for racism, Aditya's friends nicknamed him "Taliban" and he accepted it as a joke, which he might well not have...

[Geoff Chandler]

... Aditya's friends nicknamed him "Taliban" and he accepted it as a joke, which he might well not have...

Hi Kevin,

He will get ribbed by his friends for quite about a while about this.
I'm waiting for him to return to chess and then losing a game due his mobile going off.
The next picture will be of him throwing his mobile into the sea.

On Lichess, St Olaves have a chess team.
On the list of recent members one is called 'UK Chess Bomber.'

https://lichess.org/team/st-olaves-chess

Though that must be more by coincidence than design.

[Andrew Zigmond]

Without supporting evidence, a person might interpret that comment as ageist, which would be ironic given that you appear to be accusing others of prejudice. But I'm sure that's not the case. So perhaps you could clarify why you specifically identified older players in this context.

Many thanks.

I take that point and will withdraw older.

[Andrew Zigmond]

He will get ribbed by his friends for quite about a while about this.

Any "friend" ribbing him about this would be out of order. He spent two nights in a cell in a foreign country which must have been an extremely frightening experience. It's likely that none of the officers spoke English and we don't know for certain that he was given sufficient food or water - or indeed that he wasn't held with other more hardened criminals (that is often the case abroad).

You can argue that he brought it on himself and if you have little or no sympathy that's your privilege. But that doesn't make his trauma any less real for him.

[JustinHorton]

. It's likely that none of the officers spoke English

It's possible, but in Menorca I don't know that it is necessarily likely

or indeed that he wasn't held with other more hardened criminals (that is often the case abroad).

Very indiscriminate use of "abroad" here

[Neill Cooper]

On Lichess, St Olaves have a chess team.
On the list of recent members one is called 'UK Chess Bomber.'

https://lichess.org/team/st-olaves-chess

Though that must be more by coincidence than design.

Having been involved in running lots of lichess school events I can confirm that "UK Chess Bomber" is NOT Aditya Verma.

You have just exemplified why I encourage schools and players to use anonymous lichess names.

[R G Edwards]

"...we don't know for certain that he was given sufficient food or water..."

It is correct that we don't know for certain that he was given sufficient food or water.

However, since this did not take place in North Korea or Siberia, and there doesn't appear to be a substantive body of anecdotal evidence of human rights abuses in Spanish jails, it's a reasonable assumption that he was given enough food and water during his short incarceration.

There's a rather curious tendency in your posts towards unevidenced, overly-dramatic statements that I find surprising in a chess player.

I've always approached chess, and indeed life, informed primarily by data and probabilities, with emotion and intuition second. So it's always interesting to encounter other models of thinking.

[Geoff Chandler]

..if you have little or no sympathy that's your privilege.

Hi Andrew,

I do have a lot of sympathy for the lad and if someone else is saying Aditya's friends are
making a joke about it then that means (to me anyway) they are standing by him.
Total silence and being shunned would have been more painful to the lad.

His relief that the authorities seem to be accepting it was, as I strongly suspected,
a misunderstanding he won't mind getting his leg pulled. The important thing is he is home
and his friends are there for him. Making a joke about it eases the tension and remember
it started off as a joke.

Justin was 100% correct, this whole thing would have been news for two or three posts
but you kept adding to it saying people are enjoying the lads dilemma (where? and who?)
and now it gone for on for 5-6 pages.

Hi Neil,

I figured as much before I posted, I was struck by the coincidence. It's something you cannot make up.
Good advice regarding nicknames.

[NickFaulks]

Very indiscriminate use of "abroad" here

AZ has watched Midnight Express and knows what things are like once you're on the wrong side of the English Channel.