Media comments on chess

[John McKenna]

Geoff Chandler>"To put it in chess terms, he [President Putin] is a clever tactician but an appalling strategist. " But what is his end game plan?<

Regarding the endgame result desired by Putin, according to the latest news, it's a separate buffer state in East Ukraine.

Edit: Some content relocated to 'Ukraine' in "Not Chess!"

[John McKenna]

Content incorporated into the post above.

[Michael Farthing]

If we take the view that the future of Ukraine should be debated between Western and Eastern blocks without regard to the wishes of those in the middle then John is clearly right.

However, there was clearly a body of opinion in Ukraine that wanted to westernise and a body that didn't and in my politics the resolve of those in the area is more important than the wishes of either block. That is not to say that John is not still right and I'd like to know a lot more about the sequence of events and internal political manoevres within Ukraine. The impression given at the time was that a majority of the parliament had been unhappy with the direction of the president; there was unrest on the streets of Kiev in that direction also; the president bolted and the parliament democratically reversed policy (possibly in the absence of some pro-Russian members, suggested at the time in the Western press to be a minority). Is that interpretation inaccurate? . Can you point us to any good analysis of what has been happening, John?

[JustinHorton]

Possibly any pointing out should be on a thread other than this one?

[John McKenna]

I probably overstepped the mark (for "Media comments on chess") when replying to posts, above, that quoted Dominic Lawson's chess analogy regarding Putin's strategy and tactics in Eastern Ukraine, so I am editing and relocating parts of my posts above to 'Ukraine' in "Not Chess!" (I leave it to Michael Farthing if he wishes to do the same.)

[Phil Neatherway]

From today's Daily Telegraph:

By Philip Sherwell in New York
GUESTS flocking through the doors of the Planet Hollywood casino in Las Vegas are normally lured by the prospect of a big pay-out at the gambling tables or a performance by Britney Spears, the highest-paid performer on the city’s brash entertainment Strip.
But next month the hotel will host the most lucrative chess tournament in history as the world’s only black grandmaster and a self-made Vietnamese-born entrepreneur try to do for the ancient game of strategy what similar big-prize contests have done for poker.
Will Smith, the Hollywood actor and chess aficionado, has given the event his star power endorsement.
At least 27 chess grandmasters and a slew of enthusiastic amateur hopefuls are among more than 500 players from 39 countries who have so far paid the $1,000 (£600) entry fee to make their moves in the first Millionaire Chess tournament. As the name suggests, the prize fund is $1 million. Despite the fees, the organisers expect to make an initial loss of several hundred thousand dollars as they try to raise the game’s profile and take chess to the masses in coming years, as flashy poker tournaments have done for that game.
Millionaire Chess is the brainchild of Maurice Ashley, a Jamaican immigrant who made headlines as the first African-American grandmaster in 1999, and Amy Lee, a businesswoman from Vancouver, Canada. Mr Ashley is a popular commentator and a writer of books such as Chess for Success, using the game as an education tool for inner-city children, while Ms Lee is a chess novice who did not even know the rules before she met him at a conference.
Ms Lee is supplying the funding and and business acumen for what she believes will be a three to five-year investment, with corporate sponsorship and events in other cities to follow. “I consider this as a business,” she told The New York Times. “In order to bring sponsors in, you have to make chess exciting, you have to make it fun.”
Over-the-top fun is of course what Las Vegas promises its visitors. And at next month’s tournament, there will not just be big money prizes, but also video and internet links for worldwide audiences, limousine service for the top players and free chess shows at the casino. The tournament also includes an unusual “bounty” system to enliven later rounds, with extra rewards for beating leading players from earlier matches, en route to “Millionaire Monday” when the top four will meet in a final knock-out.
The top prize for the overall champion is $100,000. But the organisers have created six different sections for different age and talent levels to boost the attraction even to enthusiastic amateurs.

[Chris Rice]

Maurice Ashley was quite funny the other day in the St Louis tournament. With so much talk about Caruana's fantastic performance so far he slipped while ending his post-game interview with GM Magnus Carlsen and said: "We are here with World Champion Magnus Caruana."

Carlsen to his credit took this really well and responded with "That's high praise."

[Ian Thompson]

From today's Daily Telegraph:

But next month the hotel will host the most lucrative chess tournament in history ...

Pretty poor reporting then. Not only is it not the "most lucrative chess tournament in history", it's not even the most lucrative tournament to have taken place in Las Vegas, being easily beaten by the 1999 World Championship KO tournament.

[Lewis Martin]

Pretty poor reporting then. Not only is it not the "most lucrative chess tournament in history", it's not even the most lucrative tournament to have taken place in Las Vegas, being easily beaten by the 1999 World Championship KO tournament.

From today's Daily Telegraph:

By Philip Sherwell in New York
...

"But next month the hotel will host the most lucrative chess tournament in history as the world’s only black grandmaster and a self-made Vietnamese-born entrepreneur try to do for the ancient game of strategy what similar big-prize contests have done for POKER."

Agreed on reporting quality, though later mentioning that Ashley was the first one (true) he is not the only one. The journalist must not have heard about Pontus Carlsson.

I just wonder how journalists approach reporting on chess. The amount of ignorance I've seen over the years is staggering. Maybe they should consult a "knowledgeable" chess player (e.g. RdC or Stewart Reuben) with a mental encyclopedia about chess to check?

[Jonathan Bryant]

I just wonder how journalists approach reporting on chess. The amount of ignorance I've seen over the years is staggering.

What makes you think chess is any different to any other type of news story?

[Lewis Martin]

What makes you think chess is any different to any other type of news story?

Good point!

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Have just finished reading about Pontus Carlsson. Bit ashamed to admit this, but I'd never heard of him before (or if I had, it had not really registered before). Interesting story.

[Roger de Coverly]

Agreed on reporting quality, though later mentioning that Ashley was the first one (true) he is not the only one. The journalist must not have heard about Pontus Carlsson.

or Amon Simutowe of Zambia. He will be known to British players from playing (as an IM) in the 2000 British and also at Hastings. Later he went to study in the USA and completed his GM title. I didn't notice him as playing in the Olympiad, so he may have retired from active play.

[David Sedgwick]

... or Amon Simutowe of Zambia. He will be known to British players from playing (as an IM) in the 2000 British and also at Hastings. Later he went to study in the USA and completed his GM title. I didn't notice him as playing in the Olympiad, so he may have retired from active play.

After becoming a GM, he played for Oxford in the 2011 Varsity Match.

I know a little about the circumstances of his not playing in the Olympiad, but I would be breaking a confidence were I to say more. I am hopeful that he may return to active play in the future.

[Roger de Coverly]

After becoming a GM, he played for Oxford in the 2011 Varsity Match.

Quite right, so even better known in the UK. For some reason I forgot about that !

Another one for keepers of obscure records. How many GMs have played in the Varsity matches whilst actually holding the title?