Is It a Spoof - or Isn't It?

[David Sedgwick]

The Daily Telegraph has a live compilation of this year's best April Fools' Day spoofs at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... -live.html.

From a section on their own hoaxes:

"And last but not least, buried in the chess section, is the revelation that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has revealed an ambition organise a chess match between children from North and South Korea on the 38th parallel, in the cause of peace.

It's clearly an in-joke for the chess community but for those who don't know, Ilyumzhinov is the notoriously eccentric head of world chess who once claimed he was abducted by aliens. Fancy having to explain your own jokes.."

From Malcolm Pein's column itself at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/ches ... chief.html:

"The FIDE president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, revealed today his ambition to organise a chess match between children from North and South Korea on the 38th parallel, in the cause of peace.

Given his previous engagements with notorious dictators, an agreement from North Korea’s Kim Jong-un may not be so far-fetched.

I recently met Ilyumzhinov in my capacity as the English Chess Federation’s delegate to FIDE, along with ECF president Dominic Lawson and chief executive Phil Ehr.

He countered my concerns that his dalliances with Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar Assad, as well as his claim of meeting aliens, had not been beneficial to efforts in Western countries to secure commercial sponsorship for the game.

He was at pains to point out that everything he did was designed to further world peace.

I wish the president the best of luck when he goes to Korea to navigate what may be a diplomatic minefield."

Ilyumzhinov's recent visit to England has been discussed on this Forum. Moreover, he has also recently been to South Korea; please see http://www.fide.com/component/content/a ... seoul.html.

[NickFaulks]

I see no reason to assume this is a spoof. Is it obviously a bad idea? I wish he could broker a chess match between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

I doubt that the FIDE and Kalmyk President understood why Malcom considers that when he visited Gaddafi it was a "dalliance", whereas when senior members of the British establishment did so it was "diplomacy" ( or, when we were selling him stuff, "trade").

[Clive Blackburn]

I could pick almost any topic on this forum and ask "Is It a Spoof - or Isn't It?"

April Fools don't really work on here!

The same is true of many Chess newspaper columns.

[David Sedgwick]

I see no reason to assume this is a spoof.

The Daily Telegraph itself thinks that it is.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"I wish the president the best of luck when he goes to Korea to navigate what may be a diplomatic minefield."

Not to mention the actual minefields...

[JustinHorton]

Boom boom!

[Tim Harding]

Here are a two further special reports for the day that's in it:

http://www.irishchessunion.net/
(Irish Chess Union bans Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez.)

http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.ie/
(Grovelling apology to the Penguin)

Any more?

[Roger de Coverly]

Any more?

chessbase usually put improbable stories on their website, some of them being true.

This year's selections
A planet named Anand
http://en.chessbase.com/post/minor-plan ... ess-player
A refutation of the English contained in an unpublished novel
http://en.chessbase.com/post/the-bremer-counter-attack

[David Sedgwick]

Here are a two further special reports for the day that's in it:

http://www.irishchessunion.net/
(Irish Chess Union bans Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez.)

http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.ie/
(Grovelling apology to the Penguin)

Any more?

Andy Howie, Executive Director of Chess Scotland, has reported on their Forum that FIDE are to prohibit national grading systems:

"Latest news from FIDE: From 1st September all federations are to stop internal grading. All grading is to be submitted through the FIDE server. We will only have a single grade, the FIDE one!!!"

[NickFaulks]

Andy is on the Anti-Cheating Commission, so perhaps he knows something.

[David Sedgwick]

Any more?

Chess.com reports that Magnus Carlsen will in future represent Iceland.

http://www.chess.com/news/magnus-carlse ... eland-6465

[Mick Norris]

Any more?

Chess.com reports that Magnus Carlsen will in future represent Iceland.

http://www.chess.com/news/magnus-carlse ... eland-6465

Great quote:
“I was given a more lucrative offer by the U.S., but when I look at both countries and compare things like their twin financial crises, the Americans put no one in jail while Iceland convicted everyone involved. I believe in personal responsibility, so Iceland is a better fit.”