The Golden Ball....(pawn?)

[Geoff Chandler]

I see they are tampering with Snooker by introducing a Golden Ball. I've often thought that they should place the non-reds on random spots, that would be fun for a tournament.

We need a Golden Pawn! Before the game a player writes down a pawn (a2,b3,c2...etc) and if it taken during the game they get 10 rating points but if it is still on the board when the game is over they lose 10 rating points. Yes it's silly but had me thinking. Which pawn is captured the most. It must be e-pawn or d-pawn. And the survivors, taken the least, must be the Rook's pawns. (yes?)

[MJMcCready]

I think that's correct with regards to captures. But why not go one further with the golden pawn and introduce a silver pawn also? Pawns that promote should be replaced with platinum queens too. I'm sure all chess clubs have a budget for that.

[Matt Mackenzie]

"They" in the original post being the Saudis, who really do pollute everything they get their hands on.

[MJMcCready]

I think that's a bit harsh. It could be said they are just trying to glamorize the game (perhaps to make it more appealing to a domestic audience...perhaps) but yes it could be argued that increasing the prize money does that also, and probably more effectively.

[Joey Stewart]

The idea of a "golden" bonus object arbitrarily inserted into an established game is something much more like you would see in a las Vegas casino then a well thought out improvement.

[Matt Mackenzie]

I think that's a bit harsh

Given who it is, not really.

[MJMcCready]

They held the King Salman Blitz about 5 years ago and from what I remember there weren't any issues there.

[Mick Norris]

No issues? You mean no journalists were murdered, or that you don't know which players couldn't play because it isn't safe for them?