Chess in Evening Standard

Rob Thompson · Post by **Rob Thompson** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:16 pm

JustinHorton wrote:Well, it's possible people will look at it and say "cor, Lily Cole plays chess, I must go and learn the game myself" but more likely people will think "oh God, another attempt to claim that chess is cool - I bet she doesn't even know the rules".

I am not sure why people would assume that Lily Cole doesn't know the rules.

John Cox · Post by **John Cox** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 12:51 am

>I am not sure why people would assume that Lily Cole doesn't know the rules.

Because she's a pretty woman, presumably. I realise that doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't know the rules, but statistically my impression is that it probably increases the odds.

I'm not sure LC is a glamour model exactly, is she? Perhaps I don't understand that term correctly, but I take it to mean that the object of it customarily appears posing semi-naked, which I don't think LC does - isn't she more of a catwalk kind of girl?

Rob Thompson · Post by **Rob Thompson** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:15 am

John Cox wrote:>I am not sure why people would assume that Lily Cole doesn't know the rules.

Because she's a pretty woman, presumably. I realise that doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't know the rules, but statistically my impression is that it probably increases the odds.

I'm not sure LC is a glamour model exactly, is she? Perhaps I don't understand that term correctly, but I take it to mean that the object of it customarily appears posing semi-naked, which I don't think LC does - isn't she more of a catwalk kind of girl?

I'm not sure the "pretty women don't play chess" is a particularly useful trope to perpetuate, to say the least, especially given that this is an opportunity to try to eradicate some of the less attractive stereotypes about chess players.

John Cox · Post by **John Cox** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:59 am

Well, it's only an impression. One would need more research to say for sure.

I suspect handsome men don't play chess as much as the other kind do, either. Let's face it, it's a bit of a geeky losers' pastime, don't you think?

JustinHorton · Post by **JustinHorton** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:23 am

Rob Thompson wrote:
JustinHorton wrote:Well, it's possible people will look at it and say "cor, Lily Cole plays chess, I must go and learn the game myself" but more likely people will think "oh God, another attempt to claim that chess is cool - I bet she doesn't even know the rules".
I am not sure why people would assume that Lily Cole doesn't know the rules.

Because people whose response to seeing photos like this one is "oh God, another attempt to claim that chess is cool" are people of a sceptical bent?

Ian Kingston · Post by **Ian Kingston** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:54 am

This will tell you nothing about Lily Cole's chess-playing ability, but it might counter some stereotypical impressions:

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/ ... class.html

In summary: she has a Double First in History of Art from Cambridge University.

JustinHorton · Post by **JustinHorton** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:05 am

John Cox wrote:Because she's a pretty woman, presumably.

No, not really, though no doubt some people would take that view. I think a lot of people will think "ah, a celeb at a chess event, I smell fish".

There's a similar thing with football when you have a big international match and a lot of politicians and/or royals sitting in the box: many people are sceptical as to the actual extent of their interest in the game, other than their interest in being seen there. (A Guardian correspondent wrote not long ago that Angela Merkel was a big football fan. I contacted them to ask what team Merkel supports. I did not get a reply.)

Rob Ensor · Post by **Rob Ensor** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:36 am

JustinHorton wrote:(A Guardian correspondent wrote not long ago that Angela Merkel was a big football fan. I contacted them to ask what team Merkel supports. I did not get a reply.)

It is possible that they may not know. Der Spiegel and Deutsche Welle have also made the claim that Merkel is a big fan of football, and she is, apparently (wiki), an honorary member of FC Energie Cottbus.

Alex Holowczak · Post by **Alex Holowczak** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:45 am

JustinHorton wrote:There's a similar thing with football when you have a big international match and a lot of politicians and/or royals sitting in the box: many people are sceptical as to the actual extent of their interest in the game, other than their interest in being seen there.

You have too much time on your hands to consider these things. I reckon 99% of the public see these figures there, acknowledge that fact and move on, without ever questioning their reasons for being there.

If I see Patrick Stewart and Cliff Richard in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, it has almost no impact on my afternoon's entertainment (expect for the tennis being interrupted during a change of ends to show them talking to people).

JustinHorton wrote:(A Guardian correspondent wrote not long ago that Angela Merkel was a big football fan. I contacted them to ask what team Merkel supports. I did not get a reply.)

Even if Merkel were the world's biggest fan of 1860 Munich, and the newspaper knew this, would you expect a reply?

Paul McKeown · Post by **Paul McKeown** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:51 am

Merkel's love of football is well known, to suspect that it's political simulation is foolish paranoia. She's been attending football matches since her student days in Leipzig.

harrylamb · Post by **harrylamb** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 12:27 pm

I was involved with Leipzig chess club for several years. The chess club was part of the Leipzig Vfb football club. By this I mean it did not just rent a room from them it was actually part of the club. The arrangement is not uncommon in Germany. The club was proud of the fact that it was one of the founder members of the German Football Association. The football club went bankrupt in 2004. The Chairman of the chess club was a leading member of a group of fans that resurrected the football club after its bankruptcy. It started off again in something like the 11th league from the top. It is now according to Wikipedia in the 4th tier league and got 10,000 spectators in the play off match when it gained promotion.

John McKenna · Post by **John McKenna** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:19 pm

The German Standard?
Bundesliga: Greuther Fuerther 0-2 Schalke
Another football fan!

http://www.thelocal.de/sport/20120916-44995.html

Nigel Short · Post by **Nigel Short** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:23 pm

It doesn't actually bear much relation to what I said, but who cares? She was a nice girl and it is important to get positive publicity for the game.

Adam Ashton · Post by **Adam Ashton** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 2:25 pm

Given the dreadful image of chess in this country I think it's very positive indeed to have celebs like Lily Cole and Sophie Ellis Bexter turn up to an event. How well they can play is pretty irrelevant.

LawrenceCooper · Post by **LawrenceCooper** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:30 pm

[quote="John Cox"] I'm not sure LC is a glamour model exactly [quote]

I assume that wasn't directed at me

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