CHESS
Party pieces
Raymond Keene
FOR many years now The Spectator has sponsored the annual match between the House of Lords and the House of Commons. This year's contest assumed an extra historical importance in that it will most likely be the last played under the present composition of the Upper House. With the hereditary peers on the point of expulsion, the Lords are certainly going to lose their best player, Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, while the so-called reforms may have many other far-reaching organisa- tional side-effects.
Over the years the venue for this compe- tition has varied considerably, with the RAC in Pall Mall, Simpson's-in-the-Strand, the Athenaeum and now the Terrace of the House of Commons being enlisted as the battlefield. I recall when the match was held in the Garden Room of the Athenaeum that the players had to enter down a rather steep flight of stairs. This presented an insuperable problem to Lord Killearn, a peer of huge dimensions and of vast age but with suspect kneecaps. The solution was that one chess grandmaster (myself) and the former head of GCHQ (Sir Brian Tovey) had to carry Lord Killearn down the stairs and into the arena, rather like Aeneas fleeing the Siege of Troy with the aged Anchises on his back.
This year's results were as follows: Commons Lords
Dr Evan Harris Lord Hardinge 1.5-0.5 David Kidney James Valiance White 2-0 Sir Teddy Taylor Viscount Gage 0-1 Nigel Griffiths Baroness Hilton 1-1 Tarn Dalyell Earl of Erroll 1-0 Tam Dalyell Lord Gage 0.5-0.5 Nick Palmer Earl of Erroll 1-0
Total 7 3
Perhaps discouraged by the fact that many of their number are about to vanish in a puff of smoke, the Lords' resistance was uncharacteristically feeble, though they were, admittedly, somewhat unlucky on board one. After a sharp game in which Black had missed a number of wins, this position was reached in the throes of a furi- ous time scramble.
Lord Hardinge—Dr Evan Harris MP
Black to move in this position must sacrifice a piece in order to stave off instant checkmate, hence forced is 1 ...BxfS 2 Kxf5 Rf2+ 3 Key. Here White is a piece ahead and should proba- bly win, in spite of Black's massed army of king- side pawns, due to the strength of his b-pawn. However, Lord Hardinge obligingly lost on time at this stage, thus eliminating the need for any complicated endgame calculations.
There has been a fierce debate of late, which has engulfed not only Tony Banks, the former sports minister, but also the Prime Minister himself, concerning whether games such as chess and bridge should, at the high-
est competitive levels, be regarded as sports. The International Olympic Committee has taken the initiative by inviting bridge to become a demonstration sport at the next Winter Olympics. Although it would be unusual to see either chess or bridge played on ice or in snow, they are certainly ideal games for poor weather conditions. This per- haps explains why the Russians and Icelanders are so adept at chess.
Jacqui Lait MP, who used to represent Hastings, the seat of the famous chess tour- nament, has recently added to the debate stating: 'At the moment chess does not have access to funding that would allow it to offer the high-quality facilities to match the quali- ty of the playing and the players that we pro- duce in this country. I urge the minister to take away my suggestion and those of many others, that the department take a serious look at chess as a sport. I know about the argument that chess is a mind sport, not a physical activity, and the Sports Council is unhappy about that, and feels that it does not therefore have a focus in providing aid. However, there must be some ingenuity within the department that would allow chess to be recognised as a sport and proper- ly funded so that, among its many other attributes, we could use it as a way of attract- ing more tourists. Possibly only two words need to be added to the 1937 Act . . . relat- ing to the maintenance and improvement of the physical and mental well-being of the people by means of exercise and recreation.'
On the evening of 21 August at the Mind Sports Olympiad there will be a forum organised by the British Go Association on the recognition of mind sports by the gov- ernment. For details on attending the Mind Sports Olympiad at London's Olympia Conference Centre, ring 01707 659080.
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