Chess in the mainstream press.

It's good to see that the first round of the FIDE Grand Prix currently being held in London is reported in my favourite quality newspaper, London's Financial Times. Page seven of today's edition boasts the headline US entrepreneur seeks to revive chess's popularity. The entrepreneur in question, Andrew Paulson, is a long time partner of the well connected Alexander Mamut, who owns Waterstones, a chain of bookshops in the UK. The article occupies quite a decent amount of space, together with a photograph of the chap I want to win, he's staring down at the board, not up at the ceiling.

There's no discussion of the differences between Andrew Paulson and Ilya Levitov,who runs the Russian chess federation; he was put there by Arkady Dvorkovich, a deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation (i.e. the Russian state, not the chess body). It was pressure from the Russian chess federation that resulted in the venue being shifted to London, a fascinating ripple, perhaps, from the stone throwing between the frondeurs and the Siloviki within the Kremlin.

For once, giving the Immortal Game as an example can't be faulted. It was played at Simpsons, where the contest is being held. Quite a good article for its intended audience, I suggest.

There are also a couple of paragraphs devoted to the competition in the Lex Column (page 26).