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Chessville
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A NATIONAL DISGRACE-NO CHESS ON UK TV The Golden Age of chess on UK TV lasted from 1978, the time of the first Karpov v Korchnoi World Championship, until 1995, when Anand unsuccessfully challenged Kasparov for the title. During that period BBC2, Channel 4 and Thames TV vied with each other to produce the best coverage.
After 1995 British television moguls simply lost interest in chess. The low point, a national disgrace in the opinion of many, was when the 2000 Kasparov v Kramnik World Championship was staged in London a few miles down the road from BBC headquarters. In spite of this proximity, the BBC ignored a contest held on British soil, which sensationally saw Kasparov lose his crown to his young challenger.
Much of the apparently lost footage from this Golden Age (sadly not including the 1983 Mastergame) has been resurrected by the Florida-based company, "chessondvd" which offers a huge variety of international standard DVDs on chess which can be accessed by anyone around the world. The website is http://www.chessondvd.com. The material includes games and commentary by Kasparov, Karpov, Short, Adams, Speelman, King, Fischer, Spassky and Botvinnik. Anand - Kasparov
Meanwhile, Kasparov has been doing his very best to grab TV headlines himself, though not for chess related reasons. Although retired from elite chess, the former king of chess, continues to pour out fascinating books on chess champions, chess theory and chess as a metaphor for business and life in general. As noted above, even more headline grabbing, and certainly more dangerous, have been his attempts to unsettle the Putin regime in Moscow. Kasparov's arrest at a Moscow demonstration WAS SEEN ON VIRTUALLY EVERY TV CHANNEL AROUND THE PLANET. One wonders whether Kasparov, the aspiring politician, has found time to absorb the lessons of Machiavelli's standard work The Prince, the political equivalent of Aron Nimzowitsch's bible of chess strategy My System. In The Prince (and the Prince stands for any ruler, such as Putin himself) Machiavelli points out that when the prince is neither hated nor despised by the mass and also enjoys the goodwill of the public it is impossible for anyone to have the temerity to conspire against him. With President Putin's approval ratings in excess of 70% one wonders whether Kasparov might not be better advised to turn his hand back to competitive chess, the one activity where he was undoubtedly the supreme authority. How Life Imitates Chess by Garry Kasparov is published by William Heinemann. Revolution in the 70s by Garry Kasparov is published by Everyman Chess.
Keene On Chess is
Sponsored by...YOU!!
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The Chessville
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Kasparov-Short,
London 1993. Particular bonuses were the two World
Championship matches held in London in 1986 and 1993, the latter sponsored
by The Times. For a month the likes of Carol Vorderman, Dominic
Lawson, Tony Buzan and (remarkably) Terry Waite, could be seen on various
channels, joining minds with a variety of chess experts to explain the
championship games to the watching public.
Kasparov
v Deep Blue. Why chess coverage came to an end on British
television is hard to explain, given that the most sensational chess
matches, attracting the widest public ever known for chess, took place
shortly afterwards. This included Kasparov's two matches against the
IBM Deep Blue computer as well as Kramnik's sensational defeat of the
champion (as mentioned above). Moreover, this took place on the BBC's
very doorstep in Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London, in 2000.
Tony
Miles. Another tragedy was the 1983 edition of the BBC
Mastergame. This was won by Tony Miles who dramatically defeated the
then World Champion, Anatoly Karpov, in the final. Unfortunately a
technicians strike meant that this fascinating victory for the British
grandmaster was never aired.
