Chess

THE Olympic Games for chess starts tomorrow in Istanbul. With a record 160 countries, the competition will be just as intense as the recent running, jumping and cycling beanfest, but this is a sitting-down sport where gold is almost certainly out of reach for the UK teams. Russia, Ukraine and China are favourites.

Scotland is represented by a team of five former Scottish Champions: 1. GM Colin McNab (Dundee); 2. GM Keti Grant (Edinburgh); 3. GM John Shaw (Kilmarnock); 4. FM Alan Tate (Wandering Dragons); 5. FM Graham Morrison (St Annes). Scotland can boast their strongest ever captain, GM Sarunas Sulskis, rated 2564. His visit to the Prestwick Congress in May went well and he was keen to renew his Scottish connections after a dispute prevented his participation in the Lithuanian squad. Live coverage will be available at the official site www.istanbul2012.tsf.org.tr.

GM Svetozar Gligoric, one of the greatest chess Olympians, died in Belgrade this month at the age of 89. He played in 15 Olympiads between 1950 and 1982, 13 times on board one. He only played against Scotland once, defeating WA Fairhurst in this top board encounter at the Moscow Olympiad 1956. White: W Fairhurst (Scotland), Black: S Gligoric (Yugoslavia). Fairhurst had just played the poor move 16 round one to b1 (Qe3 was better) 16...Rxd6 17 Bd5 If 17 Qxd6 Rd8 and the black queen should dominate the rooks. 17...Bxf3 18 gxf3 Qc7 and White stayed a pawn down for very little, eventually losing at move 42.

Gligoric was a frequent visitor to Scotland during the 1960s, giving simultaneous displays and famously 
winning the 1967 Dundee Centenary International.