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Last update: Friday June 3, 2005 9:44
The Smith & Williamson British Bus Chess Championship took place Sunday 1 August in Scarborough as one of the curtain-raisers for the Smith & Williamson British Chess Championships.
The event took place on an open-air double decker bus which ran along the coast and back from about 10am to noon which was enough to get in five rounds. The players played without clocks.
Click here to see a picture of the last such event I ran in Blackpool in 1988 at the Grieveson Grant British Championships on a tram. I also ran one on an open air double decker sightseeing bus in London for the Lloyds Bank Masters.
Next year we will use the horse-drawn Douglas trams in the Isle of Man.
Jovanka Houska was a deserved winner with 4.5/5 and her boy friend Arne Hagaether (Norway) came second with 4/5. David Howell scored 3.5/5.
David Howell gave a free simultaneous display that afternoon against all-comers by the bandstand.
Stewart Reuben
Jovanka Houska Reports on the EventI guess you have all heard of extreme ironing, boxing chess and other such daring activities, well, to herald the start of the 91st British Championships there was an enterprising contest to find out who would be the British Bus Champion....
First here is the recipe - put X players on an open-topped bus arm them with normal chess sets (i.e. when the bus moves they will do the same) spice things up with North England winds and cold weather and lets see what happens next....
Thrilling is certainly a word that springs to mind, all of the players were continually "helped" by the Elements (divine intervention one could say?) with one participant remarking betwen laughs that he really could not remember playing the unusual alignment his pieces had formed on the 1st rank! Nonetheless the game continued with both players agreeing a draw shortly afterwards - a highly recommended tactic indeed!!
A timetable clash with the Sunday Rapidplay tournament meant that only a handful of players turned up (or maybe it was just the foolhardy!). Talented David Howell and myself were the clear favourites with dangerous Arne Hagesaether and Chris Briscoe not far behind. Things started very positively for me when I won against Chris with a rather nice queen sacrifice but as I soon found out (as did everyone else) that the more times the bus circled around Scarborough the tougher the games became. But, fortune favours the lucky and as soon as all the laughing and excitement subsided I emerged the winner with 4 1/2 points out of 5. After David and I drew in the third round it had seemed inevitable that there would be a tie for first place but undettered by all the chaos Arne calmly defeated David thus leapfrogging into second place (or maybe Vice-Champion as FIDE call it??!? :) )
However it must be said that all the players were impressive throughout, keeping the board and pieces steady, re-constructing positions and having to play chess whilst on a moving bus requires mental and physical endurance and dexterity. Perhaps we have the new Olympic sport of the Future!!!!!!
Anyway, in a true Oscar-speech style I'd like to thank one person for making this possible - Arne - thanks for lending me your coat!!
Jovanka Houska