Broadcaster asks is chess racist for rule that lets white play first

THE Australian state broadcaster has been criticised for planning a debate on whether chess is racist because white plays first.

A former member of the Australian Chess Federation (ACF) has described the proposed discussion as “bull----” and “irrelevant”.

John Adams, 38, says a radio producer from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation contacted him to ask if he would join the debate. He wrote on Twitter: “The ABC have taken the view that chess is racist given that white always goes first! They are seeking comment from a chess official as to whether the rules of chess need to be altered!

“Trust the taxpayer-funded national broadcaster to apply ideological Marxist frameworks to anything and everything in Australia!”

Mr Adams represented the ACF in 2015, but is now an economist.

The first documented evidence of white being given the first move in chess dates back to a tournament in New York in 1880, according to Robert John Mccrary, a chess historian.

However, he adds that by 1862, the tradition of white playing first was firmly entrenched in the sport.

It is thought the custom began in the medieval era, as a countermeasure to black being seen as a “lucky” colour.

Protests over the death of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer in the American city of Minneapolis in May have thrust issues of racial inequality to the forefront of political debate.

However, Mr Adams believes that bringing chess into discussions of structural racism is a step too far. He wrote: “With all the drama resulting from Covid-19, I am amazed the ABC is broadcasting on irrelevant topics!”

The “white first” issue has been debated in the chess world before. Two grandmasters, Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Anish Giri of the Netherlands, released a video challenging the convention last year to mark the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

In the film, Carlsen said: “This rule was never about race or politics, but we can break it to send a message to everyone who believes that colour should grant advantage in chess or in life.”

‘Trust the taxpayer-funded state broadcaster to apply ideological Marxist frameworks to everything’