Is chess a sport? Naively, I once considered that to be a philosophical question. Physical strength or dexterity – nope. Feeling of exertion and elevated heart rate – yes, at least if you’re doing it with soul. Global competition and recognition – yes, emphatically. It was no accident that Louis Vuitton’s ad campaign last year pictured Messi and Ronaldo playing chess.

A better question would be ‘Does chess deserve government funding?’ For a game with obvious cognitive, educational and cultural benefits, the answer ought to be an unequivocal yes, and in a great many countries, including within western Europe, the game does indeed receive meaningful government support.

Alas, in the UK chess is left to fend for itself. Earlier this year, a parliamentary question to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) highlighted the fact that the DCMS provides no funding to the English Chess Federation. (If not sport, surely it falls under culture?) Sport England, a body which answers to DCMS, and is funded by the government and the National Lottery, does not classify chess as a sport, though it supports several niche sports with only a modest physical component. Add to that the fact that organising bodies which oversee physical sports receive a more favourable tax treatment. (A European Court of Justice ruling in 2017 determined that bridge was not a sport, and thus the English Bridge Union was not eligible for an exemption from VAT.)

The classification of sport, at a governmental level, ought either to be broadened, or there should be a separate status for mindsports like chess, recognising their considerable value to society alongside conventional sports.

Last month’s chess match between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, held at the Palace of Westminster, will perhaps have brought the matter some political attention. The Commons won by 7.5-4.5, and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor and herself a former junior champion, received the trophy from Malcolm Pein, the CEO of Chess in Schools and Communities, which helped to organise it. The event was opened by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK. The team match was coupled with the ‘UK-Ukraine Solidarity match’, a high-profile individual contest between Britain’s pre-eminent grandmaster Michael Adams and Andrey Volokitin, the Ukrainian champion, with hosting split between the Ukrainian embassy in Holland Park and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Canary Wharf. Volokitin won by 4.5-3.5, although the game below shows a neat win for Adams from game 4.

White’s f2-f4 push has increased the pressure, but the best response was to grab it: 21…gxf4 Then 22 e5! looks scary, but 22…Qg5 23 exd6 Be6 still offers reasonable hopes of survival.

Michael Adams–Andrei Volokitin

UK vs Ukraine Solidarity Match, March 2023

21…Be6 22 f5! Embarrassing the bishop Bxa2 This pawn is poisoned, but the alternatives were not much better: 22…Bd7 23 Rxd6 crashes through, or 22…Bc8 23 Rf1 Qf6 24 e5! dxe5 25 Rxd8 Qxd8 26 f6+ wins. 23 Ra4 The bishop is trapped. Michael Adams wraps up the game without much difficulty. d5 24 Rxa2 dxe4 25 Rf1 Qf6 26 Qg4 Re8 27 Ra4 e3 28 Qf3 Re7 29 Ra3 Rc8 30 c4 Rc6 31 Rxa7 Rb6 32 Ra3 Qe5 33 Rd3 Rf6 34 h4 gxh4 35 Qg4+ Kh7 36 Qxh4 Re8 37 Rd5 Qb2 38 Re1 Rg8 39 Qd4 Qb4 40 Rd1 Black resigns