News In Focus
13 February 2008
Society sponsors chess tournament
The Law Society of Scotland is sponsoring a major chess championship for Scottish secondary schools, which will take place this Sunday.
The event is at Perth racecourse and is organised by Chess Scotland on behalf of the Society. Guests will include retired senior judge Lord Kirkwood, who as a student in the 1950s, represented Scotland as a chess player and once played against the legendary Viktor Korchnoi of the USSR.
Douglas Mill, chief executive of the Society, is also a keen player and starred in one of Scotland’s top school teams in the 1970s.
He said: “Chess is a great game for young people. It enhances life skills, such as problem solving, critical analysis, concentration and teamwork. But, of course, fundamentally, like all great games, at its root it’s just great fun.”
Craig Pritchett, of Chess Scotland, said: “Many people have a stereotypical view that chess is a dreadfully slow game. In this event, however, teams will play five rounds of 50 minute chess for the entire game – overstep your individual 25 minute time allowance and you lose.”