tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post5745124567369814692..comments2024-03-28T14:16:10.498+11:00Comments on Dr Kevin Bonham: White Goes First, Right Goes Beatup: The ABC Did Not Attempt To Cancel ChessKevin Bonhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-15863414923418465382020-07-10T14:24:21.660+10:002020-07-10T14:24:21.660+10:00Never has my path to 15 minutes of fame been clear...Never has my path to 15 minutes of fame been clearer.andrea leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06627704131109891318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-5613182217942554702020-07-01T22:25:16.581+10:002020-07-01T22:25:16.581+10:00Not viral but there was some reporting of it in th...Not viral but there was some reporting of it in the specialised chess media. Incidentally I wasn't elected to that position, which was a bullet dodged as the election was incredibly slow. <br /><br />The ACF supported Kasparov in the election following his very successful visit to Australia and as a result I was invited on a scenic cruise around Tromso. Some people including Kasparov went fishing off the boat during this cruise. (I didn't as I was too busy eating/drinking/chatting/more drinking, but I did watch some of the action.)Kevin Bonhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-16391348182508599442020-07-01T18:30:08.248+10:002020-07-01T18:30:08.248+10:00As the risk of under appreciating the importance o...As the risk of under appreciating the importance of the 2014 FIDE elections I don't recall your (mal) appointment as scrutineer going viral globally!<br /><br />Fishing with Kasparov - now that is worth a post all on its own. There has to be a story behind that.<br /><br />CheersAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14394857076835275405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-26424995412806488752020-07-01T17:49:10.707+10:002020-07-01T17:49:10.707+10:00Not the first time actually - the Kasparov ticket ...Not the first time actually - the Kasparov ticket nominated me as "scrutineer" for the 2014 FIDE election, following a misunderstanding in which I intended to offer my services as an observer but was instead nominated for election as a vote-counter. <br /><br />I have even been on a fishing boat with Kasparov! There is something about watching arguably the greatest chess player ever catch fish of the non-chess variety that is quite indescribable. Kevin Bonhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-58938046669680813332020-07-01T17:41:38.199+10:002020-07-01T17:41:38.199+10:00It is amazing to think that Chess, Kevin Bonham an...It is amazing to think that Chess, Kevin Bonham and Garry Kasparov have been mentioned in the same sentence! <br /><br />Chess, Magnus Carlson and Garry Kasparov would be uneventful.<br /><br />We truly live in amazing times.<br /><br />Keep up the good work Kevin...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14394857076835275405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-80078421733654627572020-06-28T09:36:16.839+10:002020-06-28T09:36:16.839+10:00Yes Kevin, I think the nub of it is your remark th...Yes Kevin, I think the nub of it is your remark that the pieces are not people with black and white skins but armies wearing different uniforms. Given its origins in India and Persia, the armies they were thinking of were probably engaged in civil war (I'm thinking in particular of Cyrus's rebellion against his brother Artaxerxes, famously written-up by Xenophon). They would have shared the same skin colour inside their uniforms. No race-consciousness there - just a quest for power.Jack Arandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06210027164177789357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-46690581001914000212020-06-26T22:59:47.051+10:002020-06-26T22:59:47.051+10:00It was in the context of a show that isn't pol...It was in the context of a show that isn't political and is basically a curiosity segment. Stuff like how to make the perfect cup of tea, the etiquette of opening umbrellas inside, whether you can hard boil turtle eggs, who does the driving in listeners' relationships (to give some random examples). They saw some tweets on social media, they thought it would be interesting to know what the facts were about it, they thought listeners would find it interesting, they decided to ask some chess people. I doubt it was originally expected to be remotely serious (and if you heard the talkback afterwards, it didn't stay that way for long either.) <br /><br />If the ABC broadcasting fluffy items on the public purse is a problem, then fine, but that's a much broader issue that should be engaged with on its own terms.<br /><br />The other outlets are entitled to their "interest" in the fact that the matter was even being broadcast at all, but they are not entitled to their own facts or their own baseless conclusions. Kevin Bonhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-7931345275495593872020-06-26T22:37:19.666+10:002020-06-26T22:37:19.666+10:00I am not suggesting any conspiracy, I am suggestin...I am not suggesting any conspiracy, I am suggesting a unilateral failure by the Tele to disclose information that readers may consider relevant. But I should probably change it to "link" (singular). <br /><br />It is relevant at the least because the existence of a prior relationship - even if purely freelance - between you and the newspaper may have caused it to report your claims more readily or less critically than would otherwise have been the case. I realise it is only the Daily Telegraph and I give it a lot of credit by implying it would have applied critical thought to this story no matter what.<br /><br />In my own city, Greg Barns is a columnist at the Hobart Mercury and also is an at times outspoken barrister, a former sporting administrator and a backer of Julian Assange. When the Mercury reports on matters involving Barns it will often (not always) disclose that he is a columnist. <br /><br />If I were to make an explosive public claim that looked like it was a claim of fact, without providing evidence that proved it true, and the Mercury was reporting favourably on that, I would expect the Mercury to disclose that I am someone who it from time to time commissions to write about elections. <br /><br />The claim I am referring to here is the claim that the ABC had a preconceived view that chess was racist. There is absolutely no public evidence for that claim so if it is true then the only evidence for it could be in unverifiable conversations that you had with them. Kevin Bonhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-76568136628071744622020-06-26T13:53:12.735+10:002020-06-26T13:53:12.735+10:00Kevin,
By the way - I have no 'links' to ...Kevin,<br /><br />By the way - I have no 'links' to the Daily Telegraph. <br /><br />In the past, I have written for several publications on a freelance basis including the Daily Telegraph, news.com.au, the Canberra Times and the Spectator Australia, among others.<br /><br />Attempting to suggest a conspiracy when no conspiracy exists is not a useful contribution to the conversation.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01163204027524871893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-84636626926056947202020-06-26T08:38:08.498+10:002020-06-26T08:38:08.498+10:00This article is pawnagraphic. you get there by Roo...This article is pawnagraphic. you get there by Rook or by crookNot Trampishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12738633092867411422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-50474697894872695582020-06-26T06:02:55.016+10:002020-06-26T06:02:55.016+10:00The fact that the ABC chose to even spend time dis...The fact that the ABC chose to even spend time discussing this is the point. Really, it's gotten to the point where we're discussing which piece in a game goes first may indicate racial bias? And how does that advance the cause of anti racism. The publicly funded ABC should not have even entertained this nonsense, and that was the point of the other media outlets interest. And that interest was at least as valid as the ABC decision honour this ludicrous rubbish by discussing it.Xanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04412903175067525497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-58615304232020989482020-06-25T22:08:35.917+10:002020-06-25T22:08:35.917+10:00Hi Kevin,
Thankyou for an excellent article. I am...Hi Kevin,<br /><br />Thankyou for an excellent article. I am looking forward to the link to your interview.<br /><br />dedwardsdedwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11754130418220136533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-68846211236075646322020-06-25T18:13:47.384+10:002020-06-25T18:13:47.384+10:00And the moral of the story is: Never post a light-...And the moral of the story is: Never post a light-hearted musing touching on a highly divisive topic, unless you’re prepared to see it twisted and radiated back to you from pages of Breitbart.Stuart Khanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02400297709006653567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-50654028278758708602020-06-25T14:56:40.831+10:002020-06-25T14:56:40.831+10:001) I may edit in a comment re Kasparov but it seem...1) I may edit in a comment re Kasparov but it seemed he was taking poor quality news reports at face value.<br /><br />2) Because they saw a tweet from someone who had concerns about chess in this regard and decided it would be interesting to explore. The show covers a lot of everyday trivia and isn't generally political.Kevin Bonhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-15272105645380287512020-06-25T14:24:16.188+10:002020-06-25T14:24:16.188+10:00Kevin,
A few points with your blog post:
1) You ...Kevin,<br /><br />A few points with your blog post:<br /><br />1) You didn't mention the comments of Garry Kasparov which I think are important. They have been reported widely - see the following link: <br /><br />https://www.news.com.au/sport/more-sports/abc-is-chess-racist-debate-garry-kasparov-slams-broadcaster/news-story/bf497773690718a9cfca1b2746e3e7b5<br /><br />2) Why did the ABC focus on chess and not checkers or GO? Is it because in these other games - black goes first?<br /><br />It is clear that the ABC have a pre-defined political agenda and they attempted to use chess to further their narrative about racial inequality.<br /><br />This is political corruption at its worst in my view. The ABC, as a public broadcaster, has no business entertaining this sort of topic.<br /><br />This is why I took a very tough stand against the ABC and their behaviour.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />John Adams Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01163204027524871893noreply@blogger.com