Short: Chessers Shoot Themselves

On the eve of the strongest tournament in London, an event that will attract hundreds of thousands, Jonathan Clegg considers why chess has so far failed to attract the big dollars. He quotes Nigel Short:

Chess has simply failed to tap into its enormous potential: We have too many people shooting ourselves in the foot, or in the head if you like, and we're not enough progressive enough as a sport," says Nigel Short, a former world championship challenger and current British No. 1.

He blames the International Chess Federation, known by its French acronym FIDE, for failing to leverage the sport's enormous global reach. With 158 member nations, FIDE is the second largest world-wide sporting organization after FIFA, the governing body of world football.

From the WSJ's, "Chess Wants Sponsors as Mates".

Note that, as I posted last week, WIM Arianne Caoili will also be playing in the Women's Invitational.