Drunk top grandmaster dozes off in India
Submitted by
Phobetor on Fri, 09/04/2009 at 5:59am.
In the third round of the 4th Kolkata Open in India, French GM Vladislav Tkachiev (2669) turned up drunk for his game and dozed off after just 11 moves, losing the round on technical grounds, domestic media reported on Friday.
Tkachiev arrived for the game against Praveen Kumar in such an inebriated state that he could hardly sit in his chair and soon fell asleep, resting his head on the table, Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
'Each time he fell asleep, players around would try to wake him up with a shake of the shoulder,' the Indian Express reported alongside photos showing Tkachiev with his head resting on the table.
'Some even offered him water and Mr Tkachiev, having briefly refreshed himself at the change-room while his opponent waited, dozed off again and eventually had to be carried off.'
The paper added that chess star Nigel Short of England expressed disgust at the incident, advising the organisers to promptly eject the player from the tournament.
Tkachiev lost the game for not completing his moves within the time control of one hour and 30 minutes. He was warned and reprimanded by the organisers afterwards but has been allowed to take part in the remainder of the competition.
Sources: Thomson Reuters India, Straits Times
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