Chess as an Accessory

Some time ago, I watched a relaxed interview with BBC foreign affairs correspondent, John Simpson which took place in what I assume to be Simpson’s home.  In front of Simpson was a chess set. The chess board wasn’t clear enough to see what was going on in the game but it looked pretty much like the starting position but with what looked like a whole other set of pieces. It is of course possible that he was in the middle of a game but hadn’t got round to tidying his house up before the BBC came to interview him. That is what would happen to me I'm sure. More likely though is that it was a staged prop to make him look clever, interesting or at least more than just a foreign affairs correspondent and a man with a variety of interests. Perhaps it was just one of his hobbies that he wanted to display to the world in this rare opportunity when he wasn’t in a war zone where a chess set would be less appropriate.

I think its interesting when someone chooses to show something of (what they want us to think is) their personality.