Of course I knew you meant black. It appeared to me to be a nonsense response to what I had said.
My fault for taking things too seriously.
A touch refreshed on my end 
. I started this silly thread and can't bring myself to take it too seriously.
Assume much, Chin?
There are several other photos of him playing with boards turned the right way. And it appears that he holds the game in high regard and plays regularly. Why so quick to assume he's a complete dumbass? Perhaps this was a simple mistake. And playing like that wouldn't make a difference anyway, unless they were taking notes and getting all analytical about it.
Maybe he's playing a complete rookie -- some sycophant who was like "Oh, i know how to play chess, Mr. Branson! Let's play so that i can take a photo and show the world! And i'm going to play all of my pieces from this side of the board first, because i want to impress you with my innovative approach to conventional wisdom!"
Meanwhile, Branson is all like "Ummm, i didn't notice at first, but the board is turned the wrong way -- the maid must've moved it. I guess we'll just play on like it is -- it doesn't really matter at this point. And, ummm, your opening is, ummmmm, 'unconventional.' In all my years of playing, i've never seen such a hole developed on white's queen-side (even though technically it's the king-side) back ranks so early in the game."
Or, yes, maybe it's just a simple, staged photo-op of a non-game and he's a complete idiot when it comes to chess. But i kind of doubt it. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until i have more information.
It's set up wrong, the set is for show not playing, and the position is nonsense.
It would be an assumption to say he's a decent player.
Maybe he didn't notice? Any decent player would immediately notice. Not because they check what color the corner square is, because the position will look totally wrong.
But I also wasn't being totally serious. Of course he could be playing an idiot and just went along with the silliness because it doesn't really matter.
Yes, assumption is the key word in all of this stuff. That is my only point.
He's obviously a smart guy. I don't know much about him. Just because he's smart in some arenas (business, say) doesn't mean he is in others (chess, say). But, who knows, he might be more highly rated than even you. Or lower-rated than even me. We just don't know, so i'm reluctant to insult him when i lack more concrete evidence.
One assumption i am willing to make, though, is that you would kick the holy living f**k out of me if we ever played, even if i insisted that h1 was black.
If you all didn't notice, the passengers are mainly sitting on the edges of the plane, and the runway is meandering down through the centre and will take off in the right hand corner. 
Who's that?
Who's that?
Richard Branson (net worth 4.9 Billion $)
Great work, MickinMD
hmmm....
it wont let me paste image
You don't paste an image, you insert it with the image icon above the text box you type in to post.
It's Sir (very) Rich to his mates.
Sorry. My Mom is from Richmond Yorkshire but being born in the USA I forget these "formalities" 
Of course I knew you meant black. It appeared to me to be a nonsense response to what I had said.
My fault for taking things too seriously.