ABC airs interview on whether chess is racist, host says Minties are “wrong”
The public broadcaster has aired an interview about whether chess’ rules are racist after the host slammed Minties as “wrong” for being white.
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A chess player has denied the game is racist on ABC live radio in a controversial segment aired despite fierce criticism the broadcaster was “foolish” and wasting taxpayer dollars for planning it.
It comes as the show’s host denies the segment was about whether chess was racist despite later slamming popular confectionary Minties as “wrong” for being white and questioning the colour of chess pieces.
The broadcaster copped a stern rebuke from chess player John Adams, 38, on Tuesday after he received a phone call from a producer for James Valentine’s afternoon show requesting an interview about whether chess is racist.
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The former Australian Chess Federation representative blasted the broadcaster on Twitter for wasting taxpayer dollars, saying the ABC should be focusing on “bigger issues” like the economy and COVID-19.
World-renowned chess player and human rights activist Garry Kasparov also weighed in on the debate, accusing the broadcaster of being “foolish” and wasting public dollars.
If you are worried that the game of chess is racist, please take up Go, where black moves first, instead of looking foolish by wasting taxpayer money at a state broadcaster to "investigate" it! https://t.co/DPjvvWbqcb
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) June 23, 2020
But the show’s host James Valentine was quick to rush to the defence of the segment on Wednesday when he aired an interview on the subject despite the public backlash.
At the start of the show, Valentine defended the producer, saying Adams was approached after Valentine saw a debate on Twitter about whether the fact white chess pieces always start first was politically incorrect.
“On social media I came across a post from a father about his child who asked ‘why does white have to go first?’ The father, thinking about the question, considered it in the context of these times and the discussion about black and white,” he said.
In a strange defense of the segment, Valentine said he “never intended” to run an interview on whether chess was racist, but instead to “have a discussion about a discussion.”
But just minutes later, Valentine went on to launch an unusual attack on Minties, saying it was “wrong” the sweets were only available in white and this was another subject he wanted to talk about.
Despite denying the subject of the segment, Valentine went on to interview another Chess Federation representative about the history behind the colour of chess pieces.
In the segment, Valentine probed Kevin Bonham, Vice President of the ACF, about “why” the pieces were coloured that way.
He dodged direct race-related questions but was ultimately told the colour of the pieces had “nothing to do with race.”
“In terms of the actual reasons for why they’re black and white as far as I can tell there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of it being a racial thing,” Bonham said.
Instead, Bonham told Valentine the pieces were coloured that way to “standardise” the game and its rules.
He had previously said there would be serious implications in elite-level chess if white was not allowed to go first.
“There are complex patterns that require white to move first,” he said.
“At the casual and club level, it does not matter which colour starts the game.”
It comes after Mr Adams blasted the ABC for wasting taxpayer’s money on “bullshit.”
“They called me up and asked whether I was the John Adams involved in chess. Then they said with everything going on, they wanted to have a conversation about white going first - and the racial context of whether white should go first,” he said.
“I said I’m no longer involved but I passed them along to another person.”
He then posted about the bizarre call on Twitter, which attracted hundreds of retweets and comments.
“The response to the tweet showed that common sense is prevailing. People want the national broadcaster to focus on bigger issues. People are struggling with the economy, with their health, with the lockdown. They don’t want their money wasted on bullshit.”