The chess pieces started disappearing from the board before the game even got going — and it had nothing to do with the skill of the Russian and British teams playing in a video relay match on Thursday. The pieces were made of ice and both teams, playing on giant boards in Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow and Trafalgar Square in London, were given a time limit of just 30 seconds for each move, as the sculptures steadily melted.
Unseasonally warm winters in both Moscow and London, where temperatures hovered at around five and 12 degrees Celsius (48 and 53 degrees Fahrenheit) respectively, gave a special sense of urgency to the hour-long game.
One of the pieces, a king fashioned to resemble a Kremlin tower, had already partially melted away before the game began, losing its emblematic Soviet star.
The game, in which Russian and British chessmasters Anatoly Karpov and Nigel Short faced off alongside celebrities and budding chess talents, ended in a draw.
Source: Agence France-Presse
