Today is the first day of National Chess Week in the UK. It raises money for the children's charity Barnardo's. It launched last October (photos and stories here and here.)
The official site makes much hay of celebrities who play chess. Madonna and Lennox Lewis are predictably trotted out. (We saw this story here last year.) Chess uses celebrities for image, but most of the celebrities use chess the same way. I'm sure some of them really like the game, and a few even back it up by sponsoring chess clubs and events. But much as many fictional characters use chess to show intelligence and depth, publicists and celebs use it too. I prefer 13-year-old Katie's Chess Week testimony about why she plays chess.
Mig, when I read the first 3 sentences I thought, "Man, those Brits have some loooooonnnngg weeks over there!" So I then assumed that it must have been moved to January this year, which subsequent clicking confirmed. Using the reverse strategy of the AF4C they could still celebrate it this coming October and if anyone noticed the double up they could claim that it's National Chess Week 2006 - just celebrated early. Of course, why not celebrate it two weeks during the year, but put them together and call it National Chess Fortnight (with the requisite Rook in the background of the logo)!