An unforgettable event with Mikhail Gorbachev This was quite a memorable moment. Former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev was a VIP guest at the historic Battle of the Gender match between Anatoly Karpov and Susan in Lindsborg. The match ended in a 3-3 tie (Rapid, blitz, and Fischer Random). The local officials knew that Gorbachev likes tea. So the local tea shop spent months preparing a special unique blend of tea for him. At the press conference in front of about 150 journalists, photographers, and VIP guests, they brought him the tea. He looked over at Susan and Karpov all puzzled. There was only 1 cup, which was for him. At this point, he leaned over to Susan and basically said its not gentleman like for him to drink the tea while the she had nothing. So he asked her how she likes her tea and prepared it for her with 1 spoon of sugar in front of everyone (most did not know what took place at that time). This is the picture of that moment and it has made the cover of many magazines (including Chess Life) as well as a number of newspapers. Why did they choose this picture? Because the journalists and photographers were seated on the left side of Gorbachev while I decided to sit on the right side. This is the side which you can clearly see the mark on his head. The next picture took place when Susan told the journalists what Gorbachev just did for her with the tea, and everyone had a good laugh. As a chess player, you must plan ahead and be prepared for anything which may or may not happen! Same with photography :)
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 16:14:53 +0000