To the best of my knowledge, Michael Basman is the first officially titled chess master to ever stand in a UK parliamentary election. Marmaduke Wyvill, MP for Richmond Yorkshire, was an accomplished player who took second prize in the great London tournament of 1851, but he could not have been described as a chess professional.
Basman will be standing as an independent in Kingston-upon-Thames, and his manifesto is a curious blend of selective support for Jeremy Corbyn-style intervention combined with extreme libertarianism. (The manifesto can be found at endtaxsploitation.co.uk.) This week’s game and puzzle are an excursion into Basmanland.
Keene-Basman: Bognor 1967; King’s Indian Attack
1 e4 e6 2 d3 b5 3 Nf3 Bb7 4 g3 Nf6 5 Bg2 Bc5 This is hard to justify, since the king’s bishop is normally needed on the kingside for defensive purposes.
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