A tale reaches me from this morning's playoff at the British Championships in North Sheilds. Partway through the rapidplay event (won 2-0 by Gawain Jones, who thus becomes 2012 British Champion), the arbiter Alex McFarlane was forced to expel and ban from the playing room a spectator, whose mobile phone rang during the play.
And who was the culprit? Obviously an inexperienced chess fan, unused to the finer points of the Laws of Chess, and their prohibition on mobiles, you are probably thinking. But alas, no! It was in fact someone who might have been presumed to know better.
Step forward this blog's oldest friend, Stewart "When I drew up the Laws of Chess" Reuben!
