Game Blotter

Under pressure for failing to stop one of his 18 year-old team members from playing against an Israeli at the World Youth Chess Championships, the president of the Sudanese Chess Association resigned and issued an apology to the Palestinian and Sudanese people.

Eight people were fined for playing the game of Parcheesi after midnight in the town square of Malaga, Spain. Neighbors complained about noise made by the rolling dice. Responding police also told the players that they weren’t allowed to drink in the area. It wasn’t alcoholic drink, mind you, that was the problem. The players only had water and cola. Way to go, Malaga! Keep those ruffians off the streets!

Hasbro is claiming copyright on a list of words used in Scrabble tournaments. (To be clear, that’s just an electronically-stored list, not a printed book, nor a set of definitions.) Many believe the claim to be on shaky legal ground. However, the North American Scrabble Players Association and small enterprises that produce game-playing software aids are intimidated by Hasbro’s size and resources.

The Prime Minister of Norway has refused an invitation to attend and make the first move at the upcoming World Chess Championship (where the defending champion is Norway’s own Magnus Carlsen). The tournament is being held in Sochi, Russia and the Prime Minister has cited “international circumstances” as her reason for not attending.

In Detroit, a young girl, age 7, was caught in the crossfire between two cars speeding up the street with the occupants shooting at each other. What was the gunfire all about? What else? A dice game.

Someone in China is making a paper version of Blizzard’s Hearthstone CCG.

The Department of Labor investigated employment practices at the Game Manufacturer’s Association and found that the Association had misclassified several positions as exempt when they should have been hourly. GAMA is now distributing back pay for overtime.

According to Mexican authorities, Hasbro owes $250 million in back taxes because it allegedly improperly accounted for cross-border transactions.

Yet again, Outlaw Press stands accused of illegally copying roleplaying material and the artwork of others to sell it.

A New York City man who has sold flowers and taught children Chess on a Harlem street corner for more than 10 years has been put out of business by the Parks Department for lack of a vending permit. Of course, he could have moved down the street but he preferred the space available in Abraham Lincoln Playground.

A South Florida school district has been unable to launch its system-wide Chess program a month after the start of classes. The Chess sets it’s importing from China have been held up by customs. That may seem unreasonable but maybe it’s not. Chess sets have been convenient smuggling devices before.

An American Ebola patient in isolation was given a Chess set and NERF basketball hoop for entertainment.

Employees of the Aviation Club de France, a Poker club in Paris, were arrested on charges of money laundering for organized crime.

Project Sunshine is an outreach program of the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association. Members organize a Chess tournament for inmates at the Cebu City Rehabilitation Center.

In Belize City, two men were playing Dominoes mid-afternoon, when another man drove up and shot at them eight times. One of the players was killed, the other injured.

In Scotch Plains, New Jersey, an 11 year-old highly ranked (candidate master) Chess player was shot and killed by his father, who also took his own life.