Marathon chess test for charity
A MEMBER of Banbury Chess Club will be playing a 24-hour chessathon to raise money for charity.
Mr Portman is a patient of the cardiac ICD team himself and has an implantable cardioverter device – a combination of a pacemaker and defibrillator – which may have saved his life several times.
He said: “Such equipment and the operation to implant it costs several thousands of pounds each time.
“I want to give something back to say thank you for all the support so far and ensure some funds are added, ready for the next people who will undergo this life-changing procedure – will it be you next?”
The event, which will run from 10am on Saturday, November 24 until 10am on Sunday, November 25, will take place at Banbury’s Castle Quay Shopping Centre.
It will be opened by Oxfordshire MP Sir Tony Baldry who will have the first game.
A unit in the shopping centre has been provided for the event where people will be able to pop in and look at the games as well as picking up information about ICDs and related issues.
Although Mr Portman will be having several opponents he is the only one who will be playing for the whole 24-hour period.
In order to make the event as exciting as possible the games are quickplay, which means that the players only have ten minutes each.
“The point is that even though people may have ‘broken’ hearts they still have their minds and chess is a superb way to keep and develop cognitive powers during difficult times.
“Chess is a way to escape the rigours of life for a while and create your own story on the board,” said Mr Portman.
Source: http://www.banburyguardian.co.uk
Awesome idea!