Ukraine faces off against United Kingdom in a chess match

• Sir Lindsay Hoyle organized the UK-Ukraine Solidarity Chess Match.
• To promote Parliament’s assistance to Ukraine.
• The UK-Ukraine Solidarity Chess Match features a £38,000 prize.

A corner of Parliament was taken over by knights and bishops as two grandmasters competed in the first UK-Ukraine Solidarity Chess Match.

The top-ranked chess player in the UK, Michael Adams, played the reigning Ukrainian champion, Andrei Volokitin, in an eight-minute “blitz” match.

A diplomatic draw was the outcome of the match.

The game was organized by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to promote Parliament’s assistance to Ukraine while it resists a Russian invasion.

Sir Lindsay played the official opening move, the Queen’s Pawn from d2 to d4. Vadym Prystaiko, the ambassador of Ukraine to the UK, answered with Knight f6.

At the same time, the House of Commons triumphed by a score of 8.5 to 3.5 in a series of 12 games pitting MPs against Lords.

Jesse Norman, a transport minister for the Conservative Party, played for the Commons against Rachel Reeves, a shadow chancellor for Labor, Chris Stephens of the SNP, John Baron, and Tobias Ellwood of the Conservative Party.

Lord Dafydd Wigley of Plaid Cymru, Lord Robert Winston of Labour, and Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe of the Crossbenches were some of the members of the Lords who participated.

Sir Lindsay said he was “honored to host the first challenge match in Speaker’s House between leading players of two close allies”.

“Parliament and the UK are giving support to Ukraine in every way we can, as it battles against this illegal invasion by Russia. Enabling important cultural and sporting activities is another way of championing that,’ he said.

“Chess is also a wonderful game of strategy that crosses boundaries of language, age, sex, culture and disability – which makes it the perfect sport for Grandmasters of two friendly nations, or even parliamentarians, to play.”

The UK-Ukraine Solidarity Chess Match, which features a £38,000 prize, will now feature a best of eight games between Mr. Adams and Mr. Volokitin.

The following games will alternately be played at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Ukrainian Embassy in Canary Wharf.

The organization Chess in Schools and Ms. Reeves, a champion young chess player, organized the tournament.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine endorsed it.

Since more than 150 years ago, chess has been played in Parliament, where a dedicated chess chamber is situated close to the MPs’ lunch area.

The future prime minister Andrew Bonar Law received criticism in 1919 for holding a chess match in a committee chamber while a discussion about “Scottish business” was being held.

The last time the Lords and Commons faced off, the MPs came out on top in 2016.

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