Russian Champ in Toilet Tantrum

Who says chess is dull? Certainly not us at Moscow Life who have been most amused by the latest saga in the chess world, dubbed by the media as 'toiletgate'.

It seems that number one in the world, Topalov from Bulgaria, is upset with number four, Kramnik from Russia, about how many times he is going for number two.

According to Topalov's aide the Russian champ visited the unmonitored toilet and relaxation area a whopping fifty times in their last game. He went on to say that Kramnik "takes his most significant decisions in a toilet". Presumbably he's referring to such conundrums as quilted or double-quilted? Leave the toilet seat up or down?

Alas, this is no laughing matter for Mssrs Topalov and Kramnik, with the former being four games behind and obviously getting frustrated with a player who does his best work, not at the table but on the pan.

After the World Chess Federation took note of the Bulgarian's complaint and insisted on a shared facility, Kramnik declared that this was beyond his dignity, mentioned something about reality shows, and forfeited the game in a tantrum. It is unlikely that the rest of the match will be played out.