As a chess fan I decided to use my time in Moscow to get to know some of the world’s top players.

This was at the time when the world of chess was in turmoil because of Garry Kasparov’s ambitions to make the game more accessible – and more lucrative. In 1993 Kasparov had played England’s Nigel Short in London for The Times World Chess Championship, winning comfortably after numerous hard battles where Short had winning chances if not winning positions.

My plan worked well. Very well.

To the point where at my suggestion the Embassy hosted a ‘charity simultaneous’ event, featuring a number of the best players ever who were gathered in town for a top chess competition.

Thus we had Kasparov, Short, Kramnik and Anand taking it in turns to move against some 40 opponents who had paid for the privilege of being whupped by these giants.

The receipts (several thousand dollars) went to a Russian good cause. The event, the first of its kind at this level in any Embassy, was featured on Russian national TV.

Before Kasparov as White made the first move against each participant, he vigorously seized his two knights and pointed them straight ahead. A gesture of psychological aggression which in my case worked a treat. Not knowing what I was doing, I tried to dig in as Black and was easily swamped.

Anyway, at the Moscow speed-chess championships concerned Kramnik beat Kasparov in a remarkable game full of dashing sacrifices and an ultimately desperate king chase to finish it all off.

Here it is. Press the button and watch the moves unfold.

Terrific, complex stuff.

What was even more remarkable was seeing Nigel Short again a couple of years later. We sat down with a chess board and Nigel played me through the moves of the Kramnik-Kasparov game – from memory.

Perhaps we should not be impressed. That’s what chess Grandmasters do – play and remember chess games, even when they have not played the games themselves.

But I was impressed.