KasparovChess Online Inc. What follow is my commentary on the October 17 incident with chess journalist John Henderson at the BrainGames.net chess match taking place in London. I was an eye-witness to the entire appalling affair and I am still quite shocked at how a supposedly professional organization such as BGN could behave in this way. Under the eye of a burly security guard Mr. Henderson was escorted from the room. I have been present in the press room for the duration of every game and I cannot emphasize enough that Mr. Henderson's behavior has been good-natured and unremarkable.
Any statements indicating otherwise are complete fabrications.
Despite BGN's post-facto statements that Mr. Henderson's ejection had nothing to do with the article they were so visibly outraged about, no charges or references to specific incidents have been made on their part. Normal legal and editorial channels must be respected and if necessary, vigorously defended. When something like this happens it is the journalist's readers and viewers who are punished. While I recognize that it is within BGN's legal rights to do what they have done, I fully expect Mr. Henderson's peers to stand up for a journalist's right to perform his job without interference of this sort.