Competitors in Friday’s Blush Invitational—a chess tournament co-sponsored by the Icelandic Chess Federation and the podcast Chess After Dark and hosted by Kópavogur sex shop Blush— had all to play for, with a grand prize of airline tickets and $1000-worth of sex toys. Skak.is recapped the event.
Twenty-nine players took part in the nine-round competition. Before the start of the tournament, arbiter Róbert Lagerman laid out the rules and wished everyone a smooth competition, to which Blush owner Gerður Huld Arinbjarnardóttir helpfully interjected that the shop had more than enough lube on hand.
Ultimately, 19-year-old International Chess Master Vignir Vatnar Stefánsson took first place, followed by Grandmaster Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson (who currently is the highest ranking Icelandic chess player in the world, ranked 476 by FIDE, the International Chess Federation.) Third place went to editor of the newspaper DV, Björn Þorfinnsson. The top three players all received gift boxes from Blush, including “an abundance of condoms, vibrators, and gift certificates to the store.”
“The chess tournament was a great success, though I say so myself,” tweeted Chess After Dark host Birkir Karl Sigurðsson. “It’s one of the strongest tournaments that has been held here in Iceland for a long time. Special thanks to Gerður at Blush for making this idea a reality.”
