Chess, as we all know, is the game of kings. But what then, is the game of diplomats?
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided that this would be football and organized a 'Diplomatic Cup' last weekend. And why not? It's by far the most popular sport in the world, and as war 'is the continuation of politics by other means', there's at least less pieces dying on a football field than on a chess board.
Of course I played on behalf of the Dutch embassy. Sixteen teams of nine embassies, three ministries and the EU Monitoring Mission (three teams) played four or five games to find out the inevitable: the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs won! They beat the EU Monitoring Mission Gori Field Office - or, as presented in the local media: Georgia beat the EU!
It was great to see all those nations coming together - guess you don't see Kazakhstan, Iran or the Vatican that often on the World Cup. Or the US, for that matter. Some teams were combined, with the Swiss, Germans and Austrians playing together, and the Ukrainians and Kazakhstanis joining forces. As always the Iranians were very modest and very dedicated. Unfortunately they didn't make it to the second round, where I gave them a good chance as outsiders. Great respect for the ambassadors playing moreover! The ambassadors of Sweden, Poland, the Vatican and Italy were present - with the representative of the Holy See joining the Poles.
It was a great show, with flags, national hymns, and an official opening by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Maia Panjakidze, who was Ambassador to the Netherlands before. It was a shame that we didn't perform too good, but here it looks almost as if I know what I'm doing:
At least we won the Fair Play Cup, as proper Dutchmen should. We're famous for both football and sticking to the rules, obviously. Here's our captain receiving the medal of the Ambassador of the Holy See, Monsignor Marek Solczyński (yes, that's the one playing with the Poles).
The closing ceremony was almost as spectacular as Sochi's, with a circus act, glitter, confetti, and even more ministerial speeches. Thank you, team mates! Of course everybody got injured, so Gerard (not on the picture) as well. I had a great weekend!
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided that this would be football and organized a 'Diplomatic Cup' last weekend. And why not? It's by far the most popular sport in the world, and as war 'is the continuation of politics by other means', there's at least less pieces dying on a football field than on a chess board.
Of course I played on behalf of the Dutch embassy. Sixteen teams of nine embassies, three ministries and the EU Monitoring Mission (three teams) played four or five games to find out the inevitable: the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs won! They beat the EU Monitoring Mission Gori Field Office - or, as presented in the local media: Georgia beat the EU!
It was great to see all those nations coming together - guess you don't see Kazakhstan, Iran or the Vatican that often on the World Cup. Or the US, for that matter. Some teams were combined, with the Swiss, Germans and Austrians playing together, and the Ukrainians and Kazakhstanis joining forces. As always the Iranians were very modest and very dedicated. Unfortunately they didn't make it to the second round, where I gave them a good chance as outsiders. Great respect for the ambassadors playing moreover! The ambassadors of Sweden, Poland, the Vatican and Italy were present - with the representative of the Holy See joining the Poles.
It was a great show, with flags, national hymns, and an official opening by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Maia Panjakidze, who was Ambassador to the Netherlands before. It was a shame that we didn't perform too good, but here it looks almost as if I know what I'm doing:
At least we won the Fair Play Cup, as proper Dutchmen should. We're famous for both football and sticking to the rules, obviously. Here's our captain receiving the medal of the Ambassador of the Holy See, Monsignor Marek Solczyński (yes, that's the one playing with the Poles).
The closing ceremony was almost as spectacular as Sochi's, with a circus act, glitter, confetti, and even more ministerial speeches. Thank you, team mates! Of course everybody got injured, so Gerard (not on the picture) as well. I had a great weekend!
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