Check mate

We've seen it all before, of course. England in the finals, holding its own until the game goes to extra time. And then in the penalty shoot-outs, we fluff it.

We've seen it all before, of course. England in the finals, holding its own until the game goes to extra time. And then in the penalty shoot-outs, we fluff it. Which is bit unfair on our very own chess grandmaster, Michael Adams, who made it to the finals of the world chess championship in Libya, got to the final shoot-out of rapid-fire 60-minute games, and then lost to the Uzbek champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov. But at least he got to the finals, a step ahead of Tim Henman. And if Michael lost in the final test, so did David Beckham. As for Rustam, like Portugal, we'll be cheering him on when he meets the top gun, Gary Kasparov, in January.