You would not recognise any of the stars if you saw them in the street: it is not that sort of sport. But in an era when other sports are under the microscope as never before, their integrity called into question, chess is one of the last bastions of honesty and fair competition. You can't win a chess game by diving or buying a fake blood capsule. You have to rely on your wits. At present, there is a sense that corporate sponsors underestimate the reach of chess. Malcolm Pein, organiser of the London Chess Classic (and the Telegraph's chess columnist), says: "Corporations can't see much beyond the TV screen but chess is played by more people than cricket or tennis."