Chess Master Punches Out Rival for Dancing With His Queen

TURIN, ITALY--This just in from The Times of London. British Grandmaster Danny Gormally punched and shoved the world's number 3 player Levon Aronian at the Chess Olympiad in Turin Monday. They ended up rolling on the floor. At the heart of the dust-up was Arianne Caoili, 19, Women's International Master playing for Australia.

Apparently Gormally had struck up a serious email exchange with the Philippine-born Caoili and got incensed when he found her dancing with the leading light of Armenian chess. The next day, in retaliation, Gormally was attacked while drinking coffee at a cafe by a band of Armenian chess hooligans.

Things went south for England in the tournament...they were eliminated while Armenia, emboldened by the taking of Gormally's queen, came in first.

Gormally, 30, found Caoili dancing "energetically" with Aronian at a party held in a local nightclub called “Hiroshima Mon Amour.” He apologised for braining Aronian the next day to the Armenian team leader...who also happens to be Armenia's defense minister. After losing, Gormally went home to London where he lives in a house with his parents.

Ariane Coaili is ranked no. 3 in Australia. She is also one of the featured personalities of a website called "World Chess Beauty Contest." Although she is sometimes referred to as the Anna Kournikova of the chess world, her rank at the WCBC is No. 7. God, I love chess.

She released the following statement in the Italian chess blog, Scacchierando.

“ I only danced with my friend Aronian, that I know since I was child. I was dancing salsa and nobody of us danced provocatively. I think that Gormally became violent due to assumption of medicine and alcohol. This is cause of sadness, because I know both from many years.”