World Chess Cup - grandmasters have to forfeit because they had been smoking..

December 7, 2009 - At the World Chess Cup, which is being held in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, two top Chinese grandmasters, Wang Yue and Li Chao, showed up late for tie-breaker games in their third-round matches because they had been smoking. Under new World Chess Federation rules, they had to forfeit.

The forfeits cost Wang and Li their matches, and they had to go home. In an interview published on the tournament’s Web site, Wang said he understood the decision but thought it was unfair. He expressed remorse for what happened to Li, who started smoking only to keep him company during the tournament.

Asked if he would now give up the habit, Wang said: “I don’t think so. After such a shock, you only think to take a such a shock, you only think to take a long smoke.”

Reference: An Ill-Timed Cigarette Break Trips Up Two Grandmasters Turns out that smoking is not just bad for your health; it may be bad for your game. by DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN, The New York Times, 12/5/2009.