Cellphone knocks out world chess champ

World chess champion Ruslan Ponomariov became the first player to be disqualified at a major event for allowing his mobile telephone to ring during a game. According to the information reaching here, the 20-year-old Ukrainian8217;s cellphone sounded during a match between Ukraine and Sweden at the European team championships held in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv on Saturday.

The Grandmaster8217;s disqualification came after he had celebrated his birthday and was presented with gifts by tournament organisers at the start of his game. The identity of the caller was not disclosed but there was speculation it could have been a friend wishing him many happy returns.

The beneficiary of Ponomariov8217;s faux pas was Grandmaster Evgeny Agrest of Sweden, who appeared to be well on the way to victory before his cogitations were disturbed by the call. Host nation representative Toncho Demirev immediately disqualified Ponomariov quoting article 13.4 of the laws of chess. Mobile phones are banned in chess tournaments because players could receive advice during the game or even use them to access computer databases of chess moves online.