I AGREE with Rishi Sunak on one thing: chess should be taught in schools. With everything going on in the classroom these days — lack of resources, lack of teachers, lack of time to learn rather than be taught to pass an exam — you’d be forgiven if you didn’t see it as much of a priority.

It’s a great leveller though. Whether you are rich, poor, man, woman, old or young it doesn’t count for much when the game begins. Well, not quite. There is one concession to the world — white begins with privilege.

At primary school in Saltcoats, there was a local man who would turn up one lunchtime a week, rain or shine on his bicycle to teach us primary sevens chess. Mr Tumelty ate his jam sandwiches offering gentle advice as we competed for position on the chess ladder. Some were more interested than others, but we all had a go, and a couple of us even played in a few competitions as a result.