The Dilly Hotel on Piccadilly has hosted its share of glittering occasions, but not every guest arrives with the pedigree of Raymond Keene, OBE. Invited to the floor on 14 August by Atta Haq, founder and chairman of the awards, the grandmaster used his few minutes to speak for the Brain Trust — one of the night's co-sponsors — the mental-health charity he established thirty-five years ago with the late Tony Buzan.
His subject was its signature event, the Brain of the Year Awards, whose roll of honour reads like a directory of the last century's finest minds: Stephen Hawking, Baroness Susan Greenfield, the astronaut Senator John Glenn, the philanthropist Prince Mohsin Ali Khan of Hyderabad. And his purpose was forward-looking.
He announced when the thirty-sixth edition will be staged — with an invitation open to all to attend and to nominate, and with it a friendly gauntlet thrown down: to see whether the Brain of the Year can better the 'three thousand nominations' the Pakistan Achievement Awards drew for the night. In his own words:
Note: Since the announcement, the date and venue of the event were changed to: the 15th of November, Sunday, at the National Liberal Club.
