Antique painting could go for £40k

An antique painting of Hitler and Lenin engaging in a game of chess - etched in 1909 by Emma Lowenstramm in Vienna - could fetch£40,000 at auction this week. The event is being held at Ludlow Racecourse and the picture is going under the hammer alongside the chess set that experts believe is the one used by the two leaders, the Shropshire Star reports.

This is expected to make a maximum of £40,000 as well and Richard West wood Brookes of Mullocks Auctions said: "Academic debate rages about the veracity of the image, with some suggesting that Lenin could not be the figure in the image as he was bald atthe time."

Accompanying the antique painting is a 300-page manuscript of evidence of its authenticity compiled by Felix Ednhofer, the father of the current owner. Established in 1966, Mullock's Auctions claims to be the number-one house for sporting memorabilia, historical documents and vintage fishing equipment.