In Hungary

 I've now reached Hungary, to prepare for the 2024 Chess Olympiad. While for players and match arbiters, the hard work begins with round 1, for the Technical Administration Panel (aka the pairings team), hard work starts a few days out.

The main issue is making sure all the teams have arrived. For this year this is especially tricky, as a number of countries have had visa issues (including PNG). So at some point I will be camped at the Airport, trying to catch teams as they come off the plane, to establish if they have all turned up.

Fortunately we have a few days to confirm team arrivals, although in some cases, teams are cutting it very fine in terms of arrival. This isn't that unusual in some cases, including (iirc) my own Olympiad debut in 2000, where I think I arrived on the morning of the first round.

The 1st round for the Olympiad isn't until the 11th (a Wednesday) so you have plenty of time to get prepared. Rounds start at 11pm Canberra time, so you can either choose to stay up late, or catch the summaries the next morning before school/work/coffee!

League

I ran another club rapid last night at the Leeds Chess Club, and we had a good turnout of 24 players. Such events are not that usual, as most club nights are filled with League chess, something that isn't that common in Australia. In fact I pitched event as a 'warm up' for the league season, although everyone played with a little more intensity than someone going for a training run.

One of the first events of the season is a 6 team blitz event. Due to the popularity of the event (and the small size of the venue), only one team per club is able to play. And it is a traditional lightning tournament as well, with a 10 second buzzer being used, instead of chess clocks. The talk at the club was that Leeds CC were looking to win the trophy, having not won it for a number of years (like Leeds United I guess)

Sadly I will not be here for it, as I am off to the Chess Olympiad in a few days. I am arriving a few days early, to help sort out the usual chaos of team arrivals (or non arrivals) as part of the Technical Administration Panel. I assume I will have time to manage the odd post to this blog, but I cannot guarantee it!

Appletreewick International

 I've just finished playing in one of the more interesting international events I've ever been part of. The Appletreewick International was held in a converted schoolhouse in the Yorkshire Dales, and consisted of 14 players from various corners of the world. Apart from myself (Australia/PNG) there were players from USA, Norway, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ireland and of course the UK. The majority of players were also Chess Set Collectors (https://chesscollectorsinternational.org/) although a number of local players also took part.

The brainchild of John Jordan , the tournament consisted of a 9 round qualifying event (G/15m) followed by a semi final and final on the 2nd day (G/45m). I stumbled into the finals on 5.5/9, and then winning a blitz playoff against Robin Browne who tied with me. In the semi-final I lost to Colm Barry, repeating my loss from the preliminary rounds. I was slightly cheered by the knowledge that my opponent had played board 1 for Ireland in the 1984 Olympiad and is still a strong player. In the Final Barry played Jon Crumiller (the other player to beat me). In a very tense game Barry had a clear material advantage but running short of time, missed a mating attack which decided the game in Crumiller's favour. In keeping with the tournaments setting the first place prize was a flat cap and a set of braces, plus a jar of humbugs.

The tournament was a brilliant idea and very enjoyable. Despite the convivial setting, the quality of chess was quite high, with most of the players in the 1800-2300 range. Alongside the event were a number of social activities, including a tournament dinner, late night walks, and the hunt for mobile phone reception. Even the accommodation was top notch, with most of the players staying at  Parcevall Hall. While the lack of internet was annoying for those of us wedded to their devices, the rest of the stay could not be faulted.

Overall it was a great event. The only downside is that John Jordan is retiring as an organiser (after 10 years), so a new organiser will need to step up for next year. The good news is that this is likely to happen, with the event continuing in both the same format, and at the Parcevall Hall venue.

Leeds Chess Club

 Continuing my visits to various chess clubs in the UK, I went to the Leeds Chess Club yesterday evening.  It isn't the first time I have been there, having also visited in 2017.

The club meets at the West Riding Hotel in the centre of Leeds, and normally plays league chess plus casual chess when there are no league games. As the new league season has not started, the club arranged a 5 round rapid event (10m+2s) for the members. I was the arbiter, and 16 players took part. In a scene familiar with Street Chess players, we actually started with 10 players, and another 6 turned up after the first round had started.

The club is undergoing some rapid growth as a number of players were either new, or very recent sign ups. A couple were quite good, continuing the trend of online players moving to the over the board scene. Oliver Gill won the event with 5/5 (he was top seed), although he was made to work hard in a number of games.

So if you are in Leeds on a Wednesday evening (from 7pm) drop into the West Riding, for a pint, a plate of Pork Sausages and Mash, and an enjoyable evening of chess.

Wrong move, wrong moment

 For a long time the Sicilian Dragon was considered a 'brave choice', with all the implied risk that 'brave' denotes. One of the reasons is that white's attacking plan is fairly straightforward (at least according to Fischer) while Black has to avoid getting mated before their strategic goals can be realised.

That is, unless you misplay your opening prep ...

Nepomniachtchi, Ian vs Caruana, Fabiano
Sinquefeld Cup, 2024

No chess, only cricket

 The last few days have been spent watching cricket, at Scarborough and various village grounds in Yorkshire. I've had a number of interesting conversations (including with the father in law of the current Central Coast Mariners manager), but very few about chess. Nonetheless it has all been very relaxed and calm, almost in the same way that a weekend chess tournament might be.

For cricket historians, the Scarborough ground was the venue for Sir Donald Bradman's last game played in England. He scored a century, although the game finished in a draw.

Gloucester Chess Club

 I have just finished a pleasant evening of casual chess at the Gloucester Chess Club. I was made to feel very welcome, and the quality of players was at the upper end of club players back in Canberra. There were about 20 players at the club, with a mixture of adult players and older (teenage) junior players. I did uphold the honour of Canberra chess by winning a few games, although all of them were quite tough and could have gone in another direction.

And like clubs around the world, the conversations are strikingly similar. From the "I misplayed my opening and it was downhill from there" , "I'm not sure this will work, but why not!" to "C'mon brain, work!", chessplayers seemed to make the same observations. And the other ting the club had in common with chess clubs in Canberra, wonky tables. At least one game was in danger of a premature finish as the board was about to capsize.

If you are in Gloucester, the club meets on a Tuesday evening from 7:15pm, upstairs at the New Inn, Northgate, Gloucester. (And yes, in typical English style, it is named the New Inn to differentiate itself from all the other Inns founded in the 15th Century)