2011 Commonwealth Championship

The 2011 Commonwealth Championship gets under way in South Africa tomorrow. At this stage the tournament is looking massive, with about 450 players in the championship event, and another 350 players in the supporting event.Most of the players are from South Africa, or neighbouring countries like Botswana and Namibia, but both India and Australia have reasonably sized contingents. The Australia charge is head by GM David Smerdon, who is making his way to Amsterdam, via South America and Africia. (btw You can read all about his travels on his blog).
Top seeds are Nigel Short, Abhijeet Gupte and Gawain Jones. Smderdon is 6th seed, while Tristan Stevens is seeded 48th. As in the previous Commonwealth Championship, players from non-Commonwealth countries are allowed to take part, but are ineligible for the title.