Thursday 17 October 2019

2019 New Caledonia Open - Rest Day

Although yesterday was a rest day for the 2019 Caledonia Open, most of the participants did not get much rest from playing chess. The action moved from the tournament venue to down town Noumea where a big chess display was set up for locals and tourists to watch.
Activities started with some 'running chess', where the clock was placed some distance from the board, requiring the players to run to press it after playing their move. It was no surprise that the participants in this activity seemed to be junior players only. Then GM's Adrien Demuth and Sammy Shoker played a tandem simul across 20 boards. Despite the risk of confusion between the two players, it looked as though they were scoring wins at a fairly fast rate.
In the afternoon there was a blitz event in the square (Street Chess style), with 70 players taking part. GM Sammy Shoker won with 8.5/9, followed by GM Adrien Demuth on 8, and FM John Duneas in third on 7. I scored a poor 6/9, starting with 2/5 (including hanging a rook in one game), before recovering with 4 wins.
Today it is back to the main event with 2 rounds to be played. The Dive Demuth game is the important one, as the winner of this pairing will take a lead into the final 3 rounds.

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