Category: Events
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Back in the UK
After 2 months in the United States, I’ve finally made it back to the UK. I panicked when I was in the taxi on the way to JFK as I realized I was travelling without my Biometrics Card which is needed every time I enter and exit the UK. Luckily for me they weren’t too…
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A successful two weeks
On Saturday 9th April I headed back to Munich. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to play much for Munich 1836 this year but at least could drop in en-route to Dubai for the last round. We were in second place, ahead of the other Munich team (Tarrasch) by just one and a half board points, and…
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Gawain is the New Zealand Chess Champion
I didn’t want to write any posts before he actually finished his game so here is a delayed post a few days later. Gawain drew his final round against Brazilian GM Alexandr Fier and since all other results were already played it meant that he won the NZ Chess Championship with a score of 7.5/9.…
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Abu Dhabi Masters
I’m writing this from the lobby of the Sofitel Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The tournament has just finished and at least I remembered how to play a little. Scored 6.5/9 and came 8th. Results. A big congratulations to my friend, Nils Grandelius, who had a great time and won the tournament. A cool $12,000 to…
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A sunny week in June
Early June I played in the Swiss Rapid Chess Masters, a well organised one day tournament in Pfaffikon on Lake Zurich. I received a pleasant surprise on arrival with a gift of a bag of Swiss chocolates waiting for me in my room. The weather was really good and I decided to take a walk…
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Recent developments
So my intention was to write a tournament update for each of my tournaments played since the Icelandic League but that isn’t really viable so I’ve decided to round it all up in one update. Going back to March I played the Reykjavik Open. I started with a couple of quick wins but then…
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Zalakaros Open – Round up
Our time in Zalakaros came and went so quickly! It feels like we’ve been here forever (just over a week) but we haven’t been able to do so much. It’s weird when I’m explaining to our non chess playing friends what your schedule is like when you are playing a tournament. They really can’t believe…
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Cork – Amateur Point of View.
So I had to book a 10pm flight (which meant a half point bye in the first round) from Heathrow to Cork as I left it quite late to book and the prices for earlier flights had shot up! It’s really easy for me to get to Heathrow and my bosses invited me to stay for…
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Bunratty 2014
Last year I was unable to play Bunratty as it clashed with my time in Iceland but with the dates moved to earlier in February this year Sue and I were able to return to Ireland’s premier weekend tournament. I had been over at my parents’ and took the long, slow bus down the west…
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London Classic 2013
Hello all. I’m writing this from Auckland, in the pleasant New Zealand Summer, at my in-laws. I decided to try and give you some Christmas reading with an update on the London Classic from my point of view. NOTE – Currently I’m having a problem with the games relayer here so you can find this report…
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Return to Iceland
The first half of the Icelandic League was played a couple of weeks ago and Sue and I made the trip over to play for our team GM Hellir. When I started playing the team was Matar which then merged with Godinn. Just before the start of this season we made another merger and we’re…
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Italian Team Championships 2013 – Bratto
I recently played in the Italian Team Championships for the second year. Last time I got a disappointing 3/7 and so was hoping to improve on that. Then there were only 2 spots for the European Club Cup with only 19GMs competing but this year there were over 20 and so 3 qualifying spots. Last…
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London Chess Classic – A personal retrospective
Now we’ve had a bit over a week since the end of the London Classic I decided it was the right moment to look back at the tournament and take stock. My final score was somewhat disappointing; my aim was to pick up at least one win and, while I knew it would be difficult…
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Kilkenny Congress
You can follow Gawain’s live games here. Games started at 7.30pm local time and there will be 3 rounds tomorrow! Alongside the main event there is the Irish Ladies Championship the first held since 1982! I wish all the participants lots of luck especially Gawain’s mum (Tanya Jones) who is making her chess comeback :).