Dun Laoghaire was an overall success for Gawain at least. Ga finished on 5/5 in the Joyce Weekender and had no real trouble in the blitz winning all games in his group and then winning the knock-out final against IM Valery Atlas 2-1. I on the otherhand finished with 2/5 in the weekender! I didn’t play very well and was quite flustered with the time control 1 hour and 45 minutes for all move in my Round 3 game (3 games in one day) I played a game and was Queen and Bishop and a few pawns vs Rook and Bishop and a few pawns but lost on time after offering my opponent a draw which he declined. Now I know Rule 10.2 and will be aware for future games. I got my own back beating him in the blitz :).
We decided it was time to do some sightseeing in Dublin as we’ve travelled through Dublin several times to reach Enniskillen. Dun Laoghaire is a fantastic place to visit although the weather in this general area is quite erratic. Dun Laoghaire is only a 20minute dart away from Dublin city centre and offers a quiet retreat from the bustling centre. On our free day we spent the day sorting out bank and there we were served by a man who played rugby and lived in Australia for 3years – he also had friends from the Cook Islands and recognized my accent! What a small world it is sometimes!
We did the trip back to England by “Sail and Rail” about 40 euros each for the ferry and a train to Oxenholme where we watched Ga’s brother Rory perform in “The Savage” – these children were amazing! Singing,acting, stomping with so much passion. The Savage written by David Almond tells a story of a young boy’s father dying and an imaginary friend who turns out to be blurring the line of where reality ends and fiction begins.
Now we are in Edgworth near Bury & Bolton staying with Grandma and Peter before heading to Stafford to catch a train back to London. We’ve bought tickets to Prague for our trip to the Olympiad though it’s a bank holiday this Monday (public holiday) so we’ll have to wait until Tuesday to go to the Russian Embassy for our visa.
Good luck to all those playing in the GM and IM tournament.