Lucky for us in the UK there are direct flights to Gibraltar though flying to Malaga would only add 2-3hours of additional travel. Now that Gawain is travelling around playing long tournaments means while he is away I want to visit him. This means unfortunately flying by plane which I am very eco conscious about but with just weekends off in general it is difficult to spend lots of holiday time there. Gibraltar is a small place with a small airport the runway of which crosses the main road. It suits everyone then that only a handful of flights land there every day otherwise the people crossing the Spanish border into Gib would be stuck on the airport side! It is a very strange place being a mix of English and Spanish. The people there are all very friendly and the Rock is the centre of the whole place.
The tournament itself is held at the Caleta Hotel and is very well organized. The sea views were amazing though I am told that only a few days before the sea was rough and very windy. I would definitely recommend playing in Gibraltar, if you are after a fantastic atmosphere you’ll get it here in the bucket load. In the town itself there is a casino which can be dangerous for those professional grandmasters/poker players.
If you also want better weather but can’t bear to be apart from everything quintessentially English, come aboard. There is also the added bonus of being tax free…
The winner of this year was GM Ivanchuk. Gawain finished on 6.5/10 winning a nice game against FM Kjetil Stokke in the Caro Kan. Sometime this week he’ll give an update and hopefully a game or two. Next up is a London League match on Wednesday and a free weekend before the next 4NCL
P.s An article on my flight over!
