Rd 1 started yesterday and even though London had (some) snow which caused major transport problems, Gawain after a delay in his flight made it into Gib yesterday afternoon. I’m still not sure why this country is ill prepared for snow and their were major disruptions at Heathrow with lots of flights being cancelled but that’s the way it is here.
In my last post, I mentioned the strength of the field and just noticed Gawain was 17th seed. He started of yesterday with a win and now plays IM Maxence Godard, you can check out the pairings on the main site. The live boards show only the top 12 boards but you can watch the other games through the MonRoi site. If it asks you for a Username/Password just press login and you should be fine.
I can see a few names in both the Challengers and the Masters which would be too much chess for me, you can play in the morning 9.45 start and then in the afternoon at 3pm!
Tonight at 9pm (local time) there will be a Masterclass with IM Anna Zatonskih. I didn’t watch the classes last year but I remember skipping ahead to this difficult mate in 1! If you would like to watch last year’s Masterclass with Anna Zatonskih check it out. If you skip ahead to 26.56 this is when she shows the audience the position and after a lot of trial the right solution to the mate.
I unfortunately won’t be able to visit Gib as I still don’t have my passport. It’s a real pain being a chess professional’s wife and of course especially as I love to travel. I’m hoping to have it back soon but no-one seems to be able to guarantee me a date when I will get it back. I’ve contact my local MP for help so I hope I will get it back soon.