Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Getting there is half the fun, we are told of many areas of human endeavor and recreation. This unfortunately this was not completely true about our trip to Brissago, which started with a four a.m. wake-up in Hamburg, Germany. The next steps: five a.m. departure, six a.m. arrival at the airport, seven a.m. flight to Zurich, eight-thirty arrival there. Then the arduous part starts.
After Zurich it was trains, all the way across Switzerland, down to the Italian
border
Beautiful scenery, fields and mountains, a premonition of things to come
Four stops, four changes of trains, until we reach Locarno – we are getting
close
For the onward journey from Locarno we use a transportation facility known as
a "bus", an expression obviously borrowed from computer technology.
Arrival in Ascona, where we are going to stay. A banner tells us why we are
here.
The hotel room, directly overlooking the lake Lago Maggiore. ChessBase web master
and my sidekick on this journey, Ben Bartels, studies the instruction manual
of our spectacular abode.
And suddenly we know what this place is all about. The view. My god the view!
The previous picture was to the right, this one is when you look left. It's
everywhere.
The hotel pool, just twenty paces from our rooms.
The hotel gardens with permanent sunshine and luscious tropical vegetation
These cute little guys scamper around everywhere.
The city of Ascona, on the banks of Lago Maggiore
Brissago, just a few miles away from Ascona. The Centro Dannemann building is
clearly visible from our hotel room.
Brought to you by the miracle of long-lens digital photography: Centro Dannemann
on the banks of the Lago Majore
Waiting for us in the hotel room: a Dannemann backpack, filled with a press
map, pen, sample cigarettes, a lighter and a bag of rice (we'll explain when
we find out). And an invitation to the press conference at the start of the
world championship.
Vladimir Kramnik, Hans Leusen, President of Dannemann Brazil, Peter Leko
GM Joel Lautier speaks on behalf of the Association of Chess Professionals
How did his preparations go? "Naturally, I cannot tell you the details.
I am satisfied the way my preparations went. But even if I wasn't satisfied
I probably wouldn't tell you that."
Peter Leko told us that the beauty of this part of Switzerland posed a danger
to him. "You very easily start to feel that it is a holiday. You go for
walks up the mountains, swim, enjoy the scenery and slowly forget that you are
here for work, deadly serious work."
After the press conference a reception. State Councilor of Tessin Marina Masoni
speaks
Players and dignitaries on the stage where on the next day the games will be
played
A musical interlude with a Russian trio, who played Hayden and (gasp) Schnittke
The audience at the opening gala reception
Afterwards a sumptuous dinner, hosted by the sponsors in the Centro Dannemann
This banquet had to be seen (and tasted!) to believe
Spot the great chess player enjoying himself at the buffet
Correct! It is the 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov, on a 22-hour visit to
Brissago
A Brazilian cigar maker shows us how the very best ones are produced –
fully by hand, in a process that takes about fifteen minutes per cigar. We each
got a sample. What a shame we do not smoke...
And thus the day ends, the Dannemann World Chess Championship will soon be under way. New reports will follow at regular intervals. If we can keep out of the swimming pool.
Rolf Behovits
Press Officer World Chess Championship
CENTRO DANNEMANN
Via Ruggero Leoncavallo
CH-6614 Brissago
rbehovits@chessgate.de
