Wherever you go in Malta, you find something beautiful
Malta is not privy to a large chess tradition except that Valetta, the country’s capital, hosted the Chess Olympiad in 1980. However the country’s chess development has not exactly been terrific since then. Currently, the country’s highest ranked players that are truly active only occasionally break the 2150 Elo threshold.
On the other hand many good things have happened for the last couple of years and thus the chess development in Malta is likely to speed up. In particular, Clarence Psaila, one of the leading Maltese players, has proven to be a very active and competent organizer. As a result there are more and more chess events in the country, many of which are organized under the umbrella of XYChess, a sport organization established and led by Clarence himself.
That was precisely the case with the aforementioned round robin that was organized in the Imperial Hotel in Sliema. I got there by accident. The previous winter I had gone to Malta with my family as a tourist, and during a three-week stay I exchanged a couple of e-mails with Maltese chess players hoping to advertise my chess lessons delivered over the Internet. Unfortunately, I was not even able to meet anybody from the chess community due to social commitments. Nevertheless, the said correspondence led me to the “Chess in Malta” Facebook group and thus I started to receive numerous announcements on chess tournaments in the archipelago. Finally, I got an invitation to a round robin that offered an opportunity to get an IM norm.
This time the norm was way beyond my reach, but I have no complaints about the trip. Malta is a beautiful country and there is a special reason to go there during the winter. In the northern Europe we are 'enjoying' freezing temperatures, provided we do not live in Scandinavia, where things are even worse. At the same time the Maltese enjoy 10-20 ºC above zero. Other reasons for visiting them will be shared in a moment, after I tell you a few words about the tournament.
The obvious candidate for the first place was Keith Arkell, the only GM in the pack. However, as early as in the first round he was upset by a Polish National Master Rafal Przedmojski.
Keith Arkell – Rafal Przedmojski (annotated by Rafal Przedmojski)
Rafal Przedmojski sends the message: “I beat him!”
In the second round, just after that game, the Polish player then beat Peter Lombaers, another player that would finish in shared first. Unfortunately, during the rest of the tournament Rafal was less fortunate and eventually ended on a 50 per cent performance.
Meanwhile, GM Arkell steadily made up for the first round loss by beating five opponents and scoring three draws. He told us his best game from the tournament was his seventh round win against FM Glenn House.
Glenn House – Keith Arkell (Notes by Piotr Kaim)
Closing ceremony: GM Keith Arkell (in the middle) with the organizer Clarence Psaila (left)
and the chief arbiter Adam Raoof
The second joint winner was the Dutch player Peter Lombaers who fulfilled his first IM norm. The success was entirely deserved, as he displayed good endgame technique as well as tactical resourcefulness. In short, his play was both entertaining and efficient. Just look at how he beat an experienced Swedish IM.
Peter Lombaers – Bjorn Ahlander (Notes by Peter Lombaers)
Peter Lombaers congratulated by the arbiter Adam Raoof
Apart from the main group with the IM norm, there were four other round robin tournaments in the same venue. Their winners were Collin Pace (Malta, 2113), Ron Sammut (Malta, 1756), Peter Musgrove (England, unrated) and Clarence Psaila (Malta, 2048) – yes the last mentioned guy was the organizer.
The next tournament in Malta that might interest ChessBase readers is the Lucky Dino Open, scheduled for May 20-26. It will be held in the same venue as the January round-robins. In the group A (for 1850+) the prize found is EUR 1,500 and the first prize is EUR 700. Since there will be no GM invitations, there is a high probability the prize money will go to average players like (some of) you and me.
Should you feel the least bit interested, allow me to give you just a few touristic tips. You do not need more, since wherever you go, you will find something beautiful or extraordinary. The country is a small archipelago, just 316 square kilometers, comprised of three inhabited islands and a number of uninhabited ones. You can get nearly everywhere by a city bus, which is the main public transportion. The obvious idea is to go to Valetta and see the Grand Master’s Palace built by the Knights of Malta in 1571; today it is home to the House of Representatives as well as the office of the country’s President. You may also go to Wied iz-Zurrieq and then take a fine boat trip along the picturesque Maltese waterside rocks.
Aside from that, the country is a gamblers’ heaven, so if you get bored with typical sightseeing, not to mention the opening preparation, you can always visit a casino with roulette, blackjack, slot machines and the like.
The archipelago’s population is only slightly above 400,000, but the small nation preserved its ancient language despite a long history of political dependence on others. The Maltese language is quite similar to Arab. On the other hand nearly everybody speaks English, which is the second official language of the country and, besides, most people speak Italian as well.
Finally, if you contemplate the trip, please note that Maltese prices are rather modest compared to those in Western Europe and only slightly higher than those from Central Europe.
The organizer Clarence Psaila, the two winners Keith Arkell and Peter Lombaers and the chief arbiter Adam Raoof
Collin Pace won one of the lower groups
The Imperial Hotel: the nice patio in front of the playing hall
The report’s author, Piotr Kaim, and his wife Dobromila Smolak while visiting Malta
The cafe on the backside of Sliema’s main shopping centre
Maltese specialty: an elegant bay window
A concert in front of the Grand Master’s Palace in Valetta
The courtyard of the Grand Master’s Palace
The courtyard: one more look
The verdant Maltese landscape
Another look on the rocks
Photos by Dobromila Smolak and Duncan Vella
LinksYou can also use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com. |
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