Dortmund 2005 – with Internet TV coverage

The organisers of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting have decided to restrict the live enjoyment of the event to the public who are present at the venue in Dortmund. Only the spectators in the theatre will be able to see the moves as they are played, accompanied by live commentary by GM experts. Chess fans all over the world will have to wait until the games are over to find out what happened.

This new strategy is an attempt to combat sinking spectator numbers. One of the reasons why a dwindling number of chess fans have been making their way to such events is that it has become so simple to follow the action in live Internet transmissions. Many top tournaments, like Linares, have just a few dozen spectators. Dortmund is an excellent location, in the middle of Europe, with fast transportation and first-class hotels. It is also the center of one of the densest chess communities, calculated in fans per square mile, anywhere in the world. For the organisers it became necessary to try new paths.

So the bad news for chess enthusiasts all over the world is that they will not be able to follow the games of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting live on the Internet. The good news is that the organisers have arranged for what we think is ample compensation.

In collaboration with ChessBase the Sparkassen Chess Meeting will be transmitting a live video report each day, starting from Monday, July 11, at 19:30h European Central Time (= 21:30 Moscow, 18:30 London, 1:30 p.m. New York). These TV reports will be broadcast using the Chess Media System on the Playchess.com server.

The reports will include interviews with players and experts, games, analysis – a complete round-up of the day's events. The reports will be made available in the Playchess archives where members can watch them at a later time as well.

Schedule for the start of the tournament

• Thursday, July 7
  • 16:00h: Opening press conference, Town Hall (Rathaus) of the City of Dortmund, Friedensplatz 1, Saal Hanse
    
• Friday, July 8
  • 13:00h: The press centre at the Dortmund Civic Theatre opens. Accreditation for journalists in the press centre.
  • 15:00h: On stage, official opening of the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting
  • 15.30h: First move and start of the first round.

Blitz match against spectators

A special opportunity to play against the world's top grandmasters is available to the spectators of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting on the free day. The Blitz Tournament with grandmasters from the Super Tournament will take place on Wednesday, 13th July at 14:00h in the Berswordthalle, opposite the Town Hall. This offers up-and-coming youngsters and ambitious amateurs a unique opportunity for testing their skills against these elite players. The number of participants is limited to 100. Each of the grandmasters will play ten blitz games against amateurs. The latter will have five minutes on their clocks, against two for the professionals. This blitz chess tournament has by now become an integral part of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting. Registrations will be accepted by the title sponsor, Sparkasse Dortmund, via e-mail under marketing(at)sparkasse-dortmund.de. Please give your full name, e-mail address as well as your telephone number.

Press Center

Telephone: +49-231-47645-111 and +49-231-47645-222
Fax: +49-231-47645-333
E-Mail Press Centre: schachtage-dortmund(at)dokom-unibox.net

The press center is open on match days from 13:00h until one hour after the end of the last game. On July 13 (Rest day) the press centre is closed. Press officer is Rolf Behovits.

Photos and video recording on stage with flash or video lights is permitted for five minutes after the players have arrived at the boards.

Links

• Official web site
• ChessBase report with full schedule and program
• ChessBase reports on Dortmund 2004
• ChessBase reports on Dortmund 2003