Fourth
FIDE Grand Prix
in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria
The fourth FIDE Grand Prix Series Tournament is being held in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria,
Russia, during 14th -29th April 2009 at the Intour Hotel "Sindica".
The games start at 3 p.m. local time = 15:00h CEST. After five rounds there
is a free day (on Monday, April 20) and another after round nine (on Saturday,
April 25).
Rest day adventures
A picture paints a thousand words
On the free day after round five the players were packed into a bus and taken
on an excursion to the Chereksky region of Kabardino-Balkaria.
At noon the bus reached the administrative border of the region, and representatives
of the local administration were already waiting for chess players.
First the guests were shown a national dance. After that a famous Balkarian
singer, an honored artist of KBR Aznor Ulbashev, following the tradition, presented
a national drink airan in a big wooden bowl...
... first to the most respected guest – the tenth World Champion and
commentator of the competition, Boris Spassky. Boris Vasiljevich tasted the
drink and passed the bowl to the chief arbiter of the competition Vyacheslav
Namruev.
Then, practically, all the excursionists tasted the drink. In the picture above
it is Levon Aronian and Grand Prix analyst Sergey Shipov, who does not seem
to be completely enchanted by the drink. Sharp eyesy will spot Grischuk, Alekseev
(just a tiny bit of him) and Mamedyarov waiting for their turn. Airan is a drink
made of yoghurt and water, popular in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Lebanon,
Bulgaria and other parts of the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
In Armenia they call it tahn, in India lassi, and in Iran doogh
After this the guests were taken up to the gorge of the Chereksky ravine
There it is, the stunning beauty of Chereksky: a guide with arbiter Faik Gasanov
and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Sasha Grischuk and Pjotr Svidler taste the pristine mountain water
The Blue Lake of Kabardino-Balkaria is the second deepest in the world
The players and guests on the banks of this remarkable lake
Everybody poses for a group shot. Levon Aronian (in the green padded coat):
"It is difficult to describe in words the beauty surrounding us."
Lunch break with meat on skewers, roasted over wood and charcoal fire
Etienne Bacrot tries his hand at turning the spit – but: what do the French
know about cooking?
A stop in the village of Babugent, where pupils of the local school wait to
see the famous grandmasters
Legendary Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili signs boards and books
for the fans
Lev Aronian – bless his kind Armenian soul – even plays a game against
a local schoolboy
The game ends amicably with a result that may not be difficult to predict
Links
The games are bing being broadcast live on the official web site and
on the chess server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download
the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access.
You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse the PGN games. |
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