Manuel has been an international arbiter, a national coach at various world Juniors, a press officer, the Director of various tournaments and has been to eleven Olympiads as captain of the Australian Open team. Straight after the last Olympiad a small group went immediately from Tromso to Mainz to see Manuel get married to his lovely wife Brigitta. They live in London.
10/16/2016 – The chess highlight of the Global Chess festival was the Highlander Cup which was an eight player knockout rapid event. The participants consisted of many of the top Hungarian players versus last year’s winner Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Boris Gelfand. There was the theme “There can only be one”, which was also reflected in the event’s single prize, US$15 thousand at stake so there was plenty of motivation among the players. Illustrated report with games.
10/13/2016 – The Global Chess Festival organised by Judit Polgar can be described in many ways but the main feeling when you enter the glorious venue used, the Castle Garden Bazaar on the Danube in the center of Budapest is “fun”. There is an abundance of colour and music and noise that immediately attacks your senses. As a child you have a huge variety of activities to choose from, that is the idea: to show chess as an enjoyable activity that can be shared around the world as a common language. Enjoy this illustrated report.
10/6/2016 – Some days you have quiet rounds where the top seeds do their business without much fuss, most of them win with a few draws but the fifth round of the Isle of Man tournament saw a few big names have a real setback. Second seed Hikaru Nakamura, former world championship challenger Peter Leko and top Paraguayan GM Axel Bachmann were all defeated by lower-rated opponents in very sharp games. Report with games and test positions.
10/4/2016 – In a large open as strong as the Isle of Man, every round is a feast, every game a meal, with no shortage of exciting positions and exotic play. Round three saw many of the top players already facing stiff grandmaster competition with few of the lopsided pairings from the first two days. This led to some exciting bouts including hard fought draws at the top. Sharing his enthusiasm of all there was to see is Manuel Weeks, highlighting some of the best games with lots of quiz positions.
9/30/2016 – Judit Polgar was a chess prodigy and is the only woman who has ever made it to the top ten in chess. After the Chess Olympiad in Tromso 2014 Judit Polgar retired from tournament chess but of course remained faithful to the game she loves. At the Chess Olympiad in Baku 2016 she was captain of the Hungarian team that played in the Open and she is the driving force behind the Global Chess Festival in Budapest, a fine celebration of chess. Manuel Weeks spoke with the "first lady of chess".
9/5/2016 – Three of eleven rounds are played at the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku. Still too early for decisive encounters but time to settle in and to get a feeling for the hotel, the venue and the surroundings. Hours before the fourth round Manuel Weeks, captain of the Australian team, gathered first impressions and speaks about the simple things that make an Olympiad successful, the worries of the strong players and the ambitions of his Australian team.
8/31/2016 – Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, on Friday the captains' and arbiters' meetings, and at 3 p.m. local time Round 1 of the Olympiad. A team of 400 artists, choreographers, composers and support staff is conducting the final dry runs for the Opening. The chess competitions will see a record-breaking 181 teams from 176 countries in the Open section, and 142 women’s teams. ChessBase will cover the event extensively, here is part two of our preview.
8/26/2016 – This year's Olympiad will be held in Crystal Hall in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (seating capacity: 25,000) and promises to be one of the finest in chess history. The budget is 13.3 million Euros and preparations reflect that commitment. ChessBase will be covering the event extensively. Here for starts is a preview of previous Chess Olympiads by someone who has attended them all since 1992. Enjoy a long interesting trip down memory lane.
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