You have probably read part
one of my report. Before I continue with my other adventures in South
Africa a few words about the chess tournament itself. The GM section had
14 participants, all of them with international titles: six GMs, four IMs
and four FMs. It was the first GM tournament in history of South Africa!
From the fifth round all games were broadcast live on the official
website. During games fruits, drinks, chocolates and cookies were served
for participants and guests. The playing hall was very comfortable, also
we could enjoy the Table Mountain’s view out of the window. The organizers
did everything that players could concentrate on the game and not worry
about other things. Maybe, that was the reason why I played fighting chess
almost in all games!
IM Watu Kobese, a legend of African chess,
contributed very much to the organization of the event
GM Marc Arnold, a good friend, strong grandmaster
and student at Indiana University
Playing against GM Sergei Tiviakov, my main
rival for the first place. We faced each
other in the third round, I played agressively but Sergei defended well
— draw.
Final Ranking (after nine rounds)
At family Zidek’s home: IM Elijah Emojong
(Uganda), GM Sergey Kasparov
(Belarus), me, and GM Kivanc Haznedaroglu (Turkey)
As a part of my appearance in DSK Chess Tournament,
I played two
simultaneous exhibitions – and scored 19-1 and 14-0 ...
... and conducted a lecture together with IM
Watu Kobese. Thanks again, Watu!
With my very good friends Achim Zidek and Marc
Arnold and a scenically spectacular soccer game
Most of the time before and after games I spent with Achim and Mark. Twice
we went to swim in the ocean – however the water temperature was about
13-14° C and there is always a chance we would be welcomed by a great
white shark. Every year people (especially surfers) get attacked by this
monster.
On the day after the last round GM Kivanc Haznedaroglu and I woke up at
03.15 a.m. in order to go to shark cage diving in Gansbaai, which is about
a 2½ hour drive from Cape Town. This is quite an amazing adventure,
because you can see a great white sharks – da-dum,
da-dum – under the water, about one meter from your face! Of course,
we were in special cages, otherwise I would surely not be writing this report.
Going down in the water. The camera which you
can see in Kivanc's hand is now
somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Sorry again, Gerald!
But at least we got a shot of this beauty
I cannot say I fully enjoyed this adventure, since I got seasick riding
the big waves all day. However, my mood improved tremendeously after I met
a group of American wrestlers in the shark diving center on our way back.
That was very funny, because I already had tickets for their show in Cape
Town, a day later! Just an unbelievable coincidence!
I was happy to get a picture with my favourite
female wrestler Celeste Bonin (known as «Kaitlyn»)
...
... and Randy
Orton, who is much more famous than Kaitlyn. But she was the
first one whom I recognized among their group.
After I explained to Kivanc who are these guys
were, he also wanted a picture
with them. Above he stands with Lord
Tensai and Brodus
Clay
As mentioned, the day later Achim and I went for WWE World Tour 2013 at
Grandwest Casino in Cape Town. Again I saw Kaitlyn, Orton and other famous
wrestlers (like Sheamus or Alberto del Rio). It was prohibited to record
video or take shots with a professional camera, so had to use my amateur
one…
Randy Orton in his working clothes...
... and in action in the ring
Justin
Gabriel, born in Cape Town but now part of the WWE in USA, is a popular
local hero
In South Africa I tried a new experience in
my life: co-pilot a small aircraft
Of course, next to me was a professional pilot,
otherwise once again this report would never be written!
A plane from the Sovjet era, but still in use
Well, I've arrived at Istanbul Airport, so this is the end of the article.
What I can say in conclusion? I will certainly travel again to South Africa,
because I like people there and, of course, adventures too! A chess boom
is coming to the country, so this is one more reason to visit it again!
