All Saints in Stockholm
By Andreas Alber
Thanks to the cheap airline era a roundtrip ticket only costs about 30 €
nowadays, and the flight only takes a bit more than an hour. The summer sun
obviously kept a low profile; that is the reason why the pictures are no postcard
look-alikes. Despite that, however, one should get a grasp that there is something
about this city that makes it special.
The palace
Stockholm at night
Right in the middle of downtown on the island of Södermalm is the venue
of the Stockholm Chess Federation, the so-called Schack Salongerna. It has training
rooms, a library and a big playing hall.
IKEA chairs are all over the place. Obviously!
The nice tournament hall
The tournament
Between October 29th and November 1st a small amateur event with the name “Stockholm
All Saints Tournament” took place. The entrance fee was fairly high; however,
at the same time the prize money was decent as well. Arne Bracker, who is currently
doing a gap year at the biggest chess club in Hamburg – Hamburger SK von
1830 e.V. – was one of the hot candidates to claim the tournament victory.
He still had decent chances before the last round, but he lost to the Belarusian
player Oleg Ermoshuk in the last round.
Ermoshuk-Bracker, the last game of the whole tournament
Besides the author and Arne Bracker there was another German player participating:
Birger Wenzel, who plays for the Schach Klub Johanneum Eppendorf (SKJE) in Germany
and for Wasa SK in Sweden. This young man had invited us to visit him in his
new hometown.
Birger Wenzel, a German based in Stockholm, Sweden, who is about to open
the Edem Chess Academy in Nigeria in cooperation
with the German Youth Chess Federation next summer.
However, not the Germans were setting the course, but rather the local youngsters,
especially Joar Ölund, who played the tournament of his life, despite having
a serious cold.
Joar Ölund: five points and 4th place in the final rankings
Sam Kassani won the youth prize, with the help of his Mac burger
The player who has picked up the most German is Nikita Smirnov. Perhaps
all the newly learned German vocabulary prevented him from playing a decent
game against Sam Kassani in the last round.
The winner of the tournament was Jörgen Erikson who claimed the victory
with 5.5/7 points, and due to his better tiebreak in comparison with Ermoshuk
and Vesa Heinola.
The tournament winner Jörgen Erikson
Final round: Vesal Heinola vs Gilbert Jansson
At the end of the day the game ended in a draw and both players picked up
their prizes at the closing ceremony.
Toiletgate?
No, no cheating was involved. However, right from the beginning the doors of
the toilets were eye-catching as they are covered with pictures of great chess
players.
Former world champions in the tournament hall
The toilets are guarded by the great Anatoly Karpov and Bent Larsen...
... as well as by Bobby Fischer and Ulf Andersson
Swedish specialities
It was a nice little tournament which ended with a cozy little closing ceremony
which also had a very delicious buffet. The famous smörebröd and a
nice wine cooler helped the players to forget their losses.
Besides the British, the Swedes are probably the only other people who have
no
problems with waiting lines. Here’s a proof!
The highlight of each chess season in Stockholm is the Rilton Cup which takes
place between December 27th and January 5th annually. It is definitely one of
the strongest tournaments in the world around New Year. For further information
refer to www.rilton.se
Sightseeing
Arne Bracker and Andreas Albers checking out the tourist restaurants in
the Old Town, Gamla Stan
NK – Sweden’s most famous department store
Besides the palace it is the alleys thar are a trademark of Gamla Stan
Tunnel entrances and streets
A lot of opportunities to spend one’s Swedish "Kronors"
Andreas Albers meets a real Swedish beauty. Note the “Please, don’t
touch!” sign
