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The Olympic flame touring Italy prior to the Winter Olympics may inflame some hearts, but chess players can’t wait for that other Olympiad, starting not in February but in May 2006 in Turin.
The numbers are mind-boggling: 21,000 sq. m. area for the playing venue, 140 federations present and 450 games scheduled daily.
The Oval – playing venue for the Chess Olympiad in Turin
So it’s all hands to the pumps in Turin, to make everything ready to welcome players and visitors, mindful of the fact that visitors will not only want to watch the games but may also want to move out of town for a few days and see what Italy has to offer in the way of art and tradition.
A view of the Mole Antoneliana
The Olympiad website (see link below) in English and Italian contains all the information you need about the Olympiad schedule and what tours are available, and there is also a section dedicated to playing chess on line.
The mascot of the 37th Chess Olympiad
Just register at the site for free and you will be able to play against strong Grandmasters who are challenging the world in global games. You will also be able to take part in pre-Olympiad tournaments and, when the time comes, all the games can be watched live.
Alexandra Kosteniuk gives a simul in Turin
At the time of writing, GM Sergio Mariotti is playing a game against the Rest of the World, while the 9th of January saw the start of the second game on the schedule, against GM Misho Cebalo.
As for the pre-Olympiad tournaments online, the Organising Committee, in cooperation with ChessBase, has made available to registered users a downloadable program that will let them play on Playchess.com gratis until the end of the Olympiad.
This same program will allow you to play in the tournaments that will take place every Thursday from January to April in the special Olympiad room created on the Playchess.com server.
The February tournaments will act as qualifiers into the 1st Italian Online Blitz tournament to be held on Sunday 25 February and will see the best Italian players in contention.
Apart from offering nine prizes for every tournament, the Olympiad Committee is also organising a final lottery with the participation of the best 14 players from each tournament and the winners of the secondary prizes. The winner will be the guest of the Chess Olympiad for three days!
Alexandra Kosteniuk with Paolo Fresco, President of the Olympic Organising
Commitee
Garry Kasparov visits Paolo Fresco
| Controls | Please consult the Events Calendar at the bottom of this table. |
| Dates | Every Thursday from January 12th till April 27th, 20.20 Uhr (GMT +2); ChessOlympiads Torino 2006 --> TournamentsTutti i Giovedì dal 12 Gennaio fino al 27 Aprile 2006, 8.20 pm MESZ (GMT +2); Stanza: ChessOlympiads Torino 2006 --> Tournaments |
| Modus | Please make sure you look at the Events Calendar at the bottom of this table. Controllare il Calendario sotto questo bando. |
| Prize | 1st Prize: 250 Ducats; 2nd Prize: 150 Ducats; 3rd Prize: 100 Ducats; + 6 Lucky Prizes: 50 Ducats |
| Additional | The best 14 players and the 6 lucky winners of each tournament will join to the final raffle. The winner will win 3 days sojourn in Turin during Olympiads. |
| Length | appr. 1h 40 min |
| Registration |
Starts at 20.00 Uhr MESZ (GMT +2); Open for everyone for rank Knight or higher. |
| T-Direcor | Andrea Natoli |
| Software | Fritz 8/Shredder 7/Tiger 15 users only: please make sure you have updated to the latest software version (23.12.2004)! |
| Winners |
In order to win the prizes it is requested to register on the Olimpic site. The prizes can only be won, if the tournament was played till end. If a prize goes to a player who has not finished the tournament, the prize will expire. |
| Rules |
The Complete Tournament Rules published in the server news section apply. Participation in the tournament implies full acceptance of these rules. |
| January/Gennaio | |
| Thursday 12th. 20.00 | Blitz 5+0 7 Rounds |
| Thursday 19th. 20.00 | Blitz 3+0 9 Rounds |
| Thursday 26th 20.00 | Blitz 5+0 7 Rounds |
| February/Febbraio | |
| Thursday 2nd. 20.00 | Blitz 5+0 9 Rounds (1st Preliminary Italian Blitz Championship) |
| Thursday 9th. 20.00 | Blitz 5+0 9 Rounds(2nd Preliminary Italian Blitz Championship) |
| Thursday 16th. 20.00 | Blitz 5+0 9 Rounds(3rd Preliminary Italian Blitz Championship) |
| Thursday 23rd. 20.00 | Blitz 5+0 9 Rounds(4th Preliminary Italian Blitz Championship) |
| Saturday 25th. 16.00 | 1st Italian Blitz Championship Online - Candidates Tournament |
| Sunday 26th. 11.30 | 1st Italian Blitz Championship Online - Final Tournament |
| March/Marzo | |
| Thursday 2nd. 20.00 | Blitz 3+2 9 Rounds |
| Thursday 9th. 20.00 | Blitz 5+2 7 Rounds |
| Thursday 16th. 20.00 | Blitz 2+1 11 Rounds |
| Thursday 23rd. 20.00 | Blitz 5+0 7 Rounds |
| April/Aprile | |
| Thursday 6th. 20.00 | Blitz 3+2 9 Rounds |
| Thursday 13th. 20.00 | Blitz 5+2 7 Rounds |
| Thursday 20th. 20.00 | Blitz 2+1 11 Rounds |
| Thursday 27th 20.00 | Blitz Marathon |
