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A record field of over 700 chess fans (and fanatics) have gathered at Emperors Palace Hotel Casino and Convention Centre in Ekurhuleni, South Africa for the hosting of the 2011 Commonwealth & South African Open Chess Championships. The field boasts more than 40 titled players and is headed by three times past champion GM Nigel Short from England. There is also a strong Indian contingent present including former World Junior Chess Champions GM Abhijeet Gupta and IM Harika Dronovalli.
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A number of top players arrived early to experience a true Africa’s safari and several GM’s enjoyed game drives within famous reserves such as the Kruger National Park and the Pillansberg Game Reserve. The animals seen in those three days were spectacular with the chess-tourists coming within three meters of a pride of lions feasting on a recent buffalo kill! This truly African experience has already made the tournament extremely memorable for the players involved!
IM Harika Dronavali assisting in the identification of rhino dung
GM Gawain Jones smoking elephant dung, a traditional remedy for sinus problems
and headaches
Two elephants have a minor disagreement in the middle of the road...
... whilst a giraffe has a more leisurely stroll
The players were also lucky to witness this rare African dinner at close
range
The days before the tournament have also seen a number of GM simuls, presentations and lectures. The tournament schedule was opened by a short lecture by top seed GM Nigel Short, who hosted an entertaining and enlightening discussion and shared his insights on a wide variety of topics. This was followed by a simultaneous exhibition by six of the top grandmasters who payed a combined total of 120 players and gave up only six draws and one loss between them! Hopefully this tournament can pave the way for more of the world elite making their way to play in large African tournaments.
GM David Smerdon deep in thought at a Simultaneous exhibition at a local
chess club
These 110 youthful players sang the national anthem during the opening ceremony
and
then went on to play their own tournament next to the Commonwealth Championship
Now the pretournament activities have been completed, the chess begins in earnest – can defending champion R.R. Laxman repeat his effort from last year, or will top seed GM Nigel Short continue to impress with another dominating African performance! Too add some extra incentive to the Commonwealth Gold medal, the winner will receive a seven night stay for ten people in a five star privately owned house on the border of the Kruger National Park:
LeoLapa is perched on the scenic banks of one of the Kruger National Park's greatest rivers – the Crocodile River – and is surrounded by tens of thousands of hectares of raw African wilderness. LeoLapa accommodates ten guests in five private bedrooms. Every bedroom has an en-suite bathroom plus an outside shower with a patio looking onto the Crocodile River. The long passage opens up to a large lounge and dining room area where visitors can enjoy a sunset drink while watching a variety of bird and animal life. This room further extends to an enormous patio with an infinity pool and braai area where many a bush story has been shared. This self catering Five Star house has air conditioning, ceiling fans, pvr satellite tv, a fully stocked kitchen and bar along with maid service daily. Quite a prize for the Commonwealth Champion.
Harika providing some free advice to Mike Hugo, one of the sponsors of the
first prize
The tournament is a big step forward for local chess organisers in Africa and will hopefully be setting benchmark for similar events in the future. Results and live games for the first ten boards are available at the official tournament website.
The Championship Section and the B-Section will be run in parallel on the schedule given below.
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Videos are by Vijay Kumar IBS [Retd], Fmr Chief Producer TV News & Sports, Doordarshan Indian TV Network
Links
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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