Heroes of Faroes

Faroes Open 2018

Getting to Faroes was a lot more arduous this time as compared to the previous occasions. I was flying directly from Australia and chose a low-cost airline to make a trip from Singapore to Copenhagen. I got a powerful example of ‘you get what you pay for’ and despite the overnight rest stops, I was thoroughly exhausted from the journey by the time I arrived.

However, it only took me a few moments after I stepped out of the airport to begin the process of revitalization. In India, there’s a yogic process called ‘Bhuta Shuddhi’ meaning “purification of the elements.’’ My rudimentary understanding of the process is that it involves running over the five elements of nature over one’s body.  While there can be no dispute over the role played by environment as to how one feels, there’s something special about the air and the earth of the Faroe Islands that seems to bring out the best in me. Soaking in the wind, sunshine, and letting nature do its magic by being still.

Glad to have arrived after a long journey | Photo: Jógvan Martin Joensen

Gains from the Faroe Islands

After three tournaments in Faroe Islands, I’ve won two and finished second in the other one. Out of 27 classical games I have played here, I’ve lost just once — on time from a position impossible to lose, against the Runavik Open Champion Nikita Maiorov. In case you’re already in a hurry to visit the Faroes, the Runavik Open is confirmed to take place from November 12th to 18th this year.

Carl Sagan once enlightened me about a "pale blue dot" in a vast cosmos and I am happy to remind myself once in a while (click or tap to expand) | Photo: Hanna Ólavsdóttir Jacobsen

Faroes Open 2018

My defence of the Faroes Open was clearly not going to be an easy task. The tournament was stronger than the previous year. On one hand, Gawain Jones replaced Julio Granda Zuniga, ensuring the presence of at least one top 100 player. Apart from that, the strength of the supporting cast overall was higher than the previous year. But considering that I was pretty much in the worst possible mental frame in July 2017, I was also in a better shape. 

The beginning wasn’t smooth sailing. I was up against Esteve Sanchez Sergio, who had read the previous ChessBase reports on Faroe Islands and felt that he couldn’t give the location a miss. In a sense, I had invited my own trouble!

Chess Endgames 8 - Practical Rook Endgames

Rook endings are amongst the most frequently encountered endgames there are, and so your training effort will be quickly repaid in the form of half and full points. Knowing even a few rules of thumb and key methods makes life a great deal easier and provides a guiding light even in complex positions. This DVD focuses on the important themes which are to be found in common rook endings.

I got back into contention with a victory over the Nielsen brothers on the double round day. Hogni (right) plays for the national youth team | Photo: Fiona Steil-Antoni

This set up a clash between me and the top seed, Gawain.

The game was definitely topsy-turvy, but the final position was definitely not one in which to settle for draw. It’s not the first time I’ve done this in my life and looking back, I am pretty sore at myself for doing this. But during the course of the event, I just kept going with the flow. There was a big tie now at 4.0/5. Anticipating that Gawain might clear out the rest of the field, I tried to make the most of my two whites in a row in the 6th and 7th rounds. 

Click or tap the second game in the game list to switch

The Semi-Slav: A GM guide for the tournament player

The Semi-Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6) can arise via various move orders, has decided World Championships, and is one of Black's most fascinating replies to 1 d4. Magnus Carlsen's second, Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen explains in detail what this opening is all about.

With these victories, I surged one point clear of Gawain, who to my pleasant surprise had been stuck at +3 with draws against GM Vitaly Kunin, and GM Miezis Normunds. However, he left no doubts as to who’s the boss with a convincing display in the blitz tournament on the evening on the 7th round.

Gawain and IM Maxim Vavulin scored 8/9, while I finished 3rd with 7½/9 (top three plus rating category winners | Photo: Hjalti Petersen

A Classical Guide to the French Defence

This DVD gives you the key to start out with the French Defence. GM Yannick Pelletier is a specialist of this opening, and believes that the most efficient way to understand its ideas, plans, and typical structures is to study classical lines.

After having two whites, it was time to defend my lead with two blacks. I fortified my French Defence for the last two games and didn’t really seem to get into trouble at any point. It looked easy, but I was extremely nervous. However, I was lucky that it was a period of time where very little could go past the French, except on certain rare occasions where the goalkeeper passes the ball directly to the opposition’s forward in front of the goal (speaking of course about Croatia’s final goal at the World Cup).

The MC for the closing ceremony was the Mayor of Tórshavn herself! In connection with chess politics, Twitter has been abuzz with discussions about the etymology of certain English words originating from Greek. The word ‘Democracy’ is undisputedly one such word. Democracy goes back really long in time, created with the intention of giving the power to the people. Over the passing of time, a great many changes have taken place and there are several different versions of democracy around. 

Faroe Islands was a revelatory experience for me in the sense that the governance is literally in the hands of the people — in practical terms, like the Prime Minister, Mayor, etc. are elected from among the people and are very much part of the people, even while holding office! It’s a place where the Prime Minister is neither above the normal citizen, nor below, but just a person elected collectively to lead the nation with certain responsibilities. For me personally, the lesson that in a collective group, a little bit of responsibility lies with every individual, not just with the elected leader, and that change begins with oneself, was powerfully learned and reinforced here. ‘Every individual born equal’ is a concept I’ve read a lot in theory. However, if one wants to see the closest model of this idea at work — spending time in the Faroe Islands, interacting with the locals, and experiencing their local life is a must.

Receiving the trophy (handmade artwork by Mikalina Glas) from Annika Olsen, Mayor of Tórshavn | Photo: Faroes Open organisers

All the prize winners — a lot of reasons to smile and be happy! | Photo: Faroes Open organisers

Side events

Like the previous year, there were a host of side events this year as well. I didn’t take part in most of them this time for two reasons: One is that I had already visited a large part of the country during my previous visit. The second was that I was just a little more motivated and focused on the chess part of the trip this time. This year’s excursions included a visit to the Gásadalur, the troll finger, aside from the traditional indoor football and the blitz events. The fishing trip was unfortunately not possible due to the weather. However, the highlights of the side events were the traditional rowing contest on the last day with the old wooden boats and the traditional live music event in which a band plays live non-stop from 12:30 to 4:30. I was also fortunate to bump into the Mayor on the dance floor of the event!

All the players aboard away from the board | Photo: Faroes Open organisers

Remember those old trolls that were going to eat all those Dwarves and Bilbo Baggins? Only their fingers remain now | Photo: Jógvan Martin Joensen

Beautiful Gásadalur — could anyone ever tire of this? | Photo: Jógvan Martin Joensen

Next year’s event will take place in the capital itself — Tórshavn. I can’t wait!

Final standings (top 25)

All games

Links

• Official site
• Full results (Chess-Results)
• Faroes Open 2017
• More chess holiday destinations