Isle of Man: rain and sunshine (part 2/2)

The time has come to speak about the social and political status of the island, just another paradoxical issue. The Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency, but not a part of the UK or of the European Union! For more details please Google it, you will find plenty of information if interested.

Maybe it looks like we had quite some nice weather but it is only partially true as I usually
had to hunt the rays of light

The weather was even more capricious than what-they-usually-call: a woman's personality.
However when she cooperated, it was all worth it.

My camera got quite some showers in the process

I would describe the island's main thread as modernism and originality masked under the proverbial British traditionalism; or was it vice-versa?! People use the British pound, but have their own national pound with the same value, which is not accepted elsewhere. They used to have their own language, Manx Gaelic, which is not to be heard anymore, except for the original name of the island: Ellan Vannin.

The promenade where the players could be seen during the usual walks

Otherwise they would enjoy the beach for a stroll

The Isle of Man has its own flag, with the Triskelion symbol. I have heard several possible explanations of the ancient symbolism of the three legs; the one I like most says that the island is so small that wherever you go you still are here, together with your less than 100,000 compatriots.

I could feel the latter in the actions of the small organizing team, which looked united and
in perfect harmony, so I cannot help mentioning the kindness of the main organizer, Alan Ormsby!

Yochanan Afek not only composed a study especially for this tournament
but also played in it himself

The island keeps all the British traditions such as driving on the left side and the rich English breakfast. I didn't quite understand the beans' presence in the company of eggs, sausages and bacon, but ate them with pleasure every morning! I was delighted to travel with the train formed of the more than 100 year old wagons and steam engine but some other aspects of traditionalism look a bit counter profitable, though.

My adventure in the nearby city, Castletown, could have ended badly; it was pouring with
water and my camera is not weather sealed. Thankfully, it survived the test.

For instance, using two separated knobs for the hot and cold water is not too comfortable, at least for a foreigner. And the arbiters made the round by round pairing "by hand", without the use of the computer! True, the quality of the result was excellent, but the process surely was demanding for them...

Abhijeet Gupta

Julio Granda Zuniga might not have had the score he was dreaming
of in this event but his chess is always one of the attractions

Maybe the most plastic way of describing the modernism hidden under the coat of traditionalism is the presence of the Unisex toilets, which is not only useful but practical too!
 
From my point of view, the most positive form of traditionalism was disputing the tournament at the classical, almost never used in opens, rhythm of play: two hours for 40 moves, one more hour for the next 20 and only then the "till finish" phase, with the extra 30 sec starting from move one. I tend to spend lots of time in the search of truth and the popular 90 minutes + 30 seconds for the whole game frequently leads me to time troubles before the game reaches a purely technical phase.

Chess creates strong friendships: Keith Arkell, Elisabeth Paehtz, Fiona Steil Antoni and Jonathan Hawkins

Earlier this year I had a couple of tournaments I would be glad to forget about, but given the excellent playing conditions in the Isle of Man I felt like reborn. And keeping the difference of level, the tournament winner, Nigel Sort, had similar feelings, as confessed during his speech at the prize giving.

The main winner was of course: Nigel, who is thanking Alan Ormsby
for his wonderful work, appreciated by everyone!

The 1st of June children. Nigel and yours truly are born on, yes, 1st of June
and we were both happy to recover from the less good chess periods we had before!

But Nigel shouldn't be considered the only winner, one doesn't necessarily need to end up first to be called like that. We all followed with great interest the games played by the group of very young and talented Israeli players, giving a hard time to several grandmasters. And I felt happy for the way my dear friend Harika opened her way to the first ladies prize, holding her own against strong and experienced opponents.

Harika Dronavalli, first place in the ladies section

On a more amusing note, the last round offered to my compatriot Mihail Marin the feeling of a winner twice in the same game. He had played a good game and more or less seen how he would win. Having returned from the cigarette break he found the pieces set on their initial positions, the clock stopped, the score-sheets removed.

Mihail Marin, a noted author of many books and ChessBase DVDs

So, his opponent proved his respect by resigning, but Mihail noticed the kings were positioned in the center as if the game had ended in a draw and immediately corrected the mistake. The next step was looking for an arbiter in order to sign the score-sheets and take away his own copy. But in the very moment when Fiona (the tournament press officer) told his opponent (IM Ferguson) about the problem, Mihail understood he had approached another board... He instantly corrected the kings' position again, apologized to Fiona and his opponent and a few moves later won the game anyway! Even though he felt like winning twice, he only got one point in the classification for that.

Many will return to repeat the wonderful experience and, perhaps, next time they will be winners on the poker tables too!

Gabriel Sargissian happily taking his prize, just like all the other participants in the tournament,
with absolutely no exception! Happiness is contagious.

Final standings

Click for complete standings

Pictures by Alina L'Ami

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.