Early in the morning, everything was ready: endless rows of tables with thousands of chess pieces in front of Hamburg's imposing city hall.
By 10:00 in the morning, the square on the sunny Rathausmarkt was filled with 3,500 children, and Hamburg’s School Senator Ksenija Bekeris looked perfectly at ease in what was surely the city’s largest open-air chess classroom.
Mathilda from the school Ahrensburger Weg made the opening move. She won that privilege in a lottery, and her teacher had nominated her because Mathilda was celebrating her ninth birthday on 18 June — and had "never had so many guests". Mathilda even came up with a special opening move: 1. Nf3!
School Senator Ksenija Bekeris eagerly awaits the first move
After a loud countdown chanted by thousands of students, the games began — though some ended quickly with a classic Scholar’s Mate. Those who lost early had a second chance in a simul, taking on GM Luis Engel — who once played in the Alsterufer tournament himself — Hamburg chess legend Dr. Hauke Reddmann, IM Malte Colpe, or Hamburg’s U12 youth champion Jonathan Andersen.
Luis Engel and "The Big Greek" Georgios Souleidis
The two tournament organisers, Björn Lengwenus and Jan Pohl, created a great atmosphere on stage.
Which side can cheer louder? It's unclear. But yesterday, it was clear who was better at chess: the left bank of the Alster was in top form and won 966.5 to 769.5!
Representing the left bank, the third team from Gymnasium Ohlstedt accepted the large traditional challenge trophy.
There was also a small trophy for the best guest team, which had travelled to Hamburg especially for the event. The Birkenallee 1 primary school from Uetersen was delighted to receive this trophy!
The tournament has been held since 1958, so it’s no surprise that many of the parents and teachers accompanying the school classes once played in it themselves. Things get interesting when, after 30 years, they reintroduce themselves to their former chess coaches, and take pleasure in testing their memory for names.
No problem for Björn Lengwenus, teacher and creator of the popular chess learning software "Fritz & Chesster", and Rainer Woisin (ChessBase) managed 50%. But the best thing, of course, is seeing everyone again and the joy of seeing their children having so much fun playing chess at the Alsteruferturnier!
As in previous years, the tournament was organised by Björn Lengwenus and Jan Pohl with fantastic support and numerous helpers from the Hamburg Chess Youth Association and trainees from Hamburger Sparkasse.
However, it was only thanks to the generous financial support of the Thalia bookstore chain and Hamburger Sparkasse that this tournament could take place again.
Björn Lengwenus, School Senatorin Ksenija Bekeris, Dr. Olaf Oesterhelweg (Hamburger Sparkasse), Johannes Brancke (Thalia)
Johannes Brancke, Thalia Sales Director North-East: "We at Thalia are proud to be the official partner of the Alsterufer Chess Tournament again this year – an event that brings many young people together, encourages them to play and inspires them."
Dr Olaf Oesterhelweg, Deputy Spokesman for the Board of Managing Directors of Hamburger Sparkasse: "Just like Haspa, the Alsteruferturnier is a true Hamburg original."
The Hamburg S-Bahn once again provided an excellent service: all pupils were able to travel to the Rathausmarkt free of charge. Thalia brought lots of gifts for all (!) pupils, which were distributed in large Thalia bags.
Fritz 20 as a prize
ChessBase has also supported the Alsterufer Tournament for many years. The pairing system and digital results recording were developed by ChessBase. Incidentally, the ChessBase office is located on the left bank of the Alster!
Official Alsterufer page...
