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The timing of my return flight forced me to move out immediately after the closing ceremony... With such a program, I hope you will forgive me for taking a bye in round three, in order to have one afternoon available for gathering the visual material.
Views of Antananarivo...
...from different vantage points....
... to give a full appreciation...
...of this city.
Once that was ticked off my to-do-list, I came back with new forces on the chess board, giving hard times to my Malagasy opponents. Except for one, the very talented Fy Rakotomaharo, who is only 16 years old, the owner of 2430 rating and the very convincing tournament winner, wiping the floor with us and ending up with an impressive 9.0/9 on the scoreboard. I really like his Facebook status, which says “there is no other sport more violent than chess”; while proving his aggressiveness on the chess board, outside of it Fy is a very nice and down-to-earth person, who will surely reach the GM title in no time.
Night lights
This is actually where the biggest surprise hit me in the face: the Malagasy players love the game and they play it well, in spite of being self-taught. The way they look at the pieces, how they breath, analyze or press the clock says it all! Sometimes I couldn't repress a smile when seeing how much passion they put into it, abandoning themselves into the infinity of the chess maze, which made them a bit too nervous at times, moments I happily took advantage of. But they had their revenge too, since I couldn't find any of their games in the databases and had to go in blindfolded.
The sole winner, with a modest 9.0/9: Fy Rakotomaharo
First and second place are still good friends, despite their hostile encounter on the chess board
The happy winners...
... from the various section.
Perhaps there is a link between this and their names, which for me were...impossible to spell properly. I needed to check the pairings ten times before I was sure I got the name correctly, and pronouncing them was no piece of cake either. Try this for example: Rambolamalalatiana Hajaharisoa (Ed: Rambo for short) or just check the players' list and... good luck!
Tournament director and president of FMJE, Yves Rakotomaharo, debriefing all of us in three
different languages! Malagasy, French and English. Thank you for a wonderful event!
Elisha Thabo from Zimbabwe was very happy to win the prize in his rating section, well done!
Last game of the tournament was followed with great interest
Such unique names make for unique and very interesting individuals, whose features in physiognomy resemble the Javanese or Indian ones (I bet some of you didn't expect that), and same goes for the Malagasy language, seasoned with some African and Arab elements as well. The standard way people greet each other in Madagascar is by saying, “Mbola tsara Manahoana, Manakory, Akory.”, sing-songy words which translate to, “Hello, Good morning.” If this is getting difficult, don't worry, the locals speak French too, given their colonial past, which lasted until 1960, when Madagascar became an independent country.
Fy's brother is also playing chess
And his friends got the chess bug too
The Malagasy ladies love the game as well
A number came to enjoy the competition
Another attraction for me was the traffic, an organism that has rules of its own, if any. I just don't understand it and my deepest respect goes for those who can drive on Antananarivo's streets (just when I thought nothing could beat Jakarta's madness!). I am truly amazed that people's feet find their way out, avoiding being trapped into the cars' wheels and even more stunned that the vehicles are actually able to advance. Such a mingle-mangle of everything and anything is hard to describe or find elsewhere – a genuine Malagasy experience.
Interesting but difficult to pronounce names...
After party... Pizza time!
I do not know which is the next move Lady Luck is planning in our favourite variation, but I do hope that when the time comes, after one year, I will not leave it to fate to decide, but play the move myself and return to this fantastic island of Madagascar!
You may recall the pictures from Angola with women carrying all manner
of items on their heads. In Madagascar it is the men who do it.
Bread...
...Fruits, and more.
|
Rk
|
SNo
|
Ti.
|
Name
|
FED
|
Rtg
|
Pts
|
TB
|
| 1 | 1 | FM | Rakotomaharo Fy Antenaina | MAD | 2430 | 9.0 | 39.0 |
| 2 | 2 | WGM | L'AMI Alina | ROU | 2371 | 7.5 | 39.0 |
| 3 | 7 | Mezouaghi Miloud | FRA | 2039 | 6.5 | 41.0 | |
| 4 | 23 | Ralison Milanto Harifidy | MAD | 1786 | 6.0 | 41.0 | |
| 5 | 9 | Rafenohery Lova | MAD | 2001 | 6.0 | 37.0 | |
| 6 | 5 | Andriamasoandro Miora Ismael | MAD | 2117 | 6.0 | 37.0 | |
| 7 | 14 | Elisha Thabo | ZIM | 1943 | 6.0 | 36.5 | |
| 8 | 6 | Ramasindraibe Girard | MAD | 2040 | 6.0 | 36.5 | |
| 9 | 33 | WFM | Ravelomanana Sabi | MAD | 1710 | 6.0 | 36.0 |
| 10 | 15 | Beanjara Philippson | MAD | 1934 | 6.0 | 35.5 | |
| 11 | 63 | Razanadrakotoarisoa Toavina | MAD | 0 | 6.0 | 34.0 | |
| 12 | 3 | CM | Rajaonarison Faniry | MAD | 2125 | 5.5 | 36.5 |
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