
World Junior Chess Championships 2009
Impressions from Patagonia by Åse Østebø
I travelled to Argentina as the head of the Norwegian delegation. It was not
a very large one: just me, my son Lasse, who played in the event and Katrine
Tjølsen, took part in the girl's championship. Lasse and I travelled
from Stavanger on the south-western coast of Norway to Puerto Madryn, leaving
on a Tuesday morning (October 20th) at 11 am local time, via Oslo, Paris and
Buenos Aires, arriving in Puerto Madryn on Wednesday night around 10 p.m. (which
would be 3 a.m. Thursday morning Oct. 22nd in Norway). So it took a while to
get there!

Rain in Buenos Aires: on the bus from the city centre to Jorge Newbery airport

Exhibit at Jorge Newbery airport for domestic flights

A view of Buenos Aires from the airport, just before taking the flight to
Trelev

Arrival at the bustling Trelew Airport
Use + or – to zoom in or out, left mouse key to pan, or view
larger map here

A view from the hotel room just after arrival

The same view the next morning

Our hotel Rayentray, directly at the beach

There was always a very sharp wind whistling outside our living quarters

This is the way cars get sandblasted along the sea shore

The playing venue – in the basement of the hotel

The start of a round of the Junior World Championship 2009

The girls' section, with one of the ultimate winners: Betül Yildiz of Turkey

Another winner: Sergei Zhigalko, who shared first in the boys' section

WIM Rout Padmini, 2331, finished eighth, one of three Indian girls in the top
ten

An important game: French GM Vachier defeated Britain's David Howell in round
nine

In round eleven Zhigalko took a 21-move draw. Vachier, watching in the background,
won his game against Lenderman in 89 moves and caught the leading Zhigalko.

The hotel lobby was used frequently to get onto the Internet – when it
worked

Katrine Tjølsen, Norwegian participant in the girls' championship,
at work with the computer

Katrine's mother Charlotte, who works in Brazil and was in Puerto Madryn for
a few days

A top encounter in round six: the third and first seed drew their game in 13
moves

Dinner time, and David Howell's coach Nigel Short (in the white shirt) joins
the
South Africans on the left and the Norwegians squad on the right

A meal with the famour Argentine beef – at 7 Euros ($10) reasonable
and good

We saw him a number of times: a dog that travelled on the roof of his owner's
car

Underground? No, electricity is transported the old-fashioned way

Kite surfing has become
popular all over the globe

This is helped by the permanent stiff breeze at the beach

Penguins on the beach remind you which hemisphere you are on

The sign shows us the area with the largest breeding colony of penguines in
the world

This big guy is an elephant seal, one of a large colony

A late inhabitant of the beach

Before five-star hotels: the earliest inhabitants of Puerto Madryn lived
in these caves

Our farewell photo: one of the incredible sunsets we had every evening

Our photographer Åse Østebø
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I must say it has been an experience being in Patagonia and Puerto Madryn!
Everything takes a bit longer in Argentina – no one seems to be in a hurry.
For example we were told at the hotel reception that lunch everyday should be
from 12 noon to 3 p.m., but it was never ready before 12:30 at the earliest
and usually only around 1 p.m. The reception area was always full of hungry
young chess players waiting to get a meal. Thankfully no-one lost a game by
showing up late, because they were all given 15 minutes extra to show up. And
when we got to the closing ceremony, which was scheduled for 5 p.m. we were
told to come back an hour later.
About the author
Åse Østebø is a high-school teacher of Mathematics and
Chemistry at the International Baccalaureate department at a high school in
Stavanger. She is the mother of the Norwegian player Lasse Østebø
Løvik. As we go to print Åse and Lasse are on their 40-hour journey
back to Stavanger.
Previous ChessBase reports

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World Junior Chess Championships 2009 in Patagonia
30.10.2009 – Puerto Madryn is a city on the
east coast of southern Argentina, in a geographical region known as
Patagonia. In this remote place, where right whales and dolphins congregate,
84 of the most talented young players – under twenty years old – are
playing for a prestigeous title. The girls's section has 45 contestants.
The official web site is unfortunately comprimised, but we have results
and games. |

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Zhigalko leads World Junior in Patagonia
02.11.2009 – Top seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
of France, rated 2718, is josting for top place with third seed Sergei
Zhigalko of Belarus, rated 2646. In round nine both won their games
and were equal first, in round ten Vachier played a quick draw, while
Zhigalko won again to take the sole lead. No pictures of the chess action
in Puerto Madryn, but we have received some very
nice shots of whales.
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Vachier-Lagrave, Zhigalko win World Junior
04.11.2009 – It was a very fateful final
day at the World Junior in Argentina. French GM and top seed Maxime
Vachier-Lagrave worked hard to win his final game and catch the leading
Sergei Zhigalko from Belarus to take Gold and the title on tiebreak.
In the women's section there was even greater drama. One player missed
a special $33,000 prize by a few tiebreak points. Final
round report. |