Figueira da Foz Chess Festival
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Figueira da Foz has some of the best beaches in Portugal. Here is a photo from last year’s chessbase report on the tournament, showing a view of the city from along the seaside.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
I have not updated this blog as much as I would have wanted to these past couple of days because I am currently participating in the an interesting tournament in Portugal. Now that I have gotten into a daily routine, however, I will be my usual faithful blogger…tomorrow I will start taking photos of this event and posting them here.
The ultra-modern Figueira Casino is the classy tournament site
The 7th edition of Portugal’s most prestigious international chess tournament–Festival de Xadrez da Figueira da Foz–is taking place at the Figueira Casino from October 30 to November 7. With representatives from more than 20 countries, including 25-titled players, this tournament is the only annual tournament in Portugal that provides GM and IM norms.
The tournament organizers, Paula Costa and Miguel Babo (right) have considerable experience in putting on a classy show. I suggest the readers take a glance at the official tournament website (above) for videos and reviews of past editions. Chessbase and EuropeEchecs normally give glowing accounts of this Portuguese event.
I don’t know if any of my readers have ever played chess in a Casino before, but I can tell you that it is a really great idea! I am surprised that more chess tournaments don’t try this… The Figueira Casino has great lighting, spacious conference rooms and plenty of oxygen! I normally play my best chess here and I have won 2 of the 3 times that I have participated (I will try to make this the 3rd win!).
As one would expect for a tournament that has the best possible playing conditions, Carlos Dias is the principal arbiter. Carlos is Portugal’s most senior Arbiter and he is also one of the most experienced and respected arbiters in the world.
I will be posting more as the tournament progresses. In the meantime, here are some links that the reader might find useful:
Figueira da Foz has some of the best beaches in Portugal. Here is a photo from last year’s chessbase report on the tournament, showing a view of the city from along the seaside.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS