Tournament in Portugal

My apologies to readers for not posting these past two days. I am playing in the IX Festival International de Xadrez in Figueira da Foz, one of the few traditional tournaments still organized in Portugal these days, given the economic crisis of the recent past years. The tournament rhythm (3 games in the first 24 hours) plus some internet problems meant that I did not have access to my blog. Now that the situation has become normal, I will quickly catch up on things.

Chief Arbiter Carlos Dias(r); Tournament Dir Miguel Babo(c) Assistant Arbiter Paulo Rocha
The tournament has a prestigious internationally-qualified team behind it. Tournament Director Miguel Babo is well known to my regular readers, as is I.A. Carlos Dias who has taken time from his busy schedule to head the technical team, assisted by F.A. Paulo Rocha (who also ensures that the games can be followed LIVE).

Carlos Dias (centre) is one of the most respected and accomplished arbiters in the world. He was recently working at the Baku Grand Prix.