American Continental underway in Medellin!
No joking around in Medellin!
Much of the elite of the American chess community is trying to finesse each other in Medellin this week as the XII American Continental Chess Championship gets underway. At stake are 6 qualifying positions for the upcoming World Cup to be held in Georgia later in September, as well as more than $20,000 in prizes.
The tournament is organized as an 11-round Swiss. Among the 259 participants from 19 countries are 31 GMs and 51 IMs. Canada has 4 representatives, while the USA has 11. Cuba has sent a powerful delegation of 7. The time control is a standard 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes to finish (plus 30′ per move). Play is daily at the Hotel Dorado in downtown Medellin.
The best source of daily news and updates is the site of FideAmerica, while several sites offer LIVE coverage (see the right side bar for indications). Especially, the FideAmerica site has hundreds of photos. The local media is also showing a lot of interest in the tournament…
