Given my gripes about how tournaments are organized here, I read this earlier today and thought I'd share with you and your blog.
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ORGANISERS of Bahrain's first international chess tournament last night vowed to host many more events of the same calibre in the near future.
Bahrain Chess Club (BCC) vice-president Ahmed Haddad said this competition is a breakthrough for the chess community in the Kingdom and hopes that it acts as a catalyst for the development of the sport.
"This is definitely the first step in returning chess to its glory days of the 1980s when the local scene was just unbelievable," Haddad told the GDN.
"We held at least one tournament every month, but sometimes there would be more, so we ended up having maybe 14 or 15 tournaments a year, which is really a lot.
"Hopefully this tournament will contribute in getting the players back to that level of activity, and most importantly raise the locals' interest in chess and also enhance the quality of Bahrain's local players," he added.
BCC treasurer and vice-president of the tournament's organising committee Jamal Abdulghaffar agreed, saying that Bahraini youngsters should make the most of this tournament where four GMs and three IMs are in action.
"We can all learn a lot from them," Abdulghaffar explained. "We can get an insight into new techniques, strategies and styles from them. They study chess, and they live for chess."
The organising committee has received a lot of praise for the smooth conduct of the tournament, not only from Bahrain residents but also visiting players and officials.
"This is a very nice tournament to play in, and Bahrain is a very pleasant place to visit," said GM Arnaud Hauchard from France said. "I like the country very much. The people are very relaxed and polite. It's perfect for me, it feels like paradise."
"Everything has been great from the word 'go'," added Indian IM Sriram Jha. "I've been really tired the past few days, having travelled from Iceland to Italy and now straight to Bahrain for three successive tournaments, but it's been very relaxing here. It's been a wonderful experience so far."
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And to think it's their FIRST international chess tournament. It doesn't give details, though, on the venue of the tournament, where the players stayed, etc.
Best wishes,
John Sy
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