Let the games begin!
Today at 6:30 p.m. the moment has finally arrived: the first round of the Scheldemond Chess Tournament in Vlissingen. And yes, for those who somehow still hadn't noticed, this is indeed the new name of the former HZ Tournament. The Atrium of HZ University of Applied Sciences, our playing venue for the past 27 years, was no longer available, so we had to find a new home.
The new tournament name was enough for Omroep Zeeland to name me "Zeelander of the Day" on Friday. I had always imagined this to be an honorary title that, as a little boy born in Rotterdam in the distant past, I could only dream of receiving. The reality,however, turned out to be rather less glamorous. The morning radio host simply calls you at an ungodly hour to ask about your plans for the day. And after that, you're left to fend for yourself...
Zeelander of the day, but still had to make my own breakfast
Anyway, sleeping in was never really an option, as the tournament hall had to be set up. Carrying countless tables inside—tables that seemed to grow heavier by the minute—was quite a challenge. Fortunately, plenty of volunteers came to the rescue. We may have a new name and a new venue, but the wonderful group of enthusiastic volunteers remains exactly the same.
Friday evening then brought the drawing of lots and the simultaneous exhibition. Tournament director Hans Groffen had managed to persuade Erwin l'Ami to take care of both. Seeded second in the tournament, Erwin had the honour of choosing the colour that top seed Raunak Sadhwani of India would have in the first round. Easy enough, you'd think. But when I asked Hans a little later about the outcome of the draw, I felt as though I'd wandered into a Dutch Christian Democratic Party congress. Did Sadhwani have White because Erwin had chosen Black? Or had a white pawn appeared after all? Or...?
My poor colleague, who had already been up early that morning, became completely confused. Fortunately, our tournament photographer was still around to settle the matter. Erwin chose White, which means he himself will have Black in tomorrow's first round.
The grandmaster from Woerden, meanwhile, remained blissfully unaware of all the confusion. He was already calmly making his rounds during the simul—and very calmly indeed. Erwin took his time, gradually tightening the screws on each of his 22 opponents, one move at a time. One of his victims happened to be a boardmember of our Walcheren Chess Foundation. As Jan Hein Donner once observed, a simultaneous exhibitor should never beat board members too quickly. But this wasn't the treasurer, so in the end he went down anyway. Final score: 21½ points.
It was already Saturday by the time the last game finally finished. Which was rather disappointing for my wife, who had been looking forward to sharing the sheets with the Zeelander of the Day for once.
P.S.
Starting from round three, when the rating differences on the boards become less pronounced, we hope to publish a tournament report after every round. For next to nothing, I have managed to recruit a number of highly knowledgeable contributors, so you won't have to put up with me every time. I'm sure at least a few of you will be delighted to hear that.
In the meantime, provided someone plugs in all the cables correctly, you can follow the top boards live on Lichess.