The world of chess has many sides: from the grandmaster who shines under the spotlight on the international scene to the non-federated player who practices the game-science alone, solving the problem of his favorite column in the newspaper. This amalgam of colors, composed of shades of an infinite spectrum, gives shape to the motto of the International Federation (FIDE): Gens una sumus (“We are one family”, in Latin).
You may wonder the reason for this reflection at the halfway point of the V El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament… Yesterday I had the pleasure of chatting with an amateur who has gone through difficult times in his life due to mental problems. I had not seen him for a long time and by chance we met at a bus stop. In order not to entertain you, I will summarize our conversation in a phrase that he told me and that I will never forget: “Chess has saved my life”. This, because seeing his good looks and knowing the vicissitudes of his illness, I was very happy to see him with a smile on his face. “In tournaments and in clubs you meet people from all cultures, you make good friendships and, when you lose the game, you go for a coffee with your rival. What other sport can bring you so much on a human level?”. His words deserve to be carved in stone. The fifth round of the Llobregat Open Chess Tournament began with the traditional ringing of the bell, on this occasion by the very talented Elliot McCallum, the esteemed Canadian world no. 1 under-8, who is participating in Group A. We were honored to be joined by Xavier Roma, CEO of NAEKO.
Yesterday, the CEO of NAEKO, Mr. Javier Roma, visited the tournament.
In sports, we highlight the victory of the U-16 world champion Javier Habans (2402), who won with the black pieces against 2502 Savva Vetokhin, a prestigious victory that consolidates the Navarrese on the top boards. Provisionally leading the classification are Ido Gorshtein (2528), with all his games won, followed by Cristobal Henriquez (2594) and Yahli Sokolovsky (2516), both half a point behind. Group B is led by Brayden Van De Graaff, Andrzej Migala and Liliana Leszner, all with 3.5 points. Group C is led by Javier Sanz (4 points), Lluís Julbe (3.5) and Hailey Ruth Van De Graaff (3). You can follow the games live, starting at 4 p.m., at the following link https://www.elllobregat.com/openchess/es/
