All the people involved in a chess festival are a fundamental part of many things, although their visibility is not the same. Let’s talk, for example, about those who are at the access door to the playing room because, although part of their function is to go unnoticed, their work is key for the good health of the V El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament.
Let’s take an amateur’s eye view of their performance: a small group of men and women scan the tournament participants with anti-cheating systems (both electronic and thermal), which I will not detail in this article for obvious security reasons. Now, from a tournament director’s point of view, what would we look for? Of course, we take their specific function (“hunting” cheaters) for granted; I am referring not to the “what” but to the “how”. First of all we need them to be people with outstanding manners and patience, as they have to balance what is to some extent invasive with the routine of an elite event. They are the calling card of the festival, precisely in the least pleasant situation. On the other hand, they have to be agile in their work, so that no unnecessary queues are generated, so that the entrance to the hall is smooth: this is not easy and requires great coordination, in a process analogous to that of airports when a person has to be scanned in a separate room (either because he or she is carrying something wrong or because of a false positive). Now, you know what’s good about this? That, in general, the chess player appreciates his role and takes with good humor the slight inconvenience it may cause, because there are multiple benefits of participating in a clean tournament.
In this seventh round we were honored with the presence of Ariadna Verge, Marketing Director of QUADIS, who has made the traditional ringing of the bell that starts the chess games.
In sporting terms, Yahli Sokolovsky won with the white pieces, on the first board, against his compatriot Ido Gorshtein, which strengthens his chances of winning the title in the V El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament. On the second board, the Ibero-American champion and number 1 of Chile Cristóbal Henríquez did the same with the U-16 world champion Javier Habans. Leading the provisional standings are Yahli Sokolovsky (6.5 points), Cristobal Henriquez (6) and Ido Gorshtein (5.5). In Group B, Piotr Dukaczewski (5), Jordi García (5) and Jacek Stachanczyk (4.5) are leading. Group C is led by Hailey Ruth Van De Graaff (5), Javier Sanz (5) and Narek Danielyan (4.5). 
The analysis of the games of this round can be consulted at https://www.chessbase.in/news/5th-Elllobregat-Open-2024-round-7-report-. You can watch the games live, starting at 4 p.m., at https://www.elllobregat.com/openchess/.
