FLEW to Belgrade this afternoon for the 34th Belgrade Trophy International.
Right now it is just about the only accessible non-elite over-the-board tournament, at least in Europe.
The event, which is being run as a nine-round swiss over nine days, has 52 entrants, down from 154 last year.
I hope to file daily reports of the tournament in general and of my part in particular.
The list of entries is at chess-results.com/tnr539344.aspx?lan=1
Most players are from Serbia and nearly all are from behind what was the Iron Curtain, the exceptions being myself, two Swedes and a Turk.
Although the event is non-elite - only one player rated over 2500 - it is top-heavy in that there are eight grandmasters.
I only found out about the tournament on Friday, via the calendar at The Week In Chess, which meant a bit of a scramble in making arrangements (I visited two currency-exchange shops near Victoria Station yesterday, but none stocked Serbian dinars).
Because of a shortage of direct flights, I had to arrive two days before the start and am scheduled to leave two days after the tournament ends.
The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by a further 15 minutes, with a 30-second increment from round one.
The first eight rounds start at 17.00, so most games will last well into the evening, not that there will be much to do in the evening in Belgrade anyway, according to travel advice from the Foreign Office:
There are nationwide rules in place restricting movement and limiting activity. It is mandatory to maintain physical distance of at least 1.5m in all public spaces. Protective face masks are mandatory in all public spaces, both indoors and outdoors when the area is crowded. Failure to wear a mask when required will incur a fine. Self-isolation, when required, will be enforced.
Indoor and outdoor gatherings are limited to 5 people. Work organisations, schools, shops, shopping malls and similar are excluded from this but must limit numbers of patrons to 1 person per 4sqm. Theatres and some cultural events are permitted to operate with restricted numbers.
There are nationwide rules in place restricting movement and limiting activity. It is mandatory to maintain physical distance of at least 1.5m in all public spaces. Protective face masks are mandatory in all public spaces, both indoors and outdoors when the area is crowded. Failure to wear a mask when required will incur a fine. Self-isolation, when required, will be enforced.
Indoor and outdoor gatherings are limited to 5 people. Work organisations, schools, shops, shopping malls and similar are excluded from this but must limit numbers of patrons to 1 person per 4sqm. Theatres and some cultural events are permitted to operate with restricted numbers.
Businesses, with the exception of pharmacies and petrol stations, are not allowed to operate between 9pm and 5am. From Tuesday 24 November, restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, betting shops and shopping malls must close by 6pm.
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