Good News ... Bad News

COVID infections, hospitalisations and deaths are all falling, at least in the UK, and there are starting to be visible signs of preparations for a return to normality.

The Gun pub, which is near my home in the Spitalfields district of London, is urging would-be customers to book a table for "12th April 12pm - Beer Ready!"

Sign in a window of The Gun

Leaving aside the fact that noon cannot be post meridiem, nor ante meridiem for that matter, there is another difficulty in that The Gun has neither a garden nor a private outdoors area.

Presumably tables will be placed on the pavement that can be seen reflected in the window in my photo.

There is further good news in that some countries, including Greek Cyprus, Portugal and Romania, say they will let in tourists without the need for a covid test or quarantining as long as the tourists can show they have had two doses of a covid vaccination.

As far as I am concerned, this is the main reason for having the vaccination.

My second dose is due on May 16, so I should be able to holiday soon after, assuming the UK government removes the virtual Berlin Wall behind which it is keeping most of us.

In any event, for the first year since 2005, I will not be playing at Bad Wörishofen.

The Bavarian tournament was originally scheduled to start today, was postponed to May and has now been cancelled.

An announcement at the ChessOrg.de site states: "The Covid19 situation gives no possibilities for the Chess festival in 2021. So we have to wait until March 2022 to meet again in the Kurhaus of Bad Wörishofen."

Rather more surprisingly the British championships, which are listed at the English Chess Federation site as running from July 23 to August 1, also seem endangered.

I glean this from John Upham of British Chess News who has posted at the English Chess Forum: "I believe an unannounced decision has already been made NOT to have an OTB British Championship in 2021."

Some you win, some you lose.