Crete Expectations

AM making final preparations for flying to Crete to report on and play in the Amateur Chess Organization's 2020 world senior championships, postponed from last year because of covid restrictions.

My flight from Gatwick is early tomorrow, so I will be overnighting at a hotel at the airport.

The tournament is being held at the five-star all-inclusive Fodele beach hotel - not my usual choice of accommodation, to say the least, but it should make for an interesting change.

There are 29 entries split between six rating groups (no one has entered group F), so some sort of consolidation is to be expected.

1	Jhunjhnuwala	Krishan	USA	2336	A
2	Berend	Fred	LUX	2323	A
3	Biró	Sandor	ROM	2238	A
4	Koehler	Dr. Gerhard	GER	2204	A
5	Jhunjhnuwala	Ramesh	USA	2133	B
6	Ernst	Michael	AUT	2116	B
7	Jhunjhnuwala	Naresh	USA	2062	B
8	Frick	Christoph	GER	2044	B
9	Spanton	Timothy	ENG	1998	C
10	Oelmann	Henry	GER	1947	C
11	Menzinger	Peter	GER	1938	C
12	Sielicki	Tomasz	POL	1938	C
13	Schaefer	Dr. Martin	GER	1929	C
14	Van de Wynkele	Rudy	BEL	1908	C
15	Zimmermann	Curt	AUT	1891	C
16	Jhunjhnuwala	Suresh	USA	1870	C
17	Schoch	Heinz	SUI	1764	D
18	Ring	Rudi	AUT	1749	D
19	Florea	Dorina	ROU	1741	D
20	Becker	Ralph	GER	1709	D
21	Bekkesletten	Cato	NOR	1708	D
22	Bauer	Dieter	GER	1695	D
23	Bornand	Herbert	SUI	1684	D
24	Krause	Helmut	GER	1627	D
25	Krause	Marianne	GER	1550	E
26	Oster	Jean-Marie	FRA	1427	E
27	Masson	Wally	FRA	1137	G
28	Braams	Herbert	GER	0	G
29	Slot	Wilhelm	BEL	0	G

Running at the same time will be the ACO's postponed 2020 world amateur championship. It has 23 entries.

The events officially start on Friday with welcoming drinks, followed on Saturday morning by the real business of round one.

Greece is on the UK government's amber list, but the Foreign Office is not advising against travel to Crete (nor to four other Greek islands).

Even so, on returning to England I will be required to self-isolate for 10 days as well as taking two covid tests (and one before I fly back).