Saturday 9 October 2021

Spanish Practices

ARRIVED in Mallorca, off Spain's Mediterranean coast, yesterday for the annual Calvià tournament, which starts today.
It is for players rated under 2350 who do not have a GM or IM title, although there are nine Fide masters.
The 102 entries - the announced official maximum is 100 - are mostly non-Spanish.
The full list, which includes six from England and five others from elsewhere in the British Isles, can be seen at http://chess-results.com/tnr560234.aspx?lan=1
The first seven rounds start at 8pm, with the last two at 3.30pm and 10am respectively. The time limit is 40 moves in 90 minutes, followed by a 15-minute 'windback', with a 30-second increment throughout.
The tournament hall is in Palma Nova (often written as Palmanova), while I am staying, along with Joe Skielnik, at the Hotel Samos, a short walk along the coast in Magaluf.
I played last October when the Samos, so I was told, was the only hotel in the area open. Masks had to be worn indoors and outdoors, except when on the beach(!) or a promenade.
All bars with music licences, ie most bars, had been ordered shut, and generally there was a ghost-town feel about the place.
This year already seems rather different ...
Meanwhile, here are two early-morning views from my balcony before the sun comes up:

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