Wednesday, 24 August 2022

Final Thoughts On Olomouc

I PLAYED in the Olomouc Open from 2009-11 and 2014-16, and in the Olomouc Seniors from 2017-19.
The covid pandemic saw the chess festival cancelled in 2020 and 2021, so it was good to have it back this year.
My early-years participation was when it was held at a rather rundown hotel opposite the city's train station, but later it moved closer to the centre of the city at the Hotel Flora, which is beside one of Olomouc's numerous municipal parks.
The venue is being rebranded as Central Park Flora, and certainly the breakfast and bar service had been upgraded since my last visit.
Olomouc Chess Summer is part of the CzechTour, which has been running since 2001 at various places across Czechia and at Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.
Olomouc is one of the chess festivals that has been held since the CzechTour began, but some have come on to the calendar only to be later dropped.
I have played at Prague, Hradec Králové, Třebíč, Brno, Pardubice and Mariánské Lázně, and can recommend them all as being good value for money with decent playing conditions.
Upcoming events listed at CT are yet to have details printed, but the dates are:
  • Hradec Kralove Open, November 5–12, 2022
  • Brno Open, November 12–19, 2022
  • Prague Open, January 6–13, 2023
  • Marienbad Open, January 14–21, 2023
  • Liberec Open, February 24 – March 3, 2023
  • Pilsen Open, March 4–11, 2023

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