Cambridge

AM making final preparations for traveling to Cambridge tomorrow for the English Chess Federation's 2nd Cambridge International.

The event's capacity of 120 entrants was met long ago, the list including eight grandmasters, 14 international masters and 11 Fide masters.

Leading the seedings, by more than 100 elo, is England's Michael Adams, but 21 other countries are also represented.

The venue is the University Arms Hotel, where the tournament runs from Monday to Saturday.

University Arms - "Cambridge's leading luxury hotel since 1834"

I will be staying at the Holiday Inn Express, "a convenient hotel three miles from the city centre."

The format of the tournament is unusual, with Monday, Wednesday and Friday being double-round days, games starting at 10:30 and 16:30; Tuesday and Thursday have a game at 16:30; Saturday at 10:30.

The time control is 90 minutes, with a 30-second increment.

Baku accelerated pairings will be used, although, since I am seeded in the fourth quarter, that means I should still get a relatively tough opponent in round one.