Early Bird

I NORMALLY enter tournaments about three months in advance as by then organisers' plans are usually set, and a decent choice of accommodation and flights should be available.

However I can well understand why some people like to leave it later as plans can easily change - both of organisers and participants.

But anyone still hoping to enter the Bad Wörishofen festival, which starts on Friday, is in for a disappointment, as the following notice has appeared at the ChessOrg.de site.

The limit of starting places has now already been reached, a few days before the start. Unfortunately, registration online is no longer possible.

In all, across the three tournaments - open, U2000 and seniors - there are 384 entries, and a waiting list has been opened in case of late withdrawals.

I have never known Bad Wörishofen to reach capacity before, and I suspect the reason it has this time is that the event is later in the calendar than usual, which in turn is due to this year having a late Easter.

The festival normally starts at the end of February, or early March, when it is common to see snow on the ground, and days tend to be cold but sunny.

This year temperatures are forecast to reach 16C on Friday and Saturday, but fall to a high of 8C, with rain, on Wednesday.