Getting There (Bischofsgrün)

CAUGHT German Airways' 08:40 from London City to Amsterdam, connecting to a further flight to Nürnberg (Nuremberg).

The connecting flight turned out to be on the same plane, with the same cabin crew, so I could have been saved the effort of disembarking and reembarking (the same goes for my hold luggage).

Be that as it may, from Nürnberg I caught the metro to the city's main station, and from there a train to Bayreuth, where I planned to get a bus to complete my journey to the venue-hotel on the outskirts of Bischofsgrün, a year-round resort in the Fichtel Mountains.

However, as I left Bayreuth station, I bumped into the tournament organiser, Jürgen Wempe of ChessOrg.de, who was there to give a lift to another competitor, and Jürgen offered to drive me as well.

Hotel Kaiseralm - we arrived about 17:30 central European time

Meanwhile, the number of entries for the tournament, which encompasses the seniors' championship of Upper Franconia, has climbed to 58 (the tournament is for players aged 55+, although only someone 60+ can become Upper Franconian senior champion).