Train chess, part 2 - more photos and a video
Here's our second and final report on the train tournament that was held between October 14 and 18 in five different countries. 64 chess players travelled from Prague to Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Krakow and back to Prague. In the mornings they played a rapid tournament of 15 rounds and in the afternoons and evenings they transformed into tourists.
Eventually the tournament was won by IM Richard Biolek, who edged out GM Robert Cvek on tie-break. You can find the full final standings at Chess Results, and more about the tournament in our previous report and on the official website.
Below we give more impressions of this unique event, with a video and photos.
Video
Photos
Arrival in Bratislava - the third city along de Danube river (after Vienna and Budapest)
A quiet Sunday afternoon in the capital of Slovakia
The Slovak National Theatre
Yes, we felt like tourists...!
What's this? A chess board in the middle of the street?
Turns out this remembers Wolfgang von Kempelen, the constructor of The Turk!
The glorious Carlton Hotel in the late afternoon...
...and at night
The central square in Bratislava
The next day: arrival in Krakow
The tower of the old town hall in the beautiful Polish city
Horses and carriages waiting for tourists
The market square
The Baroque Church of St. Peter and Paul with oversized stone statues of 12 Apostles in the front
A babuchka chess set in a shop window reminding us of something...
...ah, yes, that was it: we were playing a chess tournament! Here two journalists side by side: Harry Schaack (making a move), editor-in-chief of the German cultural magazine Karl, and Mark Gluhovsky, editor-in-chief of Russian chess magazine 64.
GM Vlastimil Hort (l.) playing IM Richard Biolek
Shared first: Robert Cveg (l.) and IM Richard Biolek
The highly talented, 10-year-old Jergus Pechac of Slovakia finished 12th
After returning to Prague, champagne was waiting for the participants
The tournament winner received a locomotive of glass...
...but the real star was Pavel Matocha, who realized this unique event
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
Peter's first book The Chess Revolution is out now!
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