39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (everything else)

[Maxim Devereaux]

As said in the other Olympiad thread, one for more general stuff not directly related to the chess.

I'll start the ball rolling here... I'm actually hearing good things about the organisation of the Olympiad from those players who have arrived. The Olympic hotel is apparently very nice, the food is acceptable, and things are rather more promising than could perhaps have been hoped given all of the negative speculation.

I have to say the official website is pretty rubbish still though - a lot of the links don't work. I'm hoping they sort this out before tomorrow, or the live games can be found elsewhere.

[Roger de Coverly]

I'll start the ball rolling here... I'm actually hearing good things about the organisation of the Olympiad from those players who have arrived. The Olympic hotel is apparently very nice, the food is acceptable, and things are rather more promising than could perhaps have been hoped given all of the negative speculation.

This is echoed by Shaun Press at http://chessexpress.blogspot.com/
and http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/shaunpress/Olympiad2010#

I was trying to count the ratio between 4-board matches and indoor tennis courts. It seems to be about 36 per court (in the big arena)

[Maxim Devereaux]

I was trying to count the ratio between 4-board matches and indoor tennis courts. It seems to be about 36 per court (in the big arena)

Yes, that looks correct. I'm not really sure how good those indoor tennis courts will be in terms of noise though - lots of hard, sound-reflective surfaces will create a lot of echoes. You would have thought that they would have put down carpets temporarily, at least in the walkways.

[Alex Holowczak]

It's interesting that most really strong players don't think favourably of events played in sports halls in remote places with no easy travel access. Yet the Olympiad is being played in a tennis stadium in Siberia...

[Roger de Coverly]

. You would have thought that they would have put down carpets temporarily, at least in the walkways.

The temporary carpeting worked really well in this year's British Championships. The white noise from the fans helped too. Torquay in 2009 could get a bit squeaky, particularly with wheelchairs.

sports halls in remote places with no easy travel access

That's a bit harsh on Canterbury

[Jonathan Rogers]

I have heard that they have to pay to use the internet in their hotels, though. So if Loz does update this forum, he may be paying for the privilege!

[Maxim Devereaux]

It's free in the lobby/bar, and paid for if you want it in the room.

If you're going to want it for the duration, the best method seems to be to buy access for a month, and it's 2000 rubles (a little over £40 or so).

[Alex Holowczak]

sports halls in remote places with no easy travel access

That's a bit harsh on Canterbury

I found that the 200 miles from Birmingham New Street to Canterbury West (via the London Underground which I had hitherto never used) was much easier to navigate than the 1 mile from Canterbury West to the venue...

[David Brock]

http://www.livestream.com/chessugra?utm ... =chessugra

Link to opening ceremony

[Alex Holowczak]

Is it just audio?

[Roger de Coverly]

It might be worthwhile looking at the gingergm site http://www.gingergm.com/ as they seem to have infiltrated a spectator into Siberia (or the bars of Siberia)

[Maxim Devereaux]

It might be worthwhile looking at the gingergm site http://www.gingergm.com/ as they seem to have infiltrated a spectator into Siberia (or the bars of Siberia)

Well, assuming it's the same "Bottom board man" from other articles on the site, a quick cross-check leads me to the conclusion that it's Gary O’Grady (who I don't think I know).

[Christopher Kreuzer]

As the pairings are up, I presume the England teams arrived safely? What time are the games and are there live transmissions?

[LozCooper]

I have heard that they have to pay to use the internet in their hotels, though. So if Loz does update this forum, he may be paying for the privilege!

Yes I am paying for the priviliege Hotel is built, food is okay, the lifts are scary, i had to use the alarm to escape twice yesterday. Everyone made the charter flight without problem. We start in 2 and a bit hours but are still waiting for news on when the buses arrive It's a big hotel though so they'll need a lot of buses

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I have heard that they have to pay to use the internet in their hotels, though. So if Loz does update this forum, he may be paying for the privilege!

Yes I am paying for the priviliege Hotel is built, food is okay, the lifts are scary, i had to use the alarm to escape twice yesterday. Everyone made the charter flight without problem. We start in 2 and a bit hours but are still waiting for news on when the buses arrive It's a big hotel though so they'll need a lot of buses

If the zero default time is being used, it might be best for players to use the stairs when making their way to the buses if the lifts are likely to get stuck? Will be looking forward to hearing how things go, so hope you manage to get internet access that is not too costly. Good luck to all the England players in their games!