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Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 9:43 pm
by Tim Harding
A very attractive trio of German senior tournaments has just been announced for late May/early June 2021 including, unusually, a 75+ section for players born 1946 or earlier.
http://www.chessmail.com/assets/pdfs/Ba ... 2021HT.pdf
I spent a week in Bad Neuenahr in 1996 when the ICCF Congress was held there.
(To get there, fly to Cologne/Bonn and take the train down the left bank of the Rhine to Remagen.)
Vaccine permitting of course...
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:49 am
by Tim Harding
I updated my Seniors news and calendar pages at
www.chessmail.com today.
The Bad Woerishofen organisers were to have made an announcement on Monday about whether their festival in early March (which includes a Senior tournament) can go ahead next month but they have now postponed this to 10 February, I don't see either that or Marienbad (later March) going ahead with overseas competitors, certainly not from Britain or Ireland.
Irish government advice is already that nobody should consider holidaying abroad at any time in 2021. This follows a very public attack on radio by Michael O'Leary of Ryanair on our cautious Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan.
Even if this position is relaxed in the second half of the year, will the countries due to host major senior events (Poland, Germany and Italy) actually be ready to do so and will they be safe to visit?
Nobody will travel for a chess tournament if they have to quarantine on arrival and on return home.
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:54 pm
by Tim Spanton
Tim Harding wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:49 am
I updated my Seniors news and calendar pages at
www.chessmail.com today.
The Bad Woerishofen organisers were to have made an announcement on Monday about whether their festival in early March (which includes a Senior tournament) can go ahead next month but they have now postponed this to 10 February, I don't see either that or Marienbad (later March) going ahead with overseas competitors, certainly not from Britain or Ireland.
Irish government advice is already that nobody should consider holidaying abroad at any time in 2021. This follows a very public attack on radio by Michael O'Leary of Ryanair on our cautious Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan.
Even if this position is relaxed in the second half of the year, will the countries due to host major senior events (Poland, Germany and Italy) actually be ready to do so and will they be safe to visit?
Nobody will travel for a chess tournament if they have to quarantine on arrival and on return home.
Bulgaria has removed the need for quarantining on arrival - unfortunately the only tournaments I can find there are a few blitzes and such like
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 10:14 am
by David Gilbert
Tim Spanton wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:54 pm
Tim Harding wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:49 am
I updated my Seniors news and calendar pages at
www.chessmail.com today.
The Bad Woerishofen organisers were to have made an announcement on Monday about whether their festival in early March (which includes a Senior tournament) can go ahead next month but they have now postponed this to 10 February, I don't see either that or Marienbad (later March) going ahead with overseas competitors, certainly not from Britain or Ireland.
Irish government advice is already that nobody should consider holidaying abroad at any time in 2021. This follows a very public attack on radio by Michael O'Leary of Ryanair on our cautious Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan.
Even if this position is relaxed in the second half of the year, will the countries due to host major senior events (Poland, Germany and Italy) actually be ready to do so and will they be safe to visit?
Nobody will travel for a chess tournament if they have to quarantine on arrival and on return home.
Bulgaria has removed the need for quarantining on arrival - unfortunately the only tournaments I can find there are a few blitzes and such like
There’s also the delayed 2020 ACO Seniors Championships at the excellent Fordele Beach Resort in Crete from
11-20 May 2021. The event will take place alongside the 2020 ACO Amateur Championships which were also postponed last year. May 2021 felt a little too soon a few weeks ago, but with more than 10 million, mostly senior people, now vaccinated in the UK and more to follow in the coming weeks, maybe we can be more optimistic, especially if it turns out that vaccinated people won’t be transmitting the virus.
GM Vlastimil Hort will be guest Guest of Honour at both the ACO Seniors events in May and October. He will need little introduction to many seniors who were watching the
Master Game on BBC2 in the late 70s. He took part in several of these and I seem to remember him beating Tony Miles in a game of many pins. He’ll be doing three lectures and maybe we could ask him to make that game the topic of one of those. I can only ask!
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:56 am
by Tim Harding
Thanks for the tip. My pages are updated today and the English regulations (PDF) for both ACO events can be downloaded from my website or theirs.
It may be that enough British players will have been vaccinated by May for the earlier event to get sufficient entries in May but I won't be surprised if the number of sections are reduced or else they have low entries. Most countries are well behind UK on jabs.
October looks a better bet.
I won't be going; maybe next year.
Bulgaria must be desperate for tourism income.
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:09 pm
by Mick Norris
Bulgaria bottom of the EU vaccination league table (Malta top)
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:12 pm
by NickFaulks
Tim Harding wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:56 am
It may be that enough British players will have been vaccinated by May for the earlier event to get sufficient entries in May
I'm very confused by all of this. Are you thinking that players who are not vaccinated will not be allowed into Greece?
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:20 pm
by Roger de Coverly
NickFaulks wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:12 pm
Are you thinking that players who are not vaccinated will not be allowed into Greece?
it's by no means certain that restrictions either by Greece or the UK would enable a tourist visit to Greece to take place in May. Tim is Dublin based and whilst they managed to hold an over the board Irish Championship last summer, Irish lockdown rules have often been more stringent than English ones.
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:43 pm
by NickFaulks
Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:20 pm
NickFaulks wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:12 pm
Are you thinking that players who are not vaccinated will not be allowed into Greece?
it's by no means certain that restrictions either by Greece or the UK would enable a tourist visit to Greece to take place in May. Tim is Dublin based and whilst they managed to hold an over the board Irish Championship last summer, Irish lockdown rules have often been more stringent than English ones.
That isn't really an answer to my question. My own guess is that the Greeks will not discourage tourists from the UK or elsewhere.
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:00 pm
by Tim Harding
I am thinking that players who have not had their second vaccination at least a week before travelling would be unwise to go, and even then it's not certain, is it, that they cannot infect others even if they don't get sick? (Astra Zeneca seems to be better on that score according to latest reports.)
The Greeks want the tourist Euro/Pound no doubt but remember this is a German company organising these events. Presumably they have a profit motive.
Crete may be a reasonably safe place to go but I haven't looked at recent figures. Anyway they change all the time.
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:14 pm
by David Gilbert
NickFaulks wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:12 pm
Tim Harding wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:56 am
It may be that enough British players will have been vaccinated by May for the earlier event to get sufficient entries in May
I'm very confused by all of this. Are you thinking that players who are not vaccinated will not be allowed into Greece?
It’s a plan Nick. At the moment (and until Tuesday morning at least) all visitors to Greece from the United Kingdom have to self-isolate for seven days on arrival. They take a rapid test at that point and again after their seven-day isolation period. If the outcome is negative, then fine, but if they test positive they’re quarantined for another fortnight! If proof of vaccination could get round this, that would be my preference.
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:19 pm
by Roger de Coverly
At an age approaching 70, I received today an invitation for the vaccination. I was able to book the first for just over a week's time, but they don't schedule the second until the beginning of May.
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 7:45 pm
by Nick Grey
12 weeks. Good for you Roger. British vaccinated Senior July 2021!
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 10:17 pm
by Tim Harding
http://www.chessmail.com/seniors/Seniors-calendar.html updated to show the cancellation (or possibly postponement until May) of the annual Bad Woerishofen festival has been announced this evening.
Re: Senior Tournaments in 2021
Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 9:32 pm
by Tim Harding
Having heard from the prospective organisers in Italy, I can now confirm that there will not be a FIDE World Seniors Team Championship this year (they plan for May 2022) but they still hope to run the individual senior championships in November at Assisi.
http://www.chessmail.com/seniors/Seniors-news.html
There is still no word from the ECU or Poland about whether the European Seniors may happen.