Nigel Short with his daughter Kyveli

The Canadian Open 2007
Report after round six by Peter Hum

When super-GM Sergey Tiviakov arrived last week in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, he was surprised to see the country’s red maple leaf flags flapping away, attached to passing cars. “Is it a holiday?” he asked. In fact, he had missed by just a few days Canada Day, the July 1 celebration that attracts tens of thousands to the city’s downtown streets to display their nationalism.

Surprisingly, the seasoned world traveler GM Tiviakov was making his first trip to Canada – to play in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship. He and 21 other grandmasters from more than a dozen countries lead the pack at the event, which by the time it concludes this weekend will certainly be regarded as a milestone in Canadian chess history. It has proven to be a more exclusive kind of celebration than Canada Day, but for more than 270 chessplayers – mostly from Canada but from as far away as Vietnam, Russia and Australia – the nine-day, one-section event with a $26,500 CAD prize fund has so far more than fulfilled their expectations.

GM Nigel Short, your tour guide

Arriving a day before GM Tiviakov was the first GM confirmed by the organizers, GM Nigel Short. He came from Athens with his daughter Kyveli, and before the competition began, they spent a few days sightseeing. Before we speak of the chess tournament, let’s allow GM Short to be your tour guide…

The full article is available on www.chessbase.com.

Posted by Picasa
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Tags: , ,