A successful tourist company in Tunisia has organized, for a second year, an impressive tournament promoting both chess and tourism in the country. The winner of the Master tournament, scoring 7½/9, was GM Maxime Lagarde (pictured receiving the prize of €2,500 euro and a medal from Anatoly Karpov).
Djerba, North Africa’s largest island
The tour operator GO-Makkah has set up a well worth goal of putting Tunisia firmly on the chess map, while at the same time bringing up to the shore significant tourist spots that this beautiful country abounds with. Last year, the 1st GO-Makkah tournament was held in Sousse, the Tunisian pearl on the Mediterranean Coast, also famous in connection to chess for the 1967 Interzonal, which was a first FIDE tournament to take place in Africa.
The second edition, from February 15th to 24th 2020, took place at yet another attractive tourist spot, the small island of Djerba, in the south of Tunisia. Rich with natural wonders and legends, it’s known as “the Island of Dreams”. It is where Homer’s Odysseus stopped over on his odyssey and met its inhabitants, the lotus-eaters.
The organizers pride themselves on creating the biggest chess festival in Africa and aim for it to become a regular yearly event. Judging by the success of the second edition, GO-Makkah’s Director, Mr Chokri Saidi has proven that he is well-placed as a dedicated organizer, sponsor and promoter.
Chess on the “island of dreams”
by Diana Mihajlova I like it! | 1 Comments
3/11/2020 – A successful tourist company in Tunisia has organized, for a second year, an impressive tournament promoting both chess and tourism in the country. The winner of the Master tournament, scoring 7½/9, was GM Maxime Lagarde (pictured receiving the prize of €2,500 euro and a medal from Anatoly Karpov). DIANA MAHAJLOVA has the details.
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Djerba, North Africa’s largest island
The tour operator GO-Makkah has set up a well worth goal of putting Tunisia firmly on the chess map, while at the same time bringing up to the shore significant tourist spots that this beautiful country abounds with. Last year, the 1st GO-Makkah tournament was held in Sousse, the Tunisian pearl on the Mediterranean Coast, also famous in connection to chess for the 1967 Interzonal, which was a first FIDE tournament to take place in Africa.
The second edition, from February 15th to 24th 2020, took place at yet another attractive tourist spot, the small island of Djerba, in the south of Tunisia. Rich with natural wonders and legends, it’s known as “the Island of Dreams”. It is where Homer’s Odysseus stopped over on his odyssey and met its inhabitants, the lotus-eaters.
The organizers pride themselves for creating the biggest chess festival in Africa and aim for it to become a regular yearly event. Judging by the success of the second edition, GO-Makkah’s Director, Mr Chokri Saidi has proven that he is well-placed as a dedicated organizer, sponsor and promoter.
(L-R) The Tunisian Minister of Tourism Mr. René Trabelsi, Judit Polgar and the organizer, Chokri Saidi
This passionately organized tournament paid attention to every detail and was marked by a professional, aesthetic touch: arbiters and assistants clad in matching uniforms.
Arbiters and assistants
Four main tournaments were played: A Master tournament and three Opens: Open A (>2000), Open B (1500-2000) and Open C (<1500), a blitz tournament and several side events including two simultaneous exhibitions by two leading chess personalities, Anatoly Karpov and Judit Polgar.
Karpov and Polgar at their simultaneous exhibitions
A local artist, Karina Gassem, made paintings while the simuls were taking place. The paintings were composed of a figurative style and a calligraphy and were presented to Karpov and Polgar.
Karina Gassem at work and Judit Polgar with her painting | Photo: Patricia Claros Aguilar
On rare occasions, some participants in the simul managed to ‘steal’ a draw or even a win. It is considered a great feat and not surprisingly, the Tunisian player who made a draw with Judit Polgar, splashed his scoresheet on the social media.
Abdelaziz Bouhamed (2064) and the scoresheet of his game signed by Polgar
The support and cooperation by a French contingency was evident, led by the President of the French Chess Federation, Bachar Kouatly, who attended several happenings at the festival and addressed the participants praising the organization.
(L-R) Bachar Kouatly, French IA arbiter Nadir Bounzou and his Tunisian counterpart IA Mohamed Ali Baktach
As it turned out, the winner of the Masters was also a French player, the young GM Maxime Lagarde, the 2019 French champion.
The Masters tournament was composed of ten players hailing from ten different countries: (in the order of the final standings) GM Lagarde Maxime (FRA), GM Tiviakov Sergei (NED, GM Pichot Alan (ARG), Gagunashvili Merab (GEO), GM Cuenca Jimenez Jose Fernando (ESP), GM Heberla Bartlomiej (POL), GM Sumets Andrey (UKR), GM Kotronias Vasilios (GRE), IM Zaibi Amir (TUN), IM Oussedik Mahfoud (ALG).
Source: Chessbase.com
