Rest day

After the first five rounds from Sunday (10 September) to Thursday (14 September), Friday (15 September) was a rest day. However, the draw for Round 6 had been announced as customary in this event on the evening of Round 5 (while we were all out to dinner), so no rest for the wicked. Why do they not hold back announcing the draw until the end of the rest day? In some tournaments they do. But then there can always be questions asked about whether anyone had a sneak preview.

“Peace out to the bling!”

Exploring the area

Several members of the group chose to go on the four hour boat trip arranged by the federation. Others stayed back at the hotel to cool off in the sea. For the first time there was a cloudy sky and the temperature had dropped a few degrees, but nonetheless it was shorts and T-shirt weather. For the people who went on the boat, a highlight was a stop at Gospa od Skrpjela, or Our Lady of The Rock, near Perast. This is a small artificial island with a chapel built in the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries as a place to pray for ships setting out on long and dangerous voyages.

Thomas Rendle by the boat

Gospa od Skrpjela (Our Lady of The Rock)

Neil and Robert enjoy the sights

Taking a rest from the chess scene

Unexpected flowers

Photo shoot

Everyone met at 5.30pm on the hotel terrace for team photos. Please visit our Group Photo Gallery.

Cocktails

Gerry Walsh and Krishna Parmar attended a reception for delegates, in which the mayor of Herceg Novi gave his vision for the future, including a chess centre to host a future chess Olympiad and new basketball stadium. The plan is for this to become more than a mere seasonal tourist location. One hopes that this does not interfere with the charm of extraordinary medieval towns nearby such as Kotor, where some of us today visited fortifications climbing up into the mountains in the style of the Great Wall of China.