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CHESS..
CHESS.. CHESS..
- as reported
in the Auroville News -
- They lived
up to their expectations, a grand final, with Vladimir (Ukraine)
and Manickam (Sanjeev Nagar, T.N.) and Vijaykumar (Kuilapalayam
T.N.). The Indians and the Russians again!
- Vladimir
came through tough rounds to finish as a winner of the tournament
- sending everyone away! And Manickam outlived Vijaykumar!
- "It
was great to play with so many friends and make more, - some
had very nice characters...pah!", Vladimir said.
- "Thank
you very much, it was a good match!" said Manickam with
his friendly smile.
- The finalists
received gifts from the graciously generous Radiance (after
a last minute touch-up...): a candle with a beautiful stand,
a lampshade and a ceramic chess display on a wooden stand for
the winner!
- A standing
ovation to the participants and interested in chess!!
The
Auroville Chess Tournament (ACT), September '01
-
as reported to the web by organisers Martanda,
Vikas and Muniandi -
During the hot month of August, having had lunch at the Solar
Kitchen, Aurovilians Martanda, Vikas and Muniandi would go up
to the Coffee Shop on the first floor of the building for some
refreshments. They felt that the atmosphere there could be livened
up, and this was the birth of the idea to host a chess tournament
at that very place. After some initial doubts, they decided to
organise such a tournament and publicised it in the Auroville
News. The result was better than expected: they needed 52 players
and more than 80 showed an interest to participate in the tournament...
Equipment and timing
Seven chess boards were purchased in Pondy and three were loaned
for the
event, and a broad spectrum of players finally confronted each
other in a
spirit of good sportsmanship in the beginning of September this
year. Participants were Aurovilians and newcomers along with three
players from each of the
villages surrounding Auroville. The games took place between 5
and 8 pm every day; it was up to the players to settle on the
time. If a player did not show up there was a replacement readily
available as many people showed up to observe and socialise.
First of a series
The Coffee Shop graciously offered a 10% discount to all players
participating in the tournament. The organisers appreciated this
gesture on their behalf and want such actions to be more common
in the community. The chess matches acted as a catalyst for people
who did not know each other prior to the games, to get to know
each other. The organisers saw this as a very positive aspect
of the tournament and decided that in the future they would organise
such tournaments annually to bring people together.
This initial event was seen as a tool to gauge the different levels
of all the players who participated. The information thus gathered
will be used for future matches so as to save time and make it
more fun for everybody.
The organisers see this tournament as just the First Act.
It was a success by any standards and everybody enjoyed it.
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