Been a few days since my last update.
Today is the rest day, so I will fill you in on what’s been happening the last few days.
Let’s go back to after my last update, where we had succumbed to Oman 🇴🇲 in the third round.
The fourth round we were paired with Barbados 🇧🇧 a fairly decent team with a strong board 1 & 2.
Barbados $1 coin
We arrived at the venue after our morning routine which was covered in update 3 ~ breakfast,prep,lunch,bus etc…. My opponent gifted me a Barbados coin as a token gift. It’s not uncommon for players to exchange a memorial gift that represents one’s country. Unfortunately I did not bring anything, but the following day I found my opponent from today’s game and gave him a NZ 50cent coin.
We won the match against Barbados 3-1. I won along with Daniel on board 1 and young Felix on board 3.
The following day, in round 5 we played Hong Kong 🇭🇰 and also won 3-1. I was the one who lost, I built a completely winning position, then messed up the endgame to get a drawing position from a winning one, to then proceed to lose. I need to calculate forcing variations better towards the end of the game and convert these wining positions I have been getting into victories!
I rested round 6 against a stronger Ecuador 🇪🇨 Team. We went down 4nil losing on every board. Daniel’s first loss of the event. I went to the mall with Jasmine Zhang from the Woman’s team she was resting also.
WIM Jasmine Zhang (NZL) crushing life!
After round 6 there was the famous Bermuda 🇧🇲 Party. I’m not sure how it got it’s name, maybe someone can explain in the comments. The Bermuda party is traditionally on the eve of the rest day. 4 of us from the NZ delegation attended. It was a big event, at a resort hotel near the venue , most of the top tier teams were staying there. I arrived at the venue then got driven across the property on a golf cart to see my good friend Grandmaster David Howell. Was nice to see him in the flesh rather than digitally. I was also able to meet world champion Magnus Carlsen! and exchange a few words with him. I was to embarrassed to ask him for a selfie or sign my board as he never gets a break from it. When we joined the party , he was mobbed resentlessly for selfies etc…. But being the good sport he is and an excellent role model for chess and success, he is obliging. He is also having a great tournament individually, but Norway is struggling and have been relegated to the lower playing hall for tomorrows game. So I will actually be able to watch his game as it’s happening. Unless the organisers deem this unsafe and potentially put him back in the first (smaller) playing hall.
Back to the party, it was big, loud and very humid. You could either go into the disco hall to escape the heat, which was air conditioned but loud as f, or outside to the grass area which was a humid sauna for the likes of me from Auckland.
I went between both, but was probably outside more often. The party is a great for meeting new faces or seeing faces from the past. I caught up with a few people that have come to NZ or I’ve met in tournaments overseas. I also made new acquaintances. I arrived back to the hotel at 4am and rested all day. Ordered some KFC tonight, decided to take a break from the hotel food. I regret ordering the KFC, the idea of KFC is always better than the reality of it.
I’ve added a variety of photos from the past few days.