At Créon, Ulli-Senger room, silence is golden. All week long, from Monday July 31 to Sunday August 6, nearly 220 people gathered for the city’s 27th International Chess Tournament. Despite “an absolute record of registered players”, when the game is launched, we hear the flies flying. “This year, seven nationalities are represented and 20 winners have made us…
At Créon, Ulli-Senger room, silence is golden. All week long, from Monday July 31 to Sunday August 6, nearly 220 people gathered for the city’s 27th International Chess Tournament. Despite “an absolute record of registered players”, when the game is launched, we hear the flies flying. “This year, seven nationalities are represented and 20 winners have done us the honor of coming. Among them, there are five international grandmasters and five international masters”, proudly lists Lauron Wesley, president of the Échiquier Club Créonnais, the organizing association.
For those who have never attended a chess tournament, the detour is worth it. It’s a real spectacle for novices. Everything takes place in a huge gymnasium where dozens of tables are lined up, like the competitions of great schools. Each duo faces each other, separated by a wooden chessboard. Children play against pensioners, women against men. All are equal. While waiting for his opponent to make his move, it often happens that the other player gets up to stretch his legs, have a bite to eat or observe how his neighbors’ games are going. Patience and concentration can be read on the closed faces. Many bury their head in their hands to focus on their game. Some jerk their leg, reflexively or out of stress.
A “friendly” tournament
“It’s a very friendly tournament. The strong points are the spacious premises which mean that you don’t feel the heat and the bar where you eat very well, ”says Loïc Travadon, one of the headliners of this meeting. At the age of 21, the young man is a professional player affiliated with the Cergy-Pontoise club. He was in Ivory Coast a week ago for an international tournament. He will soon fly to Morocco and then to Barcelona, always for chess. “My goal is to win the Créon tournament. Last year, I tied for second. His biggest opponents are three Indian players, against whom he is expected to play in midweek.
Indian players made the trip to Créon.
C. D.
For Emmanuel, president of the Angoulême chess club, “the objective is just to play because it has been a long time since I took part in a tournament because of the Covid. I train online but it’s not the same. According to him, the International Tournament of Créon has seen the passage of great players and allowed some of them to obtain the status of “grandmaster”. “I am thinking of Laurent Fressinet. This year, I’m sure that little Marc Llari, who is world champion in the under-8s, will do a standard of master or grandmaster. »
Open to the public
The curious will be delighted to learn that the public is authorized to come and observe the progress of the tournament. These Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, each game will start at 2 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, two games are scheduled, the first will start at 10 a.m. and the second at 4 p.m. The bar offers hot drinks and snacks at low prices.
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