The 119th Scottish Chess Championships promises to be one of the best ever, thanks to the donation of the anonymous benefactor. The target is to have 10 Grandmasters and 10 IMs taking part in the combined Championship and International Open.
The Trades Hall in the centre of the Merchant City, Glasgow is confirmed as the venue for the 2012 Scottish Championships. The main tournament will be held in the Grand Hall with the weekenders being held in the Saloon on Saturday and Sunday.
The dates are 7th to 15th July 2012. The main tournament will be a 9-round event with title norm opportunities.
Incorporated in the Open will be the Scottish Championship, the Scottish Senior Championship and the Scottish Boys and Girls Championships.
Other events will be the U1750 and U1500 Championships, the Scottish U1750 Senior Championship (7th-13th July) and a full weekend programme (13th-15th July).
Currently 128 players are signed in all groups. Top rated are:
GM Imre Hera (Jr) Hungary 2567
GM Robert Ruck Hungary 2567
GM Deep Sengupta India 2554
GM Nikolov Momchil Bulgaria 2553
GM Vitaly Teterev Belarus 2516
GM Daniel W Gormally 2512
GM Mark L Hebden 2512
IM Vlad-Victor Barnaure 2511
GM Jacob Aagaard Denmark 2505
IM Das Arghyadip India 2482
IM Jonathan Hawkins 2480
IM Hjorvar S Gretarsson Iceland 2477
IM Andrew Greet 2449
IM Bragi Thorfinnsson Iceland 2449
GM Colin A McNab 2438
GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant 2426
IM Craig W Pritchett 2348
Ketevan will win.
How do they manage to play over the “din” of the bagpipes. The Scots are attracting some great players to their tournaments. Well done. I have visited in the past and a truly beautiful country with great chess venues.