Wish you were here or The second tournament in Collegium Minus
It seems that we have successfully started building a tradition. Just as we planned, in November, the second edition of the “Szachy w Harmonijce” tournament took place. This time we were no novices and preparations went fairly smoothly.
As previously, we met many friendly and helpful people. Professor Andrzej Szahaj, the Dean of NCU’s Faculty of Humanities, again showed his generosity. Another of our sponsors was Piotr Szudy, orthopedist and chess player. Kinga Nemere-Czachowska of the NCU alumni program was — as usual — of great help; she also funded non-cash prizes. Adam Musiał lent us some wooden boards and pieces, Paweł Grochowalski — some clocks. Janusz Augustowski acted as a chief arbiter (yours truly was a deputy one; my daughter, dressed appropriately in black and white, assisted us). Many other people helped in setting the venue and equipment; my warmest thanks go to Anna Bielawiec-Osińska, Wiesław Dąbek, Piotr Graczyk, Bogdan Jabłoński, as well as my sister Monika and Sebastian Drużyński. The visual side of the tournament, authored by Zuzanna Kopidurska, is already well established. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, my friend Krzysztof Olechnicki was unable to attend the event; his presence was felt in the playing hall, though, and it was to him that I often hummed the Pink Floyd classic “Wish you were here.”
Indywidualna Specjalistyczna Praktyka Lekarska w Miejscu Wezwania Piotr Szudy — sponsor of the tournament
The second edition enjoyed greater popularity than the first one: 41 people from 17 cities and clubs, among them nine juniors (including Konrad Drozdowski, the winner of the previous tournament) and five women, participated. The event was held in two spacious rooms; for the third edition (which, by the way, has already been scheduled for May 2016) we are ready to accommodate even more players. Complaints were scarce; most work the arbiters had was rather of educational nature. Fighting chess prevailed: only 17 games ended with splitting the point. The only norm was earned by Bartłomiej Wójcik. The pictures below may give you a glimpse of the tournament:
Piotr Szudy: orthopedist, chess player and the sponsor of the tournament
Damian Turula recently got back to chess. Apart from this tournament, he frequently plays on Thursdays in Blue Apron Inn
Future graduate? Bogdan Jabłoński was of great help to the organizers
My friends from Włocławek: Robert Miłecki...
...and Maciej Kaczyński
Black and white: Olga Smoleńska, the best woman (8th place with 4.5 out of 7)
The chief arbiter Janusz Augustowski...
...and his lucky charm, busy as always
Yours truly along with his daughter Agnieszka | Credit: Ewelina Czerwińska
Mateusz Wieczorek played intelligent, creative chess. His score (3.5 of 7) does not reflect his full potential, since some of his endgames were simply marred by bad luck
Let’s hope his elephant shall bring him more luck in the next tournament
Konrad Drozdowski, winner of the previous edition, this time had to content himself with fifth place
Another of my club mates, Piotr Krasucki from Włocławek, finished third with 5.5 points
The AZS chess section of the NCU, recently revived by Adam Musiał, begins to attract students, one of them being Joanna Kulczewska
All three players who earned norms during the previous tournament, attended: Milan Charytoniuk,...
...Krzysztof Hartowicz,...
...and Andrzej Kita, who this time missed the higher norm by the skin of his teeth. Despite his relatively high TPR (1757), he could not be awarded a category, having played only six games
Young Kornelia is definitely one of the most photogenic of all chess players
It was a real pleasure to see Wiesław Dąbek (R) again at the chessboard. Here he poses with Maciej Kaczyński
Daniel Ludwiński with his broad smile and a diploma for the fourth place
When games end early and there is plenty of time to the start of the next round, one should never surrender to boredom. The skeleton (pictured here with his proud creator Szymon) was so popular that juniors had to use the sticky tape to fix its torn limbs
The Jabłoński family — three generations of chess players. Jerzy (R), Mirosław (L) and Bogdan
Father and son clashed in round three. This time the youth prevailed:
Top seed Jarosław Paprocki from Bydgoszcz took the sole first with 6.5 of 7
Kinga Nemere-Czachowska from the NCU alumni program along with professor Zbigniew Nerczuk, Deputy Dean of the Humanities
The winners
The second edition of the “Szachy w Harmonijce” tournament took place on 14 and 15 November. 41 players from 17 cities and clubs participated. Top seed was Jarosław Paprocki (FIDE 2169). Full results can be found here. Here you can find another pictorial report.
