Chess Train 2018

"I want to go back to the old country," said my Czech great-grandmother all too often. After I spent time in both "the old country" and Poland while riding the Chess Train (Šachový vlak), I have no question as to why.

Chess Train participants enter the building from platform 1 of the Prague main train station to attend the Chess Train's opening ceremony.

This fall I attended the 2018 iteration of the Chess Train, an unrated 11-round rapid chess tournament that took place on (you guessed it) a train. The train departed from Praha hlavní nádraží (Prague main train station), went on the route Prague-Ostrava-Warsaw-Krakow-Hradec Králové, and finally returned once again to Praha hlavní nádraží. The event took place from October 12 to 16, and each night was spent in a different city.

The train itself is decades old and still going strong. Each car is labeled with the name of a world champion in chronological order, with the Steinitz car on one end and the Fischer car on the other. Boards 1-10 and 11-20 are each given one car with a long table in it for the chess boards, whereas boards 21 and lower each have their own compartment.

The train's layout

One of the dining cars

The locations all have their own charm and beauty. When exploring the cities, I never aimed for any particular tourist attraction--I just walked from my hotel in the direction of the nearest historical sector. None of the locations failed to impress, especially Krakow, with its breathtakingly gargantuan Main Square and the most ornate church I've ever been in, St. Mary's Basilica (it would take me years to see every detail inside).

The Cathedral of the Divine Saviour (Katedrála Božského Spasitele) in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

A nice reflection of the aforementioned Ostrava cathedral.

Warsaw, Poland

Krakow, Poland (St. Mary's Basilica is the tallest building in the picture)

Hradec Králové main square, Czech Republic

The tournament was both fun and intense. Sometimes I forgot it was unrated, as I got the same nervous energy and adrenaline rushes as I would get during a rated tournament. The tournament also helped make the ride feel shorter; chess has a knack for making time go by faster. In addition, the Chess Train held their first puzzle solving competition featuring the most vicious studies (all mates in two) I've ever seen. When giving out awards, the Chess Train staff admitted they designed the competition so that no one would ever be able to solve every puzzle. Their plan backfired, as the competition was won by NM Alexander King, who also happened to solve all 12 problems in the process (for the sake of comparison, the three players tied for 2nd had gotten 6 of 12).

The tournament's top 20 boards

It has been difficult for me to talk about the chess and the locations separately, however. This is because what makes the Chess Train so interesting is that it involves both chess and travel. It is akin to how opera is (in my opinion, of course) a fantastical blend of poetry and music. Poetry and music by themselves are great, but together they form something transcendental. Blending chess and travel has perhaps a similar effect. There is no doubt that chess improves the mind, and similarly there is no doubt that experiencing other cultures improves the mind as well, but what makes the Chess Train so wonderful is that it combines these two artistic learning experiences.

Boards 21 and lower were in cozy compartments like this one.

The train stopped for a little while on the way back to Prague.

The tournament was very strong--it had over a 100 players, and the top 25 on the starting list were all rated over 2000. I finished among the top 25, and in 11 rounds I played people from at least 8 countries. (If I hadn't played anybody from Germany, I probably would've won the tournament; the few people who beat me were predominantly German. ) I go to Europe frequently and enjoy talking to the people there (particularly the European chess players), but it is sometimes still surprising to me just how eye-opening it can be to learn their point of view. Simply walking around historical districts in other countries has a similar effect; I expanded my knowledge of world history and culture by stopping by museums in the various cities I visited.

In addition, as someone who goes to Europe a lot, I noticed that the Chess Train makes reaching your hotel much easier. For each city, they give you a choice of several hotels, along with detailed instructions on how to get to each of them. This is not a tour guide--you are still responsible for reaching your hotel--but it is still vastly easier than having to find the hotel yourself.

Of course, none of this could've happened without the Chess Train staff; they were helpful and very efficient. I thank them greatly for arranging this wonderful experience, and I hope for years (if not decades) more of the Chess Train to take place.

Once the train returned to Prague, awards were given out to the top 15 finishers, the best team (Australia won), the best female player, the best junior, the puzzle competition winner, and others. The 1st place winner, IM Guy West, received a glass train as a trophy. I am proud to say I nicked a point off the Australian team; here is my game (I was Black):

I have also made a video of my time on the Chess Train. Unfortunately, I don't have as much footage of chess as I'd like, but this is because I was playing in the tournament. Most of the chess footage is in the part in between Krakow and Hradec Králové because my games ended quickly that day. In addition, I had to battle focus problems, and walking on the train was sometimes a bit of a challenge; in turn, please forgive an occasional bout of blurriness and/or bumpiness. I hope you enjoy it!