Last year, I saw Wesley So buckling his pants leaving the restroom!
I'd consider going again, yes, despite no Carlsen in the line-up this year. But for all you who haven't seen Kasparov IRL yet, this might be your chance!
Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz @ Leuven 12-16/6/2018
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May 16, 2018
0
#4
Normally I can only go the 16th. But maybe take a day off work for 12 or 13th.
Jun 1, 2018
0
#6
I got 4 tickets for Wednesday 13th 
@OreJiXingShi please send me your name and surname as the tickets have to be personalised. 
Jun 14, 2018
0
#7
Yesterday, a delegation of caféschakers Gent went, saw and got a GM selfie!
It appears he also shops at Carrefour! Plus, he's not very tall 
The official chess.com report can be found here: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/grand-chess-tour-rapid-blitz-leuven-12-18-6-2018 .
Personally, I found Caruana vs Nakamura & Nakamura vs Vachier-Lagrave the most interesting to watch & follow. Anand seemed to have the dullest (but maybe also the most robust?) play. Giri just seemed to have a bad day.
More pictures:
View from the window in the playing room:
Round 1 of the day:
Someone's happy to be next to GM Maurice Ashley 
Round 2 of the day:
Naka destroys Nigel Short's commentary, the rating difference is clear :
A final shot with the ever serious Grishuk:
All in all a good day of chess!
Btw, apparently, entry is free and you can also go without tickets, probably because there is not much of a crowd. We might go again to see the Blitz games on Saturday!
Jan Gustafsson: Grand Chess Tour, I'm Leuving it...
Jun 14, 2018
0
#9
IBeuselinckI wrote:
Jan Gustafsson: Grand Chess Tour, I'm Leuving it...
Classic Jan
This dropped in my inbox yesterday...
Anyone interested to go watch 1 tournament day? Hotwax and I went to see last year and it was pretty cool really. And you can pee in the same urinal as the super GMs, lol
15 May 2018
For Immediate Release
World's Elite Battle It Out In 5-Day Chess Tournament in Leuven (Belgium)
World's Elite Battle It Out In 5-Day Chess Tournament in Leuven (Belgium)
Leuven, Belgium – 11 May 2018 – The Your Next Move Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz chess tournament will be returning once again to the historical City Hall of Leuven with play scheduled to take place from Tuesday 12th June until Saturday 16th June 2018.
The best chess players in the world will compete including the 2018 World Chess Champion Challenger Fabiano Caruana (USA) and former world champion Viswanathan Anand (India).
The tournament forms part of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour, a series of global chess events organized in some of the leading cities in the world. The prize money for the 2018 tournament totals US$ 150.000.
The players will compete in both Rapid and Blitz chess during the 5-day event with each player taking part in a total of 27 individual games. Both formats are much faster than the classical chess often seen in traditional chess tournaments. Rapid games typically last less than one hour while Blitz chess is even faster with both players having less than 5 minutes each to complete all their moves.
Chess fans can enjoy the experience of seeing the greatest players competing live in Leuven or they can watch the games on streaming broadcasts, complete with grandmaster commentary. In 2017, more than 1,500 chess fans attended the event in person while the online video broadcasts received more than 700,000 views.
The 2018 event will also see the return of well-known British GM Nigel Short who will again host the live commentary at the tournament venue. He will be joined by GM Maurice Ashley from the USA with the pair also featuring as part of the live broadcast production.
Registration for spectators who wish to attend the tournament in person are now open and anyone interested in visiting the tournament can register for tickets via the official tournament site. Tickets will be allocated on a first come basis.
The tournament venue can accommodate approximately 300 spectators per day and chess fans are encouraged to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
The event will once again feature a travelling exhibition from the World Chess Hall of Fame(WCHOF) in Saint Louis, USA. The “Art of Chess” exhibition will be installed in the City Hall for the full duration of the tournament and will feature legendary items from chess history from the WCHOF collection.
Another exciting addition to the schedule for this year is an open autograph session which will held on Monday 11th June. This session will be held in conjunction with the drawing of lots which will decide the pairings for the tournament and will start at 5pm local time. Chess players and fans who would like to secure signatures from the best players in the world are welcome to attend this session for which pre-registration will also be required to control numbers.
The Fourth Hotel in Leuven will serve as the official hotel for the tournament and is located within the Grote Markt square and less than 100 meters from the Leuven Town Hall. Fans who require accommodation may contact Joselien Cleyman at experience@th4th.com to secure reservations at the Hotel as required.
For more information and for registrations, visit our website.
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