And the winner is HOU YIFAN

She won in a canter, was never in trouble in any of her games and was a model of concentratioon from the first to the last round. This girl is truly strong. Here she is with the Princess of Perak (I think) and the Chancellor of Mindskills University.
I was amazed at the attention Chess received here in Malaysia compared to Australia. The opening Ceremony was attended by Raja Nazrin Shah, the Crown Prince and many other dignitaries. Here is a short Video of his motorcade arriving and the opening Ceremony

Another Highlight of the event was the stopover of Nigel Short. He gave a 10 player simul on his way to the Bangkok open. A brave man he surely is as the troubles there now are surely enough to dissuade many a more timid soul. Here he is considering his move against Ed Legaspi from the Phillipines.

 Thomas Luther performed according to his rating and finished fifth. Two losses spoiled his chances for a higher place. It was a bit tough to get used to the heat and double rounds especially when rounds start at 9am.
Here he is meeting a Princess.

Apologies for the delay but my old computer had multiple breakdowns. Power supply, Virus etc. Now I need to go give a Simul myself so I can finally win some games. If you are wondering why I didn't mention my tournament......

Second round disaster

Batu Caves

One of the "must see" tourist attractions of Kuala Lumpur are defiantly the Batu Caves.There is a huge Golden Budda at the bottom and a Hindu temple or two but for thorough info I will just refer you to the Wiki page 
The 272 steps up to the top would have been murder on me just a few weeks ago but after being tobacco free for over three weeks I handled it fine.
You do get attacked by Monkeys if you are carrying any food or the Monkeys take a liking to a shiny object you have on or are carrying.

The top three seeds all made the pilgrimage to the Holy site, just in case. Here are two of them, Thomas Luther and HouYifan. The Organiser Peter Long took 16 players on a tour of Kuala Lumpur, something quite unique for a Chess tournament. After the Caves we were treated to fresh Coconuts, then we took a trip to the KL television tower for a view of the City. There was also a Cultural Village there showcasing local Arts and Crafts as well as traditional dwelling. We then took a look at the National Monument before returning to the Hotel at about 5pm. A long but interesting day.

The tournament started this morning and I got off to a flying start winning against Mohamed Abdul Haq 2057 in 27 moves. Later tonight I will try to figure out how best to post games and then share. The second round is in a few hours so I will go have some lunch in Chinatown and post results this evening. Have a Nice day.

Breakfast

Nasi Lemak is a traditional breakfast in Malaysia. The basic ingredients seem to be rice, dried anchovies, boiled egg, cucumber and a curry of your choice. Kopi (coffee) or Teh Tarik ( I had Teh Halia{Ginger}) are the most common breakfast beverages. 










There is a large choice of delicious things to augment your rice as you can see. Breakfast for the three of us costs around €3. 
More food adventures coming soon,

Dubai Airport

After my winge yesterday I thought I'd share a happy story with you. Flying Emirates is a Joy. Great website, nice modern fleet, only downside, too many movies to choose from to get any sleep. I ended up watching "Men who stare at Goats" and "Corporation"

The Airport is the best I can think of. After a refreshing shower we are now enjoying free Wi-Fi at a cafe with HUGE Cappuccino's

Nique la SNCF

Have you ever seen a crowd of people stare at a tiny announcement board at a French Railway

station? They are waiting to see from which track their train is leaving. Often this is announced only
minutes before the train is scheduled to leave.

 Today we had to wait until after the scheduled
time. The train was late but nobody thought it neccessary to inform the passengers. The French were used to this so did not Panic. I did.

For many old and less mobile people this must be a nightmare.


The SNCF internet site is likewise useless. If your journey involves more than one connection then
you can just forget it. SNCF employees don't use their own site but go to the German one
www.bahn.de to find the connections and then book the sections seperately on their own site.

Here is a tip if you are travelling by Train in Europe:

Bahn.de will tell you how to get from any place in Europe to any other regardless of how many connections are neccessary. A truly wonderful service and many languages are selectable.

So to conclude, SNCF get your act together or outsource your technological services to the Germans. In exchange you can do the Catering for them. Both would benefit.

Many moons later

A new person is now typing this. Outwardly I appear similar as the person who posted the first entry but I am thinner and am a non-smoker! A huge difference. Otherwise we are much the same, we play Chess, love good Food, good Wine and exploring our little Planet.

I am now In Naujac sur Mer at the Camping La Rochade, where I did a ten day fast with Rike. Our only nourishment was a glass of fine Medoc every evening. Naujac is famous for the annual  Wine Open. This year it runs from the 27th of June until the 4th of July. Stay tuned to this channel for further updates

On Wednesday I will fly to Malaysia for the 3rd KL Open . Now I know that will be fun. Thomas Luther and I are arriving on April fools day. We arrive late in the evening but in KL that is no problem. One can eat 24/7 and not too shabbily either.

Peter Long, the organizer of the event is a Great Connoisseur of fine Cuisine and in this never before published photo can be seen enjoying a Roti Channai with three different curries and if I am not mistaken a Teh Tarik on the side.

More photo's of food, Malaysia and maybe some Chess coming soon.