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Istanbul Olympic Report Tuesday afternoon . Oct 31 by GM Kevin Spraggett |
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| Lunch
today was quite nice. (Alex, however, has decided to go 'vegeterian' and
has bought fruit for his room) A tossed salad, a main course of rice and
curried lamb. Followed by cake. Very satisfactory. Only Jack refused to
touch it (Jack is a superb cook, and so has higher standards than the rest
of us.)
While I am writing this, our team is playing. I intend to head off to the tournament hall in an hour or so. In the meantime let me fill you in with our normal preparation procedures. After dinner we meet in the captain's room and go over the games played from that particular day. A group analysis session, essentially. We discuss the openings and middlegames. Often we have different opinions--that makes it even more productive! Then we discuss who will play the next day. Of course, it is still early in the Olympiad so everyone has energy and wants to play. The captain (Dale) has a certain strategy in mind and explains his ideas. The rest of the team gives their opinion. Things get decided by consensus. When the pairings get known (in principle around 1230 in the evening) then the definite team composition is decided. Then everyone relaxes or goes to sleep. In the morning, opening preparation is done. Everyone is very helpful and joins in. This continues until lunch, and is finished after lunch.(The exact player pairings are known only during the lunch period) At about 1430 the players head off to the tournament hall...usually by foot. (A 15 to 20 minute walk) I am very impressed with the spirit on the team. Everyone is helpful and cooperative. For a number of the team this is the first time in an Olympiad. That is where a more experienced player such as myself can make a significant contribution. Dale keeps the team coordinated and deals with all of the little hassles (and there are many) so that we can get our badges, magazines, etc. Yesterday it was announced that the pocket money for the teams was available to be picked up. (It is normal for the organizers to give pocket money to each player) Dale stood in line for a while, and when it was his time to receive the money (only the captain can pick up the team money) he was told in no uncertain words that since Canada is a rich country there was no money for Canada! During play the players have access to a cafeteria where drinks (non alcoholic) are available as well as sandwiches. A coffee costs 3 dollars! More later.
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