Andrji Vovk - winner of 5th SALENTO INTERNATIONAL CHESS OPEN 2016
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Photogallery

Half of the tournament is now over! We've won games and lost games but the beautiful atmosphere of the tournament allows us to relax in whichever mood!

The 7th round is about to start with only three more days left of the tournament. It's so sad how quickly such great events go by.

In the past days we've had the soccer and tennis matches. Photos will be uploaded shortly. The blitz tournament which was very strong with the winners being:

1st: Pijpers
2nd: Babikov
Best Under 2000 rating: Sjoberg

And to those who didn't do as well there will be another blitz tournament tomorrow to take revenge on your previous opponents.

There might be a poker tournament! Especially since many chess players are either poker players as well or just enjoy the card game.

Below are some quotes from chess players in the 5th Salento Open on how they are liking the tournament so far:

I am loving my stay. I'm not playing very well in the tournament because I'm one of the weakest in the section but the atmosphere really takes away my sorrows of the game. It’s a beautiful place to relax, eat great food and tan on the beach. Why not come if you can play chess and be on vacation at the sametime? - Yelizaveta Orlova

Здесь я играю 5 год, все хорошо. Самый лучший турнир в это время года. - Игорь

(This is my 5th year playing in this tournament and everything is great. This is the best tournament to play during this time of year - Igor Naumkin)

Други пут играм овај дивни турнир.овај пут позив сам добио само неколико дана пре почетка.нисам се двоумио,одмах сам прихватио.надам се да ћу доћи и следеће године. - лазић - Miroljub Lazic)

Я первый раз участвую в этом турнире и мне здесь очень нравится, потому что здесь особая атмосфера, интересная дополнительная программа и хорошие люди! - Artem Pugachev

(It's my first time playing in this tournament and I'm really liking it because of the atmosphere, interesting side activites and great people! - Artem Pugachev)

Se questo è il quarto anno consecutivo che partecipo un motivo ci sarà. Il torneo unisce un clima di massima serietà in sala da gioco con l’allegria e la serenità durante il resto della giornata - Corrado lombardo

Это место хорошо в себе сочетает превосходный отдых и интересный сильный турнир. -Чижиков Владислав.

(This place allows you to relax (vacation) and play in an interesting strong tournament. - Vladislav Chizhikov)

The tournament has gone off with a great start. Three games have been played by both sections Open A and Open B. Saturday we had one game and on Sunday we had a double round day which is quite exhausting for all players. At least the next 6 rounds we will continue with one game per day which allows players to relax and prepare for their 16:00 game.

Currently in the Open A section, Andrey Vovk from Ukraine is undefeated with 3/3. We have 42 players registered will the lowest player with 1878.  19 titled players and 14 different countries are in this tournament!

In Open B section, Dadello Andrzej from Poland is undefeated with 3/3. We have 38 players registered with the lowest rated player with 1369. 7 different countries are in this tournament!

Ecoresort Le Sirenè, is a beautiful hotel where the players get to enjoy great food and relax beside the seaside or pool. The staff is very friendly and have no problem helping with any questions you may have. The food is amazing here with different varieties of options which include non-meat options, meat and seafood. Depending on the day there is buffets which allows you to get ANYTHING you want! If you have a specific requirements for food (like allergies) the kitchen staff is happy to help you with that. Since the hotel is next to the the sea we would generally suggest having as much seafood as possible because it is fresh and delcious!

Going back to the chess part, almost every night we have a lecture by a well known player (except when an event is held like blitz tournament) - since Friday we have had GM Andrey Vovk, IM Igor Naumkin and WCM Yelizaveta Orlova doing the lectures but we have more to come! Tomorrow (Monday) we have a blitz tournament and the following day IM Daniel Sadzikowski doing the lecture - make sure not to miss it if you are here!

There is more events to come like Tennis tournaments, another blitz tournament and re-match of the soccer match between "Italy VS World". Please follow our blog, we will uploading articles daily from now on to keep you on track about what's going on in this exciting tournament! Please visit also gallery in the dedicated area of this website to check out amazing photos about first threee rounds.

The youth tournament has been cancelled owing to its coincidence with the regional youth championship being held on the same date and organized by Accademia Scacchistica Salentina.