Lethbridge Open 2013

The Lethbridge Chess Open holds a special place on my chess calendar. It is without a doubt, the best tournament I attend every year for a few very obvious reasons.

First - the host. A toast to the host who boasts the most stout. Dr. Paul Viminitz hosts an excellent wine and cheese party at his place after the 3rd round that usually makes for some very lively discussions and a late night; Which in turn places incredible strain on our ability to play decent Sunday morning games. Paul also billets many out-of-town participants each year and I'm grateful to him for my many stays. Doggies and Beer, what more could I ask for?

Second - The Peeps. Many of the people I've met over the years playing in this tournament are exceptionally friendly and interesting folks. I've had the pleasure of speaking with local players at length about their chess and personal lives and I always walk away happy to help their chess in whatever tiny way I can.

Third - my results. Who's kidding who? It's hard to enjoy a tournament no matter how well-organized if you play poorly. Fortunately for me, plenty of things about playing in this event get me excited before I even sit down at the chess board. I've now battled in Lethbridge 5 times, winning outright once, splitting first twice, splitting second once, and out of the money altogether once. Not bad.

Fourth - The atmosphere. This is really the one that counts. Small town events like this are usually a lot more enjoyable than normal Calgary/Edmonton 5-round swisses, at least for me. I enjoy meeting new people, witnessing wicked blunders, and hearing about how new players approach the game and so on. Good people, good times.

Now, if only the weather, and my opponents were to have been more cooperative, I would have taken a nice walk toward the river valley in between rounds, but we can't have everything we want can we?

I'd like to personally thank Paul Viminitz for his always awesome hospitality, Andy Davies for his help organizing the tournament as well as managing to get Paul to speak more than 10 words at a stretch, Vlad Rekhson for not beating me in round 4, and Peter Imhof for directing. I'll hopefully see you guys all again next year.