First Week Comes to an End

Monday evening 21:15 and I am a bit frazzled from played 56 boards behind screens and writing some articles so I decide on a long walk. I walk along the marina waterfront past boats of every size and type. The GFC seems to be taking its toll as many of them have for sale signs on them. As I reach the end I come to a beach made of pebbles and it occurs to me that the sandy beach of San Remo is probably man-made.

I then start walking around a residential neighbourhood where my senses are invaded by the most beautiful smell of home cooked Italian dinners – certainly not pizza and pasta like downtown Sanremo. I continue my walk back into town and stumble on a small Chinese restaurant and have a plate of Gamberi (prawns) and home to bed feeling much better than I did one and half hours earlier.

Next morning and my chest feels rattly this combined with the frequent asthma I have been suffering since arriving in Sanremo suggests a climate very close to Sydney. Another boring breakfast of omelette sitting on a plate in the opening getting cold waiting for people brave enough to eat it, yoghurt and a huge selection of jams – ok orange marmalade only.

I haven’t seen Michael and Vivien Cornell to wish them good luck in the round of 8. I should note that I was most pleased to make the final 16 and am very proud that Michael has made the final 8. This is a very tough tournament. Even though there are only 90+ teams many of them have world champions. Erichsen was knocked out in the round of 32 while Lavazza in the round of 16. Michael defeated the third seeds in the round of 32.

Some reflections on Sanremo. It is a pleasant enough Mediterranean seaside town. In my walk last night I noticed that many of the apartments must have originally been grand villas on large blocks of land that have been subsequently converted– something that has probably lowered the stature of the place.

The people seem to bustle about mostly on motorcycles giving little rights to the pedestrians. Crossing the road is a game of chicken. I will say that this is not a young person’s town as I rarely see any youngsters except perhaps in Piazza at night. The majority of shops are small with limited stock and variety but that is obviously what works for them. The streets are punctuated with North Africans offering fake watches.

In summary a pleasant enough place but not one I would choose for a holiday. The next Euro Championships which are National and not open will be held near Ostend in Belgium while the one after (which will be Open) will likely be in Bulgaria. I am hopeful for a gig at either or both. The WBF have also just announced that the next Open World Championships will be held in October 2010 in Philadelphia which they chose over Las Vegas – please show me who made this decision as they would be deserving of running GM in the USA. The supposed reason is that it closer for the Europeans to travel to being on the East Coast of the USA. I would have much preferred the original choice of St Petersburg but that became a victim of GFC.

Work on the Bulletin goes well. The four editors/co-editors do much of the intensive match reporting and analytical work and while there are five other journalists listed I seem to be the only one writing articles – as I enjoy doing it I am just fine with this. I have had a few compliments and no criticisms so am comfortable with what I am doing.

I spend the day writing including an article with Gianarrigo Rona, president of the EBL and possibly next president of the WBF with whom I am very friendly following my putting forward my views to him on the ill-fated Menton tournament. It was in fact he who invited me to attend here.

That night, Tuesday, I had agreed to go to Imperia (40kms south) with David Beauchamp but I asked him if he would mind going to Menton (30kms NW) for some French food and he jumped at the opportunity. We invited Peter Gill and his partner Kate Davies from NZ to join us. We went to a restaurant I knew in the gardens of hotel in Menton and had a sensational meal – foigras, coquille St Jacque (scallops) and mixed berries – company, meal and surroundings all excellent. Good move as it forms the basis of a good article for the Thursday Bulletin.

We go back via the coastal road and I get to bed at midnight.

Michael, Vivien, Tom Steph get knocked out in the round of 8 but are pleased to make it that far. That evening I go to dinner with David Beauchamp, David Gold of England and his partner, Helen and Espen Erichsen. We return to the Morgana Bay which is my fourth meal there but the combination of the freshest sashimi/sushi and outstanding Mediterranean fare makes it a no competition for me. I go for the suhi/sashimi/tempura which we all share of entrée and an ‘exotica’ salad with crab and prawns. We share six deserts 1, 2, 5, 7 and the bottom two as I told the waitress – a story on this later.

Next morning, Thursday, chest is worse and I am debating whether to go to the pharmacy. Anyway off to work. I arrive and start penning some bits and pieces. I decide to watch the Mixed Pairs Final first round of 2. I elect to follow around Boye and Tonje Brogeland expecting some good hands. My article takes a dark twist as I end up writing about five bad hands they had. They end up finishing 5th and I suspect will be disappointed to see my article as almost any of the hands I wrote up could have seen them win.

Michael and Vivien start off well. I come up after 20 boards of the 52 board final to see them running 3rd. I rush down to get my camera to take a picture only to find when I get back that they have slipped to 7th. They ended up fading badly finishing 41st but this is not surprising as they had been playing almost constantly for five days and at this level that is tiring.

David Beauchamp, Michael’s Team and Ashley Bach who has now joined us, again go to the Morgana Bay for a similar meal after which the beautiful Cuban waitress asks, 1, 2, 5 and 7 and the bottom two. But we passed on dessert. David Beauchamp and I have drinks while watching the last 30 minutes of Egypt beating 1-0 Azzura at football and then off to bed.

Next morning and I start antibiotics. Don’t know if it will help but I am taking the chicken soup approach – won’t hurt. I have agreed to pick up Vivien Cornell, Louise Leibowitz, Elizabeth Blackham and Steph Jacobs and go to the Ventimiglia markets. I have breakfast at their hotel which is a substantial improvement over mine and we reach Vent.. around 10:00. As we drive around a motorcycle pulls up next to me asking if we wished a private parking space he had one available for €5. He guides me to the car park at the rear of his apartment block where there are 15 spaces.

We all shop with me buying a woollen cardigan with removable sleeves and some presents and the girls buying clothes, handbags etc. We go to Menton to book for dinner next Wednesday and have lunch at the same restaurant I had dinner at three days ago. Kindly the girls shared the cost of my lunch in return for the chauffeuring services. I buy two prepaid boxes at the post office to send some items back to Australia and we head back where I write this update.

Ciao
D