07 April 2008
Corsica's only long game championship has opened this weekend in Calvi in northern Corsica, and is to take place until next Saturday.
Among the participants feature the likes of Alberto David from Luxembourg (2562 elo), Mohamed Al-Modiahki from Qatar (2554 elo) and Miso Cebalo from Croatia (2520 elo), Corse Matin reports.
According to Leo Battesti, president of the Corsican Chess League, the championship has grown in popularity, with a 40 per cent increase in participation compared to last year.
The event is organised in collaboration with the Balagna Chess Club and the Corsican Chess League, and this year's seventy candidates are competing for a €15,000 prize.
As part of the event, a junior tournament for no less than 80 candidates will also take place from April 9th to 12th.
For the 46th edition of France's Chess Championship to be held later this month in La Roche-sur-Yon, M. Battesti said that the dozen or so candidates from Corsica will all benefit from intensive training sessions to stand out from the other participants in France, or on what locals call "the continent".
