Tradewise off to a great start

253 chess players from all over the world took their places yesterday at the start of the fourteenth edition of the Tradeswise Gibraltar International Chess Tournament.  At precisely 3pm James Humphreys, Chairman of Tradewise Gibraltar Insurance Ltd, main sponsor of the event made the first move on the top board for top seeded player, World No. 6 and US No.1, Hikaru Nakamura.

In his First Round game Nakamura played former British Champion Robert Bellin.

Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia welcomed all the players and wished them well over the 10 days of competition. Chess he said had put Gibraltar on the map in the chess world and the next week would see Gibraltar’s name appear media press coverage all over the world, as well as social media.

“To have this tournament here is certainly good for chess but it is also good for Gibraltar in terms of public relations and publicity,” he said.

The fact that the tournament was already oversubscribed last September, almost four months before the start of the tournament, he says spoke volumes of its success.

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