This year’s top group of the Swedish Championship will be the strongest ever and I believe it will produce some exciting chess. My reason for thinking so is – apart from my own humble participation – a three part reason: There is Jonny Hector, who is well known for his aggressive style, Slavko Cicak, who knows of more quirky lines than anyone I have ever met, and there is Emanuel Berg, who in his best moments is the strongest 1.e4-player that is allowed to play in a Swedish Championship. Those three will make sure that the rest of us cannot stay within our comfort zones. Emanuel just finished a tournament in Maastricht, Limburg, where he had “to fight hard in order to win against the lower rated players”, but then was somewhat surprised at how easy he managed to win the last game against one the top seeds. Seems like Emanuel is fighting his way towards good shape…
I am looking forward to playing Emanuel in July and I believe he would say the same about me.