II have not yet heard it confirmed, but 1400 participants and relatives/hanger-ons/supporters (with access to the playing area), with 750+ attending the open, surely must be some kind of record. The weather is going to be splendid, with temperatures above 30C all through the first week, and I brace myself a bit, as I stay at a hotel situated a half hour walk from the playing hall, with little to no shade on the way.

In the first round I got a very, very good position, but went on a self-destructive spree during the last third of the game:

In the second round I played a young german boy who evaluated the position better than I did: I though I was behind most of the game, but he informed me that such was not the case. And he was right: