The opening ceremony of the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss took place at the Villa Marina, Douglas, Isle of Man, on the evening of 24 October. Master of ceremonies Alex Brindley introduced the tournament director Alan Ormsby, who welcomed the players and supporters to the island.
Tournament Director Alan Ormsby at the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss opening ceremony
Alan Ormsby was pleased to announce that two players from the Isle of Man, Dietmar Kolbus and Li Wu, were playing under the Manx flag for the first time following the Isle of Man’s recognition as an affiliated organisation with FIDE, which will entitle them to take part in the 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad, which will take place next year in Budapest.
Dietmar Kolbus and Li Wu are the first players to represent the Isle of Man at international level
Alan Ormsby concluded his address with thanks to the Scheinberg family whose support made possible the Isle of Man Masters tournaments from 2014 to 2018, the 2019 and 2023 Grand Swiss events and next year’s Olympiad participation.
The Hon. Alfred Cannan MHK, Chief Minister of the Isle of Man Government, opens the tournament.
The tournament was please to welcome the Hon. Alfred Cannan MHK, Chief Minister of the Isle of Man Government who spoke of the role of chess in the achievement of peace and also thanked the Scheinberg family for their role in supporting the event.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky remembered his last competition as a professional – in the Isle of Man
FIDE Chief Executive Emil Sutovsky recalled with fondness his own last appearance as a chess professional at the 2018 Isle of Man Masters. He too thanked the Scheinberg family for their invaluable support which has led to the event being one of the strongest, if not the strongest tournament of its type in the world.
Top seed Fabiano Caruana sees the black king and knows he will be Black in round one
Then the draw for colours was conducted. Chief arbiter of the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Ana Srebrnic invited the number one seed of the Grand Swiss, Fabiano Caruana, to choose one of two bags which contained a white or black king. The bag which he chose was opened to reveal a black knight. That determined that he would have black in his first game.
It’s that black king again: Aleksandra Goryachkina sees the funny side of it.
The procedure was repeated for the Women’s Grand Swiss: as fate would have it, the top seed Aleksandra Goryachkina also chose a bag containing a black king, and seemed not so much disappointed as amused at this outcome.
The formalities finished the players and officials proceeded to a light buffet and a chance to renew chess friendships before the battle was to commence for real the following day.
You can follow the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss by watching the live broadcast of the event on FIDE Youtube and Twitch with expert commentary by GM David Howell and IM Jovanka Houska.
