After the long winter break I’m hitting the road again, just like Jack. But before that I’ll warm up at the traditional blitz tournament organised by my club Alkaloid this Saturday at Hotel Continental. Blitz is always fun so it should be a time nicely spent in a friendly atmosphere.

After the blitz it’s show time in Reykjavik. It will be my first visit to this Nordic country and the first time I play in one of the world’s most famous open tournaments. Apart from being famous, it is also one of the strongest open tournaments in the world, so far there are 263 registered participants with 27 GMs. You can see the complete list here http://www.reykjavikopen.com/info/participants/

After the apalling showing at the 4NCL I hope to do better, but I do not have any high hopes, my aim will be to show better play. It will be good to see that all the work I put in during the winter hasn’t gone in vain.

I will try to post from Reykjavik, but this will obviously depend on the internet access. The organisers say that Garry Kasparov will visit the tournament for 2 days, so that should be interesting, too. There are many side events during the tournament, one being the famous Golden Circle tour, but this time specially tailored for chess players, as it includes visit to the resting place of Bobby Fischer.

Looks like exciting times are ahead! Forward and upwards!