Jan 25 – Fifteen Years Of Chess – YGTV Speaks To Festival Organiser Brian Callaghan
The annual Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, which started this week at the Caleta Hotel, is now in its 15th year.
YGTV caught up with Brian Callaghan, the founder and organiser of the event.
Brian reflects on the growth of the tournament: “We started as a small, unknown chess tournament – we’ve gone from 50 contestants to 450 participants. I think we now have the strongest field of top participants ever in an open tournament.”
Brian says that the tournament has evolved to become very attractive for chess players across the world: “Gibraltar has become a ‘bucket list’ tournament for the top chess players. We manage to combine an environment where very serious chess is played – for good prize money – by the very top professionals in the business.”
The event also allows players of different abilities and rankings to try their luck against each other:
“But we also have a lot of very talented amateurs who welcome the opportunity to see and be with and play against the professionals. If I was to liken it to golf, I would say it’s like being invited to have a round with Tiger Woods,” he explains.
Looking forward, Brian is keen to keep the festival modern, relevant and up to date with the latest technological innovations: “We’ll be looking to address the technology side of the tournament – today we have online platforms with millions of members and you can play at any time of the day against anyone. It’s a very vibrant game nowadays.”
Pic: Brian Callaghan during Monday’s opening ceremony. Credit: Sophie Triay
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