A few stories from groups A-D
Before the start of the first round, I spoke with Charlie Hylarides (17, 2047) and Oleg Nadrshin (12, 1956). They know each other from a chess club in Delft. Charlie has chosen to play in Group A; he prefers the prospect of pulling off a surprise in Group A over being one of the favorites in Group B. Who knows? Alan Bakija showed it was possible earlier today. In the first round, Charlie managed to secure a surprise draw against Ardin Bosboom (2205).
Oleg (12, 1956) is playing in Group B1. He traveled to the Apollohal with a group of friends from Rotterdam. He thought it would be "great fun" to take part in Europe’s largest weekend tournament at the very venue that hosted the 1954 Chess Olympiad. When asked, Oleg mentions that he read about this on our website. He unfortunately lost his first-round match to Simeon Mikov (1887).
In the analysis room, I spoke with Orhan Özdemir (13, 1860). Orhan had just won his first game in group C2 against Yuvan Yatin Samala (1696) and was in high spirits. He plays for the Purmerend chess club and is an associate member at Volendam. His father drives him and his friends to this tournament, where he expects to score 5 out of 6. He is on the job!
I also had a brief chat with the father of Aarush Asthana (6, 1635). Aarush is competing in section D2. He caught the "chess bug" from his older brother, who is also participating. He has already defeated an opponent with a rating of over 2000; he enjoys the game and learns quickly. The family is originally from India and lives in Rotterdam. This six-year-old—a champion in the making—is in his second year at an international primary school. He speaks English well, as I notice when he enters the analysis room after his loss to Gopinath Dhyanesh (1532) to review the game with his opponent. He doesn't seem at all fazed by the defeat—perhaps he realizes that he has an entire lifetime of chess ahead of him.
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