Years have passed with Huddersfield having no tournament, let alone one with four GrandMasters. Covid killed some, hurt our economy and hurt freedom. People know that I learnt chess at four, yet I was away from OTB chess for around fourteen years. So when I decided I was going to visit and do a report... I wanted even the free version to be high quality.
I've been to the Cedar Court Hotel a number of times, mostly relating to sales. Thinking back, a Cedar Court venue was a pickup point to take Yorkshire juniors to an event. I rang up about five times before the event to test out the customer service and see how much the hotel knew about the event- this started back in November.
The customer service was generally fairly good, although the staff knew little about chess or chessplayers. I made sure to talk to the actual Cedar Court booking people as well as the Huddersfield staff. Around 100 rooms had been booked, at around 100 pounds a night. So the real financial winner of the tournament is obviously the hotel, not the chess Grandmasters, at least some of whom are struggling to make ends meet.
Abbie was sure everything would be fine when I visited..... I think I may have been offered free drinks and even a room. I said I didn't need a room, but maybe some drinks and possibly staff help in taking pictures would be nice.
My preparation for visiting on Saturday was not ideal, although of course I thought about it a lot. Driving down Huddersfield hills in the dark after a hard day's work... this is not what the smart chessplayers were doing on Saturday. Perhaps Steve Westmoreland should appoint me chess publicity officer for all the free publicity I give chess at the Huddersfield Town stadium? Some of my fellow stewards are interested in chess, as are the spectators...
My sponsor Dean Staveley was excited at the prospect of being able to see me play on the internet. "You're playing right?" Nope........ but other people are......
My financial coach Chris Bailey had been chastising me for not playing for weeks......
I made sure not to park at the venue, as I knew several people had been stung with a seventy pound fine. Gone are the days, it seems, that you could park at a hotel without them wanting to track your reg. Cameras seemed to be everywhere both inside and outside the hotel, yet I guess that's what you can expect these days... although some people seem to not notice them...
Anyway, when I actually got to the playing hall, I was quite impressed with the conditions. Nice chess pieces, nice room, not too cramped. The energy I could feel from the players on Saturday was mostly one of intense concentration. Hardly any noise, a massive difference to when I last played a graded game. I have to remark on the good manners of Sarah Longson who when she felt the need to give a small sneeze turned her back, walked away from the board, sneezed then walked promptly back.
Anyway, Leo Keely, Oliver Graham and myself were the only ones watching the last game to finish on a Saturday. 50 move rule done although Hebden didn't want to accept.
