Bastian Suazo, under-14 champion at the Josep Maria Garriga Memorial.

Up to five players from the Lloret Chess Club traveled to Malgrat de Mar last Saturday, July 5th, to compete in the traditional Verneda Festival chess tournament, which this year paid tribute to FIDE Master Josep Maria Garriga.

The tournament, organized by the Blanes Chess Club and supported by the Lloret Chess Club, achieved its best historical participation record, with up to 60 players from different towns, thus demonstrating the growth and the good reception of this summer tournament by the fans.

Among the players from Lloret, Bastian Suazo stood out, winning the under-14 category of the tournament with 3.5 points and reaffirming himself as the player to beat in this championship, because last year he also won a prize in the under-12 category. This year, Sara Planas followed just half a point behind in second place.

Olga Levina had less luck . Despite playing a very good tournament and competing against higher -rated and older opponents for the best under-12 prize , she suffered a very uneven draw in the final round, which left her without a chance. She ultimately finished second with 4 points, followed by Arnau Jiménez, who finished third in the under-12 category with the same score.

The club president, Toni David, also participated in this tournament, where he finished 12th with 5/8. Two losses with black in the last two rounds took him away from prizes that seemed within reach.

Finally, we would like to highlight the excellent treatment all participants received. Despite the tournament being completely free, every player was given a bottle of fresh water before the first round (a much-appreciated touch on these hot days), and once the prizes were awarded, all the players and their companions were able to gather and enjoy some snacks. We are grateful to all the organizers for their selfless work. We will definitely be back.