A day of chess, friendship and competition in Lloret

On December 6th, we held a festive chess day open to all members and supporters of the Lloret Chess Club. Up to 19 players came to the Puntet at 10 a.m. to participate in the rapid chess tournament, where everyone was able to play up to six games at a time control of 10 minutes plus 3 seconds per move.

This year we were able to enjoy the participation of top-level players from the club, such as JJ Mateo, Manel Castellanos and Carles Jordà, among others, all of them with more than 2100 Catalan ELO points.

In addition, we had a very special participant: Albert ChessBot, making its debut in an official tournament. Albert ChessBot is a chess program developed entirely by our player Albert Olivas, who is currently pursuing a master's degree in programming and has created this chess bot that improves day by day thanks to his effort and dedication. The bot's final result was promising: 3.5 points out of a possible 6 and a mid-to-high position in the final standings.

For the time being, however, the human players from Lloret still managed to prevail over the machine and take home the prizes. The winners were Alexander Kripakov (third place), Carles Jordà (second place), and newcomer Erik Juez, who was crowned champion of the tournament with a spectacular perfect 6 wins in 6 games; as well as Olga Levina, who became the junior champion with 3 points.

As expected on a day where sportsmanship, friendship, and camaraderie took center stage, the day continued with a fraternal lunch at La Bella restaurant, where we enjoyed an excellent buffet. To conclude, some players extended the evening with coffee and friendly games at the club's headquarters, the Bon Lloc bar, a space where anyone interested can come for a drink and a game, using the boards and pieces provided by our club.