Day Three by Sherman Graif Elizabeth

Day Three

From the main building, it is a short walk outdoors to the building that houses the tournament games. The walkway is covered, and beautiful displays of purple and pink flowers climb the walls of the buildings we pass. Before 3:00 p.m., it is a pleasant walk: on the way back, the sun has set and there is a sharp chill in the air. After sunset, you can feel the bite of the Mediterranean breeze.

They younger children compete in a large room on the main floor, and the older ones are divided into a series of smaller rooms downstairs, accessible only by a small spiral staircase. After the chaos and mayhem surrounding the first day’s game, which started late because the officials could not remove the adults from the playing floors to start the games, parents are not permitted past a gate at the edge of the playing hall. They look like a throng of paparazzi, pushing and shoving in front of a pair of implacable Turkish guards at the entrance.

Now, apart from arbiters and players, only coaches, heads of delegation, members of the press and FIDE executives are permitted in the playing halls. Parents of the Canadian team members share a badge for ten-minute shifts so that they can go in and check on the progress of the games. It is much more civilized, in terms of crowd control, but it is more difficult for the younger kids, who have to navigate the hall and set up for their games alone. Fortunately, Canada has a few people inside, and we can check on all the kids to make sure that they are prepared and comfortable.

Having people in the playing hall is key. Dalia Kagramanov had a nasty start to Game Three, when just a few moves into the game, her opponent announced that Dalia’s pieces were incorrectly set up (the black queen and king were reversed). The player called over the arbiter to say that according to FIDE rules, Dahlia was required to play out the game with her two pieces reversed. Fortunately, Canadian delegation head Andrei Botez and coach Artiom Samsonkin arrived within moments and intervened. For those of us who do not have the rule book memorized - it is certainly not a FIDE rule, but it may have been a questionable tactic. A rattled Dalia Kagramanov regained her composure and went on to win her game –