Boblinger Open
December 30th, 2011 | 
Author: Greetings from Germany where I’ve just finished playing in the Boblinger Open in Stuttgart http://www.boeblinger-open.de/einzelseiten/ergebnisse/2011/ergebnisse_2011_eng.htm . It is my first visit to a German tournament but hopefully not my last. The organization was excellent with very good playing conditions, a strong field with a liberal sprinkling of titled players and no weak players at all. In fact there was only one competitor without a FIDE rating and he was rated 1949, just my luck that I beat him and don’t get any FIDE pts for doing so but I did gain 19 overall and also a very welcome 62 ICU rating points to give back some respectability to my falling rating.The tournament was packed with 2200+ players which I much prefer to having a load of GMs like in Gibraltar when you never get to play any of them and even if you did you’d just get mashed more often than not.
Everything possible was done to make the tournament enjoyable. We got ferried to and from our hotel to the venue. Food at the venue was very reasonably priced, I paid an average of 4 euro for a nice two course lunch , decent coffee cost a euro and two for a beer! All the tables had players name tags and also little result cards which I’d never come across before but is avery good idea. Immediately after each rd the next rd draw was up and on the internet as was rating performances and any other details you could possibly wish for. There were three different sections to the Open so players below 1900 could play against their peers as could the below 1600s. I found everybody very welcoming and friendly and I will certainly make every effort to come back again next year. In fact there is another Open starting nearby on Monday 2nd Jan so next year I will try to play both!
Loading ...
Peter,
I just checked the website, and see that Mario Born is the club’s president. I remember playing him in a blitz match one Sunday morning during a Bundesliga match, and I kept beating his fianchetto KID with a recommendation from Joe Gallagher. Did you get to the Cafe Frech?
For those of you thinking about playing in Germany, Berlin is cheaper than Stuttgart area. Munich is probably dearer than anywhere else in the country.
Jonathan
No, didn’t get to Cafe Frech, I only went into Boblingen the day after the tournament ended and it is not the most interesting town I’ve ever visited, to put it mildly. The tournament was great though and I will certainly go back next year. There is also a huge Open nearby http://www.staufer-open.de/ with a massive field of 350 competitors which started on january 2nd so maybe next year I will try to take in both.
Hi Peter,
thanks for the positive feedback, and concerning Böblingen, “not the most interesting town” is indeed putting it midly – something I can definitely confirm although I don’t live there directly; it’s just my club, and it’s a good one.
So, having 9 rounds in 5 days is not such a bad idea in a place like that. Schwäbisch Gmünd, by the way, is nicer to watch, and the venue is a bit closer to the town centre as well. But again, it’s still “9 in 5″ anyway. However, I am not so sure the guy who serves your schnitzel will also be around 2200 Elo in Schwäbisch Gmünd, as was the case in Böblingen
Hope to see you at the Böblingen Open 2012!
Best wishes,
Hans-Peter
Hi Hans-Peter
will not have been in vain.
I will indeed be back in 2012. I will also be writing another article about your tournament in the next issue of the Irish Chess Journal which comes out in about three months time so your “bribe”
P.S The schnitzel was good too.
Peter,
you could also try the Sindelfingen Open, which I think happens sometime in the summer. If they are still playing it in where I played in 1991, then it’s a short walk to the town center, and there are some lovely old houses (from 1500s) with the typical German “Fachwerk”.
Hans Peter may be able to advise on more picturesque towns and villages hosting tournaments.
Jonathan
I can get time off work easily enough at this time of year but apart from one week, usually reserved for the Irish Ch, the summer is a bad time for me. Perhaps when I become an I.M and receive conditions I will play in Sindelfingen.
Hi Peter,
thanks for this feedback. I didn’t serve you a schnitzel but I enjoyed very much to write the reports for the local newspaper and welcome so many chess-friends from all over Europe. In Germany they sell a sticker with:”Nice people are playing chess!”. And you are definetly one of them.
So what do you think? Should we add “Guinness” to our beer – card this year?
We are looking forward for the next tournament and your return. With some more Irish friends hopefully.
@ Jonathan: I guess, the Sindelfingen Open is history for a longer time. I never heard about since I moved to Sindelfingen 5 years ago.
Hi Roland
I’ve always been a follower of the “when in Rome …..” philosophy so I certainly would not be looking to have Guinness added to the menu (much as I love the stuff). German beer is excellent and at 2euro a go, compared to 4.50+ here is fantastic value. I’ve played in a lot of different tournaments around the world including Hastings, Linares, Prague and Gibraltar and found your tournament as enjoyable as any of them. I can’t think of anything that needs changing.