On Thursday 30th April four brave souls took to the skies to invade the peaceful land of Hannover in Germany; John Richards representing 4NCL, Dave Collier representing the Bristol Chess Times, Steve Boniface representing organizers, and Bob Bagshaw representing CAMRA.
| At 13:30 local time we touched down on foreign soil and were driven to the beautiful town of Celle. There we enjoyed the half-timbered buildings, the biblical quotations on the walls, and the local beer. After a delicious meal we returned to Hannover and a 17-round blitz (!) tournament. Our scores were fairly modest with Dave Collier doing best on 9 points. However seen in context with three Russian exiles including an IM and an FM, this was a fine performance! Especially pleasing was the result of one of our hosts Fritz Obert who took 3rd place on 13.5. |
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Friday was a public holiday and we were taken to a very special international rapidplay event in Stolzenau. This was in four sections, with the exchange teams in the top two. Bob and Steve played in the Aufsteiger ("Challengers") whilst John and Dave competed in the Spezialisten , which with several IMs and a WGM, was truly a master event. Amusingly, Dave's grade' had been initially entered as 1080 ( BCF 60 ) which would have placed him halfway down the Minor Tournament ! Steve started well with 5/6 but lost to the eventual winner and finished on 6 out of 9. Together the team made 50%, which was excellent in this company. |
| Saturday took us on a brief shopping trip to Hannover followed by a visit to the Zoo. At this point we were unaware of the venue for the main hosts v. guests match, but the truth suddenly hit us; we were to be yet another exhibit in the park! Fortunately our only near neighbours were local dancers and ponies, so we were not too embarrassed. The match itself had an interesting theme of two rooks; Dave took control of the king-side files with his; John exchanged his queen for a pair; Steve got to an ending with 2 rooks against rook and bishop; and Bob had a pair working together on the f-file. Things went well on the top three boards, but Bob was perhaps a bit unlucky to get his pair split by a German Knight. The final result of 3-1 was a superb one for us visitors, only the second win away from home. |
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On Sunday there should have been a day of rest, but such things are unknown on Exchange Visits. We were driven South-West to visit St. Andreasburg and Goslar, though deteriorating weather curtailed the visit. For once there was no chess, and we enjoyed a large open-air market in a packed town square. Unfortunately Steve's insistence on seeing the marionettes accompanying the midday bell chimes meant that we missed the visit underground to the local preserved mines. On reflection this was maybe just as well since only John was slim, young, and unclaustrophobic enough to have enjoyed it. Instead we adjourned for more refreshments including the local "Farmer's Breakfast"( a fat omelette ). We saw much interesting countryside thereafter, but the weather forced us back to Barsinghausen, where Bernd and Gabi lost the remainder of their food and drink. There was also a special treat for us in the shape of a video of an old British comedy 'Dinner for One' which has become something of a cult in Germany - a bit like Frank Palm himself. However, unlike Frank, the humour soon wore off and while the Germans were almost literally rolling around the floor, us visitors were looking somewhat embarrassed and plotting to show that episode of Fawlty Towers next year.
Finally Monday came, and with most hosts returning to work, only two cars headed south to Einbeck and the oldest brewery in North Germany. After an interesting tour of the works, the highlight of which was seeing how many bottles fell off the conveyor belt, we were treated to a stein of fresh brew and told that the supply was unlimited Sadly, we had to leave at four to catch our plane, otherwise it might have become the emptiest brewery in the region.
We successfully negotiated the rush-hour traffic around Hannover and arrived almost precisely with the minimum one-hour check-in to go. There we made our sad farewells until 1999, missing the culture, the food and drink, the ever-generous hosting, and most of all Frank's unique style of organization.
It was generally agreed that May was a good time of year as it allowed more outdoor events, so if you would like to host a German guest next year, please give Steve Boniface a ring on 0117-9393-262. Most of our guests will speak excellent English, so language is not really a barrier, and the odd misunderstanding adds to the good humour. Ideas are also welcome for suitable visits. Please join us!