Players interested in participating in this edition, which we hope will be the strongest open to be held in Spain in 2023, can already consult the rules at elllobregat.com. Registrations will be made according to the calendar established by the organization: this May, registration is already open for the masters: GM, IM, WGM, WIM. From July 1st, players with FMs qualifications, with more than 2,300 ELO, as well as athletes staying at the official hotel, will be able to register. The rest of the players, as of September 1.
The maximum number of players accepted for the open will be between 250/300. The registration period will close when the organizers consider that the available capacity has been covered.
Throughout the year, we will be describing the different activities that will be programmed, in parallel to the nine rounds of EL LLOBREGAT OPEN CHESS. Today we show you the one we have scheduled for the day before the first round; for the afternoon of November 29th in L’Hospitalet: Blitz Masters Tournament, Ciutat de L’Hospitalet 50 x 50. This year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the celebration in L’Hospitalet of the “1st International Tournament City of L’Hospitalet”: a closed tournament with 12 players, 10 of them masters and two local players (Dominguez and Collado). Among the masters, there were three Spaniards, the best in those years: Arturo Pomar (2,435), Diez del Corral (2,495), and Medina (2,395). The tournament ended on October 31, 1973, with the victory of Danish IM Hamann (2.475) who scored 7.5/9 and was half a point away from GM norm. The event was meritoriously organized by the city’s clubs: Jake, Aurora, Collblanc and Casino.
Well, in memory and tribute to this event of great repercussion, this 2023, the 50th anniversary of its celebration, we will take to L’Hospitalet to 50 masters playing 9 round rapid gamesThe game is played at a pace of three minutes and an increment of two seconds for each move made (3+2). We are confident that it will be an afternoon to remember and have the opportunity to see the exhibition of the best players who will compete this year 2023 in Sant Boi, in THE LLOBREGAT OPEN CHESS.
In the coming months we will expand the information about the event: location, broadcasts and many more surprises that we are stringing together with the desire to do justice to those who worked promoting chess in much more difficult times than the present.
