With a variegated programm and many opportunities to play chess the Roadshow of the Chess Olympiad Dresdn 2008 – „Road to Dresden“ lured numerous visitors to the Kornmarkt shopping center in Bautzen last weekend. Tournaments for everyone animated plenty of amateur and hobby chess players to get on the boards; as many as never before at the previous promotion events. On the 30 provided boards, all of them continuously busy, whoever felt like it could indulge in the royal game.

Together with the local chess club “SC Einheit Bautzen“ the Organizing Office of the Chess Olympiad lined up a Blitz tournament Thursday, 7 August 2008, followed by Simultanous and Tandem events on the following days Friday and Saturday coming up with attractive prices. In between the tournaments the cheerleader of the Dresden club “Lunatics” heated up the atmosphere among players and spectators with their unique chess choreography show.

Impressive was, in the first place, the performance of U18 Saxon Champion Kathrin Lowke in her double-simultaneous game with club colleague Thomas Karaus. She managed to keep her head calm in the for a chess tournament odd environment of the shopping center and won all her 20 (!) parallel played games confidently. Subsequently, she also snatched the runner-up price in the tandem tournament with her partner Eric Tietz behind the winning team René Zimmermann/Albrecht Arnhold. Third came Minh Vuthan and the Cyprus-born Marc Bryan who flew the flag for the Organizing Office.

The open five round Speed Chess Tournament Saturday, 9 Augst 2008, finished off the order of tournaments as another highlight of the third Roadshow, once more attracting dozens of chessfriends to Bautzen. Now, chess fans are looking forward to the next station of the promotion tour at the Dresden Schiller Galerie from 21 – 23 August 2008.