Larry Ermacora's Report

I am here today (Mon it's now 4.30 pm) for the 2nd round that started at 3pm. So far as I know Australia made a clean sweep yesterdayin both men's and women's events. The games are sent on the Internet as the moves are made on wired boards and clocks. Pity the players don't wear T-shirts with the country name in big letters because, like yesterday, it is impossible to make out who the teams are from the outer perimeter of the huge playing area. EVEN BINOCULARS WOULD NOT HELP MUCH. If you receive the games on your home computer , believe me you have an excellent seat at the ring.

Even from the inside of the playing area, those who pay 20 Euros to enter are cordoned off and kept to large isles. Tomorrow I will go on the playing floor to take photos with my video camera. I already have many panoramic views with some zooming in, but no sign of Australians or Pinoys yet!

The press room from where I'm typing this is well equipped with computer but their system has been very slow and in fact today it's not working , in the sense that we can't view the games. The FIDE president is busy electioneering trying to get re-elected here in the next few days. He issues daily bulletins called FIDELITY!

Yesterday I re-met an Italian chess player I have known in Rome . He is here as a medical assistant to the three Italian teams (as the host country they are allowed extras). Anyway this guy has all sorts of ideas and substances (herbal and artificial) that the teams could take. Not doping he stressed but natural substances to help you along. He's written a book on the subject (on sale here). Perhaps ACF should get a copy. It is treating Chess as a Sport. He told me however that the Italian A Team was a bit wary of trying anything fearful it might some opposite, negative effects.

The weather here is overcast and fairly hot but the playing hall seems comfortable. At least the airconditioning is working! That's all for now.

- Larry Ermacora

For the next couple of weeks, during the Olympiad, I temporarily surrender some blog real estate to a guest blogger - Larry Ermacora. He will be providing reports all the way from Torino after having been officially accredited by Olympiad officials as a journo for this blog.

Larry is a well known personality in Australian chess circles. He was an administrator in both Western Australia and New South Wales. And, in 1990, he was awarded the highly coveted Koshnitsky medal.