Played chess outside in great weather
This is the first time that the Icelandic Chess Federation has hosted a chess tournament in Ingólfsstorg square. Photo/Guðmundur Sv. Hermannsson
The sun was shining on the chess players who attended the Icelandic Chess Federation tournament in Ingólfstorg yesterday. A total of 33 players participated in the tournament and Arnar Gunnarsson was the winner.
“This took place in an outstanding situation, lots of people watching and the mood was upbeat in Reykjavík in the great weather,” Gunnar Björnsson, president of the Icelandic Chess Federation told mbl.is.
The event was held on International Chess Day, which is held every year on July 20th, in celebration of the founding of the International Chess Federation FIDE. The Federation was founded on July 20th, 1924, and celebrated 100 years of its founding yesterday. Chess was played all over the world to celebrate the day yesterday.
Hope for world record
The event was organized by Friðrik Ólafsson, the first Icelandic chess grandmaster and former president of the International Chess Federation.
Björnsson says that they try to get as many people worldwide as possible to play with the idea of hitting a world record for chess games played in one day. He expects to find out whether the world record has been broken later today.
“It’s expected to be a big hit.”
This is the first time that the Icelandic Chess Federation has hosted a chess tournament in Ingólfsstorg square and Björnsson hopes it will be an annual event.
