The first International Open of Acqui Terme ended, only one round in the morning, on Sunday 16th.
Three Opens ennobled by various titled players, but among these only the English GM Keith Arkell lived up to the predictions by easily winning his tournament for seniors over 50. Marco Ubezio won the one for over 65 and the Frenchman Matthieu Pourquet the Open A.
The matches involved almost a hundred participants throughout the week and the refereeing of Eduardo Lopez and Brunetto Casalini was excellent and calm. Good results for the 4 side events: 2 blitzes, one simultaneous and an obviously much appreciated the wine tasting organized by the regional wine shop.
As always, the City of Acqui Terme supported the event with the presence at both the opening and closing of the Councillor for Sport and Tourism Rossana Benazzo who underlined how chess, present in the town of lower Monferrato since 2011, is now an integral part of the numerous proposals that are organized every year.
This enthusiasm from the organizations can only give us a further push to maintain this International Open in the years in which we will not be the winner of a World, European or Italian championship.
After the summer holidays we will decide dates and any corrective measures to get better in 2025.
For now, thanks to all the participants and we like to remember that they came from 14 countries in addition to Italy; a small but important pride of our events: the spread abroad!!
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