Ready, Set, Rotorua

A ten day tour of the north island of New Zealand has kept me offline for far too long.  But never fear, dear reader, for this week sees the 2011 Oceania Chess Championships, complete with regular blogging, vindictive ranting, glorious narcissistic boasting and depressive self-musing.  Not to mention some guest-blogging from my fellow chess Contikians, debriefing on a memorable Kiwi experience.

For now, though, let’s set the scene for what’s to come.  I’ve just gotten back from the centre of Rotorua, where I did a little simultaneous exhibition for the locals to whet their chess appetites.  Rotorua, which means “Second Lake”, is sort of half way between a town and a city, and is most noted for smelling awful.  No, really.  The only upside of the pungent sulfuric stench that taints the air is the presence of natural hot springs, mud baths and other pseudo-homeopathic thermal remedies to fill those post-chess nights.

I’m staying in what is probably the most luxurious rental house in Rotorua, situated right on the point of Lake Rotorua and decked out to the nines.  Joining me in the RottvegasManor are regulars Fitzy and Tritty, siblings Emma and Sherab (or ‘Casper’, although he’s neither friendly nor a ghost), and the newest member of our tribe, Jimmy Morris.  We’ve filled the house with laptops, chessboards, clocks, books, and assorted soccer paraphernalia in preparation for an intense week of chess action.

But enough for now, and I won’t preempt any of the story recounting of my guest bloggers (who seem to be almost finished their pieces, by the looks of things – assuming the tennis finishes soon).  Here’s a little pictorial taster, though, from when we spent the day at Grandmaster Murray Chandler’s incredible digs in Davenport, Auckland. It personifies just how tough our chess preparation has been to date.