Pictorial report of the Chess Classic, and Mainz

The Mainz Chess Classic is probably the most professional, well-organized and streamlined tournament in the world. On top of that, Mainz itself is an interesting city to visit, with a rich history and a more than fascinating architecture. Arne Moll paid a visit to the Chess Classic, and to Mainz itself.

By Arne Moll

Despite its fantastic lineup and highly attractive events, the Mainz Chess Classic tournament is still mainly visited by German chess players – non-titled players, that is. On the first day of the open rapid tournament, I couldn't find a single Dutch compatriot among the almost 700 (!) players. This wasn't a big deal for me, though, for there were plenty of other interesting players to follow.





























Mainz was so heavily bombed during the second World War that practically the whole city has been rebuilt after the war. Many of the ancient buildings have been renovated or redecorated entirely,often in very bright colours, while many new buildings have arisen in the city center as well. As a result, Mainz now offers a curious mixture of renovated and repainted baroque buildings next to either completely neglected, or very modern and futuristic stores and apartments – a rather deadly combination in some cases.

Still, Mainz rightly prides itself, among other things, as the city where Johannes Gutenberg invented the book press around the year 1450 and printed his famous Gutenberger bibles, some of which can be seen together with even older medieval manuscripts in the Gutenberg Museum. In my opinion, this piece of world heritage alone is worth the trip to Mainz - even if you don't particularly care for bibles.

Interestingly, the city has a number of exceptionally striking (modern) statues.



Walking towards the Rheingoldhalle, where the tournament is held, from the riverside along the stately houses, it’s hard not to think of the famous ‘rheingold! reines gold!’ end tune from Wagner’s first Nibelungen opera, not in the least because this is indeed the 'golden' neighborhood of Mainz - something which can also be discovered by looking at the cars parked here.

You're probably wondering what this all has to do with chess, and perhaps the answer is that the interesting but strange mix of beautiful and ugly as seen in the city centre of Mainz, definitely isn’t applicable to the tournament itself. At the Mainz Chess Classic, everything is just perfect. The huge entry hall with its book stalls, chess computer exhibitions, gigantic movie screens (showing ChessVibes videos as it turns out) and monitors displaying the main boards together with the most actual evaluation of either Rybka or Fritz, and even grandmasters commenting on the games, are just the main eye catchers.



What struck me most while walking around the tournament area was something which in my opinion is rarely seen at chess tournaments: an extreme concern and care for visitors and chess lovers. The tournament organization looks extremely skilled and professional, and this shows in just about everything. On top of that, they’re friendly and helpful and easy going. It truly is chess players (and chess journalists!) heaven.