Caissa Hong Kong in Kaohsiung CTCA 2019

Day 1

On July 17th a group of Caissa students (Marcus Su, Gabriel Chan, Boris Chan, Gerent Lee and James Kwong) together with parents and myself arrived at The Ambassador Hotel in Kaohsiung for CTCA International Chess Open. After a warm welcome on the airport we were brought to the hotel.

A Warm Welcome

After registering and refreshing a small group went out for Beef Noodles and a walk along the Pier area, where old warehouses had been turned into small musea and art galleries. By dinner time everybody was back at the hotel and with James arriving the group was complete. We went through the schedule and the kids finally found time to play some Exploding Kittens!

Exploding Kittens!

Day 2

With the morning rounds starting at 8:30am, it’s important to get into the right biological rhythm as soon as possible. So, despite the Opening Ceremony only starting at 9:30, everybody was expected to be at the breakfast table by 8am. Well-fed we attended the Opening Ceremony.

Team Caissa!

Team Caissa at Opening Ceremony

Of course we needed time to prepare for the first round, so after the Opening Ceremony we found a spot to sit and prepare together.

Preparation Mode

Round 1 The first round was a walk in the park for our boys. First to finish were Marcus and Gabriel. Pairing up on the first two boards, they crushed their respective opponents within an hour. Both games were decided with a convincing attack on the enemy king.

Gabriel and Marcus (right)

Boris came out of the playing hall shortly after. His opponent made a mistake after the opening which cost him a piece. In typical Boris style, he left his opponent no chance to get back into the game.

Boris and Dad

James was the next one to follow. He played very aggressively and had has opponent against the ropes within no-time. It was only a matter of time for James to land the knock-out punch. It took him only 25 moves.

James

Last one to finish was Gerent. Gerent was clearly much stronger than his opponent and left him no chance. The only reason it took a bit longer was because his opponent wanted to play all the way until the checkmate.