The winter chess tournament Janus Open in Eiði appears to have an unusually strong appeal.
Last year, when the tournament was held for the first time, interest was so great that the maximum number of participants was reached. This year, as the tournament is being staged for the second time, last year’s participation record has been comfortably surpassed.
No fewer than 142 players have registered to take part this year, compared with 103 last year.
The tournament will be played this weekend—Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—with a total of eight rounds.
Four rounds will be played on Friday evening in a rapid chess format. Each player will have ten minutes per game, plus five seconds added per move. The remaining rounds on Saturday and Sunday will be played at a longer time control: one hour per player per game, plus thirty seconds per move.
The tournament format resembles that of so-called Open tournaments. The main difference from the regular Open tournaments, which are a fixed part of the Faroese chess calendar, is that an additional round has been added on Friday evening, and 30 minutes have been deducted from the long games. The extra round has been included due to the high number of participants, while the shorter long games make it possible for players to do something else on Saturday evening.
The tournament will be rated, although players with a rating above 2400 are exempt. The highest-rated player in the tournament is Høgni Egilstoft Nielsen (2391). He and the Icelander Dagur Ragnarsson, who has the second-highest rating, are the only players holding the title of International Master.
Most of the participants are Faroese, but several foreign players are also competing, particularly from the Nordic countries, with Icelanders making up the largest group. Well over thirty of the participants come from the local Norðstreymoy area.
Record-breaking participation
As mentioned, it has never before happened that so many players have taken part in a single chess tournament in the Faroe Islands.
The previous participation record dated back to 1987, when the Faroe Islands hosted the Nordic Chess Championship at the Nordic House. At that time, a total of 101 players from all the Nordic countries took part. The record for the Faroese Chess Championship dates from 2003, when 95 players competed in the individual championship held at the Teachers’ College Hall in Tórshavn.
However, these were different types of tournaments. The competitions in 1987 and 2003 were standard classical events, played over roughly ten consecutive days with full thinking time. Janus Open, by contrast, is a weekend tournament with a different structure.
Another unusual rule is that players may receive a half point up to three times without actually playing a game. This provides participants with a degree of flexibility and breathing space during the tournament.
The strong turnout may also reflect a modern preference among players for faster-paced events, where they are not so tightly committed that they cannot also do other things alongside the competition.
Rógvi Egilstoft is the chief organizer. The tournament is held in memory of Janus í Løðuni from Eiði, who was a driving force in the local chess community but who passed away in the summer of 1924 at the age of 46.
Play begins at 6:00 p.m. this evening. It is expected that live coverage of games from the top boards will be available online.
