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GP SHARJAH 2014 

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – FINAL RANKING

Final Ranking crosstable after 11 Rounds Rk. Name Rtg FED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts.…

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – HOU YIFAN AND JU WENJUN ARE THE WINNERS OF GRAND PRIX IN SHARJAH

Ju Wenjun and Hou Yifan became the winners of the 6th stage of the FIDE Women’s Grand…

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – ROUND 10: LEADERS KEEP THEIR POSITIONS

After the tenth round of the Women’s Grand Prix in Sharjah Ju Wenjun keeps leading. She…

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – ROUND 9: HOU YIFAN WINS GRAND PRIX SERIES, JU WENJUN TAKES LEAD

After the end of 9th rounds it it became official - Hou Yifan has won the FIDE Women…

GRAND PRIX SHARJAH 2014 – ROUND 8: SAME LEADERS AT THE TOP

The central game of the eighth round between Ju Wenjun and Hou Yifan finished in a draw…

OLYMPIAD 2014 

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - FINAL RANKING

Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - Open Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4 1 7…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - ROUND 11

Board Pairings - Open Round 11 on 2014/08/14 at 11:00 Bo. 15 Poland (POL) Rtg - 7 China…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - ROUND 10 INTERIM REPORT: LAWYERS & POLITICIANS

Tromsø had two not-quite chess events in focus today - the 9 a.m. hearing at the local…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - TROMSØ OLYMPIAD ORGANIZERS VS. RUSSIAN CHESS FEDERATION

The RCF sued the organizers for USD 200,000 for legal expenses connected to the dispute…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - TROMSØ’S AMAZING VOLUNTEER HOSTESS

Countless Norwegian and international volunteers are giving their all during the Chess…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - ROUND 10 PREVIEW: PENULTIMATE CHANCE

Sometimes the pairings system throws up oddities during big team events, but in the…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - ROUND 9: FRAYING NERVES?

Signs of accumulating fatigue or shaky nerves could be seen as Round 9 of the 2014 Chess…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - RD 9 INTERIM REPORT: ELECTION FOCUS

Today's play would have a hard time living up to the energy and excitement levels…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - BLITZ ON THE WAVES

The side tournaments in blitz during the 2014 Chess Olympiad move around the city of…

GP LOPOTA 

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA 2014 - FINAL RANKING

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA 2014 Lopota, Telavi, Georgia /June 18 - July 2 Final Ranking crosstable…

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA.- ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END

Even though Hou Yifan's tournament win has been predicable for quite a while and…

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA.- D-DAY

The outside weather didn't improve for the tenth round and the players start displaying…

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA - LIGHTNING BOLT

You may recognize the nickname of the world's fastest sprinter - Usain Bolt. In this…

GRAND PRIX LOPOTA - WHERE MAMA MEANS FATHER

After it became clear that I couldn't attend all the activities planned for the second…

41ST OLYMPIAD TROMSO 2014 - TROMSØ’S AMAZING VOLUNTEER HOSTESS

Countless Norwegian and international volunteers are giving their all during the Chess Olympiad – and among them is local driving force Marit Næsvold. She’s putting in a big effort to ensure that many of those involved in the Olympiad are eating well and enjoying themselves, although she actually retired on the day the Olympiad began.

by Sylvia Johnsen, Women’s FIDE Master and COT 2014 Volunteer, and Astri Edvardsen

Marit Næsvold and the other members of the Chess Olympiad’s highly skilled kitchen team ensure the Olympiad’s many staff and volunteers are served good food and drinks – and not least have the opportunity for a pleasant break in the canteen | photo: Daniel Skog, COT 2014

The first thing that strikes you when you meet Marit Næsvold is her huge level of enthusiasm and concern. As she says herself:

As soon as I heard that the Chess Olympiad was looking for volunteers, I wanted to be involved and make a contribution!

As a volunteer hostess and cook, she is making a major contribution towards the implementation of this gigantic event. It’s no small number of people that Marit is taking care of during the Chess Olympiad. She’s the local delegation host for the teams from El Salvador and Slovakia, each of which number around 15 people. And as a member of the kitchen team, she’s serving meals to hundreds of staff and volunteers.

Helping in high heels

Marit thinks it’s wonderful that the “world is coming to Tromsø” and she is only too happy to contribute to implementing the Chess Olympiad | photo: Daniel Skog, COT 2014

Marit is listed for six shifts in the kitchen – and she also fills in a bit more when needed. On one of the first days of the Olympiad, Marit popped into the canteen in the evening. Dinner was being served to 150 arbiters and extra hands were needed. Marit, who had just returned from a performance of Chess in Concert, stepped in to help still wearing her high heels! “I happily take such things in my stride,” she said.

Hospitality of the highest level

As local hostess, she welcomed the two delegations on arrival at the airport and then showed them around the city. Marit has made an extra effort. She invited the delegation from El Salvador home for dinner and along with her daughter, Hege Næsvold Pedersen, served them an impressive North Norwegian feast! The Central Americans dined on smoked salmon, herring, fårikål (a traditional Norwegian mutton and cabbage stew), meat cakes, bacalhau, fish balls in curry sauce and capelin roe. This was followed by a desert comprising wafer cornets and cloudberry cream, sour cream porridge, rice porridge and Kvæfjord cake, which is also known as the ‘world’s best cake’.

I gave them some advice, such as not mixing porridge with the other food.

Marit laughs and continues:

Tonight the Slovakians are visiting me at my cabin on the island of Kvaløya. I’m putting on a barbecue, and they can relax in the hot tub if they want to. My former son-in-law Morten Lønstad is the proprietor of the Steakers restaurant and he is donating a large amount of food. Perhaps the Eide Handel supermarket will sponsor something too. It’s nice to get some help, as otherwise the bill can easily run to several thousand.

Eide Handel is also sponsoring much of the food for the volunteers at the Chess Olympiad.

Energetic and colourful

Tonight Marit is welcoming the Slovakian delegation to her cabin, which has an idyllic waterfront location on the island of Kvaløya | photo: private album

Marit, who is 70 years old, is a teacher. She retired on the very day the Chess Olympiad started, and the enterprising woman already has several educational projects in the pipeline. Marit has been active on the ‘international front’ all her life. She has travelled widely, lived in the USA for a period and 30 years ago was involved in organising a big carnival in Tromsø involving participants from South America. So voluntary work at a Chess Olympiad with 180 participating nations came naturally for Marit, who puts pride into thinking outside the box. She says with a smile:

I’m a local patriot as well as a citizen of the world.

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