Dear Readers,
I am writing this particular blog post at Verso Oriente 👌, a lovely guest house in Brindisi 😍, Italy. Very early tomorrow morning, I have flights ✈️ back home to Brussels (via Rome). I have been in Italy continuously for slightly more than two weeks already, as I competed in the World Senior 50+ Chess Championship which was held at the Grand Hotel Costa Brada in sunny Gallipoli 🌞.
In total, a record number of more than 430 chess players converged on Gallipoli to take part in the 65+ or 50+ World Senior Championship, for men or women.
Special congratulations 👏🎊🍾 to Scotland’s GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant who won the Women’s 50+ Championship with a magnificent score of 8.5/11 🏆. Keti finished ahead of 30 other lady players, and was a full point ahead of GM Pia Cramling & WGM Maritza Robaina Arribas, the respective Silver and Bronze medal winners.
Out of 154 players in the Open 50+ Championship, there were 153 men and just one woman: Candidate Master Helen Milligan, who currently resides in New Zealand, but comes originally from St. Andrews, Scotland.
In addition to Helen, there were 8 other Candidate Masters, 21 FIDE Masters, 25 International Masters, and 18 Grandmasters (including myself) among all the players in the super-strong Open 50+ event.
The convincing Gold medal winner was Israeli Grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski with 9.5/11 👏🏆.
As I don’t currently play often (because I am still working hard as a Mathematics teacher at Musica Mundi School in Waterloo, Belgium), the 11 opponents whom I personally played against in Gallipoli were the toughest I have faced in a long time. I played against 5 GMs, 3 IMs, 2 FMs and one currently untitled but dangerous Azerbaijani player.
I thank God for guiding me to a very good result of 7.5/11, comprised of 5 wins, 5 draws, and just one loss (in round 8 of the eleven) 🙏💗.
In the final round, I didn’t quite manage to win against Georgian Grandmaster Mikheil Kekelidze (the Silver medal winner). I had my chances, but it was not my destiny this time.
I am truly grateful, though, to have finished 5th = (7th on tiebreak) in such a long and tough tournament 😊. My personal games were really hard-fought battles, averaging 49 moves and totalling 49 x 11 = 539 moves over the entire event.
Here comes a nice tactical finish from my shortest game in Gallipoli.
from round 4 in Gallipoli on 24.10.2025.
The crisp finish was 1 Rxd4! Nxd4 2 Ba5! Re7 3 Bf1! Nc6 4 Ba6! Kd8 5 Bb5! 1:0. Black resigned in view of 5…Nxa5 6 Rb8#, checkmate.
No-doubt, very many people have personal challenges to bear with at numerous times in their lives. I can say honestly, that (due to ongoing medical difficulties which began way back in 2001), I sometimes struggle with acute physical discomfort during long chess games. The wonderful doctors and nurses at the UZ Hospital in Jette, Belgium (which I go to for a necessary medical procedure every few weeks) do their utmost to help me well 🙏.
If I am still blessed with sufficient health and time in future, then I hope to try again, perhaps in the 65+ section in a couple of years from now. This year, in the 50+ event, I was (now at age 63) one of the oldest players in that group. Energy levels matter a lot in long, tough chess games. I will be trying to improve my physical fitness, as well as endeavouring in some spare time to improve my play in technical positions, in addition to sharpening tactical awareness and deepening my openings knowledge, too. I of course tried my utmost in preparing long before (and during) the event in Gallipoli, but there’s still more good work to be done, and I will ask for the strength to do it 🙏.
In the meantime, I offer deep, sincere thanks to very many people, including family members, dear friends, colleagues, students, organisers and others for their great love, support and encouragement which made my participation in Gallipoli possible and a joy for me 🥰💖.
Every time that I do play Chess, I always remember with love and gratitude the myriad golden tips and gems of wisdom that I received over many years from my late, great friend and mentor, Dundee’s Paul Fitzpatrick (1948-2024) 💗
Here now is a selection of nice recent photos 💖.
Candidate Master Timothy Mifsud from Malta very kindly (on 20 September this year) sent me a gift of his Chess Spider! 4.2 (the most up-to-date version that he has created, so far). You can read about it below, and you can order directly from Tim (at an excellent price) via chessbites@gmail.com. Feel free to also check out his site http://www.chessbites.com 👍.
As I’m resuming Maths teaching at the beautiful Musica Mundi School (MMS) on Wednesday morning, 5 November, here now is a Prize Puzzle for all the students and my colleagues to enjoy. It’s specially dedicated to Eric Van Steerteghem, the father of my superb young Maths colleague, Jens Van Steerteghem 🥰.
Regarding this fun Prize Puzzle, I’m warmly inviting all students (and colleagues!) at MMS to email me before midnight tomorrow (Tuesday) telling me what the missing number is.
Remember to include a clear reason for your choice!
To conclude this Blog Post #176, we have the beautiful and inspiring Bible passage Luke 17:6. Jesus said, “If you have faith even as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”
Paul Motwani 