Thursday July 4th arrival in Izmir
Friday July 5th 10x10 and Turkish Draughts Tournament in Nazilli
Saturday July 6th 10x10 and Turkish Draughts Tournament in Nazilli
Sunday July 7th 10x10 and Turkish Draughts Tournament in Nazilli
Monday July 8th departure Izmir
Of course, it is possible for people to organize earlier arrival or later departure. Both Izmir and possible stopover in Istanbul can be very interesting. Flights have to be booked by people themselves.
Practical information:
- in Nazilli, lodging and food is provided free of charge (!) for all participants
- Travel from Izmir Airport to Nazilli is simple and cheap: from airport to main bus station Izotas 2 euros and from Izotas to Nazilli 10 euros.
Some wikipedia information about Nazilli:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazilli
Some information about Izmir:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izmir
Flights available for 250 - 350 euros from The Netherlands depending on dates.
The Turkish Draughts Tournament will consist of 9 rounds Swiss System of 45 minute games. Around 100 participants are expected. For 10x10, a far smaller number of Turkish players currently is expected: 5-10. The Turkish Draughts community is small and the number of players interested in 10x10 naturally also is still very small. But, that's what we can do something about!
The ambitions of TDF are big and the progress made in just the last months as well. An official Turkish Draughts Federation (both for Turkish Draughts and 10x10) has been establised and affilliated itself to FMJD. TDF is in talks with Turkish government to start educational projects both for dama and 10x10.
For the Nazilli tournament, TDF president Ali Kadir Benzer says:
,,Our aim to is to bring players together and to meet eachother. We will be helpful in every matter.
We would like to invite players who know and play 10x10 draughts and / or Turkish draughts from the member countries of FMJD."
In other words this will be a tournament dedicated to draughts and to friendships and besides the 10x10 tournament, people who have studied a bit the game rules of Turkish Draughts are welcome to join the much bigger dama tournament as well. In that case you will probably need to choose as the 10x10 tournament in all likelyhood will be organized parallel to the dama tournament with the same play rate.
This is a first time event, on for 10x10 draughts terra incognita. In August, I've been to another Turkish Draughts event in Mustafakemalpasa and I have some very nice impressions. On the Facebook pages of Turkish Draughts and on my Facebook impressions can be found. I can only say that if only a bit possible I will certainly go to Turkey again as it really was a very nice draughts experience. Of course because of the friendly people but also when thinking about the dama game that is very rich in beautiful combinations.
I think the first 10x10 tournament can be called a succes if we get at least 10 players (say 5 Turkish and 5 foreign). Of course, many more players are welcome. As mentioned lodging and food are provided for free by the organization.
So what will you get out of this tournament?
- an interesting trip
- a 10x10 tournament in a (fascinating) place and country where 10x10 has not been before, organized by local people
- a chance to get to know the dama game and it's players, of whom no doubt a lot of grandmasters will be present in Nazilli (Izmir actually is the most important Turkish city when it comes to dama)
- last but not least: a chance to be ambassador of the 10x10 game and support Turkish players in learning the game, it's strategy and it's tactics, preferably while sipping a delicious Turkish tea somewhere in the shade.
- O yes and I am told there is a chance that every now and then the sun wil shine
So for now I think you have the most important information. Especially if you just want to arrive and play the tournament. The information of the logistics will become even more detailed so that everything concerning travel between Izmir and Nazilli and back is clear / arranged and in principle all you need to do is get on and off the plane, if that is what you want. If you want to stay a bit longer you can search and organize yourself. If maybe some initiatif for a bit longer programme in Turkey will develop I will of course post it so that you have possibility to join or not.
My advice for now: if you are interested, please let me know and if you like the readers of this forum . My e-mail address is marcelkosters@gmail.com .
This is an invitation for all players from FMJD countries, so certainly not for Dutch only
. My advice is to for the time being not purchase your plane ticket yet and wait for confirmation of the most important information. It is wise to first see how big the group of interested players for the 10x10 tournament is. To be clear: in relation to tickets / preparatory costs etc I take no responsibility whatsoever. I am just sharing this opportunity with you and will publish in a more coherent and detailed manner as soon as such information becomes available. In the meantime, it would be very nice to read here or in my e-mail who is open to this adventure. Draughts adventurers, this is your chance!
