Nigel Short visits Lebanon

   From June 17-22 GM Nigel Short made a long-awaited visit to Lebanon. The 5-day sojourn was more of a tourist experience than a professional trip for Short, where he got a chance to indulge in Lebanon’s cultural amenities and play some chess along the way.

   On Saturday June 18^th, Beirut Development Association-Chess Club, the most active chess club in Lebanon by IA Abdallah Chahine, organized a 23-board simultaneous match with Short. Some players from the Club had first met Short via the Playchess server, and from there he was invited to conduct the simultaneous.

   The simultaneous games elicited the participation of many players from Lebanon’s national chess team. The games lasted nearly four hours, and were all in all rather tiring for Short, who nonetheless still managed to score 18 wins and 5 draws.

   The rest of Short’s days in Lebanon were spent vacationing and exploring Lebanon’s beautiful travelers’ sites. On Sunday morning Short was taken to Lebanon’s famous 6200-meter Jeita cavern, famous for its wealthy grottoes, pink-hued limestone, and massive orchids. In the evening he visited Beirut’s downtown where he got to explore the renovated and traditional French architecture and eat in the area’s chic cafés.

   On Monday the day started early with a visit to Beirut’s Rawche, an area spanning the entirety of the Mediterranean Sea, where he got to see some of the area’s landmarks. Short was then taken to a different part of Beirut’s downtown where he got to see the aged Roman Baths and Phoenician Ruins. Short was then taken to the Lebanese Government building, a monolithic structure of historical importance as it used to be a barracks for the Ottomans in Lebanon.

   Short’s last full-day in Lebanon was spent mainly relaxing in his hotel luxuries. In the evening he went dining in a restaurant famous for its unique Lebanese cuisine in the company of some chess buffs from the federation. There Short proved to be a skilled raconteur, as he told of some of his most remarkable experiences with chess over the past 30 years of playing.

Mazen Fakhani

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