The Malta Chess Calendar usually starts with a match Veterans-Juniors on the first Sunday of January. The Federation’s activities usually turn to utilisation of the Christmas-New Year School Holidays to organise an Under-14 event which, if it follows the pattern of the 2004 Junior, could again attract sizeable participation. Then in February the Monthly Blitz and Rapids will start their usual appearance on Sunday mornings.

The year 2004 has ended with the usual Alekhine-Attard Memorial which was won by resident Dane master Torben Sorensen. Another international will open the new year; it will be played from Saturday 15th to Friday 21st January in the idyllic surroundings of the Paradise Bay Resort Hotel. There will be one game per day starting at 6pm. Each player will be allowed two hours to finish his whole game and so all games will be over and done with in a maximum of four hours.

Judging from the level of the December Alekhine pattern, most games will actually finish in the fourth hour, a few in the very last minutes of the last hour.

The organisation is headed by energetic sportsman Joe Grech who is also receiving applications on Tel 21520055.

Applications may also be filtered through the Arbiter on Phone 21313798 or Fax 25401163. Special reductions are offered to federation members. The hotel is also offering an attractive mixed accommodation package.

The tournament is open to all chess players irrespective of chess rating, age, sex or nationality. A few outstanding applications are expected from foreign non-resident chess personalities while the Malta based contingent will not necessarily be Maltese.

Again this will be a rare opportunity for locally based chess players to meet here in Malta (without the expenses and hassle of foreign travel) some foreign exponents who may influence not only the style and level of play but hopefully inject fresh stimulus in the local rating possibilities.

The results and scores of the games (possibly some photos) will afterwards be published in the Malta Chess Magazine which will be distributed also in e-mail form from January 2005.