Karpov Visit to Curacao

Source: Chess Vibes

Chess tradition continues in Curacao

One of the many summer tournaments on the calendar is the Curacao Chess Festival. The tournament follows a tradition initiated almost five decades ago, when one of the most famous Candidates Tournaments ever played was held on the island. This year GM Joel Benjamin won. IM Robert Ris reports.
By IM Robert Ris
Next week Karpov will continue his campaign for FIDE elections in Curacao. Curacao? I see your eyebrows moving up, suspecting the ex-World Champion rather taking some days off visiting the white sand beaches than convince the Curacao Chess Federation assuring their vote.
The Caribbean island is with its 135.000 inhabitants by population the biggest of the three ABC-islands (Aruba and Bonaire are the other two) and still belongs to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The colonial era with its cruel slavery is still an important subject in schools, Latin-Americans often immigrate for better financial prospects, while many Dutch pensionados leaving their home country for a more preferable climate. A melt pot of cultures live here together in harmony, which explains a high number of tourists through the year. Not surprisingly, the tourism sector takes a high percentage of the total national income and still creates new jobs for the local population.

See full report in the following link: http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/chess-tradition-continues-in-curacao/