Motwani in May

[David G Congalton]

Scotland's first Grandmaster Paul Motwani is coming over in May for three days. As part of his visit he will be doing one of his informative and entertaining talks on Saturday the 11th at the Parkstone Hotel function suite in Prestwick, Ayrshire. Having spoke to people that have had the pleasure of seeing GM Motwani in talk action this is something not to be missed and is a rare opportunity to learn from our first Grandmaster.

The talk is open to all, though for an even better experience (and front row seats) early booking is advised. There will be a small but reasonable charge for "talk tickets".

The talk will follow on from the 1st Prestwick Chess Allegro, which will start at 10am and finish around 2.30pm. Details on this new event are being worked on but there will be a junior event and an adult event. Entry to these events will again be very reasonably priced and there will be some small cash prizes which will be presented by Paul Motwani prior to him taking the floor.

To round off the evening, following Paul's talk, I am planning an evening meal at the Parkstone Hotel, which again will be open to all, again early booking is advisable and this will also be quite reasonably priced. Whilst, this will not be a formal dinner I am hopeful that it will be a further chance to hear more of the Grandmaster experiences and am also hoping that a few of the nations chess characters will attend with a tale or two of their own.

There will be dedicated pages on the Prestwick Chess Congress website from around the start of February onwards. Incidentally, the 3rd Prestwick Congress will take place a fortnight later at the usual Aviator Suite, Prestwick Airport venue. Anyone interested in either event can e-mail me. My e-mail details are on the coaches page of the Chess Scotland website (click on my name) and also on the Prestwick Congress website.

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[David G Congalton]

As a small appetiser, please find below a sample menu for the Saturday evening meal with Motwani. I shall be giving prices for the meal, the quick-play event and the Motwani talk soon. I may also have a very special announcement to make in the near future regarding this Saturday extravaganza.

Sample Menu

Cream of Carrot, Honey and Ginger Soup

Goats Cheese and Cherry Tomato Salad with Red Onion Chutney

Melon Platter with Seasonal Fruits and Lime Sorbet

Chicken Liver Pate with Highland Oatcakes, Apple and Plum Compote

*****

Supreme of Chicken with a Tomato and Basil Sauce topped with Parmesan Crisp

Seared Fillet of Scottish Salmon with a Lemon Butter Cream

Honey Roast Fillet of Pork with a Mustard Cream and Medley of Vegetables

Pasta Carbonarra with our own Garlic Bread and Salad Garnish

*****

Milk Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis and Vanilla Ice Cream

Passion Fruit Panna Cotta with Pineapple Salsa and Fruit Sorbet

Brandy Basket filled with a Trio of Ice Creams and Sorbets Drizzled with Mint Syrup

Selection of Scottish and Continental Cheese with Highland Oatcakes, Grapes and Celery



*****



Coffee and Vanilla Tablet

[Patrick McGovern]

Re Menu;

I will never be able to eat all of that ;|

[StevieHilton]

Thats only a wee snack for me

[David G Congalton]

So here's the problem.

I hope to run quickplay events for juniors and adults from 10am to 3pm. At 3.30pm Paul Motwani will be giving a talk for about an hour and a half to two hours. Following that there will be an evening meal, at around 6pm to 6.30pm. All nice and neatly timed but say that GM Motwani might take on 10 to 15 people in a simul, which will take place between 12.30pm and 3.30pm and it starts to get complicated.

Do I decide in advance on the simul participants or can I work it in somehow with the quickplay events. For example, top giant killers after 2 or 3 quickplay rounds can transfer to the simul or do I run all play all mini-sections in the morning with the winners playing GM Motwani and the rest joining together somehow in the afternoon for a further few games?

Suggestions on a postcard please.

[David G Congalton]

The visit of GM Motwani has been arranged as an appetiser for the Prestwick 2013 congress and also to celebrate the 39th season of Greenwood Chess Club and hopefully, as the 39th season draws to a close, to act as a taster for hopefully a few events celebrating Greenwood’s 40th season in existence.

Paul will be giving a simultaneous display to the current crop of Greenwood junior players on the Friday, May 10th at Greenwood Academy. The first push of a pawn is scheduled for around 3.30pm.

On the Saturday an exciting, extravaganza of chess will take place at the Parskstone Hotel in Prestwick. It would be fantastic to see Greenwood players past and present, as well as chess players from throughout Scotland, taking part in the Saturday events and joining us for an evening meal once the dust has settled on the chess boards.

The meal will be an informal occasion, hopefully with some tall tales and stories of adventures at home and abroad. I know a good few of the present team can spin a yarn or two.

The three course meal will be £17.50 per person including coffee.

For those who may want to stay at the Parkstone, special accommodation rates have been arranged - Single Room - £54.00 bed and breakfast per person per night, Double/Twin Room - £74.00 bed and breakfast per couple per night. For those who might want to turn it into a long weekend, booking a third night the rate would reduce the rates to £52.00 and £72.00.

The day’s proceedings will kick off at 10am with junior and adult quickplay events. The time control will probably be the minimum permitted for allegro grading, in order to cram everything in.

In the afternoon, Paul Motwani will give a simultaneous display and 15 lucky (or unlucky) players will have their chance to pit their chess wits against Scotland’s first Grandmaster. Pawn push for this will be around 12.30pm. The simul will run alongside the quickplay afternoon rounds so will make for some interesting organisation.

Around 3.30pm a hopefully not to exhausted Grand Master will give one of his entertaining talks and maybe even go through a game or two of those in attendance. Anyone, desperate to have a particularly precious game they are proud of analysed by GM Motwani can e-mail the game to me and I’ll pass it on for consideration. Paul promises lots of small prizes during the talk which should last around two hours and will be followed by the evening meal.

Entry to the quickplay tournament will be around £16 for adults and will include the GrandMaster talk. Junior prices will be confirmed shortly and will also include the talk. Spaces for the allegro events will be limited so you may want to get your entries in early.

For those not wanting to play in the quickplay event but who would still like to attend the talk, to which everyone is welcome, there will be a small charge of £5.

For those desperate to have a chance of playing in the simul., you can make a bid for a place just now by e-mailing me your bid. My e-mail address appears on the coach list of the Chess Scotland website.