The headline at the USCF website reads, “US Senior Open Cruises On.” Below that one finds, “Thirty four players, including six-time US Champ GM Walter Browne will compete for the title of U.S. Senior Open Champion aboard the amazing Allure of the Seas.”
I rest my case. Only thirty four players decided to “ante up” and take a chance on a “three hour tour.”
I have previously written about the US Senior being played aboard a ship. When I mentioned the pitiful turnout to the Legendary Georgia Ironman today he said, “I’ve never been on a cruise and I don’t think I would want to if hit by the rolling thunder.” There is nothing like the prospect of being in time trouble while seasick.
Earlier this summer I noticed this headline, “Massive brawl breaks out on Island Belle,” (http://www.thehour.com/news/nw-police/massive-brawl-breaks-out-on-island-belle-during-summer-cruise/article_669ad4ab-0716-5a23-8c09-2bf24bbb6e6d.html) and wondered if the US Senior Open had put out to sea, so I checked, finding the chess cruise was still months off.
Later I spotted this one, “ROYAL CARIBBEAN Ship Sports Robot Bar.” I was conversing with a gentleman after reading the article who, as it so happens, had just been on a cruise with a robot bartender. He said the thing could make a decent drink but had a problem if a customer wanted something other than what the recipe called for. “I asked the thing for a splash of Tabasco and it turned on me saying, “This ain’t Burger King, bub!” (http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/25/quantum-of-the-seas/)
OK, I admit this is not exactly true… I made up the “bub!” part.
How about this one?
“Cruise passengers call for stricter government oversight of industry.”
By Marianne LeVine
“Angry former cruise ship passengers, including one who said she was raped by a ship employee and a woman who blamed inadequate shipboard medical care for her mother’s death, are calling on lawmakers to impose tighter restrictions on the industry to protect travelers from what they called undisclosed criminal activity.” (http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-cruise-crime-20140724-story.html)
Just the place for a Senior chess tournament, wouldn’t you say?
At the end of the USCF article one finds this: “The Senior Open is sponsored this year by Vegas Chess Festivals and Card Player Cruises. This is the first Senior Chess Cruise in 13 years but we hope to do more in future years.” (http://www.uschess.org/content/view/12800/772/)
I mean, why not, since this one was so successful!
Upon clicking on the link provided by USCF one finds this, written by the man behind such a successful tournament:
“Chess (and Poker) on the High Seas”
by Alan Losoff
“Last Fall my wife and I cruised with Card Player Cruises on the Allure of the Seas. They hosted a first class poker room with tournaments and cash games as well as extra activities for our group. We had a great time. Wouldn’t this be a great venue for a chess tournament! Until 12 years ago the U.S. Senior Open was held on a cruise every other year and I thought it was time to restart that tradition.” (http://www.vegaschessfestival.com/senior2014/)
Only two people have commented on the USCF article, one of whom left this:
by chessmast123 on Tue Sep 16, 2014 4:21 pm
“I was going to play in either this one or the us masters — this year I chose the other tournament for a number of reasons and skipped this one.”
Keep in mind this fellow chose not to play when reading his closing remarks:
“I like the idea of making this national tournament a cruise every other year. It’s more expensive but well worth it.”
Don’t ‘cha just love it?!
Jaime Brockett – Legend of the USS Titanic (FULL)
Lyrics
Armchair Warrior 