London Chess Classic 2012 - Day 1. The Piano

"There is a silence where hath been no sound. There is a silence where no sound may be in the cold grave under the deep deep sea."

Today is the day.  Round 1 is upon us.  The plan is Mini concert, pull piano offstage, move tables into position, pray cabling I ran last night holds and play starts.  Simples...

Malcolm thought it was hilarious that a senior Director of Chess Scotland is providing the muscle to move a piano.  Just shows you  :D

That's my pen!

Aronian arrived today without a pen, I gave him mine. Nice bit of product placement, it has a Dell Logo on it.  Wonder what marketing would make of that one...

We have a real touch of glamor this year.  Judit Polgar is playing in the tournament.  I am rooting for her as it is brilliant to see the best female ever playing here.

Behind the scenes we are having our usual day one dramas. The focus has been on providing a link to the guys in the analysis rooms to use for their shows and to keep the servers alive.  There are three severs being used and by all accounts they are currently sitting in a corner whimpering for their lives...

I have come to hate that piano, I am glad it is sitting backstage.  All I need is a chainsaw and I will feel better.  Much much better :D

Some late testing after the end of play tonight to resolve a clock issue and all will hopefully be well in the morning.