On Saturday, July 12th, at the facilities of the Club Escacs Pardinyes, located in the Pardinyes neighborhood of Lleida, the Festa dels Escacs Lleidatans (Lleida Chess Festival) took place. It had been several years since this festival of the Lleida territorial was held, and this year, led by delegate Josep Brunet, we wanted to recover this tradition that serves to close the season.
The day began in the morning with the Individual Blitz Chess Championship. The tournament was played using the Swiss system over eleven rounds at a pace of 3 minutes per game and 2 seconds of increment per move. There was very good participation, with fifty athletes from most of the Lleida clubs. The championship was won by MC Israel Camps (Balaguer) undefeated with 10.5 points, well ahead of the other rivals. In second place was Jordi Ferrer (Balaguer) with 8.5 points, and in third place, completing the podium, was Aleix Martí (Vallfogona) with 8 points. The best athlete in the U14 category was Daniel Badia (Flanc de Dama) with 7.5 points, and the best U10 was Jan Llovera (Flanc de Dama) with 5 points.
After the championship, immediately following and in the same Pardinyes club facilities, a brotherhood lunch was held with about thirty attendees. The lunch was catered by Restaurant Dos Plats in Lleida, consisting of two first courses and a dessert chosen in advance, and it was very well received.
Finally, the day ended with the distribution of trophies and awards for the chess season of the Lleida Territorial. Trophies were presented to the League champions, the League top scorers (pitxitxis), and the Lleida Cup winners.
We thank everyone who in one way or another helped make this Lleida Chess Festival possible, especially the people from Club Escacs Pardinyes. Above all, we appreciate the good atmosphere that prevailed at all times during this festive day. Many thanks to all attendees, and see you next season.
Classification and results of the Individual Blitz Championship
