Last year, I was invited by Peter to play in a closed GM tournament group that was held in conjunction with the above event. I have to say the conditions were excellent and the tournament was well organised with virtually no quips. The only problem is that those players who lost their norm chances (regrettably, I was one of them) in the GM group also lost their motivation to fight which resulted in a number of short draws. Having played a number of closed GM tournaments, I can say that this is extremely normal - everyone is human and its not easy to psych yourself up to fight when there's no tangible reward at stake. However, I have to say that this is not very fair to the organisers who have produced nothing but the best environment possible.
This year, the closed tournament appears to have been scrapped and in exchange, an open event with a more than decent prize fund is in the offering. According to www.klchess.com, some prominent names such as GM Sergei Tiviakov and GM Thomas Luther have already signed up and the event should attract enough titled players to promise norm opportunities.
More information on the playing schedule and how to sign up can be found here
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