Friends in the World of Chess (and some others):

Heil Dubya!

I have received an email communication from Lyon Travel, the agency to which I referred in earlier messages concerning the World Amateur Chess Championship . Incorporating all the information from Lyon Travel, I now send you, to my knowledge, the last (and final?) word on the World Amateur Chess Championship:

I am pleased and proud to announced that I have been named Chief Arbiter of the World Amateur Chess Championship, to be held in Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA, from 1 through 9 July. Players with no FIDE rating or with FIDE ratings lower than 2000 may want to play in this tournament. Information concerning the tournament may be found at the following website:

I visited South Africa, as Secretary of the FIDE Commission on South Africa, in January 1992, and found the Cape Town physical environment -- except for how it had been affected by apartheid -- positively delightful. Ten years after liberation, I have been told, the environs of Cape Town make an ideal vacation site.

The hostel at which players will be housed is on the campus of the University of Cape Town, which is the venue of the tournament. The rate seems most reasonable to me: R160 (about U. S. $23 and Canada $32), including a FULL breakfast, daily, per person.

I have been in touch with Lyon Travel -- which does much work for Elderhostel -- concerning the possibility of getting a reduced rate for air fare from New York City to Cape Town. Following is extracted from email responses of that agency:

" ... it is not necessary to put together a 'group' for the purpose of securing ... special South African Airways fares. We are able to accommodate individual departure cities and individual dates based on availability.

"The midweek (Monday - Thursday) fare from New York is $1540, to which must be added taxes of $115 for a total of $1655. For flights on Friday-Sunday there is a surcharge of $50 per direction. Tickets must be issued at time of booking and charged to a credit card. After ticketing, cancellation results in a penalty of $200 - $250, if 14 days or less prior to departure.

"Very reasonable add on rates are available from most U.S. cities. (I have checked with the travel agency and this last paragraph DOES NOT apply to Canada, the rest of North America or the Caribbean. One would have to get to a U. S. city to take advantage of the "Very reasonable add on rates ... ")

"... Your program is identified here as 8 2 5 2-----

"Your contacts should email us at travelinfo@lyontravel.com citing legal passport names, preferred travel dates, and preferred U.S. departure cities and most importantly program 8 2 5 2. Or, they may call us at 800 480 0519 to discuss travel options - again referencing program 8 2 5 2."

I plan to leave New York on 24 June and to return on 15 July.

Many of the addresses of this message have FIDE ratings higher (some considerably higher) than 2000. My reason for sending them the message is the hope that they will reommend the tournament to their students. Those interested should send me email or call me on my new wireless telephone (914-329-2591). This request goes also for persons who do not plan to come, but who may wish to suggest helpful ways to promote attendance by chess players and their families.

If you do come, I expect you to be my guest for dinner at least once. I give you fair warning that I shall be accompanied by one to four granchildren (aged 13 to 19 years), none of whom is interested in chess, beyond "grandpa's" association with it. Dammittohell!