Experiences of the Olympiad so far

We’re now halfway through the Olympiad, so we thought we’d find out some of the participants’ impressions of the tournament and Tromsø so far.

Mini-interviews and photos by Daniel Skog, COT 2014 volunteer

The questions were as follows:

1. What do you think about the Chess Olympiad so far?
2. What has made the biggest impression on you during your stay in Tromsø?
3. What are your expectations for the last week of the Olympiad?

We asked five visitors to Tromsø: 

Wendell Meusa (coach of Guyana):

1. It’s been a wonderful time so far!
2. Norway itself, the beautiful nature and the nice people we meet here have made the greatest impression.
3. I expect the matches will be tougher. Everyone wants to reach out for the gold medals.

George Kweku Arka-Dadzie (captain, Ghana)

1. The rhythm has been found, and I’ve noticed that there are more teams in the women’s section than there tend to be.
2. I’m surprised about how clean Tromsø is. It’s different from where I come from. I’m not used to daylight around the clock either.
3. I hope that the last week of the tournament will be fair and free from political divides.

Harold Wanyama (player, Uganda)

1. I think the Chess Olympiad has been interesting, and that we have been served lots of good food.
2. I think the organisation of the Olympiad is brilliant, and that the city is much different from my home in Uganda.
3. We will try to win our group!

Stephen Ssemmango Kisuze (match arbiter, Uganda)

1. It has been a really great Olympiad so far, and a good experience to play in Norway.
2. My first impression was that it doesn’t become dark in the evening. 24 hours of daylight is fascinating!
3. I expect that the teams will be stronger, and that they will all go for gold. Of course I hope that the team from Uganda will win some games.

Patrick Kawuma (player, Uganda)

1. I’m very happy with both the organisation of the Olympiad and my accommodation.
2. I like that where we're staying is close to the sea so we have a great view.
3. Of course we hope to win in our playing category. My team also wishes to take a tour around town.

See also:

• All news and interviews from 2014 Chess Olympiad
• Live games and results