Budapest!

**Michael Yip** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 05:29 PM

Re: Budapest!

Hi Larry

Umm well I live in Budapest so I will be happy to take you around a bit.:) Send me an email and I can give you my address etc. Will you want to play in a tournament?

Mike

**Larry Bevand** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 05:33 PM

Re: Budapest!

Originally posted by Michael Yip View Post

Hi Larry

Umm well I live in Budapest so I will be happy to take you around a bit.:) Send me an email and I can give you my address etc. Will you want to play in a tournament?

Mike

Hi Mike,

I wasn't sure you were still there...you get around a lot :). I get in on Sept. 13...the rest of the trip is open ended...I will send you an e-mail...and we can chat! What is the chess scene like there?

THANKS!

Larry

**Michael Yip** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 06:12 PM

Re: Budapest!

There's lot's of little 7-round weekend FIDE quickplays. There's a RR I play in Sept 14-30 very reasonable cost. You'll arrive too late for the Sept First Saturday...but I don't recommend this outfit. Their primary purpose for existing is to find gullible tourists and gouge the **** out of them.

FS charged me C$245(47,000) to play in a RR as a 2000 player when hungarian player price was $62(12,000HUF) for my opponents in the same tournament! Now that's gouging. Also FS has no prizes...and other RRs are half price usually with modest prizes.

I just finished warning off a German player about them yesterday.

Mike

**Larry Bevand** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 06:20 PM

Re: Budapest!

Originally posted by Michael Yip View Post

There's lot's of little 7-round weekend FIDE quickplays.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Care to enlighten us on how these work?

Thanks,

Larry

**Marcus Wilker** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 06:21 PM

Re: Budapest!

Originally posted by Larry Bevand View Post

I will be in Europe next month and Budapest will be part of my travels. I know there are a number of Chesstalkers who have been there. Could you inform me what to see and do...chesswise mainly although I think I can handle the rest fairly well :). This will be my chess discovery destination...the rest of the trip will not be work related in any way...and no this will not be a company expense for the cynics out there LOL

I don't have specific advice, but I remember my dad went to Budapest for a math conference when I was young (in the early 80s), and he said there was lots of casual chess all over the place: he showed me pictures when he came back of men playing chess in an outdoor pool or hot tub that had "tables" built into it.

He also brought me back (as a gift from Budapest) my first chess clock, but I wasn't into competitive chess yet, so I didn't know what it was, and I was just jealous of my brother and sister who had gotten big stuffed animals instead - lol.

**Larry Bevand** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 06:28 PM

Re: Budapest!

Originally posted by Marcus Wilker View Post

I don't have specific advice, but I remember my dad went to Budapest for a math conference when I was young (in the early 80s), and he said there was lots of casual chess all over the place: he showed me pictures when he came back of men playing chess in an outdoor pool or hot tub that had "tables" built into it.

He also brought me back (as a gift from Budapest) my first chess clock, but I wasn't into competitive chess yet, so I didn't know what it was, and I was just jealous of my brother and sister who had gotten big stuffed animals instead - lol.

Thanks for your contribution Marcus...do you have a preference in the stuffed animal department :) Actually...I am happy that you are contributing to this board in many ways...

THANKS...YOU ARE VERY WELCOME HERE!

Larry

**Michael Yip** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 06:30 PM

Re: Budapest!

Usually one a month, 90 mins per game and FIDE rated. 1-3-3 format Fri-sat-sunday. It took me a few to get used to the tempo and gruelling nature of the tournaments. Even though its only 3 days its so tiring. I'm just not as young as I used to be:)

Usually 40-50 players, under <2200 and 40-50% juniors. And you don't have to join the Hungarian Chess Federation!

None this month as there is the Budapest Open which I am playing in.

Mike

**Michael Yip** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 06:36 PM

Re: Budapest!

There's no chess shops here!

They're supposed to be but I have not found anything resembling a real shop. The best I've seen is the office of the Hungarian chess magazine where the editor is selling off his private collection and there's a set of informants, a few Hungarian chess books and some software.

The best they do here is a guy from Kecskemet comes to FS tournaments with a couple of travel bags of books to sell at whatever price you can haggle over. It's really unimpressive.

I'd get ready to be dissapointed if I were you. I was. I order all my books from New in Chess or Quality Chess.

Mike

**Larry Bevand** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 06:51 PM

Re: Budapest!

Originally posted by Michael Yip View Post

There's no chess shops here!

They're supposed to be but I have not found anything resembling a real shop. The best I've seen is the office of the Hungarian chess magazine where the editor is selling off his private collection and there's a set of informants, a few Hungarian chess books and some software.

The best they do here is a guy from Kecskemet comes to FS tournaments with a couple of travel bags of books to sell at whatever price you can haggle over. It's really unimpressive.

I'd get ready to be dissapointed if I were you. I was. I order all my books from New in Chess or Quality Chess.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Obviously I would prefer you buy from us...but I do understand. Often we were not reponsive enough and your suppliers are closer to home.

Our only supplier in Hungary is Caissa...have you seen them...or heard of them? Quebec master Daniel Rousseau met with them when he was there...and they had nice things to say about us :).

Obviously I will be sending an e-mail to the very friendly and supportive lady.. Susan Polgar before I leave :)

You have been a great supporter of the CMA over the years...and I truly appreciate that...and yes...we will connect when I am in Budapest.

Looking forward to it!

Larry

**Michael Yip** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 07:04 PM

Re: Budapest!

The Caissa guy is the travelling salesman from Keckskemet :)

Mike

**Larry Bevand** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 07:14 PM

Re: Budapest!

Originally posted by Michael Yip View Post

The Caissa guy is the travelling salesman from Keckskemet :)

Mike

Thanks...you confirmed my feelings LOL...a true traveller :)

**Marcus Wilker** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 08:21 PM

Re: Budapest!

Originally posted by Larry Bevand View Post

Thanks for your contribution Marcus...do you have a preference in the stuffed animal department :) Actually...I am happy that you are contributing to this board in many ways...

THANKS...YOU ARE VERY WELCOME HERE!

Larry

My sister got an alligator stuffy I was especially jealous of, but no, I'm not so into the stuffed animal department any more :)

Thanks again, Larry, for your welcome. It's a relief to contribute on a more innocuous thread

Have fun in Budapest!

**Jonathan Berry** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 11:04 PM

Re: Budapest!

Larry,

Erika and I visited Hungary in 2004, though we spent only one day in Budapest itself. The language is a challenge, and I was travelling with a native speaker! It was useful to learn the numbers (e.g., to know the money--still Forints not Euros) and how to tell time. Chess wasn't the point of the journey, but we did drop in on an international tournament at Miskolc (Portisch was playing; we spoke with Zsuzsa Veroci, the arbiter); we failed to make contact with the national league team in Nyiregyhaza; I did eventually find a FIDE-rated event in Szombathely. It was supposed to be in a swank hotel, but in fact ... it was in a rec centre with loud sports going on close at hand. Shoes squeaking and balls banging off the walls. The players, several of whom were from neighbouring countries, took it with amazing equanimity.

The trains were good and cheap.

Outside of Budapest, there was a tendency for Hungarians to be reserved, unless they were relatives, when they became protective.

In Budapest--well, I know how much you hate old churches, monuments and museums. There's a lot to hate in that regard. But it is one of the great cities of the world, so you should find a lot to your liking too. Your English will go further in Budapest than elsewhere in Hungary, where German tends to be the main foreign language spoken. Don't expect to use French, but you never know ... in the Outback (Ihlara, to be precise) of Turkey, an old guy spoke to me in better French than I was able to answer him with. He was excited to be speaking French, after heaven knows how many decades. Now that I think of it, there were lots of ethnic Vietnamese (who, in the words of one Hungarian ex-pat "speak better Hungarian than I do") in Budapest, but they might also speak French.

We were there in March. When we started, there was snow on the ground in Western Hungary. But my biggest complaint was that it was too hot, overheated, in trains and in hotel rooms. YMMV. Second biggest complaint was loud Europop music in restaurants, but we quickly learned to avoid those restaurants, thank goodness.

**Zeljko Kitich** · Thursday, 25th August, 2011, 11:23 PM

Re: Budapest!

Just remember, it's two cities Buda and Pest; Hungarians love it if you know that.

Budapest!

Budapest!

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment