The power of a ship’s engine is measured in kilowatts, the strength of a chess player in Elo, but as we were about to sail into Lake Ontario on Monday afternoon, a Canadian proudly said that no ship had ever left Toronto that had a higher Elo than this one. Because there are a number of chess grandmasters on board who – as is their nature – want to win, in this case impressions of a planetary event.
It starts around two o’clock, and Nicat Abasov, the man from Azerbaijan, who injured his knee shortly before the most important tournament of his life, had to undergo surgery and has only been able to walk again for two weeks, is the last to limp up. He pushes his left leg forward, pulls his right leg forward, one step after the other, and the red wheel of a metal rail protrudes from his pants, which is supposed to give him support with every movement. Abasov is one of the “candidates”, the eight hopefuls who compete against each other every day in the gaming room in the Great Hall on Queen Street to determine the best over 14 rounds: the challenger to the world chess champion. Today they have the day off, a good opportunity to see something other than the board in front of their heads.
