I am currently working on finding a location where we can play, and hopefully those of you willing to sleep in sleepingbags, sleep.

I have narrowed the time down to either of the following weekends: Fri 21. - Sun 23. July or Fri 28. - Sun 30. July. For me, both these weekends ar OK. I would like to know if any of you who consider participating have any preferences. It is an advantage if we can agree on a date as soon as possible, as it will be neccessary to book very early for those who want cheap flights. For cheap flights to Oslo, check out

http://www.norwegian.no. Choose the british flag in the top area.

OK, no-one seems to have any objections to the date. Then we settle for this weekend. I welcome suggestions as to what kind or kinds of tournaments we should have (that is, game times, number of games in a tournament, one large or two/three smaller tournaments etc).

“This weekend” means fri 21. to sun 23. Sorry about that! :-)

2 or 3 small tournaments - like in Wroclaw :) 13x13 10min, and there should be a cups as a prizes for winners ;) … what about places to sleep ?!

Places to sleep: Those not willing to sleep in sleeping bags, must find a hotel nearby (or ask me to find one for them). As for the others, plan A is to find a place to play where we also can sleep, plan B is that you can sleep at my place and at the other participants living in Oslo (you'll still need to sleep in sleepingbags on the floor, as I only have two beds (not counting the baby-bed)). Ellen and Jenny will evacuate for the weekend, so no need to worry about them.

What would be the prices for a hotel at Oslo at that period (room for two persons), Marius?

I'll check that and get back to you, Yper. I'd expect it will be hard to get below NOK 600 for a double room, though.

However, a new possibility has presented itself: I could rent a large cottage in the woods with enough beds for everyone, where we can all play, eat and sleep. It'll only be around NOK 40 per person per night, it seems (I'll check this to be sure). It's a great place out in the woods. The only drawback is for those who would like to go “down town” at night, as it will be a bit of walking from the cottage to the nearest subway (I think about 45 mins). However, those who can afford “City Life” in Oslo at night, probably also can afford hotel prices :-)

I think this sounds like an ideal solution, but would like to hear the views of the rest of you who plan to participate.

First of all … we should ask who will come ?! :) My question : Who is planning to go do Oslo from Poland ?!

Yper: I've checked, and it seems like it's possible to get a double room in a hotel in Oslo for just below 500 NOK. That's low standard, though, and you probably want to add another 100 or so to get something a bit better.

I agree with Przemek: Who wants to come? I understand that you want to know what you are going to and what it'll cost before you decide, but I've given you a pretty good estimate, I think. We'll play friday evening and most of saturday and sunday. If we go for the cottage solution, it'll cost everyone around 40-50 NOK per night (I think we have to rent at least fri-mon, that is, 3 nights). Here we can make our own food, which will be the cheapest solution, and also (hopefully) rather tasty (I kinda like cooking, although I'm not used to for so many). Airfares Warshaw-Oslo-Warshaw is 800 NOK for those who order soon (at least very early). 1€ = around 8 NOK.

So, who wants to come to the 2nd international Hex Tournament?

sign me in ;)

In my case, it's hard to say, I really want to be there, but as always there's money problem, so it depends if I could earn enough before this weekend. There're two possibilities, first that I'll be in Sweden during holiday so then I can say that I'll be in Oslo for sure (cause I'll work in Sweden so I'll have enough money), The second possibility is that I won't work in Sweden so then pray with me to my parents for money:) Anyway now it's 50% that I'll be there. I can sleep everywhere so fo me it's not problem, I can even take tent. Just wanna know as soon as possible, how much money I will need in Oslo (for tournament and for food and other things).

I'll get these details as soon as possible, Passenger.

I've heard from some of the Norwegians that the proposed date might not be fine with them. There is a chess tournament going that weekend, and another person is probably away on vacation. So I wonder if any of you has bought air fare yet? Otherwise, hold your horses for a few days until we finally can agree on a date. August 11. - 13. has been mentioned. How does this suit you? Is this still within the Polish vacation period?

August no ! I'm in US :( … maybe earlier ?!

August would probably be better for me, but I can't say for sure which is better; it depends on when my gf gets vacation.

My current situation is similar to passenger's. Yet the worst thing is that I probably won't be able to state whether I would come or not until June.

Of course, at this moment. If something will change you will be noticed.

As I counted it seems that time-problem is growing bigger than money-problem. The middle of holidays doesn't sound bad, though. It has it's advantages and disadvantages - like everything.

The sooner we agree on a date, the better. It will help finding cheaper tickets to and from Oslo and arranging schedules for everyone. I have no problem with any date from 1st July to 31st August.

Maybe earlier ?! May ?! June ?! :(

OK, we have to settle for a date. Having checked with some of you, I think that Friday August 11th to Sunday August 13th is the best period. So we settle for that one. Everyone has had their chance to comment on the date, so I say this one is final. Przemek, you seem to be the only one with problems this weekend. I still hope you'll make it!

Now that we have a date, let's settle for other issues - like who is gonna come. I'll make a new post for people to “sign in”. Some of you have already told me that you plan to come (if economy etc allows), so I'll start that thread by a list of people who think they will come. If you're on this list, and you're not planning to come, please let me know. This is by no means binding, ofcourse. I just hope as many as possible of you can come. I hope we'll be more than in Wroclaw (13). I doubt we'll be more than 20.

Just a reminder for those who want to participate: Remember to book air tickets soon, as the prices for August soon will rise! Warshaw - Oslo - Warshaw is still cheap, but probably not for long. From Krakow, the prices have already started to go up. From other destinations, like Greece and Switzerland, I have not checked the prizes, but they are probably going to rise soon, too.

As described above, we will be playing from friday to sunday. I suggest we play from around 10:00 until around 17:00, which will leave time in the evening for those who wants to have a look around. I plan to serve lunch, and to give an option for dinner for those who don't want to go eat out.

As for places to sleep, those willing to sleep in sleeping bags on the floor can do so at my place or with Jan Arild. Others must find a hotel or similar on the net - ask me for advice about locations.

I'm looking forward to this event, and hope many of you will come!

there is no way … I'm on a students-change program in Brazil NO WAY :( …

The tournement is still going to happen, in case anyone had any doubts. If anyone wants to discuss any details, or tell me when you arrive and where you are going to stay (more specifically: If you'd like to stay with me or Jan Arild, or if you're staying somewhere else), I can be reached on emails:

halsor(at)online.no - home

marius.halsor(at)ffi.no - work

or phone:

+47 47 35 91 92 (cell phone)

I still hope we can match the number from Wroclaw (13 players), but I'm getting doubts. I'm still sure it's gonna be fun, though! I've booked a place, Jory brings boards and pieces, and Henrik brings Chess Clocks. Also, as stated earlier, it's possible to sleep for free at my or Jan Arilds place, if you bring your sleeping bag and are willing to sleep on the floor. So, it's just to order your flight as soon as possible! :-)

I'll bring my sleeping bag :)

If anybody wants to stay (for free) at my place, I have extra beds for at least three people. Just let me know some time in advance. There is no need to bring sleeping bags, either.

My e-mail adress is in my profile and my cell phone is: + 47 9514 3797. Feel free to call or send me SMS to discuss any arrangements.

I too have a few extra beds, and can probably borrow a few matrasses. So far, I'm not sure exactly who will come, but I think we probably have enough beds so that those travelling by airplan don't have to bring sleeping bags. When everyone who'll join tells me if they'll stay with me/Jan Arild or prefers a hotel, we can make final arrangements and tell who needs to bring sleeping bags and who don't.

Oh, and does everyone think it's a nice adea to make dinner ourselves and eat together? If so, I will soon start planning this. Or do you prefer to eat out?

Looking forward to this event!

Marius

OK. It's 4 days from now. I suppose those who will come, have made up their minds by now. Can you inform us Marius, of who and how many there will be? I'll arrive in Oslo at about 7 in the afternoon, local time. :)

at Thursday, 10th of August.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

If you give me a more precise time, Yper, I may be able to pick you up at the airport. Or better yet, call me on my cell phone (+47 47 35 91 92) and we can make arrangement for meeting.

As for who will be coming: It's very sad, but it seems to me we'll be very few participants. I have only 8 names, although we might be one or two more. Anyway, I'm sure those who participate will have a great time!

As I have understood it, the following will participate:

Marius Halsør

Jan Arild Teland

Henrik Sjøl

Frode Lillevold

Taral

Ypercube

Alan Turing

Jory

I have a few “maybes” left on my list, but since I haven't heard from them yet, I'm assuming they won't come. If anyone wants to participate who are not on this list, please let me know!

Although I had hoped we'd be more players, I certainly look forward to this event! See you all soon!

Sorry to all but I can't come finally. Something unexpected came up and had to cancel the tickets and trip. It's so sad.

so only scandinavian will be there :( … if you could make it a month earlier

I would have, Przemek, but unfortunately that didn't fit with Jan Arild. Also, several others gave me the impression that August was better than July (none of them are coming now anyway, though). I guess this has been a failure, but hope we who play will still have fun, although I'm disappointed that we're so few - when I started planning this, I was hoping for 15-20 players, and we end up with 7. Hopefully, others will be more successful in arranging a similar event some other time.

The tournament has started, and we're currently playing the third round (we're seven, so I stand this one out). It's nice to get together and discuss Hex, and, as it would have it, other games too. The only thing lacking is, of course more players! However, the advantage of beeing so few, is that we easily can both eat and play at my place.

Status reports will come after we finish for the evening. We're playing league system, all players face all other players twice. We have 20 mins pr player pr game.

We have now finished the first day of The 2nd International Hex Tournament, and I can tell you that it has been great fun and very exciting so far!

The bookmaker favourite Frode Lillevold suffered a surprise defeat by Marius already in the first game. Marius seems to have hit top form just in right time for the tournament (or maybe home advantage has played a part :-) ).

Anyway, Marius went on to win four consecutive games, before going down on time to Jory in a very close game. This means that with everybody having played six games, both Marius and Frode have 5 wins each. Jory follows close behind with four wins and is still in with a chance in case neither Frode nor Marius has the stamina to last the distance to tomorrow. Jan Arild and Taral have three wins each, Henrik has one victory while Alan Turing will be hoping to bounce back and win his first game tomorrow.

Below are some pictures I took with my mobile phone tonight. Henrik also took some pictures with his digital camera and might post them later.

Dinner courtesy of gourmet chef Marius. From the left: Jory, Taral, Marius, Frode and Henrik

Frode, Marius (covered), Jory (covered), Alan Turing, Taral and Henrik

Taral, Henrik, Frode, Marius and Jory (only hair visible)

Frode, Alan Turing, Taral and Henrik

Jory, Frode, Taral and Marius

So, I'm sure you all wish you were here!

Will we see game scores? I'm interested in the games- probably everyone is. Looks like you are having fun!

Here are the results from the tournament:

Marius HalsørTaralFrode LillevoldJoryJan Arild TelandHenrik SjølAlan TuringTotal ScoreMarius Halsør12122210Taral1111228Frode Lillevold0121228Jory1101227Jan Arild Teland0111227Henrik Sjøl0000011Alan Turing0000011

Alan Turing will later post some of the actual games. Unfortunately, only a small number of games were recorded, but we'll show you what we got.

I think we all had a nice time, yet I hope there will be more players for next years event. Who will arrange that one? Any volunteers? ;-)

I can do it when I´ll be back in Poland … I mean July/August ;)

www.torun.com.pl

Congratulations to Marius, World Hex Champion for 2006!

Hello to you all!

I have just got home from holiday job. I was working for german moving company and have visited many countries around europe. I've been in Norway!!! but haven't got opportunity to reach Oslo or whatsoever.

I'm very happy that you guys had a great time during tourney! I'm sure everything was perfect, friendly and peaceful (pacefull too :) ).

Congratulations to Marius for winning this event!

Congratulations to all the participants for making it happen!

And of course, I wish I was there…

how 'bout I book a ticket to Third Hex Tournament ASAP the place will be known?

ps.

Nice to see you again!

now… let's get back to some hex games…