Summer Open exciting again

On the surface, the traditional Ljubljana Summer Open, held on first Saturday of July, finished without major surprises: it was won by a player with the highest rank in the playing field, Gregor Butala 4d, followed by Andrej Kralj 3d, who was also regarded as one of the favourites. However, Butala’s triumph was not so smooth; after a loss in the final round, he only got the title with a help of superior SOS points. Torsten Bringmann 1d, the star of this year’s Memorial of Lado Omejc, finished third, followed by debutant Tadej Humar 8k, who surprised the competition in his first tournament appearance and proved that he is a force to be reckoned with in the future. Fifth place was taken by Marjan Drobez 2d, who thus failed to win the Summer Open for the third time in a row.

Although some established names were missing this year, the tournament was again exciting until the very end, full of interesting, closely-fought games in a pleasant atmosphere, set by the vivid surrounding of Mostec park.