Hnefatafl Demonstration Match at Berlin Chess Gala

Friday, 22nd November 2013

Our friend in Germany, René Gralla, has been lobbying again for more exposure for the game of hnefatafl among chess enthusiasts. His involvement has helped to bring about a tournament at next year's Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway, but we won't have to wait till then to see hnefatafl brought to a chess-loving audience.

The 8th International Ladies' Chess Gala will be held later this month, on 28th November, in Berlin. During the break between the qualification round and the finals, there will be a demonstration match of hnefatafl. Norway's international master Silje Bjerke will play a game against an amateur player.

In an interview in Neues Deutschland (http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/915626.magnus-carlsen-ist-ein-grossartiges-vorbild.html), Bjerke said that she was quite happy to have learned about hnefatafl and the roots of strategic gaming in Scandinavia, and that she was looking forward to playing that game at the Chess Gala.