The chess festival in Tarnowskie Góry again attracted crowds. Classically, a week after Gwarki, the fourth edition of the International Gwarki Rapid was held, which this year attracted almost two hundred players. For two days the Silver City turned into a real chess centre - players from all over Poland came to the tournament, as well as grandmasters from six federations: Sweden, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ukraine, Austria and, of course, Poland.

On the first day, the chessboards belonged to the youngest players. As many as 63 players took part in the tournament for children up to the age of 10 and 14, of whom nearly thirty represented the Tarnogórski TG Mat Chess Club. The atmosphere was reminiscent of a serious sports competition from the first minutes - concentration, silence and emotions painted on the faces of the participants. The club can be proud of its alumni, who successfully represent the colours of Tarnowskie Góry not only in Poland, but also internationally. In the room you could meet Emil Czech - a participant in the European and World Championships, or Emilia Wandor - Polish vice-champion in rapid and lightning chess under seven. The development of these young talents is supervised by coaches Stanisław Żyłka, Mirosław Połap, Kamil Ciupka and Mateusz Lichorad. The tournament was overseen by referees Łukasz Brożek and Mirosław Połap, and everything was overseen by club president Krzysztof Pisarski, who made no secret of his pride, emphasising that attendance is growing year on year and chess is becoming more and more popular. In the under-14 category, the winner was Wojciech Smolinski from Katowice, who admitted after the game with a smile: "It's worth coming here - great atmosphere, cool prizes and a truly royal game". Importantly, the organisers made sure that no child left the room empty-handed - every participant received a prize.

On the second day, the open group joined the competition. Here the excitement was even greater - the youngest participant was just 7 years old, the oldest as many as 77. Punctually at 10 a.m. the competitors were welcomed by the deputy mayor, Jolanta Tuszyńska, who admitted that the tournament grows stronger every year and that it will soon be necessary to look for a bigger hall to accommodate all the volunteers. Nearly 110 players took part in the battle at the chessboards.

It was a real mix of generations - older and younger players played against each other, exchanging experiences. - In the past there were no clubs, people played the way they learned at home," says Antoni from Tychy. Now young people have completely different opportunities and a great level. But we also learn from them," he adds. - The older generation has such plays that sometimes they really surprise us - add the youngsters from TG Matu.

Also on the starting list was Tarnogórzian Flawian Krawczyk - TG Matu alumni and Polish under-14 champion. After the game, he admitted that he was not entirely satisfied with his game, but that was because the level of the tournament was very high. - I like playing at home, in my city, there is a special atmosphere here," he added.

In the end, the winner in the open group was Jakub Pulpan, second place went to Piotr Brzezina and third place to Egor Bogdanov. The best female chess player was Dominika Chmiel, and in the 55+ category Aleksander Masternak was awarded. The prize pool included almost 10,000 zlotys, and the best players received symbolic cheques.

The tournament was a great success - the turnout was record-breaking, with as many as 19 players with international titles playing in Tarnowskie Góry. The club's president answered with a smile when asked if they would prepare as many as 500 boards for next year's fifth edition - coinciding with the city's 500th anniversary: "We're keeping our fingers crossed, but there will definitely be 500 figures, and since it's the fifth edition, we'll try to make it really top-five."

The chess excitement in Tarnowskie Góry is not over yet - there is another tournament in the Rybna Palace on 18-19 October.

We would like to remind you that the Tarnogórski TG Mat Chess Club invites both experienced enthusiasts and people who would like to start their adventure with chess all year round. Details on enrolment and classes can be found on the club's website.