Atticus Chess Club accepted the invitation of ‘FS 98’, the Dortmund Chess Club, to visit the German city in the second week of September. Five members of Atticus travelled to Germany:

David James, Nick Wall, Chris Wentworth (who was accompanied by his wife), Martin Blasczyk and John Redmond. Receiving very hospitable treatment from the Dortmund club, the Atticus players took part in a number of events, as well as taking the opportunity to visit nearby sites of cultural interest. On the chess side, there were two notable events: an individual Swiss blitz played over 13 rounds, and a kind of all-play-all match (Scheveningen system) played over 5 rounds. The Atticus players did not perform especially well on either occasion, although, in mitigation, the blitz tournament (which was won by local player, Jens Luetke, with an improbable score of 12/13) took place on the same day that some travelled from England. These events, which took place at different venues, were run with remarkable efficiency by the all-round master-of-ceremonies, FM Pit Schulenberg. In the all-play-all match, there were one or two reasonable performances, but the

Atticus team was soundly beaten 16-9.Detailed results can be found on the site of the Dortmund club. Later, some of the Dortmund players entertained us at an unusual hospitality venue located in the middle of a kind of horticultural commune. This was probably the social highlight of the trip.
One of the local customs which the Atticus players witnessed during the match, was the chance to eat a local delicacy: raw mince with bread (it must be said that most of the Merseysiders were not brave enough to try it.) Various other specialties were tried during the visit, which took in the mines of the Ruhr and the cosy village of Hattingen (complete with curving church-spire and leaning houses). As he guided the Atticus players around the various sites, Martin shared his intimate knowledge of the area and its customs. Dortmund itself proved to be a very friendly city, with some beautiful old churches and a strong sense of identity. While some Atticus members left after the main events, others stayed on for a few days to investigate cities such as Dusseldorf and Cologne.  Overall, it was an excellent experience for the Atticus players, and we hope we will be able to provide an equivalent treatment to the Dortmund players when they visit Liverpool at some point in 2011.