The Sky of Salamanca

But before starting on her way back home through Eurasia, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) will make her début in the 2nd Chess Festival Eighth Centenary 2019 of Salamanca University (II Festival de Ajedrez VIII Centenario 2019 de la Universidad de Salamanca), to be held in Salamanca, Spain from November 25–30, 2019. Also this year, the 2nd Masters Tournament of Salamanca University will feature four women — 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), Sophie Milliet, Karina Szczepkowska-Cyfka, and Sabrina Vega Gutiérrez — and four men — Eduardo Patricio Iturrizaga Bonelli, Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov, Miguel Santos Ruiz, and Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (who was the winner of the inaugural edition). The format consists of a seven-round round-robin tournament with a time control 40 minutes per player plus 5 seconds per move.

Fernando Gallego, The Sky of Salamanca, 1483-1492, ceiling mural, old library of the University of Salamanca. Photo: portengaround.