It’s about meeting old acquaintances, socialising and seeing some good games: Iceland captain Margeir Petursson

Margeir Petursson of Iceland is a successful businessman who has played in 11 consecutive Olympiads from 1976-96. At 62 years, he is the captain of the men’s team in the 44th Chennai Olympiad here, and is hoping his team to finish in the top 25.  

“Our chances are to be in the top 20-25. We have a Grandmaster team. But there are so many extremely strong teams. Let’s see,” Patterson told The Hindu here on Tuesday.

Petursson said the food and climate here have been among the biggest challenges for the members of the Iceland team in the capital city of Tamil Nadu. “For us it’s a great challenge because of the temperature. Now in Iceland, it is 14 degrees. We also have problems adjusting to the food. I love Indian cuisine for its great variety. But one of our players fell ill [on the first day]. And I had to step in and play. This is what you can expect when you come from a place like Iceland,” he said.

For Petursson, Olympiads are all about experiencing the city and its people. “It is about meeting old acquaintances, socialising and seeing some good games. That’s my experience,” he said, while adding, “I was hoping to see more of India. I have little feeling about it. Lots of people [in India]. In Iceland we are only around 380,000, just like a village in India. I always wanted to come to India,” said the former National champion.

The situation in his city Lviv (Ukraine) where his business interest lies, is pretty stable but he said it is difficult to witness many war funerals. “The situation is quite stable. I just go to work everyday. It is not threatening. But people are upset. Young people go to fight and we are having many war funerals every day. It is very sad,” he said.