{"id":14136,"date":"2025-11-17T08:32:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/?p=14136"},"modified":"2025-11-17T08:34:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:34:12","slug":"meet-laura-garcia-capelo-gonzalez-our-new-event-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/2025\/11\/17\/meet-laura-garcia-capelo-gonzalez-our-new-event-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Laura Garc\u00eda-Capelo Gonz\u00e1lez: Our New Event Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re thrilled to welcome Laura Garc\u00eda-Capelo Gonz\u00e1lez\u00a0to the Norway Chess team as our new Event Manager<\/strong>!<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Originally from Spain, Laura has just moved to Norway and will play a key role in organizing our tournaments and other events \u2014 including the upcoming Total Chess World Championship Tour<\/strong> starting in 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n

We caught up with her for a quick chat about her move, her role, and what she\u2019s most excited about:<\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome to Norway Chess, Laura! How does it feel to have just moved to Norway, and started a new job at the same time?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Very lucky, happy and excited. It feels like everything has happened at the right moment and in a very natural way. Of course, right now I have a thousand things on my mind and a lot to organise, and even though I\u2019m nervous, it\u2019s the good kind of nerves \u2014 the ones that remind you that you\u2019re growing and starting something big. I\u2019m happy, and I truly feel that I\u2019m exactly where I\u2019m meant to be.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Have you picked up any Norwegian words yet?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes! I\u2019m already on level 12 of Duolingo, so you could almost say I\u2019m fluent, haha. I try to learn new words every day and, although they\u2019re not very useful in my daily life yet, it\u2019s something I want to learn as soon as possible to integrate as much as I can. Litt etter litt.<\/em>\u2028<\/em>I know it will take time because it<\/em>\u2019<\/em>s very different from Spanish, but I<\/em>\u2019<\/em>m really motivated; in fact, one of the first things I did on my first free day was go out and buy a <\/em>\u201c<\/em>Learn Norwegian<\/em>\u201d<\/em> book.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What was it about Norway Chess and the new Total Chess Tour that made you want to join the team?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Well\u2026 how could I not want to join? I first discovered Norway Chess four years ago and I instantly fell in love with everything they create and how they create it. Without a doubt, Norway Chess has been the best chess event I\u2019ve ever attended.\u2028It\u2019s not only the grandeur of the event or the level \u2014 which is, of course, incredibly high \u2014 but also the human quality of the people behind it.\u2028They manage to make everyone who attends fall in love with the experience, even people who didn\u2019t have a strong interest in chess before. It\u2019s amazing, truly. They know how to turn a tournament into something unforgettable.\u2028So when I found out they were launching the new Total Chess Tour, I was thrilled \u2014 and even more so when they offered me the chance to be part of this dream. I feel very lucky, and I\u2019m sure that together we will achieve something HUGE (if they haven\u2019t achieved it already!).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What will your role as Event Manager involve?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In short, my job will be to make sure everything goes according to plan. It\u2019s a position where I\u2019ll be travelling a lot, managing countless things and constantly trying to stay ahead of any issues. It will be quite an experience and definitely a great challenge, especially with events taking place in different parts of the world!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be travelling quite a lot with this role \u2014 what do you look forward to most about that?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Everything I\u2019ll grow and learn as a person. Not only visiting new countries, but getting to know their cultures up close, understanding them and working with them. Meeting people and personalities I never imagined. I\u2019m really looking forward to learning and discovering new ways of living.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your dream host city for a future Total Chess Tour event?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

New York. It has an energy that makes everything feel bigger, more alive and full of possibilities. It\u2019s vibrant, iconic and inspiring. And combined with the spirit of Norway Chess, which will certainly be present in the Total Chess Tour, I think we can create an incredible experience for players, partners and the audience as a whole.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Do you play chess yourself?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, but I\u2019m definitely not an expert. Being close to the chess world makes me realise how complex it is and how little I actually know. Learning more is definitely something I want to work on.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And finally \u2014 what do you enjoy doing in your free time?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, so many things! I love drawing, having a warm coffee in a cosy caf\u00e9, enjoying nature, meeting friends, playing board games\u2026 The problem is that I don\u2019t have enough free time to do everything I like. And one thing I definitely need is rest \u2014 I think it\u2019s really important to be able to perform well the next day.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We’re so happy to have Laura join the team and bring her energy, experience, and international perspective to this exciting new chapter. With big things ahead on the global stage, we know we’re in good hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome to the team, Laura!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re thrilled to welcome Laura Garc\u00eda-Capelo Gonz\u00e1lez\u00a0to the Norway Chess team as our new Event Manager! Originally from Spain, Laura has just moved to Norway and will play a key role in organizing our tournaments and other events \u2014 including the upcoming Total Chess World Championship Tour starting in 2027. We caught up with her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":14141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14136"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14138,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14136\/revisions\/14138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwaychess.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}