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Hello everyone! Speaking for myself (Merlin, I hope that's okay? Because judging by the poll in the neighboring thread, my vote seems to be worth nothing): I would gladly participate in the CIS tournament in Korolev, because I have the physical and financial means to participate only in this city out of the ones mentioned. A flight to Volgograd from Minsk is too expensive (I'm saying this as someone who often travels with low-cost airlines in Europe, and I wouldn't be willing to pay that much for a ticket to Volgograd, and neither would my wife), and traveling via Moscow is too complicated. I'm not even talking about the price of the participation itself, which was all described above. And arguing against the advantageous geographical location of Korolev for the majority is pointless.
I tried to understand the numerous posts by Merlin, who so vehemently, to put it mildly, dismissed this city. But something tells me that if this person were interested in the opposite, he would have found another 1000 reasons to consider the application from Korolev as well. However, why he isn't interested is another question. And if the trip to Volgograd wasn't paid for, would he go at his own expense?
Also, it wasn't very pleasant to read Alex's posts (who initially gave the impression of being a very intelligent and reasonable person) at the beginning of this thread, about scamming and the like.
Regarding buying tickets three months in advance, I don't know how it works with flights in Russia (maybe there's a different pattern here), but the cheapest tickets are usually available one and a half to two months in advance, when there are the most offers from various airlines, because not all of them release tickets three months in advance. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Well, in any case, wherever this CIS tournament takes place, I wish the organizers good luck and patience, and more participants! Peace to all!