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Another Olympiad Failure

  • 21-12-2014 10:22pm
    #1
    brilliantboy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 444 ✭✭


    I'm talking of course about the recently finished U-16 World Youth Olympiad
    Failure is far too strong a word of course, I just thought I'd throw some clickbait into the thread title ;)

    The team performed admirably enough with 4/5 of the players outperforming their rating and picking up a few nice results along the way, and I'm sure they all enjoyed the experience. It has been hinted in other quarters that they weren't afforded the best preparation they could have been before departing, but not knowing the facts I'll withhold from speculating.

    In any case, the final ranking after 10 rounds shows Ireland ahead of only Iraq and Hong Kong. And not forgetting that some of the strongest chess nations weren't even represented. http://chess-results.com/tnr153962.aspx
    It's a bold underlining of our standing in the world of chess. One to add to the relatively lacklustre performance at Tromso in the summer, and many others in the past.
    In fact, you have to go back to 2004 for the last time Ireland outperformed their seeding at an Olympiad, with a strong team of Alex Baburin, Brian Kelly, Mark Quinn, Sam Collins, Gavin Wall and Joe Ryan.

    It makes one wonder if that standing is on shakier foundations than we suspect. In this modern age, when information is plentiful and cheap, with a little organization and drive even the minnows that we currently tower over, the Hong Kongs and the Sudans for example, could stride past us before we know it.


Comments

  • #2
    cdeb
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 7,263 Mod ✭✭✭✭cdeb


    brilliantboy wrote: »
    In any case, the final ranking after 10 rounds shows Ireland ahead of only Iraq and Hong Kong. And not forgetting that some of the strongest chess nations weren't even represented. http://chess-results.com/tnr153962.aspx
    A lot more of the weaker nations weren't represented in fairness. And I don't know about other teams, but we could have fielded a stronger side (could have added three players to that team).

    Excellent win for Cian against an FM. And we started off strongly and then tailed away rather than the other way around, which is respectable.

    Think it's great to see an u-16 team. The gap in the Glorney from u-14s to U-19s is too big.


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