Ireland at the 41st World Chess Olympiad Tromsø 2014

Sparks

cdeb wrote: »

Are they searched on the way in?

Yup. Susan Polger's got some nice photos up including ones showing the entry security:

L1m1tless

As expected, the result has changed to a draw for Heidenfeld now.

cdeb

Bloody hell on the security!

3.5 is a good win; maybe the first time we've exceeded the expected score?

Touch wood now we get a top 40 team or better next round.

How's the women's team doing?

Sparks

cdeb wrote: »

Bloody hell on the security!

Welcome to zero tolerance anti-cheating rules. Last time I saw that much security it was for the Olympic shooting in the UK (at which point most of the pistols being used were illegal to own in the UK so everything was over the top).

EnPassant

The open team are playing Scotland tomorrow who are close to Ireland in strength:-
1 GM McNab Colin A 2441
2 IM Greet Andrew N 2431
3 GM Shaw John 2419
4 FM Tate Alan 2347
5 IM McKay Roderick M 2349

The women play Qatar who only have 4 players, all lower-rated than Ireland.

There are day by day reports from the team captains on the ICU site:
http://www.icu.ie/articles/455 (Open)
http://www.icu.ie/articles/456 (Women)
Currently they are up to round 5.

The Chess Results site is very good: Carlsen is 5th in terms of rating performance so far: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr140380.aspx?lan=1&art=5&fed=GUY&flag=30&wi=821

cdeb

Interesting draw for us; very winnable (as indeed it is for Scotland of course). But if either of us win, we'll be up to five wins from seven games. Could be some very good teams on ten. The loser of Armenia v Hungary, for example. Norway and Germany if they draw. The loser of Bulgaria v Holland.

Could be a tasty tie for us yet!

checknraise

Daly is not playing again. I wonder is it getting personal!?

Sparks

checknraise wrote: »

Daly is not playing again. I wonder is it getting personal!?

For the lowest ranked player not to play in a challenging match in favour of a better player? You'd need a monumental ego to think that personal when playing in the Irish team. The only I in team being in the a-hole and all that.

checknraise

Having played both Mark is certainly not a better player then Colm. He might be higher rated but that is more due to playing very little and being slightly more consistent.

I can guarantee you if anybody was in Colm's position they would be extremely annoyed having 2.5 out of 3 (all with black) and not looking likely you were going to get a look in.

Sparks

checknraise wrote: »

Having played both Mark is certainly not a better player then Colm. He might be higher rated but that is more due to playing very little and being slightly more consistent.

I can guarantee you if anybody was in Colm's position they would be extremely annoyed having 2.5 out of 3 (all with black) and not looking likely you were going to get a look in.

So he's higher ranked and more consistent and there's an important game and you think you shouldn't pick him? That'd be a good reason to be irked.

As to Colm 's position, well, he's just played three games for his country in a big event despite slandering his team captain, the women's team captain, the arbiters at the Olympiad and half the remaining ICU committee for the last year, and he was banned from Irish Chess for several years in the recent past for doing the same thing to his current teammates so it's not like he doesn't know that kind of thing isn't on. Frankly, there's no real grounds for him to be complaining at all, if anything he's been extremely fortunate - most sports would have banned him for life years ago with a record like that rather than give him a chance to represent his country internationally.

macelligott

While I can understand why Colm Daly is not playing today, it is harder to explain why he wasn't playing yesterday against a weak Andorra. One of the higher rated players could have been rested in that match. Andorra had: 2523, 2222, 2176, 2117 and should have been beatable whatever team we fielded.

Zugszwang

This team selection discussion is getting a bit silly (Colm's past behaviour etc.). Many Olympiad captains take the view that there's 4 on the team plus one or two subs. If the A-team are keen and ready to play, they play. On when one or more of them want a rest, they're rested. Subs aren't 'rested' as such, that's just their normal position.

How many people have told their league captain that they can play a match only to be told they're being rested and a sub played instead? It doesn't happen.

I agree it's a rotten feeling for Colm; they only thing I'd say is that the captain (or the ICU) should really make their policy on team selection clear to the players before the event, preferably before they decide to play in it.

brianhere

I agree with Macelligot anyway that yesterday might have been a good day to rest Sam, who has played all games, and play Colm. But certainly I think Colm should get some more games because 2 1/2 out of 3 is a good record and he is also vastly experienced etc. Apparently he only drew that game because of confusion over time as well.

mikhail

Zugszwang wrote: »

...they only thing I'd say is that the captain (or the ICU) should really make their policy on team selection clear to the players before the event, preferably before they decide to play in it.

Very likely this has already been done. Is Colm actually unhappy about not playing, or is it just idle speculation here?

brianhere

Its just speculation, I am sure Colm understands ok. But just on the question of subs yes sure some captains would look upon it that way, that Colm is just the sub, but bear in mind that he is not significantly lower rated than most of the team. And while all the team have been Irish champions Colm has been so for 6 years out of the last 17. That matters I think because its a bit analogous to this tournament with a game a day for 10 days or so and shows his experience.

Sparks

mikhail wrote: »

Very likely this has already been done. Is Colm actually unhappy about not playing, or is it just idle speculation here?

He's making noises about it on his blog at the moment ("Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die", not only butchering Tennyson but forgetting the preceding line as well...)

Sparks

Meanwhile, today's games are up here...

brianhere

Anyway all the games look about even but Alex Lopez is sacrificing everything on a push on the opponent's kingside having signed up to the castling for wimps brigade himself. Maybe it will work but meantime he has opened his own kingside up a bit.

cdeb

Saric v Lupescu is interesting in the Serbia v Romania game. 17 moves into a Caro-Kann advance, and white has sacced three pawns already. Computer calling it dead level. Could be a fun one, that!

cdeb

Palau v Burundi in the women's section is interesting too; Palau have won 3½-½, though it looks like all games were defaults on the zero tolerance rule. I can only imagine the draw was because neither player was present. The Guardian had a bit about an 11-year-old girl on the Rwandan team being brought to tears because she forfeited a game under this rule in an earlier round.

brianhere

Meanwhile Alex Lopez's game is fascinating. The computer is writing him off almost but he is lining up a pile driver on the kingside and it looks interesting anyway? Presumably given a chance he will go g4.

cdeb

g4 surely locks things up too much?

I'd imagine gh is coming next, when white can't take back because of the pin.

Obviously white gets a move in between.

cdeb

Diana's basically lost. Solid enough elsewhere in that match though.

brianhere

gh? I don't think g4 locked things up? Its wide open now it seems...

brianhere

Its an all or nothing attack anyway I'd say, if white consolidates I don't think Alex will hold on.

cdeb

brianhere wrote: »

gh? I don't think g4 locked things up? Its wide open now it seems...

How's he going to attack with the g and h files permanently closed though? With the major pieces lined up, he needed to open files to attack down rather than close them, which is what he did. Still, computer reckons he's close on lost now.

Edit - actually, computer didn't like that last move. Though in any event, given the computer's previous record, maybe I should try looking at the position myself rather than instinctively trusting to it

Karina is lost too actually; not a great day for the women's team at all against a side seeded below them. Might rescue a 2-2 draw, but that seems the height of ambitions there.

brianhere

I agree totally he needs to keep it open down there but he still has chances here, there is stuff going on?
He has now moved the bishop down I think in order to think of putting his rook on the h file.

brianhere

Shaw is a bit iffy on time, 5 minutes for 17 moves?

cdeb

Incredible blunder in Karina's game - her opponent, at R+4 v R+1, hung her rook! So it's 1-1 there now.

Alex's position is quite interesting alright, and more attack-minded players than me will be able to give better analysis, but I think white has a lot of weak points defended, and it's quite hard for black to find an entry point to be honest. And now his f-pawn is falling too.

Don't forget the 30 second increments. 5 minutes on the clock for 17 moves is actually 13 minutes. Lots of time.

brianhere

True I keep forgetting that, what about if Alex goes king to d7 and gets the other rook going, it could get messy? I dont think white can take that pawn on f just yet...