Bray Rapidplay 2013

Sparks · 04-06-2013 7:35pm #1

http://www.icu.ie/events/forms/533.pdf

So who's planning on going?

EnPassant · 04-06-2013 8:45pm

I will probably play but I will leave it to the last minute to enter as usual ...

mikhail · 05-06-2013 3:59pm

I haven't for a few years. Something always seems to come up. It can be fun, providing the weather outside isn't distractingly glorious.

inmyday · 11-06-2013 8:29am

Ill be there.
Saturday this year. Is that better or worse for people? Last year it was a Sunday and it had over a 100 at it.
Great tournament, looking forward to it.

bigtoe7 · 11-06-2013 1:53pm

Bray rapid is run by really nice guys but who are total amateurs in running the competition , last year it was disorganized and having over 100 people with wide range of ratings in one section in a 6 round competition is silly , it should be divided to 3 or at least 2 groups based on ratings . sunday is better for parking than saturday .

Ciaran · 11-06-2013 3:05pm

I only played in it once and it was a few years ago but it went off pretty well from what I remember. There wouldn't have been as many people playing as that though.

inmyday · 11-06-2013 9:53pm

bigtoe7 wrote: »

Bray rapid is run by really nice guys but who are total amateurs in running the competition , last year it was disorganized and having over 100 people with wide range of ratings in one section in a 6 round competition is silly , it should be divided to 3 or at least 2 groups based on ratings . sunday is better for parking than saturday .

I actually think it was run very well.
For example, out of 100 people, in round 1, the top rated player plays the 51st rated player, and the second rated player plays the 52nd player etc...
Then the second round, the players that won their match play another player that won theirs. Then the players than lost play someone who also lost.

So basically the players that keep winning will eventually play eachother. And the players that keep losing will end up playing someone who also keeps losing. I think its a fair way to get an overall winner. And the prize money is good too.

bigtoe7 · 11-06-2013 11:07pm

@inmyday

too many people in one section is not good , early rounds you get crazy wild swings in your opponent strength , you either need more than 6 rounds or more than one section to get fair results, the problem is because bray is handy and people like to go there in summer many turn up and organizers stick with the same bad methods , just like a bad chipper on a busy tourist spot , it never learns.

mikhail · 20-06-2013 6:04pm

Bigtoe, the Bray organisers use an accelerated pairing for the first two rounds, meaning relatively few mismatches take place. Since you seem not to have known this I suspect you've never played in it, making your criticism of the organisers sound suspiciously personal.

The alternative seems to be that you just like a good whinge.

Sparks · 20-06-2013 6:08pm

Hopefully a few of us will go along this weekend and can settle this properly so

checknraise · 20-06-2013 8:56pm

Hmmm I have played in Bray about 5 or 6 times and I have never known they use accelerated pairings....

bigtoe7 · 20-06-2013 10:49pm

@mikhail

i played in last years bray rapid and my opponents ratings swingged wildly for the first 3 rounds , as i said either they need more rounds or divide players into sections to get fair results.organizers last year were very nice but clueless ,they could have the tournament rated like galway rapid next weekend they have not , can you show me what was the result of last years tournament ? only chess tournament in 2012 where no results were published online .i know what i am talking about

Sparks · 21-06-2013 2:30pm

There's a bit of a discrepancy between the website and the entry form (the former says bring your board, pieces and clock, the latter says they'll be provided). Minor niggle though.

What I'm wondering (and those who've played before might know) is whether or not recording your moves in these rapidplay matches is normal enough (or even feasible - the games I've played on that time control seem to say it is, but there's a difference between playing at home and playing away!). I know you don't have to, but I'd like to be able to go over my games afterwards and I'm not lucky enough to have an eidetic memory

checknraise · 21-06-2013 2:33pm

Its quite common and most of the players will do that if they are playing a much higher rated player. You would just have to be careful with the time and stop recording if you are approaching a time scramble.

Ciaran · 21-06-2013 2:52pm

Sparks wrote: »

What I'm wondering (and those who've played before might know) is whether or not recording your moves in these rapidplay matches is normal enough (or even feasible - the games I've played on that time control seem to say it is, but there's a difference between playing at home and playing away!). I know you don't have to, but I'd like to be able to go over my games afterwards and I'm not lucky enough to have an eidetic memory

It's doable but most people didn't bother when I played. Definitely stop at your last 5 minutes at the latest, earlier if you're a bit behind on the clock. If it's distracting from your game, stop.

bigtoe7 · 21-06-2013 3:19pm

no one in their right mind would record moves in a rapid game , it is worse than waste of time instead of using your time to think and try to win , portion of time wasted recording , DO NOT DO IT . look at bray chess club website http://www.braychessclub.com/

no mention of this tournament !,and latest news is feb 2012 simul game, nice but clueless people , my guess will be it will be busy tomorrow , summer weekend , seaside and near Dublin

Sparks · 21-06-2013 3:24pm

checknraise wrote: »

Its quite common and most of the players will do that if they are playing a much higher rated player.

Ciaran wrote: »

It's doable but most people didn't bother when I played.

bigtoe7 wrote: »

no one in their right mind would record moves in a rapid game

Ah, here...

cdeb · 21-06-2013 3:27pm

It's rapid, not blitz. Recording moves in blitz is silly; rapid play (i.e. tomorrow's tournament) is 20 minutes plus increments; there's no harm recording moves at all.

It's not that common though.

Just keep an eye on the clock and don't get into time trouble as a result.

bigtoe7 · 21-06-2013 3:31pm

when i played last year in bray rapid , i only saw one person recording out of over 100 people there , it is better to use the time wasted recording moves to make a quick trip to the loo instead !!. recording moves during rapid game is like entering a 3000 meter run race and bringing a camera with you and stopping every 100 meter to take a photo and restart running again.

mikhail · 21-06-2013 5:51pm

bigtoe7 wrote: »

when i played last year in bray rapid , i only saw one person recording out of over 100 people there , it is better to use the time wasted recording moves to make a quick trip to the loo instead !!. recording moves during rapid game is like entering a 3000 meter run race and bringing a camera with you and stopping every 100 meter to take a photo and restart running again.

My sympathies - writing is really hard for you.

bigtoe7 · 21-06-2013 9:58pm

want to save 10 euro and you have a job ? just tell bray organizers tomorrow you are unemployed and pay 15 euro instead of 25 euro , honesty will cost you more . every one entering should pay the same

TheKeenMachine · 21-06-2013 11:23pm

bigtoe7 wrote: »

want to save 10 euro and you have a job ? just tell bray organizers tomorrow you are unemployed and pay 15 euro instead of 25 euro , honesty will cost you more . every one entering should pay the same

The Bray organisers are making quite a nice gesture in terms of unemployment. No need to take advantage of them for the sake of a tenner.

Sparks · 22-06-2013 2:07pm

Actually, it's not that shabby. 88 entrants by my count and I've not had any absolutely horrible matches so far (I mean, I've been outclassed alright, but not outrageously so).

cdeb · 22-06-2013 6:34pm

Very enjoyable tournament as per usual. The criticisms earlier in the thread didn't stack up at all; tournament ran very smoothly and while there wasn't an accelerated draw, it didn't take away from the tournament at all. In fact, some players got shots at high-ranked players they'd never get a chance at normally.

Sparks · 22-06-2013 6:40pm

And I got my point, so I'm happy

Even if I blundered a mate-in-one in a game I was winning because I tried to be clever :pac: :rolleyes: :pac:

bigtoe7 · 22-06-2013 10:11pm

yes bray rapid was much better than last year and was partly due to lower turn out than last year , last year well over 100 people turned up . as i said organizers are nice friendly people and i bet one of them works in a sardine factory the way players were squashed together.

chickenraise said common for players to write down their moves during rapid , so how many players did do that during the tournament ? i did not even spot one . as regarding venue , 1st time i have been in a hotel with a leaking roof and bucket underneath in the lobby .

Sparks · 22-06-2013 10:23pm

bigtoe7 wrote: »

i did not even spot one

You missed one

(Actually, thinking back, you missed several - my opponent in one match recorded as well and a few of the juniors were too).
Though I didn't record all my games, just the one (but I won that one, so there was some irony). I am too slow though; if there'd been another five minutes, I'd have recorded more. Mind you, had I recorded game five, I think I'd have won it - it's a nice way of slowing yourself down and avoiding mate-in-one blunders

as regarding venue , 1st time i have been in a hotel with a leaking roof and bucket underneath in the lobby .

Ach, it's not a bad hotel - there are worse in Bray. The breakfast was grand, they never ran out of coffee and nothing caught fire. But if you'd be willing to pay €50 next year and say you have a job, maybe they can hold it in the Wilton or the Royal

Chessrookie · 23-06-2013 12:00am

Another very good one day event in Bray.
From the back of the field standout performers were;
Gavin Dolye from Blanch winning the David and Goliath for the second year in a row.
Tom O G getting to 4/5 and getting to play David Fitzsimona in the last round.
The superb performance by the two excellent 8 year olds. Danny knocking off 3 1000+players to score 3 and Dayna scoring an excellent 2.
There was a lot to follow from the back of the field.
It did seem that in the big game Colm seemed happy to settle for a draw when two isolated pawns ahead v Sam in a high quality board 1 to see who was going to win. It's a great event when the lower ranked player can have a genuine shot at the stronger player and the David v Goliath prize is a great idea.
One question for the stronger players. Why is Colm only the 5th strongest player in the Bray rapid, but the highest rated entrant in the Irish? , accepting that Petr Newman cannot play in Limerick.
Who did other players think where the standout performers today, (not just the highest rated players)

mikhail · 24-06-2013 1:58pm

Chessrookie wrote: »

One question for the stronger players. Why is Colm only the 5th strongest player in the Bray rapid, but the highest rated entrant in the Irish?

I'd say it has something to do with not having to take a week off work and rent a room in Limerick for it.

checknraise · 24-06-2013 2:18pm

Well the top 10 - 15 players have been offered free accommodation in UL for the week and a €100 so its not the expenses.

I would say it comes down to in no particular order

Time - getting time off work, family and also would prefer to play a tournament abroad with stronger players.

Rating - similar to above but also could be virtually guaranteed a place on the Olympiad team without playing so no incentive.

IM title > Irish Champion - the perception to some of the young players might be that they would rather win a international title before they won the Irish Championships.

bigtoe7 · 24-06-2013 2:41pm

sam collins has decided to play in e2-e4 five round open competition in sunnigdale in UK rather to play in irish championship in same weekend. explanation ?. could some open a heading for irish champioship here instead of discussing it in brayrapid

Bray Rapidplay 2013

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