Irish Championship 2020

spidersweb · 28-07-2020 9:11pm

Or the first round pairing looking like:

Now I am wondering when will the full details of all prizes be published and who are the named, arbiter/s for the event?

spidersweb · 28-07-2020 9:51pm

sodacat11 wrote: »

Also, what is the penalty for anyone who takes off, or doesn't wear, their mask at the board?

Until you mentioned that you had come last in the tournament last year I had not known this and in fact did not notice where you finished or that you were even in the tournament. Which in fairness is explained a bit by the fact that you did not play your last two round games so you simply were not around for the last two days.

So you have to forgive me when I suggest that just maybe you have perhaps the wrong priorities that have nothing to do with actual chess and the playing of it.

Perhaps we need to designate some enforcers and "watchers" among the Mask Choice Deniers camp to make sure we see swift action taken for any infraction of any of the new rules and measures in place during play?

Along with yourself, G Mac, Anchor guy and cdep guy there could be a special group/committee to observe and overseas the punishment of any transgressions?

After all,some will contend that lives are at stake and that is so much more important than chess and or the enjoyment of it. Perhaps we also need to clarify what happens if two players are seen without their masks at the same time during a game. Should they both lose their games, just as if both of their phones went off at the same time.

Then who gets or loses the rating points? Goodness me, we have real issues and priorities to sort out it seems? What about the right temperature readings and an independent panel of experts to record everything, and if someone is suspected of being a covid carrier, or someone coughs or sneezes, or someone looks at someone in a funny way. Will there be the manpower sorry- people power -to keep an eye on everybody and everything.

Jasus, it could be scary really, but I feel you will be well on top of it all and have all the solutions ready to go. Hopefully you will get to play all 9 rounds this year and I will bet that you will not finish last this year.

Bound to be someone who lets their mask slip over the 9 days?

spidersweb · 28-07-2020 9:57pm

Joedryan wrote: »

That looks absolutely fantastic.

Whats the refreshment situation? is there a coffee machine nearby?

Agree it looks great and it is certainly of interest what the situation is regarding refreshments but I would also wonder when are the full list of all prizes going to be published, along with information about who is/are the arbiter/s?

sodacat11 · 28-07-2020 10:15pm

You are right, I am guilty as charged. I have no interest in playing chess and the only reason that I entered the tournament was because I was bribed by a big multinational company that manufactures surgical masks, they asked me to try and force everyone to wear a mask and to form a clandestine group with G Mac, Anchor and Cded. I am sorry for my transgression and will withdraw from the tournament and all future Irish chess events if that will make up for my crime.

spidersweb · 28-07-2020 10:51pm

sodacat11 wrote: »

You are right, I am guilty as charged. I have no interest in playing chess and the only reason that I entered the tournament was because I was bribed by a big multinational company that manufactures surgical masks, they asked me to try and force everyone to wear a mask and to form a clandestine group with G Mac, Anchor and Cded. I am sorry for my transgression and will withdraw from the tournament and all future Irish chess events if that will make up for my crime.

Oh no. you are perfectly entitled, along with your other fellow Mask Choice Deniers. to form and adopt any outlook you like. All of us can only but try to find our path to chess nirvana and perhaps ask ourselves now and then why you love chess and how best to sustain the passion and interest in it.

The Irish ch is certainly up there on any list of worthwhile chess efforts. if you can enjoy it and or get something positive from playing then by all means it is imperative to play regardless of almost anything.

Very sorry to see the withdrawals of John Delaney Eamon Keogh, Anthony Fox and the tournament organizer John Mc Morrow, that is genuinely sad as they have so much to offer and have a real passion for chess too.

spidersweb · 29-07-2020 1:26am

Have to give credit to the ICU and Irish ch organizer in a good job done in respect of the prizes for the Irish ch.

Hard to even be ever sure of finding exact right balance with what amount is optimal. It is a generous prize fund that reflects very well on the ICU and tournament. It adds value and prestige to the event in my view. Mind you, anybody winning any prize will have surely deserved it. So tough is the 9 days going to be.

The difference between first and second seem a little on the heavy side? Like maybe second could have been 900 or 1000? clip 6th prize and ideally it would be nice if the grading prize was 500? Honestly not sure and have zero complaints here. In 2013 the first prize was 1600 and at the time I sort of thought (and said so when asked by the tournament sponsor after the event) that it was a little off in relation to second place, (1500 back then was probably more optimal).

In any event I am very happy with what they have done this year actually. Just the main thing I guess is that the grading prize being 500 would have been nice.

Again, I am not sure if it could or should have been different anywhere. Just crossed my mind that a big grading prize might fit it very nicely?

The other update/clarification is that we now also know the tournament arbiter, who is the same as the last few years. No doubt with a team of important and enthusiastic helpers too.

sodacat11 · 29-07-2020 10:42am

It says in the regulations that players who owe entry or ICU membership fees may have these deducted from their prize money. It is almost August, if these people haven't paid these fees yet why are they even being allowed into the tournament in the first place?

spidersweb · 29-07-2020 1:20pm

sodacat11 wrote: »

It says in the regulations that players who owe entry or ICU membership fees may have these deducted from their prize money. It is almost August, if these people haven't paid these fees yet why are they even being allowed into the tournament in the first place?

What the heck is that post about? Don't follow you with this at all. Confused I am. I assume the ICU know what they are doing in regards to all such things so what exactly is the point you are making?

Meanwhile: I think I made a mistake posting in another thread so just in case cdep thinks I done it on purpose, I can confirm it was a mistake so I post now the interesting contrast images from a much bigger (numbers) event in Europe to at least consider.

sodacat11 · 29-07-2020 1:46pm

spidersweb wrote: »

What the heck is that post about? Don't follow you with this at all. Confused I am. I assume the ICU know what they are doing in regards to all such things so what exactly is the point you are making?

The point I am making is that entrants in the Irish Ch are supposed to me members with the ICU, if they haven't paid their subs then clearly they aren't current members. Similarly, why should some of us pay entry fees if other non titled players are getting in without paying theirs?

spidersweb · 29-07-2020 8:23pm

sodacat11 wrote: »

The point I am making is that entrants in the Irish Ch are supposed to me members with the ICU, if they haven't paid their subs then clearly they aren't current members.

I see your point a bit better now and could follow you if the event was happening in September, but as it is in August I can't think of anybody this is relevant to. I mean all 32 players are surely all members of the ICU

sodacat11 wrote: »

Similarly, why should some of us pay entry fees if other non titled players are getting in without paying theirs?

This is just confusing too, I mean it says that "GMs,IMs & FMs:Free" on the flyer, and has done for many months.

https://www.icu.ie/system/events/flyers/000/001/239/original/Irish_Championships_2020.pdf?1594466211

There are 2 IMs and 6 FMs who have free entry (IMs may even get a small payment to play- I don't honestly know or care one way or another really. Don't begrudge them that at all)

I know that last year, some of the prize winners had part of their prize money deducted for previous ICU organized IM norm events in which the entry fee was waived at the time of the events with the condition that the ICU would deduct those fees out of ICU run events prize winnings, like the Irish ch and for example rapid and blitz events put on throughout the year.

So I don't see there being any issue whatsoever and the ICU are to be applauded for having been so clever and positive in organizing international events.

sodacat11 · 29-07-2020 8:34pm

"Outstanding member fees and entry fees may be taken from cash prizes won. Similarly, those receiving a free "invite" to the event (such as titled players) may have this entry fee taken out of any cash prizes won"
This is what I was referring to. Perhaps I was mistaken but I thought that it implied that there are outstanding member fees and entry fees.
I am surprised though that titled players would have entry fees deducted from winnings, I think that they deserve to be rewarded properly for their participation.
I have no problem at all with titled players getting free entry or conditions to any tournament.

spidersweb · 29-07-2020 9:16pm

sodacat11 wrote: »

"Outstanding member fees and entry fees may be taken from cash prizes won. Similarly, those receiving a free "invite" to the event (such as titled players) may have this entry fee taken out of any cash prizes won"
This is what I was referring to. Perhaps I was mistaken but I thought that it implied that there are outstanding member fees and entry fees.
I am surprised though that titled players would have entry fees deducted from winnings, I think that they deserve to be rewarded properly for their participation.
I have no problem at all with titled players getting free entry or conditions to any tournament.

I seen that as point 6 but it actually does not make sense in the context of the actual flyer for the event. I don't think any entry fee will be deducted from any prize of the 8 players i mentioned because

"Outstanding member fees and entry fees may be taken "

is vague and ambiguous.

I think it refers to scenarios I mentioned about entry fees for norms events and not the actual entry fee to an Irish ch which very clearly does not say what any entry fee might be for any of the titled players.

It says very clearly that players over 2200 pay 50 and IMs and GMs, FMs are free,

What if a titled player wanted to pay an entry fee upfront? What is it?:How could he/she have paid? It says free entry for IM,GM,FM

In any case I don't think it is going to be an issue for anybody one way or another. Winning a prize will surely be an indicator of a good tournament performance and it seems doubtful anybody will be thinking about or bothered about 50 Euros entry fee being deducted. Not a big deal essentially.

Joedryan · 30-07-2020 3:36am

I presume the tournament is going ahead?

Good luck to all!

sodacat11 · 30-07-2020 5:48am

Joedryan wrote: »

I presume the tournament is going ahead?

Good luck to all!

Don't forget to enter the tipping competition. Pick three games each round. Two points for each that is drawn and five pts for every one where the lower rated player wins.

dave grant · 30-07-2020 8:58am

The Ballyroan Chess Club proud host of the 99th National Senior Chess Championship would like to wish all of this year's competitors the very best of luck and we hope you feel safe and welcomed in our playing venue.

RooksPawn · 30-07-2020 11:29am

Thanks to Ballyroan CC and Colaiste Eanna for hosting the championship. I hope it goes well, and the Major also later in August.

Will all or some of the championship games be live on chess24 or elsewhere? I am sure those of us who are not playing will be keen to follow the event.
And if so how is it to be managed with the double-board games?

Retd.LoyolaCpt · 30-07-2020 4:21pm

RooksPawn wrote: »

Thanks to Ballyroan CC and Colaiste Eanna for hosting the championship. I hope it goes well, and the Major also later in August.

Will all or some of the championship games be live on chess24 or elsewhere? I am sure those of us who are not playing will be keen to follow the event.
And if so how is it to be managed with the double-board games?

Games to be shown on chess24 (just need them to confirm but I've given them the usual 3 day notice). White side of double games will be broadcast - I have the black side set up to broadcast too but this will be so that the arbiter can check that the games line up every so often.

It doesn't look like we'll have commentary but I'm working on it. Just a few other things on my mind before that becomes the priority.

macelligott · 31-07-2020 8:31am

sodacat11 wrote: »

Don't forget to enter the tipping competition. Pick three games each round. Two points for each that is drawn and five pts for every one where the lower rated player wins.

Where is the tipping competition to be found ?

sodacat11 · 31-07-2020 8:39am

macelligott wrote: »

Where is the tipping competition to be found ?

See the thread below this one.
I have to laugh at the Avengers photo on the ICU site, Jonathan O'Connor looks like he is sitting on someone's spear judging by his expression and whoever that shemale is back left should take legal action.

Retd.LoyolaCpt · 31-07-2020 12:23pm

FYI - for those not playing

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/irish-championship-2020/1/1/1

Retd.LoyolaCpt · 01-08-2020 11:18am

Our preview of the Irish Championship is now complete with bios of the top 12 seeds: https://www.icu.ie/articles/912

Games start today at 3pm! Coverage will be available on chess24
https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/irish-championship-2020/1/1/1

Retd.LoyolaCpt · 01-08-2020 4:40pm

Retd.LoyolaCpt wrote: »

Our preview of the Irish Championship is now complete with bios of the top 12 seeds: https://www.icu.ie/articles/912

Games start today at 3pm! Coverage will be available on chess24
https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/irish-championship-2020/1/1/1

Unfortunately we’ve had an issue with a wire today so 6 boards aren’t broadcasting. We should be able to fix this evening.

cdeb · 01-08-2020 4:56pm

How come Sam is on board 10? Is that the divide between 1 board and 2 boards?

zeitnot · 01-08-2020 5:47pm

Nearly three hours in. Stephen Brady is in major trouble and I'm not sure how he survives the next few moves (after 14... Kh8).

Update (four hours in): wow--that was a crushing loss. Elsewhere some moves have appeared on the top boards, but they seem frozen now. Jonathan O'Connor had a great position at various times against Alice O'Gorman, but it seems level now. I didn't understand why he didn't just recapture on c3 earlier.

Retd.LoyolaCpt · 01-08-2020 7:27pm

cdeb wrote: »

How come Sam is on board 10? Is that the divide between 1 board and 2 boards?

Yes

sodacat11 · 01-08-2020 11:11pm

Moannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Last year I got two Black's in a row to start and then three Blacks in first four rounds and this year it's happening again. It is hard enough to score points in an Irish Championship without being handicapped in this way. The last time I got five whites in an Irish championship was 2011, what are the odds on that??

Joedryan · 02-08-2020 3:53am

What has happened there in the Colm Daly game? after Nd5 Kavin resigned???

Surely the game goes on ...exd5 exd5 ...Kf8 etc. am I missing something?

zeitnot · 02-08-2020 4:02am

Joedryan wrote: »

What has happened there in the Colm Daly game? after Nd5 Kavin resigned???

Surely the game goes on ...exd5 exd5 ...Kf8 etc. am I missing something?

There were problems with some of the live boards. About 7 games seem incomplete.

Earlier, the continuation of the Daly - Venkatesan game was available, but for some reason it disappeared.

Rolling report: https://www.irlchess.com/irlch2020_allfiles/pairings_irlch2020.html

RooksPawn · 02-08-2020 11:42am

Today's pairings FYI, re-ordered by scores rather than board numbers.

Sorry, I originally posted this by mistake in the Tipping thread. Mods, please feel free to delete from there or leave as you prefer.

I hope it will be possible to follow all the games today; sympathies to those who are struggling overtime to get it working.

It's good to have the all-Kanyamarala clash out of the way early.
The other pairs of siblings may have to meet later but it's less certain.

Trisha K v Tarun K
S. Melaugh v Fitzsimons
Byrne v O'Donnell
D. Moran v Daly
S. Collins v Wallace
T. O'Gorman v O'Connor
Murray (.5) v Casey (1), all-Gonzaga clash
O'Connell (.5) v Jackson (.5)
Adam Collins (.5) v Leon Putar (.5)
Delaney (0) v Lara Putar (.5)
Brady (0) v Cafolla (0)
Venkatesan v Flynn
McHugh v Lyons, all-Benildus clash
Alice O'Gorman v Carroll
G. Melaugh v Peoples
Mirza v MacElligott

Retd.LoyolaCpt · 02-08-2020 12:17pm

RooksPawn wrote: »

Today's pairings FYI, re-ordered by scores rather than board numbers.

Sorry, I originally posted this by mistake in the Tipping thread. Mods, please feel free to delete from there or leave as you prefer.

I hope it will be possible to follow all the games today; sympathies to those who are struggling overtime to get it working.

It's good to have the all-Kanyamarala clash out of the way early.
The other pairs of siblings may have to meet later but it's less certain.

Trisha K v Tarun K
S. Melaugh v Fitzsimons
Byrne v O'Donnell
D. Moran v Daly
S. Collins v Wallace
T. O'Gorman v O'Connor
Murray (.5) v Casey (1), all-Gonzaga clash
O'Connell (.5) v Jackson (.5)
Adam Collins (.5) v Leon Putar (.5)
Delaney (0) v Lara Putar (.5)
Brady (0) v Cafolla (0)
Venkatesan v Flynn
McHugh v Lyons, all-Benildus clash
Alice O'Gorman v Carroll
G. Melaugh v Peoples
Mirza v MacElligott

One of the boards tricked us - has a fault where it goes down after 5 moves... not ideal when the morning tests are just a couple of moves per board. It’s swapped out and wires swapped out for boards 1-5 which only had intermittent power for whatever reason. Will keep the thread updated.

Joedryan · 02-08-2020 2:00pm

The game Eoghan Casey v Stephen was extremely impressive stuff, not sure where that went wrong but it was devastating and clinical.

RooksPawn · 02-08-2020 3:42pm

Rd 2. Trisha-Tarun, quick draw, not unexpected!
Fingers crossed all boards working today and will stay so.

Joedryan · 02-08-2020 4:35pm

RooksPawn wrote: »

Rd 2. Trisha-Tarun, quick draw, not unexpected!
Fingers crossed all boards working today and will stay so.

I hope you are not suggesting a pre-arranged draw

Retd.LoyolaCpt · 02-08-2020 4:54pm

RooksPawn wrote: »

Rd 2. Trisha-Tarun, quick draw, not unexpected!
Fingers crossed all boards working today and will stay so.

Problems with the O’Connell - Jackson board intermittently but otherwise I think it’s ok today.

zeitnot · 02-08-2020 5:43pm

Retd.LoyolaCpt wrote: »

Problems with the O’Connell - Jackson board intermittently but otherwise I think it’s ok today.

The full score of Daly - Venkatesan from round 1 (kindly supplied by Colm) is available--see the ICU archive (and IRLchess).

RooksPawn · 02-08-2020 6:10pm

Joedryan wrote: »

I hope you are not suggesting a pre-arranged draw

This is actually the first draw between them that I have seen; but in round 2 nothing else would make much sense.
A couple of years ago the British Championship arbiters (it is alleged, anyway) bent the rules to avoid a pairing N. Pert v R.Pert in an early round of the British Championship and instead it became a forced pairing in a critical round late in the event.

ADDED: G. Melaugh 1 Peoples 0, 15 moves, silly blunder losing a piece

Joedryan · 02-08-2020 6:32pm

RooksPawn wrote: »

This is actually the first draw between them that I have seen; but in round 2 nothing else would make much sense.
A couple of years ago the British Championship arbiters (it is alleged, anyway) bent the rules to avoid a pairing N. Pert v R.Pert in an early round of the British Championship and instead it became a forced pairing in a critical round late in the event.

ADDED: G. Melaugh 1 Peoples 0, 15 moves, silly blunder losing a piece

Pretty sure it was pre-arranged, or at least it seems so, not shouting them out, but in the old days siblings or not we always played to the death, think it would be better for them also. Saying that you are right, cant really blame them and rd 2 is a good time for it to happen.

RooksPawn · 02-08-2020 10:02pm

Here is the round 3 draw in order of cumulative scores. I will try to post this every evening.

O'Donnell (2) – Sam Collins (2)
Daly (2)–T.O'Gorman (2)
Tarun K (1.5) – S. Melaugh (2)
Jackson (1.5) –Trisha K (1.5)
Fitzsimons (1) –Murray (1.5)
Casey (1) –Delaney (1)
Wallace (1) –G. Melaugh (1)
Carroll (1) –Adam Collins (1)
MacElligott (1) –Moran (1)
O'Connor (1) –Byrne (1)
Leon Putar (1) –Brady (0.5)
Flynn (0.5) –McHugh (0.5)
Cafolla (0.5) –O'Connell (0.5)
Lara Putar (0.5) –Venkatesan (0.5)
Lyons (0.5) v Mirza (0)
Peoples (0) –A. O'Gorman (0)

cdeb · 02-08-2020 10:10pm

Any feedback from anyone playing on how the playing conditions are?

FutureCM · 02-08-2020 10:26pm

cdeb wrote: »

Any feedback from anyone playing on how the playing conditions are?

As good as possible given the circumstances

cdeb · 02-08-2020 10:29pm

Like, are the board setups awkward or do ye get used to them?

sodacat11 · 02-08-2020 11:09pm

The room is extremely well ventilated with plenty of room between boards. During the game you forget about the dividing screen etc and the masks have been less uncomfortable than I'd imagined. Some of the players who wear glasses have been wearing visors instead of masks with no problems. All in all everything is very satisfactory.

anchor4208 · 03-08-2020 10:01am

In general, the playing conditions are great.

Distancing
They've done this really well, and in this regard, the conditions are way better than a normal tournament - loads of space.

Perspex barrier
These are great also, so unobtrusive that you forget they're there after a few minutes.

Face covering
By and large, this is fine too. Its not uncomfortable to wear the mask for the 4 hours, but you're always conscious of them. If one of the ideas behind the Irish this year is to trial safety ideas, probably the biggest conversation afterwards will be about these. The rules state that you have to wear a face covering (which is undefined) while your opponent is at the board, and its recommended, but not required when your opponent is away from the board. The first area of discussion is around that. Opponents sit 1.5 metres apart, but there's a big piece of perspex in between them. However, people at the another board are sitting 2 metres away from their neighbours, with nothing but space between them. At all times, your opponent is relatively protected and your neighbour isn't, so it doesn't make sense to allow a player to take their mask off at all while they're in the tournament hall.
In addition, while most players are wearing actual masks, some are wearing perspex visors. There's already a piece of perspex between the players, so its hard to imagine that an another piece of perspex offers additional protection.
And finally, the rules in this regard aren't being rigidly enforced. For example, a small number of players are occasionally but repeatedly lowering the mask so that it doesn't cover their nose (including one person who's doing this nearly all the time), and its not being addressed.
If there are to be lessons learned from this event, they should be that greater clarity is needed on the face covering rule, and then that new rule needs to be enforced.

cdeb · 03-08-2020 10:11am

Out of interest as well, do people be leaving the board (looking at other games, for example) less often than normal?

anchor4208 · 03-08-2020 10:21am

cdeb wrote: »

Out of interest as well, do people be leaving the board (looking at other games, for example) less often than normal?

Hard to say if its less than normal, it still happens. What's definitely noticeable is that there's less casual conversations in the tournament hall, because there's none! There's a couple of nice outdoor spots including the analysis area where there's some chatting going on, and a bit also in the coffee dock, but it definitely isn't as sociable as other events.
The upside is that the playing conditions are amongst the quietest I've ever experienced.

sodacat11 · 03-08-2020 11:23am

anchor4208 wrote: »

For example, a small number of players are occasionally but repeatedly lowering the mask so that it doesn't cover their nose (including one person who's doing this nearly all the time), and its not being addressed.
If there are to be lessons learned from this event, they should be that greater clarity is needed on the face covering rule, and then that new rule needs to be enforced.

I did ask before the tournament what penalty would be in place for people breaching or ignoring the mask rules but as far as I know the penalty was never made clear. Anyone not wearing their mask properly or not wearing one at all is just showing a complete disregard for the safety of others and a lack of respect for fellow competitors and definitely the Controller should take action.

Eugene Donohoe · 03-08-2020 12:49pm

anchor4208 wrote: »

In general, the playing conditions are great.

Distancing
They've done this really well, and in this regard, the conditions are way better than a normal tournament - loads of space.

Perspex barrier
These are great also, so unobtrusive that you forget they're there after a few minutes.

Face covering
By and large, this is fine too. Its not uncomfortable to wear the mask for the 4 hours, but you're always conscious of them. If one of the ideas behind the Irish this year is to trial safety ideas, probably the biggest conversation afterwards will be about these. The rules state that you have to wear a face covering (which is undefined) while your opponent is at the board, and its recommended, but not required when your opponent is away from the board. The first area of discussion is around that. Opponents sit 1.5 metres apart, but there's a big piece of perspex in between them. However, people at the another board are sitting 2 metres away from their neighbours, with nothing but space between them. At all times, your opponent is relatively protected and your neighbour isn't, so it doesn't make sense to allow a player to take their mask off at all while they're in the tournament hall.
In addition, while most players are wearing actual masks, some are wearing perspex visors. There's already a piece of perspex between the players, so its hard to imagine that an another piece of perspex offers additional protection.
And finally, the rules in this regard aren't being rigidly enforced. For example, a small number of players are occasionally but repeatedly lowering the mask so that it doesn't cover their nose (including one person who's doing this nearly all the time), and its not being addressed.
If there are to be lessons learned from this event, they should be that greater clarity is needed on the face covering rule, and then that new rule needs to be enforced.

I think this is a very well balanced contribution and I've an interest in this as I hope to play in the Major. I was there on Saturday taking photos and totally agree with the above. One of the things I especially valued was the silence. People talking on the margins is often the bane of my tournament life. It felt totally safe and the space was magnificent. Really well organised.
I agree with the point of the masks. They need to be worn properly ie including the nose. I'm not sure if visors offer the same degree of protection for the wearer or the other person at the board? Certainly many public health experts think not
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/18/face-visors-may-protect-wearer-but-not-other-people-against-covid-19

RooksPawn · 03-08-2020 6:07pm

Huge time scramble in Conor O'Donnell v Sam Collins if the online clocks can be believed. Conor seems to have spoiled a slight edge he had but anything can happen.

Trisha seems to be weathering the storm against Carl's manic gambit.

Paul Wallace has won. Some other results are likely soon (writing just after 6pm).
The faster time limit compared with previous years is creating more early crises/

Leon Putar, after a wild opening, missed his chance at move 16 against Stephe Brady; Nh3 before Qxb4 would have chased the h1-N to an inferior square, I think.

zeitnot · 03-08-2020 6:33pm

RooksPawn wrote: »

The faster time limit compared with previous years is creating more early crises/

How is it faster than previous years? I thought the 30 minutes normally added in at move 40 was simply added in from the beginning, and the 30 second increment increased to 35?

Leon Putar, after a wild opening, missed his chance at move 16 against Stephe Brady; Nh3 before Qxb4 would have chased the h1-N to an inferior square, I think.

After a wild opening *that followed Casey - Brady from round 1*! it's strange, because White did seem noticeably better after move 15.

RooksPawn · 03-08-2020 8:49pm

All games ended now and Sam is in the sole lead but Tom O'Gorman, Colm Daly and the K-phenomena are breathing down his neck.
Expect a streak of wins from Conor to catch up by round 7 or 8 unless Sam can maintain the pace from 2014.

Impressive result by Sam, though: it's very hard to win with Black against a master in the Slav Exchange.

Irish Championship 2020

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