Saturday 21 January 2012

History repeats

first as tragedy, then as farce! The arbiters at the Queenstown have decided to petition FIDE to declare the diagrammed position an automatic loss for both players. For the second time in 3 rounds, the final game to finish involved a R+N v R ending. The first instance involved Junta Ikeda winning it against Nadig Kruttika. Kruttika tried hard to defend but succumed on move 46 of the 50 move count. Tonight saw GM Zhao Xue try and do the same against Max Illingworth, after Illingworth lost control of a better position and surrendered a piece and 3 pawns to reach the R+N v R ending. However Max defended the position quite well and it seemed the only point of interest was how long would it take Illingworth to reach 50 moves. Once he reached move 148 (when he could claim a draw) we waited, and then waited and then waited some more. The game continued on, with no claim from either player. We began to think we would be there all night, when finally the draw claim was made, by Illingworth. The exhausted arbiters let out a sigh of relief, and the draw for round 8 was soon completed.
You can see the full game, as well as the tournament standings, at www.queenstownchess.com

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think they should be allowed to play whatever moves they like, so long as it is not collusion, and I doubt that it would be.
It's pretty obvious that Zhao Xue was hoping for a slip-up, while Max was hoping for respect. I cannot fault either player, and I think that it's not the arbiter's job to second-guess the players, so this petition should be disregarded right away.
There will always be times when a chess game goes for a long time, which means that the arbiter has a long day - just part of the job.

Anonymous said...

Despite having his Rating Performance artificially inflated by having played a strong GM, Guy West's performance in this tournament can only be described as 'underwhelming'.
Kevin Brown, on the other hand, is trying his hardest, and is fighting his heart out!
I wish them both all the best for the remainder of the tournament.
Whatever happens, it's only chess, a board game.
Put it into perspective, People!

Anonymous said...

Self Proclaimed 'chess expert', Tony Dowden, member of the Hobart International Chess Club seems to be doing his darndest to avoid playing in ANY chess tournaments, either on the mainland, or his home country of New Zealand!
I bet there are dozens of chess players who would give their right arm to have a chance to take some of his rating points off him!
C'mon Mr Dowden! Grow a "pair" and play some REAL chess!

Anonymous said...

Elliot Renzies! Perhaps less time on that feral 'chesschat' site, and more time studying the actual game of chess, may improve your results! You are having a real 'shocker'!
Leteisha Simmonds! You are trying your hardest and show more guts that most of the male chess players in this tournament!
You 'Go Girl'! You've done us proud!

Anonymous said...

FM Brian Jones! Where did you get your FM title? From a packet of Corn Flakes?
Junta Ikeda! You are playing gutsy and inspired chess! You are the chess version of Zatoichi!
Gambare!

Anonymous said...

I'm in love Junta Ikeda! He is a SPUNK!!!!

Anonymous said...

I can understand the frustration of the organisers but what grounds are there for changing the result of Xue-Illingworth? Surely the conclusion and result of a game is up to the players. It can't be compulsory to claim a draw under the 50-move rule, just as it is not compulsory to claim a draw if a triple-repetition can be made. And can someone ask Max why he didn't claim a draw at move 148.

Kevin Bonham said...

Re third comment, Dr Tony Dowden has played in the 2011 Doeberl Cup, the 2010 George Trundle Masters, the 2009 Otago Summer Rapid, the 2009 Melbourne Chess Club Weekender, and the 2009 Doeberl Cup. That's far from a bad record of interstate/overseas participation for a player based in Tasmania.

I suggest the author of that comment grows a pair by stating his real name!

Anonymous said...

Why didn't you play Kevin? Are terrified of losing your padded rating points?

Anonymous said...

Tony Dowden playing in a rapid and a weekender? Woop de doo!
I'm impressed....NOT!!

Anonymous said...

I've got four children, a wife and a full time job. I own three fully owned properties! Do you have any kids? Do you still live with your mum? Do you own any property?
Do you have a full time job?
No?

Get a life pal! Tell your Dowden friend to play at Begonia this year. I'll pay for his airfare and accomodation.
We want his rating points! Bad!!!!

Kevin Bonham said...

Yeah, whatever, "anonymous". Since you don't put your name to your comments we can just assume your excuses are false.

My rating really isn't worth protecting these days (if it ever was) so I think you can scrub that one.

I do have work commitments at present which, while not full-time as such, are urgent enough to have made going interstate or overseas for several days at a time for a tournament impractical this summer.

If Dr Dowden played in Begonia he'd be precluded from defending his state title! If you want his ratings points (or mine!) then come down here and get them ... if you can!

Anonymous said...

Please let's stick to the topic as posted by Anonymous' comments 1 & 7.
Perhaps a player is overrated or is too chicken to play tournaments, but saying some bad words about them does not do anyone any good. Keep it to yourself.

Anonymous said...

I love Junta also!!! He wears trendy clothes and he is mine!!

Anonymous said...

I will give you my real name as soon as you unban us from "chesschat". Excuses excuses...you are chicken..CHICKEN!
Now crawl back to your 'chesschat' sewer and leave us alone here.
Dowden =Chicken
Bonham =Bigger chicken + Excuses!
Champion of Tasmania BIG DEAL!

Anonymous said...

No my friend...Junta is MY love!!!Gambare Ikedasan!

Anonymous said...

Actually you (Bonham, Gletsos et al) are the people who turned 'chesschat' into a sewer.
Maybe ban yourselves and unban us...AND GET A LIFE and a job, a proper job!
"Grow a pair" and come and play at Begonia!
Come and play on our home turf for a change...
Regards from the Begonia Boys and Girls.

Nick Beare said...

What's with all the trolls on this thread?

Nick Beare said...

What's with all the trolls on this thread?

Kevin Bonham said...

Anon 5:44 PM, I sympathise with the call for topicality but you're wasting your breath on a blog where the owner is so averse to moderation of any kind that he has previously seemed to find the notion of removing blatant spam to be either morally objectionable or all too hard.

The author of comment 7 in any case seemed to fail to realise that Shaun was employing obvious sarcasm in his comment about changing the result.

Anon 6:41, I have no way of even knowing that any of the silly anon trolls on this thread even are banned from Chesschat (only about six significant posters actually are at the moment). If someone other than that lot is banned and wants to be considered for unbanning then they need to tell me their account name(s) for starters!

But in any case disparaging even the most modest of state titles is pretty feeble (and again gutless) stuff when you can't even put your own name to your comments and thus establish yourself as ever having been champion of anything - let alone ever played outside your own state at all!

Anonymous said...

Crawl back into your sewer Kevvy. You are a waste of my time. Nick orf! Get a job!

JingJu said...

I like soda

Anonymous said...

I really don't understand those trolls...

Neither Brian Jones, Guy West or Elliot Renzies deserve that weirdo critics. Probably neither Kevin Bonham who I basically only know from Mount Buller many years ago and most likely he has forgotten all about me.

OFF TOPIC: I work fulltime as teacher... I'm close to finishing my fourth chessbook.

cheers

Henrik Mortensen (from sunny Gibraltar)

Tony Dowden said...

Hi 'Anonymous',

Happy Christmas/New Year! I'm fascinated to discover I have new fan. (Do you have a real name?)

In 2012 I played in the South Island (NZ) Championship, Tasmanian Championship and Burnie Shines. The only blitz or rapid event I played in was the Tasmanian Lightning Championship.

I am relocating to Queensland soon so will probably play in Qld next year.

Cheers, Tony

Tony Dowden said...

Dear Anonymous,

Sorry, just realised it took me 11 months to notice your attentions. Email me at work next time (use a search engine ...)

Cheers, Tony