One of the side effects of 2020 is that I seem to have lost less serious games this year than last. If I can recall as far back as March, I think I have only lost one game (to Paul Dunn), although to be fair, I'm pretty sure I've only played about 6 games in total.
In checking my stats for this year, I did come across this game, which came from one of the few Street Chess events I played in 2020.
The next in the 2020 series of online championships, the 2020 Online Cadets and Youth Rapid Championship, starts tomorrow. The event will be run in 10 sections, with Under 18 down to Under 10 age groups, in both Open and Girls divisions. The event starts with qualifiers from each continent (Africa, Europe, Americas and Asia) followed by a 16 player KO final series. Each qualifier is a 7 round swiss, with the top 3 finishers from each qualifier going into the final, along with the 4 highest rated players in that age group.
Most of the qualifiers will be played late evening/ middle of the night Canberra time, so following the tournament will be a little tricky. However, if you do wish to watch, or just keep up to date with the event, you can do so through the tournament website.
(** I am a paid arbiter for this event **)
With "The Queen's Gambit" still going strong on Netflix, there has been a lot of discussion about women's chess, and whether there was a "real" Beth Harmon. While the general consensus is that Beth Harmon was entirely fictional (or a version of Bobby Fischer), at the time of the books publication, there were already a number of female players making their mark on the male dominated scene.
One player who has been seemingly overlooked in this discussion is Pia Cramling, who had already drawn with a future World Champion as far back as 1976. From the outset her style was significantly more aggressive than the her contemporaries, and her willingness to play high level open events was also a little unusual at the time. Unlike the TV series, her climb to the tip was a little more measured, but she earned the GM title in 1992, and even now she is still one of the top female players in the world.
The following opening exchange raises the question of what is the difference between blundering in the opening, or falling for a trap. In the actual game there was in fact a double blunder (as White failed to play the best move). On the other hand, Black's moves seemed plausible, which is what a good trap should exploit. Nonetheless, having a quick look through my database did not find any previous examples, so until this mistake is repeated, I'm going with "blunder"
I've been involved in some ongoing discussions concerning the suitability for online events to be rated and award titles with the same status of OTB events. I am in the 'No' camp, although I do know some people who are in the 'Yes' camp. One of my arguments against awarding titles for online events, is that the titles are earned using a different playing format. With online chess it may be possible for a player to score a required win or draw via a mouse slip or an internet disconnection by their opponent, which doesn't occur in face to face chess. As a result, the title may not be earned by skill (for a certain value of skill) but instead by a stroke of luck. And while I recognise that the ability to play the game (in an operational sense) is important, most sports that rely on a difference between the ability to execute (eg swimming, running or even shooting) don't actually award titles. They instead reward participants by medals and prizes, which for online events, seems much more sensible.
Imagine if the World Championship was decided by a move like 38 ... Qb4??
Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2784) - Carlsen,Magnus (2862) [C60]
GM Hrant Melkumyan has won the 2020 Vikings Weekender with 5.5/6. Conceding only half a point to fellow GM Anton Smirnov, he wrapped up first place with a win over Fred Litchfield in the final round. Smirnov, who was tied with Melkumyan going into the final round, could only draw with IM Junta Ikeda, after Ikeda found a nice sacrificial idea in the Leningrad Dutch. The draw allowed Ikeda to finish in a tie for third place with Bazli Karattiyattil, who capped of a strong tournament with a last round win over Dillon Hathiramani.
The Under 1600 event was won by Harry Johnson on 5.5, half a point ahead of Paul Dunn. Johnson was making a return to chess after a break of a number of years, and his comeback tournament was a successful one. James Buckley performed well above his rating to finish in 3rd place, while Minchen Yang picked up the best junior prize after scoring 3.5/6.
The tournament was judged a success by the organisers with the strong field resulting in a number of interesting and competitive games. Almost as importantly, it served as a small test event for next years Doeberl Cup, and based on the behaviour of the players (and the feedback from the venue), it passed with flying colours!
Full results of the tournament can be found at http://tournaments.streetchess.net/vikings2020/ along with a link to replays of games from the top 2 boards.
At the close of Day 1 of the 2020 Vikings Weekender, 4 players share the lead in the Open section, As expected GM Hrant Melkumyan and GM Anton Smirnov are on 3/3, and they have been joined by IM Junta Ikeda and CM Hui Li. In the first round tomorrow (Rd 4), Ikeda will e white against Melkumyan, while Smirnov will be white against Li.
Although both GM's ended the day on a perfect score, they were made to work for their points. Both Harry Press (against Melkumyan) and Dominic Fox (against Smirnov) put up determined resistance, with the Melkumyan - Press game one of the last to finish. In earlier rounds some other top seeds showed signs of rust, with Tim Pearce upsetting FM Michael Kethro in round 2, while Dominic Fox took a full point from Fred Litchfield in the first round.
In the Minor (Under 1600) tournament, Paul Dunn and James Minogue are the only players on 3/3. Top seed Harry Johnson began with 2 wins, but was held to a draw in round 3 by James Buckley.
All the scores (and tomorrows pairings) are available at http://tournaments.streetchess.net/vikings2020 There is also a link for live coverage of the top 2 boards in the Open. Round 4 is at 12:30pm Canberra time, with round 5 at 3pm and round 6 at 5:30pm
