Hastings

[Clive Blackburn]

Has black actually won?

At the moment my screen is showing

42. Rb8 Kg7
43. Kg7

[Clive Blackburn]

Oh sorry please ignore that, I refreshed the screen and the moves make sense now, looks as though they are still playing

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Might end up R vs R+B

Or they could just agree a draw...

[Clive Blackburn]

Or they could just agree a draw...

Yes, it's a draw now

[Alex McFarlane]

Norm Chances

The following is subject to confirmation

GM Norms
Rui Gao needs ½ today for a 9 rd norm or 1 v 2364 tomorrow
Steve Burns-Mannion needs 1½ v 2435 in round 10 for a 9 round norm.
Gudmunder Kjartansson needs 2 v 2602 in round 10 for a 9 round norm (eliminating rd8)

IM Norms
Xiobing Gu needs opponent to make a move for 9 round norm or ½ v 2447 or 1 v 2067 for 10 round norm
Johannes Kvisla needs to make a move for a 9 round norm or a draw with a GM for a 10 round norm
Francis Rayner needs a win for a 9 round norm or 1½ v 2437 or 2 v 2047 for 10 round norm
Ezra Kirk needs 2/2 v 2469 for a 9 round norm (eliminating round 2 win)
Chelsie Sihite needs 2/2 v 2365 for a 9 round norm

WGM Norm
Chelsie Sihite needs 1½ v 2320 or 2 v 1915 for a 9 round norm

[JustinHorton]

Did Steve Burns-Mannion use to be Steve Mannion?

[Alex McFarlane]

He is/was the younger of the Steve Mannions.

[Keith Arkell]

I wonder what I've done to upset Reuben

In his round 3 report he bangs on about the possibility of my game being a pre-arranged draw, and then in round 8 he attacks my quick draw as being the sort that 'used to give chess a bad name'.

If he had bothered to ask around he might have discovered that I have contracted the dreaded Hastings bug and was on the verge of defaulting had Vladimir Hamitevici not been sympathetic to me in round 8.

Tomorrow I hope to be over the worst and ready to fight for a prize...

[John Moore]

Keith - hope you are feeling better tomorrow. SR says what he likes as you know full well.

[Keith Arkell]

Cheers John

and yes indeed he does!

[benedgell]

A win for Gawain and he goes into the last round as sole leader. If he draws Jonathan Hawkins will be among the leaders.

[Alex McFarlane]

4 norms achieved and the possibility of a 5th tomorrow.

I have been told that Gao already had 2GM norms and has had a rating of 2500

This is Francis Rayner's first norm. (So a bit more work for Loz before he retires.)

[AustinElliott]

Oop 'ere in the NW of E we'd all assumed Keith Arkell's second short draw today meant either (i) he was still feeling the effects of the dreaded lurgy; or (ii) his Chinese opponent had come down with it.

Seems a bit mean to slag people off for struggling in to try to play (and then taking a short draw) rather than having a bye... especially given the, er, acute onset and laying-low effect(s) of norovirus. Talking of which, Gawain Jones posted something on Twitter a few days back about "Fairly happy with my game today considering I was lying on the bathroom floor at midday." which I think might have been his round 4 game with Glenn Flear.

Interestingly, the live report for day 5 says:

Too many people have been ill at this tournament to list all of them. You can trace them because they have taken a couple of half point byes and then returned later. Many people have had a stomach bug that seems to be particularly virulent this year in Hastings.

[LawrenceCooper]

Very instructive finish by Gawain (to me anyway) with 85 Rd8+ and Rc8 and then bring the king down the b file in time to win the pawn when it gets to c2.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Agreed. To my mind Gawain clearly deserves to be sole winner but maybe that will require a Black win tomorrow.

We normally don't dwell on anyone's negative performances. but it is hard not to notice that Hebden has lost to three players some 400 points below him and all with White I am guessing that this must be his worst tournament wth White since about the age of twelve, and losing to three players so far down the rating list must be close to another kind of record. Of course two of the victors are hideously under-rated juniors and the other has had the tournament of his life, bien sur, but it is still quite remarkable. It is not as if Hebden has blundered any of the games or overpressed when trying too hard to win a good position.