Hawkins now a GM

[Stewart Reuben]

Jonathan has now accepted to play in Hastings 29 December to 6 January. Hopefully by then he will actually be a GM.

[Chris Rice]

FIDE Presidential Board has just approved Jonathan's title. http://www.fide.com/component/content/a ... -2014.html

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Heh. We can watch the databases be updated.

http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=412686

The rating card for Hawkins has the approved GM title application at the bottom, but the sidebar at right doesn't yet list the GM title (this sidebar sometimes has title details missing even if listed elsewhere) and neither does the 'FIDE title' section of the main rating card, nor the 'T' column when viewing lists. Patience clearly required to wait for those to be updated.

[Roger de Coverly]

Patience clearly required to wait for those to be updated.

No title application was made for Alan Merry, notwithstanding the publicity that he was now an IM subject to rating. The FIDE site only shows one Norm for him.

[Stewart Reuben]

No title becomes valid until 60 days after the application is posted on the FIDE website. This allows time for objections to be lodged. Of course we know there will be none in Jonathan's case. But he is not yet a GM. He is a GMe (elect), which is what it has said for some time on the Hastings website. The application had to have been posted by 30 October for his GM title to count for Hastings for his opponents. Since the IOM concluded 12 October, there should have been plenty of time to make the application and for it to be posted.
He will NOT count as a GM for his opponents for the 4NCL this weekend.
Thus the FIDE website is correct.

It is quite common for federations not to make applications before the player is fully qualified. That may be to save money, or simply be laziness. In Alan Merry's case, it may be to save money. He may become a GM before he completes the IM requirements (Kramnik did this). Alan Merry is an IMc. That means conditional on his reaching 2400 and the application being agreed by the QC and General Assembly (during the year the PB).
John Nicholson never reached 2400 (indeed initially all that was needed for him was 2350). Thus he remains an IMc.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I noticed David Eggleston has a GM norm achieved this August/September in Trieste:

http://ratings.fide.com/title_norms.pht ... 0&title=GM

I don't think that got noticed here (not that it needed to be, but it is rare enough that it normally gets mentioned). Did I miss a mention of that somewhere? Congratulations anyway!

[Chris Rice]

Quite right Chris, this was a notable achievement from David and deserves a bit of PR (even though clearly off topic). He came second in the tournament in Trieste http://www.sst1904.com/tornei2014/festi ... nding.html and he notched up a notable scalp in Round 3.

David Eggleston (2398) - Zdenko Kozul (2608) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 d6 6. g4 Ne7 7. Be3 Nbc6 8. Nb3 b5 9. f4 Bb7 10. Qd2 Rc8 11. Qf2 Qc7 12. O-O-O Qb8 13. Bg2 g5 14. f5 Ne5 15. fxe6 fxe6 16. Nd4 b4 17. Nce2 Nxg4 18. Qg3 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 e5 20. Ne6 g4 21. Rhf1 Rc6 22. Ng3 Qc8 23. Qb3 Rxc2+ 24. Qxc2 Qxe6 25. Qa4+ Nc6 26. Kb1 h5 27. Nf5 Rh7 28. Rf2 Qd7 29. Qb3 Rf7 30. Nxd6+ Bxd6 31. Rxf7 Qxf7 32. Qxf7+ Kxf7 33. Rxd6 Ne7 34. Rh6 a5 35. Rxh5 Kf6 36. Rh8 Ba6 37. Kc2 Ng6 38. Ra8 Bc4 39. b3 Be2 40. Kd2 Nh4 41. Kxe2 Nxg2 42. Rxa5 1-0

[Stewart Reuben]

It shows the English chess badly needs a press officer. But it is such a difficult task to get coverage in the non-dedicated chess media.

[NickFaulks]

and he notched up a notable scalp in Round 3.

That's certainly a convincing win, but I wish I understood what Kozul thought he was doing.

[Chris Rice]

Jonathan's GM title now official as evidenced by his FIDE rating page. Nice Xmas present. https://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=412686

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Patience clearly required to wait for those to be updated.

No title application was made for Alan Merry, notwithstanding the publicity that he was now an IM subject to rating. The FIDE site only shows one Norm for him.

I noticed that Alan Merry's title application (presumably rating-conditional) was made at the April 2015 PB:

https://ratings.fide.com/title_applicat ... e=IM&pb=42

Jonathan Hawkins's title application here:

https://ratings.fide.com/title_applicat ... e=GM&pb=41

[NickFaulks]

Quite right Chris, this was a notable achievement from David

Games like this make beating the Sicilian look so easy.

Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you.