COMMONWEALTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2014

[Mike Truran]

Theoden: A great host, you say?
Aragorn: All Isengard is emptied.
Theoden: How many?
Aragorn: Ten thousand strong at least.
Theoden: [astonished] Ten thousand?
Aragorn: It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men. They will be here by nightfall.
Theoden: Let them come.

Commonwealth Chess Championships 2014 Grading Performance table
Grading Performance
Pool Name Club Status Grade PNUM Pts Plyd Opps Act Plyd Perf
3 Sengupta, Deep (GM) XK V 2536 23781 7½ 9 2392 7½ 9 2672
12 Aravindh, Chithambaram V R (IM) XK V 2444 25552 7½ 9 2328 7½ 9 2608
1 Gupta, Abhijeet (GM) XK V 2634 25547 7 9 2431 7 9 2653
6 Debashis, Das (GM) XK V 2484 25550 7 9 2372 7 9 2594
2 Lalith, Babu M R (GM) XK V 2561 25548 7 9 2371 7 9 2593
8 Grover, Sahaj (GM) XK V 2483 25635 6½ 9 2330 6½ 9 2497
4 Ankit, R Rajpara (GM) XK V 2511 25549 6½ 9 2298 6½ 9 2465
21 Soumya, Swaminathan (GM) XK V 2318 25561 6½ 9 2269 6½ 9 2436
9 Arghyadip, Das (IM) XK V 2470 23782 6½ 9 2245 6½ 9 2412
11 Wang, Puchen (IM) XK V 2450 25636 6½ 9 2235 6½ 9 2402
10 Barua, Dibyendu (GM) XK V 2452 25551 6½ 9 2225 6½ 9 2392
24 Tate, Alan (FM) WD - 2276 6191 6½ 9 2205 6½ 9 2372
32 Kulkarni, Bhakti (CM) XK V 2231 25567 6½ 9 2180 6½ 9 2347
23 Thakur, Akash (FM) XK V 2288 25562 6½ 9 2110 6½ 9 2277
7 Barnaure, Vlad-Victor (IM) GW - 2483 21610 6 9 2414 6 9 2536
15 Tania, Sachdev (IM) XK V 2422 25555 6 9 2301 6 9 2423
5 McNab, Colin A (GM) DV - 2497 5190 6 9 2291 6 9 2413
13 Roy Chowdhury, Saptarshi (GM) XK V 2428 25553 6 9 2270 6 9 2392
14 Prasanna, Raghuram Rao (IM) XK V 2427 25554 6 9 2251 6 9 2373
25 Akash Pc, Iyer XK V 2275 25563 6 9 2150 6 9 2272

[Andrew Martin]

They come for the haggis,you know.

[andyburnett]

Just for the record, it was fantastic having the Indian contingent playing in Glasgow: some excellent players who fought tooth and nail the entire event (including in almost every game with each other, and in the last round too) and a real pleasure to be around away from the board as well.

Having rid yourselves of the Indians from the British, and ostracised most of the top Scottish players from that tournament also, followed by what could almost be described as a 'boycott' of the Commonwealth this year by the leading English players, it's pretty pathetic to bother posting these attempts at 'humour'. Since you couldn't be bothered discussing anything on the 'Commonwealth thread' during the event, why go to the trouble now?

Andy Burnett

[Mike Truran]

and ostracised most of the top Scottish players from that tournament also, followed by what could almost be described as a 'boycott' of the Commonwealth this year by the leading English players

So how is the one "ostracism" and the other a "boycott"?

why go to the trouble now?

I think you may be rather missing my point.

[andyburnett]

Iirc correctly English GM's, exclusively, were recently offered conditions by a private individual whereas 3-times British Champion Jonathan Rowson among other Scots wasn't even contacted/invited/offered anything to defend his title - hardly likely to tempt the Scottish GM's to play the British, though 'ostracism' was perhaps too strong a word.

This year for the Scottish and Commonwealth I know of at least 3 English GM's who were a) unhappy with the conditions offered and b) didn't want to play 'Team India' (who, as I have pointed out, were just as brutal in dealing with each other as they were with the rest of us!), even though these conditions were the same as offered to everyone else. Again 'boycott' is maybe too strong a word - I was trying to make a point.

I may well have missed your point Mike but hopefully you'll clarify what it was

[Mike Truran]

I don't have the knowledge to comment on your first two paragraphs, although maybe others better informed than me may be able to.

My (related) points were only that: (a) the results table looks like the biggest carve-up since 25 December; (b) it's telling that the lavishly funded All India Chess Federation could send the team they did, while the ECF and Chess Scotland between them were able to muster one solitary grandmaster - and in a year when the event was held on home soil. I certainly hadn't intended to provoke a Scottish/English flame war - there's quite enough of that going on in the real world!

Congratulations to all those responsible for organising what looks to have been a fantastic event.

[Gordon Cadden]

Great to see so many Scottish names on the list of entries. Reminds me of the year 1993, when the British Championships were held in Dundee (most of the entries were from the South of England).

[Roger de Coverly]

Iirc correctly English GM's, exclusively, were recently offered conditions by a private individual whereas 3-times British Champion Jonathan Rowson among other Scots wasn't even contacted/invited/offered anything to defend his title

That was in 2008 at Liverpool, but perhaps also in 2011 if CJ only approached English players. But it's not just the handful of IMs and GMs. FMs and >2000 players have also been reluctant to travel south in any numbers. Perhaps it was always so. There's never been a "London Scottish" team in the 4NCL although Welsh teams in the 4NCL have English resident members.

[Mike Truran]

the ECF and Chess Scotland between them were able to muster one solitary grandmaster - and in a year when the event was held on home soil.

...... and only four players rated over 2300.

There's never been a "London Scottish" team in the 4NCL although Welsh teams in the 4NCL have English resident members.

In 2015/2016 the 4NCL's Division 3 North moves to exclusively northern venues. The travelling distances for Scottish-based teams will still be significant, but maybe not insuperable?

[MartinCarpenter]

There's always much more of Northumberland than you think there is

[Mike Truran]

Drove to Stranraer last weekend to get the ferry to Belfast. Got onto the A75 at the end of the M6 and found there were still a hundred miles to go.

[andyburnett]

No worries Mike Just a bit disappointed that so few English players appeared and at the lack of interest shown in what was a really good event. The lack of top Scots playing is mainly down to the fact that we have a lack of top Scots! It doesn't help that McNab, Shaw, Aagaard and Greet, who might all have fancied playing on home soil, work for the same chess publishing company (Quality Chess) and can't always all disappear together (at least 3 of them are already booked up for Olympiad duty next month).

I have a feeling that Scots have never played the British in any significant number, particularly when it's held 'way down south'. This could have been in part because very few qualification spots were open to those playing in events in Scotland and also the entry fee of @£200 for players of my level (2100-2300) is a hefty chunk to pay out before you've considered all the other costs of 9 or 11 days holiday 'abroad'

I'm not sure if the AICF funded all the Indians (or even any of them)? I thought - perhaps for no good reason - that they had individual sponsorships through clubs/companies, although either way it does give a considerable head-start over, say, English/British professionals who would be relying on prize-money to make the trip viable.

The 4NCL North might attract a Scottish team or 2, although the majority of our strong, keen players already play the 4NCL spread over many different clubs - so I'm not sure they would consider changing this approach?!

[Adam Raoof]

There is an article about the Championships in the latest Chess Monthly; sadly the captions to the photographs do not record the identity of either of the gentleman awarding the trophies - any ideas?

[Alex McFarlane]

Without having seen the photos it is Hamish Glen Chess Scotland President and Bharat Singh Commonwealth Chess Association President.

I believe Hamish will be on the right!!!

[Stewart Reuben]

Andy Burnett >I have a feeling that Scots have never played the British in any significant number,<

A good number of Scots played in the British in 1985 and 2003 in Edinburgh. But there was a poor entry in Dundee in 1993. The Scots started to be exceptionally encouraged to play in the Lloyds Bank Masters starting around 1980, to prepare for the forthcoming centenary in 1984. They didn't want the British to be in Scotland in 1984, the same year as their centenary.

This year first there was the Commonwealth/Scottish, then the British and now the Olympiads, all in close succession. Also the World Senior Team. It is hardly surprising that the available players were spread thin. I did suggest the Commonwealth, British and Scottish Championships be all one event where only the Sots could win all 3 titles, only the British 2 and the Commonwealth just one. I would certainly have limited the entry to Commopnwealth players. But there seemed to be no appetitite for that.

A Commonwealth title is more valuable to an Indian player than a British one. e.g. A player will get preferential advancement in his company, if he has represented India internationally. Pentala Harikrishna gained the GM title and won the Commonwealth title at the age of 15. On his return home, his local government gave him a house. Even a British title was more valuable to an Indian than to a Brit. That is why so many of them used to come to the British.