Hastings - a new national record today?

[David Robertson]

Bernard Cafferty 0.5-0.5 Alex Golding

Seventy years of separation!

Does this create a new national record for an international event?

[NickFaulks]

Does this create a new national record for an international event?

This isn't quite within the scope of the question, but in some Bermuda Open our son William (b. 1991) was paired with the legendary US master Oscar Shapiro (b. 1909). We did wonder whether that was some kind of a record.

[John McKenna]

Does this create a new national record for an international event?

This isn't quite within the scope of the question, but in some Bermuda Open our son William (b. 1991) was paired with the legendary US master Oscar Shapiro (b. 1909). We did wonder whether that was some kind of a record.

A Chessbase article (dated 11/7/2003) may point the way to a definitive answer Nick's speculation -

http://en.chessbase.com/post/the-world- ... nagenarian

From which -

A few hours after this article went online Adolivio Capece, editor of the Italien chess magazine L'Italia Scacchistica, wrote us: " I am really surprised that in the list there is not GM Enrico Paoli, born on January 13, 1908 (in two months he will be 96!!). He is still playing at Master level chess. In 2003 he played the internationale tournaments in Saint-Vincent and in Bratto. He will play in Milano in December and will receive a special prize by the ECU that will be awarded next February in Saint-Vincent. He lives in Reggio Emilia and is the main organizator of the famous international tournament there. Probably he is the oldest player at Master level in the world.

Presumably David's original question relates to international events played under the auspices of the ECF.
In which case Cafferty,B v. Golding,A may well be a record age difference for English international events.

[Andrew Bak]

Didn't Alex Golding play someone much older than him in the 4NCL a couple of years ago?

[Richard Bates]

I would guess that Stuart Milner-Barry would have been involved in bigger gaps in the the latter years of Lloyd's Bank Masters

[David Shepherd]

If Gibraltar Masters is included Bob Wade played Alex Galliano which is about a 72 year gap.

[Michael Farthing]

To broaden and enlarge the topic what about a parallel investigation into the biggest age total between two competitors? Sort of Bernard Cafferty v Leonard Barden 2016 (imaginary as far as I know). To keep it manageable the game must be FIDE rated.

[Roger de Coverly]

To keep it manageable the game must be FIDE rated.

You might want to stipulate a minimum rating as well. Tournaments such as the Guernsey Holiday are popular with very senior citizens and are now FIDE rated.

[David Williams]

Of far more importance, does the world have a new youngest Morphy Number 4?

[Tim Harding]

To broaden and enlarge the topic what about a parallel investigation into the biggest age total between two competitors? Sort of Bernard Cafferty v Leonard Barden 2016 (imaginary as far as I know). To keep it manageable the game must be FIDE rated.

You had better restrict that to British players (or events). In the World Seniors last month one player celebrated his 86th birthday and another was 89 on the day of the last round. I haven't checked who they played but even if they didn't meet each other, they probably met other octogenarians so the combined years would have been in the 170s or very nearly that.

[Stewart Reuben]

I thought I had it cracked when, in 2004, I arranged a game between 5 year old Jonathan Pein and a 102 year old. Not, of course, FIDE Rated.
But then I found one in Iceland 4 or 5 and 103.

[JustinHorton]

Of far more importance, does the world have a new youngest Morphy Number 4?

What's the sequence here?

Re: Professor Robertson's original query, I have s vague recollection of Bob Wade, toward the end of his life, playing a very young opponent. Does that ring any bells for anybody else?

[Leonard Barden]

Of far more importance, does the world have a new youngest Morphy Number 4?

What's the sequence here?

Presumably Morphy-James Mortimer-Edward Sergeant (City of London championship c 1908)-Bernard Cafferty-Alex Golding. But it remains true that Morphy v Mortimer, assuming they happened, were all casual games and no game scores have survived.

So I continue to believe (though I would,wouldn't I) that the all-competitive game route via Morphy-Louis Paulsen/Henry Bird-Jacques Mieses is superior. From that route just three survivors remain-Arturo Pomar. Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer (Hastings Premier Reserves 1949-50) and myself.

[David Williams]

Of far more importance, does the world have a new youngest Morphy Number 4?

What's the sequence here?

http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php ... rs#p147616
was my source, but you will see from the following post that I agree with Leonard as to provenance.