English Chess Forum

Matt's numbers are correct if two robots who scored 40%/60% played against each other, but if we include the chance of a draw - say Carlsen scores 60% by winning 23% vs 17% with black and 40% vs 6% with white - then the maths spits out Carlsen 82%, Draw 10%, Anand 8%. Fortunately, the players aren't...

Just as a matter of interest, was there some sort of trigger point/reason at which enormous numbers of "supporters" started to go on these trips, or has it just been a gradual evolutionary process? When I first went on one of these trips (2001?) I went unaccompanied as an U12. This wasn't particula...

Matthew Turner wrote:I haven't had a bet, but Gelfand is 11/5 with Ladbrokes, that seems incredible value

Disagree - I'll happily offer at least 9/4 on Gelfand!

No idea why it's appeared on chessbase today but it's as blatantly false as any story I saw yesterday!

Big win for Irish cricket this morning!

But I think the only thing the T20 Rankings List shows is that the T20 Rankings List is nonsense...

Scoring above 50% in every round so far is incredibly impressive - very well done to the team!

Adams bailing out into a slightly worse ending?
I wonder if Yang-Fan will regret not playing Bb7 instead of Ba6, when amongst other things he has the better bishop

Is YFZ just quite a bit better here?

32...Ba2 33.Rb2 Qc7 gave black some hope (though 34.e5 is still very good for white). But 32...Qc7? 33.Rxb3 Nxc6 34.e5 played and Grischuk's resignation surely follows very soon

Can't see even Grischuk squirming his way out of this one, though I'd have said that about some of his earlier games...

Interesting attempted exchange sac by Grischuk, but 23.Bb2 looks like a very good move - after 23...f5 grabbing the exchange intending to chip away with h5 is a rather improved version for white, after after 23...Rb5 (played) 24.e4 is rather complicated but looks like a very good pawn sac.

Seems that 19...Bxh4 20.gxh4 Rxh4 is met by 21.Kg3! threatening the rook and d5. Now 20.Bf3 Ra5 21.Qg2 seems like a sensible reorganizing, but the computer thinks black is okay after 21...Ra8(!). Weird game.

I really don't understand the criticism towards Grischuk. In the majority of his short draws (last rapid game against Kramnik perhaps an exception) he's obviously been out-prepared and got no real advantage. Thus he's gotten significantly behind on the clock, whilst his opponent sits there, probably...

Round 6 Pairings

#1 Olga Lopatin (3.5) v Simon Williams (4.5) 0-1
#2 Thomas Rendle (4) v Jamess Holland (3.5) 1/2-1/2
#3 Peter Roberson (3.5) v Peter Lalic (3.5) 1-0

Ben Purton wrote:Looking at the games , Oxford sadly deserved to win , Robo was playing for Cambridge so Sharks of course support them.

Not sure if turning up plagued by insomnia and blundering a queen really counts as 'playing', but thanks for the support. 'Twas a pretty depressing loss from our point of view.