e2e4 London Diamond Jubilee Congress

[Brendan O'Gorman]

Some more photos http://tinyurl.com/GatwickJune2012

[Tristan Clayton]

John,
Thanks for shooting the front, rather than the back, of my head! I particularly liked the shot of the restaurant. Photo number 52 is not John Kelly - it's Vladimirs Bovtramovics. Photo 72 is Conor O'Donnell (I think).

Thanks Brendan. My best side is neither front nor back! Conor is 12 years old so # 72 is unlikely. # 69 is Conor I believe.

J.

#44 would be yours truly...you've captured one of my rare pensive moments of the weekend. Although I may just have been dumbstruck by the gravity of my latest blunder.

[John Upham]

#44 would be yours truly...you've captured one of my rare pensive moments of the weekend. Although I may just have been dumbstruck by the gravity of my latest blunder.

Thanks Tristan!

[Jonathan Rogers]

Something I have often meant to ask regarding swiss events is whether these days anyone thinks it appropriate not to pair players from the same Club together if avoidable?

I am prompted to ask this by seeing that Neil Berry and Sam Collins are paired together on board seven (they have been Barbican team mates for 11 years). Now perhaps they are each doing sufficiently well for it not to be appropriate to depart from ordinary pairing rules, or maybe there is no good alternative - I am not really too bothered by this particular example, but I would like to know whather there is any aversion in principle to pairing players from the same club, and whether therefore players should be more careful which club they specify when entering tournaments?

[Roger de Coverly]

but I would like to know whather there is any aversion in principle to pairing players from the same club, and whether therefore players should be more careful which club they specify when entering tournaments?

I believe it depends on the organiser and arbiters. Those arbiters who enjoy shuffling cards and making obscure decisions might decide to avoid pairing players from the same club. Those who prefer to use a computer so as to publish pairings without delay will not normally bother, even though the computerised pairing schemes do have flags to forbid certain pairings. These are intended to avoid pairing ISR players against those who are forced to object to playing them rather than a couple of 4NCL team mates. e2e4 fall into the computer pairings school of thought.

[Sean Hewitt]

If I thought that it was a big issue then it's something that I would consider but I don't get the sense that it is.

That said, it's one thing to separate players on 2 or 3 out of 7, but perhaps another thing (is it?) if the players are on, say, 4.5. I guess you then have the argument about where to draw the line? I presume no one would want to avoid pairing the joint leaders?

I think it's simpler, and less open to argument or abuse, to simply pair correctly as per the FIDE rules, but I'd welcome the views of tournament regulars.

[Ian Kingston]

I think it's simpler, and less open to argument or abuse, to simply pair correctly as per the FIDE rules, but I'd welcome the views of tournament regulars.

Exactly. Once you start tinkering with the draw - for any reason - other players are affected.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"I think it's simpler, and less open to argument or abuse, to simply pair correctly "

I agree - there seems to be an English tradition that you should avoid pairing friends or club colleagues, and you get moaned at if you do pair them. I don't think the rest of the world idea of pairing two people in the first round when they have obviously travelled together to the tournament is a great idea. But if you fiddle the draw to avoid friends etc playing, you can end up giving somebody else a much harder or easier game. So possibly, you should avoid it in early rounds.

I do recall Tony Corfe arriving at Guernsey a few years ago and instructing Eric Croker that he wasn't allowed to pair any of the 20 juniors together. (The field was 100...) It is a measure of Eric's restraint and kindness that he didn't reply with a seven letter repsonse or drown Mr Corfe in Vale Pond.

[Adam Ashton]

I think in a 9 round international I agree with strict computer pairings.

I have a bit of sympathy for pairing two team mates(who possibly wouldn't bother to travel for the Friday game if they knew they would play each other) for the first game of a 5 round weekender. If I was running the tournament I'd probably avoid it assuming it didn't alter the draw particularly. Think that's about as far as I'd go, any more than that and drawing the line becomes difficult.

[Roger de Coverly]

don't think the rest of the world idea of pairing two people in the first round when they have obviously travelled together to the tournament is a great idea.

If you want to do it, surely the first round is easy? Just adjust the seedings.

In any event, doesn't giving players you don't want to pair the same round 1 colour reduce the odds of a pairing slightly?

[Mick Norris]

In any event, doesn't giving players you don't want to pair the same round 1 colour reduce the odds of a pairing slightly?

Yes, I think that is the easiest way to do it

It can be difficult when you have lots of players from one club, as we see in Manchester with 3Cs

[Roger de Coverly]

It can be difficult when you have lots of players from one club, as we see in Manchester with 3Cs

If your event becomes a proxy for a local club or district championship, players just have to accept "local" pairings.

[Sean Hewitt]

The draw for Round 9 of the London Diamond Jubilee Congress his been published.

Congratulations to David Eggleston and Martin Brown who both score IM norms - provided they play their games this afternoon!

[AustinElliott]

Live games now transmitting.

Anyone get the impression board 1 is heading for an early cessation of hostilities?

Presumably, if board 1 (Andrei Vovk - Sumets) is halved, then older bro' Yuri Vovk (playing White on Bd 2 against St Helens' Martin Brown) can catch Sumets & share 1st place with a win...

EDIT: Cripes, barely had I typed the above than Vovk-Sumets is agreed drawn in 15 moves... Though I guess when a GM plays the exchange French, and the Queens come off on move 7, it takes no great (read: any) prescience to see proceedings will be wound up quickly and without bloodshed. /edit

[Simon Ansell]

I was just about to write "10...e5 in Collins - Williams looks like it could be fun, but possibly not for Sam", but Simon's just played 10...de4 instead. What was I missing?

edit: he's followed up with 11...e5