Media comments on chess

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I went and looked up the norms on the application for the GM title for Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant.

I am not sure it is possible to link directly to them, but from this page:

https://ratings.fide.com/titles_page.phtml

Select "Applications" and then "1st quarter Presidential Board, 5-8 March 2009, Istanbul, TUR".

The "publ." (publication date?) is given as 2008-12-16. I am a bit puzzled here. Why does the publication date for the titles vary from player to player? Are the titles not all ratified at the Presidential Board meeting? Does the publication date refer to cases where the norms have been verified and the rating achieved earlier, with only the final rubber-stamping needed at the PB meeting?

BTW, I have always wondered if there is any ceremonial aspect to awarding the titles? It would be nice if there was a tradition (like at universities) of some sort of 'graduation ceremony' with certificate handed out and so on. I suspect not, but will be pleasantly surprised to find out that something like that sometimes happens?

Anyway, Ketevan's norms were:

1996-08-15
1996-08-26 London ENG Women Veterans Foxtrot DR 2536 6 6.5 10 5 0 0 5 0 0 5
2007-10-15
2007-10-23 Calvia ESP IV Open Intl de Calvia SS 2450 6.5 6.5 9 5 1 0 9 0 1 8
2008-11-13
2008-11-25 Dresden GER Chess Olympiad Open TT 2445 6.5 6.5 9 4 2 2 9 0 0 9

Sadly, the links to the files showing the details and norm certificates are not working at present (is this just for older ones or is this a general defect on the FIDE site at present?). But even with the details above, we can see that Ketevan's first two norms were achieved while still registered GEO and the final one while registered SCO. The transfer GEO to SCO took place in January 2008 (as Loz pointed out above).

Indeed, Ketevan top-scored for the Scotland Olympiad team (6.5/9 on board 4) at the Dresden 2008 Olympiad to get her final GM norm:

https://www.olimpbase.org/2008/2008sco.html

She reached the 2500 rating (exactly!) in the January 2009 list, jumping upwards from 2448. The rating increase of 51.8 can be seen here (Ketevan only lost 5 games out of a total of 32 games, drawing 9 and winning 18):

https://ratings.fide.com/calculations.p ... 1&rating=0

That included a good result at the European Union Individual Championship in 2008 at Liverpool (6/10 playing 8 GMs and performing at 2490 - presumably only narrowly missing a GM norm there.)

I am sure all this must have been reported heavily in the chess press at the time. How many women GMs get their GM norms playing in the Open section of the Olympiad? I am guessing quite a few, actually (though playing for a team where you would meet the right number of GMs is tricky - Ketevan played 4 GMs in that Olympiad performace), but it would be interesting to know if it would be possible to put a number to that figure?

[Roger de Coverly]

That included a good result at the European Union Individual Championship in 2008 at Liverpool (6/10 playing 8 GMs and performing at 2490 - presumably only narrowly missing a GM norm there.)

With a little marginal assistance from Nokia ! (Nigel's phone alarm went off to remind him that it was still switched on and consuming battery power)

[NickFaulks]

Sadly, the links to the files showing the details and norm certificates are not working at present (is this just for older ones or is this a general defect on the FIDE site at present?)

Don't laugh, it's a GDPR issue. For a while, even the QC officials responsible for checking norms were deemed ineligible to view norm certificates - no warning, we just woke up one morning, shortly before my recommendations were due, and there they weren't.

While that did get fixed after a brief but ugly row, the days when the wider world could take a look at these things appear to be over.

[Geoff Chandler]

That's a pretty poor question.

Hi Ian,

I guess at the time when the questions were set 111 had just been reached.

-------

Nigel's slip regarding Keti may have been something he would rather forget but the coincidence is amusing.
TBH when Nigel mentioned it I thought that may not be correct and was thinking of Vera Menchik. Keti never entered my mind and I wrote Keti's section in Rampant Chess. (this old age thing is unfair, I've never been old before so I'm not quite use to it. )

Keti's last game at the Dresden Olympiad to clinch a GM norm. Wow!
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1524916

[Matthew Turner]

Just caught the end of a 30 minute chess section on Bloomberg. Simon Williams commentating on the Armageddon Championships. Seems it is repeated tomorrow at 11.30am

[NickFaulks]

Keti's last game at the Dresden Olympiad to clinch a GM norm. Wow!
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1524916

Wow indeed. Getting ever further off topic ( well, it's Christmas ), this led me to another game from Scotland's 2008 campaign, which saw the best ever individual game result by a Japanese player. I don't count rapid or blitz.

https://old.chesstempo.com/gamedb/game/485393

Looking at the position after 40 moves, which result would you least expect?

[Matt Mackenzie]

Rowson must be a bit embarrassed by that one

[LawrenceCooper]

Keti's last game at the Dresden Olympiad to clinch a GM norm. Wow!
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1524916

Wow indeed. Getting ever further off topic ( well, it's Christmas ), this led me to another game from Scotland's 2008 campaign, which saw the best ever individual game result by a Japanese player. I don't count rapid or blitz.

https://old.chesstempo.com/gamedb/game/485393

Looking at the position after 40 moves, which result would you least expect?

In the same year, at the MindSports team blitz in Beijing, I did my best to do likewise:

[Event "Mind Sports Team Rapid"]
[Site "Beijing"]
[Date "2008.10.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Livshits, Gaby"]
[Black "Cooper, Lawrence"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2427"]
[BlackElo "2313"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[EventDate "2008.10.14"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[EventRounds "5"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Nb6 9. Nc3 d5 10. exd6 cxd6 11. Bf4 Qxe2+ 12. Bxe2 Be6 13. b3 d5 14. cxd5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. O-O Be7 17. Rac1 O-O 18. Ba6 Ba3 19. Rc2 Rae8 20. Be3 Re7 21. Bc5 Bxc5 22. Rxc5 Rfe8 23. h3 Kf8 24. Kh2 Re1 25. Kg3 Rxf1 26. Bxf1 Re1 27. Ba6 Ra1 28. Rc2 Bxb3 29. Rxc6 Rxa2 30. Rc3 Rxa6 31. Rxb3 Ke7 32. Rb7+ Kf6 33. h4 h5 34. Rc7 g6 35. Rb7 Ra4 36. Kh3 a5 37. g3 Ra2 38. Kg2 a4 39. Ra7 a3 40. Ra5 Ra1 41. Kf3 Ke6 42. Ra6+ Ke5 43. Ra7 Kd4 44. Rxf7 Rb1 45. Ra7 Rb3+ 46. Kf4 Kc3 47. Kg5 Kb2 48. Kxg6 a2 49. Rxa2+ Kxa2 50. Kxh5 Rf3 51. g4 Kb3 52. g5 Rxf2 53. g6 Kc4 54. Kh6 Kd5 55. h5 Ke6 56. Kg7 Ra2 57. h6 Ra8 58. h7 Kf5 59. Kh6 Kf6 60. g7 Ra1 61. g8=N+ Kf7 62. Nf6 Rh1+ 63. Nh5 Rxh5+ 1/2-1/2

[Roger de Coverly]

[Event "Mind Sports Team Rapid"] [Site "Beijing"] [Date "2008.10.15"] [Round "5"] [White "Livshits, Gaby"] [Black "Cooper, Lawrence"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2427"] [BlackElo "2313"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "2008.10.14"] [EventType "rapid"] [EventRounds "5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Nb6 9. Nc3 d5 10. exd6 cxd6 11. Bf4 Qxe2+ 12. Bxe2 Be6 13. b3 d5 14. cxd5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. O-O Be7 17. Rac1 O-O 18. Ba6 Ba3 19. Rc2 Rae8 20. Be3 Re7 21. Bc5 Bxc5 22. Rxc5 Rfe8 23. h3 Kf8 24. Kh2 Re1 25. Kg3 Rxf1 26. Bxf1 Re1 27. Ba6 Ra1 28. Rc2 Bxb3 29. Rxc6 Rxa2 30. Rc3 Rxa6 31. Rxb3 Ke7 32. Rb7+ Kf6 33. h4 h5 34. Rc7 g6 35. Rb7 Ra4 36. Kh3 a5 37. g3 Ra2 38. Kg2 a4 39. Ra7 a3 40. Ra5 Ra1 41. Kf3 Ke6 42. Ra6+ Ke5 43. Ra7 Kd4 44. Rxf7 Rb1 45. Ra7 Rb3+ 46. Kf4 Kc3 47. Kg5 Kb2 48. Kxg6 a2 49. Rxa2+ Kxa2 50. Kxh5 Rf3 51. g4 Kb3 52. g5 Rxf2 53. g6 Kc4 54. Kh6 Kd5 55. h5 Ke6 56. Kg7 Ra2 57. h6 Ra8 58. h7 Kf5 59. Kh6 Kf6 60. g7 Ra1 61. g8=N+ Kf7 62. Nf6 Rh1+ 63. Nh5 Rxh5+ 1/2-1/2

Three connected passed pawns can be very strong against a Rook, particularly with a King in support,

[Ian Thompson]

That's a pretty poor question.

Hi Ian,

I guess at the time when the questions were set 111 had just been reached.

My guess would be that a sloppy researcher found the Guardian article, or a similar one, and looked no further. He broke the record with the 111th unbeaten game on 14 January 2020, extended it to 112 games on 16 January 2020, reached 125 games without defeat on 8 October 2020 and then lost a game on 10 October 2020, ending the lossless streak at 125 games.

What's the likelihood of the question having been set between 14 and 16 January 2020 when the record was exactly 111 games? Not much, I would think.

[Geoff Chandler]

What's the likelihood of the question having been set between 14 and 16 January 2020 when the record was exactly 111 games? Not much, I would think.

HI Ian,

I think you are correct, I know some quiz programmes end with something like; 'The question were correct at of time of transmission' to stop people writing in after seeing a two year old re-run.

[Stewart Reuben]

Picked up, in Tenerife, from yesterday's Mail on Sunday. Extracted from a Christmas cracker.

What do you call a bunch of chess players bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?

CHESS NUTS BOASTING IN AN OPEN FOYER.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"What do you call a bunch of chess players bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?

CHESS NUTS BOASTING IN AN OPEN FOYER."

Used by Tom O'Connor early in my debut performance on Countdown in 2002. I suspect the joke was not new then, but it put me at my ease.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Used by Tom O'Connor early in my debut performance on Countdown in 2002. I suspect the joke was not new then, but it put me at my ease.

The earliest occurrence of this joke that I could find was in a Readers Digest of 1977.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Jon,

I first heard it in the mid 80's. I bust my head trying to think up a new chess joke every week. None have ever came close to that classic. I think the best cartoon I did, one only chess players would get, was two players walking through the snow on the way to a chess tournament.
One says to the other; 'What makes you think you are going to have a bad tournament'

The other lad's footprints in the snow are in the shape of a '?'