FIDE Open London Chess Classic

[Roger de Coverly]

Finally, special praise is due to the game inputter(s), who got accurate game moves online within a few hours.

I rather think that was Jack Rudd.

[Mick Norris]

Can’t honestly say I’ve ever seen 2Q+p vs 2Q before!

Pete Doggers report

[Mick Norris]

Open final standings

Were there any norms achieved in the end?

I see that Shreyas missed the last round

[Richard Bates]

Open final standings

Were there any norms achieved in the end?

It doesn’t look like it. Not sure anyone even came particularly close. I think the particular features of the tournament makes it very difficult (not sure it’s had much of a record for producing norms in the past either which would back this up).

[Leonard Barden]

Open final standings

Were there any norms achieved in the end?

I see that Shreyas missed the last round

He was very tired, so with the IM norm chance gone due to his round 8 defeat his parents decided to give him a day's rest before the weekend rapid and blitz.

The 155 Fide points gained will raise his rating to 2096, No 5 in the world among players born 2009 or later, behind the youngest ever IM Abhi Mishra of the US, Marco Materia of France, and two Russians.

Shreyas was briefly world No 2 in October 2018 but then his rating dropped back with poor results in junior age group tournaments.

[Mick Norris]

Open final standings

Were there any norms achieved in the end?

It doesn’t look like it. Not sure anyone even came particularly close. I think the particular features of the tournament makes it very difficult (not sure it’s had much of a record for producing norms in the past either which would back this up).

Thanks Richard; what is the difficulty with the LCC Open; is it the range of players who enter?

[Leonard Barden]

Open final standings

Were there any norms achieved in the end?

It doesn’t look like it. Not sure anyone even came particularly close. I think the particular features of the tournament makes it very difficult (not sure it’s had much of a record for producing norms in the past either which would back this up).

Thanks Richard; what is the difficulty with the LCC Open; is it the range of players who enter?

It wasn't a norm, but was much more significant than any norm or even an IM or GM title.

When he reached 6.5/7, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa's rating surpassed 2600, and that was the big story in the Indian media.

At 14 years 3 months and 24 days, he broke Wei Yi''s record of 14 years 4 months and 30 days.

Technically the world record for youngest 2600 is by John M Burke of the US at 14 years 2 months, but that was a statistical freak based on playing a large number of games within two months to exploit the then newly installed K=40 rule. Burke didn't meet a single 2600+ opponent during that run, and has not maintained 2600 since.

Indians regarded Wei Yi's record as the real one to beat, and I am sure that Pragg came to the Fide Open with the express intention of using the tournament to achieve what could be called a super-GM norm. And he did so in style. Next stop, the 2700 age record.

So in my opinion the negative implications of the previous comments are not justified

[NickFaulks]

Technically the world record for youngest 2600 is by John M Burke of the US at 14 years 2 months, but that was a statistical freak based on playing a large number of games within two months to exploit the then newly installed K=40 rule.

I hope nobody reads Leonard's comment as a suggestion that anything improper was done in that case. I didn't know that the rating program was going to react in the the way it did, and I am quite sure that the Americans didn't.

[Richard Bates]

It doesn’t look like it. Not sure anyone even came particularly close. I think the particular features of the tournament makes it very difficult (not sure it’s had much of a record for producing norms in the past either which would back this up).

Thanks Richard; what is the difficulty with the LCC Open; is it the range of players who enter?

It wasn't a norm, but was much more significant than any norm or even an IM or GM title.

When he reached 6.5/7, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa's rating surpassed 2600, and that was the big story in the Indian media.

At 14 years 3 months and 24 days, he broke Wei Yi''s record of 14 years 4 months and 30 days.

Technically the world record for youngest 2600 is by John M Burke of the US at 14 years 2 months, but that was a statistical freak based on playing a large number of games within two months to exploit the then newly installed K=40 rule. Burke didn't meet a single 2600+ opponent during that run, and has not maintained 2600 since.

Indians regarded Wei Yi's record as the real one to beat, and I am sure that Pragg came to the Fide Open with the express intention of using the tournament to achieve what could be called a super-GM norm. And he did so in style. Next stop, the 2700 age record.

So in my opinion the negative implications of the previous comments are not justified

To be honest I don’t really understand the last line, given “previous comments” were no more than factual statements. No particular “negativity” to be justified or rejected. Some tournaments have a tendency to create more norms than others. LCC for various reasons doesn’t seem to. Partly, frankly it is because there weren’t that many people playing who were capable of achieving norms without significantly outperforming their rating. To get a GM norm you’d probably have to almost win the tournament. Many of the people in the +2300 category were already IMs.

But delivering norms is not the only way to judge a tournament.

[Richard Bates]

Technically the world record for youngest 2600 is by John M Burke of the US at 14 years 2 months, but that was a statistical freak based on playing a large number of games within two months to exploit the then newly installed K=40 rule.

I hope nobody reads Leonard's comment as a suggestion that anything improper was done in that case. I didn't know that the rating program was going to react in the the way it did, and I am quite sure that the Americans didn't.

Seems a slightly strange complaint to make whilst almost simultaneously making something of Shreyas gaining 155 points in a single tournament. (And yes he did do pretty well with some nice wins and no doubt will serve as a big and reassuring confidence boost). And, to be fair, Shreyas rating gain wasn’t an “overshoot” by definition.

Re: Praggnanandha etc obviously sustaining high rating levels once the k-factor has reduced and cut out the essentially random element are the ultimate test. But equally the American clearly wasn’t a pretty weak player getting lucky, given that he subsequently became a GM and was obviously making some sort of “leap” in strength at the time. And he did actually play one 2600 on his “run” . He overshot a bit but not massively so. And looks as if he played fairly sparingly with a lot of activity every summer which probably meant that he reached some goals later than he might have done if travelling around the world playing full time.

[Richard Bates]

Incidentally this sort of rating “anomaly” isn’t just a modern phenomenon. I remember playing in the world youth in 1992 and I was next in the seedings to a Vietnamese player rated 2215, who put in a fairly anonymous performance. To say I was a bit surprised when playing the following year to discover he was top seed in the section above me with a rating of 2560 would be an understatement! But then he won it so obviously something had clicked!