English Chess Forum

McShane-Jones drawn !

Pretty disappointing Championship with both David and Luke taking quick draws with white against Gawain. This just isn't the fighting chess I would expect from anyone who actually wants to win the title!

More than one way to skin a cat

True. It would though, after the board 1 game, be mildly amusing if Howell dumps a piece in time trouble

Looks like it might be a play-off between the top three seeds. Unless Zhou does something (Gormally made an unsound sacrifice and is currently losing) and Emms can overcome his time and board deficit (position is about equal, but I think David can win from here). Jones and McShane clearly decided that Emms was unlikely to win (yes, a time trouble blunder from Howell would be karma of sorts, if a sad way to decide the title).

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:Looks like it might be a play-off between the top three seeds. Unless Zhou does something (Gormally made an unsound sacrifice and is currently losing) and Emms can overcome his time and board deficit (position is about equal, but I think David can win from here). Jones and McShane clearly decided that Emms was unlikely to win (yes, a time trouble blunder from Howell would be karma of sorts, if a sad way to decide the title).

Or Craig Hanley wins, which looks more likely.

Barry Sandercock wrote:McShane-Jones drawn !

Which seems to have triggered a s**t-or-bust, "piece for two pawns and an attack" sacrifice by Gormally. Unfortunately he sacrificed the piece on b5 when Black's king was on g8 and unsurprisingly the attack has petered out pretty quickly.

How good is Craig Hanley at faster time controls?

Yes, has anyone actually been tracking Craig's progress through this tournament?!

A shame for Danny, whose nerves seem to have failed him again. I very much doubt he would have chosen Bxb5 earlier in the event.

Really, we should not be surprised by the board one result. I actually don't think Luke's record in "big" last round games is as impressive as one might expect. In all likelihood, those who predicted multiple ties in a round nine event will, at least, have been proven right on the first try.

Looks like Emms may have found a route to a draw and a place in the play-off.

Excellent performance by Taran Jina to end up on 5/9 with a rating of 1777. With a k factor of 40 he may never have an 1800 rating. Is his performance good enough to skip the 1900's as well?

Conor Murphy stands out, too.

Should also note Richard Palliser's win against Simon Williams. Unless I have missed an earlier win, that reduces his lifetime deficit to something like 1-25.

Jonathan Rogers wrote:Should also note Richard Palliser's win against Simon Williams. Unless I have missed an earlier win, that reduces his lifetime deficit to something like 1-25.

Was he pleased??

Roger de Coverly wrote:

John Reyes wrote:can i asked where the 2018 championship will be held?

Gossip is saying Hull, but no confirmation by the ECF or alternative announcement. Usually it's in the programme, but there wasn't one this year and also there's a presentation about the next year's venue, which obviously didn't happen.

Dates aren't known either.

Wonder if they are seeing how this British went before making a decision?

Hull? What about Torquay again or maybe in the north west?