We're goin' to Vegas!!!

[Gordon Cadden]

The most eratic player I know is this one

http://ratings.fide.com/id.phtml?event=405736

yet I doubt anyone would suggest that the variance in his performance is sandbagging or managed in any way. That said, I'm sure there are those out there that indulge. Thankfully though, I think they are few and far between.

Reminds me of the Blackpool coca cola ride - very scary ! Obviously, personal problems can effect ones rating. I would certainly never accuse anyone of sandbagging, and it would be nigh on impossible to prove.

[Colin S Crouch]

Aren't we going slightly off-thread? The subject is after all about an advertised big chess tournament in Vegas, and there has been a touch of scepticism in this tournament actually going to take place.

Talk about big events in Vegas surely brings to mind the great exploits of Stan Vaughan, apparently World Champion since 1994, as authentiacted by the World Chess Federation. This is not to be confused by the more famous FIDE organisation. It was set up at Nevada. There have been several challenge matches set up at Las Vegas, but somehow the matches never seem to have taken place, and Stan Vaughan renains as world champion - in his own mind at least.

Googling at Stan Vaughan Chess will provide many gems of amusement. I leave it to the readers to find the best ones.

When I saw the start of this thread, I at first assuned that this was going to be one of Vaughan's little projects, but nercifully it seems not.

[Colin S Crouch]

Recent update from GM Stan Vaughan:

WCF announces new ratings policy
WCF has announced a new ratings policy. This policy is that since “God” is said to be rated 3000, no official WCF rating may be published higher than 2999. Players may have a higher unofficial rating but for official publication on official WCF rating list no player may exceed 2999.



So Stan Vaughan is now 2999, ahead of Bobby Fischer (2897), and lower down in the world rankings, at number 14, Andrew Hammond (2378). Andy, how did you get into this list? There must be a story here.

It is official. Stan Vaughan is next to God .
But what were to happen if a grandmaster were to beat Satan (Stan?!) ? This would be intiguing. It would be well worth seeing if Vaughan were ever to play in the Millionaires tournament.

[Nick Grey]

It will probably happen but not that many runners. There was a recent attempt to fill Wembley for a poker tournament - got nowhere near the numbers but still ran.

Go to WSOP in Vegas & sure you can get high stakes (or low) chess games. A lot of ex-chess players play poker now. Many play both. I have seen chess players playing poker online in breaks between games.

Any sensible poker player knows that to keep winning they ought to play the size of the games they can beat consistently (lower level buy-ins). In a one off game you can beat a World Champion.

Sand-bagging:

As for chess over the last few years - my variance in results is a result of playing poker - I'm far too aggressive & bluff a lot - so causing too many losses against (possibly) weaker players, & too many positive results against (possibly) better.

Illness is a cause too of my short-term drop in ECF rating (not that it has got too high anyway).

Much of lower level entry chess tournaments has always same players (for 10/20/30 years). I put that to non-improvement other than juniors coming through, & those regular players that have got high ratings have got them through their results.
-----
Anyway best of luck in Vegas - shame there are not those big 1000+ entry chess tournaments in the UK (70s/early 80s). But are far more poker tournaments here - but poker tourneys seem to have only began in Vegas in early 1970s.

[Arshad Ali]

So Stan Vaughan is now 2999, ahead of Bobby Fischer (2897), and lower down in the world rankings, at number 14, Andrew Hammond (2378). Andy, how did you get into this list? There must be a story here.

It is official. Stan Vaughan is next to God.

Seems to be a lunatic. Why waste space and time on him? The US is awash with such narcissistic and egomaniacal characters with delusions of self-importance.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"So Stan Vaughan is now 2999, ahead of Bobby Fischer (2897), and lower down in the world rankings, at number 14, Andrew Hammond (2378). Andy, how did you get into this list? There must be a story here."

Andy happened to be in the area and played in a SV "World Championship" qualifying event, sadly failing to qualify when he lost a game on default, when there was apparently a late change to the schedule...

[Chris Rice]

The Millionaire chess tournament is still going ahead with chess.com now getting involved. Jury is still out though on whether this will be a success or disaster.

http://www.chess.com/news/millionaire-c ... sscom-5902

[Chris Rice]

This tournament is still got legs and its now been entered by the Exeter Chess champion http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/E ... story.html

[Niall Doran]

Hopefully the tables in Las Vegas won't be blocking the fire exits!

[Rob Thompson]

I'd really have preferred it if that game was forgotten.

[Niall Doran]

The lower sections (Under 2000 and lower) aren't even Fide-rated! I know the US is a big place and most American players won't ever play abroad, but if you're going to have people coming from all over the world, at least Fide rate the games.
How much are they going to save by not doing that?

[Roger de Coverly]

How much are they going to save by not doing that?

They save themselves the bother of having to insist that all the players have a FIDE Registration Number. But then they have the bother of insisting that all players including foreign ones become USCF members.

I don't think they would bother for the Open either, if it were not for the incentive of offering Norms.

There would be an additional rating fee, but at around 1 Euro per player it's not material in the context of thousand dollar entry fees.

[Stewart Reuben]

If anybody plays in the US they have to be USCF members in order for the event to be USCF Rated. Thus I played one game as a filler in a Marshall Club Open in 2012. The organiser had to pay 3 months membership for me. This was in order to secure a weaker player a game. I gained 1 USCF Rating point and presumably resumed my US Master title for 3 months.
Is the U2000 event U2000 FIDE or USCF?
Which rules will they be applying for these lower sections? USCF Rules or FIDE Laws? I went to New York in 2012 at the behest of FIDE to seek a reconciliation between the US Rules and FIDE Laws. I was only partially successful. However all FIDE Rated chess is now played according to the FIDE Laws.

[Steven DuCharme]

Best wishes to the combat ants

[Niall Doran]

According to the Fide website, only the U2200 and the Open are Fide rated.