PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

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Sean Hewitt
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by Sean Hewitt » Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:53 pm

An excellent win for Jonathan. Fingers crossed that he gets over the line tomorrow, which I'm sure he will.

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Carl Hibbard
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by Carl Hibbard » Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:53 pm

Gawain never really got out of the awkward opening position.
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Leonard Barden
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by Leonard Barden » Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:59 pm

Short still crushing Sargissian, Howell now likely winning (+1.5) against Vachier-Lagrave, prospects growing for final round top board pairing Short 6.5 v Howell 6.5.

AustinElliott
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by AustinElliott » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:00 pm

Not such a good day for Gawain Jones. It appears Fressinet's tendency to draw with English players may have been exaggerated...

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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by AustinElliott » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:06 pm

Is Jones' 8. ..b5 well known? I'm guessing it's a tactical attempt to avoid a long defence of a static sort of Maroczy Bind set-up, but it didn't seem to work out very well.

Also, given Jones is a Dragon specialist, surprised he played 11. ..e6 and not 11. ..g6. Is there some tactical reason? Any comments from the opening theory buffs?

Roger de Coverly
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by Roger de Coverly » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:16 pm

AustinElliott wrote:Is Jones' 8. ..b5 well known?
Not in that position. Even 8. c4 is either new or very recent.

The site database.chessbase.com can be very useful for checking these things.

Leonard Barden
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by Leonard Barden » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:38 pm

Nigel Short has beaten Sargissian and David Howell has defeated the No1 seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, thus setting up the dream final round top board pairing tomorrow of Short 6.5 v Howell 6.5.

I do find it disappointing that this thread has been sidetracked into a theoretical discussion on the Dragon.

Fact is that with five serious English contenders in the PokerStars tournament it was arithmetically improbable that they could all be successful. Jones and Adams have been slightly below par, but we should celebrate that Hawkins will very likely become a GM, Short , shorn of his Fide delegate and Kasparov cheerleader baggage, has returned to form, while Howell with several good scalps has made a significant breakthrough.

In my book that adds up to the best overall English result in a tournament of this quality for a long while.

Jonathan Rogers
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by Jonathan Rogers » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:05 pm

Agreed.

I was surprised that not more had been made of Howell's first ever win v Adams and his win v Gawain, on consecutive days. And wins v Adams and MVL are, I should think, the two highest rated opponents he has ever beaten. He has the chance to beat his other regular team member tomorrow too, but with Short as White and in his current form (what a Benoni today!) there would be reason to be satisfied with a draw.

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David Grobler
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by David Grobler » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:58 pm

dont overlook Alan Merrys performance either...what does he have to do to get an IM norm ?

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:09 pm

David Grobler wrote:dont overlook Alan Merrys performance either...what does he have to do to get an IM norm ?
With a sufficiently strong opponent tomorrow, the answer is "turn up". How strong sufficiently strong is, I don't know, because I don't know his result today.

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David Grobler
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by David Grobler » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:15 pm

he won today...yes ?

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:19 pm

David Grobler wrote:he won today...yes ?
Could have done. I haven't seen any results today from boards below 16.

(If he won, then just turning up will certainly be enough for an IM norm, and the interesting question is what he needs for a GM norm.)

Leonard Barden
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by Leonard Barden » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:40 pm

IM Jack Rudd wrote:
David Grobler wrote:he won today...yes ?
Could have done. I haven't seen any results today from boards below 16.

(If he won, then just turning up will certainly be enough for an IM norm, and the interesting question is what he needs for a GM norm.)
Now showing 1-0 on ChessResults, though not yet on the tournament website.

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David Grobler
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by David Grobler » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:47 pm

The official website isnt very good . So...assuming Chess results is correct (it showed 1-0 for a while now)...can Alan get a GM norm ?
I think this is a more important performance than Short/Howell/Hawkins etc....just my opinion....

Leonard Barden
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Re: PokerStars Isle of Man International 4-12 October 2014

Post by Leonard Barden » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:57 pm

David Grobler wrote: I think this is a more important performance than Short/Howell/Hawkins etc....just my opinion....
It could have been if Merry's overall Fide rating was 2469 rather than 2269. To put it into perspective, at present he only ranks world No182 among U18s.