Post
by Kevin Thurlow » Wed Jan 18, 2017 5:19 pm
Alan Walton made a good point about the varying strength of the event. In 1996 I did really well at Guernsey so qualified to play in the British in 1997. I felt a bit embarrassed as I wasn't good enough. It was the first event with the big sponsorship, I was rated 2205 and seeded I think about 67 out of 82 (from memory). I managed 4.5/11 (one draw!) and gained 25 points, as all my opponents were rated higher than me!
For anyone who's interested, 0 v M Ferguson (2420), 0 v C Cobb (2290), 1 v R Sheldon (2295) - seriously, don't I get an easier game than that? -, 1 v I Thompson (2260), 1 v K Mah (2365), 0 v K Sasikiran (2430) - before he was really good - 0 v HJ Plaskett (2450) (getting a GM when you're on 3/6 was impressive), 0 v A Smith (2255), 1 v K McEwan (2210), 0 v J Ryan (2245), draw v D Walker (2290).
So, yes, the British has dropped off a bit. I guess there's not enough money to make it an all-play-all invitation event, inviting the players in order of rating. The old invitation events stopped about 70 years ago, when there wasn't a rating system, as the establishment invited their mates, and BH Wood had a rant about it. At least then, there were only about 32 players so it was still reasonable quality, but now there a lot of people who maybe should not be there, like me this year a couple of hundred points lower... I guess you have three choices - (1) An all-play-all, (2) Massive Swiss for anybody, (3) less massive Swiss with qualifiers. A Grand Prix sounds reasonable as it will reward regular players, even though I won't qualify from Guernsey again!
Every 20 years I get a good result at Guernsey. I can't wait for 2036.