The Xtracon Open 2018

[John Higgs]

The Xtracon Open 2018 (aka the Copenhagen Chess Festival) started today with 5 England juniors playing: Matthew Dishman, Nicolai Woltery, Adam C Taylor and Leif Hafstad.

The 10-round FIDE rated event runs to Sunday 29th July and is being held at the Konventum, Elsinore, Denmark.

Full details of the event can be found at:

http://www.xtraconchessopen.dk/index.php?uid=6

The chess-results link for pairings and results is:

http://chess-results.com/tnr367397.aspx ... art=2&rd=2

Latest news, photographs etc can be seen via the twitter feed : @ECFJuniors2018

No twitter account? You can follow the twitter feed via this link https://mobile.twitter.com/ECFJuniors2018

Good luck to our England juniors.

[Leonard Barden]

Is is hard to follow this event since chessresults does not at present provide the usual national flags.

The main English interest at Copenhagen will be on whether FM Adam Taylor can score his third and final IM norm following his first two at Hastings 2017-18 and 4NCL 2917-18.

Taylor has a rather lowly 2326 rating so would still have work to do to reach 2400 and the title.

In Round 1 he plays Black against an 1858-rated local on board 61.

[Leonard Barden]

M has been switched to board 9 and Black against Norway's 2615-rated No3 GM Aryan Tari.

No disaster yet, the machine claims M 0.07 ahead after 11 moves. Already better than one of the lower games where Black had Bd6 and Pc7, went Qe7?? and resigned on move 8 after White's c4-c5.

[Leonard Barden]

M continues to play solidly against the 2615 GM, who is the reigning world junior under-20 champion and is ranked Norway's No3 after Carlsen and Hammer.

M is still rated level at move 19. He's half an hour behind on the clock, though.

LATER: Still level at move 30, down to Q B N + 6PS each. BUT M has only one minute for 10 moves.

[Richard Bates]

M continues to play solidly against the 2615 GM, who is the reigning world junior under-20 champion and is ranked Norway's No3 after Carlsen and Hammer.

M is still rated level at move 19. He's half an hour behind on the clock, though.

LATER: Still level at move 30, down to Q B N + 6PS each. BUT M has only one minute for 10 moves.

Agreed a draw when clearly better/winning, after very strange oversight by Tari. Well, we've all been there...

Still, incredible result.

[Leonard Barden]

Aside from the clock, he was never worse the entire game. Given the time position, 8 moves to make in a minute, it was realistic to accept the world junior champion and Norway No3's draw offer.

[Richard Bates]

Aside from the clock, he was never worse the entire game. Given the time position, 8 moves to make in a minute, it was realistic to accept the world junior champion and Norway No3's draw offer.

8 moves in 4 minutes you mean.

He's not going to have his 4th birthday for another couple of years.

[Leonard Barden]

Aside from the clock, he was never worse the entire game. Given the time position, 8 moves to make in a minute, it was realistic to accept the world junior champion and Norway No3's draw offer.

8 moves in 4 minutes you mean.

I know it's not always accurate, but the clock on chess24 shows 37 seconds for 8 moves for M in the final position. What's the source for 4 minutes?

[Richard Bates]

Aside from the clock, he was never worse the entire game. Given the time position, 8 moves to make in a minute, it was realistic to accept the world junior champion and Norway No3's draw offer.

8 moves in 4 minutes you mean.

I know it's not always accurate, but the clock on chess24 shows 37 seconds for 8 moves for M in the final position. What's the source for 4 minutes?

It's the modern game Leonard You get 30 seconds every move.

[Leonard Barden]

So, 37 seconds plus increment for 8 moves. The increment doesn't help much if you overstep at move 33.

[Richard Bates]

So, 37 seconds plus increment for 8 moves. The increment doesn't help much if you overstep at move 33.

Of course not, but it's simply not accurate to describe it as 8 moves in a minute, which creates a real prospect of being unable to make the time control regardless of how good a position you have. Anyway from what i've seen on Facebook he's a bit annoyed with himself, for all that it was a great result, which is very positive.

Speaking from experience the psychological weakness of accepting draws when you know you are better/winning is a very important barrier to overcome (I didn't really, and would on occasion almost deliberately get myself short of time so that i could internally "justify" doing so). Far better in the long run that you lose the occasional game after doing the right thing. And (also speaking from experience from the other side) far scarier for your 'stronger' opponents to play 'weaker' players who don't suffer the temptation. Much harder to justify taking somewhat unjustified risks in pursuit of victory.

That takes nothing from the excellent result itself (after all the final position only came about thanks to a strange blunder the move before so was only a fleeting chance - it wasn't as if he'd outplayed him over a long period only to let him off at the crucial moment). Looks like almost the only "upset"(unsurprisingly) in the whole round.

[Matt Mackenzie]

He's not going to have his 4th birthday for another couple of years.

Now, if *that* were true........

[Richard Bates]

He's not going to have his 4th birthday for another couple of years.

Now, if *that* were true........

It is!

[Matt Mackenzie]

Ah, we are talking about a Feb baby?

[LawrenceCooper]

The main English interest at Copenhagen will be on whether FM Adam Taylor can score his third and final IM norm following his first two at Hastings 2017-18 and 4NCL 2917-18.

Taylor has a rather lowly 2326 rating so would still have work to do to reach 2400 and the title.

In Round 1 he plays Black against an 1858-rated local on board 61.

His rating was 2242 in January so steady progress is been made on the rating front, helped of course by his 4NCL norm.