(Leonard Barden's Guardian column.)
Alex H. breathes a huge sigh of relief!
The reason is that the women play only 11 rounds in total, rather than 13. I do not know the reason for that.
You missed out someone called Gukesh.Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑Fri Dec 26, 2025 11:22 pmCarlsen, Erigaisi, Vachier-Lagrave and Artemiev lead in the Open on 4.5/5.
Talab Rami could be the next Michael Adams, see also his impressive result in the recent Isle of Wight blitz. At 12, he is probably one of the three youngest players in the World Rapid, along with Faustino Oro and Roman Shogdzhiev.Ian Thompson wrote: ↑Sat Dec 27, 2025 9:48 amNo British players taking part, but I noticed one Cornish resident player who's doing quite well after 5 rounds bearing in mind his lowly seeding.
[Oro on 3/6 with two draws with Mamedyarov and Dominguez Perez, Shogdzhiev on 2/6.]Leonard Barden wrote: ↑Sat Dec 27, 2025 11:10 amTalab Rami could be the next Michael Adams, see also his impressive result in the recent Isle of Wight blitz. At 12, he is probably one of the three youngest players in the World Rapid, along with Faustino Oro and Roman Shogdzhiev.Ian Thompson wrote: ↑Sat Dec 27, 2025 9:48 amNo British players taking part, but I noticed one Cornish resident player who's doing quite well after 5 rounds bearing in mind his lowly seeding.
The ECF should make it an absolute priority to get him to transfer from SYR to ENG. That single act would be a huge benefit to English junior chess.
Are you watching, Malcolm P, Alex H and Mike T?
(The 2023 news seems to have escaped the attention of the forum.)Cornwall chess champion is Syrian boy Rami, 10
Who almost lost his first game to someone rated 2478.LawrenceCooper wrote: ↑Sat Dec 27, 2025 10:44 amYou missed out someone called Gukesh.Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑Fri Dec 26, 2025 11:22 pmCarlsen, Erigaisi, Vachier-Lagrave and Artemiev lead in the Open on 4.5/5.
Alex H and Mike T are not in the roles they were three months ago.
If they are playing in the same place, I could see an argument that staggering the first round makes sense, as not everyone is trying to get through security at the same time, but as this isn't the case, it's just a bit oddNickFaulks wrote: ↑Sat Dec 27, 2025 8:36 amThe reason is that the women play only 11 rounds in total, rather than 13. I do not know the reason for that.