SO WHO'S GOING TO SHEFFIELD? I AM!

[Michele Clack]

As of 3rd July entries are now up to 486. Sounds promising.

[David Gilbert]

More! 486 amazing! Including my own name this time in the Under-160 and Soanes weekender. That 486 figure compares with 439 on 3 July last year (or 422 on 2 July 2010 for Alex’s more scientific comparison!). Fantastic!

Michele Clack spotted the latest list last night! Well passed my bedtime! But I can’t see her name on the list yet – are you coming Michele? It’s going to be brilliant! Who else is coming but not yet declared?

Good to see Ankush Kandelwal’s name appear. We both played in the U-110 (as it used to be) weekender at Torquay in 2002. Ankush (aged about 12) was playing on the board next to me – with his opponent in deep thought Ankush took a walk. About 10 minutes later I looked over the balcony to see him downstairs leading the post-match analysis on one of the top boards in the weekend rapidplay that was taking place at the same time. By 2006 Ankush was playing in the British Championships and I’m in the U-150 weekender! There’s progress!

[Adam Raoof]

CJ reports that he has persuaded GM Danny Gormally to play which makes the full dozen grandmasters that he was aiming for!

This gives us 10 of the top 13 English player (plus numbers 17 and 38) and 30 titled players in the championship section so far, out of the field of 60.

500 entrants as of today!

http://www.britishchess2011.com/entrants.htm

[David Gilbert]

Wow wee it’s 500! As Adam points out that includes Danny Gormally the 12th GM to enter, but I also want to highlight three enteries from young Alan Fraser the most prolificly active chess player in the country in 2010. The man has more chess energy than an eight-year-old!

[David Gilbert]

A tribute too for Andrew MacQueen who has been playing at these championships for as long as I can remember. If you spot the only St Mirren football shirt ever seen in Sheffield that’ll be Andrew. He has again entered a stamina-sapping four long-play events. Another permanent fixture at these championships is David Everitt who is entered for three long-play events and one rapidplay, whilst another perennial, Lana Boztas, will be doing two long-plays and two rapidplays. These take some beating - usually its Stephen Pride who traditionally sloggs out five long-play events. I’m sure we won’t have to wait too long for his name to enter the fray!

Anyone else planning on four or five (or more!) events?

[David Gilbert]

....and of course extreme chess fanatic Andrew Camp is back for another punishing four events. Good luck Andrew!

[David Gilbert]

I saw Danny Gormally's name but I missed Jonathan Hawkins. It's going to be gigantesque!

Sorry to bang on - I get so excited!

[Brendan O'Gorman]

David,

I think that's enough simulated excitement for today.

[Richard Cowan]

But I'll be there too! yay!

[Keith Arkell]

The seeded System, of which you are so fond, demonstrates bias against people at the top of the second half. See Keith Arkell's results in the 1984 British Championship where after 4 rounds he had played 3 of the 4 GMs.

Actually, it was even more extreme than that: I played the top 4 seeds(all GMs) in the first 4 rounds! draw v Tony Miles; win v Murray Chandler; loss V Jonathan Speelman; draw v Jonathan Mestel.

[Roger de Coverly]

Actually, it was even more extreme than that: I played the top 4 seeds(all GMs) in the first 4 rounds! draw v Tony Miles; win v Murray Chandler; loss V Jonathan Speelman; draw v Jonathan Mestel.

Seeded pairings have this habit of producing the "same" pairing several rounds running. So if you are in the zone for playing the top seeds and you draw, you get another one the round after.

Complete speculation of course, but provided you used a computer pairing scheme to avoid any suggestions of arbiter bias, what would happen if pairings within a score group were determined by lot? If a tournament is both "small", say 100 players and "long", 11 rounds, would a pairing Adams v Short in the first round really matter?

[IM Jack Rudd]

Complete speculation of course, but provided you used a computer pairing scheme to avoid any suggestions of arbiter bias, what would happen if pairings within a score group were determined by lot? If a tournament is both "small", say 100 players and "long", 11 rounds, would a pairing Adams v Short in the first round really matter?

I'd say it probably wouldn't have much overall effect on the final placings; it might have a more significant effect on colour-sequences and other such matters.

[LozCooper]

The seeded System, of which you are so fond, demonstrates bias against people at the top of the second half. See Keith Arkell's results in the 1984 British Championship where after 4 rounds he had played 3 of the 4 GMs.

Actually, it was even more extreme than that: I played the top 4 seeds(all GMs) in the first 4 rounds! draw v Tony Miles; win v Murray Chandler; loss V Jonathan Speelman; draw v Jonathan Mestel.

My first ever British

[David Gilbert]

While the thread ponders our progress towards silver hair (sadly for some it's too late for that to happen), its worth recording the rise and rise of the British seniors championships. There was a record turn-out of 42 at Canterbury last year and this could be smashed again at Sheffield with the entry list currently standing at 39 with some three weeks still to go. Is this evidence of the population living longer or is the attraction that those pesky kids can't interfere!

PS: Will we see Keith again this year - just so the Night Watchman at Pond's Forge can be warned!

[Roger de Coverly]

Is this evidence of the population living longer or is the attraction that those pesky kids can't interfere!

It reflects the big surge in secondary school and university chess from the sixties onwards. The Islington weekender in 1972 attracted well over a thousand entries. Most of these were under 30 and are therefore still around. My first ever British was the Under 21 at Rhyl in 1969. Names from that event and those of University contemporaries are starting to appear in the British Senior and similar age restricted events.