David Howell reaches 2700

[Mick Norris]

David's live rating is 2709.9, so I think even with a loss tomorrow he would still be over 2700 on the next rating list, so well done - hopefully, he can finish with a win and push his rating over 2710 - he is a point clear of Postny, so a draw would give David clear first

[David Robertson]

I'm disappointed, just a little, that this excitement over David Howell's 2700-shift, and prospects for a tournament win, have completely blotted out the achievements of two Liverpool players in the tournament.

The Liverpool (aka ENG) contingent is, with Howell, the second largest there. And, OK, the other two are total nonentities except to me - and even to me. But no matter, they fly the flag; they try their best. And doubtless, they have selfies with the GM. This must be good. No?

[LawrenceCooper]

I'm disappointed, just a little, that this excitement over David Howell's 2700-shift, and prospects for a tournament win, have completely blotted out the achievements of two Liverpool players in the tournament.

The Liverpool (aka ENG) contingent is, with Howell, the second largest there. And, OK, the other two are total nonentities except to me - and even to me. But no matter, they fly the flag; they try their best. And doubtless, they have selfies with the GM. This must be good. No?

Definitely a good thing and when I used to do the international round-ups I always tried to report on the results of all English players regardless of rating if I knew when/where they were playing. I did receive some nice comments back from players who were pleasantly surprised that I had taken the time to give them a mention.

That said, an English player reaching 2700 is a big deal and would overshadow most chess news.

[David Robertson]

That said, an English player reaching 2700 is a big deal and would overshadow most chess news.

Without doubt. And rightly. (I was kind of messing before )

[LawrenceCooper]

That said, an English player reaching 2700 is a big deal and would overshadow most chess news.

Without doubt. And rightly. (I was kind of messing before )

I suspected that when I checked their performance and found they were even/down on rating

[Mick Norris]

Nick Hawkins is playing to rating and Ian Campbell slightly down, but hopefully both enjoying the tournament - they now play each other in the last round

Stewart Haslinger is playing currently in the Dutch Open and we have 9 players in the Politken Cup - Gawain Jones, Dan Fernandez, Marcus Harvey, Ravi Haria, Simon Roe, Joe McPhillips, Alan Walton, Amy Hoare, Cosima Keen

[LawrenceCooper]

David's live rating is 2709.9, so I think even with a loss tomorrow he would still be over 2700 on the next rating list, so well done - hopefully, he can finish with a win and push his rating over 2710 - he is a point clear of Postny, so a draw would give David clear first

Postny has halved out so David has the freedom to play for rating points or to take a rest prior to the British.

[LawrenceCooper]

A relatively stress free win today to leave him on 8.5/9, 1.5 clear of the rest and a healthy rating gain.

http://www.leidenchess.com/SwissMaster/ ... index.html

[John McKenna]

All sounds like a young Prince Hal leading the British contingent in a lightning summer campaign on the continent.

The precursor to another British Championship, and a challenge to Michael as England's longstanding chess king?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Mickey, surely, not Michael! But yes, David is making big gains and if he has a dominant campaign at the British, will gain a bit more. The danger is, as always, that playing a tournament like the British Championships risks losing rating points if you drop a half point or worse to a relatively lowly rated player, even a fellow GM (but one that probably knows your game well).

It will be interesting to see what Mickey's reaction would be if David mounts a serious challenge to his status as England number 1, in terms of rating at least. In terms of experience and intrinsic playing strength, you would still expect Mickey to stay number one for many years to come. In my view, the 26 rating points between David's 2712 and Mickey's 2738 is a huge gulf to overcome, or am I over-estimating the level of play you get from GMs who have been long-established at these lofting ratings?

Looking at the overall picture, it is really pleasing to see the prospect of two England GMs firmly established as 2700 players again after the (relatively gentle) decline of Short's rating in recent years. I wonder if David has a plan to take things further and/or whether he has a team/person managing him to further that goal? It will also be interesting to see whether he will be able to secure invitations to tournaments that might help him progress further.

(I would look up when Short was last above 2700, but haven't got round to registering with FIDE yet...)

[John Moore]

Nick Hawkins is playing to rating and Ian Campbell slightly down, but hopefully both enjoying the tournament - they now play each other in the last round

Stewart Haslinger is playing currently in the Dutch Open and we have 9 players in the Politken Cup - Gawain Jones, Dan Fernandez, Marcus Harvey, Ravi Haria, Simon Roe, Joe McPhillips, Alan Walton, Amy Hoare, Cosima Keen

And don't forget Isaac Sanders in the Czech Open as I mentioned in Live Games.

[Brian Valentine]

In my world Matthew Sadler is the top graded Englishman.

[Matt Fletcher]

(I would look up when Short was last above 2700, but haven't got round to registering with FIDE yet...)

October 2012, rating 2707, world rank 38=

[Roger de Coverly]

and if he has a dominant campaign at the British, will gain a bit more.

The British is not especially strong, comparable with Leiden in the number of players over 2200 (19 Leiden, 20 British). On his Leiden form, Julian's old 10/11 record becomes a prospective target. If they don't accelerate, his first round opponent in Warwick will be under 2100 as was the case in Leiden.

[Brian Towers]

In my view, the 26 rating points between David's 2712 and Mickey's 2738 is a huge gulf to overcome, or am I over-estimating the level of play you get from GMs who have been long-established at these lofting ratings?

It's a question of momentum. If Howell maintains momentum he could bridge the gap quite quickly. The usual advice when you are playing well is to play a lot to take advantage of your form and try and kick on.