Easter Chess
January 25th, 2012 | 
Author: The 1st e2e4 Dublin International will be held over the Easter weekend of 5th – 9th April 2012 at Brennan Green Isle Hotel, Naas Road, Newlands Cross, Dublin 22.
There will be three sections – a 9 round FIDE rated open where GM and IM norms will be possible, together with two 7 round FIDE rated events for Under 2000 (1900 ICU) and Under 1750 (1600 ICU).
Full details and online entry can be found at www.e2e4.org.uk/dublin
A list of entrants can be found at http://e2e4.org.uk/entrants_dublin.htm
Having played in three E2-E4 organised events in the past I can heartily endorse what promises to be a fantastic tournament. I see that the event is advertised on the FIDE website so there is every possibility of there being a number of foreign entrants. We should all endeavour to make this tournament a huge success as we badly need a FIDE rated Open like this as a permanent fixture on our calendar. Also, the tournament coincides nicely with the ICU centenary.
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So far the (mostly titled) entrants include 4 Norwegians, 2 Bulgarians, 2 Hungarians and 1 each from England and, er, Ireland. Seems like an unusual geographical spread – anyone know the reason why?
Because the tournaments are excellently run? Also non-Irish players are likely to enter early as they have to plan ahead regarding flights and accommodation.
A couple of the Norwegians have already played in e2e4 events, so they’ve obviously put out the good word.
I’m sure Niall is right. Players having to travel have to sort flights and accommodation early in a way that local players do not so they always seem to enter early. Added to which is that players tend to travel to foreign tournaments in groups. If one player comes from Norway, 3 or 4 friends may join him.
We’ve a database of nearly 2000 players who have played in e2e4 events previously and a significant number of them are foreign. Although we haven’t emailed them about this event yet, many of these players regularly visit http://www.e2e4.org.uk to get details of future events. Coupled with the fact that our free entry for titled players is only valid until 29th February (you may remember one player not liking this for last years Irish, but it’s an effective marketing tool for a successful event) I’m not surprised at the current make up of entrants.
I hope we get lots more entrants and end up with a fantastic event!
Sean
I am sure it will be a very successful event, …. All the factors for a successful event are there…Easter holidays = players can take time off from work without losing too much pay or holidays
2 FIDE games a day is the norm these days for travelling chess players
and foreign and non local players will only have to pay 3-4 nights accomodation max (3 if they avail of a travelling bye on the Friday eve)
And foreign players are especially welcome – no objectors like yours truly regarding our national championships!
I should also add this is a REAL tournament for real chess players who put their FIDE ratings on the line!
take the forthcoming Bunratty non rated weekender… the following titled players are listed as playing
Michael Adams GM
Nigel Short GM
Gawain Jones GM
Mark Hebden GM
Simon Williams GM
Alex Baburin GM
Nick Pert GM
Keith Arkel GM
Peter Wells GM
Luis Galego GM
John Donaldson IM (USA)
Malcolm Pein IM
Lawrence Cooper IM
Simon Ansell IM
Thomas Rendale IM
Sam Collins IM
Alex Lopez IM
Mark Quinn IM
Mark Heidenfeld IM
Mark Orr IM
Only Quinn so far, 3rd from the bottom of those 20 has had the courage to enter and contest with the real players in Sean’s event! I wonder what excuses some of the others might have? especially the local ones! Of that list I can only pick out Hebden as having the guts to consistently play on Open weekenders where he is among the top seeds. And if any sponsors (Gary?
) are reading this ask yourself this…If you are prepared to pay expences for some of the big names in nothing tournaments (and Bunratty and Kilkenny are nothing tournaments until they become FIDE rated) why not offer similar conditions for Sean’s event in the Green Isle? All very similar ingredients…good hotel… late bar … Airport nearby…. and on at a holiday weekend!
Martin
While I agree that there is no comparison between FIDE and non FIDE events I certainly wouldn’t describe Bunratty and Kilkenny as “nothing tournaments”. Both must be among the strongest weekenders in Europe and deserve great credit for the quality players that they’ve attracted here over the years.
I would like to see them give grading prizes based on rating gains rather than to the “top Irish player” which narrows the field unfairly.
I agree with you too about many people avoiding Opens to artificially preserve their ratings. If a player can’t maintain his rating against all opposition then he/she doesn’t deserve it.I would love to see Bunratty, Kilkenny, Galway and Cork reduced to five rounds and FIDE rated!
Martin ; there’s plenty of time yet for people to step up to the plate. The entry is already looking healthy http://e2e4.org.uk/entrants_dublin.htm
Perhaps they’re all waiting to see your name on the list
Only kidding!
A 5-round FIDE-rated tournament was played in Gonzaga at the weekend. Low cost entry. Top 3 boards streamed live on the internet. Good amount raised for charity. Well done to Dave Fitzsimons on winning the Philip Hogarty Cup again! He’s been a great supporter of the tournament. Thanks to Herbert for his excellent controlling of the event.
Hopefully other strong players (and enthusiasts) will join us next year!
Sean
It’s a great pity that the top section of the Easter tournament isn’t restricted to players rated over 2000. Firstly there would be less chance of norm chasers having to play low rated or unrated players and secondly there would be less mismatches. Why people rated below 1900 don’t play in the Major instead is just beyond me, they are just wasting their time and everybody elses by playing in the Open.
Daniel
I think perhaps that if the Gonzaga tournament was held at a different time you would get a bigger entry. January is a busy month with Hastings, Gibraltar, Boeblingen, Hoogovens, Prague and Marienbad to name but a few of the other tournaments available. I enjoyed Gonzaga any time I played in it but given the choice between it and the above…….. ??
I am delighted that the main event is an Open as it gives me, any every other Irish chess player, the chance to play! The cream rises and if it doesn’t the little guy gets some elo
No doubt you’ve entered Wimbledon, the U.S Masters and the Olympic marathon too?
We’re certainly not ready to compete with those Peter!
What time of year would you suggest? We’ve always positioned ourselves as a warm-up to Bunratty (thanks to Gerry for help with the streaming by the way). Thankfully numbers were way up this year with 133 entrants! I’d still love to see more players in the Masters though. We’re always open to suggestions for improvement.
@ Peter,
It isn’t actually a bad thing for a norm chaser to play a player with a low rating or no rating at all. When you’re doing the calculations for an I.M. norm for example, if you’ve played a player with a rating below 2050, their rating is raised to 2050. You can use this method to raise the rating of one opponent only. This rule means that a norm chaser is actually far better off if their lowest opponent is 1600 than if they are 2020.
I think events like this, with unrestricted entries are a good thing. If the field is big enough, we’ll all find our level after a few rounds, and get good competitive games from that point on. Furthermore, it has to be stated that the event probably wouldn’t happen at all if it wasn’t for lower rated players paying entry fees.
Stephen
It’s a pity that some mechanism isn’t used for everyone playing unrated players. I played an unrated Russian kid of about 9 yrs old last week. It took me 70 moves of hard grind to wear him down and I was lost at one point. He was unrated so if I lost I would have lost about 22 ICU rating points but his tournament performance was about 1900. I also drew with a 1639 11yr old who had a tournament performance of over 2000 so lost 10 points for that. Some people beat 2000 players whose rating performance was below 1700 yet gained a nice haul of points for that. The rating system is far from perfect.
Peter, Are you playing for Rathmines again? I see you were declared against Dublin. I take it you played early, unless your omnipresent
as the match clashed with the Prague Open, reasonable result (pointwise) for Tony in Marienbad.
At this stage, Easter is shaping up to be a very strong tournament.
Brendan
) played very well in Czech Republic although he did have some help along the way with one I.M blundering a piece in a winning position and another offering a draw after 15 moves.
I did play for Rathmines V Dublin to try and help out the “B” team since they asked me but probably it is too late in the season to avoid relegation. Slightly ironic that the same “A” team players who were annoyed at me opting for the “B” managed to get the “B” relegated by their actions.
Yes , Tony (or Fortunate Fox as he’s now known
I was unable to continue my Boeblingen form. Probably I should have spent less time on the ski slopes and enjoying other distractions but I had a lot of fun
Alex Lopez (Masters),Orison Carlile (Challengers A)and Denis O’Connell Amateurs B) are playing in Gibraltar. Alex lost to Judit Polgar in Rd1 but he is playing a bit below strength at present. Chinese teenage wonder, Hou Yifan, is playing very well(now tied first with Adams)and must be in with a chance to be the first female winner!! but she will have to overcome the “Fire on the Board” Shirov tomorrow.
Excellent tournament site with Live Commentary
—http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/
Results
—http://chess-results.com/tnr63931.aspx?art=2&rd=8&lan=1
I always enjoyed Gibraltar but it must be pretty overcrowded these days with the huge numbers entered. Also, if you aren’t doing well there you end up playing a lot of very low rated players. Probably, unless you have a title, the best value is to be had by playing the morning tournaments then sitting in on the excellent afternoon analysis with a beer in hand.
It’s amazing how quickly some young players improve. One of Alex Lopez Gibraltar opponents was a young Spaniard who three years ago had a rating of 1760 but now has a tournament performance in Gibraltar of 2433! This type of improvement, while remarkable, is not that uncommon among young players.
That 11 yr old Indian boy, Puranik, that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago went through Prague and Marienbad (18 games) unbeaten despite playing a number of G.Ms and I.Ms. It is hard to fathom how players with so little experience can be so good. It is not unthinkable that within the next couple of decades we will have a world number one who is not yet a teenager and that by the start of the 22nd century the World Champion could be wearing nappies (or computer controlled waste receptical vessels as they will be then known).
Hi Peter! Thanks for your Easter entry.
When budgeting a tournament I have to strike a balance between making the event balance its books and making it as strong as possible. To make the event as strong as I can I have to recruit and pay GMs to play. I also give free entry to IMs and FMs. Hopefully, the presence of those titled players gives a strong incentive to non-titled players to play. But I need the total entry fees to cover the prize money and running costs as there is no commercial sponsorship. If I look at our last 9 round event (Gatwick) there were 57 in the top section of whom 17 were rated below 2000 (even though there was an U2000 section). However, those 17 contributed £850 in entry fees without which the event would not have been viable.
It’s interesting to note that the average rating of the 17 was 1900, so usually players who do ‘play up’ are not that far off the level you suggest as a cut off. Chess players are often told that you only improve by playing stronger players and I wouldn’t criticise players for trying to do that.
And of course, the beauty of a swiss is that if they are not that strong, all they will do is end up playing each other in the main!
Sean
My problem is not that they will end up playing each other but that they will probably end up playing ME
Very disappointing end to Gibraltar with matters being decided by a poor quality lottery (rapid games). Hou Yifan had the tougher draw throughout the tournament, the most wins and the best rating performance yet Nigel Short goes into the history books as being “the winner”. Rapid chess and classical chess are two different disciplines, to decide one by using the other is the equivalent of deciding a dead heat in the Olympic 100 mtrs with a table tennis game.
After watching the farcical Chelsea v Man U game today one can only be thankful that chess arbiters don’t have the same influence over results as football referees. I don’t know why they pay refs to adjudicate Man U games at all, just give Alex Ferguson a whistle and let him do it, it would be just the same.