The latest giant American swiss system torture test tournament is underway in Philadelphia. Right now it's just the long schedule; the big crowd of top players comes in on July 2. As the official site points out, that's the same day the giant Philly "Live 8" concert takes place, so traffic and hotels will be a nightmare.
My mom is in town this week so I'm not going to make the trip. If you are attending and can send in notes and epecially photos, we'll put them up in a ChessBase report. Make sure to include a photo of yourself!
World Open is hard especially the 3 day schedule which is torture.
Hotels wont be a nightmare. I just got a room at the wyndham where the tournaments being held last night!
I stopped by the World Open on Thursday and Friday, however, I am avoiding the tournament for the remainder of the weekend due to the Live 8 concert.
I live in the backyard of the World Open (NJ) and many chess players in the area attend this tournament every year. One thing we are all in agreement on, is its location. City Line Ave, the site of the old location for, what was it; 15 or 20 years, was awful! We hated it. We heard that Bill was asked numerous times to find a better location, but these are rumors.
Finally, after all these years he was forced to move. The Adams Mark Hotel, I have been told, is being torn down. The hotel itself was a fine setup for a chess tournament, but City Line Ave, is not the place for children and international players to come and visit. Sorry Philly, this is not a tourist attraction, it is a business district. There was no place to walk, or things to do, and the food options were pathetic.
Now, for the first time ever, (as far as I know) the World Open is in Center City, a place where one can walk, driving is a nightmare. A place where one can find things to do, night life, shop, and yes, plenty of choices to find something to eat.
When you think about the amount of people who fly in from across the country, let alone the world, having more options is a smart choice.
As for the tournament itself. It appeared to be running without a hitch. One big difference is how close one can get to the top 4 boards. The seating was right up against them. I admit, this made watching their games more interesting. I think this is so; because you are able to see their emotions as they thought out their next move.
I saw Nakamura play Krush to a draw, but it was interesting to see how the look on his face changed as she moved her pieces to better positions.
Over all, I like it, and I hope it stays in such a good local.
Peace...
Hikaru won last night playing the bizarre 1. e4 c5 2. Qh5 stuff. He seems to be having fun. Meanwhile, Kamsky looked very sharp last night in a thrashing of some GM I have never heard of from overseas. It appears that he has been putting in work prior to this tournament, and, in the early-going, he seems to be in dominating form. In the meantime, a lot of chessplayers are anxious to have an opportunity to take in this concert, so I expect a few games to end uneventfully on some of the lower boards. I'll try to keep everybody updated. :-)
Hotep,
Maliq
Pray tell it's a typo. If Hikaru is indeed answering Sicilian with 2. Qh5, I doubt he will get any better.
Can anyone report the standings or the top places on the crosstable at thbe World Open? Their web site is completely useless. Bill C
Try
www.chesstour.com It has the latest open section results.
also you can try the www.worldopen.com
Michael,
Just returning from the World Open. Hikaru told me he played that opening, but if you have followed the long 2.Qh5 debate some time ago, you would've learned that 2.Qh5 is not going to lose you the game. Check out that interesting thread. Also check out Bernard Parham's games... he plays 2.Qh5 against anything... except 1...g6 and 1...Nf6.
I'm working on several World Open reports including a short audio interview with GM Sandipan Chanda. I also took 170 photos.
Magesh Panchanathan did really well with his 3rd GM norm and a tie for first. Lost a blitz game to Kamil Miton. Miton gave 7:5 draw odds, but won convincingly.
GM Surya Ganguly is phenomenal in blitz chess... really fast! However, Jaan Ehlvest still shows why he was once the top blitz player in the world. He went 2-0 against Ganguly in the last round.
Indian players really made an impression and added a lot to the tournament. It was such a pleasure to see them supporting each other.
There were snafus with pairings. One player in under-2200 was disualified and then reinstated. I'll write about these in my reports.
To claify... if you haven't found out by now Miton was the champion after winning the tiebreak blitz game against Panchanathan, a student at University of Texas-Dallas.
Hope this is clearer.
I'll have to remember to play 1..h5 against Parham.
acirce...
The move is 2.Qh5, not 2.Qxh5 (smile)
Personally, I'd probably play 1...g6 against him. I actually got a 2.Qh5 position against Parham, playing white. It went 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qg4 g6 5.Qf3. One play passed by the board, looked at me and smirked.
I'd just give Parham a beating. 1.e4 c5 2. Qh5 Nf6 3. Qxc5 Nxe4 =+. Why discourage him from doing something crazy?
Reports available at The Chess Drum...
http://www.thechessdrum.net/newsbriefs/2005/NB_WorldOpen.html
Photos coming!
after 1. e4 c5 2 Qh5 Nf6, Parham won't play Qxc5, he's going to play Qh4. However, shredder 7 said that white is better after 3Qxc5. 2Qh5 is OK against the sicilian, but it forfeits the opening advantage. I only the parham attack against 1.. e5.