Can you taste the salty sea air of the Pacific yet? Or maybe that's just sweat. I spent last night moving the US Championship website to a new, far mightier server. We're ramping up for the massive hit we get during the live game broadcasts. All chess sites have server loads that graph like Devil's Tower. Everybody comes in at the exact same instant, game time. Bandwidth isn't much of a problem these days, but if you're running games in an applet environment in Java or Flash, your machine needs horsepower and memory to run a few thousand simultaneous processes.
The first round is on March 2, player visits to schools and the player meeting on the first. The players can figure out their pairings easily enough, but they don't know which color they'll have until lots are drawn in San Diego. (#1 vs #17, #2 vs #18, etc. So it's Nakamura-Friedel and Kamsky-Browne on the first boards.)
The Internet Chess Club, one of the event's sponsors, is setting up a webcam at the site. Not sure if they'll have a specific page or Chess.fm. Playchess.com will also be running the games live. I expect even more player bloggers this year, always a good time. Last time there were quite a few players who had no idea what the word "blog" meant! We'll also be having trivia contests and online polls. I'll post a thread here for each round and I'm sure the message boards will be buzzing since the second half of Linares will be going at the same time.
The Kreiman saga has another twist. The AF4C hasn't received his player contract yet and they haven't been able to contact him. If you're out there Boris, they need to hear from you! He can't play without signing it, but since the USCF waited so long to decide on whether or not he could play, obviously he gets to the last minute. This makes it tough to have an alternate who might not play. If Kreiman doesn't show, maybe they'll tap an IM we know will be nearby, San Diego's Cyrus Lakdawala.
Alright I'll bite the bullet. If Kreiman can't play, I am driving distance and can be down there in a few hours :-).
I'd far rather see Cyrus play than Boris. Cyrus is a better player (notwithstanding the lack of a GM credential) and certainly a better sportsman, which ought to count for something in a sporting event.
On pure ability, here and now, Kreiman is a bit better than Lakdawala. In a ten-game match, I'd take Kreiman, 6-4.
However, this can be attributed to the quantity of chess each has played. Kreiman has played any and everywhere, whereas Cy has tried to stay close to San Diego, due to family and health concerns. Without regular, quality competition, Cy won't get much better than he is now--a strong IM, comparable when playing at his best to a weak to middling GM. Boris plays regularly at weak-to-middling-GM strength.
I am the one they need to select if Kreiman does not play. My rating is lower than Kelly Cottrell and with me on board. the complaints about her 1663 rating will be drowned out by the complaints about Tommy playing. haha.
Say Mig if 2525 rated Schneider plays black against 1663 Cottrell in the first round, do that mean that Schneider gets 2 unfair advantages in the first round.
1 unfair advantage of over 800 rating points.
2 easy win with black good on tiebreaks.
MIG I must protest the way the US Championship is being conducted. the best way and the fair way is to have only the high powered GMs in the US Championships. what we have here is like an Open Tournament Circus.
Seriously Mig, I am a terrible chess player but I am better than 1663. but I dont have perky breasts.
I will admit I did NOT like at all the way the US Championship worked and the games played with the lower rated players mixed into the tournament. it is rediculous.
Only the top 16 or 32 American GrandMasters should be in the tournament. the rest is a circus.
sorry for being blunt but his has to change. I hope next year. AF4C is making a big mistake. FIDE makes its big mistakes on its world championship. why can not these people get their act together. the object is to find the best chess player. and all these class D players do not allow for a fair tournament and it DEGRADES the title.
What happens if the winner wins because he got black against someone more than 800 points below him. rediculous.
the top 32 Grandmasters are within 150 points of each other. that is a much more fair competition. If it is impossible to become the champion then what are they doing in the tournament. the only answer is a circus. What chance does a 1663 player have to come out the winner above Kamsky 1000 points higher and above every one of the 30 Grandmansters rated over 800 points above her. the same with all the IMs. they have no chance. this is a mess. people in other countries must laugh at this circus.
Tommy, so letting your pal Dave Vigorito play in the US Championships is a mistake?
Having an extra black isn't relevant for tiebreaks in this tournament. Playing several weaker players, however, puts one at a disadvantage when calculating modified median.
I do not even know Tommy. Tommy is not my pal. I do appreciate his support however. do not assume that I am in any way affiliated with my many rabid fans.
AF4C is experimenting with the format. some things will work well, and some will not. we must remember to have some gratitude. the US ch was simply going to not be held at all a few years back- until they stepped in and took over.
Dave, you don't know anyone named Tommy? Not even in your distant East Coast past? Anyway, good luck in the US Championship.
Considering how, um, stirring many of Tommy's posts are, if I were fluffy, I'd consider 'not knowing him' too.
Mig, any news on Kreiman?
It's funny how Stas gets his information from Mig rather than the organizers.
Why bother the organizers when Mig is supposed to know everything. :)
You see, THIS is why I never slept for the 12 days of the last tournament! But this time I have an evil plan. I'm not even going to show up at the site until the round has been underway for three hours.
No news I've heard.
Also, I am soliciting this information for everyone, not just for myself, and by asking a question here I put a little bit more pressure on organizers to make the decision soon. Personally, I don't care what the outcome is, I just hate last minute scrambles.
There is really no way they can make the decision before the opening ceremony, in my opinion. The USCF delayed so long that Kreiman was left with just a week. Which is why they can't invite Preuss (who would have replaced Kreiman by system) to be a backup. There are several "house players" on site and one will replace Kreiman if he doesn't show. If there is an earlier deadline, and he's been notified, same thing. It wouldn't be fair to drag Preuss in (he's still in China, I believe) and then have him not play.
Preuss is the one who has wheels (or sounds like it). The one who has brains is Pruess.
Kreiman panic over! Boris has now made contacted and confirmed he's playing. Cyrus Lakdawala is now back on the bench putting his tracksuit back on....