I'm just going to add new little notes now and then instead of updating old items. Too confusing. I'll put "Turin 06" in the title for posterity... I was wondering why Ukraine was playing on such a distant board in round one. This led to their result being missed by some places that just showed the results of the the top boards. It was because they were playing the IBCA (International Braille Chess Association) who, like the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) team, play on the same board every day for practical access purposes. The Italy A team also plays on the same high board (7) each day, a concession to the fans and media to keep them on the stage.
Some have noted that I'm pretty much ignoring the women's event. Not maliciously, but I have very limited time and would rather put my energy into the event with the better chess. Apart from that, my dim view of women-only events is known to regular readers (hi Mom!). That's more toward professional events, however, and this is more like the Olympics, all are welcome. But chess is chess and time is time and I don't really care if some 2100 hangs a bishop. Even if she's hot. I'll try to add more.
What they should do, is combine the men's and women's teams into seven-board matches. Get rid of the seperate tournaments alltogether! This would really garner some publicity. (I'm serious.)
HG
I want to see a hot 2100 hang a bishop! C'mon mig, you're holding out on us!
Faye Dunaway should be an honorary guest. She had a way with bishops in "The Thomas Crown Affair". Is Maria Manakova playing? She likes to eat elephants! :) [obscure reference to old Chessbase.com column]
I'd rather not have olympics decided by a seventh-board game between Yelena Patzerova and Anita Fischinskaya.
Why not, Macuga? Even if they're hot? One of them might hang a bishop ;)
Interesting development with respect to the referendum in which independence for Montenegro was approved. So, now there will be a separate Montenegrin chess team. Does anybody have an idea of the chess strength of Montenegro, as an independent nation? The old federated Yugoslavia was a real powerhouse--certainly among the Top 5 chess countries in the World. Clearly, the sum of the parts is not greater than the whole...at least with respect to international sporting competitions. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that Herzegovina will not secede from Bosnia, nor Tobago from Trinidad! ;-)
Most of the 'women' in the women's event look as if they're men playing in an U2200 section. It disgusts me everytime chessbase does these 'glamour shots' of mediocre looking women, as if to say the typical chessbase reader has no idea what a good looking woman looks like.
"Does anybody have an idea of the chess strength of Montenegro, as an independent nation?"
Not directly, but the population is about 616,000, which is less than the State of Alaska.
[i]Most of the 'women' in the women's event look as if they're men playing in an U2200 section. It disgusts me everytime chessbase does these 'glamour shots' of mediocre looking women, as if to say the typical chessbase reader has no idea what a good looking woman looks like.[/i]
As if the men pictured are great catches?
And does every photo of a woman have to pass a "suitable for sexual fantasy" litmus test?
I would hope photos of chessplayers would be shown on chess news sites because they are photos of chessplayers, not because they are fashion models or movie stars.
Doug, Montenegro has 5 GMs: Bozidar Ivanovic, Nikola Djukic, Nebojsa Nikcevic, Dragan Kosic (playing in Turin) and Dragisa Blagojevic (born in Bosnia). I'm not sure about GM Milan Drasko.
Which country do you guys feel is the most misrepresented at the tournament? Which country's team would be most improved if all of its guys were there? Not one star GM being absent, ie Topalov/Leko, but something broader.
Hungary has 2 star GMs missing Leko / Judit.
Hey Bill,
Unfortunetely chessbase seems to think that every photo must strive for that litmus test. Suffice it to say, not all of us find Albananian WIM's that attractive ;-)
Speaking of misrepresented, at least one team from Latin America doesn't have at least four of its top players. I get a daily Google News summery of "ajedrez" material and there was an article about such a "rebellion" on the team because they felt they were being treated shabbily by the federation (which named some unqualified players to the team). I'll try to find the item and/or remember which team it is. That was a while ago and they might have reconciled before the event.
These players canceled before the current SCG team was announced: GM Branko Damljanovic (2615), GM Igor Miladinovic (2607), GM Ivan Ivanisevic (2590), GM Dragan Solak, GM Milos Perunovic, GM Aleksandar Kovacevic, GM Dejan Pikula, GM Nikola Djukic, GM Milos Pavlovic and GM Dragisa Blagojevic.
Mongolia has lost a handful of players to the US over the last 5-10 years who all outrate the current team. I lived in Mongolia and know that their talent is much deeper than those who are able (financially and time-wise) to attend. Props to them for their obvious fighting spirit regardless!
Don't worry folks... I hope to have my pics up soon. I believe you'll like.
Well I am interested in any and all 2100 Hot Cuties that hang a bishop.
Come on Mig report the good stuff.
Alright, now the Olympiad is heating up. The 4th round is the start of the Marquee Matchups. The Chinese vs the Russians, in a big rematch from the World Team Championships. In that event the Chinese started off red hot, and built up a big lead--only to be taken down in the final round by the Russians. If China pulls off an upset, there may not be any other nation that can catch them. One of the things that makes China tough is that they really rack up the game points against weaker teams. They have won all 3 of their matches (against Syria, Scotland, and Slovakia) by a score of 3.5--0.5 . While it is true that a fast start leads to more difficult pairings, in a 14 Round Swiss, this can mean that they'll have played through their main rivals by Round 11 or 12, and the last few rounds will represent "pair downs" where they can score big.
I've always thought that the Chess Olympiads would be more interesting if teams were classified on the basis of the Match results--whether a team won, drew, and lost. Game points ought to be the first tie-break criterian.
That's how teams are ranked in the Bundesliga (both chess AND Football). I mean, how silly would it be to award a league title to the team that scored the most goals, rather than had the most victories? If we are goint to pretend that chess is a "Team Game", then we ought to have rules that are consistant with that.
The match Germany vs. Georgia ought to be quite interesting as well.
For the Women, it is already clear that the Chinese, although with a Starting Rank of only 6th, have to be considered to be a real threat to continue their string of successes. The Chinese authorities obviously didn't feel that it was necessary to bring their "A-Team", although the players on their squad are undoubtedly quite under-rated. It seems strange to have the US team, even without Zsuzsa Polgar on it, having a higher average rating. Alas, the US ladies are only a long shot for a medal.
The China--Ukraine match will likely tell us what type of medal both those teams will be likely to earn by event's end.