Bunratty 2019

tedjennings

Hi, all
On-line entries for Bunratty 2019 are now open at bunrattychess dot com
If you want to stay in the hotel you must ring reception during normal hours and say you want to book a room for the chess weekend as all the room have been reserved for chess players and if you go on-line it will tell you that the hotel is full (which it is not at the moment) but it fills up quickly.
Look forward to seeing you all there 22nd - 24th February 2019
Ted.

Tim Harding

Your site says "Please note that the Feb'18 rating list will be used for the running of the tournament!"

Better change that to 2019?

sodacat11

Tim Harding wrote: »

Your site says "Please note that the Feb'18 rating list will be used for the running of the tournament!"

Better change that to 2019?

The ratings usually get ignored or rendered meaningless by the "special invite" arrangement so it doesn't really matter what list is used.

tedjennings

Thanks, Tim

sodadog12

Is there space in the hotel still?

sodacat11

sodadog12 wrote: »

Is there space in the hotel still?

They say that imitation is the sincerest for of flattery but really you should just get a life, and maybe an imagination of your own.

sodadog12

Same reply in this forum and the New Year/All Play All forum and I need to get an imagination?

sodadog12

Anyway, is there space in the hotel?

sodacat11

sodadog12 wrote: »

Anyway, is there space in the hotel?

There was until a few days ago., ring them and ask.

tedjennings

Check the Bunratty web site for the only way to book a room!

tedjennings

Hi, all
Bunratty is just around the corner!
The Hotel is now full.
Go to our web page "bunrattychess dot com" for a list of local B&Bs.
You can check the latest entry list there as well.
Ted

Past_Pawn_99

tedjennings wrote: »

Hi, all
Bunratty is just around the corner!
The Hotel is now full.
Go to our web page "bunrattychess dot com" for a list of local B&Bs.
You can check the latest entry list there as well.
Ted

Are there still rooms available on the Sunday night?

tedjennings

Past_Pawn_99 wrote: »

Are there still rooms available on the Sunday night?

Ring the hotel ask for reception and say you will be at the Chess tournament.

tedjennings

Hi, All
Nearly there now.
On-line entries close on Thursday 21st.
After that by e-mail to info at bunrattychess dot com
Over 320 entries to date and too many GMs to mention
Ted.

Hedgelayer

There's three hotel's in Shannon it's only down the road if anybody's stuck.

It's literally a 5 minute drive.

There's also plenty of b&b along the road from Bunratty Castle to minister's cross.

Retd.LoyolaCpt

Due to cancellations, there are now 5 rooms available in Bunratty Hotel this weekend but they won't last long! Call the hotel ASAP to ensure you get one.

There are now over 325 entries confirmed for this weekend making Bunratty once again the biggest weekender of the year.

sodacat11

How come Gary O'Grady is number two seed in the Challengers with a "rating"?? of 1968 when his FIDE rating is 1897 and his Irish rating is 1546?? Sponsor's get special treatment perhaps and are allowed to use the year of their birth as their rating?

Tim Harding

Bunratty starts at 8pm I think and the pairings for all four sections are up now.
The top six in the Masters and board 1 in each of the other events will be shown live.

Board 3 in the Masters, Nigel Short v Stephen Moran is the one I'll be watching at
http://view.livechesscloud.com/b9031a34-e353-42fb-92c1-f91fec4ede2d

General link to live boards: https://www.bunrattychess.com/livegames.php

Masters pairings: https://www.bunrattychess.com/results_masters.html

Tim Harding

The top six Masters boards are now also on chess24 with engine analysis and timings:
https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/bunratty-masters-2019/2/1/1

Bd 1. D. Fitzsimons-Howell; bd3. H. Li-N. Short; bd4. Turner-K. Delaney; bd 5. T. O'Gorman v Ginger GM

The main shock last night was GM Baburin blundering in a drawn rook endgame against a 2100 player.

sodacat11

Great performance by John Mc Morrow in Bunratty!! No wonder he put up such a good prize for the best untitled player

cdeb

Yep, an FM performance. Maybe this is what being Chairman does for your game!

Very enjoyable tournament. Not a single default on Sunday morning; fair dues to the controllers taking the issue to task.

Did sodacat's opponents' combined age end up being greater than his in the end I wonder?

Tim Harding

cdeb wrote: »

Did sodacat's opponents' combined age end up being greater than his in the end I wonder?

By my calculations the combined ages of his first three opponents was about 41, but then he played two adults before skipping round six.

(Correction: I originally typed 31 instead of 41)

prey

sodacat11 wrote: »

Great performance by John Mc Morrow in Bunratty!! No wonder he put up such a good prize for the best untitled player

inspired move

sodacat11

Tim Harding wrote: »

By my calculations the combined ages of his first three opponents was about 41, but then he played two adults before skipping round six.

(Correction: I originally typed 31 instead of 41)

That ten year old that I played is one to watch, definitely a future titled player.
I notice that I got no reply to the strange case of the makey up rating. Sponsors are great and much needed in chess so they should get all the praise in the world BUT I would draw the line at them being allowed to influence things like rating bands, special invites etc. The chess world is no place for nepotism.

Tim Harding

sodacat11 wrote: »

I notice that I got no reply to the strange case of the makey up rating.

Gerry Graham's report on the ICU site says it was a conversion of his ECF rating.

sodacat11

Tim Harding wrote: »

Gerry Graham's report on the ICU site says it was a conversion of his ECF rating.

Thanks for that Tim,I wasn't aware that ECF ratings take precendence over ICU and FIDE ratings. I must see if I can resurrect my own ECF or Australian rating they would probably be higher than my current ICU and FIDE ratings !!

zeitnot

sodacat11 wrote: »

Thanks for that Tim,I wasn't aware that ECF ratings take precendence over ICU and FIDE ratings. I must see if I can resurrect my own ECF or Australian rating they would probably be higher than my current ICU and FIDE ratings !!

But aren't they old ratings? It seems reasonable to use the ECF rating of a player whose games are mostly played in England.

sodacat11

zeitnot wrote: »

But aren't they old ratings? It seems reasonable to use the ECF rating of a player whose games are mostly played in England.

Then why not use ECF ratings for all the English players? I don't mind what system is used but it should be the same for everyone. The player in question has played quite a few games in Ireland yet his ICU rating is only 1546. He played two games at the weekend for a TRP of 1555 which seems to suggest that his ICU rating is more realistic than his ECF one. It also seems to indicate that ECF ratings are wildly inflated.

zeitnot

sodacat11 wrote: »

Then why not use ECF ratings for all the English players?

... as opposed to an ICU rating? Sure, makes sense.

sodacat11 wrote: »

I don't mind what system is used but it should be the same for everyone.

Fair enough, but how was the system not the same for everyone? The tournament T&Cs spell out the system used (item 14). The tournament director shall use ICU rating, FIDE rating, National Federation Rating, "but not necessarily in this order". The ratings in question were 1546, 1897, and 1963 respectively. Would any player with those ratings be put into the under 1600 section? It seems hard to imagine.

sodacat11

zeitnot wrote: »

... as opposed to an ICU rating? Sure, makes sense.



Fair enough, but how was the system not the same for everyone? The tournament T&Cs spell out the system used (item 14). The tournament director shall use ICU rating, FIDE rating, National Federation Rating, "but not necessarily in this order". The ratings in question were 1546, 1897, and 1963 respectively. Would any player with those ratings be put into the under 1600 section? It seems hard to imagine.

Maybe he is too good for the under 1600 section but he certainly isn't good enough to get second seeding in the Challengers.
As far as I can see FIDE ratings were used for most English players not ECF ratings, it seems that an exception was made for a sponsor. I can see why the organisers might feel indebted to a sponsor but I don't like the idea of people getting special treatment just because they are wealthier than others, it just seems wrong.

zeitnot

sodacat11 wrote: »

Maybe he is too good for the under 1600 section but he certainly isn't good enough to get second seeding in the Challengers.
As far as I can see FIDE ratings were used for most English players not ECF ratings, it seems that an exception was made for a sponsor. I can see why the organisers might feel indebted to a sponsor but I don't like the idea of people getting special treatment just because they are wealthier than others, it just seems wrong.

The benefit of being seeded second, rather than 8th or 9th or whatever his FIDE rating would give, out of 83 seems so incredibly small that it's hard to believe that it was intended as special treatment.

FIDE lists him as inactive, so that rating is out of date as well.

I really think you're making a mountain out of a molehill here.

sodacat11

zeitnot wrote: »

The benefit of being seeded second, rather than 8th or 9th or whatever his FIDE rating would give, out of 83 seems so incredibly small that it's hard to believe that it was intended as special treatment.

FIDE lists him as inactive, so that rating is out of date as well.

I really think you're making a mountain out of a molehill here.

It all depends whether it is just one molehill or a series of them and it also depends on where you find the molehill. A molehill in your bed or in your cornflakes would perhaps be very irritating.
The late change of seeding that we are discussing resulted in me having to play a 10 year old prodigy instead of the sponsor having to face him, it also meant that I got white instead of black in the first round (it is always nice to have whites at the business end of the tournament) so there is a knock on effect however trivial.
This pandering to sponsors is not a new thing, we only have to look at some of the "invitees" in the Masters sections of Bunratty in recent years and at some of the people who have been allowed into Irish Championships when their ratings didn't warrant it. Ratings should be the only currency we use in chess,not reputation, history, past achievements,potential, wealth,position or influence. The rating system isn't perfect but it is transparent and it is fair.

Tim Harding

[QUOTE=sodacat11;109527931
The late change of seeding that we are discussing resulted in me having to play a 10 year old prodigy instead of the sponsor having to face him, it also meant that I got white instead of black in the first round...[/QUOTE]

But was that deliberate or accidental?

Let's face it sodacat, they are all out to get you...:D

Better stick to Senior tournaments in future?

sodacat11

Tim Harding wrote: »

But was that deliberate or accidental?

Let's face it sodacat, they are all out to get you...:D

Better stick to Senior tournaments in future?

If there were senior tournaments every month I would stick to them,they are by far the most enjoyable type of tournaments these days.

Bunrattyman

Hi All,

I was told about this little discussion and I thought I'd clarify the situation here with a few simply points.

1. Gary O'Grady would not have been allowed to play in the Major with his Irish rating simply because his ECF grade is too high. We check the ratings of all players coming to us from abroad and his latest February ECF listing was 169, I think.

2. As Gary plays far more ECF chess graded games than he does FIDE rated games ( and he'd originally entered using his FIDE rating ) we updated his seeding by converting the ECF to our rating. Nothing sinister going on here !

3. We protect the tournament by checking non-Irish resident players local ratings and ensure they are not too strong for the event they are playing in, and that's what we did with Gary ( and many others too )

4. Gary would not want any special treatment from us, he actually insists that we don't give him special treatment, he was not aware until he arrived that we'd updated his seeding.

As it turned out, Gary hurt his back and had to pull out of the competition.

However, I would like to point out one thing to sodacat11 and anyone else who's interested - The organising committee run the event and we occasionally invite a player to play in a section he's not really entitled to play in. We highlight this by listed them as "invitees" This is similar to the established practice of "wild-card" entries in other sports. We reserve the right to do this and will apologise to no one for it. This did not apply to Gary in this case.

sodacat11

Firstly I never said that he should be in the Major but with an ICU rating of 1556 I didn't think a number 2 seeding was justified in the Challengers.
Yes you are entitled to allow players who are not entitled to play in certain sections to play just as I am entitled to hold my opinion that such treatment smacks of nepotism.
Apart from all that Bunratty was very well run and enjoyable although I must say had I been in the Masters section I would be moaning ad nauseam about the terrible lighting in the playing area. A properly run hotel would make sure that every bulb in the room was working but then they would also probably ensure that the shaving socket in my room worked, that there was milk for cereal (there was none until I complained), that the toaster worked(it didn't and had to be eventually replaced), that there was soap in the toilets and that when you ask for a dessert menu it doesn't take twenty minutes to arrive. The final straw was when I rang up about the phone charger that I'd left in my room and was asked for my credit card details to pay for postage, you'd think at 80 quid a night they could afford to post the bloody thing for free.

tedjennings

Hi, all
Games from the bunratty Masters 2019 are now available on our website bunrattychess dot com


Ted.