Doh! Thanks. That will teach me to predict pairings based only on colours sought. I see that Nick Pert (who can also be given Black) can't be paired with Williams as they have already played. Maybe someone else can explain in full the steps taken to produce the pairings on the top four boards?Michael Bennett wrote:Hawkins is playing Nick Pert today, not Hebden.
I found this exampleJonathan Rogers wrote:perhaps the more sensible question is whether anyone can name chess playing twins who don't draw quickly when forced to play each other?
No, the Egglestons are not twins.Roger de Coverly wrote:I found this exampleJonathan Rogers wrote:perhaps the more sensible question is whether anyone can name chess playing twins who don't draw quickly when forced to play each other?
Are the Eggleston brothers twins? In any event, they are on record of drawing the same game twice, once in 13 moves and then in 10.
I don't recall which family it was, but I did hear that one pair complained that they never faced one another in a serious game, because no-one would ever pair them if it could be avoided.
I agree about the nerves. If he can win the tournament, this would be the best result of Hawkins's career to date.Matthew Turner wrote:I think we could see a bad quality game on board 1 today. Hawkins has been a different class to everyone else, but I think we are just starting to see a few nerves. I guess Jonathan would like to draw, but I am not sure that he is really set up to draw with players. I am sure he would do much better against Nick if he just went out and played, but that is much easier said than done.
Nick too is a tricky situation, he has get refocused on the chess, which is never that easy after a double rest day.
I guess it is about a 33% chance for each result. If we are making predictions I'll go for Nick.
Does playing for the GM norm factor into this as well? (Presuming Jack's calculations were correct - is there anything official on the website?)Matthew Turner wrote:I predict David will beat Daniel to get to 7. Daniel likes to have the initiative even at the cost of material, but I think this plays into David's strengths, he will just take the material, soak up the pressure and come through in the end.
Would be nice to see a result there to make things more exciting in rounds 10 and 11...Matthew Turner wrote:Williams - Hebden is another tough game to call, both really need to win, everyone will expect some psychotic attack from Simon, so I'll predict a draw.
Really? They were born in the same year according to the FIDE database.Jonathan Rogers wrote:No, the Egglestons are not twins.
Easier said than done to beat Howell! Best of luck for Tan and Jackson.IM Jack Rudd wrote:We're approaching title norm time. Jonathan Hawkins needs only to turn up (although the norm is irrelevant); Daniel Fernandez needs to win.
No other 9-round norms are possible, but Justin Tan and James Jackson both have chances of 10-round norms.
It would still get registered, and it is only his 3rd GM norm. He's not got any others, has he? I wonder how common it is for people to have their first three GM (or IM) norms all fail to meet this 'foreigner' requirement? Similar scenarios are those who have lots of norms but fail to meet the rating requirement (e.g. Peter Sowray and the IM title), though that is a bit more understandable. I also vaguely remember mention of someone who qualified for the IM title but refused it as he was aiming for the GM title.IM Jack Rudd wrote:We're approaching title norm time. Jonathan Hawkins needs only to turn up