39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (the chess)

[James O'Fee]

And the Seychelles have the same vote as England! I wonder who they're voting for?

[Andy Burnett]

Is 18...Rxf2 an option in Howell's game? 19.Nxf2 Nxg3 20.Qg4 Bxf2+ and Nxh1 or something similar - looks scary to me
without an engine

Ok, apparently not 18...Rf7 played.

[David Brock]

I don't disagree guys it is fun to watch stuff other than GM'S grinding it out. However looking at it from a different view if this is the Olympiad Team and this is meant to be the best of their players then it does not look good for chess in the Seychelles.

[David Brock]

And the Seychelles have the same vote as England! I wonder who they're voting for?

Apparently it is either Scooby Doo or Dora the Explorer

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit- so I am constantly told!!!!!

[David Brock]

Mr Micky A is now by the looks of things getting on top of the position in his game- also Davids game does not look quite so bad but expect fireworks somewhere along the line.

[Jonathan Rogers]

No changes yet in England v Germany - we are still looking very good on our two Whites. Less so in the Black games, admittedly. I never liked Gawains' position and now I don't much like Luke's position either, but the KI player does willingly risk getting positions like that

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Is 18...Rxf2 an option in Howell's game? 19.Nxf2 Nxg3 20.Qg4 Bxf2+ and Nxh1 or something similar - looks scary to me
without an engine

I think Black runs out of pieces to attack with! White's bishops stop nastiness on the d-file and Black's knight hasn't got an obvious way in.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

No changes yet in England v Germany - we are still looking very good on our two Whites. Less so in the Black games, admittedly. I never liked Gawains' position and now I don't much like Luke's position either, but the KI player does willingly risk getting positions like that

I really like Luke's position! Can't he just use his pawn majority on the queenside to cause his opponent some problems? And his bishop on g7 is unhampered by pawns and could provide pressure on b2.

[Alex Holowczak]

Not being funny if that is the standard at the Olympiad I met well send my six year old daughter for selection for that team and she has only just started to play. It may look fun but not a great advertisement for the standard of chess in the womens event.

The fact that the chess isn't necessarily top quality couldn't be missing the point by more.

Remember Eric the Eel? Eddy the Eagle? That Australian speed-skater who won when everyone in front of him fell over?

Chess isn't all about the GMs who win all the time, so I don't see the problem at all with the fact she's not as good as everyone else. She's presumably enjoying it; so who cares how good she is?

[Matt Mackenzie]

http://ugra-chess.com/liveboard?gameid=1000080574

g3 and f4 early on, and then Qd4 making sure just about everything can be forked.

Not being funny if that is the standard at the Olympiad I met well send my six year old daughter for selection for that team and she has only just started to play. It may look fun but not a great advertisement for the standard of chess in the womens event.

Hehe, but to be fair, the open section has had its fair share of this in the past too, and it is an Olympiad after all. The following gem is said to have occurred sometime in the late 60s or early 70s: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4?? b5 5.Bb3 c4 ...

Edit: Sorry, benedgell were quicker than me on the same theme. And I agree regarding one the great things about the Olympiad containing players of all levels.

Even that surely pales in comparison to 1e4 e5 2f4 d5 3fe5 Qh4+ bit of genius that we got from a US Virgin Islands player against John Cooper back in 1974

Not to mention the *possibly* apocryphal (but possibly not) story from way back in the 1950s - USSR (top seeds) v Ireland (bottom??) Bronstein has black, answers e4 with c6, and duly wins in short order. After the game his opponent can allegedly be heard inquiring "what was the name of that opening??"

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Chess isn't all about the GMs who win all the time, so I don't see the problem at all with the fact she's not as good as everyone else. She's presumably enjoying it; so who cares how good she is?

How about her opponents? I get annoyed if I travel thirty miles only to find the other team has filled up the lower boards of their team with people they've dragged off the street.

If I'd spent years playing in tournaments and studying hard, earning the right to represent my country, traveled all the way to Siberia to play the supposed best players from other nations and then found my opponent learnt the moves on the plane flying over and kept on having to be reminded how the horsey thing moves, I'd be livid!

[Ian Kingston]

McShane's 19...g5 looks suspect to me. What's the idea behind it?

(I'm not turning on any engines today unless something gets really tactical.)

[Alex Holowczak]

Chess isn't all about the GMs who win all the time, so I don't see the problem at all with the fact she's not as good as everyone else. She's presumably enjoying it; so who cares how good she is?

How about her opponents? I get annoyed if I travel thirty miles only to find the other team has filled up the lower boards of their team with people they've dragged off the street.

If I'd spent years playing in tournaments and studying hard, earning the right to represent my country, traveled all the way to Siberia to play the supposed best players from other nations and then found my opponent learnt the moves on the plane flying over and kept on having to be reminded how the horsey thing moves, I'd be livid!

She presumably is one of the best players from her nation.

I think it's a poor attitude, to be honest. It's not about winning, or feeling as though you're getting a good game that's worth the time investment. It's about taking part and enjoying.

Would you rather the Seychelles didn't enter a team?

[Simon Ansell]

McShane's 19...g5 looks suspect to me. What's the idea behind it?

(I'm not turning on any engines today unless something gets really tactical.)

...g5 is to stop f4 from White, Black wants to keep the knight on e5. If White is going to move it now it involves making a concession (g3).

I like our positions on all four boards right now.

[David Brock]

McShane's 19...g5 looks suspect to me. What's the idea behind it?

(I'm not turning on any engines today unless something gets really tactical.)

Ha ha Coward you have been reading too many emails about those bl**dy computer users.

So what does your fingers and toes tell you then?