2015 European Blitz Championship 18 December Minsk

[Mick Norris]

Participants

Bogdanovich top seed, Nigel Short 21st

[Mick Norris]

Nigel has made it to Minsk, Navara appears to be actual top seed

results

chess24live

[Chris Rice]

Iuri Shkuro (Ukraine 2792). Prime example of how to cheat the Elo system, just check out his history on the FIDE ratings site if in any doubt. Basically almost exclusively plays Ukrainian players more that 400 Elo below his rating and just builds it up. All legal. Of course when he gets to play in a legit tournament then first round loses 2-0 to someone rated 800+ points below him. No doubt after this tournament he'll reclaim all the Elo points he's lost in his customary manner.

Let's see how he gets on in the next round.

[Mike Truran]

Per the crosstable it looks like Nigel pulled out part-way through? Or have I misunderstood the website presentation?

[Chris Rice]

Per the crosstable it looks like Nigel pulled out part-way through? Or have I misunderstood the website presentation?

Looks like he pulled out because he wanted some energy for tomorrow, or at least that's what I gleaned from Chess Bomb. He has had some health problems recently pulling out of the British Knockout at the Classic. Fingers crossed he's just being a bit cautious.

[Chris Rice]

Iuri Shkuro (Ukraine 2792). Prime example of how to cheat the Elo system, just check out his history on the FIDE ratings site if in any doubt. Basically almost exclusively plays Ukrainian players more that 400 Elo below his rating and just builds it up. All legal. Of course when he gets to play in a legit tournament then first round loses 2-0 to someone rated 800+ points below him. No doubt after this tournament he'll reclaim all the Elo points he's lost in his customary manner.

Let's see how he gets on in the next round.

Pulled out immediately after that devastating loss to the guy rated 1986. Rating change limited to -0.92. Nice one.

[Mike Truran]

What's the Ukrainian for "w****r"?

[IM Jack Rudd]

Iuri Shkuro (Ukraine 2792). Prime example of how to cheat the Elo system, just check out his history on the FIDE ratings site if in any doubt. Basically almost exclusively plays Ukrainian players more that 400 Elo below his rating and just builds it up. All legal. Of course when he gets to play in a legit tournament then first round loses 2-0 to someone rated 800+ points below him. No doubt after this tournament he'll reclaim all the Elo points he's lost in his customary manner.

That's an occupational hazard of rating systems. My ECF rapidplay grade does the same thing.

[Chris Rice]

Sorry Jack but I don't agree, you have to be one of the fastest players in the world so I would expect your rapid to be in excess of your standard rating. What Shkuro has done was not an occupational hazard but deliberately calculated and he has been very successful at it. If you take a look at his history he's continually played the same Ukrainians who are consistently miles below him in the rating and achieved 9/9 scores but he is no 2792.

[Brian Towers]

What's the Ukrainian for "w****r"?

The Biblical term is "onanist".

[Chris Rice]

Mamedov and Gunina won their respective blitzes. Report here with some piccies. http://www.europechess.org/rauf-mamedov ... ship-2015/

[NickFaulks]

What's the Ukrainian for "w****r"?

I think this criticism may be unfair.

Shkuro got his GM title in 2009 and stopped playing seriously in 2010. More recently he has been playing in rated blitz tournaments in and around Kherson, where presumably he lives. It's not his fault if the local players are all much weaker than him and he always beats them.