Cambridge International Open

[Richard Bates]

As one of those "long tail players", it's not my fault that I spotted a tournament that was in a great location, in a nice venue, with a fair entry fee, and entered promptly. I wasn't surprised at all that it filled so quickly, and that can only be a good thing for future events.

I do feel like some of the language being used is rather harsh to us folk under the 2000 rating line. Aren't we also allowed to play chess too? It's the masses of us woodpushers who turn up and enter that are helping cover the costs of these events.

I think this is harsh - the comments are not criticising people for entering. They have every right to. It really depends on what the objectives of the tournament and/or the tournament sponsors/organisers are. If achieving norms are not the primary (or at least not more than one among several) then there is no issue. And in this case, the strength at the top may be sufficient to counteract the impact of the “long tail” anyway.

[A.Kluckova]

Don't waste time thinking about the acceleration system.
This tournament in this form is not intended to meet FIDE norms . If paring is based on the ECF rating, it does not meet the FIDE paring requirement f. Even players without a FIDE rating are in the first half of the starting field . Some players have a difference between Fide rating and ECF rating more than 300 points.
While the starting list will not be ranked according to the Fide rating, then it is an international shame and not an international tournament with possibility to earn FIDE norms.

[Ian Thompson]

This tournament in this form is not intended to meet FIDE norms . If paring is based on the ECF rating, it does not meet the FIDE paring requirement f. Even players without a FIDE rating are in the first half of the starting field . Some players have a difference between Fide rating and ECF rating more than 300 points.
While the starting list will not be ranked according to the Fide rating, then it is an international shame and not an international tournament with possibility to earn FIDE norms.

Could you provide a link to substantiate this? All I can find in FIDE's rules for pairing systems is a requirement that players are ranked according to strength, a requirement that players without any rating have their strength estimated as accurately as possible, and a recommendation that, if all players have ratings from a single rating list, then that list should be used to determine strength. This gives the organisers the freedom to estimate strength, and rank players, in any (reasonable) way they like.

[A.Kluckova]

"The English Chess Federation is organising the Cambridge International Open Chess Tournament. The event will provide an opportunity for participants to achieve INTERNATIONAL TITLE NORMS."

If you have to play norms, you cannot play with players without a FIDE rating or with players whose FIDE rating is absolutely underastimated.

An organizer who wants to build a GOOD name for the International tournament with opportunity for participants to archieve norms does it this way :

https://chess-results.com/tnr657254.aspx?lan=1&art=0

and does not deceive foreign participants - norm seekers with such a start list :

https://chess-results.com/tnr702650.aspx?lan=1

[Thomas Rendle]

I'm confused, neither tournament looks great for norm opportunities. Hopefully they will both be useful events though, especially for young and improving players. I'm glad there are more strong FIDE events now available to play in!

[Ian Thompson]

and does not deceive foreign participants - norm seekers with such a start list :

https://chess-results.com/tnr702650.aspx?lan=1

Whether you agree with how the tournament is being organised or not, accusing the ECF of deceiving foreign participants is not true.

The tournament Regulations are clear that the higher of ECF and FIDE rating will be used for seeding purposes. The list of entrants tells you what both ratings are.

[Mike Gunn]

---
If you have to play norms, you cannot play with players without a FIDE rating or with players whose FIDE rating is absolutely underastimated.
...

But FIDE ratings of most U2000 players in England are underestimated because of the relatively small number of FIDE rated tournaments for these players. So doing pairing using ECF ratings rather than FIDE ratings could be a better solution. (You can still do FIDE rating calcs to determine whether norms are achieved at the end). Invited overseas players will probably suffer FIDE rating damage regardless of the pairing system.

[NickFaulks]

I'm confused, neither tournament looks great for norm opportunities.

That's what I thought too. In the Northumberland event both winners had performances good enough for IM norms had they needed them, but they would have failed various tests regarding opponents.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"But FIDE ratings of most U2000 players in England are underestimated because of the relatively small number of FIDE rated tournaments for these players."

Yes. Also there is a covid lag, where people who have been practising convert this into rating points, now that they can play.

Having said that, I have played more FIDE-rated games in the last season than ECF-rated ones.

[Eric Gardiner]

I've just noticed I was supposed to register for this tournament by yesterday ... (I am not used to doing this so didn't remember.) The regulations say there is a form to use on the ECF website but unfortunately I cannot find it. I've emailed the contact address given but thought I'd ask here in case anyone can supply a link to the form more quickly. Many thanks to anyone who can help!

[Roger de Coverly]

I've just noticed I was supposed to register for this tournament by yesterday .

I can see some point of asking non-British players to register a day and a half before the event to prove they have a visa if required and have already travelled or are travelling to the UK. The point of doing it for British residents seem less logical as a player may have every intention of taking part in the first round, only to be thwarted by the train delays or cancellations, motorway delays, weather etc on the day of play.

[Eric Gardiner]

I've been informed privately that I am able to play. It seems that registration and entry mean the same thing - in any case no one has given me a link for registration!

[Chris Rice]

I've been informed privately that I am able to play. It seems that registration and entry mean the same thing - in any case no one has given me a link for registration!

That spooked me! I had to look twice as I know some tournaments such as the London Classic do ask you for extra confirmation the day before that you actually intend to be there. On the ECF page mentioned it states:

"The English Chess Federation (ECF) would like to thank everyone who has registered for the Cambridge International Open. Unfortunately, registration for the International is now closed as we have reached the capacity of the playing hall. We have also closed the waiting list, given the number of players waiting for cancellation places."

This statement was some time ago as mentioned upthread so you couldn't register for quite a while now anyway so it must mean entries. We're both still on the list as far as I can see so fingers crossed no issues tomorrow!

[Ljubica Lazarevic]

Well it's safe to say I'm going to get my butt kicked! Happy tournament, everybody!

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Two questions:

What is the story with Maciej Czopor only being an FM with a rating of 2519 - how common is it for FMs to have such a high rating?

And when did Mickey (Adams) enter? Did I miss this earlier or was he one of the early entries?

EDIT: OK, answered my first question, he is an 18-year-old wunderkind:

https://pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maciej_Czopor

The name is now ringing a bell, he might have been mentioned on here before? (Yes, his results in UK reported on this forum in 2021 when he came close to securing his final(?) IM norm, so presumably has increased his rating further but still needs to meet the norm requirements.)