Wood Green Invitational 2023

[Alex McFarlane]

I think CS have (or had) a policy that juniors should not offer or accept draw offers while representing Scotland

I've never heard of this policy. It certainly is not a current policy, nor has it been during my time of involvement.

That is not to say that trainers or managers have not tried to enforce it. It was certainly encouraged in some novice events between very inexperienced players where there was no guarantee that the opponent could mate even a queen up!

[Mick Norris]

Round 7 on 2023/07/17 at 1500

Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No.
1 4 2439 GM Turner, Matthew J IM Rudd, Jack 2276 10 1-0
2 5 2421 IM Willow, Jonah B FM Rees, Ioan 2293 3 1=0
3 6 2481 GM Gasanov, Eldar IM Ghasi, Ameet K 2495 2 0-1
4 7 2325 FM Waldhausen Gordon, Frederick IM Sousa, Andre Ventura 2455 1 0-1
5 8 2431 IM Wadsworth, Matthew J GM Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan E 2305 9 1-0

Ameet on 6/7 now

Matthew on 5/7

[Ian Jamieson]

I think CS have (or had) a policy that juniors should not offer or accept draw offers while representing Scotland

I've never heard of this policy. It certainly is not a current policy, nor has it been during my time of involvement.

That is not to say that trainers or managers have not tried to enforce it. It was certainly encouraged in some novice events between very inexperienced players where there was no guarantee that the opponent could mate even a queen up!

Ok thanks. I didn’t make it up though so I must have read something somewhere.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Without wanting to jinx the result, it look likely that Ameet Ghasi will manage to get 1/2 for a GM norm given his round 8 opponent who is yet to trouble the scorers (I hope his next tournament will be easier for him to show his potential). Ghasi plays Wadsworth in the final round (who would need a win for a GM norm if he manages to win against the Portuguese IM Sousa in round eight). The two FMs meet in the last round.

Impressive that Ameet Ghasi has scored 2.5/3 against the GMs. Wadsworth has scored 2/3 with his loss to fellow IM Jonah Willow being the main reason he needs to finish with 2/2.

[LawrenceCooper]

OK. I have just about accepted that inexperienced juniors will always play until mate. But when you are an FM rated over 2300, isn’t it time to show your opponents a little respect?

I think CS have (or had) a policy that juniors should not offer or accept draw offers while representing Scotland and should play games out to the end to speed up the learning process. I accept that this is an individual event instead of a team event but he may have decided to follow the approach in all his games.

His playing until mate therefore may have nothing to do with not respecting his opponents.

Edit

Matthew Turner may be able to confirm or deny this if he sees this post.

Freddy and his dad are two of the nicest people in chess so there is certainly no lack of respect meant towards his opponents. I've seen him analysing with his opponents after their game and it has been interesting, good natured and hopefully helpful to him.

[Matthew Turner]

Ian,
There is almost certainly a point in the past when I have recommended to Scottish Juniors that they should not offer a draw, because thinking about offering a draw detracts from them thinking about the actual game. I am not aware of that ever being an official policy.

Personally, I wouldn't tell a junior not to resign, I think that is part of the game that they need to figure out for themselves. Sometimes you will gain more by seeing it through to the bitter end and there are others when calling it a day is the best thing to do. However, I am sure there are coaches and parents who tell juniors never to resign because "you never know".

It is probably fair to confess at this point, that I did play until mate against Matthew Wadsworth.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

It is probably fair to confess at this point, that I did play until mate against Matthew Wadsworth.

Was there any time trouble involved there (for either player)?

[Event "Round 2: Matthew J Wadsworth - Matthew J Turner"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/d8Y6yGyQ/5t0nd2uw"] [White "Matthew J Wadsworth"] [Black "Matthew J Turner"] [Result "1-0"] [UTCDate "2023.07.14"] [UTCTime "14:02:50"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D78"] [Opening "Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Classical Variation, Original Defense"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Arihol"] 1. Nf3 { [%eval 0.36] [%clk 1:30:42] } 1... Nf6 { [%eval 0.29] [%clk 1:29:06] } 2. g3 { [%eval 0.05] [%clk 1:31:06] } 2... g6 { [%eval 0.25] [%clk 1:28:49] } 3. Bg2 { [%eval 0.13] [%clk 1:31:30] } 3... Bg7 { [%eval 0.28] [%clk 1:29:15] } 4. O-O { [%eval 0.28] [%clk 1:31:48] } 4... O-O { [%eval 0.25] [%clk 1:29:20] } 5. c4 { [%eval 0.09] [%clk 1:31:45] } 5... c6 { [%eval 0.13] [%clk 1:27:43] } 6. d4 { [%eval 0.12] [%clk 1:32:07] } 6... d5 { [%eval 0.11] [%clk 1:28:09] } 7. Nc3 { [%eval 0.0] [%clk 1:32:29] } 7... Ne4 { [%eval 0.44] [%clk 1:24:48] } 8. Qb3 { [%eval 0.45] [%clk 1:28:31] } 8... dxc4 { [%eval 0.43] [%clk 1:20:45] } 9. Qxc4 { [%eval 0.35] [%clk 1:28:53] } 9... Bf5 { [%eval 0.49] [%clk 1:20:39] } 10. Qb3 { [%eval 0.48] [%clk 1:27:47] } 10... Qb6 { [%eval 0.54] [%clk 1:15:12] } 11. Nh4 { [%eval 0.5] [%clk 1:26:56] } 11... Nxc3 { [%eval 0.57] [%clk 1:06:05] } 12. bxc3 { [%eval 0.49] [%clk 1:27:17] } 12... Be6 { [%eval 0.53] [%clk 1:06:26] } 13. Qa3 { [%eval 0.52] [%clk 1:21:37] } 13... Nd7 { [%eval 0.53] [%clk 0:55:29] } 14. Bg5 { [%eval 0.44] [%clk 1:15:42] } 14... Bf6 { [%eval 0.56] [%clk 0:53:41] } 15. Bxf6 { [%eval 0.72] [%clk 1:08:00] } 15... exf6 { [%eval 0.52] [%clk 0:53:35] } 16. e4 { [%eval 0.64] [%clk 1:05:05] } 16... Bc4 { [%eval 0.63] [%clk 0:52:29] } 17. Rfe1 { [%eval 0.67] [%clk 1:04:37] } 17... Qc7 { [%eval 0.61] [%clk 0:48:36] } 18. Nf3 { [%eval 0.69] [%clk 1:03:34] } 18... Rfe8 { [%eval 0.78] [%clk 0:48:05] } 19. Nd2 { [%eval 0.66] [%clk 1:02:11] } 19... Ba6 { [%eval 1.14] [%clk 0:48:04] } 20. c4 { [%eval 1.1] [%clk 0:58:14] } 20... c5?! { [%eval 1.97] } { Inaccuracy. Rad8 was best. } { [%clk 0:44:20] } (20... Rad8 21. Qc3 b6 22. a4 Bc8 23. a5 h5 24. h4 Nf8 25. Nb3 Bg4 26. Kh2 Nd7 27. Rac1) 21. d5 { [%eval 1.81] [%clk 0:58:09] } 21... Qe5 { [%eval 2.06] [%clk 0:43:23] } 22. Bh3 { [%eval 2.0] [%clk 0:51:48] } 22... Nb6 { [%eval 2.06] [%clk 0:39:26] } 23. Rac1 { [%eval 1.86] [%clk 0:49:31] } 23... f5 { [%eval 1.85] [%clk 0:35:18] } 24. Bf1 { [%eval 1.8] [%clk 0:36:22] } 24... fxe4 { [%eval 2.2] [%clk 0:13:05] } 25. Rxe4 { [%eval 2.6] [%clk 0:35:52] } 25... Qg5 { [%eval 2.07] [%clk 0:12:10] } 26. Rf4 { [%eval 1.85] [%clk 0:23:24] } 26... Nd7 { [%eval 1.81] [%clk 0:11:04] } 27. h4 { [%eval 1.83] [%clk 0:22:37] } 27... Qe7 { [%eval 1.87] [%clk 0:09:58] } 28. Ne4 { [%eval 1.72] [%clk 0:20:06] } 28... f5 { [%eval 2.03] [%clk 0:08:16] } 29. Ng5 { [%eval 2.12] [%clk 0:20:08] } 29... Nf8 { [%eval 2.52] [%clk 0:08:39] } 30. Bg2 { [%eval 2.13] [%clk 0:16:20] } 30... Kg7 { [%eval 2.46] [%clk 0:05:43] } 31. g4 { [%eval 2.66] [%clk 0:14:23] } 31... h6? { [%eval 4.86] } { Mistake. Qe5 was best. } { [%clk 0:05:20] } (31... Qe5 32. Qg3) 32. gxf5 { [%eval 4.79] [%clk 0:13:18] } 32... gxf5 { [%eval 5.04] [%clk 0:05:21] } 33. Rxf5 { [%eval 5.14] [%clk 0:11:27] } 33... hxg5 { [%eval 5.13] [%clk 0:02:12] } 34. Rxg5+ { [%eval 5.33] [%clk 0:11:55] } 34... Kh7?! { [%eval 7.01] } { Inaccuracy. Ng6 was best. } { [%clk 0:02:20] } (34... Ng6 35. Qg3 Kh7 36. Rxg6 Rg8 37. Rg5 Rxg5 38. hxg5 Rd8 39. Qh4+ Kg7 40. Qh6+ Kg8 41. Bh3) 35. Qd3+ { [%eval 6.57] [%clk 0:11:58] } 35... Kh8?? { [%eval #13] } { Checkmate is now unavoidable. Kh6 was best. } { [%clk 0:02:46] } (35... Kh6 36. Qf3 Qxg5 37. hxg5+ Kxg5 38. Qg3+ Kf6 39. Qf4+ Kg7 40. Be4 Re7 41. Qg5+ Kf7 42. d6) 36. Qc3+ { [%eval #16] [%clk 0:12:15] } 36... Kh7 { [%eval #13] [%clk 0:03:12] } 37. Be4+ { [%eval 14.53] [%clk 0:12:27] } 37... Qxe4?! { [%eval #1] } { Checkmate is now unavoidable. Ng6 was best. } { [%clk 0:03:31] } (37... Ng6 38. Bxg6+) 38. Qg7# { [%clk 0:12:51] } 1-0

[LawrenceCooper]

Ian,
There is almost certainly a point in the past when I have recommended to Scottish Juniors that they should not offer a draw, because thinking about offering a draw detracts from them thinking about the actual game. I am not aware of that ever being an official policy.

Personally, I wouldn't tell a junior not to resign, I think that is part of the game that they need to figure out for themselves. Sometimes you will gain more by seeing it through to the bitter end and there are others when calling it a day is the best thing to do. However, I am sure there are coaches and parents who tell juniors never to resign because "you never know".

It is probably fair to confess at this point, that I did play until mate against Matthew Wadsworth.

It's also worth mentioning that the final moves are played quickly, it certainly isn't a case of running the clock down (or even letting his time expire).

[Ian Jamieson]

Ian,
There is almost certainly a point in the past when I have recommended to Scottish Juniors that they should not offer a draw, because thinking about offering a draw detracts from them thinking about the actual game. I am not aware of that ever being an official policy.

Personally, I wouldn't tell a junior not to resign, I think that is part of the game that they need to figure out for themselves. Sometimes you will gain more by seeing it through to the bitter end and there are others when calling it a day is the best thing to do. However, I am sure there are coaches and parents who tell juniors never to resign because "you never know".

It is probably fair to confess at this point, that I did play until mate against Matthew Wadsworth.

Matthew,

Thanks for your reply.

I remember we talked about various things one year when we were both playing in the Marymass Congress in Irvine so maybe I am mis-remembering our conversation. I’m fairly sure though that I’ve read something somewhere since then though.

Ian

[Mick Norris]

Without wanting to jinx the result, it look likely that Ameet Ghasi will manage to get 1/2 for a GM norm given his round 8 opponent who is yet to trouble the scorers (I hope his next tournament will be easier for him to show his potential). Ghasi plays Wadsworth in the final round (who would need a win for a GM norm if he manages to win against the Portuguese IM Sousa in round eight). The two FMs meet in the last round.

Impressive that Ameet Ghasi has scored 2.5/3 against the GMs. Wadsworth has scored 2/3 with his loss to fellow IM Jonah Willow being the main reason he needs to finish with 2/2.

Not sure Ameet is winning today and seems to have used quite a bit of time at move 17

Matthew in better shape at move 20

[Mick Norris]

Round 8 on 2023/07/18 at 1000

Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No.
1 10 2276 IM Rudd, Jack GM Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan E 2305 9 1-0
2 1 2455 IM Sousa, Andre Ventura IM Wadsworth, Matthew J 2431 8 Draw
3 2 2495 IM Ghasi, Ameet K FM Waldhausen Gordon, Frederick 2325 7 Draw
4 3 2293 FM Rees, Ioan GM Gasanov, Eldar 2481 6 Draw
5 4 2439 GM Turner, Matthew J IM Willow, Jonah B 2421 5 Draw

[Mick Norris]

Round 9 on 2023/07/18 at 1500

Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No.
1 5 2421 IM Willow, Jonah B IM Rudd, Jack 2276 10
2 6 2481 GM Gasanov, Eldar GM Turner, Matthew J 2439 4 Drawn in 12 moves
3 7 2325 FM Waldhausen Gordon, Frederick FM Rees, Ioan 2293 3
4 8 2431 IM Wadsworth, Matthew J IM Ghasi, Ameet K 2495 2 Drawn in 4 moves
5 9 2305 GM Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan E IM Sousa, Andre Ventura 2455 1

Ameet gets his GM norm

[LawrenceCooper]

Round 9 on 2023/07/18 at 1500

Bo. No. Rtg Name Result Name Rtg No.
1 5 2421 IM Willow, Jonah B IM Rudd, Jack 2276 10
2 6 2481 GM Gasanov, Eldar GM Turner, Matthew J 2439 4 Drawn in 12 moves
3 7 2325 FM Waldhausen Gordon, Frederick FM Rees, Ioan 2293 3
4 8 2431 IM Wadsworth, Matthew J IM Ghasi, Ameet K 2495 2 Drawn in 4 moves
5 9 2305 GM Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan E IM Sousa, Andre Ventura 2455 1

Ameet gets his GM norm

Congratulations to Ameet on his second GM norm, there was some nerves this morning but he got through them.

[Mark Howitt]

Looks to be an interesting event.

[Richard Bates]

Without wanting to jinx the result, it look likely that Ameet Ghasi will manage to get 1/2 for a GM norm given his round 8 opponent who is yet to trouble the scorers (I hope his next tournament will be easier for him to show his potential…

Until proven differently I think I will continue to believe that anyone who carelessly uses the phrase “not wanting to [but]…” can only be deliberately encouraging the opposite…

You had a lucky escape!