British Chess Championships 2010

[Alex Holowczak]

Because they can't afford it?

[Mark Howitt]

BTW all my comments really are more as an outside observer now- it makes no real difference to myself personally whether Polish people play in the British Championship. However, for chessplayers my age in England and the chess community it is a concern- anyway I've spent enough time on this so no more for this thread today!

[David Shepherd]

Alex - yes I think so - I was just highlighting it.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Has there ever been a British Championship where there have been three Poles in the field?

If you are by any chance counting Mr Vrubl, he is in fact a Czech

[IM Jack Rudd]

Has there ever been a British Championship where there have been three Poles in the field?

If you are by any chance counting Mr Vrubl, he is in fact a Czech

He's not. He's counting Maciol, Tymrakiewicz and Krzyzanowski.

[Stewart Reuben]

David Shepherd >Why is the prize for the British woman champion so low? I would have thought it should be set at more than the prize for the English woman champion, and that £1,000 or £750 would have fitted in better in the scale.<

Remember she can also win a main prize, an opportunity that is not available at Wimbledon. Perhaps the answer is why is the English woman's prize so high?

Stewart Reuben

[Alex Holowczak]

Perhaps there should be a prize to the leading Polish player? After all, there are more Polish players than female players!

[Ben Purton]

Anyone willing to offer me Evens on Alexander Combie to score 3 or under points?

[Ben Purton]

Ill take Combie , Bucher V Rendle -1.5 in a match bet?

[IM Jack Rudd]

Anyone willing to offer me Evens on Alexander Combie to score 3 or under points?

Hmmm, let's see. He's seeded 55th out of 62, but five of the seven below him are young players who could easily be under-rated. 3 or under, you're probably looking at 59th place or lower... I'd say he's more likely to score over 3 than 3 or under, but it's marginal.

[Alex McFarlane]

Ben - How much are you willing to bet me?
If it is over 4 figures I will name you as sponsor of the 2011 Seniors Championship.
It must be over £40 to cover the costs of 4 mobile phones to put in his opponent's pockets in the last 4 rounds if necessary.

[David Shepherd]

Remember she can also win a main prize, an opportunity that is not available at Wimbledon. Perhaps the answer is why is the English woman's prize so high?

Stewart Reuben

Not sure a chance of winning £500 for two weeks work qualifies as "so high" if your are trying to make a living from chess - well not by Wimbledon standards anyway where I think you get £1,750 if you lose in the first round and Venus only got £1m for winning

Maybe she is gutted she didn't get the chance to share in the mens prize money too (she might even have walked away with £1,750).

[Gareth Harley-Yeo]

Remember she can also win a main prize, an opportunity that is not available at Wimbledon. Perhaps the answer is why is the English woman's prize so high?

Stewart Reuben

Not sure a chance of winning £500 for two weeks work qualifies as "so high" if your are trying to make a living from chess - well not by Wimbledon standards anyway where I think you get £1,750 if you lose in the first round and Venus only got £1m for winning

Maybe she is gutted she didn't get the chance to share in the mens prize money too (she might even have walked away with £1,750).

I believe Stewart is highlighting that the female entrants have an opportunity to actually pick up more prize money than the men? Can a female not win the British outright?

[Stewart Reuben]

I guess the odds on Jovanka winning both the British and English Women's Championships is about 1/20, unless there are unexpected strong late female entries and assumig she does not fall ill. Thus her expected return from women's prizes is about £950.
There are no men's prizes in the British Championship, I doubt whether there have ever been. She has a non-trivial probability of winning one of the main prizes.
Surely this is not too bad for an unsponsored event? It is partly supported by the chess administrators who take no fees.

Stewart Reuben

[David Shepherd]

And who never sleep