Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Winners of the 4 USAT events

1) 2714 Izoria, Zviad
2) 2592 Perelshteyn, Eugen
3) 2586 Dzindzichashvili,Roman
4) 110 Fanning, Stephen (That's right 110!)

North

Trevor,Erik,Ashish & Alexander

1) 2282 Betaneli Alexander
2) 2239 Vaja Ashish
3) 2175 Santarius Erik
4) 2003 Magness Trevor

West

Jonathan,Benjamin,Robby & Landon

1) 2386 Robby Adamson
2) 2246 Landon Brownell
3) 2115 Jonathan Cox
4) 2100 Benjamin Marmont


South

Gilberto, Javier, Jeffrey & Bruci
1) 2468 Bruci Lopez
2) 2136 Jeffrey Haskel
3) 2108 Javier Gonzalez
4) 2069 Gilberto L Luna

Phote credits :

12 comments:

  1. The East Team should be embarrassed!! How is that young boy supposed to feel after he loses five chess games just so those GMs can wallow in it about winning an amateur event? The United States Chess Association needs to put an end to foolhardy team entries like this -- totally against the spirit of an amateur event. There needs to be like a 1,000 point limit spread between the highest team member rating and the lowest team member rating.

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  2. This is embarassing indeed!

    I agree with you, robin.

    3 GMs and a 110 rated player is against the spirit of an amateur event. There should be a ruling to prevent such occurrences from happening again.

    Those 3 GMs did themselves no favours here.

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  3. I agree with Robin...but that little kid has something that he can talk about the rest of his life...sitting right next to Roman!!! I thought that single point was cool. But, for sure...after this there has to be some sort of cap.

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  4. Personally I like the idea of being able to play vs. strong opposition in the playoff. Wasn't there a team of 3 GM's before this, but they were not able to win?

    Ashish Vaja

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  5. Yeah and look, the Wisconsin people couldnt get one GM... let alone one that needs a haircut!!!

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  6. It's one thing to have a non-amateur (titled player) play on the top board; I agree that it's a rare opportunity for the small fish to get a game against such august competition. But the GGGg team was a blatant attempt to screw with the rules (the fact that it is legal is irrelevant to the question of whether it was just). 3 GMs and one super-patzer makes a mockery of the event and makes them look pathetic (not the little kid, but the parents who likely bribed the GMs to participate in this farce).
    It's not about the prize money (none) or being afraid of facing a GM, it's about having some sense about what an amateur event and team competition means.
    I hope they change the rules to prevent this from occurring next year.

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  7. I sympathize with the points about the silly team composition of GGGg. On the other hand, they are following the rules as stated. Maybe the rules can be revised, if necessary. On still another hand, what does "amateur" really mean? For example, the fine team of Betaneli, Vaja, Santarius, et al, are strong players and good guys, some of whom make their living at chess. So, does "amateur" refer to "not making money at chess tournaments"? The line is blurry, so I agree that USCF should consider refining the guidelines. Or, maybe the event should just be viewed as the fun and quirky event it is, and all is well as it is currently set up.

    -Allen Becker

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  8. I will have to think about whether or not 3 GMs + low rated person is a bad thing or not, but I would definitely love to face three terrific Grandmasters in play-offs! Of course, first we need to defeat the powerful West team though.

    Alex Betaneli

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  9. So is at always North vs West winner playing the South vs East winner?

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  10. I think so, but I don't have the official information for this year yet.

    Alex

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  11. There is talk that the GGGg team might not be able to participate, since the West had a requirement where the difference between board 3 and 4 had to be less than 1000

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