Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

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  • Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

    Gibraltar Open has many side events. One of them is Pair Blitz. Actually, organizers try to make this tournament as social as possible; that's why they have Pair Blitz instead of traditional individual blitz tournament.

    Pair Blitz is a 6-rounds event with 4+4 time control. Time control is much slower than classical 3+2, but in pair matches you need more time, so it looks logical. Every team has to make moves alternatively, like in table tennis. Just 6 rounds doesn't allow you to make any mistake; with around 40-50 pairs 5/6 points probably not enough for first place.

    A very important restriction of this event: the average rating must be not higher than 2300, so it's a very difficult tournament for strong GMs. For example, 2700 player has to play with somebody around 1900. I believe that 2300*2 is usually better than 2700+1900 combination.

    I played in this tournament 2 years ago with Michael Dougherty. We didn't got any real chance to win something and finished with 3.5/6. Probably, our playing style was completely different.

    This year I was the only(!) Canadian and initially had no plans to participate in this competition. A few hours before the start of the blitz, after my regular game was finished, I was approached by a very young Indian player: "Do you want to play with me in this Pair Blitz?"

    My original plan was to try to win this tournament one day with Mark, but Mark was not there. This Indian guy was just 12-years old boy with rating of 2321 and performance of 2400+ in Gibraltar. So maybe it's an opportunity? I like to play with juniors, although in Toronto it costs me a lot of rating points. After some 10 minutes hesitation I told my new friend Raunak Sadhwani that we will be playing together.

    He got very excited and asked me a lot of questions, like: do I have any IM norms? what was my top rating? where I was born?...Just a classical Indian prodigy, this country has a lot of them.

    Before the start, I tried to explain to him about my chess style and how we can improve our chances in this tournament. So I gave him a few advises, for example:

    1. Play e5 after e4. Play something simple (no Benoni, no KID) after d4.
    2. Don't start with too complicated tactics, 2-3 moves is OK.
    3. Trade as much as you can, but don't go to dead draw endgame.
    4. Don't offer/accept the draw in equal position, we must play for a win every game.

    As a big fan of Toronto Raptors, I called our team "The North". Tournament attracted a record number of almost 50 pairs. A few GM was playing, including N.Short.

    After some easy win in 1st round, we drew our next game, which lasted more than 170 moves. We tried to win an endgame 2R + white pawn on f3 vs lonely Q. Maybe computer could do it, but it was impossible for us.

    After another win in round 3, we got a very difficult position with white against French in round 4. Sure, it was my mistake: I forgot to tell to my young friend that he should capture on d5. He played Nd2 instead and after Nf6 I was forced to play e5. My knowledge in this line was close to zero, and we got a bad endgame with B+N against 2B. Our dark square bishop was pretty poor. I have to say that for 12-years old kid my partner was great in endgame. Somehow we won a pawn and, after a long fight, a game.

    Another win in 5th round moved us with 4.5/5 on clear second place. A mixed team (Women + Man) from Norway had 5, many teams had 4 points. Obviously, we got paired against the leader. In this situation my friend ask me: "Look, they are great. They win every game. I think, we should offer a draw and share 2nd place."

    I was surprised, but answered that we have to play for a win, we are better and have a reasonable chances to win the entire tournament. He walked around for 5 minutes and returned to me: "Yes, you are right. We'll play for a win".

    The game itself was relatively easy. We won a minor piece in the middlegame. In totally winning position I blunder an exchange for a pawn, but it was too little too late. In endgame R+5 pawns vs B+N+6 pawns our opponents made an illegal move. By new FIDE rules, it doesn't lose the game, instead we just get extra time. While waiting for the arbiter to adjust the clock, our opponents evaluated the position and resigned.

    We won the tournament with 5.5/6. The first prize was 100 GBP (around 175 CAD) each player.

    My friend Raunak Sadhwani achieved a IM norm in Gibraltar. Sure, we will be GM sooner or later (likely, sooner). I will be rooting for him.
    Last edited by Victor Plotkin; Friday, 16th February, 2018, 10:47 AM.

  • #2
    Re: Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

    Thank you Victor for sharing such a delightful story. Congratulations to Raunak and you, it's been a great adventure and a well-deserved success! This is truly an inspiration for players of all ages.

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    • #3
      Re: Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

      Great story, thanks Victor.

      You played in the Open and the Challengers sections this year, yes? That's two rounds a day -- plus time for any side events -- which is a lot of chess for anyone over 30. How did your mental energy and concentration hold up? Is this a reason you have a simplifying strategy in your repertoire and games?

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      • #4
        Re: Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

        Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

        February 16, 2018

        ChessTalkers may want to read this article:

        Raunak gets Blitz Pairs gold with Canadian partner in Gibraltar chess:

        https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/62785497.cms

        There is a photo of the pair and the article starts this way:

        NAGPUR: A day after he scored his second International Master (IM) norm in a bid to become Maharashtra's youngest IM, 12-year-old Raunak Sadhwani scored another high in the Gibraltar Chess Festival by emerging victorious in the shortest format of chess.

        City's emerging chess star, brought home a yellow metal in the day long blitz event - played in a unique format with a partner of similar Elo rating. Pairing up with 50-year-old Plotkin Victor from Canada for the first time, Raunak won gold medal in the blitz pairs at Gibraltar. In the blitz pairs competition, both the teammates play on a same board and are required to play an alternate move each. Both Raunak and Victor met at the Gibraltar Chess Festival for the first time.

        In the six-round event, the Indo-Canada pair of Raunak and Victor represented The North and remained unbeaten to finish on top of the table. After playing a draw in the second round, Raunak and Victor won all their five remaining games for the top position on the basis of a better tie-break score. Four teams finished the event winning five rounds each. While a second-round draw came handy for Raunak and Victor as all the other three teams lost a round each. For their title winning effort, both Raunak and Victor got richer by 100 pounds each.

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        • #5
          Re: Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

          Originally posted by Victor Plotkin View Post
          ...
          An interesting story and a great result.

          Just yesterday I was reading Slavin's book and the chapter was about the practicing methods - one of them was this type of playing chess. The variation is a simul (many years ago Sergey Noritsyn and I did one with clocks at the club - a lot of fun at the end) The author suggests one more interesting way - play against two opponents at once; other possibility - three boards in triangle let three players play against two opponents. The variation is double-chess in this setup :)

          As for the 2R+p vs Q -> 6 piece endgame tablebase at http://www.shredderchess.com/online-...-database.html shall give you the clear answer.

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          • #6
            Re: Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

            Originally posted by John Upper View Post
            Great story, thanks Victor.

            You played in the Open and the Challengers sections this year, yes? That's two rounds a day -- plus time for any side events -- which is a lot of chess for anyone over 30. How did your mental energy and concentration hold up? Is this a reason you have a simplifying strategy in your repertoire and games?
            Thank you, John.

            Yes, I decided to play 20 games in 10 days. In my 4th Gibraltar tournament, it was the first time my FIDE dropped below 2250, which made me eligible for the Challengers this year. Usually, I have no problem to play 2 games per day. This time I successfully survived first 17 game, gaining around 40 rating points combined. Unfortunately, losses in last 3 games significantly reduced my performance.

            It was an interesting experience. Probably, 15 games (Masters and just 1 Challenger) would have been better for me.

            About mental energy and concentration - after I survived more than 25 years on stock market, especially 2008 - it should not be a problem.
            Last edited by Victor Plotkin; Friday, 16th February, 2018, 03:06 PM.

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            • #7
              Re: Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

              Delightful tale Victor! Congratulations on your victory!!

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              • #8
                Re: Pair Blitz in Gibraltar

                Interesting story. Thanks for sharing Victor.

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