2017 Canadian Championship

[John Brown]

Re: 2017 Canadian Championship

why did the organizers not provide chess sets with two extra queens?

[Nikolay Noritsyn]

Re: 2017 Canadian Championship

I just came across http://forum.chesstalk.com/showthrea...723#post114723

If the google translation is correct..a few things I find wrong about this post.

- I had 7 seconds after making the move, which means I had 4 seconds right before pressing the clock - not 15 seconds as suggested. Supposedly, there is a video recording of the game.
- If I saw the queen, I would have promoted a queen. I did not see it, neither did the spectators. I did not choose the rook because it was the closest black piece I saw.
- I congratulated my opponent in Russian after the game. I don't remember if I said that I did not play well enough to win (I doubt it..) and I did complain, though quite lightly..I was quite shocked and just wanted to disappear as fast as possible after this embarrassment to be alone. Thats my introvert nature. I don't think that protesting or complaining can be considered bad sportsmanship.
- the queens were exchanged about 15-20 moves before the incident

[Andrew Peredun]

Re: 2017 Canadian Championship

That is the correct ruling according to the arbiter's manual / FIDE laws of chess, although it definitely seems like an oversight that no additional queens were immediately available during what I assume was the only game occurring. The rule is pretty clear:

"When a player places an inverted (upside‐down) Rook in the promotion square and continues the game, the piece is considered as a Rook, even if he names it as a “Queen” or any other piece. To put an inverted Rook on the promotion square is not considered as an illegal move. The Arbiter has to intervene and put the Rook in its correct position on the square and he may penalize the player according to the Article 12.9."

We've got an on-site room left if you want to play the Canadian Open. Free accommodation and... every board guaranteed to have extra queens!

[Nikolay Noritsyn]

Re: 2017 Canadian Championship

I have absolutely no problem with blitz and rapid games deciding a championship. I might have preferred tiebreaks this time, or playoffs for 2015 - for personal suitability - but there is nothing more fair then proving your superiority over the board instead of the tiebreak numbers.
I am not a born-again-Christian..(hello Vlad, reading your posts in between rounds is a perfect recipe to feel better about my mistakes)..so please allow me to feel bitter and angry.

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.07.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Noritsyn, Nikolay"]
[Result "1-0"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3R4/8/P7/6p1/1p2kn2/3p3p/5K2/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "7"]

1... h2 2. Rh8 $2 d2 3. a7 d1=Q 4. a8=Q+ Nd5 (4... Qd5) 1-0

Here is the recreated position of the second, decisive blitz game. Just before, I messed up and pushed the wrong pawns, and after 1. ...h2 2.a7 white wins. Both opponents had seconds on the clock and a long day full of chess before, so mistakes were frequent. Game continued as in the notation until 3. ...d1=Q. The next moves did not happen, I put in a possible continuation for black - the computer confirms the position is objectively a draw, while with seconds on the clock (3 seconds increment) anything might have still happened, with black having practical winning chances.

Unfortunately, as it happened I promoted the 'd' pawn to an inverted rook, and after a heated discussion between the arbiters, spectators and me (absolutely shocked) - I had to continue the game with a rook on d1 instead of a queen.

- the blitz games were considered to be played under 'rapid' (or classical) rules, because they had 'adequate arbiter supervision. For one, this means that in a blitz game one illegal move leads to an immediate loss, while in a rapid (classical) game you get a warning first, and a loss only in case of a second offence.
- there were no extra queens provided. Both players were too involved in the chess to think about such things.. I would be very surprised if, lets say, at a World Cup tiebreak extra queens were not beside the board at all times. Surely, its also not the players job to think about such things, its the arbiters. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is unprofessional.
- with about 5 seconds on the clock (7 seconds after I made the move and pressed the clock) I was nervously looking for a queen in the pile of captured pieces and did not see it (neither did the spectators). My instinct was to grab a rook and promote an inverted rook and proclaim "queen" out loud, something quite normal in casual games but which is considered illegal under FIDE rules nowadays.
- the arbiters say I should have stopped the clock and asked for a queen.. I envy people whose composure is so great that with 5 seconds on their clock and looking for a queen on the table, their first instinct is to press the pause button.

Curiously, as I understand it, if I simply promoted a pawn without changing it and pressed the clock, it would be considered an illegal move. My opponent would get two minutes, and I would get my queen after all. Promoting to an inverted rook is considered a "touch move". I don't know if saying 'queen' out loud makes any difference rule wise.
The arbiters say they do not like the rule, but can not choose which rules they can like or dislike, they have to follow them. I am not sure how true that is. Just some cases that quickly come to my mind.

- Cheparinov-Short http://en.chessbase.com/post/wijk-r0...dshake-appeals - Short first wins the game on forfeit, then later the game is replayed after an appeal.
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/1415...98881872306530 - this one is a funny recent case..here is a comment that caught my interest

Tony van Roon-Werten Of course the guy should lose because his intent was to cheat, but I think technically he should win. The lady should have claimed a win, but she moved an opponent piece which is illegal and giving the nasty guy the right to claim a win.
At the dutch lightning chess championship, a referee gave a loss to my son who tried to be a smart ass by putting the kings next to each other. Opponent overlooked it, ( well, it doesn't happen that often normally) and my son claimed a win. The referee told him to go take a hike. He was not going to reward an illegal move with the intent to gain advantage. My son didn't see it that way and thought it was just a "chesstrick" like backrankmate or fork attack. (Now he understands, and I doubt he will do it again :) ) but I'm not sure a lot of referees would have the same guts.
This clip is a bit different since my son never tried to hide or lied about his action or intent, but in both cases, if the opponent had followed the rules it would have been a lot easier.

- Karpov-Kasparov 1984 gets stopped by the FIDE president at the time..was he following rules, common sense, or just some shady politics?..no matter.

The point is there are rules..and then there are other rules. I read some interview by Geurt Gijssen (can't find a link at the moment) where he said that the most important thing for arbiters is to be flexible, as each case is unique. Arbiters should preserve the spirit of the chess game. Being told that Le Siege had a similar case in some Montreal Open and the ruling in that case was the same does not make me feel better.

I am not sure what can be done now, the next day after the playoffs. Appeal how...what...to whom?...Mayhaps some chesstalkers are more knowledgeable than me. I was shocked yesterday and too involved with the chess to fight any battles outside of the board. Maybe my story will at least serve as a drive for a change in some of those pesky FIDE rules.

Rapid games and chess. Blitz games are also chess. Even Armageddon games are chess too. I think I deserved that one last chance at an Armageddon game to prove my chess chess superiority (or be proven the opposite). It seems to me, the spectator support I got indicates I am not alone in thinking so.

I would like to thank the organizes for the tournament, as I did not have a chance to do so yesterday. I would like to thank Bator for a very entertaining playoff match. None of this is his fault.

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: Playoffs at the 2017 Canadian Championship

The new Canadian Champ is GM Bator Sambuev due due to his 1.5-0.5 speed chess victory over Noritsyn.

The hardest working man in Canadian chess is on his way to Toronto to teach at his chess camp. WOW!

Well said Halldor, Bator's chess work ethic is impressive! Congratulations, and hope to see you soon in more events.

[Hans Jung]

Re: 2017 Canadian Championship

Congratulations to Nikolay! The tournament should have been his. What a start! 6-0! and a win against GM Sambuev as Black. Deciding a Canadian Championship with speed games?! Those are the rules - but ouch!

[Hans Jung]

Re: Playoffs at the 2017 Canadian Championship

Congratulations to Bator.

[Ian Findlay]

Re: Playoffs at the 2017 Canadian Championship

Congrats and welcome to the Olympic team! See you in Calgary.

[James Tan]

Re: Playoffs at the 2017 Canadian Championship

Congrats Bator !!!

[Halldor P. Palsson]

Re: Playoffs at the 2017 Canadian Championship

The new Canadian Champ is GM Bator Sambuev due due to his 1.5-0.5 speed chess victory over Noritsyn.

The hardest working man in Canadian chess is on his way to Toronto to teach at his chess camp. WOW!

[Halldor P. Palsson]

Playoffs at the 2017 Canadian Championship

Well the Noritsyn-Sambuev 15+10 sec match ended in a 2-2 tie.

[John Upper]

Final Round

Sambuev and Noritsyn both won their round 9 games to finish with 8/9 and will have a playoff later today (Canada Day)

You can play through the round 9 game Hambleton - Sambuev, with notes, on the CFC Newsfeed:

http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/971

[Halldor P. Palsson]

Playoffs at the 2017 Canadian Championship

Are they going for playoffs for both the championship crown and the IM title?

[Aman Hambleton]

Re: 2017 Canadian Championship

"Alex had been playing with an infected tooth, and withdrew after his loss to Thavandiran."

LOL alright

[Kerry Liles]

Re: 2017 Canadian Championship

Did Le Siege withdraw after Rd.5 loss to Shiyam?

On todays Canadian Chess News Feed ( http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/970 ), it was noted:

"Alex had been playing with an infected tooth, and withdrew after his loss to Thavandiran."