Comments on: Back Home … and Musings on Strange American Tournaments

By: nezhmet

nezhmet — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:05:50 +0000

Winning a major tournament with final byes is ridiculous! It’s not the fault of the player who got the byes, it’s the fault of the organizer to allow it to happen.

Goichberg may be capitalist but he is very sensitive to others’ opinions. He often distributes questionnaires to improve the format of his major events. In former times, it was not possible to win his major tournaments with byes in the last rounds. It was specifically not allowed in his tournament announcements. It is indeed absurd that in 2009 this occurred. I think a public petition/movement/outcry could and should lead to this not occurring again in the World Open; after all as Crowther noted it makes a travesty of this “important event.”

By: Andres D. Hortillosa

Andres D. Hortillosa — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:47:48 +0000

Mr. Yudasin was asked by a TD about the result of his prior game. He said: “Draw.” The TD understood it to mean “withdraw.” When he showed up for round 8, he was very surprised that he was not paired. The TDs have had to do what was practically necessary. GM Yudasin could have chosen to earn the point by getting a bye but instead chose to earn the point by playing for it.

Andres Hortillosa

By: vbhat

vbhat — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:25:49 +0000

Thanks, Robert, for the explanation. It’s a bit odd that they thought Yudasin withdrew, but now I see why you guys ended up playing each other.

By: RLau

RLau — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:24:19 +0000

Here’s what happened:

There was a mix up about Yudasin’s withdrawal and he was never paired in round 8. Because of this, Yudasin was set to play a 2100 house player. But then the TDs decided I would be a better opponent because of my forfeit win situation and my higher rating. The point counted for Yudasin because he was owed a game, but it didn’t affect my score because I wasn’t even in the open section.

For the record, Yudasin beat me in 70 moves in a queen and pawn endgame that lasted 5 hours, so at least he had to earn the point.

By: vbhat

vbhat — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:02:35 +0000

Yeah, Lau received two forfeits in rounds 7 and 8. But nobody in the Open Section lost by forfeit in round 8, so I’m not sure who Yudasin would have been playing. The 4.5 pointers that round were also all on the first row, behind the table barriers, and I don’t remember Yudasin ever being there during the round.

By: Daedalus

Daedalus — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:45:53 +0000

I know that Lau was the recipient of a forfiet in Round 8 in the U2400 section, and I’d guess that Yudasin’s original opponent in the Open also did not show up.

However, I’m not sure why the game counted for Yudasin’s score in the open but not for Lau’s score in the U2400.

By: knightstango

knightstango — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:16:34 +0000

> I wonder which is an easier pairing
Well, I hear Kamsky has a couple of holes in his White repertoire, so it’s really a toss up. NOT. That’s really weird.