19 Sept 2008 - That’s it – all done. The bittersweet
ending of a chess tournament. There’s nothing quite so
desolate as a tournament hall emptied of players and
with the equipment tidied away in boxes and pallets. For
the pro players, it’s just another stop on the circuit
and they move on. For Liverpool and its chess
organisers, led so impressively by Professor David
Robertson, it means something different – the end of an
extraordinary burst of energy over the past three years,
taking in two European Union Championships, one
prestigious Britain vs China match and ... More details
in the final Round Ten report.
18 Sept 2008 - The afternoon got
off to a disappointing start when the clash of the
English titans failed to live up to its billing. Mickey
Adams and Nigel Short concluded hostilities in 12 moves.
This sparked off some disapproving emails to us, and
messages on chess forums lamenting their lack of
fighting spirit. It is hard to argue with some of the
sentiments expressed though perhaps the ire needs to be
directed towards the format of modern tournaments rather
than the players themselves who have a living to make
and a limited shelf-life... More is revealed in
the Round Nine report.
17 Sept 2008 - The face-off
between the two young stars of England and France, David
Howell and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, was something of a
disappointment, being drawn in 19 moves with nothing
much happening. The other two top boards moved almost
instantly into endgames. Bacrot managed to win a pawn
against Jones but it led inexorably to a drawn rook and
pawns endgame. L’Ami-Laznicka was more interesting: it
came down to two bishops versus knight (no pawns), which
is a tablebase win for White but in more than 50 moves.
As the last pawn disappeared... Round Eight report.
