<ACP Golden Classic rd 7: PICK THREE : Draw-Black-Black [cash in ticket] 2 YOU WIN! COLLECT 428> I'll keep putting down 2 bucks on every pick three nobody else wants, every day, all day.

Plus this didn't hurt:

<Dortmund rd 7: Ponomariov-Kramnik : Ponomariov [cash in ticket] 25 YOU WIN! COLLECT 151>

Kramnik is like that little girl the children's poem:

...the latter is the case. It would be a miracle if they <had> played, given that the first round is scheduled for August 2 - which, as it happens, is also the scheduled settlement date.

There are several reasons for the Timman/rook capture bets. Firstly, Timman is one of the best-known (and, even today, strongest) players in the field, and people like to bet on players they know. Secondly, when one side is a heavy favorite (as Timman has been in these games) I like to spice things up; for instance, the Olympiad will soon begin, and in round one Russia will likely face a team of 2300 players. Rather than asking "will Russia win?" (to which almost everyone would reply 'yes, duh') I will probably ask "will Russia win 4-0?" Timman isn't nearly that heavy a favorite, but the same principle applies.

Thirdly, Timman's play has looked quite vulnerable in this tournament. For example, in round one he did win (without capturing anything with his rooks, incidentally), but he had to work hard for it; as late as around move 50, his opponent (rated 600 points lower) still had drawing chances. This vulnerability makes Timman bets interesting - anything can happen, as Timman vs J O Fries Nielsen, 2014 showed.

Nevertheless, as the Bookie says, it doesn't make much sense to risk c$ 5 if all you can get back is c$ 5. It's up to you to do the math. The easiest solution is to bet more, but be sure to win as well ;-)

Were all those teams 8/8 on individual matches? They have to be 2/2 overall and 8/8 on individual games (unfortunately).

< If more teams will have 4 match points and 8 game points after round 2 in the open section than in the women's section, the 'Open' ticket will pay; ... >

<After round 1, 67 teams in the open section and 49 teams in the women's section have the maximum score of 2 match points <and 4 game points>. In which section will more of those teams also <sweep> their round 2 match? If more teams will have <4 match points and 8 game points> after round 2 in the open section than in the women's section, the 'Open' ticket will pay; if the two sections will have the same number of teams with <full match and game points>, the 'Tie' ticket will pay; if more teams will have full points in the women's section, the 'Women' ticket will pay.>

Of the 67 teams in the open section that swept their first round match, only eight also swept their second round match; of the 49 teams in the women's section that won their first round match 4-0, nine repeated that feat in round two. In other words, there are eight teams with 4 match points and 8 game points in the open section and nine in the women's section; thus, the women's section won this bet 9-8.