Way to GO <Annie K.> - I caught it too at $56 c-bucks! Also, had Moro to win, Svid-Vishy = draw & Ruy Lopez (opening). Guessing that I just plum forgot to bet on 1 draw? ;-)

Heard a rumor through the CG.com bookie grapevine that <TD> actually bet on Gelfand to win in Rd. #12? ...Oops - guess he's finally losing his touch. ~lol~

<WannaBe: Okay, Gonna give you the stats for Saturday's games also... [...] Until next time! Handi-Capper's Corner is on vacation!!>

Thanks again <WannaBe> just one heck of a bang up job with the 'Handi-Capper's Corner!' You have a great vacation!! :-) - Mal

<TD>, oh well, you just can't lose'em all! ;)

But for me, being someone who likes to wager a few real bucks here and there, to do the 'Corner' is a kick... (No soccer pun intended there...)

Thanks <Annie K.> ! :-) Of course that's what the Loanshark keeps telling me, 'I'll make you rich my boy!' ...and mumbled under his breath, 'Except for the usual carrying charges...' You'd think this was 'Casablanca' but we weren't exactly at Rick's! ~lol~

<WannaBe: [...] But for me, being someone who likes to wager a few real bucks here and there, to do the 'Corner' is a kick... (No soccer pun intended there...) And if you look at <YouRang>'s running list of standings, I'm at the bottom!! (Of all 3 categories! Go figure!! =)>

Still though <WannaBe> predicting the results of a chess tournament game by game and round by round is entirely different than manipulating money in a mixed betting system. Which features a variety of odds based on the bets and visions of the bettors with all the 'vig's' being tightly controled and structured by the House! ... Like comparing 'apples' and 'oranges!' ;-) - Mal

Svidler-Grischuk
Anand-Leko
Morozevich-Gelfand
Kramnik-Aronian

...and Round #14:

Aronian-Svidler
Gelfand-Kramnik
Leko-Morozevich
Grischuk-Anand

Or has FIDE issued a quickie 'Press Release' finally apologizing for the horrendous pairing mistake previously which is now being corrected by now finally reversing the two? <this is total confusion at work>

Maybe they have some reason to break the symmetry during the last two rounds, I don't know. All I can do is go by the officially published pairings. If indeed they switch everything around at the last minute like the did in round 6 then sadly I'll have to refund all the tickets for round 13.

If I go by the published schedule, and it's wrong, then nobody can blame me. But if I try to second-guess their system and we're wrong, I look like a total fool, and my boss will get very angry. (He hates it when we refund tickets--there's no juice!)

If I go by the published schedule, and it's wrong, then nobody can blame me. But if I try to second-guess their system and we're wrong, I look like a total fool, and my boss will get very angry. (He hates it when we refund tickets--there's no juice!)>

At the moment, (2pm GMT), the official website has the pairings as per your betting slips. We have to go with that....

...but please can I bet 500 chessbucks on FIDE having made another mistake? ;-)

Understood! ~lol~ I say let the 'juice' flow! ;-)

____________________________________________

<technical draw: [...] ...cause now I have a lot of chessbucks and I'm betting them on the worse losers in history and we'll see who winds up last! I'm antepenultimate and that's scary.>

He's baaaaaaaaaaccccccccccck... Go <TD> GO! :-)

____________________________________________

<MarkThornton: Chessgames Bookie: Hi malthrope: [...] At the moment, (2pm GMT), the official website has the pairings as per your betting slips. We have to go with that.... ...but please can I bet 500 chessbucks on FIDE having made another mistake? ;-)>

Yep! (sad as it is...). My betting limit is a tad higher than yours <MarkThornton> atm, so you can decidedly count me in for my bet of $2,500 c-bucks that FIDE eats it! ~ROFL~ ;-) - Mal

[Inserting short rant: 'Please excuse me just a sec while I strangle Gris for playing that specific opening line against Svid...']

~ROFL~ ;-) - Mal

HaHaHa! Yep that about sums it all up <TIMER> ! :-)

I sure had my share of <near misses> as mentioned previously where I could have been in the +20K range if all the chips fell just right... You know what they say, 'Close only counts in Horseshoes!' (where even there you can score points). The last bet at Mexico City in round #14 proved to be trickier than some of us expected. Had I just went conservative with a few key bets especially in the 'Openings' used could have easily picked up 7.5-10K. Kudos to <Annie K.> for just betting on Kramnik and Svidler to win! (I lost a lot of c-bucks betting on a non-decisive result in 'Svidler-Grischuk'). However, that would have been lacking tension & drama and absolutely no fun whatsoever! ~lol~

On October 3rd the starting position will be announced. They will use the results of the Florida "Cash 3" Lottery to determine the starting position. The method is simple:

<On Wednesday, October 3rd, we will check the drawing for Florida's "Cash 3" lottery. This will be a 3-digit number generated by a specialized lottery machine which agitates and selects ping-pong balls randomly. We will then plug that 3-digit number into the Fischerandom Chess Generator above (being careful to keep the 'random' checkbox unchecked) and we will use whatever position is indicated by that number.

In the unlikely event that the October 3rd Florida Cash3 lottery is a number above 960, or if it equals 000, we will then use October 3rd's "Play 4" as a backup by using the first three digits and disregarding the final digit.>

Three wagers are now available so that you can speculate the nature of the position--specifically, which files will contain the queens, which files will contain the kings, and which files will contain the bishops?

Chessgames Challenge: Chess960 Starting Position: Kings

Chessgames Challenge: Chess960 Starting Position: Queens

Chessgames Challenge: Chess960 Starting Position: Bishops

CG.com must have hired a new gal/guy. I'm seeing a sense of humour never seen before from all the admins.

[...] I'm seeing a sense of humour never seen before from all the admins.>

Could very well be true <WannaBe> as I too have noticed a brevity in attitude in CG Bookie's mood of late. :-)

The Chessgames Challenge: Chess960 Starting Position: Bishops bet looks like a bloody nightmare with 16 possibilities to choose between and only one winner...

Slightly better odds are given on Chessgames Challenge: Chess960 Starting Position: Queens with only 8 possibilities to choose from with one winner...

Saving the best for last! The Chessgames Challenge: Chess960 Starting Position: Kings is the smartest move with only 6 six possibilities to place your bet on with one winner!

We can thank the official rules of setup before engagement that the King(s) must be placed between the two rooks for that one! ~lol~

However, I suppose the odds will win in the end and the greed of easy c-bucks will get us betting on literally everything (which is exactly what is happening right now).

Well, I placed lots of other bets, I just mentioned the two most spectacular successes. :) I also had bets on Anand-Leko to play Ruy and draw (missed on Moro-Gelfand's Petroff though, and the result) and invested 600 in the Pick Three only to get back 615... I could easily have gone around 1000 up or down in any given round of this tourney, which is a bit more conservative than I usually play. ;)

<I'm seeing a sense of humour never seen before from all the admins>

Hey, I have to defend the admins here! I have actually noted manifestations of a pretty good sense of humor on several occasions from the admins - agreed that not so much from the Bookie though. ;)

<Tactic101: <I'm broke, so betting a little more can't hurt...... :) >>

are all 6 ranks for the kings equally probable? It would seem to me that there would be less chance of the kings appearing on the b and g files, since in those cases the a-file (or h-file) is "fixed' -- it has to be a rook. However if the king is on the d or e files there is a multitude of possible configurations to the left and right of the king.

Or maybe I'm just dead wrong--the 7 squares to the right of the king on the b-file makes up for the lack of possibilities to the left of the king. And likewise, for the kings that start on the g-file.