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Jan-02-15
 | | Annie K.: Congrats on the good start! :) |
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Jan-03-15
 | | Domdaniel: Three games on Saturday is too much for these elderly bones, though I managed to ease matters with a couple of quick games... Inevitably, I lost to Daly (2270). I had quite a nice position after 20 moves, but a dubious (not to mention rash) pawn push to d5 left me worse, and I caved in. Won the next game (vs 1350) quickly, and then had a draw vs a 1940 player. I was actually a pawn up in a R+B ending, but I didn't think the win was clear. Still, 2.5/4 is OK. |
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Jan-03-15
| | Domdaniel: <Shams> A note on the French: *everyone* seems to play the Advance Variation now ... my last three French games saw 3.e5, and it's been ages since anyone played 3.Nc3 or (even rarer now) 3.Nd2. In fact, the main alternative to the Advance seems to be the Exchange ... including the Monte Carlo line with c4. One also sees an occasional 2.d3 with a KIA. But the old mainstream French lines seem to be almost hors de combat. |
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Jan-03-15
| | Annie K.: I never liked anything other than the Advance for White in the French anyway. ;) Congrats, that's a very nice result! :) |
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Jan-03-15
| | Domdaniel: <A> Thanks - still two rounds to go. It would be nice to do well on Sunday, for a change. As I may have mentioned, my last-round record is poor in recent years. |
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Jan-03-15
| | Annie K.: It does sound like an exhausting schedule. Other than rapids, nobody schedules 3 games for the same day here. :s Get some sleep! :) |
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| Jan-03-15 | | Alien Math: Happy New Year!
glad to see you has a win,
about name was just wondering since my search appear futile, had a curious moment |
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Jan-04-15
 | | perfidious: <Dom> So, we now have a common opponent--I played Daly in the 1988 Newton Open. Standard Saemisch KID which he did not handle very well and I squashed him. |
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Jan-04-15
| | Domdaniel: <perf> Good for you. I've now lost to him twice, the previous time being circa 1989. He's still quite strong - certainly good at polishing off lower-rated players, which is not a skill to be sneezed at. I, and a couple of others, had quite good positions against him after 20-30 moves, but he somehow always comes out on top.
His record against players with a similar or higher rating isn't so good. He won this tournament with 5.5/6, but he didn't play the top seed, De Verdier, who finished on 5/6. He did draw with 3rd seed Philip Short. I finished on 3.5/6, which is OK. I lost to another Short, Stephen, rated about 1950 -- I'd beaten or drawn with him in the past, so maybe he was due a win. I know, I know ... this kind of generosity is something that strong players don't indulge in. Just as they don't agree draws, as I did in R.4, when holding an extra pawn. I must be getting soft... |
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Jan-04-15
| | Domdaniel: Seeded 15th, finished 15th. Irish rating 1744, performance rating 1750. I seem to be living down to expectations.
It's not FIDE-rated, so my FIDE rating stays at about 1850. |
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Jan-04-15
| | Domdaniel: <Alien Math> Tournament results are here: http://corkchess.com/mulcahy/mulcah... If you still can't find me, look for the person that my profile advises you to avoid. |
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Jan-05-15
| | perfidious: <Dom> One thing I should mention: Daly's attitude seemed a trifle nonchalant during the game; for he was off playing blitz at times with another strong player. I was a bit put out at what I regarded as disrespect, but merely concentrated on the game. |
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Jan-07-15
| | Domdaniel: <perf> Well, um, maybe he's matured a little since those days. Though I should say he's not the most popular of chessplayers -- he blogs as 'Dublin Chess', and is both opinionated and not entirely literate.
That said, he's always been pleasant to me. A couple of years ago I played in a Dublin tournament, in a hotel surrounded my motorways. Acting on dubious advice, I set off one morning from the hotel, in search of a shop which I'd been assured was nearby. Of course I headed in the wrong direction, and was soon trudging aimlessly in a concrete jungle, with no shops in sight and the venue ever further away. Suddenly - screech! - a car pulled up: none other than Daly, seeing a fellow chessplayer in distress. So he's not a bad sort, really.
My first game against him, in '88/'89, was as board 1 in the Armstrong Cup, the main Dublin team tournament. My club, Rathmines, had two teams in the top division -- and the captains figured that I'd make a good board 1 for the B team ... I was capable of losing to lower-rated players, which made me a poor choice for a lower board on the A team; but I could also beat higher-rated players, making me a good bet for the B team. In practice, I scored 1.5/10 ... and gained a few rating points, as my expected score was just 1.4. Most of my opponents were graded about 300 points above me. Several of the games were very close - slow, painful grinds in endings which I eventually lost. In just one game - yep, vs Daly - was I soundly beaten in less than 25 moves. |
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Jan-07-15
 | | OhioChessFan: Okay, just typed out and deleted a Caissars related post. There are some big mysteries in life and no point in wasting time worrying about them. Felt good to get it out of my system. |
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Jan-07-15
| | Domdaniel: <Ohio> Yep, mysteries abound. Or, if it isn't too pernickety a distinction, <hard-to-answer questions> abound. Calling something a mystery just because we can't see an explanation tends to look like mystification to me. As for the Caissars, I've ignored them so far this year. |
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Jan-07-15
| | OhioChessFan: <Calling something a mystery just because we can't see an explanation tends to look like mystification to me.> True, that. I have made that point many times at work, when people claim to be mystified by some decision/instruction. There's <always> a reason, though it might not seem a good one to most people. <As for the Caissars, I've ignored them so far this year.> I think for my mental stability, I need to. They've grown a bit long in the tooth anyway. And without giving away too many secrets/mysteries, how many times does a person need to be voted the winner before people sort of realize it's time to move on? |
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Jan-08-15
| | Domdaniel: <Ohio> OK, I've peeked at the Caissars. Seems to be some mischievous nominating going on. Is this a new kind of sub-trollery? Or just an old wine in a new bottle, since there is nothing new under the sun?
(Yes, a Biblical mixed metaphor...)
You're right, I think, about their long-in-the-toothness. At one level, it would be a pity to see them go, as traditions take time to build up and may be worth holding onto for their own sake. But when they become degenerate it may be a good point to call it quits. |
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Jan-08-15
| | Domdaniel: <perf> What you said about Daly had me musing about the source of his success. He beat Philip Short, who has a similar rating, this weekend - so he's still good against players of equivalent strength. But he's particularly good at beating lower-rated players, including the surprisingly tough opponents to be found in the 1700-2200 zone. Not everyone has this ability. The top seed, 2350-rated De Verdier, conceded two draws against weaker players, and 4th seed Moynihan had 3 draws. Somebody said to me that De Verdier was 'pragmatic' ... if a position was drawn, he didn't try to force it. Yet Daly seems to win a lot of these. Just as, at a higher level, Fischer used to. According to Soltis, this ability to find winning chances in a drawish position is a mark of the GM. One key to his ability, I think, lies in Botvinnik's classic piece of advice: "Persevere!"
Which doesn't mean doing anything rash. Just keep trying, avoid exchanges, maneuver your pieces and look for an edge. If you're the stronger player, it will probably show sooner or later. |
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Jan-08-15
| | OhioChessFan: 2 things going on. The sub-trollery, which smacks of low level pathological issues, to wit, "Hey, I'll mess up something other people enjoy just so I can get a cheap laugh even though there's a thousand other outlets for my sophomoric behavior" strikes me as borderline personality disorderish, and the same old, same old nominees. Nothing against them, well one, we've already been down that road, one who simply isn't worthy, but all the rest, yes, but how many times does a person need to win a pretend award, worthy or not, before it's time to give that pretend award to someone else? There's been a real lack of interest this year. I think part of is the IMHO poorly designed nominating process cg.c has in place. But, still. Or maybe I never noticed how little there was in the past. Anyway, I think it's time to call it quits, which won't happen. |
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Jan-08-15
| | Domdaniel: <Ohio> One way to rescue the Caissars might be (a) to limit the number of awards, and (b) to award a prize worth winning, as in the Clue Hunt. If just one person were to get a Caissar award -- Kibitzer of the year, or whatever -- it might be sustainable, and might generate broad interest. Especially if a year's free CG membership were up for grabs. |
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Jan-08-15
| | OhioChessFan: Annie is making a heroic effort to salvage things. Maybe she should get most helpful for that alone. I think for sure there should be a limit. I know it won't hurt your feelings to discover I think it's silly for your profile to be voted for again after it already won last year. I think a limit of 1 per lifetime would be good for most of the categories. Avatar, username, profile, funniest, helpful, and constructive, for sure. One award, voted on? I think we have enough worries, without the inevitable ballot box stuffing that would produce. |
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Jan-08-15
| | Domdaniel: <Ohio> Yeah, that's a point. Ballot box stuffing and other problems would be pretty much inevitable. Of course you're right about the profile award ... to win it again I should write a whole new profile. Not that I'm about to do that. But does it mean I should make a point of declining anything that might come my way? I'm too lazy. And yes, Annie is doing heroic work. Three-and-a-half-cheers! |
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Jan-08-15
| | Domdaniel: It's the same point, really, that <Eyal> made ... he hadn't posted any analysis in the past year, so how could he be voted best analyst? The fact that the member in question might be the best analyst, or have the (ahem) best profile, over the last couple of years, is strictly beside the point. |
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Jan-09-15
| | Domdaniel: <The Chess Wisdom of Saint Bob...> "You can always go back, but you can't go back all the way..."
- Bob Dylan, Mississippi
"A lot of things we didn't do, that I wish we had..." - Bob Dylan, Scarlet Town
"In ceremonies of the horseman, even the knight must bear a grudge..."
- Bob Dylan, Love Minus Zero/ No Limit |
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Jan-09-15
 | | moronovich: <"In ceremonies of the horseman, even the knight must bear a grudge..." - Bob Dylan, Love Minus Zero/ No Limit> One of my all time favourites with his Bobness.
"My love she speaks like silence,without ideas of violence...
expecting all the gifts the wise men could bring...
Amazing how his tunes and lyrics stand
the test of time. |
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