In a disgusting display of <air quotes> Good Sportsmanship, about half the contestants <BEGGED> <chessmoron> to give <amw> extra points! It was shocking to see alleged competitors working to help someone else win! <OCF> longs for the days when <Karposian> would have given his first born child for the privilege of taking 2 points away from <Pengo>. That's the kind of Win at Any Cost mentality that has apparently gone by the wayside. Making things worse, <amw> gave an Academey Award nominated performance, with a long speech pretending he didn't deserve the points he doesn't deserve! And everyone fell for it, as they said, "Wow, what a swell guy. He says he doesn't deserve it, which proves he does deserve it. Or something." <chessmoron> got a standing ovation as he awarded those points to <amw>. It was a completely bizarre case of zero competitive desire. Here's hoping our contestants come to their senses soon and realize that this is a <competition> and not a Group Participation Ribbon event.

In other news, <wordfunph> manned up and made a bet that Vishy could draw Carlsen. In an attempt to be clever, <bubuli> waited until Vishy had blundered his way to a losing position, whereupon <bubuli> accepted the bet. To his immediate horror, Carlsen immediately blundered right back and <word> tentatively claimed their $50 bet. I say "tentatively", as <OCF> and <chessmoron> are in deep discussions about whether betting is allowed on this forum and in this contest. They concluded that if <word> were to cough, cough, show his apprecation a little bit, then he would be free to claim the $50. <cm> stated, "You know, does he really <NEED> $50? What if he like generously donated $5 to me? That would be a very generous thing to do. I'd hate to report him for illegal gambling." <OCF> replied, "You're such a great thinker, <cm>. Probably if <word> generously donated $5 to me, I could keep this illegal activity quiet. And he'd still have $40 left."

As for the contest, apparently all 4 Rankers have like 10 people tied for the lead. Our recent Quadruple Crown winner <GE> is so far having a horrible tournament. He blamed the onslaught of reporters and fans and groupies and ESPN cameramen for breaking his concentration. He would be well advised to focus on this contest instead of his fame and celebrity, as it would surely be mortifying to follow up a Quadruple Crown with a Quadruple Clown.

<Aronian-Svidler, 1-0 in 38 moves.>

Exact, 10 points: []
Under, 7 points: []
2nd Under, 6 points: []
3rd Under, 5 points: []
Over, 3 points: [['Penguincw', '1-0', '40']]
2nd Over, 2 points: []
3rd Over, 1 point1: []

===

<Caruana-Carlsen, 1/2-1/2 in 71 moves.>

Exact, 10 points: []
Under, 7 points: [['WinKing', '1/2-1/2', '50']]

2nd Under, 6 points: [['wordfunph', '1/2-1/2', '48']]

3rd Under, 5 points: [['alfamikewhiskey', '1/2-1/2', '46']]

Over, 3 points: []
2nd Over, 2 points: []
3rd Over, 1 point1: []

===

<Meier-MVL, 0-1 in 94 moves.>

Exact, 10 points: []
Under, 7 points: [['bubuli55', '0-1', '39']]

2nd Under, 6 points: [['juan31', '0-1', '38']]

3rd Under, 5 points: [['Golden Executive', '0-1', '35']]

Over, 3 points: []
2nd Over, 2 points: []
3rd Over, 1 point1: []

===

<Naiditsch-Keymer, 1-0 in 36 moves.>

Exact, 10 points: []
Under, 7 points: [['Count Wedgemore', '1-0', '35']]

2nd Under, 6 points: []
3rd Under, 5 points: []
Over, 3 points: []
2nd Over, 2 points: [['bubuli55', '1-0', '39']]
3rd Over, 1 point1: [['chessmoron', '1-0', '41'], ['juan31', '1-0', '41']]

===

<Vallejo Pons-Anand, 0-1 in 47 moves.>

Perfect # moves predictions for this round goes to:

NONE

Highest scores in the Bonus Ranker: 13 points: <juan31>

Results:

Moves Ranker - Through <Round 4>

Score, UserID, Over, Under, Exact

31, WinKing, 0, 3, 1
28, Count Wedgemore, 0, 4, 0
24, bubuli55, 1, 3, 0
21, juan31, 0, 3, 0
21, OhioChessFan, 0, 3, 0
14, chessmoron, 0, 2, 0
13, wordfunph, 2, 1, 0
10, Penguincw, 1, 1, 0
7, offramp, 0, 1, 0
0, alfamikewhiskey, 0, 0, 0
0, Golden Executive, 0, 0, 0

===

Bonus Ranker - Through <Round 4>

Score, UserID, 3-Over, 2-Over, 3-Under, 2-Under

35, juan31, 2, 2, 1, 4
26, alfamikewhiskey, 0, 2, 2, 2
25, wordfunph, 1, 1, 2, 2
22, Count Wedgemore, 1, 2, 1, 2
22, Penguincw, 1, 2, 1, 2
12, bubuli55, 1, 3, 1, 0
11, Golden Executive, 1, 0, 2, 0
8, chessmoron, 2, 0, 0, 1
8, OhioChessFan, 0, 1, 0, 1
8, WinKing, 1, 1, 1, 0
0, offramp, 0, 0, 0, 0

===

Moves+Bonus Ranker - Through <Round 4>

Score, UserID

56, juan31
50, Count Wedgemore
39, WinKing
38, wordfunph
36, bubuli55
32, Penguincw
29, OhioChessFan
26, alfamikewhiskey
22, chessmoron
11, Golden Executive
7, offramp

===

Moves Ranker (# of 1st place UNDER/OVER) - Through <Round 4>

Score,UserID

Svidler - Vallejo Pons 1-0 50
Vachier-Lagrave - Aronian 1/2 35
Keymer - Meier 1/2 22
Carlsen - Naiditsch 1-0 55
Anand - Caruana 1/2 12

<Vachier-Lagrave - Aronian 0-146> ???

LOL. But yes, I mean, come on guys, it was clear to everyone that he meant 0-1. And the last posted prediction should be the one that counts anyway, right?

I DEMAND that my countryman, <amw> gets his well-deserved points. Let's fix this issue once and for all.