Kinda late to the party with that post

In any case, I am not sure how you can defend her actions. Does she have the right to protest if she feels something fishy is going on? Of course. Simply do not show up. It has been the chess player's go-to protest form for I don't know how long. When you do not show up, you show the organizers that you are protesting. If you show up and throw the game, you show the organizers that you are protesting and insult the game itself, as well as the other players.

Add to that the fact that no rigged pairings have been proven (please provide source for whatever it is you read otherwise), the fact that it was the final round where the winners of one of best Open tournaments of the year emerge and deserve all the limelight, which instead went to this stupid action, and the fact that Gibraltar (and Stuart Conquest personally) probably did more for woman chess than Hou Yifan itself at this point in time and you get a very ugly picture.

She could have protested, but the way she did it was really, really bad.

Also, I am not a hater, I love Hou, but I have lost some respect for her after this.

Yeah, Yifan just comes out of this looking pretty immature. She had also already lodged a complaint I think and was explained the pairs were just unlucky. I dno, playing a weird 5 move whateverthatwas just is silly. Just don't sit.

Yifan also didn't show up to receive her reward for the best game at Gilbratar.

What a cry baby.

Her game was amazing. Positional queen sac and then later on, sacs a rook with (double) check. A must-check-out.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1860761

So I qualified for the main draw of the British Championships and am pretty pumped about it! This year the event is in Llandudno, Wales and I likely won't be able to play but I can defer my entry until next year.

"It is impossible to win gracefully at chess." - A. A. Milne

congrats Moocher

Very nice!

After a successful start of the Lithuanian chess league, I have finally broken through 2400 ELO! Live rating at 2408 It is not published yet, since it's a league, but per FIDE rules I think having a live rating of above 2400 at some point qualifies for the rating requirement, even if it is not published (I still have 2 games left in the league, so can still drop below before the next published list). Therefore, I only need one more IM norm to get the IM title.

What is more important, I am extremely happy with my play in these league games. I will probably post some analysis at some point What is interesting is that I don't really practice anymore except for some coaching, but I have gained ~90 ELO in my 3 last tournaments (so far). I think it is purely psychological (and maybe some old knowledge has finally sunk in, cause it feels like I understand some things better) - I have so many non-chess things going on now that I am extremely happy just to get a chance to play some chess, because I don't know when I will have the next opportunity. So I don't really feel any pressure (even though all 3 games this weekend were super crucial for our team) and just enjoy the process and cherish the moment. It is funny how it works

Perhaps your student(s) are so astute at chess it has rubbed off on you. Seems to make sense, imo.

That is quite the upswing. Maybe just playing when you are very happy to play is the reason as you say. I certainly can't be good to feel like you're trying to grind out a norm or rating points whenever you play.

I'm super excited for you, congratulations on crossing that ratings threshold! Be sure to let us know when your next event that could be a norm opportunity is, so we can follow along

Shuffle - What about third parties running pairings on the same software and saying the pairs were legit?

Eh, I think protesting by withdrawing from the event is fine. Protesting by throwing a game is not. This is based on tradition and just general sporting principles.

People withdraw from opens all the time. Unless she was among the leaders, a withdrawal wouldn't accomplish anything, it would barely be noticed.

She should just play the game, get$$. Then use their money she won to investigate and potentially sue.

By this logic, she should've just pulled off her shirt and played topless.

Maybe; I mean, I expect she'd publicize the complaint. Show up to the hall and forfeit then. Playing a fake, rated game seems unsporting.

Of course, I'm writing with a bit of hindsight -- she apologized for her actions later -- which means that a more circumspect action would have been better.

I'm not overwhelmed with outrage either; c'est la vie.

Man, she finally is losing and pulls a rabbit out of a hat with the win. Surely she is the favorite now for the whole thing.

Magnus is on Netflix this month.

Thank you for the heads up! I have been wanting to watch it!

Prodigy Watch Update: Alireza Firouzja is at it again!

Aeroflot A section, seeded 91 out of 98, almost half the field is rated 2600+. He's tied for 9th-19th on a +2 score of 4.5/7, with three GM scalps plus a fourth win over a 2600 IM. Performance rating over 2700 with two rounds to go. Even if he loses his last two games he'll be coming out of this with his second GM norm. And in four more months, he'll turn 14!

I just watched it with my parents who do not play chess. We all loved it. I think it would have been even better if it continued past his match with Anand, but maybe that can happen in the future. It is very hard not to like him after watching the documentary. What some people mistake for arrogance or dickishness is clearly just his natural introversion that has been there since childhood. In fact, I feel like part of his charm is that he does choose to contradict his natural tendencies and makes a serious effort to be successful ambassador for the game.