Tough Start And Disappointing Finish For Irish Men's Team At 2008 Dresden Olympiad
Although there had been no official announcement from the ICU regarding the Irish teams participating in the 2008 Dresden Olympiad, details of all participating teams and daily coverage of the event was available at the official website. Plus there is the comment and game analysis by Colm Daly
The details of the Irish men's team were correctly predicted back in July of this year when on
This blogColm Daly wrote the following:
"Though there has been no official word of the team that I am aware of, I am assuming the 2008 Irish Olympiad team is the following : Alexander Baburin - Brian Kelly - Sam Collins - Mark Quinn - Mark Heidenfeld while the team captains being some permutation or variation of two from the following four: Mark Orr, Gerry Graham, Herbert Scarry, Eamon Keogh? I am only guessing in the case of the captains positions. No doubt it will all be made known officially in due course".
The first round was tough for the Irish delegation as both the men and women's teams lost 4-0. Still it is early days yet and in the case of the men's team, which is, on paper at least, the strongest ever [in rating terms anyway]. There is bound to be some good results and games to come. Further details and comment about the Irish team by Colm Daly.
Tough Start For Irish At The 2008 Dresden Chess Olympiad
The first round might seem like a hard draw for Ireland ,with all the Polish players being higher rated? However a score of 4-0 against an Irish Men's team is very rare indeed and in fact when Ireland played an arguably stronger team at the 1998 Elista Olympiad, we actually beat them! Thanks to wins on boards 1 [Kelly] and 2 [Daly] and a draw on board 3 [Heidenfeld] . Well that was ten years ago and the hunger is doubtless not the same now so such results are perhaps less likely?
Here though the dynamics were quite different. In the case of board one, well the problem is that the two players have played a few times before and so there is something of a history between these two players. Unfortunately the fact is that Alexander Baburin is on the wrong side of this history and has lost about 2 or three times to this opponent. From what I seen of this game he seemed to be ok from the opening and perhaps heading towards a draw until he played a couple of inaccurate moves [25...Nh5 was bad].
Brian Kelly's game was even more one sided as he showed all the signs of being rusty when he played the opening passively and inaccurately. Playing such a strong player he was duly punished. Sam Collins played a good opening and was comfortable all the way through into the middle game when if anything he seemed to be playing better than his opponent. Unfortunately though when the play got complex he went wrong and was in trouble thereafter. Mark Quinn also seemed to play well in the opening and looked to have an advantage to me? Somehow he went wrong and it all went bad very quickly.
After getting nothing from the first round it would be hoped that Ireland would come out with all guns blazing for round two. A better recovery could hardly have been asked for, as an impressive 4-0 for Ireland was achieved with little difficulty.
Brian Kelly was in a small bit of bother in the opening and although clearly still playing himself into form he made the most of his chances when his opponent went wrong in a complicated and double edged middle game. Sam Collins too might consider himself a tiny bit fortunate after his opponent failed to hold a drawn position after Sam stayed patient and done all he could to tempt his opponent and give him enough rope to hang himself with- which he duly did.
The two Marks were the most impressive today with assured and efficient wins that showed the gulf between them and their opponents. They easily and confidently outplayed their opponents and no doubt offered encouragement to both Sam Collins and Brian Kelly who still delivered the goods. A well deserved 4-0 and a good way to try get back to playing strong teams again.
Nice Pairing For Ireland As Good Recovery Likely To Continue
Another smooth match win against a much weaker team today as all four games are won by the Irish. The theme of the day was clearly steady as it goes, as all four games were examples of patient grinds in which superior knowledge and skill was always going to win out and be rewarded with the full point. Again the two Marks probably had the more impressive or interesting/instructive games. A good sign to see such consistency and these two 4-0 wins in a row surely should most likely be rewarded with a nice strong team in the fourth round pairings?
Irish Champion Saves Team From Another 4-0 White Wash
The first game to finish was the crucial draw Alexander Baburin made with classy opponent Nikolic who at first outplayed Alex with Black in an impressive and instructive manner. However a vital half point was secured when Alexander Baburin fought back and tenaciously kept alive his drawing chances throughout. Being just active enough to skillfully hold the balance despite being a pawn down.
One interesting feature of this Olympiad is the rule about not being able to agree draws before move 30. This probably works against Alexander Baburin and Brian Kelly a little bit as they tend towards ultra safe play that can easily drift towards quick draws, especially against stronger players. With that option not being available they have to work harder for longer and that is more likely to result in more tension and complications in positions they might otherwise steer towards a draw.
Now opponents who otherwise might have been content to play it safe and accept early draws are forced to play on until move 30 anyway and so might be more inclined to fight harder and take more chances? Certainly there will not be any 11 moves draws gifted to anybody for norms or anything else in this Olympiad. That has got to be better for chess surely?
Brian Kelly's play has been somewhat sluggish and rusty so far, even the two wins seem to be a bit of a struggle, yet often that is part of the process of playing oneself into form and while well out of practice it would not be at all surprising to see Brian Kelly get stronger as each round went on. Today though he was again in a very difficult, if not outright lost, position from the opening. This too after inaccurate and passive play which was expertly exploited by a very strong opponent.
Sam Collins's choice to play the White side of a Kingsindian was curious but probably not good, if only because he has little or no experience with this opening, clearly doesn't understand it too well, and it probably does not suit his playing style, which is perhaps more suited to open tactical play? In any event he caused Black no problems in the opening, and was quickly in difficulty himself, before then being smashed off the board with a typical Kingsindian - Kingside onslaught that contained many familiar themes. Watching this game one was reminded of the line about "fiddling while Rome burns". The moves Rb1 and Rb6 being so naive. Against a player of this caliber Sam would surely have done better to play to his strengths and play his usual E4?
I don't quite know what to make of the loss Mark suffered in this round. It seemed to me he played well in the opening and early middle game, and after his opponent kept giving him pawns it looked like Mark Heidenfeld would navigate his way through the complications and secure an advantage. However somewhere in the latter half of the middle game he seemed to go badly wrong and was then suddenly lost. The overall impression I had was that he was somewhat unlucky and deserved more from this game? A strange but interesting game.
Mark Quinn Leads Irish Onslaught On Turkmenistan With Crushing Win In Disappointing Match Performance
Mark Quinn had a nice win from a clever and crushing King side attack that was in his best style. Mark Heidenfeld also seems to be playing quite well in the tournament so far generally and looked sure to win this game with ease. However just like yesterday he then went badly wrong, and in today's game he failed to convert what was surely a fairly easy win?
Brian Kelly still has yet to perform to his level and this game was an excellent test for him. Sadly however he lacked guile,invention or any creativity and despite playing one of his pet opening variations done little to really trouble his opponent. If he can't beat a 2319 player with White in his main area of strength then the rest of the tournament could continue to be a struggle for him. Hopefully he can turn things around soon before he becomes frustrated with his own play. Alexander Baburin could hardly be faulted as he fought hard as Black after getting a small advantage from the opening and the draw was a reasonable outcome. Still, what was looking like a good days work overall has ended in a poor match result overall.
Ireland Struggles Against Strong Serbia Team - But Still Get Good Result
After Black played the ambitious and risky 37...Kg6? in response to 37 E5 check, instead of 37...Kxe5 [which would have left Black with no losing chances, but not many winning chances either] Alexander Baburin surely has a draw if he wants it, or now maybe even a win. Certainly I don't think he will lose as he seems slightly better if anything?Update: 47 Ba6,Nf2 48 Bc4 (almost anything sensible wins at this stage?) should win for White?
Yikes I got the colours mixed up watching the monitor and forgot Sam was actually Black today. This is what I had wrote: " Sam Collins has a winning position as of move 29 Rd5! with a win surely? Earlier Sam was also just close to winning until he played 18 Qg3 (e5 was very good) and soon after the position was just equal. " [28...b6?] was just losing. Mark Quinn had a poor opening and has been defending ever since. He will be doing well to draw this but there is a chance he may be able to hold it? Looking bad as of move 35 - Up date: Good defending by Mark Quinn earns a well deserved half point. Mark Heidenfeld also had a poor opening and looks sure to lose, unless something unusual happens. An interesting but risky opening that seems to not work too good with accurate play by White?
Earlier during the games live I had wrote the following: "A great pairing for Ireland that offers a chance of another 4-0 victory. At least, with a rating advantage of a few hundred rating points on every board,it would seem reasonable to expect another big result today? Certainly anything less than 3.5 would be a shock and disappointment, and from what I have seen of the games, with just a couple of hours of play, it would seem to be heading more in the direction of another 4-0".
Well one has to wonder what went wrong now as Sam slipped up badly and lost. While Brian Kelly really struggled hard to win and was somewhat fortunate to get the win, never mind a draw, as he looked to be in some trouble in the middle game. At least this win might galvanize him into his best form?
I had also wrote the following during the live games
"One wonders did Alexander Baburin even need to play today? I mean, perhaps it could have been a chance to let Mark Heidenfeld get another game as after some disappointing results in which he was playing pretty well for most of the game, this would have been a good time to let him get a win under his belt. On the other hand if Alex wanted to play again to increase his personal score then that seems only fair and logical too. It is just that when you have a chance to rotate at no risk then why not take advantage of the situation. In football we see this all the time."
Right now I would say the best performers in order are Mark Quinn, Alexander Baburin and Mark Heidenfeld , with Sam Collins perhaps a little ahead of Brian Kelly in terms of being in better form.
In fact one can see this more clearly by looking at the difference in a players actual rating (rtg) as compared with his rating performance (rp). A glance at the rating difference (rd), positive or minus shows who is performing best.
Well at least Ireland won the match, so that is the main thing I guess. Sam reminded me of myself [on a bad day] in this game! At least Alexander Baburin and Mark Quinn had little trouble in imposing themselves on their opponents and winning quite easily or assuredly.
Switzerland Narrowly Fail To Make Swiss Cheese Out Of Ireland
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This round looks like a very interesting clash which should be an excellent test for the Irish team. It features the great legend Victor Korchnoi playing Alexander Baburin. The two played back in 1996 when Korchnoi playing obstinately for a win lost badly . Little did he know that when it comes to exploiting such urges as many players have to refuse drawing lines, Alexander is in his element. He has partly made a career in winning games against over ambitious players who spurn draws. Just witness the game from round six which is a fine example of turning a slightly worse position into a better one and then going on to win. (key move is 37 E5!-If Black takes the pawn he wont lose, but having been better for most of the game he try's to play for an advantage and is outplayed thereafter)
Meanwhile Brian Kelly has a chance to get back on track if he can get a draw today. Sam Collins playing today after two losses in a row is a slight surprise as if he fails to get a result today then he will clearly have been ill served by playing. It seems like playing Mark Heidenfeld would have made more sense? If only because Mark Quinn seems to be playing better than Sam [at the moment anyway] and will be hard to beat, so maybe Sam would have been better taking a break today and let Mark Heidenfeld get another game - he has been playing pretty ok/solid so far and has been a tad unlucky? In any event this should be one of the more interesting matches and a good test for the team. With a bit of luck they could draw or even win this match.
Update: 16:40 (Irish Time) Sadly from what I am seeing of the games it is not looking good for Ireland. Brian, Sam and Mark are in bad positions and either one of them will be doing well to get a draw, but I would not be surprised to see three losses here. Nevertheless all three Irish players are known for their tenacity so there is still plenty of hope for perhaps one point from these three games?
The game on top board is really very interesting and hard to call. It seems that Korchnoi has somehow got some sort of a slight advantage through some very creative and original play so it will be interesting to see how the game unfolds further. I have to think that Alexander will not lose and if he does then it will be worth studying. Blacks play.
A shock defeat that really was a very poor performance. Yet it is hard to be too critical, as in the case of Alexander Baburin, everything seemed to be fine for a long time. Somehow what seemed like an equal position turned quickly and Black was inexplicably in big trouble. My impression is that 25. ... d6-d5 or 34...Qf4 might well have been the source of Black's difficulties, though overall I tend to think that playing the Alekhines Defence all the time against 1.e4 is not great for creating winning chances? Having saved a possibly lost position the day before perhaps Alexander was expecting too much from himself in this game and over pressed at the wrong time.
By contrast, the other critical game on board two saw Brian Kelly return to good form,doubtless buoyed up from his own miracle escape from a totally lost position the previous day when he somehow amazingly hung on and never gave up when his frustrated opponent failed to find the knock-out blow. Today Brian patiently built upon a series of small advantages and easily had his opponent tied up in knots and helpless before too long.
Mark Quinn was ambitious and creative in a risky opening, but also it seems this opening play was unsound. It was not long before his opponent starting playing some good moves and plans, which Mark tried hard to counter with clever and stubborn defense, but in the end he just could not hold out. On the other hand Mark Heidenfeld blundered also an exchange, carelessly in the opening, and was surely in a lost position soon after. However this only prompted Mark to then start defending like a Lion with clever and tenacious play which was justly rewarded with what, in the end, was a well earned and impressive draw. Overall this loss was a very expensive lapse, as having such a weak team as Ethiopia in the second last round does little to inspire or motivate a team.
Unrated Fekadu Holds The LIne For Ethiopia And Stops Irish White Wash
Notwithstanding the fact that it is only match points that matter in this Olympiad, as opposed to games scores, today's draw by Alexander Baburin has got to be one of the upsets of the whole Olympiad. It s not very often we see a Grandmaster fail to beat an unrated player, [not at an international FIDE rated event anyway] and to be fair it was a fully deserved draw too. At least the fact that Alex didn't lose is really about all that can be said. For the Ethiopian team this has got to be a major cause for celebrations. It is not as if Fekadu Desalegn was blazing a trail thus far, as his record below indicates, this truly was a huge upset.
On the bright side of things, this result will be a great boost for the Ethiopian team and as no rating points are lost for Alexander either, overall there is nothing really too bad about the result. The rest of the match was all predictable as Sam and the two Marks showed due competence and determination with easy enough wins.
Ireland End Olympiad Against Iraq With A Whimper Rather Than A Bang.
The last round win against a fairly weak Iraq team was a somewhat disappointing way to end what was overall a poor, or at least disappointing team result. As the stats below reveal, every player except Mark Heidenfeld performed below their rating to a greater or much lesser extent. So what conclusions can be drawn from this? Well.... that's another days work and I will offer my own perspective in a few days.
The last round match was sort of typical, not too much to complain about really as Sam Collins and Mark Heidenfeld made light work of their task of beating players clearly not up to their level or strength. Whereas Alexander Baburin and Brian Kelly again played in their ultra safe style and lacking much ambition or invention were held to draws by players 200 and 150 points less than their own. It is not so much just the result as much as the predictability of the effort. Still Alexander and Brian are very safe pairs of hands generally and at least they are solid.
