Canadian Olympian in Nuremberg

[Christopher Mallon]

Wow, the average rating of 19 grandmasters is 2501.2?

I find that a little disappointing, personally.

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 1 Results ( Thursday, Sept. 2 ):

Mark won his first round:

2 94. Mihok,Laszlo FM ( Hungary - 2151 )() 0 - 1 2. Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 )()

Rd. 2 Pairings ( Friday AM, Sept. 3 ):

2 2. Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) 1 - 51. Seyb,Alexander FM ( Germany - 2284 )1

You can follow Mark's travels/tournament games analysis, on his very good blog:
http://markbluvshtein.wordpress.com/. His last entry is about his trip from Spain to Germany, and his 2 rest days before the tournament. But he has noted that since there are 2 rounds Fri. - Sun., he will not be able to blog again until after the tournament.

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 2 Results ( Friday AM, Sept. 3 )

Mark played on second board and won, giving him 2/2 pts.

2 2. Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) 1 1 - 0 51. Seyb,Alexander FM ( Germany - 2284 )1


Round 3 Results ( Friday PM, Sept. 3 )

Mark played on first board and won - gave him 3 pts. in 3 rounds:

1 28 Eisenbeiser,Amadeus IM ( Germany - 2397 ) 2 0 - 1 2 Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) 2

Round 4 Pairings ( Sat. AM, Sept. 4 )

Mark is again on top board:

1 2 Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) 3 - 17 Zaragatski,Ilja IM ( Germany - 2490 ) 3

This game will be broadcast live : http://live.schach.lga.de . It is at 3:00 AM EDT !

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Mark's Rd. 4 game is at move 50 now. Mark has 2 B's vs R + P. I haven't got a clue who's winning. Anyone want to venture an opinion at this point?

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

On first board, Mark got a nice win in Rd. 4. He had 2 B's vs R + P. He first offered one B in a sac, which his opponent had to decline, or Mark queened. This won Mark a P, and got him 2 connected, passed P's, when he then sacked the other B. He was going to queen when his opponent resigned.

1 2 Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) 3 1 - 0 17 Zaragatski,Ilja IM ( Germany - 2490 ) 3

Round 5 is this morning ( Sat. ) our time - broadcast at 9:00 AM EDT. The website for live games is: http://live.schach.lga.de .

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 5 Results ( Sat. PM, Sept. 4 )

Mark drew and now is in a 7-way tie for first at 4.5/5 pts.

1 10 Kunin,Vitaly GM ( Germany - 2538 ) 4 1/2 - 1/2 2 Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) 4

Round 6 Pairings ( Sun. AM, Sept. 5 ) - 3:00 AM EDT

1 2 Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) 4½ - 13 Prusikin,Michael GM ( Germany - 2522 ) 4½

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 6 Results ( Sun. AM, Sept. 5 )

Mark won on first board, has 5.5/6 pts. ( undefeated ) and is alone in first. There is an 8-way tie for second at 5 pts.

1 2 Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) 4½ 1 - 0 13 Prusikin,Michael GM ( Germany - 2522 ) 4½

Round 7 ( Final ) Pairings ( Sun., PM, Sept. 5 )

1 Ftacnik,Lubomir GM ( Slovakia - 2568 ) (5) - Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) (5&#189

This round is broadcast at 8:30 AM EDT.

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 7 ( Final ) Results ( Sun. PM, Sept. 5 )

Mark lost on first board, where he had been in clear first. So he ended up in a 15-way tie for second, 1/2 pt. behind the sole winner. He had the best tie-break.

1 Ftacnik,Lubomir GM ( Slovakia - 2568 ) (5) 1 - 0 Bluvshtein,Mark GM ( 2583 ) (5½)

Bob

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Wow, the average rating of 19 grandmasters is 2501.2?

I find that a little disappointing, personally.

Why? Not everybody has stamina of Korchnoi to be at their top or near top level I think those players (who lower the average) do not complain that their ratings are falling; they just play and enjoy the game

[Christopher Mallon]

Oh, I don't blame the players, just the system. The title of Grandmaster has been diluted to the point that a weak gm has little chance against a strong one.

It's gotten ridiculous, really. There are currently 1298 GMs according to the FIDE site.