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Date: 05 May 2007 18:33:07
From: Zero
Subject: why can't people make their GM norms
I keep reading in Chess Life how these players "almost" qualified to
get a norm. What is so difficult? They are all 2400 or 2500 rated
players already anyway. They obviously know their opening and
middlegame and endgame. what is the big deal with the trouble beating
some a couple points higher rated than them. they come to weekend
swisses smashing lower rated players and then all agree to draws in
the last round to take the prize money.





 
Date: 08 May 2007 13:41:52
From: Wlodzimierz Holsztynski (Wlod)
Subject: Re: why can't people make their GM norms
On May 5, 6:33 pm, Zero <[email protected] > wrote:

> I keep reading in Chess Life how these players "almost" qualified to
> get a norm. What is so difficult?

It has to be like this. To get those norms you
have to be, say, in the top 200 out od 100,000
at the time of the competition. You have some
chance for this when you're in the top 400.
Those who are in the top 800 but not 400 have
virtually no chance. It looks like several of them
are close but it's the law, the way of the design.
Only so many can get there. Thus some of them
have to be frustrated.

Wlod




 
Date: 05 May 2007 21:20:28
From: help bot
Subject: Re: why can't people make their GM norms
On May 5, 9:37 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> On May 5, 9:33 pm, Zero <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > I keep reading in Chess Life how these players "almost" qualified to
> > get a norm. What is so difficult? They are all 2400 or 2500 rated
> > players already anyway. They obviously know their opening and
> > middlegame and endgame. what is the big deal with the trouble beating
> > some a couple points higher rated than them. they come to weekend
> > swisses smashing lower rated players and then all agree to draws in
> > the last round to take the prize money.
>
> The GM norm is 2600. A player rated between 2400 and 2500 will
> probably never in his life get a 2600 performance in a 9-round
> tournament.
>
> Similarly, a 1800 rated player will probably never get a 2000
> performance in a 9-round tournament unless he has actually improved.
>
> Sam Sloan

The fact of nine rounds is a killer. It would be no
problem for an 1800 to get a single performance,
given enough tries, of 2000 in a typical weekend
Swiss consisting of only five rounds. All it would
take is a good (overall) first four rounds and then
a lucky upset. Or the upset could occur in an
earlier round, but then you gotta pay with tougher
pairings.

Nine rounds is a whole different ball game. I
played in something like this many years ago, in
a Club Championship where you played only one
game per week. But that was a round robin so
the pairings did not get tougher the more games
you won. I can't imagine a Swiss where no
matter how well I play, there invariably will follow
a "punishment" in the next round, and this
torture lasting nine rounds. No wonder everybody
wants to get to the top. That way, no matter
whether they win or lose there will just be another
fish the next round to beat up on.

I feel sorry for these guys who can't seem to get
a GM or IM norm, no matter how hard they try. In
fact, I may ask Phil Innes to donate some of his
nearly-norms to help them out.

-- help bot



 
Date: 05 May 2007 18:37:44
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: why can't people make their GM norms
On May 5, 9:33 pm, Zero <[email protected] > wrote:
> I keep reading in Chess Life how these players "almost" qualified to
> get a norm. What is so difficult? They are all 2400 or 2500 rated
> players already anyway. They obviously know their opening and
> middlegame and endgame. what is the big deal with the trouble beating
> some a couple points higher rated than them. they come to weekend
> swisses smashing lower rated players and then all agree to draws in
> the last round to take the prize money.

The GM norm is 2600. A player rated between 2400 and 2500 will
probably never in his life get a 2600 performance in a 9-round
tournament.

Similarly, a 1800 rated player will probably never get a 2000
performance in a 9-round tournament unless he has actually improved.

Sam Sloan