15-08-2014, 08:51 AM
Alastair White Wrote:...
I have been impressed with the sheer determination of the players in both teams in many of the games.
Open team seeded 66th and finished 83rd
Ladies seeded 52 and finish 56th.
There was a lack of youthfulness in our open team.
John Shaw and Andrew Greet both produced marginally positive rating performances.
Colin drew the short straw on 1 and struggled. The draw with Mamedyarov was a highlight however.
I am sure Alan will come away from this event disappointed with his performance. Personally I believe he has potential to make IM but too many games here were lost in final hour of play from decent positions this time.
It was great to see Roddy McKay play and he got off to a flying start but flagged towards the end.
In the ladies I am sure Keti must have struggled to sleep after the round 10 debacle. Prior to his she was cruising. I don't really understand why she chose to play in the ladies - a weaker event - as she is good enough to be in our open team.
Elaine had a good event although I was amazed when she repeated the line she played against me in last years SNCL :p .
From board 3 onwards we struggled
Overall it takes a leap of faith too far for me to interpret our performance here as a success. We can do better than this. I also note that 2 of our best performers (Keti and Andrew) did not develop their chess in the Scottish system. Some analysis of why we are not producing 2400 players is needed. I do not accept the talent is not there. Possibly our investment training Jonathan and Andrew as trainers will help? Personally I hope we will see more young faces make the team next time.