24-07-2015, 09:08 AM
Apologies for not posting during the tournament, but I thought there was quite enough info out there with all the games being live and Alastair's reports. Now it is over, I'll give a little bit of a round up
Firstly, the tournament was amazing, the hotel was superb, the playing venue outstanding and all the games being transmitted live. There was certainly a huge commitment from the Irish to put on a show, demonstrated from the off with us being addressed by the President himself. A very enjoyable feature of the tournament was a blitz and exchange tournament at the end which quite literally took in everyone, parents, players, coaches, the 1963 winning Glorney team etc etc. It had a quintessentially Irish element to it, with the last round starting shortly after 1am; They simply don't stop enjoying themselves. Thanks to Desmond, Patrick and the whole of the Irish organising team we had a tournament that we'll never forget, so many, many thanks. There is no doubt that the Irish were assisted with significant ECU money, but I hope the other nations will take up the challenge and really elevate the status of the Glorney Cup.
Now to the Scottish performance; First of all I should say that the Stokes team finished 4th, the Robinson team 4th, the Gilbert team 4th and the Glorney team 3rd, so there should be no-one in any doubt that at the moment we are playing catch up. The Welsh and the Irish have made significant progress in junior chess and pushed the bar up for Scotland.
I was worried about how the U12's would perform before the tournament and really they as a team provided the stand out Scottish performance. Ben Volland on board 1 was Scotland's MVP, there were some really good players on board 1 and some of Ben's games were special - they are all there online so I urge you to have a look. There was talent elsewhere too and they was some very classical play on the lower boards.
I had high hopes for the U14's and as a team I feel they underperformed. It was certainly a tough competition with the Irish having a very strong squad (I believe two of the Glorney winning side could also have played in the Robinson). Ireland have built on a success in the Stokes in 2013 to build a very strong U14 squad today, Scotland really needs to think about how it can do the same.
I felt the Scottish performance in the Gilbert was rather predictable. The girls played well, looked jolly talented, but found ways not to win. Again, it was a strong competition and pretty much uniquely for this event they were no weak players. Talking to a couple of the Irish guys at the end the Irish Gilbert board three had played in 2014 and really struggled, but she had gone away and over the intervening year put a lot of work into her chess to get herself to the stage where the Irish team could be competitive. Much, I think, to everyone's surprise the Irish team managed to finish level with England, missing out on tie-break. A lot of credit should go to Miss Manojlovic and the Scottish players should take note of what can be achieved. I should just note that Stuthi seemed to grow in confidence and stature throughout the event, partly because of her enforced no draw offering rule, but it looked as if she gained a lot from the experience, so perhaps a player to watch out for.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the Glorney team this year, but as a team they played rather well, but similarly to the Girls they found ways to drop points. An English coach came up to me beaming away after about two and a half hours of the Ireland - Scotland clash, "you are really duffing them up", he said. In fact we lost 3.5 - 1.5. We may even have won the tournament had all the games been adjudicated three quarters of the way through. I don't say that as some sort of excuse or trying to claim that we were robbed of our rightful victory. I think it shows that the other teams often have more tournament experience and can cope with the nerves and pressures of tournament play. I was very pleased that Lennart and Declan had done a significant amount of pre-tournament opponent specific preparation. That really helped and their play and performance certainly reflected that. In future years, more players should be encouraged and helped to do that (throughout all four competitions).
One final thing, the Irish organisers are trying to compile lists of historic Glorney Gilbert (Faber) teams, so if you or someone you know has played in the past then we'd be very grateful if you would get in touch at the Glorney website.
Many thanks to everyone involved.
Firstly, the tournament was amazing, the hotel was superb, the playing venue outstanding and all the games being transmitted live. There was certainly a huge commitment from the Irish to put on a show, demonstrated from the off with us being addressed by the President himself. A very enjoyable feature of the tournament was a blitz and exchange tournament at the end which quite literally took in everyone, parents, players, coaches, the 1963 winning Glorney team etc etc. It had a quintessentially Irish element to it, with the last round starting shortly after 1am; They simply don't stop enjoying themselves. Thanks to Desmond, Patrick and the whole of the Irish organising team we had a tournament that we'll never forget, so many, many thanks. There is no doubt that the Irish were assisted with significant ECU money, but I hope the other nations will take up the challenge and really elevate the status of the Glorney Cup.
Now to the Scottish performance; First of all I should say that the Stokes team finished 4th, the Robinson team 4th, the Gilbert team 4th and the Glorney team 3rd, so there should be no-one in any doubt that at the moment we are playing catch up. The Welsh and the Irish have made significant progress in junior chess and pushed the bar up for Scotland.
I was worried about how the U12's would perform before the tournament and really they as a team provided the stand out Scottish performance. Ben Volland on board 1 was Scotland's MVP, there were some really good players on board 1 and some of Ben's games were special - they are all there online so I urge you to have a look. There was talent elsewhere too and they was some very classical play on the lower boards.
I had high hopes for the U14's and as a team I feel they underperformed. It was certainly a tough competition with the Irish having a very strong squad (I believe two of the Glorney winning side could also have played in the Robinson). Ireland have built on a success in the Stokes in 2013 to build a very strong U14 squad today, Scotland really needs to think about how it can do the same.
I felt the Scottish performance in the Gilbert was rather predictable. The girls played well, looked jolly talented, but found ways not to win. Again, it was a strong competition and pretty much uniquely for this event they were no weak players. Talking to a couple of the Irish guys at the end the Irish Gilbert board three had played in 2014 and really struggled, but she had gone away and over the intervening year put a lot of work into her chess to get herself to the stage where the Irish team could be competitive. Much, I think, to everyone's surprise the Irish team managed to finish level with England, missing out on tie-break. A lot of credit should go to Miss Manojlovic and the Scottish players should take note of what can be achieved. I should just note that Stuthi seemed to grow in confidence and stature throughout the event, partly because of her enforced no draw offering rule, but it looked as if she gained a lot from the experience, so perhaps a player to watch out for.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the Glorney team this year, but as a team they played rather well, but similarly to the Girls they found ways to drop points. An English coach came up to me beaming away after about two and a half hours of the Ireland - Scotland clash, "you are really duffing them up", he said. In fact we lost 3.5 - 1.5. We may even have won the tournament had all the games been adjudicated three quarters of the way through. I don't say that as some sort of excuse or trying to claim that we were robbed of our rightful victory. I think it shows that the other teams often have more tournament experience and can cope with the nerves and pressures of tournament play. I was very pleased that Lennart and Declan had done a significant amount of pre-tournament opponent specific preparation. That really helped and their play and performance certainly reflected that. In future years, more players should be encouraged and helped to do that (throughout all four competitions).
One final thing, the Irish organisers are trying to compile lists of historic Glorney Gilbert (Faber) teams, so if you or someone you know has played in the past then we'd be very grateful if you would get in touch at the Glorney website.
Many thanks to everyone involved.