Is me!
I went into the event as 9th seed and highest rated Scottish resident. Having not defeated a GM for two years, I did two in the final two days to end shared 1st to 5th and claim the trophy, the cheque and 11 rating points (all won on those last two days). Some of the games from the event can be found in the August newsletter, but first we need to put the final touches to the April-July Newsletter, which might be out tomorrow!
Bravo !!
Checked with John, Newsletter out Wednesday it seems. Sorry. Everything gets delayed in this office!
Congratulations Jacob !! You should reconsider your decision to retire as a player !
Two days ago I received “Grandmaster Calculation” . Nice puzzle book 🙂
Jut kidding, looks great, really hard training stuff, but still witty explanations.
Great book by my favorite author an my favorite chess book publishing company
Congratulations. Any opening influences from recent QC books played a helping hand?
@Paul
Jacob has left the building, but I think he had at least a couple of games where his opening choice was influenced by future QC books. And Colin had a win with 1.c4 where his position went to “plus-minus” while still following Marin (that one should find a way into a newsletter).
Well done!
Many congrats! Good news!
Outstanding Jacob, well done!!
If you are truly going to retire from competitive play this is a great way to go out!
Congratulations on the awesome performance. 🙂
Congratulations!
Perhaps the retirement in sight gave a boost to your motivation?! Maybe I should try this myself… 😉
Congratulations
Congratulations. I’ve read so many of your newsletters that I feel guilty about never giving any feedback. Well done!
Congrats Jacob!
Jacob, this result shows clearly that you play better when not worried by the result…why not giving yourself a chance to improve your psychological approach to the game?
I am definitely still going to retire after the Olympiad. I have been playing tournaments to get in better shape for the Olympiad. And it seems like it is working.
I used a recommendation from Schandorff against Imra, and recommendations from John’s 1.e4 books against Ruck and Hebden. All misinterpretations of these systems are entirely my own fault, but I got a good endgame against Hebden and caused some annoyance to both Ruck and Imra, so I was quite happy with that support.
Well done, and at the Olympics also.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
Congratulations Jacob! You do not seem worry as a retired chess player ;). Could you tell us what was inside this empty cup? :).
If everything in QC is delayed, maybe your games were a little delayed too ;). Some says it is accelerated dragon, but others argue it is delayed Aagaards (variation)! Do not be late for the office!
@Tomasz Chessthinker
Very funny! I am definitely retiring. But I am of course happier to do so when playing decently than when playing as badly as I did at the Danish Championship in April. But ok, I have improved a bit at every event, which was the intention, peaking at the olympiad.
@Jacob Aagaard
Are you playing for Scotland or Denmark in the Olympiad?
@Paul
I can answer that. Jacob is playing for Denmark.
Colin and I are playing for Scotland.
Andrew was not selected for England.
@Paul
Various things made it so that I ended up playing for Denmark again. The main reason was that the 2010 Danish Championship was played where I come from and I wanted to play and be around a lot of my old friends, not that my ambitions were dying out. I am not especially eager to play for Denmark, would just as well play for Scotland, but I had to change federation to play the Danish Championship. At the same time there were some other things about chess politics that meant that I did not expect to play any team events ever anyway; so when I changed it was to play one tournament only. Later on the Danish Federation talked me into playing twice, waiting for a lot of talents to make it to the scene. Luckily they do not seem to be too far away now and I can retire with a clean conscience!
….and i was not selected to play for Greece at the last moment….but the good thing is that i’ll be at the Olympiad anyway! 😀
@Nikos Ntirlis
You can sleep on the spare bed in my room if you like…
Congratulations to Jacob!
Idea for QC: A second edition of Gelfand’s game collection! The first edition is a paperback published by Olms in 2005! A 2012 hardcover by QC would be a wonderful addition to any chess library. Gelfand should be happy to do the second version as well, after all his career has taken off ever since he wrote the first book!
@Hesam
I think we have to wait for another lull in his career before approaching him; at the moment he has the grand prix, the world cup and London 2013 to work towards!
By the way, I interviewed Boris after the match – the interview is in the latest issue of CHESS MONTHLY.
I thought he was very forthcoming in the interview. The match was too short (imo) but economics I guess…
@John Johnson
I am not sure a 14 or 16 games match would have been much different. But yes, Boris is as nice a guy as he came across in this interview and it is in my opinion a great loss for the game that he did not take the title from Anand.
A 14 or 16 game match may not have changed things, but what about 24? Or First to 6 draws are worth zip? In the case of the former, world champion retains the title automatically in the event of a tie.
I think the current system is a hoax. It encourages players to play for a draw if they think they can win a 4-game blitz mini-match. So now the mini-match is deciding it, and not real chess. That would be like saying that Wimbledon match are won by being the first to score a break point, or hockey being decided by who can shoot more goals at an empty net from center-ice out of 10 shots. Pot luck in other words.
If they had used the 24-game format champion retains title in a tie, or first to 6 draws are worthless, I doubt 10 of the first 12 games would have been drawn. I’d predict more of a 50% draw ratio.
I would definitely be in favour of playing the play-off in advance, to decide the draw odds. The second best option is to give the draw odds to the challenger. The World Champion has to show more in two years than being able to draw a match with whomever survives all the way to the match…
Jacob!
I am sure you are preparing your “Grandmaster Preparation” (series) mostly to your needs! ;). It is why the series are delayed and they were published just after the Olympiad is finished! You can reveal a secret weapon that you are using now (winning this trophy) and in Olympiad! I keep fingers crossed! I believe you want to make great score as to proof your books (GP series) are beneficial! :). Great marketing trick and I am very happy to see that your amazing books makes magic (not only on/at the chessboard!).
PS. Are you consious that making such books make you a better player? You might not even see, but typing, checking and looking at huge tons of chess material – gives advantage at the real board playing :). Good luck Jacob!
I know the economics are a big factor but too Kirsan leaves greasy marks wherever his fingers have been. I didn’t think Vishy had been a disaster as world champion, but it is obvious there are stronger players now. Still to be the man you have to beat the man!
@John Johnson
The system has to be stronger than the taste of the crowd. Gelfand won 10 matches to get to the World Championship and those in the top (Aronian, Anand) did not think of him as unworthy or inferior. But sure, Carlsen – Aronian would be the match of the 21st century, but it cannot be bought, it needs to be earned.
Congratulations, Jacob. In honor of your victory I will quit hounding Quality Chess about the King’s Gambit book for at least two weeks. . .
Sir Jacob, you are Scotland’s greatest pride since Connery. Denmark weeps. 🙂
@Alan Hartley
I will put an excerpt on the website in return!
More fewmets! I may break down and order this one direct and bite the bullet on postage; if Congress doesn’t abolish the Post Office before then.
@John Johnson
50-50 then!
We already have 420 pages typeset (but with a 5% smaller font than usual, to make the book less than 800 pages!).
Recent sonar readings show substantial mass and the world’s top flight cryptochessologists are certain it is Nessie, ready to make an appearance.
@decredico
Sep/Oct. There is just so much to do. Those who got the Morra Gambit have hopefully enjoyed the last page!
the penalty of success Jacob! More to do.
@John Johnson
What about the fruits of success? When are they going to show up??
Fruits usually take a long time to ripen but seem to only take a short time to spoil.
Enjoy them (Scottish Champion, Boleslavsky Medals, etc) while you can!
🙂
@decredico
I am more focused on the Olympiad and on finishing a few books. I like work more than play, generally.
Jacob you may have to get your satisfaction from writing well crafted books; I didn’t say anything about the fruits of success. Although they are sitting on many bookshelves I would argue.
@John Johnson
I am sure the middleman is very happy :-).
@Jacob Aagaard
How should we ever enjoy to hear such shocking news? I think it’s rather frightening to hear there are criminals out there doing such cruel things to innocent chess book authors. That’s probably the reason why I will never write a chess book myself. I hope the main suspect will soon be punished!
@AirChess
Force them to play chess? Truly shocking!