2021 Irish Open Draughts Championship Tournament 23-25 Oct, Naas, Co. Kildare.
Results:
Masters
1. A. Moiseyev USA 24 points
2. S. Scarpetta ITA 23
3. S. McCosker IRL 21
4. L. Casciano ITA 20
5, H. Devlin IRL 18
6. W. Docherty SCO 17
Seniors - Winner G. Young SCO
Intermediates - Winner T. Moran IRL
2021 Irish Open Draughts Championship
-
liam stephens
- Posts: 940
- Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 2:56 pm
- Location: Ireland
-
George Hay
- Posts: 1026
- Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 7:41 am
- What do you like about checkers?: Checkers is a game of pure logic.
- Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Re: 2021 Irish Open Draughts Championship
Congratulations Mr. Alex!
--George Hay
--George Hay
-
Igor
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 2:49 am
- What do you like about checkers?: Tournament discussion
Re: 2021 Irish Open Draughts Championship
I recently published on the most popular website about Draughts in Russia 64-100.com my detailed report on my trip to Ireland and participation in the Checkers Irish Open tournament 2021. I think this may be interesting for American checkers fans as well. So, I have translated it into English for you. Enjoy it!
Checkers, Corona, Halloween
The Irish Open 2021 „3-move“ version gathered as never before a powerful composition of partipants from all over the World. The tournament was held in the picturesque place of Naas near the Irish capital of Dublin. Many top Checkers players came here at once, hungry for the game during the pandemic.
World champion Sergio Scarpetta arrived here from Italy, bringing with him a new young star Luciano Casciano. Former world champion Alex Moiseyev flew in from America, having overcome a lot of difficulties with all sorts of Covid-tests. Scotsman Bill Docherty, the highest-ranked player joined from France and from Ukraine - women’s ex-World champion Nadiya Chyzhevska. Germany was represented by me and Ireland was also represented by Shane McCosker – perhaps the strongest player in the whole Irish-British Isles at the moment. The competition was held in three groups of approximately equal strengths, so that everyone was interested in playing. Swiss system, 8 rounds, two games each, all points scored as usual.
Naas
Full Irish breakfast
Our strongest Master-group consisted of 16 Checkers players. As you might expect, the main fight for the champion title was between the present and former World champions Italian Sergio Scarpetta and American Alex Moiseyev. Only the Irishman Shane McCosker could compete with them. This trio belongs to the Checkers elite, standing one level above the others. Nethertheless, the fate of the first place was practically decided in the very first game of the first round. After the lot was drawn by the Mayor of Naas, both champions clashed in a face-to-face meeting. Alex Moiseyev managed to pull off an important victory with the help of an unexpected shot. Thereafter, Sergio Scarpetta could not close the gap that had arisen. Alex’s win was also of great psychological importance, since in January 2022 the match between two giants for the World title should take place - if the situation with Covid allows, of course. The match has already been postponed twice.
In the end, Alex Moiseyev became the champion of the Irish Open with an excellent result – 24 points or +8. At the closing ceremony Alex thanked the organizers and participants for the great tournament and said that he was extremely pleased with the result and the quality of his games. Alex has the most practice in the game, as there are many competitions in the USA in various states and he takes part in many of them. It is felt that he is in good playing condition and has tremendous knowledge, which he willingly shares and, thus, he makes a huge contribution to the development and popularisation of Checkers in the world. His bestseller „Sixth“ has already been published, where he gave and commented on games from his matches, as well as selected ones from his other best games. The book provides not only his detailed game analyses, but also explains the psychology of the game. In my opinion it is the best book about Draughts and Checkers that I have ever read and from which I am still learning how to play Checkers. His next book - „AMG“ – „All my Games“ is also being prepared for print.
The second place was taken by Sergio Scarpetta – 23 points. He also came to win and sees his silver as a failure. Sergio has a deep understanding and feel for positions, he plays very agressively, takes a lot of risks to put pressure on his opponents and looks for the slightest chances to confuse his rivals. As a result, he won more games than all others, but he also lost twice. The upcoming match against Alex is expected to be an extremely interesting and tense clash of different styles of play. It will be a real battle of the titans and celebration of Checkers.
Third place went to Shane McCosker – 21 points. He just like Alex did not lose a single game. Shane showed solid and reliable play with a good understanding and sense of danger. He is the main hope of Irish-British Checkers players. The next places were taken – 4. Luciano Casciano (Italy) – 20 points, 5. Hugh Devlin (Ireland) – 18 points, 6. William Docherty from France – 17 points.
My dream has come true - in the last round to play at the first table!
Alex first wore this American tie at the awards ceremony at the 1st World Mind Games in Beijing in 2008
There is only one new name in the top six - Luciano Casciano. This is a young Italian - the youngest participant in the tournament. Naturally, he has the most potential for growth. I was already convinced of this from my own experience, having lost to him in our meeting. But Hugh Devlin is a well-known experienced player, he was the President of WCDF for many years just before Richard Beckwith. However, when he got married, he withdrew from active play just when I had started playing Checkers. He has celebrated his comeback now. Bill Docherty is also a very strong player, he can beat anyone. At the tournament he even managed to win one game against Sergio, as well as me. However, he plays unevenly and loses a lot.
I personally have nothing to brag about, and I believe that I played to my strength – 16 points 50%. My best achievements at the tournament, if I can call them so, are a double win over Ireland's Sean O'Driscoll in the first round and draws in the last two rounds with Shane McCosker and Alex Moiseyev. I took the most stupid 7th place. Stupid because the first six got cash prizes. In my case, the Olympic slogan is well suited - "The main thing is not victory, but participation!" I would prefer: „Veni, vidi, vici!“ - „I came, I saw, I conquered!“, as the well-known Alex did. I quote from someone named Julius, who had not even a clue about Checkers.
I would like to take this opportunity to share my method of introspection of a personal presentation at the tournament. Maybe someone could use it.
So my actual result is REAL – 3 wins, 3 losses and the rest are draws. For simplicity I don't count draws, a win is +1 and a loss is -1.
REAL = +3 -3 = 0 —> 7th place
Then I calculate my potential MAX, that is, how much I could score if I played without mistakes and used all my chances. I won 3 games and missed 1 win
MAX = +3 +1= +4 —> 4-5th place
And finally, my potencial MIN is the sum of losses (3) and lost positions (4). That is – if my opponents played without mistakes
MIN = -3 -4 = -7 —> 15th place (disaster!)
Compare your actual result REAL with your potencial MAX and MIN and you can roughly estimate how well you played and how lucky you were in the tournament.
In my opinion, the comparison: your REAL with the potencial MAX is the indicator of your playing level, since the smaller this difference, the higher your level. The comparison with MIN is the measure of luck, because if your opponent did not use his chances, then you had luck. And if you actually scored the potential MAX points and at the same time did not lose a single game and had no losing positions, it means that you are a genius or a computer.
if REAL = MAX and MIN = 0 —> YOU = GENIUS = PC
By the way, this is the result or very close to it, that Alex Moiseyev(!) achieved in this tournament.
The tournament also had a special time control: 1.5 hours for both games without adding extra time for each move. This is a very convenient control for the referees, as it allows them easily and exactly to set the beginning of the next round without any delay. But it also gives the players an excellent opportunity to play for time. This is what happened in my game with the Scottish player Donald Oliphant. I quickly won the first game and naturally wanted to win the second one too. However, looking for complications I unexpectedly got a bad endgame and big time troubles. It is clear that in this situation I started to play very fast and make my return move before the rival pressed his clock. This caused a protest from my opponent, as I was obliged to give him the opportunity to press his clock. To be honest, I did not know such a rule. And what did the judges say? - We were the judges ourselves! They were busy with their own games. And I did not want to break the clock and gave up not waiting for the flag to fall.
Checkers is mainly based on the enthusiasm and personal initiative of the fans of this game. That is why I can't criticise anything and am just grateful to the organisers for their efforts. Most players have to bear all costs for their participation in the competition themselves. Gradually, the old guard leaves, but the young people do not come and are mainly interested in computer games – mostly spectacular catch-up shooters games. And when I read blogs about other types of Draughts competitions with criticisism, it makes me want to say: „If we had no other worries than yours...“ All critics should be sent to us for re-education so that they learn to appreciate what they have...
Coronavirus has left its mark on our whole life and changed it fundamentally. As long as I can remember, my wife and I have always traveled a lot. For the first time, we were prevented from travelling abroad for two years because of a lockdown. So when I heard there was going to be a Checkers tournament in Ireland and many of the top players had confirmed their participation, I was excited and didn't want to miss out on such a chance to play. Of course, there were doubts because of the rise of the pandemic in Germany. The government appealed to the population to stay away from unnecessary travel and to avoid high-risk areas, where Ireland was just included. However, we had already stayed so long at home and were really hungry for new impressions. Ireland is an expensive country, nevertheless we decided to go with my wife and spend two days before and two days after the tournament in Dublin. Until the last moment, we were not sure that we would be able to make it. I am very glad that the trip took place. It turned out to be an extremely interesting and informative journey. I played in the excellent tournament and talked to interesting people. I remember communication with Alex Moiseyev, Sergio Scarpetta and Nadiya Chyzhevska. In Ireland, we met often in the service sector people from Latvia from where we moved to Germany almost 30 years ago. It was interesting to learn „first hand“ about life in Ireland as well as in our former homeland. We were in Dublin 4 years ago and noticed how the pandemic has changed the atmosphere of the city. There are many closed pubs now where it was possible to listen to live-music and even to dance. People have become more concerned although they remained open and friendly as before.
It was the time of Halloween, whose history begins in Ireland and Scotland and goes back to the traditions of the ancient Celts. The holiday is celebrated on the eve of All Saints Day, considered to be the only day of the year when the spirits of the dead can return to earth. It was interesting to see how the Irish intricately decorate their homes to ward off evil spirits. It was a pleasure just to wander the streets; huddle around busy pubs; watch huge double-decker buses disperse during rush hour; and also wonder at young people how they dress up easily in short shorts and sandals with bare feet at the very end of October… And of course, you can endlessly admire the amazing harsh and soft nature of the green island.
You can see my photos here https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMMZmbkxsLFM1J696, and there are also many pictures of the tournament participants that I selected from Facebook „English Draughts“.
Checkers, Corona, Halloween
The Irish Open 2021 „3-move“ version gathered as never before a powerful composition of partipants from all over the World. The tournament was held in the picturesque place of Naas near the Irish capital of Dublin. Many top Checkers players came here at once, hungry for the game during the pandemic.
World champion Sergio Scarpetta arrived here from Italy, bringing with him a new young star Luciano Casciano. Former world champion Alex Moiseyev flew in from America, having overcome a lot of difficulties with all sorts of Covid-tests. Scotsman Bill Docherty, the highest-ranked player joined from France and from Ukraine - women’s ex-World champion Nadiya Chyzhevska. Germany was represented by me and Ireland was also represented by Shane McCosker – perhaps the strongest player in the whole Irish-British Isles at the moment. The competition was held in three groups of approximately equal strengths, so that everyone was interested in playing. Swiss system, 8 rounds, two games each, all points scored as usual.
Naas Full Irish breakfastOur strongest Master-group consisted of 16 Checkers players. As you might expect, the main fight for the champion title was between the present and former World champions Italian Sergio Scarpetta and American Alex Moiseyev. Only the Irishman Shane McCosker could compete with them. This trio belongs to the Checkers elite, standing one level above the others. Nethertheless, the fate of the first place was practically decided in the very first game of the first round. After the lot was drawn by the Mayor of Naas, both champions clashed in a face-to-face meeting. Alex Moiseyev managed to pull off an important victory with the help of an unexpected shot. Thereafter, Sergio Scarpetta could not close the gap that had arisen. Alex’s win was also of great psychological importance, since in January 2022 the match between two giants for the World title should take place - if the situation with Covid allows, of course. The match has already been postponed twice.
In the end, Alex Moiseyev became the champion of the Irish Open with an excellent result – 24 points or +8. At the closing ceremony Alex thanked the organizers and participants for the great tournament and said that he was extremely pleased with the result and the quality of his games. Alex has the most practice in the game, as there are many competitions in the USA in various states and he takes part in many of them. It is felt that he is in good playing condition and has tremendous knowledge, which he willingly shares and, thus, he makes a huge contribution to the development and popularisation of Checkers in the world. His bestseller „Sixth“ has already been published, where he gave and commented on games from his matches, as well as selected ones from his other best games. The book provides not only his detailed game analyses, but also explains the psychology of the game. In my opinion it is the best book about Draughts and Checkers that I have ever read and from which I am still learning how to play Checkers. His next book - „AMG“ – „All my Games“ is also being prepared for print.
The second place was taken by Sergio Scarpetta – 23 points. He also came to win and sees his silver as a failure. Sergio has a deep understanding and feel for positions, he plays very agressively, takes a lot of risks to put pressure on his opponents and looks for the slightest chances to confuse his rivals. As a result, he won more games than all others, but he also lost twice. The upcoming match against Alex is expected to be an extremely interesting and tense clash of different styles of play. It will be a real battle of the titans and celebration of Checkers.
Third place went to Shane McCosker – 21 points. He just like Alex did not lose a single game. Shane showed solid and reliable play with a good understanding and sense of danger. He is the main hope of Irish-British Checkers players. The next places were taken – 4. Luciano Casciano (Italy) – 20 points, 5. Hugh Devlin (Ireland) – 18 points, 6. William Docherty from France – 17 points.
My dream has come true - in the last round to play at the first table! Alex first wore this American tie at the awards ceremony at the 1st World Mind Games in Beijing in 2008
There is only one new name in the top six - Luciano Casciano. This is a young Italian - the youngest participant in the tournament. Naturally, he has the most potential for growth. I was already convinced of this from my own experience, having lost to him in our meeting. But Hugh Devlin is a well-known experienced player, he was the President of WCDF for many years just before Richard Beckwith. However, when he got married, he withdrew from active play just when I had started playing Checkers. He has celebrated his comeback now. Bill Docherty is also a very strong player, he can beat anyone. At the tournament he even managed to win one game against Sergio, as well as me. However, he plays unevenly and loses a lot.
I personally have nothing to brag about, and I believe that I played to my strength – 16 points 50%. My best achievements at the tournament, if I can call them so, are a double win over Ireland's Sean O'Driscoll in the first round and draws in the last two rounds with Shane McCosker and Alex Moiseyev. I took the most stupid 7th place. Stupid because the first six got cash prizes. In my case, the Olympic slogan is well suited - "The main thing is not victory, but participation!" I would prefer: „Veni, vidi, vici!“ - „I came, I saw, I conquered!“, as the well-known Alex did. I quote from someone named Julius, who had not even a clue about Checkers.
I would like to take this opportunity to share my method of introspection of a personal presentation at the tournament. Maybe someone could use it.
So my actual result is REAL – 3 wins, 3 losses and the rest are draws. For simplicity I don't count draws, a win is +1 and a loss is -1.
REAL = +3 -3 = 0 —> 7th place
Then I calculate my potential MAX, that is, how much I could score if I played without mistakes and used all my chances. I won 3 games and missed 1 win
MAX = +3 +1= +4 —> 4-5th place
And finally, my potencial MIN is the sum of losses (3) and lost positions (4). That is – if my opponents played without mistakes
MIN = -3 -4 = -7 —> 15th place (disaster!)
Compare your actual result REAL with your potencial MAX and MIN and you can roughly estimate how well you played and how lucky you were in the tournament.
In my opinion, the comparison: your REAL with the potencial MAX is the indicator of your playing level, since the smaller this difference, the higher your level. The comparison with MIN is the measure of luck, because if your opponent did not use his chances, then you had luck. And if you actually scored the potential MAX points and at the same time did not lose a single game and had no losing positions, it means that you are a genius or a computer.
if REAL = MAX and MIN = 0 —> YOU = GENIUS = PC
By the way, this is the result or very close to it, that Alex Moiseyev(!) achieved in this tournament.
The tournament also had a special time control: 1.5 hours for both games without adding extra time for each move. This is a very convenient control for the referees, as it allows them easily and exactly to set the beginning of the next round without any delay. But it also gives the players an excellent opportunity to play for time. This is what happened in my game with the Scottish player Donald Oliphant. I quickly won the first game and naturally wanted to win the second one too. However, looking for complications I unexpectedly got a bad endgame and big time troubles. It is clear that in this situation I started to play very fast and make my return move before the rival pressed his clock. This caused a protest from my opponent, as I was obliged to give him the opportunity to press his clock. To be honest, I did not know such a rule. And what did the judges say? - We were the judges ourselves! They were busy with their own games. And I did not want to break the clock and gave up not waiting for the flag to fall.
Checkers is mainly based on the enthusiasm and personal initiative of the fans of this game. That is why I can't criticise anything and am just grateful to the organisers for their efforts. Most players have to bear all costs for their participation in the competition themselves. Gradually, the old guard leaves, but the young people do not come and are mainly interested in computer games – mostly spectacular catch-up shooters games. And when I read blogs about other types of Draughts competitions with criticisism, it makes me want to say: „If we had no other worries than yours...“ All critics should be sent to us for re-education so that they learn to appreciate what they have...
Coronavirus has left its mark on our whole life and changed it fundamentally. As long as I can remember, my wife and I have always traveled a lot. For the first time, we were prevented from travelling abroad for two years because of a lockdown. So when I heard there was going to be a Checkers tournament in Ireland and many of the top players had confirmed their participation, I was excited and didn't want to miss out on such a chance to play. Of course, there were doubts because of the rise of the pandemic in Germany. The government appealed to the population to stay away from unnecessary travel and to avoid high-risk areas, where Ireland was just included. However, we had already stayed so long at home and were really hungry for new impressions. Ireland is an expensive country, nevertheless we decided to go with my wife and spend two days before and two days after the tournament in Dublin. Until the last moment, we were not sure that we would be able to make it. I am very glad that the trip took place. It turned out to be an extremely interesting and informative journey. I played in the excellent tournament and talked to interesting people. I remember communication with Alex Moiseyev, Sergio Scarpetta and Nadiya Chyzhevska. In Ireland, we met often in the service sector people from Latvia from where we moved to Germany almost 30 years ago. It was interesting to learn „first hand“ about life in Ireland as well as in our former homeland. We were in Dublin 4 years ago and noticed how the pandemic has changed the atmosphere of the city. There are many closed pubs now where it was possible to listen to live-music and even to dance. People have become more concerned although they remained open and friendly as before.
It was the time of Halloween, whose history begins in Ireland and Scotland and goes back to the traditions of the ancient Celts. The holiday is celebrated on the eve of All Saints Day, considered to be the only day of the year when the spirits of the dead can return to earth. It was interesting to see how the Irish intricately decorate their homes to ward off evil spirits. It was a pleasure just to wander the streets; huddle around busy pubs; watch huge double-decker buses disperse during rush hour; and also wonder at young people how they dress up easily in short shorts and sandals with bare feet at the very end of October… And of course, you can endlessly admire the amazing harsh and soft nature of the green island.
You can see my photos here https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMMZmbkxsLFM1J696, and there are also many pictures of the tournament participants that I selected from Facebook „English Draughts“.