The third day proceeded well. With just one afternoon game per day, the top players were able to prepare for their opponents. The top seeds faced each other and fought tenaciously, but in the end a draw could not be avoided. Going into the 6th round there are 4 players on 4.5 points, so we should continue to see some fine chess.
In the Challenger section there are 6 players with 3/3 points and two more close behind with 2.5
More upsets, but not on the top two boards. Leading the field after 4 rounds are GM Nigel Short, GM Sune Berg Hansen and IM Sunil Mokal Prathamesh, all on maximum points, closely followed by IM Jayaram Ashwin, IM Atanu Lahiri and WGM Mohota Nisha on 3.5/4. That will have to end tomorrow as the two top boards face each other (Short has white) – that should be a memorable game as it has got to be too soon for insipid handshakes after 6 moves. Crosstables and pairings at chess-results.com
FM Wisuwat Teerapabpaisit leads the field of local players with 3/4.
The Challenger group kicked off today with two games. Results and board pairings can be found at chess-results.com
The first 2 rounds are complete and there have been a few upsets, with IM Rahul Shetty beating GM Marat, and Danish IM Torben Sørensen giving a point away to WFM Kulkami Bhakti. Full results and pairings for the next round are available at chess-results.com
Check out the Google search story…
The Election Commission on Monday decided by a vote of 4-1 to recommend the dissolution of the ruling Democrat Party for receiving an illegal 258 million baht donation and the alleged misuse of a 29 million baht political development fund provided by the EC. Democrat Party executives, including Prime Minister Abhisit, could be banned from politics for five years if the Constitution Court upholds the Election Commission’s finding.
If this is upheld then presumably the Redshirts have achieved their objective, and they can all go home. And at this rate there will be nobody left to run a government as all current politicians will be under a 5-year ban.
Anyone want to run for office?
The Government appears to have backed away from any further confrontation – if their intention was to test the redshirts resolve, I think they have their answer. Now we are in a kind of stand-off while some kind of compromise solution is hammered out. Most likely the government will bring forward the elections without dissolving the house immediately. Time for Songkran festivities.
Meanwhile our star player, GM Nigel Short has arrived in Bangkok, and us organisers have no time for a holiday!
As the demonstrations continue, many people are getting worried about the affect this will have on the Thailand Open 2010. From my own experience living and working in Bangkok, I have no problems with the demonstrators, as my home and office are not in the affected areas. Neither is the Hotel.
No matter what happens, we are committed to make this tournament every bit as good and better than previous years. Century Park Hotel is not close to the confrontation at the government offices and the business/shopping district.
A piece of good news is that many of the demonstrators will return home as is traditional in Thailand for the New Year (Songkran) holidays. The tournament is on, and we will not let the remaining demonstrators disrupt the Thailand Open.
We are looking forward to welcoming all of you to Bangkok. My advice is “Don’t worry, play well” !
