Day 1 was a tough day for Ireland's 11 strong contingent. As all our players were rated in the lower half of their sections, they were all assigned very tough first round matches. The minimum rating differential was approximately 300 and in some cases the difference was as high as 700. The team battled long and hard, and ended up with 4 draws, a very good result. Paul O'Neill, Scott Mulligan and Tom O'Gorman drew against players respectively rated 2300, 2250 and 2300. Performance of the round goes to Denis Ruchko in the open U 12 who drew against his Italian opponent with a FIDE rating of 1830.
Day 2
Very tough day today. How good yesterday was became apparent when we heard that the English delegation (coincidentally also 11) all lost yesterday. Byes for Agustin and Aisling meant 9 in action. All were outrated again, though the differentials not quite so huge as yesterday. All fought hard, and in the end, 2 draws secured, one for each of Scott and Diana.
Day 3
Two wins (Mercedes and Tom) and three draws (Diana, Denis and Mateo).
Today was the day of the thunderstorms. The rains arrived and some 48 hours later it is still raining. A bit of a shock after glorious sunshine for the first few days. The sun is due to make a welcome re-appearance tomorrow, and remain ever present till the end of the tournament.
Porec is a very attractive coastal town. The accommodation is good and the food is superb. There is excellent sea swimming and a great hotel pool too. And with the temperatures in the mid 20s before the rains arrived and due to return to the mid twenties, the venue and setting is hard to beat.
Day 4
Today saw all the points coming from the girls with wins for Alice and Leire and draws for Diana and Mercedes. Day 4 also saw Amancio and Pippa commence the FIDE training course.
The day was not without controversy. Paul claimed a 3-fold repetition for a draw. The arbiter said he was not entitled to it because he had not written down his move before he called the arbiter. The arbiter then un-paused the clock and Paul's opponent instantaneously moved to try to deny the claim for repetition. Subsequent lengthy and loud discussions in different languages between 4 arbiters around the board concluded with a refusal to allow Paul's claim. Paul went on to lose. On a nearby board, Scott was very low on time but had a very strong position with a likely win. Unduly distracted by the commotion involving a fellow teammate, Scott ended up losing, too. Such is life. The team has dusted itself down, and is all the more determined heading into day 5.
Day 5
Today was the best day yet, with 4 wins, and strangely no draws at all. Aisling and Denis had great wins against much higher rated opposition. Denis exploited his extra pawn to maximum effect with a lovely win. Mateo had a nice win against an unrated opponent (always dangerous), who rather than resign played to the end of a queen king check mate by Mateo, perhaps hoping for a stalemate, but Mateo was not to be denied his first win, after a good draw in round 3. Tom also had a solid win against a lower rated opponent.
Everyone is now looking forward to the rest day tomorrow and the return of sunshine after much rain over the last 3 days.
Back from the rest day, day 7 was another difficult chess day in Porec. The team scored 3.5 points - a win each for Alice and Scott and draws for Diana, Agustin and Mercedes. Denis battled hard against a 1770 but was unable to get a result after a long match. The good news is that, with Agustin’s draw, all 11 are now off the mark over the board.
Day 8
The sun came out this morning - we haven't seen it for a few days - so intensive chess training was held by the side of the pool this morning. This seemed to help considerably. The team had a great day scoring 5 points out of 10 (Leire taking a bye). Paul, Diana, Alice and Mercedes all won their matches and Scott and Tom managed draws. Mercedes played a great game winning very quickly. We now have Tom, Alice, Diana and Mercedes all on 3 points with Scott on 2.5. All are hoping to finish strongly with 2 matches to go.
Day 10
The final round concluded today. We have had a wonderful tournament, with ups and downs, but some fantastic chess has been played against some very strong opposition. All players have gained valuable experience which will stand them in good stead in their future competitions.
Tom finished on 5 points, Diana and Alice on 4, Agustin, Mercedes and Mateo on 3.5, Aisling on 3, Scott and Denis on 2.5 and Leire and Paul on 2.
The strength of the competition here at every level cannot be understated and every point was fought hard for. The children did brilliantly.
As well as working hard, lots of fun has been had by the pools and in the sea. Tonight to celebrate the end of the tournament we are joining with the English and Scottish delegations for a blitz tournament - a great way to end.