Reflections On Basel

EFFECTIVELY my trip to Basel became a glorified weekend swiss in that I played one game on day one and two games on days two and three.

All of my opponents were juniors, and it is probably fair to assume they have spent the past year or more improving online while their over-the-board ratings remained stagnant.

So what bearing does that have on my tournament performance of losing six Fide elo? 

Certainly my draw with a 2017 was a decent result, although I should have won the game after my opponent went seriously wrong in the opening.

But I was fortunate that one of my draws was with an opponent who had a Swiss elo of 1320, but no Fide rating, and it is hard to see anything creditable in that performance.

So it can be argued I was lucky not to lose more rating points, but on the other hand was unlucky to meet an all-junior field.

However, the bottom line is that my Fide rating will be going down.

I have not looked at the games in any great depth yet, but I have the following impressions:

1. I generally outplayed my opponents in the openings. This conforms with the view that juniors may be very booked up on sharp and fashionable lines, but can struggle with older theory.

2. I was thoroughly outplayed in middlegame tactics.

3. It is not possible to draw any conclusions about our respective endgame strengths - I won the only ending I reached, but by then I already had a large advantage.

THREE GOOD THINGS ABOUT BASEL AND THE TOURNAMENT

1. The city's old town has lots of interesting-looking bars and restaurants, including at least three Irish pubs.

2. Public transport, in the form of trams and buses, is excellent, and is free for hotel guests.

3. Playing conditions at the tournament were spacious, with good lighting.

THREE BAD THINGS ABOUT BASEL AND THE TOURNAMENT

1. Prices are often shocking, even for a Londoner, with a single and not-very-flavourful espresso typically costing about £4, and a half-litre of standard keg beer costing around £8.

2. Basel is not a normal tourism destination, so its attractions are limited if you are not into eating and drinking.

3. The city is easy to get to from Zürich airport, but overall for most people it is a long journey for a four-day tournament (assuming your opponents turn up for every round).