Hastings International Chess Congress

Congratulations to Simon Williams on achieving his Grandmaster title in the 8th round of the Celebration 83rd Hastings International Chess Congress.

Thus four English players have gained the title in the past 12 months. The others are David Howell, Gawain Jones and Stewart Haslinger. Simon is 28 years old and a professional player/chess coach. His uncompromising aggressive style makes him one of the most popular players in international chess.

You can find full details and the games from Hastings on http://www.hastingschess.org.uk.

Those of you who are technically minded may be interested in the whole process. A player needs to gain three tournament results at the grandmaster level in international events. Simon achieved his final norm in Hastings 2005-6. He was awarded the GM title by FIDE(the World Chess Federation) conditional on his reaching a 2500 Rating or higher. This he has found elusive. His Rating published on 1 January is 2482. But since then he gained points in French League games and finally gained a considerable number in Hastings, taking him to 2501 after 8 rounds. FIDE did not want the system to continue where players withdrew from events, claiming ill health, in order to maintain their precarious hold on the required level. Thus in 1994 I wrote the rule that it is sufficient to reach the required level even during a tournament. This is very difficult to prove and the Arbiter in Hastings, Alex McFarlane, has written an appropriate rating report. The ECF International Rating Officer, Howard Grist, now has the responsibility of submitting the data to FIDE.

Thus quite a number of people are involved with such technical matters. Without the ECF players would be unable to make any progress. International chess is at the very heart of developing chess talent.

Stewart Reuben