It was really strange looking at the pairings for the last round and seeing players on the top 5 to 6 boards all at 4-1. There could have been a 10 way tie for first if all the players drew. It was nice to see fighting chess being the deciding factor.
I’ve finally caught up on my sleep deficit.
Any comments on the new venue? My first impression was that South Point was very “mall-like”, and quite a contrast with the Riviera (mostly for the better). But, I never made it outside from Wednesday->Monday; in that respect it was a lot like Opryland.
Alas, one TD is allergic to horses - he had a bit of a problem.
Especially since there were a lot of cute cowgirls there…
- Enrique
“A TD with a problem…”
The National Open lost a number of California kids because of the early date this year. Previous years, the tournament was on the third weekend of June, then switched to the second weekend. This year, it was the first weekend of June.
The vast majority of California schools get out this week, around June 11. That means the older kids had to contend with studying for final exams on the weekend of National Open. Considering the large number of teenagers from California who play adult tournaments, I would guess the National Open lost at least 50 entries (and I’m being conservative).
Fortunately, the 2010 dates are a week later, meaning the tournament is on the first weekend of summer vacation for a majority of schools.
Michael Aigner
But…they don’t smell like horse when they are in the hot tub.
Allergic to horses–gosh!
could be worse - you might be allergic to hot tubs.
Funny you make the comparison to Opryland. That’s how I felt too. Long walks to get from hotel room to playing room. I never got outside either. Lot’s of food choices though most of the time I ended out at the buffet. My problem was the smell of smoke drifting up to the second floor, though it wasn’t really noticeable in the playing room itself. I think I may have smelled a bit of smoke when I was playing near the doors during the two day schedule rounds.
But…not longer than the walk to the playing hall at the Riviera. And, if you found the shortcut - you did not have to walk through the Casino along the way.
This was my first National Open so I can’t make the comparison to the Riviera. I was happy when I finally found the short cut. I don’t think I found it until late Saturday.
I’d say the walk was a third to a quarter of the walk at the Riv. Extremely short actually.
depends on what’s in the hot tub n’est pas?
Sowieso.
Ok Ich bin aufteilen.
So what happened to the rating of the National Open? It had been rated, now it seems to have disappeared. 
Wow, bizarre! I guess the USCF motto “once rated, always rated” applies to players but not necessarily to specific tournaments. 
It’s being re-submitted to correct a minor problem with the report.
That also means that when it is reposted it will be under a different 12 digit event ID.
A problem which requires the whole 800+ player tournament to be resubmitted does not sound “minor.”
Dang! Does that mean I haven’t played a rated tournament in Nevada now? 
As I understand it, they’re adding one game to the open section, a game between Susan Polgar and Fred Gruenberg.