silviu22 wrote:
I assume the world pro tournaments giving HDPs are the big ones (like Samsung Cup, LG Cup, etc) - the ones whose winners are called "world champion". (I have a big problem with that characterization, since these are invitational tournaments, but that's a different story).
I'd agree myself, but assumptions are dangerous. Everyone knows what something means until there is a problem.
But, for example, the LG cup "There are 16 players who compete in a preliminary, and another 16 players are invited. The latest edition had 256 competitors in the preliminary, the biggest in history." [
Wiki] If a European player got invited past the prelims, a single victory would yield points. Almost the same with the Chunlan. As I understood the European system for nominees, it resets a player's nomination points after each participation, so it leans rotational (which might not be to the best interests of the tournament sponsors). But an association could invite anyone. BTW, as I understand it, we could have an Euro pro by winning games in such events and getting into the pro system by the side door.
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In a way, Europeans came up with a way to avoid having scores of high dan players[...] They decided "only those with exceptional results in the top world tournaments deserve the high rankings of 5p or above".
A minor quibble: The EGF decided it, not Europeans. And, yes, I see its advantages. As with the rotational participation, it merits some thought. How many 9p can Europe have? I think I read some threads some time ago on playing population and pro ratio, but no one could get decent data, IIRC.
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Also, they rely on the organizers' good will as they might decide at some point to stop inviting Europeans and Americans and give those precious slots to players from the big 4 Asian Countries. (If it was after me, I would do away to slots for countries and would implement an online qualification system and make everybody qualify. And if only Chinese and Korean players qualify, so be it.)
Two points.
One, it also relies on the coincidence of goals AND methods. The organizers might not give a damn about Euro Pro promotion. Or even agree that the selection of candidates is proper. Or... You name it. Any such things could become a hurdle.
Second, regarding country slots, it's probably simply more convenient. Otherwise you need a lot of flight time or a decent remote playing set up. I *think* the Nihon Kiin does have separate qualification ladders per branch, in their own tournaments. They end up fusing after a certain point, but they start separate.
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But in my opinion, none of the current EGF players will ever reach 5p. There might be some kid out there that will make it someday, like Michael Redmond. But that kid would probably have to put go above regular school. And I don't know how many European parents would accept that.
"Never" is a very long word. We'll see. And European parents? Which ones? The ones in the Faroes or the ones in the Crimea?
Take care.