Gormallygate: Howler Tracker

OK, with so many media agencies now running with this story, written by journos who know nothing of chess, we thought we should keep a track of some blatant howlers and maybe clarify a few things.

Dear readers, you're very much part of this process. If you spot anything, we'll add it in.

Is Arianne a grandmaster (GM)?
No. She is a woman international master (WIM). This title is a good few notches below that of a GM. Arianne does hold "norms" for higher titles: one international master (IM) norm and 2 woman grandmaster (WGM) norms.

Is she ranked number 3 in Australia?
No. We can look at this using both the international rating (FIDE) and the local rating (ACF) lists. On the international list, Arianne is ranked 66th in Australia; on the ACF list she comes in at 38th overall.

UPDATE: A reader notes that WIM Arianne Caoili did play on board 3 for the Australian women's team at the recently concluded Olympiad in Torino, Italy.

Has she ever reached a rating of 2400 (FIDE)?
I've heard this claim myself but I have not been able to confirm it. It's likely to be untrue. Actually, Arianne once played under the surname "Bo" but there's no record of her having reached 2400 with that surname.

Can we consider her the "Kournikova of Chess"?
In fact, as has been pointed out elsewhere on the net, this label belongs to another chess player - that overexposed Russian, Alexandra Kosteniuk. See this one, for example.

For our journo readers, here is the first real Kournikova of chess - www.kosteniuk.com

Is this a fair label?
We say, well who cares? Some readers suggest that to be dubbed "Kournikova of chess" is an insult. ACF boss Denis Jessop thinks so. Says he: "I think that the Kournikova of chess is actually a sort of insult as AK [Anna Kournikova] was attractive but never won a major event".

It is true, AK never won a major singles event, but she was a successful doubles player. Here is her entry in Wikipedia.

Danny Gormally - England's world no. 4?
This item by an Australian media agency claims that GM Danny Gormally is "England's world no. 4". He isn't. Gormally did play on board 4 for England in the recently concluded Olympiad, in Turin. Gormally's score was 1.5 points out of 5 games.