16 Dec 09
The rumour is that Luke was encouraged to play that tourney because some folks in the British chess hierarchy already knew that he was much stronger than his rating (a very talented lad), and wanted to get him back into the mix in the hope that he would go professional.
And I say why not?? Jeez, he's only 25, and he can be stock trader with Goldman Sacks any time he wants. He knows it; GS knows it. Why not knock over a few super grandmasters while yer still young enough to do that, before settling in to just another desk job, I don't care how much it pays.