THE WEEK IN CHESS 119 17/02/97 Mark Crowther
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E-Mail mdcrowth@netcomuk.co.uk
www http://www.tcc.net/gmtchess.html
Tel or fax 01274 882143 [Bradford England]
Produced for Thoth Communications Corporation part
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1) Introduction
2) Linares Tournament 1997.
3) Ubeda Tournament
4) First Saturday Tournaments February
5) 5th VISA Grand Prix Event
6) National Masters and Honor Tournaments Lisbon Portugal
7) Semi-Finals of the Russia Cup and Chess Oscars
8) British Chess Championships find a sponsor.
9) Mermaid Beach Club International 1997
10) YEREVAN AND AFTER - THE FIDE CRISIS
11) Theoretical Corner By Marco R. Martini (ITA)
GAMES SECTION
-------------
It, Linares ESP 1997 30
It, Ubeda ESP 1997 30
FSGM Feb, Budapest HUN 1997 66
FSIM Feb, Budapest HUN 1997 78
Masters, Lisbon POR 1997 45
Honor, Lisbon POR 1997 45
Nordic Grand Prix 141
Russia Cup 281
1) Introduction
----------------
My thanks to Marco R. Martini, Laszlo Nagy, Vladimir Gaspariants of 64
Chess Review, Chess in Portugal and Luis Santos, Ignatius Leong and
everyone who helped out with this issue.
A tiring week with the Linares and Ubeda Tournaments plus some big
opens. The deadline approaches fast. Hopefully you will find plenty to
enjoy.
Mark
2) Kasparov dominant in Linares
-----------------------------
Round 7 (1997.02.11)
Kasparov, Gary - Adams, Michael 1-0 33 B04 Alekhine defence
Kramnik, Vladimir - Polgar, Judit 1-0 38 E97 Kings indian; Main line
Anand, Viswanathan - Ivanchuk, Vassily 1/2 71 C92 Ruy Lopez
Gelfand, Boris - Topalov, Veselin 0-1 32 E92 Kings indian; Classical
Shirov, Alexei - Dreev, Alexey 1/2 22 B66 Sicilian
Piket, Jeroen - Nikolic, Predrag 1/2 23 D23 QGA;
Round 8 (1997.02.13)
Adams, Michael - Gelfand, Boris 1-0 41 B50 Sicilian
Topalov, Veselin - Piket, Jeroen 1-0 44 D36 Queen's gambit
Polgar, Judit - Anand, Viswanathan 0-1 37 C60 Ruy Lopez
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Kasparov, Gary 1-0 36 E81 Kings indian; Saemisch
Dreev, Alexey - Nikolic, Predrag 1/2 42 D27 QGA;
Shirov, Alexei - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 33 B66 Sicilian
Round 9 (1997.02.14)
Kasparov, Gary - Polgar, Judit 1-0 41 B49 Sicilian
Kramnik, Vladimir - Dreev, Alexey 1-0 66 D45 Semi-Slav
Anand, Viswanathan - Shirov, Alexei 1/2 25 C45 Scottish
Gelfand, Boris - Ivanchuk, Vassily 1/2 23 D18 Slav defence
Nikolic, Predrag - Topalov, Veselin 0-1 22 A41 Queen's pawn
Piket, Jeroen - Adams, Michael 1/2 21 A40 Queen's pawn
Round 10 (1997.02.15)
Kramnik, Vladimir - Anand, Viswanathan 1/2 14 D39 Queen's gambit
Adams, Michael - Nikolic, Predrag 1/2 22 C92 Ruy Lopez
Polgar, Judit - Gelfand, Boris 1/2 24 B93 Sicilian; Najdorf
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Piket, Jeroen 1-0 36 C33 Kings gambit
Dreev, Alexey - Topalov, Veselin 0-1 29 E81 Kings indian; Saemisch
Shirov, Alexei - Kasparov, Gary 0-1 38 B90 Sicilian; Najdorf
Round 11 (1997.02.16)
Kasparov, Gary - Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0 57 E47 Nimzo indian
Topalov, Veselin - Adams, Michael 1/2 31 D41 QGD; Tarrasch Defence
Anand, Viswanathan - Dreev, Alexey 1-0 26 B67 Sicilian
Gelfand, Boris - Shirov, Alexei 1/2 44 D49 Meran Variation
Nikolic, Predrag - Ivanchuk, Vassily 1/2 35 E60 Kings indian
Piket, Jeroen - Polgar, Judit 0-1 46 D97 Gruenfeld indian
Linares ESP (ESP), II 1997 cat. XIX (2701)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
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1 Kasparov, Gary g RUS 2795 * 1 1 1 1 1 = 0 1 = 1 = 8.5 2903
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2740 0 * = 1 1 = = 1 = 1 = 1 7.5 2830
3 Adams, Michael g ENG 2665 0 = * = = = 1 = = 1 1 = 6.5 2769
4 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2725 0 0 = * = = 1 1 1 1 0 1 6.5 2763
5 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2645 0 0 = = * 0 = 1 1 1 = 1 6.0 2741
6 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2765 0 = = = 1 * = = 0 1 = = 5.5 2695
7 Gelfand, Boris g BLR 2700 = = 0 0 = = * = 1 = = = 5.0 2664
8 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2740 1 0 = 0 0 = = * = 0 1 1 5.0 2661
9 Nikolic, Predrag g BIH 2655 0 = = 0 0 1 0 = * = 1 = 4.5 2640
10 Dreev, Alexey g RUS 2650 = 0 0 0 0 0 = 1 = * = 1 4.0 2603
11 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2690 0 = 0 1 = = = 0 0 = * 0 3.5 2568
12 Piket, Jeroen g NED 2640 = 0 = 0 0 = = 0 = 0 1 * 3.5 2573
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If Gary Kasparov's win in Las Palmas in December showed that he had the
ability to raise his game for the big event. His victory in Linares sent
out an even more stark message to his nearest rivals, he is working
harder on his game than for a number of years and they will have to
improve significantly to even challenge him.
In an interview with Leontxo Garcia of the World Chess Service directly
after Las Palmas Kasparov spoke of his business and political ambitions.
"I reduced them to a minimum. I want to be number one until the year
2000...."
He speaks of his hard work on chess and the recovery of form, which has
been patchy since the start of the 1990's, due to a settled personal
life and what seems to me a renewed enthusiasm for the game.
Here the tournament table tells all. He beat Kramnik, Adams, Topalov,
Polgar and Anand, all his closest rivals in the event. He also missed
wins against Gelfand, Dreev and Piket. His only loss was to Vassily
Ivanchuk who was not playing very well up to that moment and Kasparov
felt that he would collapse under the weight of a tactical attack. His
only other worrying moment came against Jeroen Piket when at one stage
it appeared that he was lost, however later in the game he actually had
a winning position. This is all round the best chess he has played in a
long time and towards the end of the tournament he was starting to look
like the Kasparov of old. His win against Vladimir Kramnik in the final
round was especially impressive, this was a fine piece of controlled
aggression.
His closest rival was Vladimir Kramnik. He has some of the necessary
attributes to seriously challenge Kasparov. His technique, opening
preparation and understandings of a wide range of positions is
outstanding. However his poor fitness and sometimes a lack of fighting
spirit are negative points. Here he agreed two ludicrous short draws
with the white pieces against Boris Gelfand in round 1 and against
Viswanathan Anand in round 10, they lasted 14 and 15 moves respectively.
An additional half point from one of these games might have put
additional pressure on Kasparov in the last round. With Kasparov's
return to something like his best form should indicate to everyone that
they have to raise their game.
Michael Adams and Veselin Topalov shared 3rd place. Michael Adams result
was probably the best of his career. An outstanding natural talent he is
often held back by his rather limited opening and general preparation.
Veselin Topalov is from the hard school rising from the ranks of the
International Swiss opens where you have to play for a win in most
rounds. He has the aggression of a Kasparov and works exceptionally hard
at his game. Here he was handicapped by his use of 1.d4 with white, he
is not as good with this as with 1.e4 but this is probably aimed at
broadening his repertoire for the future. Technically he is not as well
grounded as Kramnik and Kasparov but shows signs of working at his game
in an all round sense. His temperement still marks him out to me as the
most likely to mount a serious challenge to Kasparov before the year
2000.
When Judit Polgar lead at the half way stage there were even serious
commentators going wild. This in spite of the obvious fact that she had
not played most of the highly rated players in the event. Her win
against Dreev showed signs of trying to eliminate her technical
weaknesses but her opening repertoire fell apart at the hands of the
strongest players. Once she passed Kramnik, Kasparov and Anand normal
service was resumed with a draw against Gelfand and a win against Piket.
She needs to find someone to help her with the technical opening
preperation and endgame study which mark the real weaknesses in her
game. She is one of the most stable chess players of all playing at the
same level almost all the time and not being upset by bad results.
Viswanathan Anand seemed to be thrown completely off track by his loss
to Kasparov in round 1. His event might have taken a completely
different course had he managed to win against Jeroen Piket. Piket's
amazing combination to achieve a draw seemed to have a depressing
effect. He aimlessly continud to play against Nikolic when he should
have taken a draw and was pushed off the board. Anand picked up two
quite effective wins late in the tournament but this was too late to
mount any sort of a challenge.
Boris Gelfand is one of the most outstanding technical players, well
prepared in opening and endgame but his play can be thrown off course by
tactics. Here he just did not win enough games, just one as opposed to
two wins.
Outstanding at tactics, opening preparation, endings indeed all phases
of the game Vassily Ivanchuk might have claim to be up there with
Kasparov, Kramnik and Karpov. But he inhabits a World which is only
parallel to the one that the rest of us inhabit. Too good to play in the
Category 15 and 16 tournaments which he can confidently and easily win
without breaking sweat he instead has to play the very best events where
his fragile psyche, almost completely held together by his skill at
chess, comes under the most pressure. A friend saw him at a tournament
away from the board whilst waiting for his opponent to move. He was
shaking like he was having a fit. His play against Judit Polgar at this
event might have been mistaken for a quite strong player losing to her
in a simultaneous display. He is talking about taking a year away from
the game. Perhaps however there is some comfort for him in this event.
He recovered from four losses to record a string of wins including one
against Gary Kasparov, from a situation that couldn't really have been
any worse. Was there any point in being so worked up? It is clear he
cannot go on like this, I hope he manages to gain some emotional
stability, even if he never plays again.
Karpov the missing man
----------------------
Karpov returned from electioneering in Tula to see the violent attack on
him by Rentero published in TWIC 118. He wants an apology from Rentero
and he says that he is in the process of organising the childrens chess
Olympiad but will not now consider holding the event in Linares. (See
http://www.chess.net/linares/inter2.html for the interview and other
background by Dmitrije Bjelica)
3) International Tournament in Ubeda
---------------------------------
This is the possible site for future SuperGrandmaster events. The event
is organised by Rentero who was the main organiser of the Linares event
(his hotel is the venue). He seems to be interested in organising in
Ubeda now.
The event is being lead by Joel Lautier who is on fire at the moment.
Rentero will be able to focus more attention on the event now that
Linares is over, perhaps he will start to make noises about the number
of draws in Ubeda....
Round 3 (1997.02.10)
Lautier, Joel - Illescas Cordoba, Miguel 1/2 28 B13 Caro-Kann
Andersson, Ulf - Jussupow, Artur 1/2 76 A80 Dutch defence
Almasi, Zoltan - Khalifman, Alexander 0-1 36 C89 Ruy Lopez
Leko, Peter - Beliavsky, Alexander G 1/2 45 B07 Pirc
Akopian, Vladimir - Korchnoi, Viktor 1/2 64 A34 English; 1.c4 c5
Timman, Jan H - Bareev, Evgeny 1/2 30 A29 English; 1.c4 e5
Round 4 (1997.02.12)
Beliavsky, Alexander G - Khalifman, Alexander 1-0 35 E71 Kings indian
Bareev, Evgeny - Lautier, Joel 1/2 24 A34 English; 1.c4 c5
Leko, Peter - Timman, Jan H 1-0 35 C43 Petroff defence
Korchnoi, Viktor - Almasi, Zoltan 1/2 74 A17 English; 1.c4
Jussupow, Artur - Akopian, Vladimir 1/2 26 D43 Semi-Slav
Illescas Cordoba, Miguel - Andersson, Ulf 0-1 36 B88 Sicilian
Round 5 (1997.02.14)
Lautier, Joel - Leko, Peter 1-0 60 B80 Sicilian
Andersson, Ulf - Bareev, Evgeny 1/2 27 E06 Nimzo indian
Khalifman, Alexander - Korchnoi, Viktor 1/2 28 C83 Ruy Lopez
Almasi, Zoltan - Jussupow, Artur 1-0 47 C82 Ruy Lopez
Akopian, Vladimir - Illescas Cordoba, Miguel 1-0 39 B50 Sicilian
Timman, Jan H - Beliavsky, Alexander G 0-1 47 B01 Scandinavian
Round 6 (1997.02.15)
Beliavsky, Alexander G - Korchnoi, Viktor 1/2 21 D21 QGA;
Bareev, Evgeny - Akopian, Vladimir 1-0 41 E38 Nimzo indian
Leko, Peter - Andersson, Ulf 1/2 42 C11 French; Classical
Jussupow, Artur - Khalifman, Alexander 1-0 51 D85 Gruenfeld indian
Illescas Cordoba, Miguel - Almasi, Zoltan 1/2 35 A17 English; 1.c4
Timman, Jan H - Lautier, Joel 1/2 60 D28 QGA;
Round 7 (1997.02.16)
Lautier, Joel - Beliavsky, Alexander G 1-0 34 E42 Nimzo indian
Andersson, Ulf - Timman, Jan H 1/2 40 A38 English; 1.c4 c5
Khalifman, Alexander - Illescas Cordoba, Miguel 1/2 49 D98 Gruenfeld indian
Almasi, Zoltan - Bareev, Evgeny 1-0 33 B12 Caro-Kann
Akopian, Vladimir - Leko, Peter 1/2 54 A34 English; 1.c4 c5
Korchnoi, Viktor - Jussupow, Artur 1/2 28 E48 Nimzo indian
Ubeda ESP (ESP), II 1997 cat. XVI (2640)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
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1 Lautier, Joel g FRA 2630 * 1 . = . . 1 . 1 1 = = 5.5 2872
2 Beliavsky, Alexander G g SLO 2665 0 * . = 1 = = . = . . 1 4.0 2679
3 Andersson, Ulf g SWE 2655 . . * = = . = . = = 1 = 4.0 2690
4 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2665 = = = * . 0 = 1 . . . = 3.5 2632
5 Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2650 . 0 = . * 1 . 1 = 0 = . 3.5 2643
6 Almasi, Zoltan g HUN 2595 . = . 1 0 * . 0 = 1 = . 3.5 2652
7 Leko, Peter g HUN 2600 0 = = = . . * = . . = 1 3.5 2647
8 Akopian, Vladimir g ARM 2655 . . . 0 0 1 = * = = 1 . 3.5 2635
9 Korchnoi, Viktor g SUI 2635 0 = = . = = . = * = . . 3.0 2595
10 Jussupow, Artur g GER 2665 0 . = . 1 0 . = = * . = 3.0 2585
11 Illescas Cordoba, Miguel g ESP 2635 = . 0 . = = = 0 . . * = 2.5 2528
12 Timman, Jan H g NED 2630 = 0 = = . . 0 . . = = * 2.5 2543
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4) First Saturday Tournaments February
-----------------------------------
Georg Siegel made his first GM norm in the February First Saturday
Tournament. The 34 year old German scored 8.5/11 and only lost one game.
In the IM group 19 year old Szabo Zsolt made his first IM norm. The
event was unfortunately affected by illness to several of the
participants including fm Sziebert, Adam from Hungary and Damir Majer
from Germany.
There was a round robin of 6 players of approx 2200 for young Hungarian
players (more news next week)
The next FIRST SATURDAY event begins in Budapest at 1st of March 1997.
The 13th Budapest Spring Festival runs from 13th - 21st of March with
150-200 participants, 9 rounds Swiss. See address below for entry
information.
Information from the organiser Laszlo Nagy who can be contacted via
E-Mail <100263.1700@CompuServe.COM> www page
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/chess_first_saturday_hu/
First Saturday GM Tournament.
-----------------------------
BUDAPEST, FEBRUARY 1997 VII.CAT.
ELO AVERAGE: 2405 GM NORM: 8.5 IM NORM: 6
Budapest (HUN), II 1997 cat. VII (2407)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
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1 Siegel, Georg m GER 2480 * 1 0 1 = = 1 = 1 1 1 1 8.5 2611
2 Cao, Sang m VIE 2465 0 * = 1 1 1 = = = 1 1 1 8.0 2576
3 Lukacs, Peter g HUN 2470 1 = * = = = = = 1 1 = 1 7.5 2533
4 Lingnau, Carsten m GER 2395 0 0 = * = 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 6.0 2443
5 Farago, Ivan g HUN 2440 = 0 = = * = = = 1 = = = 5.5 2403
6 Vadasz, Laszlo g HUN 2365 = 0 = 1 = * = 0 = = = 1 5.5 2410
7 Peter, Ambrus m HUN 2455 0 = = 0 = = * = = 1 = 1 5.5 2402
8 Tyomkin, Dimitri m ISR 2450 = = = 0 = 1 = * 0 0 1 = 5.0 2366
9 Wapner, Jonathan ISR 2290 0 = 0 0 0 = = 1 * 1 1 = 5.0 2381
10 Somlai, Laszlo HUN 2360 0 0 0 1 = = 0 1 0 * 0 1 4.0 2308
11 Habibi, Ali m GER 2345 0 0 = 0 = = = 0 0 1 * = 3.5 2279
12 Nor, Igal ISR 2365 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 = = 0 = * 2.0 2148
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FIDE ARBITER: OTTO DOBOS
First Saturday IM Tournament.
-----------------------------
Budapest (HUN), II 1997 cat. III (2300)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
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1 Czebe, Attila m HUN 2325 * = = = = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 10.0 2508
2 Szabo, Zsolt HUN 2355 = * = = = = = 1 1 1 1 1 1 = 9.5 2470
3 Varga, Peter m HUN 2390 = = * 1 0 1 = = 1 = = 1 1 1 9.0 2433
4 Starostits, Ilmas LAT 2230 = = 0 * 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 9.0 2446
5 Madl, Ildiko m HUN 2365 = = 1 0 * = 1 = = 0 1 1 1 1 8.5 2404
6 Caposciutti, Maurizio f ITA 2300 0 = 0 0 = * = 0 = 1 1 1 1 1 7.0 2328
7 Kerek, Krisztian HUN 2290 = = = 1 0 = * = 1 0 0 = = = 6.0 2271
8 Pinski, Jan POL 2245 0 0 = 1 = 1 = * 0 0 0 1 = 1 6.0 2274
9 De Santis, Alessio f ITA 2255 = 0 0 0 = = 0 1 * = = = 1 1 6.0 2274
10 Mensch, Etienne FRA 2270 0 0 = 0 1 0 1 1 = * = 0 0 1 5.5 2244
11 Neubauer, Martin f AUT 2320 0 0 = 0 0 0 1 1 = = * = 1 = 5.5 2241
12 Neumeier, Klaus f AUT 2265 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 = 1 = * 1 1 4.5 2192
13 Majer, Damir GER 2285 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = 0 1 0 0 * = 2.5 2049
14 Sziebert, Adam f HUN 2300 0 = 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 = 0 = * 2.0 2003
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Unfortunately there were a number of illnesses below is the table of
games with the defaults indicated as + and -
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
________________________________________
1. KEREK,K HUN 2290 -- # = 0 0 1 = 1 0 = = = = = =
2. SZIEBERTH,A HUN 2300 FM = # 0 = - - - - - - - - = =
3. MADL,I HUN 2365 WGM 1 1 # 1 = = 0 0 = 1 = 1 = 1
4. NEUBAUER,M AUT 2315 FM 1 = 0 # = 0 0 = 1 = 0 = 0 +
5. DE SANTIS,A ITA 2255 FM 0 + = = # = 0 = 1 = = 0 0 +
6. CAPOSCIUTTI,M ITA 2300 FM = + = 1 = # 0 1 0 1 0 0 = +
7. STAROSTITS,I LAT 2230 -- 0 + 1 1 1 1 # 1 0 1 = 0 = +
8. MENSCH,E FRA 2270 -- 1 + 1 = = 0 0 # 1 0 0 = 0 0
9. PINSKI,J POL 2245 -- = + = 0 0 1 1 0 # 1 0 = 0 =
10. NEUMEIER,K AUT 2265 FM = + 0 = = 0 0 1 0 # 0 0 0 1
11. CZEBE,A HUN 2325 IM = + = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 # = = +
12. VARGA,P HUN 2390 IM = + 0 = 1 1 1 = = 1 = # = +
13. SZABO,ZS HUN 2355 -- = = = 1 1 = = 1 1 1 = = # +
14. MAJER,D GER 2285 -- = = 0 - - - - 1 = 0 - - - #
5) 5th VISA Grand Prix Event
-------------------------
Peter Svidler won the International open in Torshavn of the Faroe
Islands by half a point from Ivan Sokolov. The event ran from 8-16.
February 1997.
The event was covered on the internet at:
http://www.nlh.fo/nlh2.htm
There appears to be one game outstanding and there will be the final
results to be calculated for the VISA Grand Prix of which the event
formed a part.
Torshavn FAI (FAI), II 1997
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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1 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2640 +10 +23 + 6 = 2 = 5 + 3 = 7 +15 +12 7.5 /9 2774
2 Sokolov, Ivan g BIH 2615 +18 +15 = 4 = 1 + 8 = 5 + 9 = 3 + 7 7.0 /9 2747
3 Stefansson, Hannes g ISL 2555 +34 =16 =13 +33 + 4 - 1 + 5 = 2 +15 6.5 /9 2662
4 Hansen, Curt g DEN 2605 +27 +12 = 2 = 8 - 3 +22 = 6 = 5 +23 6.0 /9 2619
5 Akesson, Ralf g SWE 2515 +32 =25 +35 +13 = 1 = 2 - 3 = 4 = 8 5.5 /9 2590
6 Schandorff, Lars g DEN 2510 +11 +22 - 1 +16 =13 =15 = 4 -12 +20 5.5 /9 2542
7 Thorhallsson, Throstur g ISL 2500 =33 =17 =22 =18 +24 + 8 = 1 +13 - 2 5.5 /9 2535
8 Djurhuus, Rune g NOR 2530 +20 =26 +17 = 4 - 2 - 7 +29 +22 = 5 5.5 /9 2508
9 Hansen, Sune Berg m DEN 2505 +19 =35 =25 =14 +26 =23 - 2 +11 =10 5.5 /9 2484
10 Lejlic, Samir m SWE 2405 - 1 -33 +40 +21 +16 +18 -13 +14 = 9 5.5 /9 2446
11 Karason, Askell O ISL 2245 - 6 =31 +38 ? +30 =14 +18 - 9 +25 5.0 /8 2461
12 Brynell, Stellan m SWE 2445 +40 - 4 =18 ? +33 =13 +25 + 6 - 1 5.0 /8 2520
13 Conquest, Stuart g ENG 2540 +24 +14 = 3 - 5 = 6 =12 +10 - 7 =17 5.0 /9 2496
14 Hoi, Carsten m DEN 2425 +21 -13 +24 = 9 -15 =11 +33 -10 +28 5.0 /9 2343
15 Tisdall, Jonathan D g NOR 2490 +30 - 2 =27 +35 +14 = 6 +23 - 1 - 3 5.0 /9 2510
16 Gretarsson, Helgi Ass g ISL 2470 +36 = 3 =26 - 6 -10 +37 -22 +34 +27 5.0 /9 2411
17 Antonsen, Mikkel m DEN 2410 +31 = 7 - 8 ? =37 +29 +26 -23 =13 4.5 /8 2386
18 Fries-Nielsen, Niels Jorgen DEN 2405 - 2 +36 =12 = 7 +28 -10 -11 +29 =19 4.5 /9 2279
19 Bromann, Thorbjorn DEN 2230 - 9 =28 =21 =34 -27 +38 +35 =25 =18 4.5 /9 2320
20 Nilssen, John Arni FAI 2305 - 8 =38 -29 =31 +36 =24 +37 +26 - 6 4.5 /9 2268
21 Hansen, Herluf FAI 2025 -14 =32 =19 -10 =31 -30 +40 +39 +35 4.5 /9 2238
22 Pedersen, Steffen m DEN 2420 +38 - 6 = 7 +30 =29 - 4 +16 - 8 . 4.0 /8 2366
23 Hillarp Persson, Tiger m SWE 2475 +37 - 1 =33 ? +25 = 9 -15 +17 - 4 4.0 /8 2431
24 Bjerring, Kai m DEN 2315 -13 +40 -14 +36 - 7 =20 =32 +31 . 4.0 /8 2264
25 Kristensen, Bjarke m DEN 2415 +28 = 5 = 9 =26 -23 +35 -12 =19 -11 4.0 /9 2318
26 Westerinen, Heikki M J g FIN 2425 +29 = 8 =16 =25 - 9 +27 -17 -20 =32 4.0 /9 2331
27 Jakobsen, Ole m DEN 2385 - 4 +37 =15 -29 +19 -26 =30 +33 -16 4.0 /9 2276
28 Nas,FT ---- -25 =19 =32 +38 -18 -34 +36 +30 -14 4.0 /9 2230
29 Simonsen, Olavur FAI 2065 -26 =34 +20 +27 =22 -17 - 8 -18 +39 4.0 /9 2319
30 Nolsoe, Eydun FAI 2200 -15 +39 =34 -22 -11 +21 =27 -28 +37 4.0 /9 2250
31 Samuelsen,CE ---- -17 =11 -37 =20 =21 +39 =34 -24 +40 4.0 /9 2151
32 Bjarnason, Saevar m ISL 2285 - 5 =21 =28 -37 +39 -33 =24 +40 =26 4.0 /9 2146
33 Hansen, Chr. Jens FAI 2220 = 7 +10 =23 - 3 -12 +32 -14 -27 =34 3.5 /9 2347
34 Sloth, Jorn f DEN 2370 - 3 =29 =30 =19 -35 +28 =31 -16 =33 3.5 /9 2148
35 Borge, Nikolaj m DEN 2405 +39 = 9 - 5 -15 +34 -25 -19 +38 -21 3.5 /9 2184
36 Thomsen, Bernhard FAI 2075 -16 -18 +39 -24 -20 +40 -28 =37 +38 3.5 /9 2153
37 Thomsen, Torbjorn FAI 2170 -23 -27 +31 +32 =17 -16 -20 =36 -30 3.0 /9 2132
38 Andreasen, Joan Hendrik FAI 2055 -22 =20 -11 -28 +40 -19 +39 -35 -36 2.5 /9 2020
39 Hansen,PM ---- -35 -30 -36 +40 -32 -31 -38 -21 -29 1.0 /9 1825
40 Nicholson, John IRL 2070 -12 -24 -10 -39 -38 -36 -21 -32 -31 0.0 /9
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6) National Masters and Honor Tournaments Lisbon Portugal
------------------------------------------------------
Luis Santos is posting the games from the National Masters and Honor
Tournaments in Lisbon Portugal. It is taking place between the 8th and
16th February 1997.
The www address is:
http://www.ip.pt/~ip001018/
Also Chess in Portugal covered the event
http://www.costa-do-estoril.com/chessportugal/masters.htm
Note in the B Tournament one of the players was misnamed in last weeks issue.
Masters Tournament
------------------
The Masters event was won by Luis Galego with 7.5/9.
Lisbon POR (POR), II 1997 cat. IV (2331)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Galego, Luis m POR 2475 * = = 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 7.5 2587
2 Damaso, Rui m POR 2465 = * = = = 1 1 = 1 1 6.5 2481
3 Santos, Carlos P f POR 2340 = = * = = = = 1 1 1 6.0 2454
4 Leonardo, Joao POR 2290 0 = = * = 1 = 1 1 1 6.0 2460
5 Frois, Antonio m POR 2350 0 = = = * = = 1 1 1 5.5 2408
6 Silva, Fernando m POR 2340 0 0 = 0 = * = 1 1 1 4.5 2329
7 Pinheiro, Jose f POR 2255 = 0 = = = = * = = = 4.0 2295
8 Cordovil, Joao f POR 2265 0 = 0 0 0 0 = * = = 2.0 2117
9 Alexandre, Jorge POR 2295 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = * 1 2.0 2114
10 Quadrio, Alexandre POR 2230 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = 0 * 1.0 1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Honor Tournament
----------------
The Honor Tournament was won by Paulo Dias.
Lisbon POR (POR), II 1997
---------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
---------------------------------------------------------------
1 Dias, Paulo POR 2180 * = = = 1 1 1 = 1 1 7.0 2394
2 Dantas, Carlos POR 2165 = * 1 1 = 0 = 1 1 1 6.5 2342
3 Rodrigues, Nuno POR 2100 = 0 * 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 6.5 2349
4 Reis, Luis Sousa POR 2225 = 0 1 * 0 1 0 1 1 1 5.5 2249
5 Valdes, Maritza wf POR 2120 0 = 0 1 * 1 = = 1 1 5.5 2261
6 Ferreira, Paolo POR 2225 0 1 0 0 0 * 1 1 1 = 4.5 2169
7 Peixoto, Antonio POR 2185 0 = 0 1 = 0 * = 1 1 4.5 2173
8 Carneiro, Carlos POR 2245 = 0 0 0 = 0 = * 1 1 3.5 2087
9 Lima, Paulo POR 2125 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 1 1.0 1829
10 Morais, Vitor POR 2180 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 * 0.5 1730
---------------------------------------------------------------
7) Semi-Finals of the Russia Cup and Chess Oscars
----------------------------------------------
64 Chess Review from Russia gives the results from the recent
semi-finals of the Russia Cup. They also give details of sending in
nominations for the Chess Ocsars which is open to chess journalists. The
site is:
http://www.online.ru/sp/chess/english.rhtml
The event was won by Alexander Lastin, half a point clear of Semen
Dvoirys the ELO favourite. The games section has the first 8 rounds.
No. PNo. Name R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 Score
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 11 Lastin,Alexander 48b1 30w1 2b0 28w1 1b0 19w1 34b1 27w1 8b1 -1 7.0
2. 1 Dvoirys,Semen 38b1 21w= 45w1 16b= 11w1 2b= 27b= 12w1 4w= 1 6.5
2 Fedorov,Alexei 39w1 23b1 11w1 19w1 27b= 1w= 12b= 4b= 16w= 1 6.5
4 Yakovich,Yuri 41w1 25b1 17w1 27w0 24b1 6w= 3b1 2w= 1b= 1 6.5
9 Fominyh,Alexander 46b1 28w1 27b0 30w1 19b= 24w1 31b= 8w= 3b1 -1 6.5
16 Balashov,Yuri S. 53w1 35b= 37w1 1w= 12b= 8w= 6b1 10w1 2b= 1 6.5
17 Filipov,Valerij 54b1 36w1 4b0 31w0 34b= 45w1 35b1 32w1 27b1 -1 6.5
19 Varavin,Viktor 56b1 70w1 5w1 2b0 9w= 11b0 37w1 50b1 15w1 1 6.5
9. 3 Sherbakov,Ruslan 40b1 24w= 29b1 34w1 8b= 27w= 4w0 31b1 9w0 1 5.5
6 Bezgodov,Alexey 43w= 59b= 39w1 21b= 45w1 4b= 16w0 30b= 53w1 1 5.5
8 Irzhanov,Ruslan 45w0 69b1 41w1 33b1 3w= 16b= 25w1 9b= 11w0 1 5.5
10 Chiburdanidze,Maia 47w= 43b= 53w= 55b1 51w1 31w= 32b= 16b0 35w1 1 5.5
12 Neverov,Valery 49w1 27b0 43w1 35b1 16w= 53b1 2w= 1b0 40w= 1 5.5
15 Brodsky,Mikhail 52b= 44w1 34b0 46w1 31b= 36w1 50b= 24w1 19b0 -1 5.5
18 Galkin,Alexander 55w1 45b0 47w1 51b= 21w= 37b= 40w= 41b1 28w= 1 5.5
24 Totsky,Leonid 61w1 3b= 59w1 5b1 4w0 9b0 53w1 15b0 50w1 1 5.5
25 Vaulin,Alexander 62b1 4w0 50b0 74w1 48b1 70w1 8b0 34w1 29b= -1 5.5
27 Kotsur,Pavel 64b1 12w1 9w1 4b1 2w= 3b= 1w= 11b0 17w0 1 5.5
28 Volkov,Sergey 65w1 9b0 63w1 11b0 47w= 51b1 5w= 13b1 18b= -1 5.5
29 Kholmov,Ratmir D. 66b= 68w1 3w0 73b= 49w= 55b= 47w1 5b1 25w= 1 5.5
30 Eismont,Oleg 67w1 11b0 72w1 9b0 59w1 5b= 13w= 6w= 37b1 1 5.5
40 Obukhov,Alexander 3w0 61b= 62w= 58b= 57w1 73b1 18b= 26w1 12b= -1 5.5
23. 13 Kiriakov,Peter 50b1 34w= 31b= 70w= 32b= 35w= 30b= 28w0 44b1 -1 5.0
20 Volzhin,Alexander 57w1 51b= 35w= 45b= 53w0 47b= 41w0 63b1 55w1 1 5.0
21 Zakharevich,Igor 58b1 1b= 51w= 6w= 18b= 34w0 36b= 70w1 32b= -1 5.0
23 Temirbaev,Serik 60b1 2w0 46b= 44w= 42b1 50w0 70b0 56w1 64b1 -1 5.0
26 Kalegin,Evgeni 63w1 5b0 57w= 53b0 73w= 59b1 55w1 40b0 41w1 1 5.0
31 Supatashvili,Khvicha 68b= 74w1 13w= 17b1 15w= 10b= 9w= 3w0 42b= 1 5.0
32 Potapov,Alexander 69w= 47b= 73w= 57b1 13w= 7b1 10w= 17b0 21w= 1 5.0
42 Sadvakasov,Darmen 5w0 63b0 60w1 62b1 23w0 58b1 7w= 22b1 31w= 1 5.0
31. 5 Landa,Konstantin 42b1 26w1 19b0 24w0 44b1 30w= 28b= 29w0 70b= -1 4.5
7 Sorokin,Maxim 44b= 52w= 36b= 50w1 70b= 32w0 42b= 43w= 34b= -1 4.5
22 Yandemirov,Valeri 59w0 55b= 70b0 67w1 56b1 49w= 44b= 42w0 47w1 1 4.5
33 Isskusnyh,Sergei 70b0 56w1 52b1 8w0 50b0 64w1 49b= 44w= 43b= -1 4.5
34 Prokopchuk,Evgeny 71w1 13b= 15w1 3b0 17w= 21b1 11w0 25b0 7w= 1 4.5
35 Beshukov,Sergey 72b1 16w= 20b= 12w0 52b1 13b= 17w0 49w1 10b0 -1 4.5
36 Bashkov,Viacheslav 73w1 17b0 7w= 59b= 63w1 15b0 21w= 53b0 61w1 1 4.5
37 Ikonnikov,Dmitry 74b= 66w1 16b0 48w= 64b1 18w= 19b0 62b1 30w0 -1 4.5
43 Egorov,Evgeny 6b= 10w= 12b0 64w0 71b1 66w= 58b1 7b= 33w= -1 4.5
45 Kozlov,Oleg 8b1 18w1 1b0 20w= 6b0 17b0 62w0 65w1 74b1 -1 4.5
49 Skatchkov,Pavel 12b0 62w= 66b= 72w1 29b= 22b= 33w= 35b0 63w1 -1 4.5
50 Peregudov,Nikolai 13w0 71b1 25w1 7b0 33w1 23b1 15w= 19w0 24b0 1 4.5
53 Zakharov,Alexander 16b0 64w1 10b= 26w1 20b1 12w0 24b0 36w1 6b0 -1 4.5
70 Ozolin,Maxim 33w1 19b0 22w1 13b= 7w= 25b0 23w1 21b0 5w= 1 4.5
45. 41 Genba,Vladimir 4b0 60w1 8b0 56w= 69b= 52w1 20b1 18w0 26b0 -1 4.0
44 Khamatgaleev,Alexey 7w= 15b0 67w1 23b= 5w0 69b1 22w= 33b= 13w0 1 4.0
47 Shinkevich,Vitalij 10b= 32w= 18b0 66w1 28b= 20w= 29b0 69w1 22b0 -1 4.0
48 Nureev,Garun 11w0 67b= 69w1 37b= 25w0 63b= 73w= 61b= 62w= 1 4.0
51 Frolov,Denis 14b1 20w= 21b= 18w= 10b0 28w0 66b= 74w= 73b= -1 4.0
52 Sergeev,Nickolay 15w= 7b= 33w0 39b1 35w0 41b0 61w0 59b1 57w1 1 4.0
55 Ibragimov,Alibek 18b0 22w= 68b1 10w0 74b1 29w= 26b0 66w1 20b0 -1 4.0
58 Kholmogorova,Svetlana 21w0 39b0 38b1 40w= 46b1 42w0 43w0 73b= 54w1 1 4.0
62 Filichkina,Svetlana 25w0 49b= 40b= 42w0 72b1 38w= 45b1 37w0 48b= -1 4.0
64 Gavrjushin,Oleg 27w0 53b0 r1 43b1 37w0 33b0 54w1 39b1 23w0 0 4.0
69 Letov,Alexander 32b= 8w0 48b0 65b1 41w= 44w0 68b1 47b0 39w1 -1 4.0
73 Syrchikov,Alexander 36b0 54w1 32b= 29w= 26b= 40w0 48b= 58w= 51w= 1 4.0
57. 38 Dzuban,Oleg 1w0 57b0 58w0 60b1 61w1 62b= 63w0 54b0 65w1 1 3.5
56 Ovchinikova,Yulia 19w0 33b0 71w1 41b= 22w0 61b= 59w1 23b0 66w= 1 3.5
61 Sidorova,Elena 24b0 40w= 74b0 68w1 38b0 56w= 52b1 48w= 36b0 -1 3.5
63 Galkin,Sergey 26b0 42w1 28b0 54w1 36b0 48w= 38b1 20w0 49b0 -1 3.5
66 Kalin,Viktor L 29w= 37b0 49w= 47b0 39w1 43b= 51w= 55b0 56b= -1 3.5
74 Vshivkov,Konstantin 37w= 31b0 61w1 25b0 55w0 54b= 57w1 51b= 45w0 1 3.5
63. 39 Kalichkin,Igor 2b0 58w1 6b0 52w0 66b0 71w1 60b1 64w0 69b0 -1 3.0
54 Krapivin,Vladislav 17w0 73b0 65w= 63b0 67b1 74w= 64b0 38w1 58b0 -1 3.0
57 Gavrilov,Andrey 20b0 38w1 26b= 32w0 40b0 46w= 74b0 60w1 52b0 -1 3.0
60 Sergeeva,Maria 23w0 41b0 42b0 38w0 r1 65b1 39w0 57b0 72w1 0 3.0
68 Kokarev,Dmitry 31w= 29b0 55w0 61b0 65w0 r1 69w0 72b= 67b1 0 3.0
71 Pisakov,Ilia 34b0 50w0 56b0 r1 43w0 39b0 72b= 67w1 59w= 0 3.0
69. 59 Polovnikova,Ekaterina 22b1 6w= 24b0 36w= 30b0 26w0 56b0 52w0 71b= -1 2.5
65 Isakov,Dmitry 28b0 46w0 54b= 69w0 68b1 60w0 67w1 45b0 38b0 -1 2.5
71. 46 Kobelev,Andrei 9w0 65b1 23w= 15b0 58w0 57b= r0 r0 r0 0 2.0
72 Prokhorov,Alexander 35w0 r1 30b0 49b0 62w0 67b0 71w= 68w= 60b0 0 2.0
73. 67 Kokhanov,Boris 30b0 48w= 44b0 22b0 54w0 72w1 65b0 71b0 68w0 -1 1.5
74. 14 Rashkovsky,Nukhim N 51w0 r0 r0 r0 r0 r0 r0 r0 r0 1 0.0
8) British Chess Championships find a sponsor.
----------------------------------------------
After a large number of years without a sponsor the British Chess
Championships are to be sponsored by chartered accountants and
investment managers Smith and Williamson. They will contribute £25,000
to the congress taking place in Hove Sussex 4th-16th August 1997. There
will be a first prize of £10,000 and a total of £30,000in prize money .
This money should ensure the best turn out for the event in years. The
deal is set to run for at least five years.
9) Mermaid Beach Club International 1997
-------------------------------------
Julian Hodgson won the Mermaid Beach Club International after nine of
the eleven rounds. Second placed Alexandre Leseige scored his second GM
norm. I have been unable to get the remaining games or the detailed
final results. Can anyone help?
10) YEREVAN AND AFTER - THE FIDE CRISIS
---------------------------------------
Part 2 of a 3-part series
by Ignatius Leong (International Arbiter & Organiser)
and Tang Kum-Foo (International Arbiter)
[Email : intchess@pacific.net.sg Fax : (65) 2355303]
FIDE, spiralling towards insolvency and mired in self-seeking political
intrigues in the Campomanes-led years, has sunk to new depths of moral
bankruptcy under Kirsan Iljumzhinov (Russia) as demonstrated in the
goings-on leading to and in the Yerevan Congress. While many chose only
to see the President of the Kalmyk Republic as a fairytale prince
heaping largesse on an impoverished FIDE and were only too happy to
cling on to his gravy train, there were others who saw him as a present
day Emperor With No Cl Ignatius Leong (Singapore), who in Yerevan voted
with his conscience and feet - throwing away a well-paid job as FIDE's
Administrative Manager - breaks his post-Yerevan silence - self-imposed
pending the long-overdue settlement of his salary and financial claims
on FIDE and the circulation of the Yerevan Congress Minutes - to provide
a unique insight into the rot that has beset FIDE. As in Moscow 1994,
when Leong fought beside Bachar Kouatly (France) to oust Florencio
Campomanes (Philippines), and resisted Tang Kum-Foo (Singapore), who
went to Yerevan as Iljumzhinov's Press Officer at the recommendation of
Leong, had declared to Kouatly after his second close-up view of
Iljumzhinov (his separate sessions with journalists and arbiters): "I
cannot see a winning team that does not have Iljumzhinov in it. He is
like a prince, a movie star...reaching out to the people." What the
seasoned journalist did not voice then was his disquiet with some
aspects of the glitzy Iljumzhinov roadshow; there was a certain hollow
Before, throughout and after the Yerevan Congress, Leong confided in and
consulted Tang constantly over the Congress and the issues of world
chess. After many hours of discussions they decided to share their
thoughts and hopes with the chess fraternity everywhere. Gens Una Sumus.
July 1996 - Riding on the Kouatly Ticket
Things were looking good for Iljumzhinov: he thought he had done his
best to save the World Championship Match and had feted the Executive
Council in Elista. Then came the fly in the junket: news came that Jaime
Sunye Neto (Brazil) was ready to stand for President in Yerevan.
Unpractised in the ways of democracy, Iljumzhinov took the news badly.
The day after the closing ceremony of the Match, he dropped the shocker
on the chess world: he shall not present his ticket for the FIDE
Election in Yereven because he did not wish to participate in the
intrigue that had plagued FIDE in recent years. He confirmed this via
communique the following day, 15 July 1996. Fearing that the Sunye
ticket would win by default, World Champion Anatoly Karpov (Russia)
suggested to Kouatly that the latter form a ticket and that if
Iljumzhinov changed his mind, the Kouatly team would rally support to
have Iljumzhinov lead it. Karpov agreed to be on the ticket on the
understanding that he would withdraw in favour of Kouatly if and when
Iljumzhinov took Kouatly's place. As Kouatly and Karpov were then
leaving Elista, they requested Leong to present the plan to Iljumzhinov.
They also a The plan went down well with Iljumzhinov. After all, it was
unthinkable that the President of a republic should risk losing to a
mere grandmaster of chess. It was unthinkable that the President of a
republic should even be seen contesting against a mere grandmaster of
chess. Leave the front-end stuff to Kouatly and his team, the Prince
will take the limelight and fanfare later. Accordingly, Iljumzhinov gave
Leong permission to help create the Kouatly ticket.
Many federations, while disappointed with Iljumzhinov's non-candidacy,
were delighted when they read the campaign letter of Kouatly's ticket.
August 1996 - Ticket of 2 with Makropoulous
However, soon after his trip to Taiwan and the Philippines, Iljumzhinov
convened a special meeting in Moscow on 10 August to discuss his new
plan. Present were Campomanes, Kouatly, Andrei Makarov (Russia),
Georgios Makropoulous (Greece), Willy Iclicki (Belgium), Roman Toran
(Spain), Boris Kutin (Slovenia). Leong was there and so were Alexei
Orlov (Russia) and Casto Abundo (Philippines). Apparently, several
others, including Sunye, declined to be there.
The participants felt the need to have only one ticket at Yerevan. They
hoped Sunye and Kouatly would withdraw their tickets to enable
Iljumzhinov to present his ticket with Makropoulous as Deputy President
and for Iljumzhinov to nominate the other officers after his election.
Makarov came late. He said that Leong had insulted him and the Russian
Chess Federation and that he could kill him with one hand. He demanded
that Iljumzhinov dismiss Leong immediately and that Iljumzhinov must not
nominate Kouatly otherwise he would not continue the discussions or act
as the negotiator with Sunye. At this point, Kouatly left the meeting
room in protest that Makarov had, in a meeting, threatened to kill
somebody. The meeting was adjourned.
During lunch, in the presence of everybody (except Makarov), Iljumzhinov
asked Leong what he should do. Leong offered his resignation if that
would help Iljumzhinov and the negotiations. But Iljumzhinov said to
everybody's surprise that he would defend him, that he could not dismiss
somebody just because one person disliked another. Iljumzhinov had a
private talk with Makarov and the meeting resumed without the latter.
Towards the end of the meeting, Campomanes wanted Kouatly and Toran to
sign a document stating their withdrawal and to support Iljumzhinov's
ticket of two with Makropoulous. Kouatly and Toran refused, saying they
wanted to discuss with their team-mates first.
Kill the US Motion
>From Lausanne on 14 August, Campomanes requested Iljumzhinov by fax to
sign a letter to >reject the motion of the US Chess Federation to end
the term of Chairman in Yerevan. Such a >letter would effectively kill
the motion and exclude it from the Yerevan agenda. For some strange
reason, Leong was then still in Moscow. When he showed Campomanes'
letter to Iljumzhinov, the President clapped his hands and said this was
the best ever proposal from the West. He added that, after Yerevan,
there would be no more Campomanes. In his two and a half months with
Iljumzhinov, Leong had never seen him so happy after reading a document.
Leong advised Iljumzhinov to obtain the full text of the US motion from
the FIDE office.
Several days passed with no news on the US motion from Lausanne. By now,
the motion had to be included on the agenda to reach member-federations
six weeks before the General Assembly. On 25 August, in Elista, Leong
finally received from Lausanne the copy of the fax of the US Chess
Federation.
The US Chess Federation had prepared the fax on 28 June (Friday) and it
was stamped received by FIDE on 1 July (Monday). And so it took 6 weeks
for a motion of particularly great interest to the chess world to reach
the President!
Soon after Lausanne, Campomanes was in China. He tried to persuade Sun
Lianzhi (China) to sign the same document to withdraw from the Yerevan
election. Sun flatly refused. Campomanes left after only one day in
Beijing.
Aborted World Tour, Broken Promises, Lies and Unanswered Questions
No fewer than a dozen federations were keen to host the visits of
Iljumzhinov. Yet on the eve of his scheduled departure for Zambia, he
called off his world tour. He claimed that he needed to be in Yerevan
for final inspection of the Olympiad. He also said he had less than one
month to prepare the bank guarantees for the Annual World Championship
in 1996, the Karpov-Kasparov and Fischer-Karpov matches in 1997 and the
Elista Olympiad in 1998. He said that with the presentation of these
bank guarantees at th Firstly, many federations had worked in
cooperation with their governments to receive Iljumzhinov in their
countries. The late cancellation caused great embarassment to these
federations and some suffered severe financial distress. For example,
the Zambian Government felt deceived by the Zambian Chess Federation and
withheld funds for the Olympiad Team. Furthermore, the Zambian sports
authorities sought financial compensation from FIDE. David Hamoonga
(Zambia), being on the Kouatly ticket, was too embarass In several
addresses, Iljumzhinov said that he had visited 42 countries and that he
paid his own expenses. Leong knew that at least two federations paid the
bills for his entourage.
Before the world tour episode, Iljumzhinov had also cancelled other
trips at the last moment, for example, his trips to Jordan and India. In
March, after the Doha Presidential Board Meeting, he missed his flight
to Nigeria to attend the closing ceremony of the Zonal Championship. To
make things worse, a senior minister had cut short his trip in South
America in order to coordinate Iljumzhinov's meeting with the Nigerian
Head of State. While in Doha, Leong had assured Emmanuel Omuku (Nigeria)
that IljumzhinSecondly, the much-touted bank guarantees seemed like mere
phantoms. Nothing more was heard or seen of them. However, acting on
instructions, Leong drafted a US$3million agreement between FIDE and the
Organising Committee of the Elista Olympiad. This agreement was to be
used to secure a bank guarantee a part of which was to offset the prize
fund of the concluded World Championship Match. But in Yerevan,
delegates were told that Karpov had still not been fully paid. So what
is one to make of all this?.
Iljumzhinov Gifts
While in Moscow, Iljumzhinov decided to prepare gifts for all delegates,
players, arbiters and journalists. Kouatly recommended the watches he
had prepared during his 1994 campaign. Leong initially declined to
undertake the purchase because of both the time constraint and the
difficulty of remitting payment in time.
On 21 August, Orlov confirmed the order and Leong was to personally
deliver the goods from Singapore to Yerevan via Moscow. Despite the time
constraint, the manufacturer accepted the order but required the normal
30% deposit before production. Leong was caught in zugwang. Being a
Singaporean, he knew that the manufacturer would not proceed with the
production without first receiving the deposit. If the deposit was
remitted late, the order would not be processed in time for collection
by 10 September and ul Since he took office in January 1996, Leong had
not received his salary despite numerous promises by Iljumzhinov and
Orlov that they would remit the money. Between March and May, he waited
in vain for his salary. During this period in Singapore, he worked on
the administrative preparations for the Karpov-Kamsky Match and chalked
up a sizeable debt to his federation for telephone expenses. He told
Kouatly and Morten Sand (Norway) that he would not be in Elista unless
he was paid. Koualty advanced him about So Leong was understandly
anxious about the timely remittance of the deposit and the payment for
the watches. When he sought assistance from his federation to help out
with the deposit, the president of the Singapore Chess Federation,
knowing his earlier predicament with his salary, gave a flat no. The
president just could not trust Iljumzhinov for US$10,000. Leong had no
choice but to remit all he had from Elista on 22 August. Tang forked out
the balance and made the deposit. Leong flew home on 4 Septembe At
Moscow airport, Orlov, who had promised VIP reception there in order to
avoid problems, did not show up. When contacted, he took four hours to
arrive and after much hassle, he paid about US$1,000 on customs. Were
these the few thousand dollars Leong supposedly gained in business
profits, as mentioned by Iclicki in his report?
In Yerevan, Leong was shocked to see the number of gifts Iljumzhinov had
prepared. He felt sorry for the people of Kalmykia. After the World
Championship Match, and all foreigners had left Elista, he had learned
that the local people had not received their salaries for some months
because the money was required for the organisation of the Match. Leong
felt sickened by the recollection of how the Executive Council feasted.
He also recalled that most people who worked in the Match were not paid.
A cargo plane was chartered from Moscow to Yerevan and it was on this
that Leong had travelled to Yerevan. It stopped in Elista for customs
clearance. Because of bad weather, the plane went first to Volgograd and
then to Elista. This was why, after his resignation, Leong was worried
because he had no ticket out of Yerevan. Incidentally, has anyone
figured out why the cargo plane had to clear customs in Elista and not
Moscow given the high political profile of Iljumzhinov?
To distribute the gifts, Iljumzhinov had wanted to organise a big
cocktail reception to hand out the goodies but Leong suggested private
meetings so that everybody could bring home fond memories of their
meetings with the FIDE President. Iljumzhinov liked this idea very much;
he smiled a lot, shook everybody's hand, signed autographs and posed for
photographs. He had at first wanted to stay in Yerevan throughout the
Olympiad but changed his mind and wanted to be done with all the teams
within four days.
Iljumzhinov thought that this process was a big success. Leong
personally felt that Iljumzhinov should be commended. At some point, he
almost lost his voice. Tang felt that Iljumzhinov had scored a huge
public relations victory. He was not so sure about the man behind the
image.
September 1996 - Alliance with Sunye
Now that he had met all the teams and delegates, Iljumzhinov started to
play the Sunye card. Leong thought it was Sunye who self-destruct. The
Sunye ticket was formed out of the Utrecht Meeting which felt that
Iljumzhinov should be displaced. Yet, Sunye courted an alliance. They
spent about two hours at their first private session. Makropoulous knew
this and started to panic.
Iljumzhinov asked Leong's opinion. Leong felt that the ground in Yerevan
was sweet for Iljumzhinov and there was no need for him to ally with any
particular person; be it Campomanes, Makropoulous, Sunye or Kouatly.
Leong told him that he could win by himself if he went for individual
elections. The fact that Sunye came to him with a compromise meant that
the Sunye ticket was weak. Sunye had practically no support from Asia.
Having lost Omuku, Sunye had little support left in Africa. Also, with
Makarov as a Soon after the declaration of the Iljumzhinov-Sunye
alliance at the Central Committee, Campomanes and Makropoulous changed
colour. Makropoulous warmed up towards Kouatly. Campomanes was all but
ingratiating to Kouatly; for him the Central Committee meetings had
ended on a particuarly sombre note, with the end of his Chairmanship and
investigations into ex-gratia payments in the air. But the
Iljumzhinov-Sunye alliance was short-lived; at the General Assembly,
Iljumzhinov asked for a ticket of two with Makro To Leong, all these
manoeuvrings and horse-trading was old hat. It was Moscow and Paris all
over again, with the notable exception that Kouatly was conducting a
much quieter campaign. So was all the time-wasting, feet-dragging,
soporific speechifying, calculated to wear down unsuspecting delegates
until...
Until someone proposed in one quick moment that Campomanes be elevated
(how else can one describe it?) - to Honorary President with Voting
Powers and this was passed in a nanosecond without an objection, a
whimper - much less debate. What had become of all that sound and fury
in the Central Committee, the US Motion to end the Chairmanship, the
investigations into ex-gratia payments? No-one seemed more surprised
than Campomanes himself when he stood up to thank the Board Member who
had made that stupendousl Leong was dumbfounded. Things have come full
circle. It is the era of Campomanes the master puppeteer again. A
President Regent no less in this incarnation. How low can FIDE go? But
he kept his peace. He was after all still FIDE's Administrative Manager.
Like a good civil servant, he kept to himself his misgivings, his pain.
October 1996 - A Free Man
Leong submitted his letter of resignation with immediate effect on 30
September, during the General Assembly. He had prepared the letter
during lunch in consultation with Tang. It was undated because Leong was
hesitant. It meant a huge sacrifice after all. Just before resumption,
he handed the letter to Iljumzhinov.
He voted for individual elections as he felt the ticket format was
excessively divisive and had caused intrigue within FIDE. This motion
defeated, he voted for the ticket of eight, in the spirit of Paris 1995
and the Executive Council in Elista in June 1996. With this also
defeated, he voted against the motion to first elect the President and
allow him to select his own ticket because nobody should be given a
blank cheque.
Iljumzhinov became angry with Leong and in a private meeting during the
coffee break ordered him out of the Congress and took away the Singapore
vote and his three proxies - Mongolia, Pakistan and Seychelles.
Iljumzhinov stabbed Leong repeatedly in the chest with his finger. He
raged over the way Leong had voted. "The Mongolians are my brothers. How
can you use their vote against me?" (Leong also had the proxy of
Mongolia in 1993 and that of Pakistan in 1994.) The action of the FIDE
President in banishing When the General Assembly resumed to elect the
Presidential Ticket of 5, Kouatly learnt from an enraged Sun that
something had happened to Leong. Sun, who had heard of Leong's plight
from Tang, wanted Kouatly to bring this to the assembly's attention.
Kouatly, shocked at the tactics used against Leong, was especially
concerned because of his deep carmaraderie with Leong. He demanded an
explanation from Iljumzhinov amidst a general wash of emotion from the
assembly. Kouatly burned cold with righteous anger.eeting adjourned till
9am tomorrow."
>From his vantage point in the assembly, Tang saw the hand of Campomanes
instigating this >last little move. There's time now, for those who
"work in the night" - to borrow Makarov's >phrase - to work on the
delegates yet.
In the night, Iljumzhinov's aides summoned Leong to his room. Initially,
he was afraid to go because Iljumzhinov had angrily told him earlier
that day that he did not want to see his face anymore anywhere. The
aides urged Leong to go with them and assured him that everything was
alright. During their two-hour private discussion, Iljumzhinov said
Kouatly had shouted at him and accused him of threatening to kill Leong.
(Leong did not quite believe that Kouatly would say something like this
without first chec Leong told Iljumzhinov that he disliked the intrigue
he was spinning. - first with Kouatly, then with
Campomanes-Makropoulous, Sunye and again with Campomanes-Makropoulous.
Iljumzhinov said he negotiated with Sunye in order to destabilise the
Sunye ticket. He claimed that his plan worked because the Sunye ticket
became complacent and did not work as hard.
Leong reminded him that since August, he had never advised Iljumzhinov
to align himself with the Kouatly ticket. Leong said he had told
Iljumzhinov that he should go alone and for individual elections. This
would avoid politicising and further intrigue. Iljumzhinov was angry and
stated that FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO FIDE, HE ALONE SHOULD DECIDE WHO HE
WISHED TO WORK WITH AND THE CONGRESS SHOULD NOT TELL HIM SO.
Leong voiced his dislike for the ways Campomanes and Makropoulous had
campaigned for Iljumzhinov. An example was Omuku. He felt that there was
no need for Omuku to attack Sunye. Leong also told him that because of
Iljumzhinov changing his alliances, he was giving wrong updates to his
friends and delegates. Iljumzhinov said that ONCE HE HAD SET HIS MIND ON
HIS OBJECTIVES, NO ONE SHOULD QUESTION HOW HE ACHIEVED THEM. Leong's
answer was that because of their differences of opinion, they could not
work with e At the General Assembly, Egon Ditt (Germany) demanded that
the Leong affair be addressed. Leong was asked to make a statement. He
said that although Iljumzhinov had persuaded him to continue his work
but as his life had been threatened in Moscow in August and with this
new situation, he did not see how he could continue again. Hamers
completed by reading the full text of his statement.
Curiously and significantly, considering the surge of emotion before the
meeting was adjourned the previous day, not one delegate asked Leong to
explain what happened in Moscow in August. No-one seemed particularly
perturbed by what had happened to him the day before. Truly, those who
"work in the night" had worked overtime! During coffee break, a
journalist asked Leong why the delegates were that way. Leong replied
that either all the delegates were sleeping or they just could not be
bothered. This is how The Best Men for FIDE?
While Sunye scratched around to pick together a ticket against
Iljumzhinov's, Leong's proxies were reinstated. Then he heard that Sunye
did not want to include Kouatly and therefore Sand did not want in
either. Poor Sunye, what had happened to his team-mates? The Utrecht
resolution which appeared so strong and dynamic was destroyed. All those
who initially cried wolf over Iljumzhinov had abandoned their cause. Did
Einar Einarsson (Iceland) and Ditt leave Sunye and if so, why? If Sunye
was prepared to compr The eventual Sunye ticket obtained 47 votes out of
133. Not a bad result. Nonetheless, many of the Sunye votes were
probably anti-Iljumzhinov rather than pro-Sunye votes. Leong voted for
Sunye on this basis.
Immediately after the elections, Iljumzhinov appointed four Vice
Presidents - was this not against the resolution to have a ticket of
only five? Among those who accepted appointments as Vice Presidents were
Pedro Barrera (El Salvador) from the Kouatly ticket and Makarov and
Doyle from the original Sunye ticket and who were strongly against
Iljumzhinov in Utrecht. Doyle remains an enigma: only he can rationalise
why he is so comfortable sleeping with the enemy.
In any case, it does not matter who are on the Presidential Board for as
long as Campomanes is still alive in FIDE, we shall continue to see
intrigue in FIDE. Needless to say, Makropoulous is alive as long as
Campomanes is alive.
As for Iljumzhinov, his victory may well turn out to be pyrrhic. Having
spent an estimated US$500,000 on gifts etc to secure his position, he
gained only 64.66% of the vote - a paltry percentage compared with the
more than 90% he gained in Paris without spending a dollar. And with
Campomanes as Honorary President with Voting Powers, how easy will be
the head that wears the nominal crown? And with the Campomanes factor so
big, how long will the Iljumzhinov gravy train continue to run? When
will Iljumzhinov Beyond Yerevan
Money politics buoyed the meaner spirits of many at Yerevan and blinded
them to the reality of a bloated, inefficient, extravagant, top-heavy
FIDE badly in need of overhaul. FIDE may well be the proverbial problem
that the solution is looking for.
Every crisis throws up its own heroes; extraordinary men and women with
courage and vision who look beyond self-interest for the good of the
larger cause. Thinking, feeling, caring far-sighted segments of The
Chess World must look beyond the ashes of Yerevan. To the phoenix of
hope, restoration, renewal, reconstruction.
So watch this space!
Gens Una Sumus.
11) Theoretical Corner By Marco R. Martini (ITA)
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