E-Mail mdcrowth@netcomuk.co.uk Tel or fax 01274 882143 [Bradford England] http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html
1) Introduction
2) Linares 1998
3) Petrov Memorial, St. Petersburg
4) Goodricke International Open by Aniek Paul
5) First Saturday Kluger Memorial
6) The 1st Veacheslav Chebanenco Memorial
7) Brazilian Championships
8) Belgian Interteam Championships
9) Linklater International
10) Aarhus Chess Championships
11) 32nd Belgrade Women's Super tournament
12) 14th Portuguese Masters
13) St Vincent Open
14) Malaga Open
15) Upcoming Events
Games section
Petrov Memorial 278 games Goodricke Int. 91 games 1st Kruger mem 44 games FSIM Feb 43 games 1st Chebanenco Mem 35 games Brazilian Championships 40 games Belgian Interteams 154 games Linklater Int. 21 games Aarhus Skaakclub 65 games 14th Portuguese Masters 45 games Saint Vincent 170 games
My thanks to James Eade, Aniek Paul, RISC, Laszlo Nagy, Villy Fink Isaksen, Albert Silver, Sinisa Joksic, Mark Schepers, Net64, Alain Talon, Massimiliano Orsi , Luis Santos and all those who helped with this issue.
There isn't any doubting the news of the week. The Linares tournament with its concentration of the top players in the World will be a tremendous event and one which might have a wide reaching effect. Success in this event will be a true achievement and it looks likely to make and break a few reputations. Full coverage from the 22nd of February will be available on my www pages.
When I saw Alexander Morozevich demolish the last Lloyds Bank tournament I thought I'd seen a star in the making. Since then his career has gone into reverse. His 6.5/7 in Moldova will hopefully signal a recovery and perhaps better times ahead.
Hope you enjoy this issue
Mark
Seven of the best play at Linares
This years Linares SuperGrandmaster tournament will be a 7 player
Category 21 event with an ELO average of 2752. It will have the top eight
active players in the World excluding Karpov who fell out with the
organisers over his decision to campaign for election to the Russian
parliament rather than play last year. Gata Kamsky is at medical school
and not currently an active player.
The seven players will contest a double round robin event. Because of the unusual odd number of participants one player per round will have a rest day. Kasparov has promised announcements about his future plans and one piece of speculation was that it is possible that the Linares event will be an eliminator to produce two potential challengers for Kasparov, another is that whatever the result Kramnik and Anand will be asked to play a match in order to challenge Kasparov. Whatever the event the tournament should be fascinating.
Participants
Kasparov, Gary (g RUS 2825)
Kramnik, Vladimir (g RUS 2790)
Anand, Viswanathan (g IND 2770)
Ivanchuk, Vassily (g UKR 2740)
Topalov, Veselin (g BUL 2740)
Shirov, Alexei (g ESP 2710)
Svidler, Peter (g RUS 2690)
The dates of the event are: 21st Feb - Opening Ceremony, 22nd Feb.
Round 1. Rest days 27th Feb and 5th March. Final round March 9th, closing
ceremony March 10th.
Kasparov vs Topalov match in Leon
In addition it has been announced that Gary Kasparov and Veselin Topalov will play a highly unusual 6 game match in Leon, Spain 9-13 June 1998. They will play six games with one hour for each player but with the unusal provision of an identical computer for each player. They will use their private data base (where they keep their secret research, analysis) and they will be helped by an analytic programme which will be like a tactical mistakes detector. This program appears to be the choice of the player. With only an hour per player they will have to judge how much time to spend using their computers. This event has been a long term plan of Kasparov's, however its not my idea of chess. He believes it will be possible to produce a very high quality of chess. Further details and live coverage:
This year's addition of the annual Petrov Memorial in St Petersburg took place February 7th - 15th. Boris Spassky was the guest of honour. There were 15 GMs and 18 IMs taking part. There was a six way tie for first place. Alexander Vaulin, Vladimir Burmakin, Yuri Yakovich, Alexander Volzhin, and Sergey Ionov all scored 6.5/9 as did apparently unrated Alexander Bochkarev.
Coverage on the internet by RISC. http://www.dux.ru/chess/
St Petersburg RUS (RUS), II 1998
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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1 Bochkarev,A ---- =29 -53 +38 +43 +32 +15 =13 = 6 +16 6.5 /9 2627
2 Vaulin, Alexander g RUS 2535 +51 +49 +21 =16 =13 +11 = 5 - 3 +14 6.5 /9 2622
3 Burmakin, Vladimir g RUS 2550 =38 +64 +43 +47 = 5 =13 = 6 + 2 = 4 6.5 /9 2614
4 Yakovich, Yuri g RUS 2570 +72 =43 =14 =26 +29 +18 + 9 = 5 = 3 6.5 /9 2631
5 Volzhin, Alexander g RUS 2510 +69 +60 =47 +10 = 3 + 9 = 2 = 4 = 7 6.5 /9 2610
6 Ionov, Sergey g RUS 2530 =52 =31 =39 +56 +25 +36 = 3 = 1 +13 6.5 /9 2591
7 Galkin, Alexander g RUS 2565 +42 +55 =13 = 9 =40 =20 =16 +17 = 5 6.0 /9 2593
8 Lugovoi, Aleksei m RUS 2540 =31 =39 +52 =25 =24 +28 =10 = 9 +30 6.0 /9 2535
9 Yemelin, Vasily g RUS 2485 +71 +48 +11 = 7 +16 - 5 - 4 = 8 +27 6.0 /9 2597
10 Taimanov, Mark E g RUS 2490 =41 +38 +29 - 5 =23 +55 = 8 +40 =12 6.0 /9 2545
11 Kharlov, Andrei g RUS 2560 +62 +36 - 9 +24 +28 - 2 =12 =30 +37 6.0 /9 2575
12 Loginov, Valery A g RUS 2500 -47 +71 =51 +64 +53 +14 =11 =13 =10 6.0 /9 2520
13 Najer, Evgeniy m RUS 2500 +66 +40 = 7 +23 = 2 = 3 = 1 =12 - 6 5.5 /9 2563
14 Yagupov, Igor m RUS 2450 +63 =28 = 4 =17 +39 -12 +36 +18 - 2 5.5 /9 2532
15 Aseev, Konstantin N g RUS 2565 +33 =24 =23 +35 -18 - 1 +42 =28 +44 5.5 /9 2559
16 Bezgodov, Alexei m RUS 2520 +56 +46 +25 = 2 - 9 =40 = 7 +24 - 1 5.5 /9 2587
17 Voitsekhovsky, Stanislav m RUS 2540 +54 -47 +53 =14 =26 +46 +20 - 7 =21 5.5 /9 2507
18 Zakharevich, Igor m RUS 2530 =64 =41 +54 +55 +15 - 4 =24 -14 +29 5.5 /9 2497
19 Popov, Valerij m RUS 2505 +50 -25 +31 -40 +47 =26 =29 +48 =22 5.5 /9 2449
20 Zagrebelny, Sergey g UZB 2485 =68 +75 =28 +33 =22 = 7 -17 =23 +40 5.5 /9 2495
21 Vorobiov, Evgeny E m RUS 2475 +67 +61 - 2 -28 +68 =23 =40 +39 =17 5.5 /9 2435
22 Rustemov, Alexander m RUS 2575 -23 +79 =42 +62 =20 -24 +69 +81 =19 5.5 /9 2405
23 Biriukov, Oleg V RUS 2390 +22 +32 =15 -13 =10 =21 =27 =20 =26 5.0 /9 2544
24 Gelman, Alexander m RUS 2440 +58 =15 +27 -11 = 8 +22 =18 -16 =33 5.0 /9 2533
25 Skatchkov, Pavel m RUS 2415 +34 +19 -16 = 8 - 6 -51 +41 =38 +48 5.0 /9 2401
26 Kochyev, Alexander g RUS 2430 =76 =68 +70 = 4 =17 =19 =39 =33 =23 5.0 /9 2409
27 Yandemirov, Valeri g RUS 2545 =39 +70 -24 +51 -36 +33 =23 +31 - 9 5.0 /9 2404
28 Murashko, Vyacheslav L m UKR 2390 +80 =14 =20 +21 -11 - 8 +49 =15 =32 5.0 /9 2468
29 Rusanov, Michail RUS 2410 = 1 +76 -10 +50 - 4 +66 =19 +35 -18 5.0 /9 2454
30 Totsky, Leonid m RUS 2490 =75 =52 =56 -39 +60 +38 +53 =11 - 8 5.0 /9 2408
31 Andreev, Vladislav A RUS 2325 = 8 = 6 -19 =67 =71 +75 +55 -27 +53 5.0 /9 2452
32 Turov, Maxim m RUS 2445 +59 -23 =50 +66 - 1 -39 +52 +56 =28 5.0 /9 2412
33 Karasev, Vladimir I m RUS 2370 -15 +78 +61 -20 +49 -27 +43 =26 =24 5.0 /9 2418
34 Malinin,V ---- -25 -50 +65 =37 =56 -52 +68 +62 +55 5.0 /9 2376
35 Solovjov, Sergey RUS 2450 -49 +67 +69 -15 +54 =48 =51 -29 +58 5.0 /9 2353
36 Savon, Vladimir A g UKR 2425 +77 -11 =41 +75 +27 - 6 -14 =53 +51 5.0 /9 2429
37 Moiseenko, Alexander UKR 2435 -48 =58 -75 =34 +77 +71 +47 +51 -11 5.0 /9 2322
38 Frolov, Denis f RUS 2350 = 3 -10 - 1 +79 +76 -30 +66 =25 +59 5.0 /9 2428
39 Virovlansky, Semen RUS 2345 =27 = 8 = 6 +30 -14 +32 =26 -21 =45 4.5 /9 2481
40 Kastanieda, Georgiy m RUS 2395 +74 -13 +48 +19 = 7 =16 =21 -10 -20 4.5 /9 2450
41 Zayac, Elena wg BLR 2265 =10 =18 =36 =46 =44 -42 -25 +72 +64 4.5 /9 2416
42 Klimov, Sergey RUS 2365 - 7 +59 =22 =60 -48 +41 -15 =49 +61 4.5 /9 2326
43 Alavkin, Arseny RUS 2440 +65 = 4 - 3 - 1 =50 +68 -33 =47 +63 4.5 /9 2388
44 Orlov, Andrey RUS 2410 -61 +77 =60 =49 =41 =47 =48 +57 -15 4.5 /9 2210
45 Ivanov, Vladimir Ivanovich m RUS 2425 -70 =66 =63 -59 =65 +76 =50 +60 =39 4.5 /9 2235
46 Dokutchaev, A RUS 2425 +78 -16 =49 =41 +69 -17 +59 . . 4.0 /7 2363
47 Chehlov, Aleksander LAT 2290 +12 +17 = 5 - 3 -19 =44 -37 =43 =54 4.0 /9 2425
48 Jobava, Baadur GEO 2190 +37 - 9 -40 +52 +42 =35 =44 -19 -25 4.0 /9 2376
49 Driamin, D RUS 2230 +35 - 2 =46 =44 -33 +62 -28 =42 =56 4.0 /9 2358
50 Kashtanov, Ruslan RUS 2295 -19 +34 =32 -29 =43 =54 =45 -55 +70 4.0 /9 2304
51 Kirusha, Andrey f RUS 2315 - 2 +73 =12 -27 +67 +25 =35 -37 -36 4.0 /9 2364
52 Milton, Sergei RUS 2315 = 6 =30 - 8 -48 +70 +34 -32 -58 +69 4.0 /9 2270
53 Feoktistov, Alexey A RUS 2395 =79 + 1 -17 +76 -12 +57 -30 =36 -31 4.0 /9 2200
54 Nikolaev, Nikita RUS 2330 -17 +65 -18 +63 -35 =50 -57 +67 =47 4.0 /9 2348
55 Chepukaitis, Genrikh RUS 2420 +73 - 7 +68 -18 +59 -10 -31 +50 -34 4.0 /9 2348
56 Gerchikov, Alexandr RUS 2310 -16 +80 =30 - 6 =34 =60 +67 -32 =49 4.0 /9 2279
57 Pogosian,V ---- -60 -69 +77 =71 +64 -53 +54 -44 =62 4.0 /9 2259
58 Shour, J RUS 2210 -24 =37 -62 -72 +80 =77 +71 +52 -35 4.0 /9 2261
59 Shakhov, Aleksandr E RUS 2215 -32 -42 +80 +45 -55 +72 -46 +69 -38 4.0 /9 2301
60 Sinkevich, P RUS 2215 +57 - 5 =44 =42 -30 =56 =64 -45 =72 3.5 /9 2259
61 Razuvajeva, Juli RUS 2115 +44 -21 -33 -68 -63 +78 =65 +66 -42 3.5 /9 2221
62 Gladischev, Oleg m UKR 2355 -11 =74 +58 -22 =75 -49 +70 -34 =57 3.5 /9 2280
63 Ter-Minasjan, Dmitry RUS 2235 -14 =72 =45 -54 +61 -69 +75 =64 -43 3.5 /9 2254
64 Vunder, A RUS 2310 =18 - 3 +79 -12 -57 +65 =60 =63 -41 3.5 /9 2277
65 Polyakov, Dmitriy RUS 2205 -43 -54 -34 +74 =45 -64 =61 =73 +75 3.5 /9 2247
66 Baranov, G RUS 2280 -13 =45 +74 -32 +72 -29 -38 -61 +76 3.5 /9 2266
67 Zvereva, Marija wm RUS 2240 -21 -35 +73 =31 -51 +79 -56 -54 +77 3.5 /9 2202
68 Krasnov, Vasiliy G RUS 2250 =20 =26 -55 +61 -21 -43 -34 -70 +78 3.0 /9 2243
69 Malyshev, Igor RUS 2300 - 5 +57 -35 +70 -46 +63 -22 -59 -52 3.0 /9 2167
70 Sepman, Yelius RUS 2155 +45 -27 -26 -69 -52 +74 -62 +68 -50 3.0 /9 2234
71 Karalkin, Maksim RUS 2250 - 9 -12 +78 =57 =31 -37 -58 =76 =73 3.0 /9 2155
72 Panikarovsky, A RUS 2380 - 4 =63 -76 +58 -66 -59 +79 -41 =60 3.0 /9 2121
73 Uchitel, Stas RUS 2120 -55 -51 -67 -77 -79 +80 +74 =65 =71 3.0 /9 2053
74 Kazakov, Vladimir f RUS 2320 -40 =62 -66 -65 =78 -70 -73 +80 +79 3.0 /9 2018
75 Glashev, Yusup RUS 2260 =30 -20 +37 -36 =62 -31 -63 =78 -65 2.5 /9 2176
76 Moskviitin, Valeri RUS 2170 =26 -29 +72 -53 -38 -45 =80 =71 -66 2.5 /9 2172
77 Rakitskaja, M RUS 2160 -36 -44 -57 +73 -37 =58 -78 +79 -67 2.5 /9 2112
78 Kharitonov, Sergei RUS 2125 -46 -33 -71 =80 =74 -61 +77 =75 -68 2.5 /9 2075
79 Komarov, Anatoly RUS 2060 =53 -22 -64 -38 +73 -67 -72 -77 -74 1.5 /9 2043
80 Lukinov,A ---- -28 -56 -59 =78 -58 -73 =76 -74 . 1.0 /8 1910
81 BYE ---- . . . . . . . -22 . 0.0 /1
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Aniek Paul reports on the Goodricke International Open which started in Calcutta on February 2nd. It is India's main annual international open. Late news is that the event was won by Alexander Nenashev and a full roundup next week as there are no details for the final round.
Round 5 10/2/98
Grandmaster Leonid Yurtaev emerged as the sole leader with 4.5/5 beating Grandmaster Phillip Schlosser in the fifth round of the Goodricke International Open Chess tournament, while young Neelotpal Das' giant killing spree found another victim, Grandmaster Victor Kolmiakov. Apart from these and the entertaining Nigel Short - Dao Thien Hai game which though ended in a draw, the fifth round remained rather unexciting as more than half of the top board ties either ended in tame draws or were one-sided.
Neelotpal playing his fourth Grandmaster of the tournament, produced a reasonably good game with white against the Modern Defence turned Caro Kann. A masterly middlegame met with a relatively indifferent resistance, won Neelotpal a couple of pawns, but in the endgame, where the players had bishops of opposite colours, Neelotpalwas having some difficulty cashing the material advantage. The ending was winnable but Neelotpal seemed unable to improve. Kolmiakov himself, however, made things easier for him, when in time trouble he blundered another pawn, and immediately after the seocnd time control he gave up. This win takes Neelotpal's tally to 4/5, and it looks unlikely that he'll miss the IM-norm he has come so close to achieving. He is actually in strong contention for a Grandmaster-norm now.
Playing with black, Yurtaev was at his best today and played a masterly game beginning with the King's Indian. Yurtaev played cautiously in the beginning and induced Schlosser to expand more than his pieces could support. As a result of this unsupported expansion, Schlosser suddenly found himself defending a series of weak pawns which he lost under compelling pressure and gave up the fight immediately after the first time control.
Young Sasikiran seems not to be very consistent in this event which is quite uncharacteristic of him; every other day he is playing a relatively poor game but is certainly recovering without much difficulty. Today, he was on the receiving end of the 100% strength of Jan Ehlvest, who carved out an instructive win in an irregular Queen's Pawn game. Sasikiran playing white was defending an inferior position from the very beginning, his disadvantage due mainly to his inferior bishop. The centre was cramped a nd there were no immediate threats, but Ehlvest exploiting the advantage of having a stronger bishop compared to his adversary's mostly inactive one, unleashed a strong attack on his king, to which the young Indian hadn't much answer.
Top seed Nigel Short played a messy game against Vietnamese Grandmaster Dao Thien Hai. Experimenting the King's Gambit, Short got into an incredibly complicated game in which both the players went straight for each other's king, and it could never be tol d with any certainty who stood better. Either got into time trouble but made no major mistakes. The game, however, got simplified into a drawish endgame during the race for completion of the moves, and the players accepted draw soon after completing the f irst time control. Speelman played the Stonewall against Nenashev and settled for a draw in just 16 moves, while Levitt had yet to recover from the exhaustion of yesterday's game against Short, and played Thipsay to a tame draw.
Round 5 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 0-1 Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 1/2 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 1/2 Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) Sashikiran, Krishnan (f IND 2470) 0-1 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) Neelotpal, Das (IND 2370) 1-0 Komliakov, Viktor (g MDA 2510) Levitt, Jonathan (g ENG 2425) 1/2 Thipsay, Praveen M (g IND 2515) Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) 1-0 Reefat, Bin-Sattar (m BAN 2350) Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 1-0 Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) Nguyen, Anh Dung (m VIE 2500) 1-0 Tilak, Sharad S (m IND 2315) Sareen, Vishal (IND 2320) 1/2 Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) 1-0 Neelakantan, Narayanan (IND 2240) Shetty, Rahul (IND 2315) 0-1 Konguvel, Ponnuswamy (m IND 2430) Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) 1/2 Prakash, G B (IND 2425) Gokhale, C.S. (IND 2380) 1/2 Saravanan, V. (IND 2375) Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) 1/2 Ramesh, R.B. (m IND 2345) 1. Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 4.5 2. Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 4.0 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 4.0 Neelotpal, Das (IND 2370) 4.0 5. Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 3.5 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 3.5 Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 3.5 Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 3.5 Levitt, Jonathan (g ENG 2425) 3.5 Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) 3.5 Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 3.5 Nguyen, Anh Dung (m VIE 2500) 3.5 Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) 3.5 Konguvel, Ponnuswamy (m IND 2430) 3.5
Round 6 11/2/98
Grandmasters Leonid Yurtaev and Jan Ehlvest lead the field with 5/6 after the sixth round of the Goodricke International Chess tournament. Whilst overnight leader Yurtaev drew with English GM Jonathan Speelman, Ehlvest, trailing the leader by half a point at the beginning of the day's play accounted for young Neelotpal Das to ascend to the top spot.
Yurtaev and Speelman drew in just 18 moves without any real contest. Ehlvest posted a comfortable victory. Today's game displayed Neelotpal's immaturity as a player as he seemed unable to play to any definite plan at any stage of the game. Playing the Semi-Slav with black, he adopted a suspect variation which resulted in the loss of his bishop pair and came under excessive pressure. He continued to defend tentatively, which led to further weaknesses on the Queen-side, and in the ensuing endgame his position was totally undefendable. He lost all his pawns on the queen-side one by one, and eventually gave up. Neelotpal, inspite of the loss stays on the third spot and highest among all Indians with 4 points. He has already played five GMs in the tournament, and inspite of his loss today, there is no respite from GM opponents for him; he plays Short tomorrow, and most unfortunately with black again.
Top seed Nigel Short's indifferent performance continued in round 6 as he was easily held to draw by GM Phillip Schlosser. Short seems reluctant to play for outright wins and seems more interested in experimental ideas. This is primarily why he sits poorly on the third spot with 4/6, which for his standard is miserable. In today's game, he played the Queen's Gambit Declined with black, easily overcame the slight disadvantage of playing with the darker pieces, but could not really make any headway at all. After about 2 hours and 45 minutes' play the players agreed to split the point in vastly simplified position which afforded neither player any scope for win.
There are four players on the second spot: Speelman, Nenashev, Berelovich and Lastin, each with 4.5 points. While defending champion, Grandmaster Alexander Nenashev carved out a hard fought win against IM Nguyen Anh Dung, Grandmaster Alexander Lastin accounted for national champion Abhijit Kunte and Alexander Berelovich beat IM Ponuswamy Konguvel. Five players share the third spot with 4 points apiece: Grandmasters Short, Schlosser, Dao Thien Hai, Jonathan Levitt, and Neelotpal Das.
Round 6 Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 1/2 Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 1-0 Neelotpal, Das (IND 2370) Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 1/2 Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 1-0 Nguyen, Anh Dung (m VIE 2500) Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) 0-1 Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 1/2 Levitt, Jonathan (g ENG 2425) Konguvel, Ponnuswamy (m IND 2430) 0-1 Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) Thipsay, Praveen M (g IND 2515) 1/2 Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) Komliakov, Viktor (g MDA 2510) 1/2 Sareen, Vishal (IND 2320) Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) 1/2 Gokhale, C.S. (IND 2380) Saravanan, V. (IND 2375) 1/2 Sashikiran, Krishnan (f IND 2470) Prakash, G B (IND 2425) 0-1 Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) Standings 1. Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 5.0 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 5.0 3. Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 4.5 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 4.5 Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 4.5 Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) 4.5 7. Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 4.0 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 4.0 Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 4.0 Levitt, Jonathan (g ENG 2425) 4.0 Neelotpal, Das (IND 2370) 4.0
Round 7 12/2/98
Real competitive chess had nearly dried up in the last couple of days of the Goodricke International Open Chess tournament, but today's 7th round provided a welcome break. Not only did it produce some highly entertaining games, it also broke Nigel Short' s deadlock of draws, as he posted his first win since round 2, while defending champion Alexander Nenashev dispatched Alexander Lastin with masterly technique to join the overnight leaders Leonid Yurtaev and Jan Ehlvest in the lead with 5.5/7.
A large number of people came to witness young Neelotpal in action against top seed Short. Though he lost, Neelotpal, whom Short called "a tough fighter" did not disappoint them completely as managed to hold on to the game for six hours, before capitulat ing on move 61. Short however said, "I should have won this game some thirty moves earlier." Playing what Short called a dubious variation of the Sicilian Dragon, Neelotpal came under excessive pressure in the middlegame. But Short missed a series of simp le chances of finishing the game right away, which he said was "most stupid", and had to wait until Neelotpal blundered a pawn in time trouble in the first control to see some real winning chances return.
The ensuing endgame in which Neelotpal was a pawn down, was according to Ehlvest still defendable, but Barua said it was lost. Short, who played cautiously and took a long time to win it, said after the game, "It is my impression - still an impression mi nd it - it was not defendable. Actually I did quite well in the end; my idea of dropping the rook to the first rank was very good. But I am no endgame expert; there may have been some way he could have improved." Asked why his performance has not been goo d enough for his standard, Short said, "The problem is I cannot wake up in time for preparation."
In the Lastin-Nenahsev game, white played the Bishop's Opening poorly, allowing black to expand on the king-side with impunity. The advantage Nenashev secured was, however, on account of his better pawn structure and relatively better bishop. The game was by no means clearly winning yet, but it was on account of Nenashev's clinical execution of his advantage and Lastin's tentative resistance in time trouble (both the players had about 15 moves to make in less than a minute) that the game was decided in favour of Nenashev.
The day's most exciting game, however, was the see-saw battle between Krishnan Sasikiran and Ranola Yves. In a complicated position reached from the King's Indian, Ranola sacrificed a series of pieces to activate his knights.unconvincing . AlthoughRanola's knights became very powerful indeed, and combined well with the queen they should not have been strong enough to save them game. But Sasikiran blundered a rook in the end to lose.
Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua has staged a remarkable come back in the tournament after beginning with just 1 point of the first 3 rounds. With today's win over V. Saravanan he has taken his tally to 4.5/7. Saravanan playing an irregular and rather suspect variation of the Sicilian Najdorf with black, overlooked some vital moves while calculating a long variation, and gave Barua some decisive initiative which he used to carve out a facile win.
Among other mentionable results of the day, Jonathan Speelman drew with Alexander Berelovich after a long and intense battle, while Yurtaev and Ehlvest settled for an unplayed draw. Grandmaster Victor Kolmiakov is clearly not in the right shape; he lost to Dao Thien Hai, the strongest GM in Asia after Anand, blundering an exchange overlooking a one move threat that existed in the position over the last few moves.
Round 7 Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 1/2 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) 0-1 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 1/2 Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 1-0 Neelotpal, Das (IND 2370) Levitt, Jonathan (g ENG 2425) 1/2 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) Komliakov, Viktor (g MDA 2510) 0-1 Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) Sareen, Vishal (IND 2320) 1/2 Thipsay, Praveen M (g IND 2515) Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) 1-0 Saravanan, V. (IND 2375) Nguyen, Anh Dung (m VIE 2500) 1-0 Ramesh, R.B. (m IND 2345) Soman, Satchidanand (IND 2320) 0-1 Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) Sashikiran, Krishnan (f IND 2470) 0-1 Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) Reefat, Bin-Sattar (m BAN 2350) 0-1 Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) 1-0 Konguvel, Ponnuswamy (m IND 2430) Gokhale, C.S. (IND 2380) 1-0 Abdulla, Al-Rakib (BAN 2285) Standings 1. Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 5.5 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 5.5 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 5.5 4. Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 5.0 Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 5.0 Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 5.0 Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 5.0 8. Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) 4.5 Levitt, Jonathan (g ENG 2425) 4.5 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 4.5 Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) 4.5 Nguyen, Anh Dung (m VIE 2500) 4.5 Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) 4.5 Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) 4.5 Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) 4.5 Gokhale, C.S. (IND 2380) 4.5 Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) 4.5
Round 8 13/2/98
Friday the thirteenth dissuaded the players from playing with any courage at all, and produced the most insipid results at the Goodricke International Chess tournament as more than half of the top board games ended in uncontested draws, allowing overnight leaders, Leonid Yurtaev, Alexander Nenashev and Jan Ehlvest to continue to lead by a margin of half a point over their nearest rivals.
Yurtaev, Nenashev and Ehlvest with 6/8, are followed by seven players with 5.5, including Short, Speelman and Schlosser, but no Indians as IM Manuel Aaron pointed out. With just three rounds left and none playing very convincingly, it looks likely that final standings will also feature such ties in the top spots.
On the top boards, while the Ehlvest-Nenashev and Dao-Speelman games were drawn unplayed in about 20 moves or less, Nenashev and Yurtaev reached the same result in about the same number moves, but played with more earnestness. The day's main upset, however, was Bangladeshi IM Ziaur Rahman's beating GM Jonathan Levitt, who with black played very passively right from the beginning.
The day's main focus, however, was on the fulfilment of IM-norm requirements by Neelotpal Das and Ranola Yves. With a draw against highly rated WGM Antoaneta Stefanova (2480) ranked twelfth in the world among women, Neelotpal secured a 9-round IM-norm with 4.5 points, of which he scored 3.5 against 6 GMs and 1 WGM.
Young Ranola Yves of Philipines, who has been in terrific form in this tournament and actually led the field earlier on, also confirmed a 9-round IM-norm by beating IM Nguyen Anh Dung today with yet another highly imaginative and praiseworthy game. Yves' score of 5.5/8 exceeds the actual requirement for a 9 round norm by half a point, and offers some chances of a GM-norm too. Yves' forte has been his immense courage in risk taking; he has played virtually every game very aggressively regardless of the opponent, saved many games from near losses and converted a large number of half chances. There isn't much to say about Neelotpal; this was a dream performance and and just as Short commented, he proved to be a "tough fighter", but probably not as imaginative as Yves.
India's strongest women player WIM S.Vijayalakshmi, who started brilliantly with a win over GM Dibby Barua, blew up a huge IM-norm opportunity: She required just 1 point of rounds 8 and 9, but lost in round 8 to Surya Sekhar Ganguly, a talented youngster from Calcutta who holds the world record of being the youngest ever to get international rating. Viji requires to win tomorrow against someone rated 2400 or more, which given her performance in the last few rounds looks improbable. Two other players have come in reachable distance of IM-norms. They are Vishal Sareen and P.D.S.Girinath, both having 2 norms already. While Sareen drew with Jayant Gokhale and requires to win against G.B. Joshi tomorrow, Girinath requires just a draw ag ainst V. Saravanan in round 9 having drawn with IM Sharad Tilak today. Girinath has 5 points, while Sareen has 4.5.
The organisers have obtained some latitude from the players through an unwritten agreement, to allowing the pairing of norm aspirants artificially to suit their needs in the last four rounds. So the round 9 draw will feature strange pairings between players with score and colour disparities; none except Thipsay is upset about it, but even he accepts it just makes it look little weird ... no more.
Round 8 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 1/2 Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 1/2 Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 1/2 Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 1/2 Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) 1/2 Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 1-0 Gokhale, C.S. (IND 2380) Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) 1-0 Nguyen, Anh Dung (m VIE 2500) Tilak, Sharad S (m IND 2315) 1/2 Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) Neelotpal, Das (IND 2370) 1/2 Stefanova, Antoaneta (IM)(wg BUL 2480) Gokhale, Jayant Suresh (IND 2305) 1/2 Sareen, Vishal (IND 2320) Thipsay, Praveen M (g IND 2515) 0-1 Horvath, Csaba (g HUN 2535) Standings 1. Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 6.0 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 6.0 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 6.0 4. Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 5.5 Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 5.5 Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 5.5 Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 5.5 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 5.5 Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) 5.5 Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) 5.5 11.Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) 5.0 Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) 5.0 Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) 5.0 Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) 5.0
Round 9 14/2/98
The ninth round of the Goodricke International Open Chess tournament produced four more IM-norms and more insipid draws on the top boards. While the overnight leaders, Yurtaev, Ehlvest and Nenashev drew, and Grandmaster Alexander Berelovich beat Phillip Schlosser to catch up with the leaders with 6.5/9, Vishal Sareen, P.D.S. Girinath, D.K. Sharma and Bangladeshi Abdullah Al-Rakib fulfilled the requirement of 5.5 points for 9 round IM-norms.
Sareen and Sharma requiring to win today beat G.B.Joshi and IM Reefat bin Sattar respectively, while Al-Rakib delivered GM Pravin Thipsay a shocking defeat and Girinath drew with V. Saravanan. While Sareen and Girinath can expect to see their IM-title confirmed in the next FIDE meeting (they having two norms before), this was the first norm for D.K.Sharma and Abdullah Al-Rakib.
While the top board ties, Ehlvest-Nenashev and Yurtaev-Dao ended in short unplayed draws, Berelovich beat Schlosser with brilliant endgame technique. Playing with white against the Caro Kann, Berelovich got a queen-side majority in the endgame which he used with clinical accuracy to clinch victory.
Top seed Nigel Short was visibly upset for drawing with white against Bangladeshi IM Ziaur Rahman. He said the game was complicated and offered more or less just one chance which he missed. Rahman said, "Nigel's opening (with white against Sicilian Taimanov) was unconvincing; things looked better for me from about move 15, but it was complicated, and never quite clearly better."
Jonathan Speelman was very fortunate to survive a clearly inferior position against Ranola Yves. At one stage Speelman sacrificed his bishop, rejected a drawing chance by perpetual checks, and continued aggressively with hopes of better chances, but Yves defended well to emerge with a better position. Speelman, however, recovered quickly and managed to escape with a draw. Yves has already secured a 9 round IM-norm, and had he won this game he would have claimed a GM-norm too, but having conceded a draw, he requires to win tomorrow. He has 6/9.
Grandmaster Dibby Barua was 100% himself for the first time in this tournament. Playing a brilliantly with black, he dispatched Grandmaster Alexander Lastin. He sacrificed two pawns to catch Lastin's king in the centre, and worked out an outstand ing mating net to carve out the win. Barua trails the leaders by just half a point with 6/9, which for the kind of start he had, is unbelievable.
Round 9 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 1/2 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 1/2 Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 1/2 Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 1/2 Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 1-0 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) 0-1 Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) Stefanova, Antoaneta (IM)(wg BUL 2480) 1/2 Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) 1/2 Saravanan, V. (IND 2375) Horvath, Csaba (g HUN 2535) 1-0 Neelotpal, Das (IND 2370) Nguyen, Anh Dung (m VIE 2500) 1/2 Gokhale, Jayant Suresh (IND 2305) Ganguly, Surya Shekhar (IND 2300) 1/2 Tilak, Sharad S (m IND 2315) Levitt, Jonathan (g ENG 2425) 1/2 Roktim, Bandyopadhyay (IND 2330) Gokhale, C.S. (IND 2380) 0-1 Konguvel, Ponnuswamy (m IND 2430) Joshi, G B (IND 2355) 0-1 Sareen, Vishal (IND 2320) Reefat, Bin-Sattar (m BAN 2350) 0-1 Sharma, Dinesh K. (IND 2320) Abdulla, Al-Rakib (BAN 2285) 1-0 Thipsay, Praveen M (g IND 2515) Komliakov, Viktor (g MDA 2510) 1/2 Shankar, Roy (IND 2400) Sashikiran, Krishnan (f IND 2470) 1-0 Shetty, Rahul (IND 2315) Ramesh, R.B. (m IND 2345) 1/2 Mithrakanth, Poorna Sharma (m IND 2370) Standings 1. Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 6.5 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 6.5 Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 6.5 Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 6.5 5. Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 6.0 Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 6.0 Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 6.0 Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) 6.0 Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) 6.0 Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) 6.0 11.Abdulla, Al-Rakib (BAN 2285) 5.5 Sharma, Dinesh K. (IND 2320) 5.5 Horvath, Csaba (g HUN 2535) 5.5 Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) 5.5 Sareen, Vishal (IND 2320) 5.5 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 5.5 Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) 5.5
Round 10 15/2/98
Defending champion Alexander Nenashev, Grandmaster from Uzbekistan seeded number two, shot into sole lead with a deserved victory against Grandmaster Alexander Berelovich in the tenth round of the Goodricke International Open Chess tournament, while the other overnight leaders Grandmasters Jan Ehlvest and Leonid Yurtaev drew with Grandmasters Dao Thien Hai and Dibby Barua respectively to trail the leader by half a point. Nenashev with 7.5/10, is followed closely by four Grandmasters, Short, Speelman, Yu rtaev and Ehlvest with 7/10 apiece.
Nenashev outplayed Berelovich with white in a game beginning with Benoni Defence. Right from the opening, Nenashev exerted immense pressure exploiting the huge space advantage he had, impelling Berelovich to attempt an optimistic piece sacrifice which di d not work. Nenashev cashed the material advantage in the endgame, playing with clinical accuracy. Nenashev meets top seed Short tomorrow, in what should be the championship decider.
While the Dao-Ehlvest game ended in a 12-move unplayed draw, Nigel Short beat Philipino Ranola Yves today shattering his GM-norm chances. Playing the Closed Sicilian with white, Short carved out a slow masterly win with combinative play in the middlegame , while Speelman beat Ziaur Rahman in a five and a half hour game. Speelman played the rook and pawn endgame with instructive exactness to drive home a slight advantage of an extra-pawn. He himself admitted after game, it was never quite clearly winning for him.
Grandmaster Dibby Barua who has managed to recover well from his indifferent start, played yet another commendable game against Yurtaev today. Playing white against the Two Kinghts' Defence, Barua played aggresively sacrificing an exchange, but in face of unremitting resistance, had to settle for a draw. Barua has 6.5/10 now.
Extremely promising Surya Sekhar Ganguly who holds the world record of being the youngest ever to achieve international rating, beat Grandmaster Jonathan Levitt for the second time in his life, today. Playing white against the Sicilian Surya played fairly unconventionally, deferring the d4 by one move, but Levitt could cease no advantage of it at all. The English Grandmaster played poorly and lost a pawn in the middle-game. He tried to create some counter-play, but managed to get nowhere as Surya was 100 % himself, and allowed him no scope to bounce back. Surya had some difficulty earlier on, but his late upsurge has taken him to 6/10. If he wins tomorrow, he might claim an IM-norm.
Round 10 Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 1-0 Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 1/2 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) 1/2 Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) 0-1 Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) 0-1 Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) Sareen, Vishal (IND 2320) 0-1 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) Abdulla, Al-Rakib (BAN 2285) 1-0 Kunte, Abhijit (m IND 2460) Sharma, Dinesh K. (IND 2320) 1-0 Girinath, P.D.S. (IND 2340) Konguvel, Ponnuswamy (m IND 2430) 0-1 Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) Tilak, Sharad S (m IND 2315) 0-1 Stefanova, Antoaneta (IM)(wg BUL 2480) Ganguly, Surya Shekhar (IND 2300) 1-0 Levitt, Jonathan (g ENG 2425) Standings 1. Nenashev, Alexander (g UZB 2625) 7.5 2. Short, Nigel D. (g ENG 2660) 7.0 Speelman, Jonathan S. (g ENG 2605) 7.0 Ehlvest, Jaan (g EST 2610) 7.0 Yurtaev, Leonid (g KGZ 2520) 7.0 5. Barua, Dibyendu (g IND 2520) 6.5 Dao, Thien Hai (g VIE 2530) 6.5 Berelovich, Aleksandar (g UKR 2515) 6.5 Schlosser, Philipp (g GER 2515) 6.5 Abdulla, Al-Rakib (BAN 2285) 6.5 Sharma, Dinesh K. (IND 2320) 6.5 11.Ranola, Yves (PHI 2340) 6.0 Rahman, Ziaur (m BAN 2485) 6.0 Ganguly, Surya Shekhar (IND 2300) 6.0 Horvath, Csaba (g HUN 2535) 6.0 Sashikiran, Krishnan (f IND 2470) 6.0 Stefanova, Antoaneta (IM)(wg BUL 2480) 6.0 Lastin, Alexander (g RUS 2535) 6.0
Laszlo Nagy reports on the First Saturday tournaments of February. These events are organised as the 1st Kluger Memorial events. There are 58 players from 10 countries playing including the Scheveningen ELO groups. There are 14 players in the GM group making it a Category 8 event. Igor Glek is playing as is his pupil, Arkadij Naiditsch who is also the youngest player in the event.
GM Event
Round 2 (1998.02.08)
Mikhaletz, Lubomir - Acs, Peter 1-0 62 C77 Ruy Lopez
Keitlinghaus, Ludger - Blauert, Joerg 1-0 20 C02 French; Advance
Czebe, Attila - Varga, Zoltan 1-0 29 D31 Queen's gambit
Hodjko, Vjaceslav - Naiditsch, Arkadjis 1-0 35 B42 Sicilian
Fogarasi, Tibor - Atalik, Suat 0-1 24 C17 French; Winawer
Hoang Thang Trang - Vegh, Endre 1/2 13 A42 Queen's pawn
Borocz, Istvan - Glek, Igor V 0-1 43 B42 Sicilian
Round 3 (1998.02.09)
Atalik, Suat - Czebe, Attila 1/2 32 D07 Chigorin
Glek, Igor V - Mikhaletz, Lubomir 1-0 21 B30 Sicilian
Acs, Peter - Hoang Thang Trang 1-0 43 C43 Petroff defence
Varga, Zoltan - Borocz, Istvan 1-0 32 C26 1.e4 e5
Naiditsch, Arkadjis - Fogarasi, Tibor 1-0 26 A08 Reti (1.Nf3)
Blauert, Joerg - Hodjko, Vjaceslav 1/2 21 B22 Sicilian; Alapin (2.c3)
Vegh, Endre - Keitlinghaus, Ludger 1/2 41 A90 Dutch defence
Round 4 (1998.02.10)
Mikhaletz, Lubomir - Varga, Zoltan 1-0 22 C70 Ruy Lopez
Acs, Peter - Glek, Igor V 1/2 52 C07 French; Tarrasch
Czebe, Attila - Naiditsch, Arkadjis 1-0 34 B42 Sicilian
Hodjko, Vjaceslav - Vegh, Endre 1-0 41 B85 Sicilian
Fogarasi, Tibor - Blauert, Joerg 1-0 40 D34 Queen's gambit
Hoang Thang Trang - Keitlinghaus, Ludger 1/2 68 A80 Dutch defence
Borocz, Istvan - Atalik, Suat 0-1 29 B57 Sicilian
Round 5 (1998.02.11)
Atalik, Suat - Mikhaletz, Lubomir 1-0 40 D31 Queen's gambit
Glek, Igor V - Hoang Thang Trang 1-0 53 C10 French
Keitlinghaus, Ludger - Hodjko, Vjaceslav 1-0 64 B22 Sicilian; Alapin (2.c3)
Varga, Zoltan - Acs, Peter 1/2 0
Naiditsch, Arkadjis - Borocz, Istvan 1-0 61 B31 Sicilian
Blauert, Joerg - Czebe, Attila 1/2 19 B22 Sicilian; Alapin (2.c3)
Vegh, Endre - Fogarasi, Tibor 0-1 40 A65 Modern Benoni
Round 6 (1998.02.12)
Glek, Igor V - Varga, Zoltan 1/2 20 D14 Slav defence
Mikhaletz, Lubomir - Naiditsch, Arkadjis 1-0 31 B43 Sicilian
Acs, Peter - Atalik, Suat 0-1 42 E54 Nimzo indian
Czebe, Attila - Vegh, Endre 1-0 22 B93 Sicilian; Najdorf
Fogarasi, Tibor - Keitlinghaus, Ludger 1/2 32 C67 Ruy Lopez
Hoang Thang Trang - Hodjko, Vjaceslav 1/2 40 A67 Modern Benoni
Borocz, Istvan - Blauert, Joerg 1/2 60 A13 English; 1.c4
Round 7 (1998.02.13)
Atalik, Suat - Glek, Igor V 1/2 14 C47 Four knights
Keitlinghaus, Ludger - Czebe, Attila 1/2 40 B01 Scandinavian
Hodjko, Vjaceslav - Fogarasi, Tibor 0-1 24 B85 Sicilian
Varga, Zoltan - Hoang Thang Trang 1/2 36 C10 French
Naiditsch, Arkadjis - Acs, Peter 0-1 96 C68 Ruy Lopez; Exchange
Blauert, Joerg - Mikhaletz, Lubomir 1/2 94 B22 Sicilian; Alapin (2.c3)
Vegh, Endre - Borocz, Istvan 0-1 58 A43 Queen's pawn
Round 8 (1998.02.14)
Glek, Igor V - Naiditsch, Arkadjis 1/2
Mikhaletz, Lubomir - Vegh, Endre 1-0
Acs, Peter - Blauert, Joerg 1-0 10 C09 French; Tarrasch
Czebe, Attila - Hodjko, Vjaceslav 0-1
Varga, Zoltan - Atalik, Suat 1/2
Hoang Thang Trang - Fogarasi, Tibor 1/2
Borocz, Istvan - Keitlinghaus, Ludger 1/2
Budapest HUN (HUN), II 1998 cat. VIII (2438)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Atalik, Suat g TUR 2595 * = 1 . 1 = = = 1 . . . 1 . 6.0 2653
2 Glek, Igor V g RUS 2550 = * 1 . = 1 . = . = . 1 1 . 6.0 2631
3 Mikhaletz, Lubomir m UKR 2435 0 0 * . 1 . . 1 . 1 = 1 . 1 5.5 2574
4 Keitlinghaus, Ludger m GER 2500 . . . * . = 1 . = = 1 = = = 5.0 2479
5 Acs, Peter f HUN 2450 0 = 0 . * . . = . 1 1 1 1 . 5.0 2536
6 Czebe, Attila m HUN 2475 = 0 . = . * 0 1 . 1 = . . 1 4.5 2486
7 Hodjko, Vjaceslav m RUS 2380 = . . 0 . 1 * . 0 1 = = . 1 4.5 2463
8 Varga, Zoltan g HUN 2520 = = 0 . = 0 . * 1 . . = 1 . 4.0 2465
9 Fogarasi, Tibor m HUN 2440 0 . . = . . 1 0 * 0 1 = . 1 4.0 2418
10 Naiditsch, Arkadjis f GER 2255 . = 0 = 0 0 0 . 1 * . . 1 . 3.0 2370
11 Blauert, Joerg m GER 2395 . . = 0 0 = = . 0 . * . = 1 3.0 2345
12 Hoang Thang Trang m VIE 2350 . 0 0 = 0 . = = = . . * . = 2.5 2312
13 Borocz, Istvan m HUN 2430 0 0 . = 0 . . 0 . 0 = . * 1 2.0 2258
14 Vegh, Endre m HUN 2350 . . 0 = . 0 0 . 0 . 0 = 0 * 1.0 2103
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IM Event
Round 2 (1998.02.08)
Dudas, Janos - Kerek, Csaba 1/2 10 E27 Nimzo indian
Toth, Andras - Gara, Anita 1-0 48 D85 Gruenfeld indian
Franchini, Gabriele - Eperjesi, Laszlo 1/2 20 B17 Caro-Kann
Antal, Gergely - Antal, Sebestyen jr 1-0 29 B53 Sicilian
Brustkern, Juergen - Karatorossian, David 0-1 64 C16 French; Winawer
Gara, Ticia - Dolgener, Tobias 0-1 15 C10 French
Kalousek, Vladimir - Farago, Sandor 1/2 53 A69 Modern Benoni
Round 3 (1998.02.09)
Karatorossian, David - Antal, Gergely 1-0 24 A87 Dutch defence
Eperjesi, Laszlo - Dudas, Janos 1/2 0
Kerek, Csaba - Toth, Andras 1/2 43 E92 Kings indian; Classical
Farago, Sandor - Gara, Ticia 1-0 44 D79 1.d4 d5 2.c4 g6
Dolgener, Tobias - Franchini, Gabriele 1/2 24 C07 French; Tarrasch
Gara, Anita - Brustkern, Juergen 1-0 32 B42 Sicilian
Antal, Sebestyen jr - Kalousek, Vladimir 1-0 28 B76 Sicilian; Dragon
Round 4 (1998.02.10)
Dudas, Janos - Dolgener, Tobias 1/2 45 D00 Queen's pawn
Toth, Andras - Eperjesi, Laszlo 1/2 26 B19 Caro-Kann
Franchini, Gabriele - Farago, Sandor 1/2 45 B53 Sicilian
Antal, Gergely - Gara, Anita 1-0 66 B01 Scandinavian
Brustkern, Juergen - Kerek, Csaba 1/2 62 B01 Scandinavian
Antal, Sebestyen jr - Karatorossian, David 0-1 34 C16 French; Winawer
Kalousek, Vladimir - Gara, Ticia 1/2 40 D85 Gruenfeld indian
Round 5 (1998.02.11)
Karatorossian, David - Kalousek, Vladimir 1-0 36 A26 English; 1.c4 e5
Eperjesi, Laszlo - Brustkern, Juergen 1-0 41 A75 Modern Benoni
Kerek, Csaba - Antal, Gergely 1-0 20 A80 Dutch defence
Farago, Sandor - Dudas, Janos 1/2 0
Dolgener, Tobias - Toth, Andras 1/2 33 B50 Sicilian
Gara, Anita - Antal, Sebestyen jr 0-1 54 B76 Sicilian; Dragon
Gara, Ticia - Franchini, Gabriele 1/2 37 C07 French; Tarrasch
Round 6 (1998.02.12)
Karatorossian, David - Gara, Anita 1-0 80 B66 Sicilian
Dudas, Janos - Gara, Ticia 1/2 11 D13 Slav defence
Toth, Andras - Farago, Sandor 1-0 30 B04 Alekhine defence
Antal, Gergely - Eperjesi, Laszlo 0-1 74 B14 Caro-Kann
Brustkern, Juergen - Dolgener, Tobias 1/2 30 B48 Sicilian
Antal, Sebestyen jr - Kerek, Csaba 0-1 28 B33 Sicilian; Sveshnikov
Kalousek, Vladimir - Franchini, Gabriele 1/2 30 E10 Nimzo indian
Round 7 (1998.02.13)
Eperjesi, Laszlo - Antal, Sebestyen jr 1-0 29 A48 Queen's pawn
Kerek, Csaba - Karatorossian, David 1-0 48 E92 Kings indian; Classical
Farago, Sandor - Brustkern, Juergen 1-0 64 B41 Sicilian
Franchini, Gabriele - Dudas, Janos 1/2 9 C50 Giuoco piano
Dolgener, Tobias - Antal, Gergely 0-1 25 B50 Sicilian
Gara, Anita - Kalousek, Vladimir 1-0 36 B76 Sicilian; Dragon
Gara, Ticia - Toth, Andras 1-0 78 B42 Sicilian
Round 8 (1998.02.14)
Karatorossian, David - Eperjesi, Laszlo 1/2
Toth, Andras - Franchini, Gabriele 1/2
Antal, Gergely - Farago, Sandor 0-1
Gara, Anita - Kerek, Csaba 1/2
Brustkern, Juergen - Gara, Ticia 1-0
Antal, Sebestyen jr - Dolgener, Tobias 0-1
Kalousek, Vladimir - Dudas, Janos 0-1
Budapest HUN (HUN), II 1998 cat. II (2284)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
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1 Karatorossian, David ARM 2375 * = 0 . . 1 . . 1 1 1 . 1 1 6.5 2532
2 Eperjesi, Laszlo m HUN 2365 = * . . = = = . 1 . 1 1 1 . 6.0 2477
3 Kerek, Csaba HUN 2380 1 . * . = = = . 1 = = . 1 . 5.5 2431
4 Farago, Sandor m HUN 2285 . . . * = 0 = 1 1 . 1 1 . = 5.5 2386
5 Dudas, Janos m HUN 2405 . = = = * . = = . = . = . 1 4.5 2304
6 Toth, Andras HUN 2325 0 = = 1 . * = = . 1 . 0 . . 4.0 2293
7 Franchini, Gabriele ITA 2155 . = = = = = * = . . . = . = 4.0 2298
8 Dolgener, Tobias GER 2270 . . . 0 = = = * 0 . = 1 1 . 4.0 2273
9 Antal, Gergely HUN 2220 0 0 0 0 . . . 1 * 1 . . 1 1 4.0 2301
10 Gara, Anita wm HUN 2285 0 . = . = 0 . . 0 * 1 . 0 1 3.0 2211
11 Brustkern, Juergen GER 2230 0 0 = 0 . . . = . 0 * 1 1 . 3.0 2228
12 Gara, Ticia HUN 2235 . 0 . 0 = 1 = 0 . . 0 * . = 2.5 2128
13 Antal, Sebestyen jr HUN 2330 0 0 0 . . . . 0 0 1 0 . * 1 2.0 2087
14 Kalousek, Vladimir CZE 2120 0 . . = 0 . = . 0 0 . = 0 * 1.5 2035
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The Association for the development of chess in Moldova and Dezvoltarea Sahului have put together a the 1st Veacheslav Chebanenco Memorial. Chebanenco who died in August 1997 was an eminant coach and theoretician. The event is taking place in Kishinev (Moldova) 9-17 February 1998 and is Category 12. After seven rounds Alexander Morozevich has scored 6.5/7 and one would hope this might signify some kind of return to form for a player who looked as though he might go very far but has since lost his way.
Internet coverage at: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/8081/tour.html
Standings after 7 rounds
Kishinev MDA (MDA), II 1998 cat. XII (2541)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
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1 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2590 * 1 1 1 = 1 . 1 . 1 6.5 2969
2 Bologan, Viktor g MDA 2580 0 * 1 = = . = 1 = . 4.0 2594
3 Fedorov, Alexei g BLR 2595 0 0 * . 1 . 1 = 1 = 4.0 2574
4 Sakaev, Konstantin g RUS 2620 0 = . * . 0 = 1 1 1 4.0 2590
5 Chernov, Vadim m MDA 2405 = = 0 . * 1 1 0 . = 3.5 2560
6 Iordachescu, Viorel m MDA 2520 0 . . 1 0 * = = = 1 3.5 2530
7 Lanka, Zigurds g LAT 2525 . = 0 = 0 = * . = 1 3.0 2475
8 Aleksandrov, Aleksej g BLR 2615 0 0 = 0 1 = . * = . 2.5 2436
9 Itkis, Boris m ROM 2460 . = 0 0 . = = = * = 2.5 2462
10 Rogozenko, Dorian g MDA 2495 0 . = 0 = 0 0 . = * 1.5 2300
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Albert Silver reports on the finishof the Brazilian Championships in Rio de Janeiro. The event ended on February 16th with Rafael Leitao taking his 2nd national title by half a point from Giovanni Vescovi.
In what was announced to be a dream line-up (if one was to believe the flier being sent out) with top Brazilian player GM Gilberto Milos, GM Darcy Lima, and junior stars Rafael Leitao and Giovanni Vescovi, the 64th edition of the Brazilian Championship started on unsteady feet as the prize fund was suddenly cut in half almost at the last minute. In fact until the very day of the opening ceremony exactly what that line-up would be seemed unclear, and the organizers were left biting their nails whilst hoping that it wouldn't have too drastic an effect on the turnout. As I later discovered, the slight controversy was also due to a degree to the rivalry with São Paulo who had also aggressively bid for the championship. Much to everyone’s surprise, the bid was granted to Rio de Janeiro which saw itself host its first championship in 23 years.
The championship turned out to be a very good one, due very much to the uneven quality and style of the players. Even at the top of the rating list, one can hardly think of two more different players: Rafael Leitão, a very positional player, very adept at simply overpowering his opponents with his play, and Giovanni Vescovi, not lesser in strength (but somewhat less consistent due to his temperament) who has a very tactical style of play which concluded several of his games. Darcy Lima was also looking to repeat his 1995 victory, and let us not forget veteran IM Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk who is out to overcome Souza Mendes’ record of 28 appearances in the Brazilian Championship finals. This was his 26th, and a quick look at the crosstable will show that he is still going very strong.
The tournament went underway with the two young stars fresh from a grueling tournament in Bermuda (and a GM norm each) drawing quickly with each other in the first round in order to recharge their batteries. The first surprise came in the 3rd round when van Riemsdijk downed Darcy Lima in a surprising turnaround after Darcy missed 35...Qd3! in a time scramble. The 4th round saw a hairraising game between GM killer Wellington Rocha and Rafael Leitão. Wellington is known as this for his victory over GM Mecking (Mequinho (Meh-keen-yo) as he is known here) a few years back, and for his complete despite for material. If I haven’t said it yet I’ll say it now, look at the game. One could spend days analyzing it and still not be sure what was going on. True to his style Rocha began throwing pieces at Rafael just for the heck of it, and against an even slightly lesser opponent, it would have been enough, but Leitão showed why he was the champion in title and defended with extreme precision, giving back material in order to come out alive. Still, the position was undecided, though certainly in Leitão’s favour, when things just stopped working for Rocha. Perhaps 30.Qf4 keeping the queen more centralized would have done the trick, but then again perhaps not. After 5 rounds, Leitao was leading with 4.5/5 followed by Vescovi and van Riemsdijk on 4/5, with Darcy Lima trying very hard to recover from his early slip and prove that he was not to be discounted.
In the 6th round, he showed his stuff when after a few strange moves by IM Eduardo Limp he went all out for an attack on Limp’s king punctuating it with a superb 31.e5!! (worthy of a diagram) in which the pawn is attacked by no less than 4 pieces, none of which can take it. IM van Riemsdijk had a nasty scare as he fell victim to a combination from the lowest rated player of the event, Francisco dos Santos from Minas Gerais (14.Nc4!). This last detail is pertinent as the man from Minas was particularly irked by some comment Herman had apparently made on players from there prior to the game, and had decided to take it personally. After 14.Nc4! Herman had nothing better to do than to take the poisoned pawn on a2 with his queen as both 14...Qc7 and 14...Qd8 fail to 15.e5! with dire consequences to follow. Still, again and again dos Santos failed to convert his advantage, and eventually it looked even as if the game was turning around, but Francisco (Chiquinho (shih-keen-yo) to his friends) was in a particualrly inspired frame of mind that day and after 46.g6+! he kept the sway in his favour. Still, neither of the players could seem to make any headway and the game ended in a draw. In the 7th round, Leitão continued his powerful streak after he defeated Darcy Lima in an impressive game, while Vescovi followed closely behind by a half a point.
There weren’t any real surprises in the next few rounds. The leading players continued in the lead, even van Riemsdijk whom I had heard some pessimistically predict that he wouldn’t be able to keep it up (apparently someone forgot to tell him), and Darcy Lima still hoping now at least for 3rd if all went well, as van Riemsdijk still had to play against Leitão in the last round. Unfortunately, things weren’t to work out that way, as Wellington Rocha, who had suffered a number of setbacks in the event, decided that this was to be his GM of the event. The position didn’t look promising for Darcy as he got into a passive though tenable position. A fascinating position arose There weren’t any real surprises in the next few rounds. The leading players continued in the lead, even van Riemsdijk whom I had heard some pessimistically predict that he wouldn’t be able to keep it up (apparently someone forgot to tell him), and Darcy Lima still hoping now at least for 3rd if all went well, as van Riemsdijk still had to play against Leitão in the last round. Unfortunately, things weren’t to work out that way, as Wellington Rocha, who had suffered a number of setbacks in the event, decided that this was to be his GM of the event. The position didn’t look promising for Darcy as he got into a passive though tenable position. A fascinating position arose after his 28...Bg7. I believe that here, Wellington missed a fantastic continuation, in which he could have played 29.Bxg7 and 30.Rc6!! (in any case I am including the game with my analysis at the end for your scrutiny). As it was, this didn’t actually change the result and Rocha came through in the end, dashing Lima’s hopes for good.
In the last round, Leitão was held to a draw by van Riemsdijk, and Vescovi was stuck with a must win situation if he wanted to tie the score and push through to a tie-break match. Limp however had other ideas, and was unbreakable, giving the title for the second straight year to 18-year-old Rafael Leitão. Leitão is the youngest player in history to win back to back championships, and one can only wonder what the future holds for him. A warm congratulations is certainly in order. The organization of the event, despite the unfortunate decimation of the prize money, was nevertheless of superb quality where the players were concerned (which is as it should be), and credit must be given to Ricardo Barata’s energetic administration.
Here is the game between Wellington Rocha and Darcy Lima from the 10th round:
Wellington Rocha - Darcy Lima [D21]
Brazilian Championship 1997 Rio de Janeiro (10), 15.02.1998
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.Bxc4 Qc7 6.Qb3 e6 7.exd4 Nc6
8.0-0 a6 9.Bd2 N [9.Be2 Nf6 10.Nc3 Be7 11.Be3 0-0 12.Rac1 Bd7 13.Na4 Nd5
'Yermolinsky A. - Lima D., Manila 1992 Olympiad'; 9.Bd3 'Wojtkiewicz A. -
Baburin A., San Francisco 1997 It'] 9...Nf6 10.Bd3 Be7 11.Nc3 0-0 12.Rac1
Rd8 13.Ne4 Qb8 14.Rfe1 Bd7 15.Nc5 Be8 16.Be3 Ra7 17.a3 Nd5 18.Bb1 a5
19.Qd3 g6 20.h4 b6 21.Ne4 Nf6 22.Nxf6+ Bxf6 23.Qe4 Ne7 24.h5 Nd5 25.Bh6
Ra8 26.Ne5 Qd6 27.hxg6 hxg6 28.Qg4 Bg7 29.Qh3 [29.Bxg7 ! 29...Kxg7 30.Rc6
!! A) 30...Qe7 31.Nxg6 f5 (31...Qf6 32.Rexe6 fxe6 33.Rxe6+-; 31...Qb7
32.Nf4+ Kf8 33.Rcxe6 ! 33...Qd7 34.Qg5+- 'with the idea' Qh6-h7-h8#)
32.Qg3 Bxg6 33.Rexe6 Qf7 34.Rxg6+ Kf8 35.Bxf5+-; B) 30...Bxc6 31.Bxg6 !
B1) 31...fxg6 32.Qxg6+ Kh8 33.Nf7#; B2) 31...Nf6 32.Qg5 Ng4 33.Bxf7+ Kf8
34.Qg8+ Ke7 35.Qg7 ! 35...Rd7 (35...Nxe5 36.Bh5+ Nf7 37.Qxf7#) 36.Bxe6+
Kd8 37.Nxc6+ Qxc6 38.Bxd7 Qxd7 39.Qf8+ Kc7 40.Qxa8+-; B3) 31...Kf8 32.Bxf7
Ne7 (32...Nf6 33.Qg6 Qd5 34.Nxc6 Qf5 35.Rxe6 Qxg6 36.Bxg6±; 32...Re8
33.Qg6 ! 'with the idea'Qh7-Ng6#) 33.Qg5 Nd5 34.Qh6+ Ke7 35.Bxe6 !
35...Re8 (35...Nf6 36.Ng6+ Ke8 37.Qh8+) 36.Nf7 !; C) 30...Qf8 31.Rxe6 !
31...fxe6 32.Nxg6 Nf6 33.Qg3 C1) 33...Qd6 34.Nf4+ Kf7 35.Ba2 (35.Ba2 b5
36.Qg6+ Ke7 37.Qg7+) 35...Bd7 36.Qg6+ Ke7 37.Qg7+ Ke8 38.Nxe6 Bxe6
39.Rxe6+ Qxe6 40.Bxe6; C2) 33...Bxg6 34.Qxg6+ Kh8 35.Rxe6 Qg7 36.Rxf6 Qxg6
37.Bxg6 Rab8 38.Rf4²] 29...Bxh6 30.Qxh6 Qf8 31.Qh4 Qe7 32.Qg3 Rac8
33.Ba2 Rxc1 34.Rxc1 Qd6 35.Qh4 Qe7 36.Qg3 Qd6 37.Qf3 Kg7 38.g3 Ne7 39.Rd1
Nf5 40.Qc3 Kg8 41.d5 Qc5 42.Qxc5 bxc5 43.Rc1 exd5 44.Rxc5 a4 45.Rxd5 Rb8
46.Rd2 Kg7 47.g4 Nh4 48.Kh2 Rb5 49.Kg3 Rxe5 50.Kxh4 g5+ 51.Kg3 Re1 52.f3
Kf6 53.Kf2 Rc1 54.Ke3 Ke7 55.Bd5 f6 56.Be4 Bb5 57.Rd4 Bd7 58.Bd3 Rh1
59.Be2 Rb1 60.Rb4 f5 61.Bd3 f4+ 62.Ke2 Rh1 63.Be4 Kd6 64.Rd4+ Ke7 65.Kd2
Rh2+ 66.Kc3 Rh3 67.Rd3 Be6 68.Kb4 Rh2 69.Kxa4 Rxb2 70.Ka5 Bc4 71.Rc3 Be2
72.Bc6 Kd6 73.a4 Ke5 74.Bb5 Kd4 75.Ra3 Kc5 76.Bxe2 Rxe2 77.Rc3+ Kd4 78.Kb4
Re3 79.Rb3 Re8 80.a5 Ra8 81.Ka4 Ra7 82.Ra3 Kc4 83.Ra1 Ra8 84.Re1 Rd8
85.Rc1+ 85...Kd3 86.Rd1 1-0
Round 4 (1998.02.09)
Lima, Darcy - Vescovi, Giovanni 1/2 76 B45 Sicilian
Tsuboi, Edson Kenji - De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar 1-0 40 C65 Ruy Lopez
Matsuura, Everaldo - Dos Santos, Francisco Jose 1-0 56 C43 Petroff defence
Martins, Carlos - Limp, Eduardo 0-1 56 B80 Sicilian
Rocha, Wellington Carlos - Leitao, Rafael 0-1 36 E12 Nimzo indian
Guimaraes, Wagner P - Van Riemsdijk, Herman C 1/2 32 C84 Ruy Lopez
Round 5 (1998.02.10)
Leitao, Rafael - Martins, Carlos 1-0 41 A81 Dutch defence
Vescovi, Giovanni - Guimaraes, Wagner P 1-0 27 A65 Modern Benoni
Van Riemsdijk, Herman C - Matsuura, Everaldo 1-0 42 C88 Ruy Lopez
Limp, Eduardo - Tsuboi, Edson Kenji 1/2 47 A31 English; 1.c4 c5
De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar - Lima, Darcy 0-1 62 D36 Queen's gambit
Dos Santos, Francisco Jose - Rocha, Wellington Carlos 1/2 48 A48 Queen's pawn
Round 6 (1998.02.11)
Lima, Darcy - Limp, Eduardo 1-0 42 E92 Kings indian; Classical
Tsuboi, Edson Kenji - Leitao, Rafael 1/2 26 B92 Sicilian; Najdorf
Matsuura, Everaldo - Vescovi, Giovanni 0-1 45 B49 Sicilian
Rocha, Wellington Carlos - Martins, Carlos 0-1 19 A10 English; 1.c4
Guimaraes, Wagner P - De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar 0-1 63 C64 Ruy Lopez
Dos Santos, Francisco Jose - Van Riemsdijk, Herman C 1/2 53 A48 Queen's pawn
Round 7 (1998.02.12)
Leitao, Rafael - Lima, Darcy 1-0 36 A85 Dutch defence
Vescovi, Giovanni - Dos Santos, Francisco Jose 1-0 46 E12 Nimzo indian
Van Riemsdijk, Herman C - Rocha, Wellington Carlos 1/2 45 C42 Petroff defence
Limp, Eduardo - Guimaraes, Wagner P 1-0 26 E92 Kings indian; Classical
Martins, Carlos - Tsuboi, Edson Kenji 1-0 38 B86 Sicilian
De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar - Matsuura, Everaldo 1/2 55 D13 Slav defence
Round 8 (1998.02.13)
Van Riemsdijk, Herman C - Vescovi, Giovanni 1/2 27 B76 Sicilian; Dragon
Lima, Darcy - Martins, Carlos 1-0 54 C42 Petroff defence
Matsuura, Everaldo - Limp, Eduardo 1/2 58 B51 Sicilian
Rocha, Wellington Carlos - Tsuboi, Edson Kenji 1-0 58 B64 Sicilian
Guimaraes, Wagner P - Leitao, Rafael 0-1 26 B02 Alekhine defence
Dos Santos, Francisco Jose - De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar 1/2 43 D03 Queen's pawn
Round 9 (1998.02.14)
Leitao, Rafael - Matsuura, Everaldo 1/2 25 D45 Semi-Slav
Vescovi, Giovanni - Rocha, Wellington Carlos 1-0 41 A56 Benoni
Tsuboi, Edson Kenji - Lima, Darcy 1/2 28 C61 Ruy Lopez
Limp, Eduardo - Dos Santos, Francisco Jose 1-0 54 A46 Queen's pawn
Martins, Carlos - Guimaraes, Wagner P 1-0 40 B76 Sicilian; Dragon
De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar - Van Riemsdijk, Herman C 0-1 40 E06 Nimzo indian
Round 10 (1998.02.15)
Vescovi, Giovanni - De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar 1-0 36 E18 Nimzo indian
Van Riemsdijk, Herman C - Limp, Eduardo 1/2 51 B65 Sicilian
Matsuura, Everaldo - Martins, Carlos 1-0 37 A86 Dutch defence
Rocha, Wellington Carlos - Lima, Darcy 1-0 85 D21 QGA;
Guimaraes, Wagner P - Tsuboi, Edson Kenji 0-1 36 D85 Gruenfeld indian
Dos Santos, Francisco Jose - Leitao, Rafael 0-1 38 A48 Queen's pawn
Round 11 (1998.02.16)
Leitao, Rafael - Van Riemsdijk, Herman C 1/2 10 A54 Benoni
Lima, Darcy - Guimaraes, Wagner P 1-0 34 E94 Kings indian; Classical
Tsuboi, Edson Kenji - Matsuura, Everaldo 1/2 17 C41 Philidor defence
Limp, Eduardo - Vescovi, Giovanni 1/2 54 B44 Sicilian
Martins, Carlos - Dos Santos, Francisco Jose 1-0 38 C05 French; Tarrasch
De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar - Rocha, Wellington Carlos 1-0 43 A56 Benoni
Rio de Janeiro BRA (BRA), II 1998 cat. V (2366)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
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1 Leitao, Rafael m BRA 2515 * = = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 9.0 2614
2 Vescovi, Giovanni m BRA 2480 = * = = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 1 8.5 2566
3 Van Riemsdijk, Herman C m BRA 2375 = = * 1 = = 1 1 = 1 = = 7.5 2498
4 Lima, Darcy m BRA 2475 0 = 0 * = 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 7.0 2457
5 Tsuboi, Edson Kenji f BRA 2345 = 0 = = * = = 0 0 1 1 1 5.5 2367
6 Limp, Eduardo BRA 2415 0 = = 0 = * = 1 0 = 1 1 5.5 2361
7 Matsuura, Everaldo m BRA 2405 = 0 0 0 = = * 1 1 = = 1 5.5 2362
8 Martins, Carlos BRA 2295 0 = 0 0 1 0 0 * 1 = 1 1 5.0 2336
9 Rocha, Wellington Carlos BRA 2325 0 0 = 1 1 1 0 0 * 0 = = 4.5 2304
10 De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar BRA 2315 0 0 0 0 0 = = = 1 * 1 = 4.0 2268
11 Guimaraes, Wagner P BRA 2260 0 0 = 0 0 0 = 0 = 0 * = 2.0 2113
12 Dos Santos, Francisco Jose BRA 2185 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 0 = = = * 2.0 2120
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Mark Schepers sends news and Alain Talon the games from the Belgian interteam Championships. 9 rounds have been completed and only two remain round 10 (1st of March) and rd 11 (15th of March). The team of Rochade Eupen (Gurevich, Chuchelov,...) looks well on its way to a new championships title. They keep on scoring very heavily and they only lost 1 match so far: against KGSRL (Gent), in the 8th round. In the 9th round KASK (Antwerpen) put together a really strong team with the new GM Reinderman on 1st board, Manuel Bosboom on 2d, Rini Kuijf on 3th. But they still lost 3-5 to the champions Rochade.
Belgian Team Championships Standings after 9 (of 11) rounds: 1. Rochade 53 2. KGSRL 45½ 3. Leuven 38 4. Ans 1 37 5. Jean Jaures 36½ 6. Eupen 35½ 7. Tessenderlo 34½ 8. Anderlecht 34½ 9. KASK 32½ 10. CREB 31½ 11. Hoboken 28 12. Mons 25½
James Eade reports on a ten player single round-robin Category V tournament (6 points needed to earn an IM norm) in San Francisco. The event was sponsored by the Mechanics' Institute Library of San Francisco and it was named in memory of a long time Mechanics' member. The event ended in a 3 way tie between Omar Cartagena, Guillermo and Ronald Cusi. Cusi and Caragena scoring IM norms aswell.
Internet coverage: http://www.milibrary.org/chess/Chess.html
San Francisco USA (USA), II 1998 cat. V (2359)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
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1 Cartagena, Omar PHI 2430 * 1 = 1 = = = 1 = = 6.0 2476
2 Rey, Guillermo m USA 2335 0 * = = 1 1 1 1 = = 6.0 2486
3 Cusi, Ronald PHI 2375 = = * = 0 = 1 1 1 1 6.0 2482
4 Shipman, Walter m USA 2350 0 = = * = = = 1 = = 4.5 2360
5 Wolski, Thomas f GER 2315 = 0 1 = * 0 0 = 1 1 4.5 2363
6 Mar, Craig f USA 2420 = 0 = = 1 * 1 0 = 0 4.0 2309
7 Zilberstein, Dmitry USA 2310 = 0 0 = 1 0 * = = 1 4.0 2321
8 Stein, Alex USA 2320 0 0 0 0 = 1 = * 1 1 4.0 2320
9 Grefe, John A m USA 2425 = = 0 = 0 = = 0 * 1 3.5 2271
10 Lobo, Richard ENG 2310 = = 0 = 0 1 0 0 0 * 2.5 2198
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Villy Fink Isaksen sends news of the Chess Championship tournament run by the Aarhus Skakklub. A seven round swiss with 18 players it is covered on the internet at: http://www.web4you.dk/~wpa01716/klub/. The event ran 5th - 15th February 1998 and is alternately hosted every year by the various Aarhus Clubs and is their city championships. I've included all the games again as there were a few errors in last weeks games and the header was not correct either. Jens Ove Fries-Nielsen and Poul Erik Nielsen both finished on 5/7
Aarhus DEN (DEN), II 1998
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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1 Fries-Nielsen, Jens Ove m DEN 2395 +18 = 7 = 3 + 2 =13 + 6 = 4 5.0 2437
2 Nielsen, Poul Erik DEN 2230 +15 + 9 + 5 - 1 + 6 - 3 +10 5.0 2380
3 Jensen, Vagn DEN 2240 - 7 +12 = 1 +10 + 8 + 2 - 5 4.5 2460
4 Matthiesen, Arne DEN 2280 = 8 = 6 =14 + 7 = 5 +13 = 1 4.5 2342
5 Holst, Allan DEN 2365 +10 +13 - 2 - 6 = 4 +12 + 3 4.5 2325
6 Rewitz, Poul DEN 2335 =12 = 4 + 7 + 5 - 2 - 1 +13 4.0 2299
7 Ostersen, Kjeld DEN ---- + 3 = 1 - 6 - 4 +11 -16 +18 3.5 2276
8 Rasmussen, Casper DEN 2245 = 4 =14 +17 =13 - 3 =10 = 9 3.5 2220
9 Poulsen,Michael ---- +11 - 2 -13 +17 =12 =14 = 8 3.5 2234
10 Lindfeldt,Magnus ---- - 5 +18 +15 - 3 +14 = 8 - 2 3.5 2232
11 Matthiesen, Martin DEN 2265 - 9 +16 -12 +18 - 7 =15 +17 3.5 2379
12 Rendboe, John f DEN 2320 = 6 - 3 +11 =14 = 9 - 5 =15 3.0 2206
13 Skytte, Rasmus DEN 2205 +16 - 5 + 9 = 8 = 1 - 4 - 6 3.0 2185
14 Alkaersig, Ole DEN 2170 =17 = 8 = 4 =12 -10 = 9 =16 3.0 2259
15 Pedersen, Bjarne DEN 2205 - 2 =17 -10 =16 +18 =11 =12 3.0 2240
16 Hansen, Bjarne DEN 2245 -13 -11 -18 =15 -17 + 7 =14 2.0 1931
17 Windelboe, Werner DEN 2205 =14 =15 - 8 - 9 +16 -18 -11 2.0 2092
18 Jensen, Jacob Bjerre DEN 2175 - 1 -10 +16 -11 -15 +17 - 7 2.0 2191
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Sinisa Joksic sends news of the 32nd Belgrade Women's Super tournament which will be held 2nd - 13th March 1998. Of the invitee's only Zhu Chen hasn't confirmed participation. With a prize fund of $10,000US and a first prize of $2,800 the event is the premier women's event. Jugometal has been the sponsor for a number of years now but after the sudden death of the President a new organiser had to be found. This company is called Gosa.
The list of players:
Pia Cramling (g SWE 2535)
Maya Chiburdanidze (g GEO 2535)
Chen Zhu (g CHN 2490)
Antoaneta Stefanova (g BUL 2480)
Alisa Maric (g YUG 2480)
Svetlana Matveeva (g RUS 2460)
Natasa Bojkovic (g YUG 2420)
Svetlana Prudnikova (g RUS 2420)
Zhaoqin Peng (g NED 2420)
Tatjana Vasilevich (g UKR 2410)
Luis Santos covered the 14th Portuguese Masters Tournament (organised by the Portuguese Chess Federation: it is not the Portuguese Championship but it is the strongest national tournament that also counts for qualifying the national team for the Olympiad) The venue was Caldas de Felgueira (PORTUGAL) and took place 7 - 15 February with 10 players (category 4, FIDE).
Internet coverage at: http://www.ip.pt/~ip001018/
IM Luís Galego won the event with 7,5/9 and four players finished undefeated.
Caldas de Felgueira POR (POR), II 1998 cat. IV (2342)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
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1 Galego, Luis m POR 2445 * = = = 1 1 1 1 1 1 7.5 2603
2 Rocha, Sergio m POR 2420 = * = = 1 1 1 1 1 = 7.0 2552
3 Leonardo, Joao f POR 2290 = = * = = = 1 1 = = 5.5 2427
4 Damaso, Rui m POR 2440 = = = * = = = = 1 1 5.5 2410
5 Frois, Antonio m POR 2385 0 0 = = * = = 1 1 1 5.0 2379
6 Santos, Carlos P f POR 2400 0 0 = = = * = = 1 1 4.5 2335
7 Ribeiro, Fernando f POR 2360 0 0 0 = = = * = 1 1 4.0 2296
8 Parcerias, Pedro POR 2255 0 0 0 = 0 = = * 0 1 2.5 2185
9 Cordovil, Joao f POR 2220 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 1 * 1 2.5 2189
10 Durao, Joaquim m POR 2200 0 = = 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 1.0 2006
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Massimiliano Orsi sends news of the 6th International Open in Vallee d'Aoste Saint Vincent 7-15 Feb 1998. The nine round Swiss system event was won by Robert Zelcic with an impressive 7.5/9. Details at: http://www.netvallee.it/scacchi/
Final Standings
1 3 ZELCIC Robert 2540 CRO GM 7.5 45.0
2 2 NOVIKOV Igor 2550 UKR GM 6.5 48.5 5.0
3 8 LUTHER Thomas 2510 GER GM 6.5 48.5 4.0
4 5 EFIMOV Igor 2525 ITA GM 6.5 47.0
5 4 VERA Reynaldo 2535 CUB GM 6.5 44.5
6 10 VAN-DEN-DOEL Erik 2485 NED IM 6.0 45.0
7 16 ARLANDI Ennio 2425 ITA IM 6.0 44.5
8 1 MILADINOVIC Igor 2565 GRE GM 6.0 44.0 4.5
9 17 BELOTTI Bruno 2420 ITA IM 6.0 44.0 4.0
10 22 SEDINA Elena 2380 UKR WGM 6.0 44.0 3.5
11 7 CEBALO Miso 2515 CRO GM 6.0 43.5 4.5
12 19 VALLEJO-PONS Francisco 2415 ESP IM 6.0 43.5 3.5
13 18 VAN-DER-WERF Mark 2420 NED IM 6.0 39.0
14 12 FRANCO Zenon 2465 ESP GM 5.5 45.5
15 9 GODENA Michele 2500 ITA GM 5.5 44.0 4.0 3
16 11 FARAGO Ivan 2475 HUN GM 5.5 44.0 4.0 2
17 27 ROSSI Carlo 2330 ITA 5.5 41.0
18 40 GUERRIERI Lorenzo 2185 ITA 5.5 39.5
19 13 ZUEGER Beat 2445 SUI IM 5.5 36.5
20 45 GENOCCHIO Daniele 2155 ITA 5.5 36.0
21 24 MANCA Federico 2375 ITA IM 5.0 46.0
22 26 MANTOVANI Renzo 2365 ITA IM 5.0 41.0 3.5
23 23 LANZANI Mario 2375 ITA 5.0 41.0 3.0
24 35 ROSIN Federico 2240 ITA 5.0 40.5 3.0
25 21 TATAI Stefano 2385 ITA IM 5.0 40.5 2.5
26 42 DE-KLEUVER Esther 2180 NED WIM 5.0 40.0 4.0
27 30 CONTIN Daniel 2300 ITA IM 5.0 40.0 2.0
28 6 DJURIC Stefan 2520 YUG GM 5.0 39.0 3.5
29 37 LUCIANI Valerio 2220 ITA 5.0 39.0 2.5 4
30 29 CAPOSCIUTTI Maurizio 2310 ITA 5.0 39.0 2.5 2
31 14 NAUMKIN Igor 2435 RUS GM 5.0 37.0
32 32 EVERET Alexandro 2290 ITA 5.0 36.5
33 36 HOHLER Peter 2230 SUI 4.5 42.5
34 33 LACROSSE Marc 2280 BEL 4.5 41.0
35 15 BORGO Giulio 2430 ITA IM 4.5 40.5
36 20 MARTORELLI Antonio 2405 ITA IM 4.5 37.5
37 34 YEUILLAZ Corrado 2250 ITA 4.5 36.0
38 44 CASTALDO Folco 2155 ITA 4.5 35.5
39 61 CANDURA Stefano ITA 4.5 34.5
40 25 GUIDO Flavio 2370 ITA 4.0 44.5
41 28 BOTSARI Anna-Maria 2325 GRE WGM 4.0 40.0
42 52 DEBERTSHAUESER Joern GER 4.0 37.5 4.0
43 31 ANCESCHI Vittorio 2290 ITA 4.0 37.5 2.5 3
44 39 UBEZIO Marco 2190 ITA 4.0 37.5 2.5 2
45 53 FACCIA Sergio 2065 ITA 4.0 37.0
46 48 MORDIGLIA Riccardo 2115 ITA 4.0 36.0
47 50 RUPEL David 2105 USA 4.0 34.5
48 43 ROSSI Giampiero 2170 ITA 4.0 33.5
49 47 MURGIA Andrea 2150 ITA 4.0 33.0
50 51 PEGORARO Nicola 2100 ITA 4.0 32.5
51 46 MINERVA Enzo 2155 ITA 4.0 31.5
52 69 GAGLIARDI Claudio ITA 4.0 30.0 1.0
53 68 ROVATTI Paolo ITA 4.0 30.0
54 65 TAGLIAGAMBE Stefano ITA 4.0 28.5
55 57 CIUFFOLETTI Paolo ITA 3.5 33.5
56 67 SCHIAPPACASSE Marcello ITA 3.5 33.0 3.0
57 54 FRANK Albert 2035 BEL 3.5 33.0 1.5
58 41 ASTENGO Corrado 2180 ITA 3.5 28.0
59 59 GUGLIELMI Nicolo' ITA 3.0 36.0
60 64 LUISETTO Alessandro ITA 3.0 35.5
61 58 SQUARCI Franco ITA 3.0 31.5
62 60 DIENA Giovanni ITA 3.0 30.0
63 49 PRELATI Maurizio 2110 ITA 3.0 29.5
64 70 MARTINOIA Luigi ITA 3.0 25.5
65 56 MACHIN Guillaume FRA 2.5 36.0
66 62 DI-LAZZARO Gabriele ITA 2.5 35.0
67 66 LEMMA Vittorio ITA 2.5 29.0
68 55 RAVAGNANI Tiziano 2015 ITA 2.5 26.5
69 63 DUARTE Riccardo ITA 2.0 31.5
70 38 VALENTI Giuseppe 2210 ITA 1.5 17.0
71 71 BOGATTO Mario ITA 1.0 26.0
An international open started on Friday 13th February in Malaga. 89 players.
Information on the internet at: http://www.redestb.es/personal/fjrd/index.html
On February 28th at 3pm local time, the FIDE Champion Anatoly Karpov will play a simul on the web site of Europe Echecs. Karpov will play on the stage of the "Grand Auditorium" of the "Palais des Festivals" during the "Festival des Jeux" in Cannes which gathers tournaments of all sorts of games (bridge, backgammon, chess, draughts etc.). The simul is organised by both the "Festival des Jeux" and the French chess monthly Europe Echecs and its web site. Europe Echecs' provider " cticiel" and "Nice Matin MultiMedia" will take care of the technical side of this simul. 4 blitz tournaments will be organised on a FICS on Europe Echecs' web site (first tournament was in the week of Feb 9th). The first five players of each tournament are qualified. The 6-10th are on the " reserve list ". All details at http://www.europe-echecs.com
The Polgar Chess Center in Queens NY will be holding two events which will involve Judit Polgar. The first is on Thursday (Feb. 19)A Blitz tournament with GMs like Gulko, Sagalchik, possibly Benjamin, Susan Polgar and more. The second is a high visibility simul by Judit Polgar which will be covered by major media (like NY Times,Washington Post, NY Post NY magazine etc.) as well as Chess Life, Inside Chess and local media. The Hungarian consul will be present and the mayor of NY City and governer of NY state were invited as well as USCF officials. More information at: