THE WEEK IN CHESS 242 - 28th June 1999 by Mark Crowther

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Contact The Week in Chess Mark Crowther E-Mail mdcrowth@netcomuk.co.uk Tel or fax 01274 882143 [Bradford England] Mobile 07957381719 http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html Contents 1) Introduction 2) FIDE Round 1 pairings 3) Frankfurt Chess Classic 1999 4) Garry Kasparov vs the ROW 5) 13th Dr Milan Vidmar Memorial 6) Petrosian Memorial 7) Fan Adams International 1999 8) 3rd Voronezh Open 9) Quebec Invitational Championships 10) Coupe de France 11) Willy Iclicki replies to Zsuzsa Polgar 12) IOC Recognises FIDE 13) FIDE Rapidplay Ratings 14) WCC World Chess Rankings 15) Forthcoming Events and Links TWIC CD is out NOW.

Contact the London Chess Center Order form at http://www.chesscenter.com or email chesscentre@easynet.co.uk Call toll free 1-888-chess06 in the USA or Canada Call +44 (0) 171 388 2404 or Fax +44 (0) 171 388 2407 in the UK and ROW Special TWIC Readers Offers 1. The Week In Chess CD The number 1 news service, all the editions from 1995 to end 1998 on this CD. Includes the best 130,000 games from the last 4 years, all the MIG articles and ChessBase light (a cut down version of ChessBase). List price £19.95 $29.95 Offer Post Free Worldwide 2. Easy Guide to the Bb5 Sicilian by Steffen Pedersen The young Danish International Master looks at this potent weapon against the Sicilian. The Bb5 lines are completely logical and have real practical sting. All you need is a good understanding of the ideas and a moderate amount of specific knowledge. The Easy Guide supplies just that. Covers Rossolimo and Moscow (3.Bb5+) Variations. £12.99 $18.95 3. Easy Guide to Ruy Lopez by John Emms In this easy to follow guide, you are taken through the main concepts that underlie the Ruy Lopez. Although Grandmaster Emms has written with a repertoire slant towards white he has remained as objective as possible. The content is up-to-date and contains enough information to enable you to play the Ruy Lopez with confidence without being flooded with detail. £12.99 $18.95 4. Simple Winning Chess by Chris Baker An entertaining and instructive book from an experienced International master and coach. A complete self-improvement course with tips and guidance on preparation and study and all phases of practical play. £12.99 $18.95 5. Hiarcs 7.32 analysis module on CD. The strongest analysis module yet for ChessBase and Fritz. Extraordinarily strong 32Bit chess engine by Mark Uniacke. Original openings book by Eric Hallsworth. Accesses five piece endgame tablebases in the search KPP vs KP, KRP vs KR, KBP vs KB, KRB vs KR and all four piece endgames included. Persistent hash tables and positional learning for learning analysis 300,000 games database List price £44.95 $60.00 Offer price £39.95 $52.00 6. ChessBase Opening Encyclopaedia (new edition) With contributions of many well-known opening experts featuring: - more than 470.000 games - 40.000 of them with annotations - 3000 opening surveys contains at least one survey for each of the 500 opening codes - access to the games with the big opening key "BigKey" - big tree of all games for quick overview and statistical access All data in both old and new ChessBase format List Price £89.95 $130 Offer Price £79.95 $115 For new book offers visit http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html

Games section

13th Dr Milan Vidmar Memorial         6 games
Petrosian Memorial                   25 games
Fan Adams International 1999         32 games
3rd Voronezh Open                    92 games
Quebec Invitational Championships    35 games
Coupe de France                      12 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Scott Pendergrast, Michelangelo Busssacchini, Hugh Brodie, Willy Iclicki and all those who helped with this issue.

A number of off the board stories dominate proceedings this week. The FIDE World Championships in Las Vegas come into focus with the release of the preliminary first round draw. The main interest surrounds Karpov's participation, he is in the draw but a decision as to whether he plays will have to be made by Karpov and FIDE soon. Kasparov's internet chess match against the Rest of the World has again shown the potential interest in chess for the general public if the right event can be found. Willy Iclicki justifies the decision to default Zsuzsa Polgar from the FIDE World Chess Championships. Next week will see the fantastic annual Frankfurt rapidplay events headed by the Siemen's Giants with Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik and Karpov.

Hope you enjoy this issue

Mark

2) FIDE Round 1 pairings

The preliminary pairings for round one of Las Vegas have been released. The inclusion of Karpov in them is interesting. Although FIDE's official position is that he is playing (correctly so) Karpov's position is that he has not ruled out participation. There are reports that Karpov is in preparation for the event, nevertheless I think it likely he will not play, and he has not signed the players contract. Kamsky has signed the contract and will no doubt play. The contract means that the players cannot play in any rival match for by other organisations for the World Championships for a year. Anand wrote to FIDE explaining his non-participation in the FIDE event as he had decided to play Kasparov.

Round 1 Pairings

Match 01: 33 Tiviakov - 69 Gurevich 
Match 02: 49 Dolmatov - 85 Kotsur 
Match 03: 41 Ponomariov - 77 Al-Modiakh
Match 04: 57 Psakhis - 93 Zapata
Match 05: 37 DeFirmian - 73 Kobalija 
Match 06: 53 Peng - 89 Sadvakasov
Match 07: 45 Yermolinsky - 81 Spraggett
Match 08: 29 Fedorov - 65 Zelcic
Match 09: 61 Kotronias - 97 Bouaziz
Match 10: 35 Gulko - 71 Reinderman 
Match 11: 51 Rozentalis - 87 Aronian 
Match 12: 43 Kasimdzhanov - 79 Bauer
Match 13: 59 Dizdar - 95 Liang
Match 14: 39 Aleksandrov - 75 Becerra 
Match 15: 55 Babula - 91 Shaked
Match 16: 47 Ehlvest - 83 Nijboer
Match 17: 31 Akopian - 67 Chiburdanidze
Match 18: 63 Antonio - 99 Kozak
Match 19: 64 Magem Badals - 100 Feldman
Match 20: 32 Tkachiev - 68 Hoffman
Match 21: 48 Benjamin - 84 Nielsen
Match 22: 56 Polgar Zsuzsa - 92 Mohamed
Match 23: 40 Miles - 76 Akesson
Match 24: 60 Velimirovic - 96 Kobese
Match 25: 44 Speelman - 80 Ricardi
Match 26: 52 Asrian - 88 Rodriguez
Match 27: 36 Khalifman - 72 Barua
Match 28: 62 Leitao - 98 Bagheri
Match 29: 30 Krasenkow - 66 Macieja
Match 30: 46 Nisipeanu - 82 Djuric
Match 31: 54 Stefansson - 90 Zubarev
Match 32: 38 Wahls - 74 Cela
Match 33: 58 Hamdouchi - 94 Hakki
Match 34: 42 Adianto - 78 Fridman
Match 35: 50 Milos - 86 Ivanov
Match 36: 34 Sokolov - 70 Kudrin

Seeded Round 2 pairings.

Match 37: 01 Kramnik - winner Match 01
Match 38: 17 Korchnoi - winner Match 02
Match 39: 09 Topalov - winner Match 03
Match 40: 25 Smirin - winner Match 04
Match 41: 05 Adams - winner Match 05
Match 42: 21 Almasi - winner Match 06
Match 43: 13 Rublevsky - winner Match 07
Match 44: winner Match 08 - winner Match 09
Match 45: 03 Morozevich - winner Match 10
Match 46: 19 Timman - winner Match 11
Match 47: 11 Leko - winner Match 12
Match 48: 27 Movsesian - winner Match 13
Match 49: 07 Svidler - winner Match 14
Match 50: 23 Georgiev - winner Match 15
Match 51: 15 Bareev - winner Match 16
Match 52: winner Match 17 - winner Match 18
Match 53: winner Match 19 - winner Match 20
Match 54: 16 Polgar, Judit - winner Match 21
Match 55: 24 Zvjaginsev - winner Match 22
Match 56: 08 Karpov - winner Match 23
Match 57: 28 Sakaev - winner Match 24
Match 58: 12 Gelfand - winner Match 25
Match 59: 20 Sadler - winner Match 26
Match 60: 04 Kamsky - winner Match 27
Match 61: winner Match 28 - winner Match 29
Match 62: 14 Azmaiparashvili - winner Match 30
Match 63: 22 Shipov - winner Match 31
Match 64: 06 Ivanchuk - winner Match 32
Match 65: 26 Beliavsky - winner Match 33
Match 66: 10 Short - winner Match 34
Match 67: 18 Salov - winner Match 35
Match 68: 02 Shirov - winner Match 36 

3) Frankfurt Chess Classic 1999

The Frankfurt Chess Classic 1999 runs June 29- July 4th. Garry Kasparov heads the field in the Elite event , last year's finalists Anand and Kramnik also play in this rapidplay event and Karpov playing in his first event with Kasparov since Las Palmas 1997 completes the field. Morozevich, Adams, Svidler, Topalov, Leko, Lutz, Fritz 6 play in the masters in this rapidplay event. Full coverage on TWIC's pages every day.

Further information at: http://www.schach-daniel.com/Turniere/Frankfurt/frankfurt.html

4) Garry Kasparov vs the ROW

Garry Kasparov was in New York on June 21st to play the first move of the Kasparov vs. the World chess tournament. The event which is taking place on the MSN network of Internet services http://zone.msn.com/ allows players to consult in choosing which move is played against Kasparov. Players can vote for one of the suggested moves or for their own recommended move. The move with the most votes will be chosen as the world team's move. There is a team of coaches Etienne Bacrot, 16, Florin Felecan, 19, Irina Krush, 15, and Elisabeth Pähtz, 14 who will aid the choice of moves and GM Danny King will act as moderator during the match. Kasparov played 1.e4 to start the game and the balance of opinion of the coaches is suggesting that Kasparov's favourite Sicilian Defence be the choice 1. ...c5 and although 1. ...e5 received significant support, the Sicilian was the choice. Moves so far 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+.

After Kasparov's first move the site received 2 million hits in a very short period of time vastly exceeding expectations for the event and causing temporary problems. The event shows the amount of potential interest in chess, especially from casual players, if the right event comes along.

5) 13th Dr Milan Vidmar Memorial

The Slovenian Chess Federation organised the 13th Dr Milan Vidmar Memorial Category XIV tournament. 6 players played in this double round robin event. Zvjaginsev (RUS), Beliavsky (SLO), Kozul (CRO), Stohl (SVK), Pavasovic (SLO), Aronian (ARM). The event took place in the Hotel Bernardin in Portoroz and ran June 13th-23rd 1999. This is also the 30th Anniversary of the first Milan Vidmar memorial tournament (the 1st was in 1969). Alexander Beliavsky won clearly with 7.5/10 two points clear of Vadim Zvjaginsev and Zdenko Kozul.

Official coverage: http://www.sah-zveza.si/mv13/

Round 9 (June 22, 1999)

Beliavsky, Alexander G  -  Stohl, Igor             1/2   41  E05  Nimzo indian
Kozul, Zdenko           -  Zvjaginsev, Vadim       0-1   28  D91  Gruenfeld indian
Aronian, Levon          -  Pavasovic, Dusko        1-0   32  A11  English; 1.c4

Round 10 (June 23, 1999)

Zvjaginsev, Vadim       -  Aronian, Levon          1/2   33  B54  Sicilian
Stohl, Igor             -  Kozul, Zdenko           1/2   14  A12  English; 1.c4
Pavasovic, Dusko        -  Beliavsky, Alexander G  0-1   35  C47  Four knights


Portoroz SLO (SLO), vi 1999                       cat. XIV (2578)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1  2  3  4  5  6 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Beliavsky, Alexander G  g SLO 2650 ** == 11 1= == 11  7.5  2757
2 Zvjaginsev, Vadim       g RUS 2658 == ** 01 == 1= ==  5.5  2598
3 Kozul, Zdenko           g CRO 2585 00 10 ** 10 1= 11  5.5  2613
4 Aronian, Levon          m ARM 2502 0= == 01 ** == =1  5.0  2593
5 Stohl, Igor             g SVK 2573 == 0= 0= == ** 11  5.0  2579
6 Pavasovic, Dusko        m SLO 2502 00 == 00 =0 00 **  1.5  2297
-----------------------------------------------------------------

6) Petrosian Memorial

The Tigran Petrosian Memorial took place in Moscow, running June 18th-27th. The event celebrated the 70th Anniversary of Petrosian's birth on June 17th 1929. The players are all those who were rivals during his playing career. Unfortunately the event probably set some kind of unwanted record with only 3 out of the 45 games ending decisively. Ivkov and Portish both scored +1 (5/9) to take joint first.

Round 5 (June 22, 1999)

Ivkov, Borislav      -  Taimanov, Mark E     1/2   10  A13  English; 1.c4
Balashov, Yuri S     -  Tseshkovsky, Vitaly  1/2   13  C67  Ruy Lopez
Smyslov, Vassily     -  Portisch, Lajos      1/2   16  D41  QGD; Tarrasch Defence
Hort, Vlastimil      -  Larsen, Bent         1/2   12  A35  English; 1.c4 c5
Gligoric, Svetozar   -  Spassky, Boris V     1/2   13  D59  QGD;

Round 6 (June 23, 1999)

Portisch, Lajos      -  Ivkov, Borislav      1/2   41  E94  Kings indian; Classical
Spassky, Boris V     -  Tseshkovsky, Vitaly  1/2   52  B07  Pirc
Taimanov, Mark E     -  Balashov, Yuri S     1/2   27  A06  Reti (1.Nf3)
Gligoric, Svetozar   -  Hort, Vlastimil      1/2   30  D97  Gruenfeld indian
Larsen, Bent         -  Smyslov, Vassily     1/2   15  D37  Queen's gambit

Round 7 (June 24, 1999)

Ivkov, Borislav      -  Larsen, Bent         1/2   15  A13  English; 1.c4
Balashov, Yuri S     -  Portisch, Lajos      1/2   45  B80  Sicilian
Smyslov, Vassily     -  Gligoric, Svetozar   1/2   13  C48  Four knights
Hort, Vlastimil      -  Spassky, Boris V     1/2   26  C02  French; Advance
Tseshkovsky, Vitaly  -  Taimanov, Mark E     1/2   62  B46  Sicilian

Round 8 (June 25, 1999)

Portisch, Lajos      -  Tseshkovsky, Vitaly  1/2   44  E61  Kings indian
Spassky, Boris V     -  Taimanov, Mark E     1/2   15  B46  Sicilian
Hort, Vlastimil      -  Smyslov, Vassily     1/2   11  D37  Queen's gambit
Gligoric, Svetozar   -  Ivkov, Borislav      1/2   10  B07  Pirc
Larsen, Bent         -  Balashov, Yuri S     1/2   29  B83  Sicilian

Round 9 (June 26, 1999)

Ivkov, Borislav      -  Hort, Vlastimil      1/2   59  D35  Queen's gambit
Balashov, Yuri S     -  Gligoric, Svetozar   1/2   24  C88  Ruy Lopez
Smyslov, Vassily     -  Spassky, Boris V     1/2   11  C07  French; Tarrasch
Taimanov, Mark E     -  Portisch, Lajos      1/2   31  A30  English; 1.c4 c5
Tseshkovsky, Vitaly  -  Larsen, Bent         1/2   52  B70  Sicilian; Dragon


Petrosian Memorial, Moscow (RUS), vi 1999          cat. XI (2513)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 1 Ivkov, Borislav      g YUG 2444 * = = = = = = 1 = =  5.0  2563
 2 Portisch, Lajos      g HUN 2555 = * = = = = = = = 1  5.0  2550
 3 Balashov, Yuri S     g RUS 2578 = = * = = = = = = =  4.5  2505
 4 Smyslov, Vassily     g RUS 2485 = = = * = = = = = =  4.5  2515
 5 Spassky, Boris V     g FRA 2549 = = = = * = = = = =  4.5  2508
 6 Hort, Vlastimil      g GER 2526 = = = = = * = = = =  4.5  2511
 7 Taimanov, Mark E     g RUS 2424 = = = = = = * = = =  4.5  2522
 8 Tseshkovsky, Vitaly  g RUS 2556 0 = = = = = = * 1 =  4.5  2507
 9 Gligoric, Svetozar   g YUG 2476 = = = = = = = 0 * =  4.0  2473
10 Larsen, Bent         g DEN 2532 = 0 = = = = = = = *  4.0  2467
-----------------------------------------------------------------

7) Fan Adams International 1999

The Fan Adams International taking place in the Marshall Chess Club in New York have concluded. The event consisted of two stages. The Scheveningen qualifier event was reported last week. The Finals saw the players divided into two groups, the Final A providing GM opposition the Final B a mixture of two IMs and two untitle players as opposition for the qualifiers.

Jan Gustafsson scored his 4th IM norm and William Morrison also (according to the official site). The GMs dominated Final A and the qualifiers Final B. Giorgi Kacheishvili scored a 2700+ result for his four games in the Final A.

Official coverage at: http://masterchess.com/marshallchessclub/ and http://masterchess.com/marshallchessclub/pairings.html

Group A

Round 1 (June 24, 1999)

Kacheishvili, Giorgi  -  Shahade, Gregory      1-0   49  A33  English; 1.c4 c5
Sher, Miron N         -  Burnett, Ronald       1/2   51  A40  Queen's pawn
Sokolin, Leonid M     -  Blatny, Pavel         1/2  102  A44  Queen's pawn
Waitzkin, Joshua      -  Fedorowicz, John P    0-1   41  B90  Sicilian; Najdorf

Round 2 (June 25, 1999)

Blatny, Pavel         -  Waitzkin, Joshua      1-0   26  D27  QGA;
Fedorowicz, John P    -  Sokolin, Leonid M     1/2   41  B06  Modern defence
Burnett, Ronald       -  Kacheishvili, Giorgi  1/2   15  B08  Pirc; Classical
Shahade, Gregory      -  Sher, Miron N         1/2   68  B66  Sicilian

Round 3 (June 26, 1999)

Kacheishvili, Giorgi  -  Waitzkin, Joshua      1-0   24  D02  Queen's pawn
Sher, Miron N         -  Sokolin, Leonid M     1-0   46  A35  English; 1.c4 c5
Burnett, Ronald       -  Blatny, Pavel         1/2   10  B15  Caro-Kann
Shahade, Gregory      -  Fedorowicz, John P    1/2   37  B82  Sicilian

Round 4 (June 27, 1999)

Blatny, Pavel         -  Shahade, Gregory      1/2   52  B50  Sicilian
Fedorowicz, John P    -  Burnett, Ronald       1/2   22  E12  Nimzo indian
Sokolin, Leonid M     -  Kacheishvili, Giorgi  0-1   33  E20  Nimzo indian
Waitzkin, Joshua      -  Sher, Miron N         1/2    8  C01  French; Exchange


Marshall Chess Club (USA), vi 1999              cat. IX (2477)
-------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1 2 3 4 
-------------------------------------------------------------
Group 1
1 Kacheishvili, Giorgi  g GEO 2570 = 1 1 1  3.5  2783
2 Sher, Miron N         g RUS 2415 = = 1 =  2.5  2542
3 Blatny, Pavel         g CZE 2468 = = = 1  2.5  2542
4 Fedorowicz, John P    g USA 2574 = = = 1  2.5  2542
Group 2
-----------------------------------------------------
1 Burnett, Ronald       m USA 2420 = = = =  2.0  2506
2 Shahade, Gregory      f USA 2386 0 = = =  1.5  2419
3 Sokolin, Leonid M     m USA 2515 0 0 = =  1.0  2313
4 Waitzkin, Joshua      m USA 2467 0 = 0 0  0.5  2184
-------------------------------------------------------------

Final B 

Round 1 (June 24, 1999)

Ady, Jonathan J    -  Robovic, Saudin    1-0
Bonin, Jay R       -  Gustafsson, Jan    1/2   50  E15  Nimzo indian
Lapshun, Yury      -  Encarnacion, Erne  1-0   26  C15  French; Winawer
Furdzik, Rafal     -  Morrison, William  1/2   40  C55  Two knights

Round 2 (June 25, 1999)

Gustafsson, Jan    -  Furdzik, Rafal     1-0   49  A45  Queen's pawn
Robovic, Saudin    -  Lapshun, Yury      1-0   60  B20  Sicilian
Morrison, William  -  Bonin, Jay R       1/2   20  B15  Caro-Kann
Encarnacion, Erne  -  Ady, Jonathan J    0-1   37  A07  Reti (1.Nf3)

Round 3 (June 26, 1999)

Bonin, Jay R       -  Ady, Jonathan J    1-0   25  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Gustafsson, Jan    -  Robovic, Saudin    1/2   12  D14  Slav defence
Morrison, William  -  Encarnacion, Erne  1/2   16  B74  Sicilian; Dragon
Furdzik, Rafal     -  Lapshun, Yury      0-1   41  C00  French

Round 4 (June 27, 1999)

Ady, Jonathan J    -  Furdzik, Rafal     1-0   17  B12  Caro-Kann
Lapshun, Yury      -  Bonin, Jay R       1/2   
Robovic, Saudin    -  Morrison, William  1/2   10  D55  QGD;
Encarnacion, Erne  -  Gustafsson, Jan    1/2   32  A49  Queen's pawn


Marshall Chess Club (USA), vi 1999           cat. V (2357)
--------------------------------------------------
                                1 2 3 4 
--------------------------------------------------
Group 1
1 Bonin, Jay R       m USA 2419 1 = = =  2.5  2507
2 Robovic, Saudin    m BIH 2329 0 = 1 =  2.0  2412
3 Encarnacion, Erne    USA 2210 0 = 0 =  1.0  2219
4 Furdzik, Rafal       POL 2249 0 0 0 =  0.5  2090
--------------------------------------------------
Group 2
1 Ady, Jonathan J    f HKG 2412 0 1 1 1  3.0  2494
2 Gustafsson, Jan      GER 2416 = = = 1  2.5  2396
3 Lapshun, Yury      f USA 2455 = 0 1 1  2.5  2396
4 Morrison, William  f USA 2367 = = = =  2.0  2301
---------------------------------------------------

8) 3rd Voronezh Open

The Voronezh Open-99 ran 12th-20th June 1999 in Voronezh, Russia. There were 118 participants (2GMs, 17 IMs, 5 FMs, 1 WIM, 1 WFM) from Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, France, Hungary, Romania, Uzbekistan and Mexico. Sergej Dyachkov and Alexander Vaulin scored 7/9. The games section has games from the first 5 rounds.

Official sites: http://www.relex.ru/~xuser/voronezh_open/index.htm (in Russian) or http://www.relex.ru/~xuser/voronezh_open/index_e.htm (in English)

Leading final standings

3rd Voronezh Open RUS (RUS), vi 1999
-----------------------------------------------
 1 Dyachkov, Sergej           m RUS 2485  7/9
 2 Vaulin, Alexander          g RUS 2547  7
 3 Kiselev, Gennady             RUS 2425  6.5
 4 Chernyshov, Konstantin     m RUS 2488  6.5
 5 Panchenko, Alexandar G     m UKR 2427  6.5
 6 Shestoperov, Aleksej         RUS 2420  6.5
 7 Burlai, Oleg                 UKR 2405  6.5
 8 Alekseev, Evgeny             RUS 2300  6.5
 9 Gulkov, Igor A               RUS 2330  6.5
10 Volodin, Alexey              RUS 2300  6.5
11 Rodin, Dmitrij               RUS 2260  6.5
12 Sergienko, Sergey          m RUS 2387  6.5
... 118 players

9) Quebec Invitational Championships

The Quebec Invitational Championships took place June 22nd-25th 1999.

Hugh Brodie reports: GM Alexandre Lesiege won the Quebec Closed (Championnat invitation du Quebec) held recently in Montreal, and nearby Sherbrooke. Rather than the traditional 10-player round-robin format, it was held as a 15-player knockout event (the defending champion received a bye into the second round). The 1/8 and 1/4 finals were matches of two games, and the 1/2 finals and the final were matches of four games. Ties were broken by sudden-death 30-minute games. By prior agreement, all four games were played in the final. Lesiege has now won this event the last six years!

More details: http://132.206.45.67/chess/index.htm

      1/8 final (2 game matches)
      ---------
GM Lesiege,Alexandre (Montreal) 2597  bye

Charbonneau,Pascal (Montreal)   2375  1 0 1/2 1
Leriche,Felix (Trois-Rivieres)  2177  0 1 1/2 0

Hua,Lefong (Montreal)           2304  1 1/2
Larochelle,Martial (Chapais)    2273  0 1/2

FM Schleifer,Michael (Montreal) 2418  1/2 1/2 1
Saint-Amand,Paul (Quebec)       2167  1/2 1/2 0

Khassanov,Marat (Montreal)      2437  1 1
Strassmann,Swantje (Montreal)   2147  0 0

FM Leveille,Francois (Montreal) 2320  1/2 1/2 1
Prahov,Valentin (Montreal)      2211  1/2 1/2 0

FM Goldenberg,Danny (Montreal)  2303  1 0 1
Wenaas,Eric (St-Hyacinthe)      2273  0 1 0


Duong,Thanh Nha (Montreal)      2405  1 1
Desjardins,Andre (Boisbriand)   2172  0 0

      1/4 final (2 game matches)
      ---------
GM Lesiege,Alexandre (Montreal) 2597  1 1
Charbonneau,Pascal (Montreal)   2375  0 0

Hua,Lefong (Montreal)           2304  0 =
FM Schleifer,Michael (Montreal) 2418  1 =

Khassanov,Marat (Montreal)      2437  = 1
FM Leveille,Francois (Montreal) 2320  = 0

FM Goldenberg,Danny (Montreal)  2303  1 1
Duong,Thanh Nha (Montreal)      2405  0 0

      1/2 final (4 game matches)
      ---------
GM Lesiege,Alexandre (Montreal) 2597  = = = = 1
FM Schleifer,Michael (Montreal) 2418  = = = = 0

Khassanov,Marat (Montreal)      2437  1 0 0 0
Duong,Thanh Nha (Montreal)      2405  0 1 1 1

      Final     (4 game match)
      -----
GM Lesiege,Alexandre (Montreal) 2597  1 1 1 1
Duong,Thanh Nha (Montreal)      2405  0 0 0 0

10) Coupe de France

Michelangelo Busssacchini reports: The Coupe de France semi-finals and finals took place in Monaco over the weekend 26th-27th June 1999. The Semi-Finals saw Monaco (Sadler, Piket, Kosten and Efimov) against Mulhouse (Sokolov, A, Koch, JR, Marzolo, Rozer) and the team of Clichy against Fontainebleau-Avon (Third League). The Final saw Mulhouse against Fontainebleau-Avon with Mulhouse winning 3-1.

Semifinals

Fontainebleau-Avon - Clichy 2-2

B Lukov, GMI 2439 1-0 N Apicella, GMI 2515
N Ardiot 2170 0-1 B Renet, GMI 2500
N Haik, MI 2399 0-1 B Verat 2294
B Appendino 2170 1-0 N Moingt 2290

Monaco - Mulhouse 2-2

B Sadler, GMI 2667 ½-½ N Sokolov, GMI 2567
N Piket, GMI 2619 ½-½ B Koch, MI 2485
N Kosten, GMI 2502 0-1 B Marzolo 2435
B Efimov, GMI 2494 1-0 N Roser 2319

Final

Fontainebleau-Avon 1 - 3 Mulhouse

B Lukov, GMI 2439 ½-½ N Sokolov, GMI 2567
N Haik, MI 2399 0-1 B Koch, MI 2485
N Ardiot 2170 0-1 B Marzolo 2435
B Appendino 2170 ½-½ N Roser 2319

11) Willy Iclicki replies to Zsuzsa Polgar

FIDE have decided to hold a match in Shenyang, China from 3 July to 27 July 1999, between Xie June and Alisa Galiamova for the Women's World Championships. Women's World Champion Zsuzsa Polgar has been defaulted and been replaced by Galiamova. Last week in a letter from Zsuzsa Polgar she outlined her position. This week Willy Iclicki [Chairman of the World Championships Cycle Committee] speaking to me from Belgium on Saturday, has reacted to Zsuzsa Polgar's letter of last week.

He makes several points:

Zsuzsa Polgar can play in China as the US State Department won't involve themselves in decisions of foreign nationals in their own country.

The subject has been discussed in Elista, in the General Assembly during Olympid in October 1988 and again in Ankara, a Presidential Board in March 99.

FIDE have tried their very best to find a compromise both over the prize fund (lifting it from $100,000 to $200,000) and the venue. Whilst Zsuzsa Polgar was correct in being able to initially refuse China as the venue because it is the home country of her opponent Xie Jun, the absense of other bids meant that FIDE can now insist on China as a venue.

Although Zsuzsa Polgar proposed that Hungary have half the match the Hungarian Federation didn't return with a financial offer.

Having offered Polgar three deadlines (the last one was last week and of seven days duration, covered under the regulations as a postponement for medical reasons) and not having received a satisfactory response FIDE are now compelled to go to the reserve of Galliamova and the official challenger Xie Jun as the next option. The deadline is already tight, if Galliamova wins the match she will be Champion for only one month before she would have to defend the title in the new format women's Championships in Kishinev. The event has already been postponed firstly because of lack of bids, a second time because of Polgar's pregnancy and finally because the bid was from China. June is the final date the match can take place and FIDE feel they can insist she play under the rules (there has been legal advice to this effect).

FIDE have concluded that Zsuzsa Polgar wants to play her sister Judit Polgar (as she has stated a number of times) and that the dispute has been essentially engineered.

There was a specific proposal in Elista from their parents asking FIDE to replace the official challenger in the final with Judit and this, was rejected by the General Assembly.

Zsuzsa Polgar suggested her match should take place not in China and only end of September after the new 1999 championships would already be underway (or even finished) which is unacceptable to FIDE. Note that since December 1998 Zsuzsa has promised to come to FIDE with $1.000.000 for the match but has not come back with any proposals. FIDE in the end have abided by their regulations. The logic of this competition, that a cycle should finish before another on can start, has enforced the decision to default Zsuzsa Polgar.

12) IOC Recognises FIDE

As reported last week the Executive Board of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) decided at a meeting in Seoul (June 13th-15th 1999). FIDE was granted recognition as under Rule 29 of the Olympic Charter. The decision should make it easier to gain sports funding from National Governments and paves the way for its eventual inclusion in the Olympics. You can read further details of the recognition (along with Karate and Bridge at: http://www.olympic.org/ioc/e/news/highlights/hl_373_e.html#olympism_5

13) FIDE Rapidplay Ratings

The first FIDE ratings for rapidplay events have been released. The top 1000 players are given. There were only 11 events rated and for instance Kasparov has no rating. FIDE realise the list is thin at the moment but point out that in 1971 only twenty tournaments were rated those days nearly 2.000. Frankfurt, Tilburg and even the tiebreaks during the FIDE WC will be events to be rated later in the year.

Events rated

14) WCC World Chess Rankings

The WCC World Chess Rankings to July 1st 1999 produced by Ken Thomson , New Jersey and calculated by Vladimir Dvorkovich, Moscow. The ratings seem to have included players that have been delisted in previous lists (such as Kamsky)

   1. Kasparov,Garry                 RUS 2838 140
   2. Shirov,Alexei                  ESP 2727 171
   3. Anand,Viswanathan              IND 2724 126
   4. Kramnik,Vladimir               RUS 2724 124
   5. Morozevich,Alexander           RUS 2719 166
   6. Kamsky,Gata                    USA 2701 181
   7. Leko,Peter                     HUN 2699 138
   8. Gelfand,Boris                  BLR 2697 140
   9. Adams,Michael                  ENG 2686 162
  10. Bareev,Evgeny                  RUS 2677 160
  11. Ivanchuk,Vassily               UKR 2660 155
  12. Short,Nigel D                  ENG 2654 143
  13. Azmaiparashvili,Zurab          GEO 2653 140
  14. Seirawan,Yasser                USA 2652 178
  15. Karpov,Anatoli                 RUS 2651 138
  16. Topalov,Veselin                BUL 2649 168
  17. Dreev,Alexey                   RUS 2648 163
  18. Polgar,Judit (GM)              HUN 2643 191
  19. Onischuk,Alexander             UKR 2640 180
  20. Svidler,Peter                  RUS 2635 157
  21. Salov,Valery                   RUS 2631 190
  22. Korchnoi,Viktor                SUI 2630 167
  23. Almasi,Zoltan                  HUN 2627 155
  24. Movsesian,Sergei               CZE 2627 164
  25. Sadler,Matthew                 ENG 2626 165
  26. Krasenkov,Mikhail              POL 2622 186
  27. Rublevsky,Sergei               RUS 2621 165
  28. Sokolov,Ivan                   BIH 2619 171
  29. Nikolic,Predrag                BIH 2618 148
  30. Georgiev,Kiril                 BUL 2618 157
  31. Akopian,Vladimir               ARM 2616 165
  32. Zvjaginsev,Vadim               RUS 2615 129
  33. Smirin,Ilia                    ISR 2614 167
  34. Timman,Jan H                   NED 2613 192
  35. Ponomariov,Ruslan              UKR 2613 170
  36. Khalifman,Alexander            RUS 2611 144
  37. Sakaev,Konstantin              RUS 2610 146
  38. Piket,Jeroen                   NED 2607 150
  39. Granda Zuniga,Julio E          PER 2602 202
  40. Wolff,Patrick G                USA 2602 186

15) Forthcoming Events and Links

3rd Mind Sports Olympiad

The prize fund for this year's Mind Sports Olympiad has been set at 100,000 pounds. There may also be some additional prizes to be announced later. In addition to the cash prizes the leading players will also receive the traditional MSO gold, silver and bronze medals. There will be additional medals for the leading juniors in each tournament. The prize funds for some of the games are listed below. All figures are in pounds sterling.

Chess £20,000; Bridge £10,000; Go £8,500; 10x10 Draughts £8,000; Othello £7,000; Chinese Chess £6,000; Scrabble £6,000; Shogi £5,000; Stratego £5,000; 8x8 Draughts £4,000; Memory Skills £3,000; Cribbage £2,000; Dominoes £2,000; Intelligence £2,000

Prize funds for other games will be announced in due course. The detailed tournament schedule will be announced on their web site http://www.mindsports.co.uk/ in early June and printed entry forms will be available shortly thereafter.

Ikaria island, Greece

Eight GMs and other strong players will participate in the Ikaros Chess Festival, 10-23 of July, Ikaria island, Greece. Among them are: Igor Novikov (GM, 2601, Ukr.), Normunds Miezis (GM Lat), Eygeni Ermenkov (GM Bulg.), Milko Popchev (GM Bulg.), Krum Georgiev (GM Bulg.), Milos Pavlovic (GM Yugosl.), Stanimr Nikolic (GM Yugosl.), Silvia Aleksieva (WGM, Bulg.), Karsten Rasmussen (IM Denmark), Bojan Vuckovic (IM Yugosl.), Pavlos Gesos (IM Greece), Ruzka Genova (WIM, Bulg.)

Seven tournaments will be held in Ikaria in this period. The main event is the Aegian Championship, a 9 rounds swiss system international tournament. For more details in English, French or Greek you can visit the site: http://www.chess.gr/tourn/1999/ikaros99.html

Ljubljana Open-99

The 10th Ljubljana Open is taking place at the Grand hotel Union is currently running with 125 players including 11 GMs and 8 IMs among them. Official site: http://www.sah-zveza.si/lj/lj99