THE WEEK IN CHESS 259 25th October 1999 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Flamenco: Veterans vs Ladies
3) VAM Chess Tournament
4) Leko - Bunzmann match
5) 5th Wichern Open
6) Tkachiev-David Match
7) Aars Chess Tournament
8) Helsingør GM Tournament
9) Doubt over final Bu Xiangzhi norm
10) Club Kasparov GM tournament
11) FIDE News
12) European Club Cup, Qualfiers known
13) European Juniors
14) 3rd Itaú Mercosul Cup
15) Hotel Zuglo Open
16) Asian Teams and World Cities Games
17) 4NCL Games
18) Grecotel Chess Match
19) Lautier vs Computers
20) Potential Women's Championship sponsorship
21) The World resigns against Kasparov
22) Open letter from Suat Atalik
23) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

Flamenco: Veterans vs Ladies    20 games
VAM Chess Tournament             8 games
Leko - Bunzmann match            3 games
5th Wichern Open               180 games
Tkachiev-David Match             5 games
Aars Chess Tournament           45 games
Helsingør GM Tournament         12 games
Qingdao Cup                     45 games
European Club Cup, Group 6      47 games
European Juniors                43 games
3rd Itaú Mercosul Cup          189 games
Hotel Zuglo Open                42 games
Asian Teams                    235 games
World Cities Games             246 games
4NCL Games                      47 games
The World vs Kasparov            1 game
Total 1317 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Anjo Anjewierden, Europe-Echecs, Sinisa Joksic, Rolf Sander, Allan Boye Nielsen, Per Rasmussen, Michael Greengard, Willy Iclicki, Leontxo Garcia, Adrian Roldan, Sead Bicevic, Marius van Riemsdijk, Laszlo Nagy, James Tan, Lost Boys, Argiris Kotsis, Jacob Shutzman, Suat Atalik, Ian Rogers and all those who helped with this issue.

The VAM Chess Tournament, the Flamenco Veterans vs Ladies, Leko-Bunzmann and the Tkachiev-David head the over-the-board news. The Kasparov vs The World match has finished after a marathon 124 days play. The record of World's youngest ever Grandmaster may have been broken by 13 year old Bu Xiangzhi, however it awaits FIDE ratification, it may be that the event in China was not held according to FIDE regulations. The story of the non-payment of around $600,000 of the prize-fund from the FIDE Championships in Las Vegas is now becoming pressing. Its not a joke for anyone to write bouncing cheques, and assurances that this was a technical problem solvable by representing the cheques are now two months old. If the money does not appear soon then FIDE will be in severe crisis. Even now to put it mildly the situation is unacceptable.

Hope you enjoy this issue

Mark

2) Flamenco: Veterans vs Ladies

The Association Max Euwe sponsors the annual Veterans vs Ladies tournament which started on Thursday October 21st. The event takes place in Marbella, Spain. Schedule: Opening: Wednesday 20th October. First Day: Thursday 21st October. Rest days: Monday 25th and Fri 29th: Last day: Monday 1st Nov 1999.

In round one the Veterans had the white pieces on all boards and won 3-2. Viktor Korchnoi beat Alisa Galliamova in 35 moves of a Semi-Slav. Vlastimil Hort beat Maia Chiburdanidze in 75 moves of a Caro-Kann. Lajos Portisch drew against Xie Jun in 46 moves of a Kings indian; Main line and Boris Spassky drew with Pia Cramling in 35 moves of a Sicilian. Zhu Chen beat Vassily Smyslov in 44 moves on the black side of a Queen's pawn opening.

In round two a combataive round there were three drawn games (two over 80 moves) and perhaps an indication that Korchnoi is going to score very heavily in this event and that also perhaps for Smyslov this is an event too far. Korchnoi has been very impressive so far and Smyslov extremely poor. The Veterans lead 5.5-4.5, a lead they earned in the first round.

In round three the Veterans had the white pieces again on all boards and won 3.5-1.5. Portisch won two minor pieces for a rook and converted against Galliamova. Hort beat Cramling for his second fine endgame victory. Smyslov took a quick draw against Xie Jun and Spassky drew against Zhu Chen after they reached a bishops of opposite colours ending. Korchnoi played on forever in a Rook and Knight vs Rook and Pawn ending which was surely only ever going to end in a draw, which it did after 149 moves. The Veterans extended their lead to 9-6.

In round four the Ladies had the white pieces on all boards and the day was drawn 2.5-2.5. The games of the day were Xie Jun's victory over Korchnoi and Hort's win with black against the out of form Galliamova. Smylsov looked a little lucky to hold out against Cramling. There were two short draws between Zhu Chen and Portisch and Chiburdinadze and Spassky. The Veterans lead 11.5-8.5.

Internet coverage: http://chess.lostcity.nl/marbella/

Round 1 (October 21, 1999)

Spassky, Boris V            -  Cramling, Pia               1/2   35  B40  Sicilian
Smyslov, Vassily            -  Zhu Chen                    0-1   44  A48  Queen's pawn
Portisch, Lajos             -  Xie Jun                     1/2   46  E97  Kings indian; Main line

Korchnoi, Viktor            -  Galliamova-Ivanchuk, Alisa  1-0   35  D43  Semi-Slav
Hort, Vlastimil             -  Chiburdanidze, Maia         1-0   75  B12  Caro-Kann

Round 2 (October 22, 1999)

Chiburdanidze, Maia         -  Smyslov, Vassily            1-0   36  D94  Gruenfeld indian
Xie Jun                     -  Hort, Vlastimil             1/2   34  B19  Caro-Kann
Cramling, Pia               -  Portisch, Lajos             1/2   88  E39  Nimzo indian
Zhu Chen                    -  Korchnoi, Viktor            0-1   59  D02  Queen's pawn
Galliamova-Ivanchuk, Alisa  -  Spassky, Boris V            1/2   86  D37  Queen's gambit

Round 3 (October 23, 1999)

Spassky, Boris V            -  Zhu Chen                    1/2   46  A05  Reti (1.Nf3)
Smyslov, Vassily            -  Xie Jun                     1/2   22  C48  Four knights
Korchnoi, Viktor            -  Chiburdanidze, Maia         1/2  149  D53  QGD;
Portisch, Lajos             -  Galliamova-Ivanchuk, Alisa  1-0   45  D23  QGA;
Hort, Vlastimil             -  Cramling, Pia               1-0   57  E94  Kings indian; Classical

Round 4 (October 24, 1999)

Zhu Chen                    -  Portisch, Lajos             1/2   20  D41  QGD; Tarrasch Defence
Xie Jun                     -  Korchnoi, Viktor            1-0   45  C08  French; Tarrasch
Galliamova-Ivanchuk, Alisa  -  Hort, Vlastimil             0-1   46  C75  Ruy Lopez
Cramling, Pia               -  Smyslov, Vassily            1/2   60  D17  Slav defence
Chiburdanidze, Maia         -  Spassky, Boris V            1/2   18  D58  QGD;


Flamenco Veterans vs Ladies Marbella ESP (ESP), 21 x-1 xi 1999
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Hort, Vlastimil             g GER 2535  + 5 = 2 + 8 +10  .   .   .   .   .   .   3.5  2870
 2 Xie Jun                     g CHN 2528  = 4 = 1 = 9 + 3  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2657
 3 Korchnoi, Viktor            g SUI 2676  +10 + 6 = 5 - 2  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2629
 4 Portisch, Lajos             g HUN 2552  = 2 = 8 +10 = 6  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2617
 5 Chiburdanidze, Maia         g GEO 2551  - 1 + 9 = 3 = 7  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2561
 6 Zhu Chen                   wg CHN 2503  + 9 - 3 = 7 = 4  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2565
 7 Spassky, Boris V            g FRA 2549  = 8 =10 = 6 = 5  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2528
 8 Cramling, Pia               g SWE 2504  = 7 = 4 - 1 = 9  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2443
 9 Smyslov, Vassily            g RUS 2485  - 6 - 5 = 2 = 8  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2328
10 Galliamova-Ivanchuk, Alisa  m RUS 2556  - 3 = 7 - 4 - 1  .   .   .   .   .   .   0.5  2256
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) VAM Chess Tournament

The VAM Chess Tournaments took place in Hoogeveen (NED) October 15th-23rd. There were two events, a four player double round robin event with Judit Polgar, Anatoly Karpov, Darmen Sadvakasov and Jan Timman (this event started on October 17th) and a 9 round Open tournament.

Anatoly Karpov was the highest rated player in the event, and, in the end, the only player to lose rating points in the event. Karpov finished on 50% beating Sadvakasov in the first round and losing to Timman, he drew the rest. Jan Timman looked to be cruising to a win in the event after beating Polgar and Karpov in the first half of the event. However he over-stretched in the final round against Sadvakasov who had struggled throughout the event and went down to a horrid loss. This allowed Judit Polgar to catch Timman to share first place. Polgar's two wins came against Sadvakasov. She drew twice against Karpov and lost one and drew one against Timman.

The open event was won by Mikhail Gurevich who took the event on tie-break from Aleksandar Berelovich, Leonid Gofshtein, Sergei Tiviakov and Rustam Kasimdzhanov all of whom scored 6.5/9. Two players Nicholson and Vistisen withdrew after three rounds due to illness.

There was good news at the end of the event, the VAM tournament will see at least another three editions.

http://www.hoogeveen.nl/vam-chess

Round 1 (October 17, 1999)

Timman, Jan H       -  Polgar, Judit       1-0   51  A33  English; 1.c4 c5
Sadvakasov, Darmen  -  Karpov, Anatoly     0-1   65  B17  Caro-Kann

Round 2 (October 18, 1999)

Karpov, Anatoly     -  Polgar, Judit       1/2   39  E32  Nimzo indian
Sadvakasov, Darmen  -  Timman, Jan H       1/2   19  C42  Petroff defence

Round 3 (October 19, 1999)

Timman, Jan H       -  Karpov, Anatoly     1-0   45  E21  Nimzo indian
Polgar, Judit       -  Sadvakasov, Darmen  1-0   54  B90  Sicilian; Najdorf

Round 4 (October 21, 1999)

Polgar, Judit       -  Timman, Jan H       1/2   59  C22  1.e4 e5
Karpov, Anatoly     -  Sadvakasov, Darmen  1/2   76  D27  QGA;

Round 5 (October 22, 1999)

Karpov, Anatoly     -  Timman, Jan H       1/2   29  E15  Nimzo indian
Sadvakasov, Darmen  -  Polgar, Judit       0-1   41  B40  Sicilian

Round 6 (October 23, 1999)

Timman, Jan H       -  Sadvakasov, Darmen  0-1   42  A29  English; 1.c4 e5
Polgar, Judit       -  Karpov, Anatoly     1/2   43  C42  Petroff defence


VAM Invitational Hoogeveen NED (NED), 15-23 x 1999cat. XV (2622)
-------------------------------------------------------
                                  1  2  3  4 
-------------------------------------------------------
1 Timman, Jan H       g NED 2650 ** 1= 1= =0  3.5  2670
2 Polgar, Judit       g HUN 2671 0= ** == 11  3.5  2663
3 Karpov, Anatoly     g RUS 2700 0= == ** 1=  3.0  2596
4 Sadvakasov, Darmen  g KAZ 2468 =1 00 0= **  2.0  2548
-------------------------------------------------------


VAM Open Hoogeveen NED (NED), 15-23 x 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Gurevich, Mikhail          g BEL 2643  +31 +14 +11 = 6 = 3 =13 +17 = 2 = 5  6.5 /9  2656
 2 Berelovich, Aleksandar     g UKR 2468  =28 +42 +15 + 9 =22 = 6 = 5 = 1 +11  6.5 /9  2619
 3 Gofshtein, Leonid D        g ISR 2507  +41 +25 = 9 + 7 = 1 - 5 =22 +16 +13  6.5 /9  2608
 4 Tiviakov, Sergei           g RUS 2611  +19 =10 =29 -17 =25 +26 +38 +22 + 6  6.5 /9  2478
 5 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam       g UZB 2603  - 8 +52 +35 =16 +14 + 3 = 2 +13 = 1  6.5 /9  2606
 6 Van den Doel, Erik         g NED 2528  +37 +21 +17 = 1 =13 = 2 +11 = 9 - 4  6.0 /9  2616
 7 Brodsky, Michail           g UKR 2512  +36 +35 =13 - 3 +23 =22 =16 =12 +18  6.0 /9  2526
 8 Jens, Jelmer                 NED 2316  + 5 =15 -22 =24 +42 +20 -13 =23 +30  5.5 /9  2469
 9 Barsov, Alexei             m UZB 2539  +40 +23 = 3 - 2 +18 -17 +32 = 6 =15  5.5 /9  2508
10 Jonkman, Harmen            f NED 2421  +30 = 4 =16 =14 -11 =40 =18 +32 +23  5.5 /9  2480
11 Reinderman, Dimitri        g NED 2525  +26 +27 - 1 =22 +10 +29 - 6 +17 - 2  5.5 /9  2500
12 Podgaets, Mikhail          m UKR 2490  -25 +28 =20 +37 =26 =38 +29 = 7 =17  5.5 /9  2372
13 Neverov, Valeriy           g UKR 2549  +51 +24 = 7 +29 = 6 = 1 + 8 - 5 - 3  5.5 /9  2546
14 Bosch, Jeroen              m NED 2433  +34 - 1 +25 =10 - 5 =21 =19 +38 +22  5.5 /9  2405
15 Cifuentes Parada, Roberto  g NED 2506  +52 = 8 - 2 =18 +36 =32 =23 +27 = 9  5.5 /9  2441
16 Goloshchapov, Alexander    m UKR 2519  =22 +33 =10 = 5 =17 +24 = 7 - 3 =21  5.0 /9  2433
17 Bosboom, Manuel            m NED 2476  +46 +45 - 6 + 4 =16 + 9 - 1 -11 =12  5.0 /9  2509
18 Blees, Albert              m NED 2410  -45 +41 +47 =15 - 9 +25 =10 +34 - 7  5.0 /9  2360
19 De Jong, Migchiel            NED 2317  - 4 =30 +43 -33 =39 +44 =14 =35 +34  5.0 /9  2252
20 Klinova, Masha            wg ISR 2359  -44 +46 =12 =30 +45 - 8 =39 =31 +37  5.0 /9  2256
21 Visser, Yge                f NED 2378  +49 - 6 =45 -26 +37 =14 =30 +39 =16  5.0 /9  2314
22 Werle, Jan                   NED 2216  =16 +50 + 8 =11 = 2 = 7 = 3 - 4 -14  4.5 /9  2442
23 Westerinen, Heikki M.J     g FIN 2382  +38 - 9 =34 +28 - 7 +33 =15 = 8 -10  4.5 /9  2293
24 Solleveld, Maarten           NED 2404  +43 -13 =26 = 8 +30 -16 =31 =37 =28  4.5 /9  2295
25 Erwich, Frank                NED 2196  +12 - 3 -14 +44 = 4 -18 =35 +40 =27  4.5 /9  2375
26 Pel, Bonno                   NED 2224  -11 +48 =24 +21 =12 - 4 -27 +36 =31  4.5 /9  2383
27 Hendriks, Willy              NED 2378  +48 -11 =33 =34 -38 +28 +26 -15 =25  4.5 /9  2215
28 Smeets, Jan                  NED 2193  = 2 -12 +49 -23 =35 -27 +42 +41 =24  4.5 /9  2347
29 Van der Weide, Karel       m NED 2434  +47 +44 = 4 -13 +33 -11 -12 -30 +39  4.5 /9  2284
30 Plasman, Hans                NED 2152  -10 =19 +51 =20 -24 +42 =21 +29 - 8  4.5 /9  2356
31 Van Delft, Merijn            NED 2323  - 1 -34 =48 =47 +50 +45 =24 =20 =26  4.5 /9  2259
32 Rantanen, Yrjo A           g FIN 2358  -33 -47 +52 +39 +34 =15 - 9 -10 +38  4.5 /9  2228
33 Van Harreveld,Frenk              ----  +32 -16 =27 +19 -29 -23 -37 +46 =35  4.0 /9  2306
34 Markus, John Raymond         NED 2156  -14 +31 =23 =27 -32 +36 +40 -18 -19  4.0 /9  2293
35 Van Kooten, Luuk             NED 2331  +39 - 7 - 5 -38 =28 +49 =25 =19 =33  4.0 /9  2182
36 Van der Erf, Remco           NED 2206  - 7 =39 =38 +46 -15 -34 +45 -26 +44  4.0 /9  2157
37 Vedder, Richard              NED 2234  - 6 =49 +50 -12 -21 +47 +33 =24 -20  4.0 /9  2242
38 L'Ami, Erwin                 NED ----  -23 =40 =36 +35 +27 =12 - 4 -14 -32  3.5 /9  2298
39 Erwich, Marc                 NED 2059  -35 =36 +40 -32 =19 +41 =20 -21 -29  3.5 /9  2231
40 Amesz, Jaap                  NED 2217  - 9 =38 -39 +48 +47 =10 -34 -25 =43  3.5 /9  2123
41 Remmel, Tim                  NED 2201  - 3 -18 -46 +49 +43 -39 =44 -28 +48  3.5 /9  2119
42 Tikkanen, Kari             f FIN 2332  =50 - 2 +44 =45 - 8 -30 -28 =48 +47  3.5 /9  2106
43 Azadmanesh, Moosa            NED 2147  -24 =51 -19 =50 -41 =46 +49 =44 =40  3.5 /9  2122
44 Rooda, Kai                   NED ----  +20 -29 -42 -25 +46 -19 =41 =43 -36  3.0 /9  2140
45 Porrasmaa, Timo              FIN 2152  +18 -17 =21 =42 -20 -31 -36 -47 +50  3.0 /9  2180
46 Hulshof, Peter               NED 2195  -17 -20 +41 -36 -44 =43 +50 -33 =49  3.0 /9  2055
47 Moll, Arne                   NED 2172  -29 +32 -18 =31 -40 -37 -48 +45 -42  2.5 /9  2122
48 Tare, M                      ALB 2139  -27 -26 =31 -40 -49 =50 +47 =42 -41  2.5 /9  2065
49 Hendriks, Richard            NED 2145  -21 =37 -28 -41 +48 -35 -43 =50 =46  2.5 /9  2046
50 Van der Veen, Jan            NED 2090  =42 -22 -37 =43 -31 =48 -46 =49 -45  2.0 /9  1989
51 Nicholson, John G          f ENG 2249  -13 =43 -30  .   .   .   .   .   .   0.5 /3  2009
52 Vistisen, Lars               DEN 2199  -15 - 5 -32  .   .   .   .   .   .   0.0 /3      
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Leko - Bunzmann match

There was a six game match between Peter Leko and Dimitrij Bunzmann that took place 16th-22nd October 1999 in Hamburg, Germany. 20 year old Leko is rated 2701 and is World number 9 and Bunzmann is a 17 year old German junior rated 2596. The first three games were drawn as the young German put up great resistance. Leko asserted himself by winning games 4 and 6 on the white side of slightly unusual variations of the French Defence to take the match 4-2. Watch out for the especially fine 23.d5!! in the sixth game (Two exclamation marks given by GM K. Mueller).The event took place alongside the 5th Wichern Open (see next article).

Further details at: http://www.wichern-open.de

The event was sponsored by Contrust-Capital, a company, which sponsors Dimitrij Bunzmann.

Bunzmann, Dimitrij  -  Leko, Peter         1/2   30  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Leko, Peter         -  Bunzmann, Dimitrij  1/2   31  C11  French; Classical
Bunzmann, Dimitrij  -  Leko, Peter         1/2   51  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Leko, Peter         -  Bunzmann, Dimitrij  1-0   43  C00  French
Bunzmann, Dimitrij  -  Leko, Peter         1/2   31  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Leko, Peter         -  Bunzmann, Dimitrij  1-0   34  C11  French; Classical


Bunzmann-Leko Match, Hamburg GER (GER), 16-21 x 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 1   2   3   4   5   6 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Leko, Peter         g HUN 2701    =   =   =   1   =   1   4.0  2721
Bunzmann, Dimitrij    GER 2596    =   =   =   0   =   0   2.0  2576
-------------------------------------------------------------------

5) 5th Wichern Open

Rolf Sander reports: The 5th Wichern-Open, with 30 grandmasters and 200 players which took place in Hamburg October 15th-22nd October 1999. In the open section Vassily Yemelin scored 7.5/9 to take clear first place ahead of a group of nine players on 7 points.

This years Hamburg chess festival had 388 participants in three events. The main tournament was won by GM V. Yemelin (RUS) winning 4000 DM. He was the only player to reach 7.5 points in nine rounds. He reached the top because of his win in the penultimate round against GM T. Oral (CZE). Second was GM E. Rosentalis (LIT) ahead of GM I.Rogers (AUS) and GM V.Eingorn (UKR). The complete ranking can be seen from the ranking list. We saw a lot of good chess, but witnessed only one IM-Norm by Petr Jirovsky (maybe because all pairings were completely according to FIDE-rules).

The Lucky-Open for players with a national rating under 1800 was won by B. Scholvin, a 15-year-old player from Stade.

Leading final standings open

1. Yemelin, Vasily     GM 2500 RUS 6 3 0 7½ 2454 
2. Rozentalis, Eduard  GM 2586 LTU 5 4 0 7  2445 
3. Rogers,Ian          GM 2574 AUS 5 4 0 7  2400 
4. Eingorn,Vereslav    GM 2589 UKR 6 2 1 7  2397 
5. Giorgadze, Giorgi   GM 2602 GEO 5 4 0 7  2389 
6. Jansa, Vlastimil    GM 2442 CZE 6 2 1 7  2373 
7. Bauer,Christian     GM 2490 FRA 6 2 1 7  2367 
8. Lerner,Konstantin   GM 2588 UKR 6 2 1 7  2349 
9. Shabalov, Alexande  GM 2566 USA 7 0 2 7  2348 
10. Odeev, Handszar    IM 2407 TKM 5 4 0 7  2340 
11. Novikov, Igor A.   GM 2614 UKR 4 5 0 6½ 2443 
12. Lugovoi, Aleksei   GM 2509 RUS 5 3 1 6½ 2441 
13. Yakovich, Yuri     GM 2592 RUS 4 5 0 6½ 2409 
14. Holzke,Frank       IM 2448 GER 5 3 1 6½ 2406 
15. Levin,Felix        GM 2531 GER 5 3 1 6½ 2404 
16. Matamoros Franco,  IM 2462 ECU 4 5 0 6½ 2394 
17. Miezis,Normunds    GM 2524 LAT 5 3 1 6½ 2388 
18. Baklan,Vladimir    GM 2591 UKR 4 5 0 6½ 2377 
19. Defirmian,Nicholas GM 2598 USA 5 3 1 6½ 2374 
20. Volzhin,Alexander  GM 2569 RUS 4 5 0 6½ 2350 
20. Ibragimov, Ildar   GM 2554 RUS 4 5 0 6½ 2350 
22. Georgiev, Vladimir IM 2519 BUL 5 3 1 6½ 2341 
23. Kopylov,Michael    IM 2426 UKR 5 3 1 6½ 2335 
24. Oral,Tomas         GM 2541 CZE 5 3 1 6½ 2334 
25. Külaots,Kaido      IM 2478 EST 5 3 1 6½ 2326 
26. Golubev,Mihail     GM 2532 UKR 5 3 1 6½ 2310 
27. Slobodjan,Roman    GM 2550 GER 5 3 1 6½ 2256 
28. Gelashvili, Tamaz  GM 2531 GEO 5 3 1 6½ 2249 
29. Jakobsen, Ole      IM 2398 DEN 6 1 2 6½ 2244 
30. Dunsbach,Ralf,Dr.     2234 GER 6 1 2 6½ 2190 
31. Klovans, Janis     GM 2465 LAT 4 4 1 6  2372 
32. Gaprindashvili, Va IM 2390 GEO 5 2 2 6  2365 
33. Rausis,Igors       GM 2496 LAT 4 4 1 6  2354 
34. Rustemov, Alexande GM 2573 RUS 5 2 2 6  2351 
35. Tyomkin, Dimitri   IM 2495 ISR 4 4 1 6  2328 
36. Ivanov,Michail     GM 2510 RUS 4 4 1 6  2306 
37. Saltaev,Michail    GM 2480 UZB 5 2 2 6  2287 
38. Breyther,Ruediger  FM 2358 GER 5 2 2 6  2286 
39. Gutman,Lev         GM 2471 GER 6 0 3 6  2277 
40. Reeh,Oliver        IM 2399 GER 3 6 0 6  2272 
41. Gawehns,Klaus      FM 2402 GER 4 4 1 6  2267 
42. Joecks,Christian   IM 2397 GER 5 2 2 6  2256 
43. Gurieli, Nino (IM)WGM 2351 GEO 4 4 1 6  2240 
44. Cladouras,Panagiot IM 2335 GER 5 2 2 6  2238 
45. Hochgräfe,Markus      2367 GER 4 4 1 6  2234 
46. Dischinger,Frank   FM 2260 GER 5 2 2 6  2231 
47. Suran, Jan         FM 2338 CZE 5 2 2 6  2230 
48. Fröhlich,Peter        2314 GER 4 4 1 6  2223 
49. Schleicher,Guido      2227 GER 4 4 1 6  2220 
50. Richter,Michael    IM 2410 GER 6 0 3 6  2219 
51. Hermesmann,Hans    FM 2271 GER 6 0 3 6  2215 
52. Grote,Dirk            2191 GER 5 2 2 6  2177 
53. Kempinski,Robert   GM 2549 POL 5 2 2 6  2144 
54. Nogly,Christoph       2273 GER 5 2 2 6  2132 
290 players

6) Tkachiev-David Match

Cannes was the venue for an 8 game match between Vladislav Tkachiev and Alberto David. The match ran October 15th-23rd 1999. Tkachiev won a lively match 6-2 winning all his games with white and drawing all the games with black. Tkachiev won in 42 moves in the first game of the match. The second game was drawn after Alberto David failed to convert a superior position. The third game saw Tkachiev win after David resigned after only 20 moves in a horrid but possibly still playable position. Game four was drawn in 20 moves of a Scandanavian Defence. Tkachiev won game five with white to take an almost decisive 4-1 lead. Game 6 was drawn in 20 to secure a match victory for Tkachiev. Tkachiev won game 7 in only 22 moves to take a 5.5-1.5 lead. The final game was a draw in only 11 moves.

Coverage at: http://www.europe-echecs.com/ and http://www.cannes-echecs.org/

Tkachiev, Vladislav  -  David, Alberto       1-0   42  E63  Kings indian
David, Alberto       -  Tkachiev, Vladislav  1/2   72  C78  Ruy Lopez
Tkachiev, Vladislav  -  David, Alberto       1-0   20  D72  1.d4 d5 2.c4 g6
David, Alberto       -  Tkachiev, Vladislav  1/2   20  B01  Scandinavian
Tkachiev, Vladislav  -  David, Alberto       1-0   41  A63  Modern Benoni
David, Alberto       -  Tkachiev, Vladislav  1/2   20  B01  Scandinavian
Tkachiev, Vladislav  -  David, Alberto       1-0   22  D49  Meran Variation
David, Alberto       -  Tkachiev, Vladislav  1/2   11  A29  English; 1.c4 e5


Match Cannes FRA (FRA), 15-23 x 1999
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tkachiev, Vladislav  g FRA 2648    1   =   1   =   1   =   1   =   6.0  2737
David, Alberto       g LUX 2544    0   =   0   =   0   =   0   =   2.0  2455
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) Aars Chess Tournament

The were two tournaments (GM and IM events) that took place in Aars in Denmark (Oct. 16th-24th) These get2net sponsored events saw Alexei Federov win the GM event with 7.5/9 ahead of Peter Heine Nielsen and Steffen Pedersen. Perhaps even more impressive was Igor Yagupov's win in the IM event. He scored 8.5/9 for a 2730 performance. The games in full from the IM event should be available shortly. My thanks to Allan Boye Nielsen for his help.

Internet coverage at: http://www.skak.get2net.dk

get2net Cup GM Aars DEN (DEN), 18-24 x 1999          cat. IX (2457)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Fedorov, Alexei        g BLR 2659 * = = 1 1 = 1 1 1 1  7.5  2707
 2 Nielsen, Peter Heine   g DEN 2560 = * = = = 1 1 1 = 1  6.5  2611
 3 Pedersen, Steffen      m DEN 2427 = = * = 1 = = 1 1 1  6.5  2626
 4 Dydyshko, Viacheslav   g BLR 2521 0 = = * = 0 = 1 1 1  5.0  2492
 5 Fyllingen, Roy Harald  m NOR 2410 0 = 0 = * 1 0 1 1 1  5.0  2505
 6 Bekker-Jensen, Simon     DEN 2436 = 0 = 1 0 * = = = 1  4.5  2459
 7 Mortensen, Erling      m DEN 2445 0 0 = = 1 = * = = 1  4.5  2458
 8 Holst, Allan             DEN 2406 0 0 0 0 0 = = * 1 1  3.0  2337
 9 Ostenstad, Berge       m NOR 2446 0 = 0 0 0 = = 0 * 1  2.5  2292
10 Grabov, Steen            DEN 2259 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *  0.0      
-------------------------------------------------------------------

get2net Cup IM Aars DEN (DEN), 18-24 x 1999           cat. III (2303)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Yagupov, Igor            m RUS 2449 * 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 1  8.5  2730
 2 Bezgodov, Alexei         m RUS 2576 0 * 1 = 1 1 = 1 1 1  7.0  2492
 3 Hedman, Erik             f SWE 2348 0 0 * 1 = 1 = = 1 =  5.0  2341
 4 Nilssen, John Arni         FAI 2326 0 = 0 * = 1 1 0 1 1  5.0  2343
 5 Hellegaard, Carsten        DEN 2267 0 0 = = * = 1 = = 1  4.5  2307
 6 Poley, Vladimir          m BLR 2377 = 0 0 0 = * 1 = = 1  4.0  2251
 7 Bekker-Jensen, David       DEN 2264 0 = = 0 0 0 * 1 1 1  4.0  2264
 8 Christensen, Bent          DEN 2113 0 0 = 1 = = 0 * = =  3.5  2244
 9 Andersen,Jimmy             DEN ---- 0 0 0 0 = = 0 = * =  2.0  2116
10 Kristensen, Jorgen Juul    DEN 2310 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 = = *  1.5  2029
---------------------------------------------------------------------

8) Helsingør GM Tournament

There was a small double round robin event taking place in Helsingør, Denmark celebrating the 75th anniversary of the local Helsingør Skakklub. The event was impressively won by Curt Hansen who scored 4.5/6 ahead of Ulf Andersson on 3.5, Jonny Hector on 3 and local hero Sune Berg Hansen from Helsingør on 1. My thanks to Per Rasmussen.

Internet coverage at: http://www.mobilixnet.dk/~mob82584/hels.htm and http://www.8-hk.dk/jubi.htm

Helsingor Jubilee Helsingor DEN (DEN), 19-25 x 1999cat. XIII (2573)
------------------------------------------------------
                                 1  2  3  4 
------------------------------------------------------
1 Hansen, Curt       g DEN 2607 ** 1= 1= 1=  4.5  2755
2 Andersson, Ulf     g SWE 2623 0= ** == 11  3.5  2613
3 Hector, Jonny      g SWE 2505 0= == ** =1  3.0  2596
4 Hansen, Sune Berg  g DEN 2558 0= 00 =0 **  1.0  2305
------------------------------------------------------

9) Doubt over final Bu Xiangzhi norm

Earlier this week it seemed as if Bu Xiangzhi had scored a GM norm in the Qingdao Daily Cup which was played in Qingdao, China, Oct 18th-23rd 1999. However the event with rounds 1-2 on October 18th, rounds 3-4 on October 19th, round 5-6 October 20th, and round 7 on October 21st, round 8 on October 22nd and the final round 9 on October 23rd seems to breach FIDE regulations. The FIDE Handbook (1997) reads: "Rule B01, 5.4 says: For a GM result to be possible, no more than two rounds a day for two days shall be played and no more than one round per day in the last three rounds." So unless there has been a recent change in this regulation it is possible the final norm for Bu will be rejected. The arbiters certifying the result were Ignatius Leong (SIN) Li Kesheng (CHN) perhaps they know some more up to date ruling.

Bu Xiangzhi came first equal in the Qingdao Daily Cup which was played in Qingdao, China, Oct 18th-23rd 1999. Bu Xiangzhi started slowly losing to Isaev and Dao Thien Hai in the first two rounds before scoring 6/7 to just reach the six point target. Bu has recently scored norms in Hungary at the Paks GM tournament (September) and the 2nd Kluger Memorial Budapest First Saturday October tournament. Bu was born 10th December 1985 making him 13 years 10 months and 13 days old if this norm is allowed (I think my calculations are right!). The record for youngest GM was set in October 1997 at the Kiev NIKA-VV International by Ukranian Ruslan Ponomariov who was 14 years and 17 days at the time of the final norm. In the background is twelve year old European Youth under-18 champion Teimour Radjabov (born AZE 12th March 1987) who is possibly already playing strongly enough to score GM norms and he has well over a year to beat whichever record. On the point of Bu's rating, his rating needs to have risen to above 2500. This is as recalculated with his results since the July 1999 list. Bu doesn't have to wait until the new list in January 2000 or indeed have a rating above 2500 then. It is now up to FIDE as to whether they ratify the event and allow Bu the record.

Qingdao Daily Cup CHN (CHN), 18-23 x 1999          cat. X (2483)
----------------------------------------------------------------
                                  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
----------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Dao Thien Hai       g VIE 2543 * = 1 = = = = = 1 1  6.0  2601
 2 Peng Xiaomin        g CHN 2574 = * = = = = 1 = 1 1  6.0  2597
 3 Bu Xiangzhi           CHN 2465 0 = * 1 = 1 0 1 1 1  6.0  2609
 4 Wu Wenjin           m CHN 2435 = = 0 * = = 1 1 1 1  6.0  2613
 5 Iuldachev, Saidali  g UZB 2491 = = = = * = = = 1 1  5.5  2561
 6 Ye Jiangchuan       g CHN 2593 = = 0 = = * = = 1 1  5.0  2513
 7 Isaev, Jamshed        TJK 2411 = 0 1 0 = = * = = 1  4.5  2490
 8 Nazarov, Anvar      m TJK 2493 = = 0 0 = = = * = =  3.5  2401
 9 Wang Shuo             CHN 2411 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = * =  1.5  2217
10 Liang Shuai           CHN 2411 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = *  1.0  2139
----------------------------------------------------------------

10) Club Kasparov GM tournament

Club Kasparov have announced the first big money internet GM chess tournament. There will be a $40,000 prize fund and a first prize of $20,000. The event will start in mid-December. The event to some extent fills a hole left by some of the traditional events that have not taken place this year. The event may be the first of many, a number are planned for the year 2000. The players will play on the new Club Kasparov site over the internet and the event will have one hour per player per game.

Garry Kasparov will be playing. Other players who may be playing include FIDE Champion Alexander Khalifman, Michael Adams, Yasser Seirawan, Utut Adianto, Dibyendu Barua, Alexander Morozevich, Nigel Short, Gilberto Milos, Nick DeFirmian, Loek Van Wely, Jeroen Piket, Peter Svidler, Miguel Illescas, Etienne Bacrot as well as the Israeli computer program Junior. The invitation list has not yet been finalised. Michael Greengard is the organiser.

11) FIDE News

The Executive Board of FIDE met at the Sheraton Hotel, Doha, 5th-6th October 1999 for the 70th FIDE Congress. FIDE President Kirsan Iljumzhinov was not present due to illness instead the leading FIDE figure there was Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos.

One of the decisions was to exclude a number of Federations due to unpaid fees (perhaps as many as 11). The most high profile casualty is Argentina. Adrian Roldan reports that Argentina's problems with arrears seems to be down to the Government appointee Dr. Pascual Pontoriero (who was appointed by the the National Ministry of Justice). He is a lawyer not a chess player and was appointed after a legal dispute between the National Federation (FADA) and the Buenos Aires Chessfed (FMDA). Pontoriero has not been at all active in the administration of the Argentine Chess Federations affairs. This includes relations with FIDE. In 1995 FIDE and the Argentine Federation came to an agreement over their arrears. This agreement had worked well until Pontoriero's appointment. In Elista and Las Vegas he made only small and inadequate payments to FIDE and this has resulted in the FIDE suspension which will take place in January if nothing happens.

FIDE also confirmed 35 new Grandmasters including Maurice Ashley of the US, Tiger Hillarp-Persson of Sweden, and Dusko Pavasovic (SLO) it rejected the Jonathan Rowson of Scotland's application was rejected (27 games, all Swiss System) which seems to be an incorrect decision as his first norm was thought to be an all-play-all.

FIDE confirmed that Anatoly Karpov has filed a a suit against FIDE at the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne with a claim of CHF 2'000'000 and USD 100,000 during the Extra-Ordinary session of the General Assembly.

FIDE and the IOC. Changes to Chapters 17 and 18 of the FIDE Statutes, the requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the final settlement of disputes by International Sports Federations at the Court of Arbitration for Sports and the rules on doping and use of prohibited substances in sports events need to be addressed now FIDE have been accepted into the IOC.

On FIDE finances FIDE External Auditors Messrs. Atag Ernst and Young presented accounts for the period ended 31 December 1998. FIDE Treasurer D. Jarrett drew attention to the fact that FIDE was relying heavily on its income from the World Championship. He added that he expected the cash flow position of FIDE to improve by the end of October 1999. However no official mention has been made of what could be the most serious crisis that has faced FIDE in years. FIDE Executive Director Emmanuel Omuku confirmed earlier in the month that 12 players who competed in the FIDE World Chess Championships in Las Vegas that finished two months ago had not been paid. A number of players who presented cheques to the Wells Fargo Bank in Las Vegas saw their cheques bounce and those who requested bank transfers have not received them. Only Michael Adams, who paid a fee of several hundred dollars (money extremely well spent) to the banks to have speedy transfer of funds to his account, amongst the players involved in the later stages of the event has been paid. FIDE Champion Alexander Khalifman, Vladimir Akopian, Nisipeanu, Shirov, Bauer and Leitao are amongst those who have not been paid. It is reported they will meet at the European Club Cup finals to decide what to do. They were assured the problem was a temporary one at the time, but two months on around $600,000 of prize money hasn't been paid. The players have been reluctant to speak out as it might jeopardise their chances of being paid. If they haven't been paid then perhaps also FIDE hasn't been paid.

12) European Club Cup, Qualfiers known

All of the European Club Cup qualifiers are known. Winners: Group 1, held in Paide (Estonia) 1. St Petersburg (1st Board : Khalifman), Group 2, held in Reykjavik (Iceland) - 1.Tomsk (1st Board Morozevich), Group 3, held in Albufeira (Portugal) 1. Beer-Sheva (Israel), Group 4, held in Eupen (Belgium) 1. Agrouniverzal Belgrad (1st Board Anand 2nd Board Gelfand), Group 5 held in Pula (Croatia) 1. Kiseljak (BIH- with Azmajparashvili, Predrag Nikolic and Giorgadze) and group 6 "Elitzur" Petah Tikva (ISR) These teams will join Breda (the title holder) and Sarajevo (organiser) to contest the final in Sarajevo October 29th-31st.

Controversy in Group 6

Preliminary Group 6: Budapest: 11-13 October 1999. 1. "Elitzur" Petah Tikva (ISR) ; 2. "Honved" Budapest (HUN) ; 3. "Mravince Dalmacijacement" (CRO) ; 4. "Danko Donbass" (UKR) ; 5. "Montenegrobanka" Podgorica (YUG); 6. "Steva Balto" Struga (FRM); 7. "Sarajevo" (BIH); 8. "Honved" (women) Budapest (HUN).

I still need the games from day one of this group 6 qualifier. My thanks to Sead Bicevic for days 2 and 3.

The Group 6 qualifier took place in Budapest. The great moment of controversy was the participation of Vassily Ivanchuk for the Ukrainian team Danko Donbass. GM Suat Atalik is extremely angry about this, see his open letter later in the issue.

6. PRELIMINARY GROUP
1.ROUND
Elitzur Petach Tikva (ISR) - Honved Kaposvari Women (HUN) 6 : 0

Smirin - Madl 1:0
Judasin - Lakos
Sutovski Grabics 1:0
Oratovsky - Medvegy 1:0
Tyomkin - Horvath Zu. 1:0
Finkel - Goczo 1:0

Montenegro Podgorica (YUG) - Danko Donbass (UKR) 3 : 3

Ivanovic - Ivanchuk 0:1
Jermolinski - Ponomariov 0,5:0,5
Atalik - Savchenko 0,5:0,5
Kosic - Kruppa 0,5:0,5
Strikovic - Timoshenko 1:0
Vujosevic - Shneider 0,5 : 0,5

Honved Garancia (HUN) - ŠK "Sarajevo" Sarajevo (BIH) 4 : 2

Pinter - Sharyazdanov 0:1
Tolnai - Ulibin 0,5:0,5
Varga - Bistric 1:0
Wells - Mestrovic 0,5:0,5
Cao - Nurkic 1:0
Peter - Burovic 1:0

Mravince Dalmacijacement (CRO) - Stefo Balto, Struga (FRM) 3,5 : 2,5

Tkachiev - Rustemov 0,5:0,5
Ribli - Lastin 0,5:0,5
Tukmakov - Najdoski 1:0
Cebalo - Kutirov 1:0
Kovacevic V. - Stanojoski 0:1
Zelic - Mitkov 0,5:0,5

2.ROUND
Mravince Dalmacijacement (CRO) - Honved Garancia Budapest (HUN) 2,5 : 3,5

Tkachiev - Pinter 0,5:0,5
Ribli - Tolnai 0,5:0,5
Tukmakov - Warga 0:1
Cebalo - Wells 1:0
Kovacevic - Cao 0:1
Zelic - Peter 0,5:0,5


Danko Donbass (UKR) - Elitzur Petach Tikva (ISR) 2 : 4

Ivanchuk - Smirin 0,5:0,5
Ponomariov - Judasin 0:1
Savchenko - Sutovky 0:1
Kruppa - Oratovsky 0,5:0,5
Timoshenko - Tyomkin 1:0
Kuzmin - Finkel 0:1

Honved Kaposvari W. (HUN) - Stefo Balto, Struga (FRM) 1 : 5

Madl - Rustemov 0:1
Lakos - Lastin 0:1
Grabics - Najdoski 1:0
Medvegy - Kutirov 0:1
Horvath - Stanojoski 0:1
Goczo - Mitkov 0:1

Montenegro Podgorica (YUG) - ŠK "Sarajevo" Sarajevo (BIH) 4 : 2

Ivanovic - Sharyazdanov 0,5:0,5
Jermolinski - Ulibin 0,5:0,5
Atalik - Bistric 0,5:0,5
Kosic - Mestrovic 1:0
Strikovic - Nurkic 1:0
Vujosevic - Burovic 0,5:0,5

3.ROUND
Elitzur Petach Tikva (ISR) - Honved Garancia (HUN) 3,5 : 2,5

Smirin - Pinter 0,5:0,5
Judasin - Tolnai 0,5:0,5
Sutovsky - Warga 1:0
Oratovsky - Wells 0,5:0,5
Tyomkin-Cao 1:0
Finkel - Peter 0:1

Danko Donbass (UKR) - Mravince Dalmacijacement (CRO) 3 : 3

Ivanchuk - Tkachiev 0,5:0,5
Ponomariov - Ribli 0,5:0,5
Savchenko - Tukmakov 0,5:0,5
Kruppa - Cebalo 0:1
Shneider - Kovacevic 0,5:0,5
Kuzmin - Zelic 1:0

Stefo Balto, Struga (FRM) - Montenegro Podgorica (YUG) 3 : 3
Rustemov - Ivanovic 1:0
Lastin - Jermolinski 0:1
Kutirov - Atalik 0:1
Stanojoski - Kosic 1:0
Mitkov - Strikovic 0:1
Organdziev - Pajkovic 1:0

ŠK "Sarajevo" Sarajevo (BIH) - Honved Kaposvari W. (HUN) 6 : 0

Sharyazdanov - Madl 1:0
Ulibin - Lakos 1:0
Bistric - Grabics 1:0
Mestrovic - Medvegy 1:0
Nurkic - Horvath 1:0
Burovic - Goczo 1:0


FINAL STANDINGS
1. Elitzur Petach Tikva (ISR)
2. Honved Garancia (HUN)
3. Mravince Dalmacijacement (CRO)
4. Danko Donbass (UKR)
5. Montenegro Podgorica (YUG)
6. Stefo Balto Struga (FRM)
7. ŠK "Sarajevo", Sarajevo (BIH)
8. Honved Kaposvari W. (HUN)

13) European Juniors

The European Juniors and Girls Chess Championships 1999 took place in Patras, Greece 5th-18th October 1999. 96 players competed.

Medal winners 1st Dennis De Vreugt NLD (Juniors) and Regina Pokorna SVK (Girls); 2nd Alexei Iljushin RUS (Juniors) and Ana Matnadze GEO (girls); 3rd Stelios Halkias GRE (Juniors) and Sopio Tkeshelashvili GEO (girls).

Note that the game Crut-Bohnenblust from round 8 that was given last week in the games section had the wrong result. This game is given correctly this week.

Internet coverage at: http://users.otenet.gr/~panos/welcome.html

Leading final standings

European Youth Boys-u20 Patras GRE HUN (GRE), 2-12 x 1999
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12  13 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 De Vreugt, Dennis             m NED 2398  +43 +39 = 7 - 2 + 9 =16 +20 +38 +17 + 3 +10 = 6 = 5  10.0  2580
 2 Iljushin, Alexei              m RUS 2527  +29 +26 =12 + 1 = 3 = 7 = 5 +10 = 6 = 4 =13 +16 = 9   9.0  2523
 3 Halkias, Stelios              m GRE 2406  +28 +30 + 6 =12 = 2 + 5 =17 - 7 + 8 - 1 = 4 +13 =10   8.5  2503
 4 Medvegy, Zoltan                 HUN 2397  -22 +27 =24 +25 +14 - 8 +39 =13 +26 = 2 = 3 = 7 + 6   8.5  2465
 5 Doettling, Fabian             f GER 2475  =15 +31 =13 +34 +10 - 3 = 2 =14 +16 = 7 =12 = 8 = 1   8.0  2456
 6 Stryjecki, Marek                POL 2448  +32 +25 - 3 =16 =20 +21 + 8 =17 = 2 =12 + 7 = 1 - 4   8.0  2479
 7 Solak, Dragan                   YUG 2457  +40 +34 = 1 =10 +26 = 2 =38 + 3 =12 = 5 - 6 = 4 =13   8.0  2460
 8 Blehm, Pawel                  m POL 2479  =19 -16 +30 +29 =13 + 4 - 6 +31 - 3 =26 +22 = 5 +12   8.0  2416
 9 Kallio, Heikki                f FIN 2360  =38 +15 =22 =13 - 1 +23 -12 +19 -18 +34 +26 +14 = 2   8.0  2426
10 Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel    ESP 2378  +27 =13 +17 = 7 - 5 +34 +16 - 2 +38 =14 - 1 +19 = 3   8.0  2438
11 Cvek, Robert                    CZE 2444  -30 =38 +33 =15 =22 =13 =19 =23 +29 +18 =14 =12 +16   8.0  2379
12 Fontaine, Robert              m FRA 2408  +24 +14 = 2 = 3 =16 -17 + 9 +20 = 7 = 6 = 5 =11 - 8   7.5  2460
13 Jovanovic, Zoran CRO            CRO 2310  +46 =10 = 5 = 9 = 8 =11 +25 = 4 =14 +17 = 2 - 3 = 7   7.5  2443
14 Mastrovasilis, Athanasios     f GRE 2345  +44 -12 +31 =38 - 4 +40 +18 = 5 =13 =10 =11 - 9 +29   7.5  2375
15 Shavtvaladze, Nikoloz           GEO 2289  = 5 - 9 +36 =11 -25 +46 =21 =32 =27 +39 +17 =29 =18   7.5  2370
16 Hunt, Adam                      ENG 2288  =18 + 8 +21 = 6 =12 = 1 -10 +29 - 5 +22 +23 - 2 -11   7.0  2429
17 Mateuta, Gabriel              m ROM 2398  +33 +35 -10 +22 =18 +12 = 3 = 6 - 1 -13 -15 +26 =19   7.0  2346
18 Bagirov, Rufat                m AZE 2471  =16 =42 +32 +19 =17 -38 -14 =39 + 9 -11 =24 +21 =15   7.0  2317
19 Markidis, Konstantinos          GRE 2295  = 8 =23 +35 -18 -38 +37 =11 - 9 +43 +20 +27 -10 =17   7.0  2328
20 Berescu, Alin                 f ROM 2386  -31 =33 +28 +40 = 6 +26 - 1 -12 =23 -19 =35 +42 +22   7.0  2280
21 Johannessen, Leif Erlend      f NOR 2356  +36 =22 -16 =24 +32 - 6 =15 =27 =39 =33 +38 -18 +35   7.0  2273
22 Haznedaroglu, Kivanc            TUR 2187  + 4 =21 = 9 -17 =11 -39 +42 +25 +24 -16 - 8 +27 -20   6.5  2324
23 Jedryczka, Krystian             POL 2334  =42 =19 -46 +27 =24 - 9 +37 =11 =20 +25 -16 =39 =30   6.5  2249
24 Molander, Riku                  FIN 2234  -12 +44 = 4 =21 =23 =29 +40 -26 -22 +31 =18 =35 =34   6.5  2276
25 Kobrin, Michael                 ISR 2355  +37 - 6 =40 - 4 +15 +30 -13 -22 +31 -23 =42 =38 +41   6.5  2234
26 Ribshtein, Nati                 ISR 2349  +41 - 2 +43 +46 - 7 -20 +32 +24 - 4 = 8 - 9 -17 +39   6.5  2317
27 Karner, Christoph               AUT 2181  -10 - 4 +44 -23 =37 +45 +30 =21 =15 +38 -19 -22 +43   6.5  2226
28 Crut, Aurelien                  FRA 2207  - 3 =47 -20 =42 -41 =44 =45 +30 +36 -35 =31 +40 +38   6.5  2145
29 Petrik, Tomas                   SVK 2296  - 2 =36 +47 - 8 +45 =24 +43 -16 -11 +37 +33 =15 -14   6.5  2250
30 Bohnenblust, Simon              SUI 2239  +11 - 3 - 8 =45 +42 -25 -27 -28 +48 =32 +43 +37 =23   6.5  2228
31 Guid, Matej                     SLO 2185  +20 - 5 -14 =39 =43 +47 +34 - 8 -25 -24 =28 +36 =33   6.0  2254
32 Perunovic, Miodrag              YUG 2247  - 6 +37 -18 +35 -21 +41 -26 =15 -34 =30 -36 +46 +47   6.0  2191
33 Eriksson, Jonas                 SWE 2188  -17 =20 -11 +36 -39 -42 +48 +35 +40 =21 -29 =34 =31   6.0  2213
34 Dovliatov, Sanan                AZE 2339  +47 - 7 +42 - 5 +46 -10 -31 =43 +32 - 9 =39 =33 =24   6.0  2205
35 Zouaghi, Nouri                  BEL ----  +48 -17 -19 -32 +36 -43 +46 -33 +41 +28 =20 =24 -21   6.0  2183
36 Erturan, Yakup                  TUR 2148  -21 =29 -15 -33 -35 +48 +47 =41 -28 +44 +32 -31 +45   6.0  2115
37 Lelumees, Brait                 EST 2121  -25 -32 +41 =43 =27 -19 -23 +45 +44 -29 +48 -30 +46   6.0  2143
38 Anchev, Nikolaj                 BUL 2155  = 9 =11 +39 =14 +19 +18 = 7 - 1 -10 -27 -21 =25 -28   5.5  2295
39 Skytte, Rasmus                f DEN 2338  +45 - 1 -38 =31 +33 +22 - 4 =18 =21 -15 =34 =23 -26   5.5  2223
40 Streikus, Simonas               LTU 2267  - 7 +41 =25 -20 +47 -14 -24 +42 -33 =43 =44 -28 +48   5.5  2133
41 Touloumis, Anestis              GRE 2111  -26 -40 -37 +48 +28 -32 =44 =36 -35 +46 =45 +47 -25   5.5  2073
42 Tomic, Bosko                    BIH ----  =23 =18 -34 =28 -30 +33 -22 -40 +47 +48 =25 -20 -44   5.0  2141
43 Nikolchovski, Toni              BUL 2190  - 1 +45 -26 =37 =31 +35 -29 =34 -19 =40 -30 +48 -27   5.0  2118
44 Kanellopoulos, Georgios         GRE ----  -14 -24 -27 -47 +48 =28 =41 +46 -37 -36 =40 =45 +42   5.0  2037
45 Siempos, Konstantinos           GRE ----  -39 -43 +48 =30 -29 -27 =28 -37 -46 =47 =41 =44 -36   3.5  1965
46 Vulic,Vanja                     BIH ----  -13 +48 +23 -26 -34 -15 -35 -44 +45 -41 =47 -32 -37   3.5  1986
47 Papaioannou, Hristos            GRE ----  -34 =28 -29 +44 -40 -31 -36 +48 -42 =45 =46 -41 -32   3.5  1963
48 BYE                                 ----  -35 -46 -45 -41 -44 -36 -33 -47 -30 -42 -37 -43 -40   0.0      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

European Youth Girls-u20 Patras GRE HUN (GRE), 2-12 x 1999
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12  13 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Pokorna, Regina             wm SVK 2198  +35 + 3 = 6 +12 = 4 + 2 = 5 + 8 +11 = 7 +24 = 9 =10  10.0  2444
 2 Tkeshelashvili, Sopio       wm GEO 2284  =27 +25 +24 = 4 + 6 - 1 =11 = 3 + 5 +15 + 8 = 7 = 9   9.0  2362
 3 Radziewicz, Iweta           wg POL 2395  +10 - 1 +16 -15 +24 +21 = 4 = 2 +12 = 6 = 5 +11 + 7   9.0  2370
 4 Matnadze, Ana               wf GEO 2280  +32 +21 +14 = 2 = 1 +11 = 3 = 5 - 6 - 8 +19 +18 +22   9.0  2356
 5 Polovnikova, Ekaterina      wm RUS 2299  =24 +27 =13 + 7 =15 +12 = 1 = 4 - 2 +17 = 3 = 6 +11   8.5  2336
 6 Zozulia, Anna               wm UKR 2353  +36 +15 = 1 =33 - 2 +32 =13 =12 + 4 = 3 = 7 = 5 = 8   8.0  2297
 7 Krivec, Jana                wf SLO 2177  +34 +11 =12 - 5 +33 =15 - 8 +13 +21 = 1 = 6 = 2 - 3   7.5  2286
 8 Reizniece, Dana             wf LAT 2294  +31 -14 -21 +35 +20 +33 + 7 - 1 +25 + 4 - 2 -10 = 6   7.5  2212
 9 Batyte, Daiva                  LTU 2107  -11 +35 =19 -26 =30 +23 +33 =14 -15 +25 +17 = 1 = 2   7.5  2186
10 Sperdokli, Elli                GRE 2124  - 3 -29 -36 +38 -28 +35 -16 +37 +30 +32 +26 + 8 = 1   7.5  2174
11 Goletiani, Rusudan          wm GEO 2386  + 9 - 7 +29 +14 +13 - 4 = 2 +15 - 1 =19 +18 - 3 - 5   7.0  2219
12 Kalinina, Vladislava        wf UKR 2239  +22 +19 = 7 - 1 +26 - 5 +17 = 6 - 3 -18 +15 =14 =13   7.0  2221
13 Bogza, Adina                   ROM 2210  +29 =33 = 5 +21 -11 +18 = 6 - 7 =19 -24 =22 +27 =12   7.0  2182
14 Nill, Jessica               wf GER 2168  +28 + 8 - 4 -11 -32 =27 +22 = 9 -18 +33 +16 =12 =15   7.0  2177
15 Iwaniuk, Dorota             wf POL 2189  +30 - 6 +37 + 3 = 5 = 7 =26 -11 + 9 - 2 -12 +25 =14   7.0  2233
16 Kucypera, Anna                 POL 2218  =25 +23 - 3 =24 -18 -19 +10 +30 =27 =22 -14 +29 +28   7.0  2115
17 Potikha, Liza                  ISR 2061  =26 -24 =18 +25 =19 +22 -12 +31 +32 - 5 - 9 +20 =23   7.0  2149
18 Shabanaj,Eglantina             ALB ----  -21 =32 =17 +31 +16 -13 -27 +36 +14 +12 -11 - 4 +24   7.0  2192
19 Virnik, Elena                  GER 2154  +37 -12 = 9 =32 =17 +16 =25 =21 =13 =11 - 4 =28 +30   7.0  2162
20 Hitzgerova, Gabriela           CZE 2208  =23 -26 +30 +22 - 8 -25 -31 +34 =33 =28 +29 -17 +32   6.5  2064
21 Dacalor, Aurelie               FRA 2131  +18 - 4 + 8 -13 +27 - 3 +32 =19 - 7 -26 -28 +37 +33   6.5  2145
22 Redondo Arguelles, Graciela    ESP 2067  -12 =34 +28 -20 +35 -17 -14 +38 +23 =16 =13 +24 - 4   6.5  2114
23 Cavusoglu,Vildiz               TUR ----  =20 -16 -32 =28 +37 - 9 =29 +35 -22 =34 +38 +26 =17   6.5  2075
24 Makka, Ioulia                  GRE 2099  = 5 +17 - 2 =16 - 3 =30 +34 =27 +26 +13 - 1 -22 -18   6.0  2127
25 Mladenovic, Jelena             YUG 2023  =16 - 2 +31 -17 +34 +20 =19 +26 - 8 - 9 =27 -15 =36   6.0  2124
26 Jurkiewicz, Katarzyna          POL 2225  =17 +20 -33 + 9 -12 +29 =15 -25 -24 +21 -10 -23 +37   6.0  2063
27 Buckley, Melanie               ENG 2075  = 2 - 5 =34 +37 -21 =14 +18 =24 =16 =29 =25 -13 =35   6.0  2082
28 Horn, Emilia                   SWE 2003  -14 =31 -22 =23 +10 =36 =30 -32 +38 =20 +21 =19 -16   6.0  2072
29 Henriques, Sofia               POR 2018  -13 +10 -11 =30 +36 -26 =23 =33 +31 =27 -20 -16 +38   6.0  2096
30 Hari, Veronica                 SLO ----  -15 +36 -20 =29 = 9 =24 =28 -16 -10 +38 +37 +34 -19   6.0  2065
31 Gurbanova Kemala               AZE 2078  - 8 =28 -25 -18 +38 +37 +20 -17 -29 =35 =32 +36 =34   6.0  2031
32 Palotai, Piroska               HUN 2072  - 4 =18 +23 =19 +14 - 6 -21 +28 -17 -10 =31 +38 -20   5.5  2063
33 Stevandic, Drinka              BIH ----  +38 =13 +26 = 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 =29 =20 -14 +36 =35 -21   5.5  2096
34 Hasurdzic, Mirna               BIH ----  - 7 =22 =27 =36 -25 +38 -24 -20 +37 =23 =35 -30 =31   5.0  1977
35 Feuvrier, Stephanie            FRA ----  - 1 - 9 +38 - 8 -22 -10 +37 -23 +36 =31 =34 =33 =27   5.0  1993
36 Rezek, Anet                    CRO 2105  - 6 -30 +10 =34 -29 =28 +38 -18 -35 =37 -33 -31 =25   4.0  1905
37 Matosevic, Mijana              BIH ----  -19 +38 -15 -27 -23 -31 -35 -10 -34 =36 -30 -21 -26   1.5  1747
38 BYE                                ----  -33 -37 -35 -10 -31 -34 -36 -22 -28 -30 -23 -32 -29   0.0      
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14) 3rd Itaú Mercosul Cup

Marius van Riemsdijk reports: The São Paulo Chess Club (Clube de Xadrez São Paulo) ran the third edition of the Itaú Mercosul Cup October 16th-22nd 1999, with about US$12,500.00 in prizes. The Itaú Bank is one of the biggest financial corporations in Brazil and has supported chess for over 10 years. The Cup is a nine round swiss system event with 185 players from 7 countries, including 4 GMs, several masters, and 58 Fide rated players. The event was won by GM Gilberto Milos who scored an outstanding 8.5/9 a full point clear of his pupil and Grandmaster, Rafael Leitao. In third (by way of the tie-break system) was GM G. Vescovi, with 7. Also on 7 were W. Rocha, IM C. Braga, and M.V. Santos. WGM Vivian Ramon, with 6.5, was the best foreigner. The performances of Brazilian youngsters M.V.Santos (with 7) and L.H. Coelho (with 6) should be noted.

The official page is: http://hipernet.com.br/cxsp/ItauMercosul1999.htm Information will also be available at HiperChess: http://hipernet.com.br/HiperChess/, http://www.hipernet.com.br/cxsp/ItauMercosul1999_eng.htm and http://www.fpx.com.br/mercosul99/mercosul99.htm

Leading final standings of Copa Itau Mercosul 1999

  1.  Milos Jr, Gilberto             8.5
  2.  Leitao, Rafael Duailibe        7.5
  3.  Vescovi, Giovanni Portilho     7.0
      Rocha, Wellington Carlos       7.0
      Braga, Cicero Nogueira         7.0
      Santos, Marcus Vinicius M.     7.0
  7.  Limp, Eduardo Thelio           6.5
      Disconzi da Silva, Rodrigo     6.5
      Dumont, Sadi Glasser           6.5
      Matsuura, Everaldo             6.5
      Segal, Alexandru Sorin         6.5
      Pelikian, Jefferson            6.5
      Camara, Helder                 6.5
      Nogueira, Ivan Kuhlmann        6.5
      Marques, Vinicius              6.5
      Martinez, Carlos Alejandro     6.5
      Ramon, Vivian                  6.5
      Leal, Paulo Tarcisio G.        6.5
 19.  Man Yee, Chow                  6.0
      Sega, Carlos Alberto           6.0
      Toth, Christian Endre Rego     6.0
      Carvalho, Herbert              6.0
      Crosa, Martin                  6.0
      Caldeira, Adriano              6.0
      Coelho, Luiz Henrique P.       6.0
      Malbran, Emilio                6.0
      Maia, Luciano Malta            6.0
      Pereira, Silvio Cunha          6.0
      Blank, Goncalves, Eduardo      6.0
      Valle de Sousa, Adriano        6.0
      Pedroso Jr, Arquimedes G.      6.0
      Melao Jr, Hindemburg           6.0
      Silveira, Geraldo Luis W.      6.0
      Gasperini, Antonio Augusto     6.0
186 players

15) Hotel Zuglo Open

Laszlo Nagy reports: There was disappointment in the entry for the Hotel Zuglo Open as there were only 12 players.The event was won by Flovin Naes and Yu Mingyuan with 7.5/9.

Hotel Zuglo Open Budapest HUN (HUN), 16-23 x 1999
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Naes, Flovin Tor        FAI 2222  + 7 = 3 + 9 = 2 + 5 = 4 + 8 + 6 +10  7.5  2443
 2 Yu Mingyuan             CHN 2319  +12 = 5 + 3 = 1 = 4 + 8 + 6 + 9 + 7  7.5  2447
 3 Husari, Sate            SYR 2307  + 6 = 1 - 2 + 9 + 7 +10 + 4 = 5 + 8  7.0  2381
 4 Wiley, Tom E            ENG 2302  = 8 = 9 + 5 + 6 = 2 = 1 - 3 +11 +12  6.0  2301
 5 Resika, Nathan A        USA 2251  +10 = 2 - 4 + 8 - 1 + 9 + 7 = 3 +11  6.0  2280
 6 Bordas, Gyula           HUN 2111  - 3 + 8 +12 - 4 -10 +11 - 2 - 1 + 9  4.0  2127
 7 Tian Tian               CHN ----  - 1 +10 - 8 +11 - 3 +12 - 5 +10 - 2  4.0  2099
 8 Kovacs, Robert          HUN 2051  = 4 - 6 + 7 - 5 +11 - 2 - 1 +12 - 3  3.5  2103
 9 Schreiber, Bela         HUN 2195  +11 = 4 - 1 - 3 +12 - 5 +10 - 2 - 6  3.5  2103
10 Koczo,Kristof           HUN ----  - 5 - 7 =11 +12 + 6 - 3 - 9 - 7 - 1  2.5  1969
11 Tong Li Da              CHN ----  - 9 -12 =10 - 7 - 8 - 6 +12 - 4 - 5  1.5  1858
12 Constantino, Rosario    GER 2135  - 2 +11 - 6 -10 - 9 - 7 -11 - 8 - 4  1.0  1757
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16) Asian Teams and World Cities Games

16 Teams contested the Asian Team Chess Championships 1999 in Shenyang, China, between 4th-9th Oct 1999. Uzbekistan took the title by half a board point from Kazakstan, India and the Philippines in an extremely close contest. Games are now available from the Asian Teams and World Cities Championships that took place in Shenyang. My thanks to James Tan for his help.

The Asian Team Chess Championships coverage at: http://www.syonline.net.cn/asiachess/

Asian Team Chess Championships 1999 
Final Standings (women 5 rounds):

FINAL STANDINGS
 
                1   2   3   4   5   6   TOT 
1 Uzbekistan   x   0.5 0.0 1.0 1.5 1.0   4
2 China A      2.5 x   2.5 3.0 2.5 2.0   12.5
3 Vietnam      3.0 0.5 x   1.5 1.5 1.0   7.5
4 Mongolia     2.0 0.0 1.5 x   1.0 0.5   5
5 China B      1.5 0.5 1.5 2.0 x   2.5   8
6 India        2.0 1.0 2.0 2.5 0.5 x     8
 

17) 4NCL Games

The British 4 Nations Chess League 1999-2000 got underway in Birmingham's Moat House Hotel over the weekend of October 9th-10th 1999. After two rounds of Division 1 only Wood Green 1 and Slough 1 have a played 2 won 2 record. Games from round 2 available now.

18) Grecotel Chess Match

Argiris Kotsis reports: A team event involving Greece, Bulgaria and Germany in Corfu. It runs October 11th-18th 1999. There are two matches. A Germany vs Greece Men's match and a Bulgaria vs Greece women's match. The Bulgaria-Greece women's match finished in an 8-8 tie after the two teams of four played each other once. The men's match finished 16-9 to Germany (I was incorrect last week, the match had already finished so all the games were in the issue). The event took place in the Hotel Imperial Corfu and organised by the Corfu Chess Club.

Coverage at: http://www.chess.gr/enter.html

Germany-Greece Final results

Round 1 (October 12, 1999)

Naumann, Alexander        -  Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios  1-0   24  B22  Sicilian; Alapin (2.c3)
Jussupow, Artur           -  Grivas, Efstratios        1-0   38  E60  Kings indian
Gabriel, Christian        -  Banikas, Hristos          1-0   36  E71  Kings indian
Huebner, Robert           -  Nikolaidis, Ioannis       1-0   25  A42  Queen's pawn
Lutz, Christopher         -  Miladinovic, Igor         1/2   31  B49  Sicilian

Round 2 (October 13, 1999)

Nikolaidis, Ioannis       -  Gabriel, Christian        1/2   10  D14  Slav defence
Grivas, Efstratios        -  Naumann, Alexander        1-0   96  A16  English; 1.c4
Miladinovic, Igor         -  Huebner, Robert           1/2   22  E20  Nimzo indian
Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios  -  Lutz, Christopher         0-1   35  B80  Sicilian
Banikas, Hristos          -  Jussupow, Artur           1-0   53  D58  QGD;

Round 3 (October 14, 1999)

Lutz, Christopher         -  Grivas, Efstratios        1/2   41  E97  Kings indian; Main line
Jussupow, Artur           -  Nikolaidis, Ioannis       1-0   51  A40  Queen's pawn
Gabriel, Christian        -  Miladinovic, Igor         0-1   41  E61  Kings indian
Huebner, Robert           -  Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios  1-0   41  D19  Slav defence
Naumann, Alexander        -  Banikas, Hristos          1/2   23  B22  Sicilian; Alapin (2.c3)

Round 4 (October 15, 1999)

Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios  -  Gabriel, Christian        1-0   62  C44  Scottish
Banikas, Hristos          -  Lutz, Christopher         0-1   35  D58  QGD;
Miladinovic, Igor         -  Jussupow, Artur           0-1   50  D36  Queen's gambit
Nikolaidis, Ioannis       -  Naumann, Alexander        1/2   51  D91  Gruenfeld indian
Grivas, Efstratios        -  Huebner, Robert           1/2   65  A13  English; 1.c4

Round 5 (October 16, 1999)

Naumann, Alexander        -  Miladinovic, Igor         1/2   23  B30  Sicilian
Nikolaidis, Ioannis       -  Lutz, Christopher         1/2   16  D53  QGD;
Gabriel, Christian        -  Grivas, Efstratios        1-0   32  E92  Kings indian; Classical
Banikas, Hristos          -  Huebner, Robert           1/2   50  E15  Nimzo indian
Jussupow, Artur           -  Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios  1-0   68  D46  Semi-Slav


Germany-Greece Match Corfu GRE (GRE), 12-17 x 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1   2   3   4   5   
--------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Jussupow, Artur           g GER 2636  + 8 - 7 + 9 + 4 +10   4.0  2727
 2 Lutz, Christopher         g GER 2591  = 4 +10 = 8 + 7 = 9   3.5  2636
 3 Huebner, Robert           g GER 2599  + 9 = 4 +10 = 8 = 7   3.5  2636
 4 Miladinovic, Igor         g GRE 2526  = 2 = 3 + 5 - 1 = 6   2.5  2576
 5 Gabriel, Christian        g GER 2578  + 7 = 9 - 4 -10 + 8   2.5  2487
 6 Naumann, Alexander          GER 2478  +10 - 8 = 7 = 9 = 4   2.5  2487
 7 Banikas, Hristos          m GRE 2507  - 5 + 1 = 6 - 2 = 3   2.0  2504
 8 Grivas, Efstratios        g GRE 2514  - 1 + 6 = 2 = 3 - 5   2.0  2504
 9 Nikolaidis, Ioannis       g GRE 2505  - 3 = 5 - 1 = 6 = 2   1.5  2427
10 Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios    GRE 2384  - 6 - 2 - 3 + 5 - 1   1.0  2336
--------------------------------------------------------------

19) Lautier vs Computers

Clichy was the venue for the Man-Machine "trophée ITRAS", October 9th-10th 1999. There was a rapidplay man-machine event won by Manuel Apicella. Joel Lautier (Lautier had 2h30 whilst the programs had 1h30 each) played a 4 board clock simul on October 9th 1999 against for chess playing computers (Chess Tiger, ZChess, Anmon and Capture). The event finished 2-2. Just an additional note about this event reported last week. Lautier played blindfold.

Further details http://www.europe-echecs.com/ including the games annotated and full results.

ANMON          -  Lautier, Joel  1-0   31  E32  Nimzo indian
Lautier, Joel  -  ZCHESS         1-0   33  D31  Queen's gambit
CHESS TIGER    -  Lautier, Joel  1-0   58  B51  Sicilian
Lautier, Joel  -  CAPTURE        1-0   72  A45  Queen's pawn

20) Potential Women's Championship sponsorship

Jacob Shutzman (Susan Polgar's husband) reports that Susan Polgar has announced a deal with American company Infectech, Inc. for a "Women's World Chess Championship" event. The event may be a four player event with Susan Polgar, Judit Polgar, Xie Jun and Galliamova although Xie Jun has had no contact with the organisers thus far.

The press release says: "Under the terms of the contract, Infectech, Inc. will seek sponsorship by a multinational corporation for a $2.3 million prize fund to be divided by the contestants. The prize fund will consist of $1.1 million in cash and up to one million IFEC private placement shares, having a $1.2 million value, to be purchased by the sponsoring multinational corporation. Infectech, Inc. has signed a Letter of Intent with Judith Polgar, the highest ranking female chess player in world history, and the sister of Susan Polgar, for participation in this event. Susan Polgar is a member of the Infectech Scientific Advisory Board, and Grandmaster Susan Polgar has agreed to represent the United States in this world championship match. "

Dr. Mitchell S. Felder, CEO and President of Infectech, Inc., stated that, "We are quite excited to have Infectech serve as the catalyst for this prestigious event. This event will be a truly innovative mechanism by which IFEC can allocate $1.2 million dollars of funding for the IFEC products involving the faster detection of Tuberculosis, M. avium (one of the major bacterial infections of AIDS patients), Pseudomonas (a major bacterial killer of cystic fibrosis and cancer patients), as well as for the bioremediation of environmental contaminants. It is a beautiful concept that a chess tournament may assist in the further development of these most humanitarian medical products which have the potential for saving thousands of lives." IFEC management believes that in light of the recent Kasparov vs. The World internet chess game, which received the most internet web hits in history, this chess tournament could likewise serve to highlight the innovative IFEC medical diagnostics technology and extensive intellectual property. The tournament hopes to have the participation of Xie Jun of China (the recent FIDE Women's Chess Champion, which is being contested in court by Susan Polgar), as this tournament could definitively prove who is the best female chess player in the world. Infectech has already been shown a great deal of initial interest by multinational corporations in a possible co-sponsorship of this event. Infectech, Inc., founded in 1989, is a biotechnology company which owns 26 patents for the rapid identification and antibiotic sensitivity testing of 34 disease-causing bacteria, including Tuberculosis, Pseudomonas, M. avium and Nocardia. These bacteria play a prominent role in causing the death of cancer, Cystic Fibrosis and AIDS patients, and those undergoing surgery. The company's primary focus is the development of a system for rapidly identifying bacteria infecting hospital patients utilizing its patented baiting technology in combination with fluorescent amplification. MD-Diagnostics.com, Inc., is a subsidiary formed by Infectech, and is dedicated to medical diagnostics over the Internet. The Infectech web site is http://www.infectech.com. The Polgar web site is http://www.polgarchess.com.

21) The World resigns against Kasparov

The Kasparov vs. the World chess tournament started June 21st and finally finished on 23rd October 1999 with a victory for Kasparov. The event took place on the MSN network. The World voted on the MSN site with the help of advisers Etienne Bacrot, 16, Florin Felecan, 19, Irina Krush, 15, and Elisabeth Pähtz, 14 who have aided the choice of moves and GM Danny King acted as moderator during the match. The event finished controversially when accusations that some players had had multiple votes choosing moves that caused a critical position for the World to become definitely lost. (51. ...Ka1 was a clear draw (subject to confirmation by Kasparov's analysis) but there were claims that one player voted for an alternative multiple times although MSN specifically deny this in a FAQ on their site) by move 57. Qd4+ The World was lost and subsequent controversies over the posting of suggestions had no real effect on the result of the game. See TWIC 258 news section for more of this story. Kasparov's full analysis of the game is expected soon.

The experiment of this mass participation match has been a success producing a game of real complexity and interest. Kasparov and his team of helpers has put a lot of effort into the game and this has been matched by the coaches or at least one, Irina Krush. Krush has produced analysis of much greater depth than any of the other coaches and She was aided by several grandmasters, the St Petersburg Grandmaster Chess School, and the World Team Strategy Bulletin Board http://bbs.msnbc.com/bbs/kasparov-team/ which is part of the official site.

Official site:http://www.zone.com/kasparov/Home.asp with much additional information on the match

Over 3 million visitors from over 75 countries took part in the event when after 124 days play the World voted to resign. The game was a fascinating one, much, much better than anyone had any right to expect, at least until the final stages. In the end Kasparov had analysis to the final position which showed a forced win for him (mate in 25!).

Finished game Kasparov,G (2812) - The World [B52] Kasparov,G (2812) - The World [B52] 26.06.1999

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.0-0 g6 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bg7 10.Nde2 Qe6 11.Nd5 Qxe4 12.Nc7+ Kd7 13.Nxa8 Qxc4 14.Nb6+ axb6 15.Nc3 Ra8 16.a4 Ne4 17.Nxe4 Qxe4 18.Qb3 f5 19.Bg5 Qb4 20.Qf7 Be5 21.h3 Rxa4 22.Rxa4 Qxa4 23.Qxh7 Bxb2 24.Qxg6 Qe4 25.Qf7 Bd4 26.Qb3 f4 27.Qf7 Be5 28.h4 b5 29.h5 Qc4 30.Qf5+ Qe6 31.Qxe6+ Kxe6 32.g3 fxg3 33.fxg3 b4 34.Bf4 Bd4+ 35.Kh1 b3 36.g4 Kd5 37.g5 e6 38.h6 Ne7 39.Rd1 e5 40.Be3 Kc4 41. Bxd4 exd4 42. Kg2 b2 43. Kf3 Kc3 44. h7 Ng6 45. Ke4 Kc2 46. Rh1 d3 47. Kf5 b1=Q 48.Rxb1 Kxb1 49. Kxg6 d2 50. h8=Q d1=Q 51. Qh7 b5 52. Kf6+ Kb2 53. Qh2+ Ka1 54. Qf4 b4 55. Qxb4 Qf3+ 56. Kg7 d5 57. Qd4+ Kb1 58. g6 Qe4 59. Qg1+ Kb2 60. Qf2+ Kc1 61. Kf6 d4 62. g7 1-0

Kasparov gave a press conference in London on September 2nd 1999. Download [1.7 Meg] this file to hear the full interview. which needs DSS Lite

Garry Kasparov vs The World Prize Quiz

22) Open letter from Suat Atalik

DO YOU KNOW DE RIDDER? An open letter from GM Suat Atalik

As we all know chess is an individual sport though still we have team competitions. In my opinion European Clubs championship is the most important of them in professional level. One can mention that we have the Olympiad with national teams however I don't want to include Olympiad in professional chess. The Olympiad is always organised with an amateur enthusiasm and many federations do not pay their players and the final standings of a team reflects the chess level of that country. However in European Club Championships you can always build up a very strong team by the means of money. Clubs that spend tonnes of money to have a shot for the glory have the right to ask for results. In recent years, as a result of tougher competition in open tournaments and the lack of round-robin event I have observed that a good amount of chess professionals base their incomes to a large extent on what they can earn in club competitions. In the light of all reasons stated above, the strongest of all team competitions of this kind, the European Club Championships (ECC) should really be organised fairly and with the utmost care.

Between October 11th and 13th probably the strongest preliminary in this years EEC, group 6 took place in Budapest, Hungary. 30 male grandmasters competed for 7 different teams. And now comes the reason why I had to write this open letter. The Organisation was a catastrophe, EEC rules were broken and the competition was unfair. For all of this I blame Mr De Ridder who is the one in charge for the EEC, the main organiser and responsible.

Now let's start at the beginning. By June 15th the clubs should have informed De Ridder of their line-ups for the event and then these lists would be closed. Then on August 21st, players who might have appeared in more than one team's list needed to make their final decision and in form Mr De Ridder. My Yugoslav team Montenegrobanka which was about to take part in this competition had done everything correctly. They have sent our team's line-up correctly before the deadline and when my name was mentioned in more than one team, they contacted me so that I could send an e-mail to Mr De Ridder clearly stating that I will play in EEC only for Montenegrobanka. Yet I received no answer of confirmation by this person and my name appeared in group which took place in Pula as well. It is a genuine proof that Mr De Ridder did not work at all, plus I was not the only person brought to this situation, please check latest TWICs you will find a lot of players whose names were mentioned in different teams at the same time. [Note the lists in TWIC were very unofficial and only indicative Mark Crowther]

You may say that this may constitute a minor detail,ok! So take this one then: when we arrived in Budapest we unexpectedly found GM Vassily Ivanchuk playing. Although his name was never mentioned in any of those team lists, he was there to play for our first round opponents Danko Donbass from the Ukraine which was basically the Ukranian national team. By this nasty surprise first of all the rule about teams line-ups and deadlines was completely broken. Secondly the competition became all of a sudden very unfair, because we could have brought another really very strong player if we would have known that our opponents are about bringing one illegally. How would Mr De Ridder have solved this?

At the technical meeting when the delegation from my club (GM Yermolinsky, IM Vujosevic and myself) asked for how come a player whose name was never mentioned beforehand was about to play against us, we received 3 different answers. The local organisers said teams were allowed to do so with a supplementary list by which they may readjust their line-up. If they have more than 2 foreigners and this list with the newest line-ups was published by De Ridder on the 8th of October 2 days before the tournament! Of course this was total rubbish! First of all Danko Donbass had never a foreigner on their list and second no other club was aware of this newest adjustment. A good proof of this was Mravince Dalmacijacement from Croatia who were composed of really fair and experienced people had played the whole tournament with 3 foreigners: GM Tkachiev from Kazakhstan, GM Ribli from Hungary and GM Tukmakov from Ukraine. Still for us it is a mystery whether such a rule exists or if it was the product of a misunderstanding due to the language barrier between us and the local organisers. Anyway what was clear it had nothing to do with the context of the dispute. A different answer was given by Danko Donbass delegation there. They said that Mr Ivanchuk's name was mentioned not only in their line-up but as well as Agrouniversal's from Yugoslavia. Well,as the lists appeared in TWICs, I am reluctant to give any comments on this statement.

What Mr De Ridder said was even funnier. When we gave our written protest about the case, we also requested that it should be sent to Mr De Ridder by fax and we would like to have a clear explanation about the case. Firstly our letter of protest did not move one centimetre from arbiters desk in any direction albeit that the local organizers claimed that they sent it to Mr De Ridder by fax. The first answer came after half an hour in Mr De Ridder's handwriting which should really be examined and if possible decoded by such an expert like Dr Huebner: 'These are the team lists!' The second one which may amuse anybody came next morning. 'Your protest is about a single person not even about a team!' Now guess what happened? The following morning we were eliminated by Danko Donbass with a score of 3-3 due to the upper board result of the intruder GM Ivanchuk who won on top board. We actually wove hands to our expectations, our later results like beating a strong team from Sarajevo 4-2, nor the 3-3 win (!) due to better board results could not carry us further than the 5th place. In other words Mr De Ridder deprived us from entering even in the first 4.

Another important point in the dispute were the pairings. We really could not understand why the pairings were rushed up and made much before the start of tournament in Brussels. Let's look the drawbacks of this system. Certain teams do not play, some get drafted to other groups by De Ridders decree, some do not appear and were replaced. And then who made the second set of pairings with the inclusion of substitutes, De Ridder or the local organisers from Honved Club? Those people said De Ridder did it yet in 15 minutes later they asked if anybody objected to the participation of Honved's women teams as substitute! If the second set of pairings were done by De Ridder too, how come anybody could object? Another point about this matter was that as the organisation had tried to stick to the original pairings order which team substituted which one and according to which criteria. Would not it be better if the pairings were been done according to rating average criteria in a technical meeting of this group with the definite strength of the teams instead of 4 months ago when nobody knew who would play for which team? And why should we play team number one in the first round when we are 3rd or 4th by the rating average?

As a conclusion to what I have said above, the head of ECC organisation, some certain De Ridder, did not do his job at all. He himself broke the rules, showed his indifference and lack of knowledge about chess as well as his bias and treated all the other teams unfairly. The Hungarian organisers did in our opinion the second set of pairings on their own, not based on any criteria but the way they wanted, and then hid behind the great(!) De Ridder. Also if one is an organiser of such an important multinational event, one has to be fluent in English which has practically became the official language of FIDE.

And my final words goes to De Ridder and to good old FIDE. I have been playing professional chess for a long time, taking part in high level chess tournaments in almost every corner of the world and yet still I came short to hear your name before ECC group6 MR De Ridder. Why don't you go back to your business whatever it is but certainly not chess instead of messing up serious competitions? If you want to be around us, the chess professionals do not give privileges to some teams, simply apply the rules! It obviously does not matter for you but some clubs may lose their sponsors or even be forced to shut down their chess departments as a result of your commitments in ECC group 6. And FIDE boys thanks for your choice about Mr De Ridder!

GM Suat Atalik Istanbul

23) Forthcoming Events and Links

World Youth Championships

The World Youth Championships Oropesa del Mar, Spain from the 23th October to the 6th November 1999. There are sections for u18, u16, u14, u12 and u10 boys and girls. Coverage at: http://www.feda.org/torneos/fide/oropesa99/index.cfm

IV Lisbon Chess Festival

IV Festival de Xadrez dos Jogos de Lisboa Pavilhão Carlos Lopes Lisboa, 13th-21st November 1999. The event includes the Portuguese Championships, the V Lisbon open, and visits, lectures, simuls and press conferences from Garry Kasparov, Boris Spassky and Mark Dvoretsky. Web site: http://cmlxadrez.esoterica.pt/

21st Festival Internazionale Arco

There is a large open taking place in Arco, Italy, the event started October 23rd. Epshin, Romanishin, Slobodjan, Rytshagov and Timoscenko are the leading players in the field of 63. Daily coverage: http://www.infcom.it/fsi/

TWIC TV November 3rd-4th Live Match

The Bacrot- Polgar match will be transmitted live with video and sound. The match in BASTIA (Corse) with 80 000 F worth of prizes. Official site for the match: http://www.opencorsica.com and TWIC TV broadcast at: http://www.canalweb.net/vers/diagonal4.asp

Tournament of the Future

The "Tournament of the Future" will be held in Koning Willem I College, Hertogenbosch (NED) 18th-27th November 1999. Players: Jeroen Bosch (geb. 1972; IM NED 2433) ; Stefan Bücker (geb. 1959; FM GER 2341) ; John Donaldson (geb. 1958; IM USA 2419) ; Deen Hergott (geb. 1962; IM CAN 2396) ; Friso Nijboer (geb. 1965; IGM NED 2559); Ian Rogers (geb. 1960; IGM AUS 2574) ; Paul Span (geb. 1979; - NED 2226) ; Paul van der Sterren (geb. 1956; IGM NED 2535) ; Raymond Stone (geb. 1953; FM CAN 2340) ; Gerard Welling (geb. 1959; IM NED 2368) . FIDE-categorie: 7 (gem. 2419,1) IGM norm: 76% 6,84=7 punten IM norm: 57% 5,13=5½ punt Arbiter: Cathy Rogers Assistent arbiter: Leon Muys.

Website: http://www.kw1c.nl/chess

Rilton Cup

Those interested in playing in the Rilton Cup in Stockholm. Details: http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-21958/stock.html