THE WEEK IN CHESS 272 24th January 2000 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Corus Wijk aan Zee
3) Pulvermuele International
4) Brazilian Championships
5) Bundesliga
6) Alexey Vyzmanavin 1960 - 2000
7) FIDE Ratings crisis
8) 4NCL
9) V Open "Ciudad de Ubeda"
10) Croatian Championships
11) Cali Open
12) Alekhine's Grave Damaged in a storm
13) Cadaqués computer tournament
14) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

Corus Wijk aan Zee              42 games
Corus B Wijk aan Zee            36 games
Corus Reserve Tournament        51 games
1st Fraenkische GM Pulvermuele  25 games
Brazilian Championships         76 games
Bundesliga                      64 games
Ubeda open                     147 games
Croatian Championships          21 games
Cali Open                      125 games
588 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Christophe Bouton of Europe Echecs, GM Schach, Michael Atkins, Maximiliano Alvarez, Gunnar Bjornsson, Dmitry Novikov, Rashid Ziatdinov, Nigel Johnson, Antonio Bento, Juan Manuel Gonzalez, Leonard Barden, John Henderson and all those who helped with this issue.

An enjoyable week of chess from Wijk aan Zee headlines the issue. TWIC has John Henderson sending reports back each night including pictures which you can catch on the homepage. Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik lead half a point clear of Viswanathan Anand and Peter Leko. Kasparov has played some excellent chess but has also betrayed signs of rustiness, as do a number of players. Layoffs of 6 months lead to missed chances and inprecise play, I expect a tightening up in this aspect in the last half of the event. From Moscow comes the very sad news of the death of Alexey Vyzmanavin at the early age of 40. I've written an editorial on the new FIDE list and the Myanmar (Burma) ratings. It seems to me obvious that when ratings are so at odds with the real strength of players action has to be taken.

Hope you enjoy this issue

Mark

2) Corus Wijk aan Zee

The first major tournament of 2000 is well underway in Wijk aan Zee. The Corus Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee runs 14th-30th January 2000 in the De Moriaan Community Centre. The event sees the top three players in the World Kasparov, Anand and Kramnik and altogether six of the top ten (Morozevich, Leko and Adams also) in this very strong 14 player field which is just shy of Category 19.

Round 3 All the games were finished by first time control. Garry Kasparov said he didn't believe Loek Van Wely's treatment of the Sicilian. He proved his point, taking only 25 moves to demolish the Dutchman's rather loose treatment of the Sicilian. Kasparov's win was matched by most of his rivals. Jeroen Piket took care of Dutch compatriot Jan Timman in only 28 moves, and he was black as well. Vladimir Kramnik beat Nigel Short after the latter mishandled the opening. Viswanathan Anand would have been pleased to hold in form Peter Leko with black even at the expense of temporarily losing ground. In the battle of the tacticians Alexander Morozevich emerged the winner against Judit Polgar. He was black in his pet variation (7. ...a6 of the Classical French) and, after improving his pawn structure, rustled up a winning attack on the Kingside. Korchnoi-Adams and Nikolic-Lputian were fairly uneventful draws. The B event has started, all round one games were drawn (see below).

Round 4Adams-Kasparov was the final game to finish. It saw Adams trying to make something of a very promising position with an extra pawn, he probably did miss something just before first time control. After that Kasparov appeared to hold it without giving a clear winning chance. Anand-Kramnik ended in a draw after the Indian found himself at a disadvantage. He eventually traded into a drawn ending, the game finished on move 40. Piket-Van Wely was a nothing game over in 11 moves, and Morozevich didn't make much headway against Korchnoi's French Defence and the game ended in a draw on move 20. Timman-Nikolic looked as if it might get interesting but a balance was found on move 27. Judit Polgar was doing fine against Nigel Short until she committed a terrible blunder with 32. ...Rxf3 which fails to a one mover (although she continued for a few moves). Lputian-Leko was a complex game where Leko won a pawn in a complex middlegame and Lputian in terrible time trouble couldn't prevent it becoming moblile.

Round five saw Kasparov take on Morozevich. Kasparov kept his 100% lifetime record (2 rapidplay wins in 1995 and a victory in Sarajevo last year). They contested a line of the Slav popular in the 1930's. Morozevich's 11. ...g5 is a highly unusual but known idea and Kasparov met it with the new (?) 12. Ne3. Kasparov stayed on top of the tactics and won a pawn which he then converted. Judit Polgar hasn't had a good tournament and she played very solidly against Anand. The game was drawn on move 27 of a Sicilian Richter Rauser. Korchnoi and Short halved their game after 18 moves of a Tarrach French. Leko tried a Closed Variation of the French (the French is a popular opening in this tournament) against Timman. The game drifted to equality on move 34. Predrag Nikolic and Jeroen Piket contested a Queens Gambit Declined Classical Variation. The game followed theory for around 19 moves. Piket either miscalculated or decided he could hold the Queen and Rook ending a pawn down, I'm not sure which. Nikolic is excellent at these technical endgames and he kept a nagging initiative throughout the game and won on move 61. Kramnik played a closed Catalan Defence against tail ender Smbat Lputian. Kramnik played somewhat riskily in trying to win although perhaps the game was in dynamic balance until move 28 or 29 where Lputian allowed a clear advantage for Kramnik. Kramnik then made the best of the chances in the position to convert to a win. Loek Van Wely and Michael Adams contested a Nimzo-English. Adams gained an advantage just out of the opening, probably Van Wely missed how powerful Adams pawn on d2 was in advance, and the game went into a protracted bishops of opposite colours ending with Adams two pawns up which he won in 76 moves.

Round 6 . The games Short-Kasparov and Timman-Kramnik saw the joint leaders trying too hard with black, although both games were draws white had serious winning chances in both. Short and Kasparov shared the spectators prize for the game of the day but neither played their absolute best. According to Kasparov he got into trouble because he completely missed Short's 16. Nd1. After the game Kasparov demonstrated a winning continuation for Short [25. Rd1 Rd5 (forced) 26. Rxd5 cxd5 27. Qa2 when Queens have to come off and the ending is winning for white]. Early finishers in round 6 were the games Anand-Korchnoi (Korchnoi got into a total mess straight from the opening and had to resign on move 19 with his position just about to fall apart) and Morozevich-Van Wely (Morozevich played some clever tactics which allowed him to carve open the centre of the board with Van Wely's king caught there, however Morozevich didn't think things all that clear until 24. ...Bc8 (24. ...Bd5 and there is still much work to do) then it was over quickly). Other games: Piket-Adams, Piket tried to exploit a superior pawn structure but the game was drawn on move 30; Nikolic-Leko, Leko gradually outplayed Nikolic and he moved into joint third; the Lputian-Polgar, basement battle was the longest of the day, with Lputian eventually winning a very complex ending. This allowed him to catch Polgar in 12th place.

Round 7. A highly interesting situation occurred in round 7 of the Corus Wijk aan Zee tournament. The games Kasparov - Anand and Van Wely - Short transposed into the same line of the Nimzo-Indian with g3 opening. Eventually, when the players realised, it meant that Van Wely and Short (a few moves behind) could follow the course of the Kasparov-Anand game and make their decisions accordingly. The games followed Tal Shaked - Kiril Georgiev from the second round of the FIDE Championships in Las Vegas last year until Kasparov (and subsequently Van Wely) played the novelty 19. Rd2 instead of Shaked's 19. Re1. Anand got into trouble with his 21. ...Bf3 but Short found the superior 21. ...Rfc8 allowing him to draw on move 25. Kasparov pressed hard and seemed to be close to winning until his 35. Rb7? he had missed the strength of Anand's 35. ...f6. Far superior was 35. e5+ with the continuation 35 ...Qc2 36 Qxc2+ Rxc2 37 a5 Ra2 38 Ra8 Kg6 39 g4 h5 40 h3 hxg4 41 hxg4. Anand steered the subsequent rook and pawn ending to a draw on move 56. Leko-Piket was drawn in 46 moves of an Open Ruy Lopez. Kramnik-Nikolic was drawn in 21 moves when Nikolic emerged from the Queens Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with a completely level position. Timman-Polgar was drawn in 31 moves of a Sozin Sicilian. Smbat Lputian having earned his first win against Judit Polgar in round 6 beat Viktor Korchnoi in round 7 on the black side of a 5. Bf4 Queens Gambit Declined. Lputian would have been relieved to have more time than his opponent coming up to the time control for the first time in the event. Korchnoi was worse after move 40 but he quickly lost track altogether he blundered his position away in only half a dozen more moves. Adams-Morozevich was a finely balanced French Tarrasch Defence and perhaps the most interesting game of the day it was the last to finish, a draw in 64 moves.

Round 8. There were a number of draws at the top in round 8. Lputian seems to have adjusted to the level after a bad start. He and Kasparov contested a Grunfeld and although Kasparov equalised the position was dead drawn by move 30. Peter Leko and Vladimir Kramnik drew in 21 moves. A crazy time scramble and complicated play marked the game Piket-Morozevich. Short-Adams was a tough struggle which had interesting play, Short was initially a pawn up, but Adams then got strong counterplay. Adams played a clever sacrifice and he emerged two pawns up and although Short tried hard he was unable to prevent Adams converting his advantage. Van Wely played solidly as black against Anand and a draw in 31 resulted. The longest two games of the day were Nikolic-Polgar a Kings Indian drawn in 72 moves and Timman-Korchnoi a 2. d3 French drawn in 65 moves.

Round 3 (January 18, 2000)

Kramnik, Vladimir      -  Short, Nigel D         1-0   32  D37  Queen's gambit
Kasparov, Gary         -  Van Wely, Loek         1-0   25  B80  Sicilian
Leko, Peter            -  Anand, Viswanathan     1/2   27  C42  Petroff defence
Timman, Jan H          -  Piket, Jeroen          0-1   28  A53  Benoni
Nikolic, Predrag       -  Lputian, Smbat G       1/2   40  D55  QGD;
Korchnoi, Viktor       -  Adams, Michael         1/2   22  E15  Nimzo indian
Polgar, Judit          -  Morozevich, Alexander  0-1   36  C11  French; Classical

Round 4 (January 19, 2000)

Anand, Viswanathan     -  Kramnik, Vladimir      1/2   40  B66  Sicilian
Piket, Jeroen          -  Van Wely, Loek         1/2   11  D10  Slav defence
Morozevich, Alexander  -  Korchnoi, Viktor       1/2   20  C11  French; Classical
Adams, Michael         -  Kasparov, Gary         1/2   61  B50  Sicilian
Timman, Jan H          -  Nikolic, Predrag       1/2   27  E32  Nimzo indian
Short, Nigel D         -  Polgar, Judit          1-0   40  B85  Sicilian
Lputian, Smbat G       -  Leko, Peter            0-1   37  A34  English; 1.c4 c5

Round 5 (January 20, 2000)

Kramnik, Vladimir      -  Lputian, Smbat G       1-0   50  E07  Nimzo indian
Kasparov, Gary         -  Morozevich, Alexander  1-0   45  D17  Slav defence
Leko, Peter            -  Timman, Jan H          1/2   34  C00  French
Nikolic, Predrag       -  Piket, Jeroen          1-0   61  D62  QGD;
Korchnoi, Viktor       -  Short, Nigel D         1/2   18  C03  French; Tarrasch
Polgar, Judit          -  Anand, Viswanathan     1/2   27  B65  Sicilian
Van Wely, Loek         -  Adams, Michael         0-1   76  A17  English; 1.c4

Round 6 (January 22, 2000)

Anand, Viswanathan     -  Korchnoi, Viktor       1-0   19  C11  French; Classical
Piket, Jeroen          -  Adams, Michael         1/2   30  E05  Nimzo indian
Morozevich, Alexander  -  Van Wely, Loek         1-0   29  B80  Sicilian
Timman, Jan H          -  Kramnik, Vladimir      1/2   39  B30  Sicilian
Nikolic, Predrag       -  Leko, Peter            0-1   50  D73  1.d4 d5 2.c4 g6
Short, Nigel D         -  Kasparov, Gary         1/2   34  B26  Sicilian; Closed
Lputian, Smbat G       -  Polgar, Judit          1-0   60  E05  Nimzo indian

Round 7 (January 23, 2000)

Kramnik, Vladimir      -  Nikolic, Predrag       1/2   21  D36  Queen's gambit
Kasparov, Gary         -  Anand, Viswanathan     1/2   56  E20  Nimzo indian
Leko, Peter            -  Piket, Jeroen          1/2   46  C82  Ruy Lopez
Adams, Michael         -  Morozevich, Alexander  1/2   64  C03  French; Tarrasch
Korchnoi, Viktor       -  Lputian, Smbat G       0-1   47  D37  Queen's gambit
Polgar, Judit          -  Timman, Jan H          1/2   31  B57  Sicilian
Van Wely, Loek         -  Short, Nigel D         1/2   24  E20  Nimzo indian

Round 8 (January 24, 2000)

Leko, Peter            -  Kramnik, Vladimir      1/2   21  B42  Sicilian
Anand, Viswanathan     -  Van Wely, Loek         1/2   31  B80  Sicilian
Piket, Jeroen          -  Morozevich, Alexander  1/2   51  D19  Slav defence
Timman, Jan H          -  Korchnoi, Viktor       1/2   65  C00  French
Nikolic, Predrag       -  Polgar, Judit          1/2   72  E63  Kings indian
Short, Nigel D         -  Adams, Michael         0-1   67  C42  Petroff defence
Lputian, Smbat G       -  Kasparov, Gary         1/2   30  D85  Gruenfeld indian


Corus Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 15-30 i 2000                cat. XVIII (2697)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Kramnik, Vladimir      g RUS 2758 * . = = . = 1 = = 1 . 1 . .  5.5  2835
 2 Kasparov, Gary         g RUS 2851 . * . = = 1 = . . = 1 = . 1  5.5  2823
 3 Leko, Peter            g HUN 2725 = . * = = = . = 1 = . 1 . .  5.0  2783
 4 Anand, Viswanathan     g IND 2769 = = = * . . . = 1 . 1 . = =  5.0  2796
 5 Piket, Jeroen          g NED 2633 . = = . * = = 1 0 . . 1 . =  4.5  2743
 6 Morozevich, Alexander  g RUS 2748 = 0 = . = * = . . . = . 1 1  4.5  2748
 7 Adams, Michael         g ENG 2715 0 = . . = = * . . 1 = . = 1  4.5  2747
 8 Timman, Jan H          g NED 2655 = . = = 0 . . * = . = 1 = .  4.0  2683
 9 Nikolic, Predrag       g BIH 2659 = . 0 0 1 . . = * = . = = .  3.5  2642
10 Short, Nigel D         g ENG 2683 0 = = . . . 0 . = * = . 1 =  3.5  2665
11 Korchnoi, Viktor       g SUI 2659 . 0 . 0 . = = = . = * 0 . 1  3.0  2622
12 Lputian, Smbat G       g ARM 2605 0 = 0 . 0 . . 0 = . 1 * 1 .  3.0  2612
13 Polgar, Judit          g HUN 2658 . . . = . 0 = = = 0 . 0 * =  2.5  2544
14 Van Wely, Loek         g NED 2646 . 0 . = = 0 0 . . = 0 . = *  2.0  2521
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are additional events taking place in Wijk aan Zee. In the B event Boris Avrukh of Israel on 5 leads Sergei Tiviakov and Alexander Onischuk by half a point.

Corus B Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 18-30 i 2000               cat. XI (2507)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Avrukh, Boris            g ISR 2620 * . . 1 1 = . 1 . = 1 .  5.0  2756
 2 Tiviakov, Sergei         g NED 2567 . * = . = 1 = 1 . . . 1  4.5  2705
 3 Onischuk, Alexander      g UKR 2637 . = * = . 1 . . . = 1 1  4.5  2665
 4 Reinderman, Dimitri      g NED 2561 0 . = * . . . = 1 = 1 .  3.5  2538
 5 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter  g ROM 2611 0 = . . * . = . 1 . = 1  3.5  2530
 6 Van der Wiel, John       g NED 2558 = 0 0 . . * 1 . = . . 1  3.0  2530
 7 Nijboer, Friso           g NED 2540 . = . . = 0 * 0 . 1 . 1  3.0  2493
 8 Hendriks, Willy            NED 2373 0 0 . = . . 1 * = . = .  2.5  2450
 9 Danailov, Silvio         m BUL 2462 . . . 0 0 = . = * 1 . =  2.5  2435
10 Ashley, Maurice          g USA 2499 = . = = . . 0 . 0 * = .  2.0  2394
11 Berkvens, Joost            NED 2297 0 . 0 0 = . . = . = * .  1.5  2357
12 Delemarre, Jop           m NED 2354 . 0 0 . 0 0 0 . = . . *  0.5  2161
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the reserve group Yge Visser leads with 3/3.

Round 3 standings:
Corus Reserve Group Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 21-30 i 2000
----------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1   2   3  
----------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Visser, Yge               f NED 2406  +32 +26 + 9  3.0      
 2 Georgiev, Vladimir        m BUL 2538  +34 = 7 + 6  2.5  2637
 3 Yuneev, Alexey            m RUS 2430  +28 =19 +18  2.5  2602
 4 Bellin, Robert            m ENG 2351  =11 +29 +19  2.5  2494
 5 Ivkov, Borislav           g YUG 2450  =13 +23 = 7  2.0  2429
 6 Kosteniuk, Alexandra     wg RUS 2409  +25 +15 - 2  2.0  2480
 7 Afek, Yochanan            m ISR 2349  +31 = 2 = 5  2.0  2520
 8 Bosboom, Manuel           m NED 2461  =12 =14 +28  2.0  2416
 9 Romero Holmes, Alfonso    g ESP 2483  +33 +10 - 1  2.0  2365
10 Werner, Clemens           f GER 2314  +22 - 9 +26  2.0  2315
11 Van den Berg, A.M.J         NED 2209  = 4 =20 =14  1.5  2335
12 Andonovski, Ljubisa       f FRM 2287  = 8 =16 =17  1.5  2438
13 Kiseleva, Natalia        wg UKR 2285  = 5 =17 =16  1.5  2434
14 Van Blitterswijk, Stefan  f NED 2308  =16 = 8 =11  1.5  2389
15 Ludden, Gert-Jan            NED 2263  +24 - 6 =20  1.5  2385
16 Rowson, Jonathan          m SCO 2499  =14 =12 =13  1.5  2293
17 Popov, Luben              m BUL 2354  =27 =13 =12  1.5  2262
18 Kalinin, Alexander        m RUS 2422  =23 +27 - 3  1.5  2307
19 Keatinge-Clay, Adrian       USA 2287  +30 = 3 - 4  1.5  2411
20 Van Geet, Dirk Daniel     m NED 2346  =29 =11 =15  1.5  2213
21 Bertholee, Rob            f NED 2343  -26 +32 =22  1.5  2107
22 Cheparinov, Ivan            BUL 2089  -10 +33 =21  1.5  2219
23 Floor, Dick                 NED 2278  =18 - 5 +29  1.5  2346
24 Krnic, Zdenko             m YUG 2401  -15 =25 +31  1.5  2242
25 Stellwagen, Daniel          NED 2265  - 6 =24 +34  1.5  2381
26 Gouw, Carel-Peter           NED ----  +21 - 1 -10  1.0  2229
27 Happel, Hendrik A         f NED 2215  =17 -18 =30  1.0  2284
28 Stojanovski, Dejan          FRM 2279  - 3 +30 - 8  1.0  2322
29 De Mie, Mariska             NED 2168  =20 - 4 -23  0.5  2052
30 Van der Weide, Karel      m NED 2452  -19 -28 =27  0.5  1987
31 Barendse, Ted               NED 2198  - 7 =34 -24  0.5  2088
32 Burlage, Peter              NED 2232  - 1 -21 =33  0.5  1976
33 L'Ami, Erwin                NED ----  - 9 -22 =32  0.5  1995
34 Strating, Sybolt          f NED 2334  - 2 =31 -25  0.5  2060
-----------------------------------------------------------------

3) Pulvermuele International

The Pulvermuele International took place January 3rd - February 10th 2000. The Category XI was won by Ildar Ibragimov with 7/11. He finished half a point clear of Hichem Hamdouchi who beat Ibragimov in round 2.

Internet coverage at: http://www.pulvermuehle.de/schach.html

Round 5 (January 17, 2000)

Ibragimov, Ildar      -  Blatny, Pavel         1-0   61  A40  Queen's pawn
Hamdouchi, Hichem     -  Bezold, Michael       1-0   40  B42  Sicilian
Stefanova, Antoaneta  -  Wells, Peter K        0-1   51  D00  Queen's pawn
Naiditsch, Arkadij    -  Gabriel, Christian    1/2   38  C68  Ruy Lopez; Exchange
Zhu Chen              -  Bischoff, Klaus       1-0   24  A30  English; 1.c4 c5

Round 6 (January 18, 2000)

Blatny, Pavel         -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  0-1   79  C42  Petroff defence
Zhu Chen              -  Naiditsch, Arkadij    0-1   68  A04  Reti (1.Nf3)
Wells, Peter K        -  Hamdouchi, Hichem     1/2   36  A45  Queen's pawn
Gabriel, Christian    -  Ibragimov, Ildar      0-1   66  B34  Sicilian
Bischoff, Klaus       -  Bezold, Michael       1/2   27  B09  Pirc; Austrian

Round 7 (January 20, 2000)

Ibragimov, Ildar      -  Zhu Chen              1-0   51  D11  Slav defence
Hamdouchi, Hichem     -  Blatny, Pavel         1/2   93  B15  Caro-Kann
Bezold, Michael       -  Wells, Peter K        1-0   31  B31  Sicilian
Stefanova, Antoaneta  -  Gabriel, Christian    1/2   62  A07  Reti (1.Nf3)
Naiditsch, Arkadij    -  Bischoff, Klaus       1-0   24  B81  Sicilian

Round 8 (January 21, 2000)

Blatny, Pavel         -  Bezold, Michael       1/2   75  B06  Modern defence
Naiditsch, Arkadij    -  Ibragimov, Ildar      1/2   16  C68  Ruy Lopez; Exchange
Zhu Chen              -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  1-0   63  D10  Slav defence
Gabriel, Christian    -  Hamdouchi, Hichem     1/2   52  D45  Semi-Slav
Bischoff, Klaus       -  Wells, Peter K        1/2   30  A13  English; 1.c4

Round 9 (January 22, 2000)

Ibragimov, Ildar      -  Bischoff, Klaus       1-0   41  E13  Nimzo indian
Hamdouchi, Hichem     -  Zhu Chen              1-0   32  B50  Sicilian
Bezold, Michael       -  Gabriel, Christian    1/2   20  C68  Ruy Lopez; Exchange
Stefanova, Antoaneta  -  Naiditsch, Arkadij    1-0   34  A46  Queen's pawn
Wells, Peter K        -  Blatny, Pavel         0-1   63  B00  1.e4


1st Fraenkische GM Pulvermuele GER (GER), 12-22 i 2000cat. XI (2520)
------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Ibragimov, Ildar      g RUS 2611 * 0 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 1  7.0  2730
 2 Hamdouchi, Hichem     g MAR 2513 1 * 1 = = 1 1 = = =  6.5  2687
 3 Bezold, Michael       g GER 2508 = 0 * = = = 1 1 = =  5.0  2564
 4 Stefanova, Antoaneta  m BUL 2495 0 = = * 1 1 0 0 = 1  4.5  2523
 5 Blatny, Pavel         g CZE 2512 0 = = 0 * 1 0 1 1 =  4.5  2521
 6 Naiditsch, Arkadij    m GER 2442 = 0 = 0 0 * 1 1 = 1  4.5  2528
 7 Zhu Chen             wg CHN 2530 0 0 0 1 1 0 * 0 1 1  4.0  2476
 8 Wells, Peter K        g ENG 2483 0 = 0 1 0 0 1 * = =  3.5  2444
 9 Gabriel, Christian    g GER 2564 0 = = = 0 = 0 = * =  3.0  2390
10 Bischoff, Klaus       g GER 2544 0 = = 0 = 0 0 = = *  2.5  2351
------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Brazilian Championships

The 66th Brazilian Chess Championship takes place in Brasilia-DF, Brasil, (Torre Palace Hotel) January 19th - 25th 2000. 26 players will compete in a 9 rounds swiss tournament. Official coverage at: http://www.persocom.com.br/bcx

Standings after 7 of 9 rounds

ch-BRA Brasilia (BRA), 7-19 i 2000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            1   2   3   4   5   6   7   
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Vescovi, Giovanni           g BRA 2511  + 9 + 5 + 4 = 2 +14 + 3 = 7 6.0 /7  2639
 2 Limp, Eduardo                 BRA 2420  +13 +16 + 6 = 1 + 9 + 8 = 4 6.0 /7  2617
 3 Gauche, Charles               BRA 2310  =18 + 8 + 7 - 4 +12 - 1 +11 4.5 /7  2400
 4 Pelikian, Jefferson         m BRA 2393  +21 +17 - 1 + 3 - 8 + 9 = 2 4.5 /7  2402
 5 Chemin, Vitorio               BRA 2313  +19 - 1 +21 -14 +20 = 6 +13 4.5 /7  2312
 6 Disconzi da Silva, Rodrigo  f BRA 2365  +14 + 7 - 2 - 9 +10 = 5 = 8 4.0 /7  2327
 7 Matsuura, Everaldo          m BRA 2441  +10 - 6 - 3 +21 =11 +12 = 1 4.0 /7  2375
 8 Coelho, Luis                  BRA 2091  +12 - 3 =17 +20 + 4 - 2 = 6 4.0 /7  2350
 9 De Souza Haro, Paulo Cezar  f BRA 2273  - 1 +19 +11 + 6 - 2 - 4 +14 4.0 /7  2362
10 Benares, Ricardo            f BRA 2236  - 7 -14 +15 +18 - 6 +21 +19 4.0 /7  2218
11 Tsuboi, Edson Kenji         f BRA 2334  =22 =12 - 9 +19 = 7 +14 - 3 3.5 /7  2239
12 Guimaraes, Wagner P           BRA 2320  - 8 =11 +13 +17 - 3 - 7 +21 3.5 /7  2271
13 Valle, Adriano                BRA 2229  - 2 =20 -12 +16 +17 +15 - 5 3.5 /7  2234
14 Souza Neves, Andrey M         BRA 2166  - 6 +10 +16 + 5 - 1 -11 - 9 3.0 /7  2282
15 Silva Sobrinho,A              BRA ----  -17 -21 -10 +23 +16 -13 +20 3.0 /7  2129
16 Rios Filho, Hilton Carlos   f BRA 2295  +20 - 2 -14 -13 -15 +17 =18 2.5 /7  2056
17 Dejeanne, Francisco           ARG 2294  +15 - 4 = 8 -12 -13 -16 +23 2.5 /7  2087
18 De Paula,G                    BRA ----  = 3 =22 -20 -10 -19 +23 =16 2.5 /7  2041
19 Bastos,W                      BRA ----  - 5 - 9 +23 -11 +18 =20 -10 2.5 /7  2063
20 Leite Jr,Erasmo               BRA ----  -16 =13 +18 - 8 - 5 =19 -15 2.0 /7  1974
21 Roland, Marcos                USA 2204  - 4 +15 - 5 - 7 +23 -10 -12 2.0 /7  2085
22 Toth, Peter                   BRA 2163  =11 =18   .  .   .  .   .   1.0 /2  2167
23 BYE                           BRA ----   .   .  -19 -15 -21 -18 -17 0.0 /5      
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coverage at: http://www.cbx.org.br

This is followed by the BCX 2000 Brazilian Chess Open which takes place in Brasilia-DF, Brasil (Naoum Plaza Hotel) January 27th - 30th 2000. The event is a 7 rounds swiss tournament

Further details: http://www.persocom.com.br/bcx/abindice.htm

5) Bundesliga

The 7th round of the German Bundesliga took place on January 8th 2000. This was a single round

Official site for the competition: http://www.gm-schach.de/

Round 7 Results:

Venue SG Porz
PSV Duisburg  1:7 SG Porz 

Venue: SV Castrop 
SV Castrop-Rauxel  4:4 Godesberger SK 

Venue Delmenhorst
Delmenhorster SK 3½:4½ SV Werder Bremen 

Venue SG Solingen
SG Aljechin Solingen 7½:½ SV Wattenscheid

Venue Tegernsee
SV Tegernsee 3½:4½ SK Passau

Venue Magdeburg
USC Magdeburg 3½:4½ SF Neukölln

Venue Hamburg
Hamburger SK 2½:5½ Lübecker SV

Venue Plauen
SK König Plauen 3:5 Dresdner SC
 
Standings:

 1.  SG Porz                   39:17    13:1  
 2.  Solinger SG             37,5:18,5  13:1  
 3.  SK Delmenhorst            31:25    11:3  
 4.  Godesberger SK            30:26    10:4  
 5.  SK Passau                 29:27     7:7  
 6.  Dresdner SC             27,5:28,5   7:7  
 7.  SV Werder Bremen          27:29     7:7  
 8.  SV Castrop Rauxel       25,5:30,5   7:7  
 9.  SV Tegernsee            27,5:28,5   6:8  
10. SFR Neukölln             25,5:30,5   6:8  
11. Lübecker SV                28:28     5:9  
12. USC Magdeburg              27:29     5:9  
13. SK König Plauen          23,5:32,5   5:9  
14. SV Wattenscheid          21,5:34,5   5:9  
15. Hamburger SK             26,5:29,5   4:10  
16. PSV Duisburg               22:34     1:11  

6) Alexey Vyzmanavin 1960 - 2000

Alexey Vyzmanavin 1st Jan 1960 - January 6th 2000. Alexey Vyzmanavin has died in Moscow, probably on January 6th although he wasn't discovered for six days. He was with two friends on January 6th (the Russian Christmas Eve), the last time he was seen alive. The official version is that he died of a stroke. Amongst his chess achievements he shared 1st place in the USSR Championships of 1990. He also played for Russia a number of times including Manila, 1992. He was also successful in the PCA Rapidplay events. His highest ELO was 2620. He had not played in two years and was reported to have suffered from depression in recent times.

7) FIDE Ratings crisis

The new FIDE rating list was released earlier this month. The most striking thing about the list was the presence of six Burmese players in the top 100. In January 1997 Burma had four rated players (Aung Aung 2205 now 2595, Aung Thant Zin 2245 now 2510, Myo Naing 2240 now 2545 and Zaw Win Lay 2230 now World number 44 and rated 2633). The same players appeared in the June 1997 list with no additional games. However in the January 1998 list things started to change. Lets follow Zaw Win Lay's progress. June 1997 2230, January 1998 2395, June 1998 2465, January 1999 2565, June 1999 2565 (but he played 86 games at this inflated rating) and finally January 2000 2633. Unprecedented progress unless you count the near similar progress of may of his compatriots. I believe all these games were played in Burma. In the same time period Burma went from 4 rated players in 1997 to 16 then 72 in 1998, then 197 in 1999 from where they reached the 202 in the latest list (suggesting that FIDE's action against Scheveningen tournaments outlined below is not at all useful in this case).

After this "progress" was spotted in the last rating list FIDE suspended the Burmese ratings pending an enquiry. These ratings were restored at a meeting during the executive board meeting in Dohar, Qatar, just prior to the rating list release in January. The decision runs as follows. Ratings commission chairman Mr. Mikko Markkula said that "from the information he had, there was nothing to show that there was a dishonest intent on the part of the Myanmar (Burma) players." In addition they chose to abolish the 100 point rule that has stopped even more spectacular progress by the Burmese players as being unfair to a lot of "innocent players" (a highly interesting choice of words). Mr. Markkula did propose that he would ask the Presidential board for powers to require players who had "achieved excessively high ratings from playing in tournaments, especially Scheveningen tournaments within their national Federation, shall be required by the Qualification Commission to play in specially designated international tournaments outside their Federation, where their rating will be closely monitored."

FIDE did vote to not rate Scheveningen tournaments with unrated players (from immediate effect) which has been seen in the past as the most effective way of manufacturing rated players.

So FIDE have endorsed Burma as the joint second (behind Russia, level with England) strongest nation in World chess as measured by those in the top 100. A long acknowledged weakness of the ELO system is that of lots of games being played amongst players in a limited rating pool. This is precisely what has happened in Burma. Manufacture a lot of rated players, play a lot of games between them and you are going to get ratings that have no relation to those outside that pool. In fact FIDE have a precident, one fully approved by the inventor of the rating system Arpad Elo. They decided that most women played events only against women and that their ratings were 100 points too low and added 100 points to all but those of two of the Polgar sisters (as they had played almost exclusively against male oppostion.) A controversial measure at the time as it was seen as being aimed at the Polgar sisters but a highly appropriate precedent here. Clearly FIDE decided not suspend Burma's ratings because they view the situation as an exploitation of the weakness of the rating system rather than fraud. They can surely with a clear conscience and precedent adjust the ratings of the Burmese players down by 200, 300 or even 400 points as a necessary piece of administration. If they don't then in the next rating period we will see a lot of international tournaments where titled foreign players are invited, they pick up a nice fee and lots of free rating points from underrated players whilst the Burmese players pick up titles by getting results amongst themselves. Ironically FIDE's proposed solution that Burmese players should play international chess would make a solution problematic. Having played so few games against the general poll of players means that their ratings have had until now little effect and correction relatively easy. Playing internationally would corrupt the whole list. Inaction would be a severe blow to the credibility of the FIDE rating list which is so important to international chess.

Additional info: The FIDE site at: http://www.worldfide.com/ has the full list. View the Top 100

8) 4NCL

The 5th and 6th rounds of the 4 Nations Chess League took place last weekend. Games follow next week.

Round 5 22nd January 2000

Barbican 4NCL 1      6-2    North West Eagles
Slough 1            6½-1½   Bristol 1  
Wood Green 1         5-3    Silvine White Rose
Guildford-ADC        4-4    I.K.H.H. 1  
The AD's            5½-2½   Richmond  
Wood Green 2        2½-5½   Bigwood 1  

Round 6 23rd January 2000

North West Eagles    3-5    Wood Green 1 
Richmond            2½-5½   Barbican 4NCL 1 
I.K.H.H. 1           2-6    Slough 1  
Bristol 1            2-6    Guildford-ADC
Bigwood 1           6½-1½   The AD's
Silvine White Rose  5½-2½   Wood Green 2

Division 1              
                        P  W  D  L  MP  GP
 1  Slough 1            6  6  0  0  12  36.5 
 2  Wood Green 1        6  5  1  0  11  31.5
 3  Bigwood 1           6  4  1  1  9   29.0
 4  I.K.H.H. 1          6  3  2  1  8   24.5
 5  Barbican 4NCL 1     6  3  1  2  7   27.5
 6  Guildford-ADC       6  2  1  3  5   25.0
 7  Richmond            6  2  1  3  5   22.0
 8  Silvine White Rose  6  2  0  4  4   21.0
 9  The AD's            6  2  0  4  4   19.5
10  Bristol 1           6  2  0  4  4   18.0
11  NWEagles            6  1  0  5  2   17.0
12  Wood Green 2        6  0  1  5  1   16.5

9) V Open "Ciudad de Ubeda"

The V Open "Ciudad de Ubeda" takes place 19th-28th January 2000. After five rounds Alexander Grischuk, Aleksei Holmsten and Artashes Minasian are on 4.5/5. 114 players.

Coverage at: http://www.ciudadfutura.com/superajedrez

Standings after round 5

  1   Grischuk, Alexander               RUS   2549      4.5
  2   Holmsten, Aleksei                 FIN   2364      4.5
  3   Minasian Artashes,                ARM   2598      4.5
  4   Zvjaginsev, Vadim                 RUS   2641      4  
  5   San Segundo, Pablo                ESP   2497 2513 4  
  6   Zakharov, Alexander               RUS   2426      4  
  7   Sorokin, Maxim                    ARG   2572      4  
  8   Maherramzade, Javad               AZE   2423      4  
  9   Yagupov, Igor                     RUS   2482      4  
 10   Yandemirov, Valeri                RUS   2472      4  
 11   Turov, Maxim                      RUS   2526      4  
 12   Motylev, Alexander                RUS   2552      3.5
 13   Del Rio Angelis, Salvador G       ESP   2463 2482 3.5
 14   Hauchard, Arnaud                  FRA   2513      3.5
 15   Lobzhanidze, Davit                GEO   2448      3.5
 16   Korneev, Oleg                     RUS   2619      3.5
 17   Mirzoev, Azer                     AZE   2438      3.5
 18   Dzhumaev, Marat                   UZB   2483      3.5
 19   Tregubov, Pavel V                 RUS   2615      3.5
 20   Salmensuu, Olli                   FIN   2418      3.5
 21   Dolmatov, Sergey                  RUS   2615      3.5
 22   Rashkovsky, Nukhim N              RUS   2523      3.5
 23   Sargissian, Gabriel               ARM   2442      3.5
 24   Vokarev, Sergey                   RUS   2452      3.5
 25   Halkias, Stelios                  GRE   2482      3  
 26   Candela Perez, Jose               ESP   2409 2411 3  
 27   Fernandez Romero, Ernesto         ESP   2285 2266 3  
 28   Stocek, Jiri                      CZE   2496      3  
 29   Ivanov, Jordan                    BUL   2440      3  
 30   Peric, Slavisa                    YUG   2357      3  
 31   Bykhovsky, Anatoly A              RUS   2398      3  
 32   Gallego Jimenez, Victoriano       ESP   2359 2391 3  
 33   Piankov, Evgenij                  UKR   2375      3  
 34   Anastasian, Ashot                 ARM   2606      3  
 35   Kalantarian, Norik                ARM   2474      3  
 36   Wohl, Aleksandar H                AUS   2438      3  
 37   Arizmendi Martinez, Julen Luis    ESP   2445 2438 3  
 38   Minasian Ara,                     ARM   2485      3  
 39   Sharma, Dinesh K                  IND   2337      3  
 40   Bick, John D                      USA   2266      3  
 41   Barsov, Alexei                    UZB   2521      3  
 42   Pilgaard, Kim                     DEN   2377      3  
 43   Hovhanisian, Mher                 ARM   2361      3  
 44   Karatorossian, David              ARM   2345      3  
 45   Khamrakulov, Ibragim S            UZB   2354      3  
 46   Bjerring, Kai                     DEN   2276      3  
 47   Gerstner, Wolfgang                GER   2402      3  
 114 players

10) Croatian Championships

The 8th Croatian closed championships took place in Pula 07th - 19th January 2000. The event saw Krunoslav Hulak and Ivan Zaja finish on 8.5/13.

Coverage at: http://sah.posluh.hr and http://www.crochess.com/turniri/pula/prvhrzat/prvhrzat.html

ch-CRO Pula (CRO), 7-19 i 2000                           cat. VIII (2450)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Hulak, Krunoslav     g CRO 2495 * 1 = 0 = 1 = = 1 0 1 1 1 =  8.5  2556
 2 Zaja, Ivan           m CRO 2452 0 * = 1 = 0 1 = 0 1 1 1 1 1  8.5  2559
 3 Palac, Mladen        g CRO 2570 = = * 1 = 0 = 1 0 = 1 = 1 1  8.0  2527
 4 Kutuzovic, Branko    m CRO 2432 1 0 0 * = = = = 1 1 1 = 1 =  8.0  2538
 5 Golubovic, Boris     m CRO 2449 = = = = * 1 = = = 1 = = 0 1  7.5  2506
 6 Feletar, Darko         CRO 2410 0 1 1 = 0 * = = 1 = 0 1 = 1  7.5  2509
 7 Rogic, Davor         m CRO 2494 = 0 = = = = * = 1 = 1 = 0 1  7.0  2475
 8 Fercec, Nenad        m CRO 2464 = = 0 = = = = * 0 1 0 1 1 =  6.5  2448
 9 Kovacevic, Blazimir  m CRO 2438 0 1 1 0 = 0 0 1 * = = 0 1 =  6.0  2421
10 Zelcic, Robert       g CRO 2529 1 0 = 0 0 = = 0 = * = 1 = =  5.5  2386
11 Krstic, Uros           CRO 2386 0 0 0 0 = 1 0 1 = = * = = 0  4.5  2344
12 Stevic, Hrvoje       m CRO 2508 0 0 = = = 0 = 0 1 0 = * 1 0  4.5  2335
13 Rezan, Sasa            CRO 2291 0 0 0 0 1 = 1 0 0 = = 0 * 1  4.5  2351
14 Novak, Danijel         CRO 2377 = 0 0 = 0 0 0 = = = 1 1 0 *  4.5  2345
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

11) Cali Open

Juan Manuel Gonzalez reports: The Cali Open in Colombia took place 26th-30th December 1999. The event was won by GM Alonso Zapata, 60 players competed.

Final Standings:
 1 GM Zapata, Alonso          2454 8.0 
 2 IM Alzate, Darío           2403 7.0 
 3 IM Escobar, Alder          2385 7.0 
 4 FM Espinosa, Julio         2330 7.0 
 5 FM Mendoza, Rafael         2340 6.5 
 6 GM García, Gildardo        2446 6.0 
 7    Morales, John Alexander 2374 6.0 
 8    Gamboa, Nelson          2346 6.0 
 9 IM Pupo, Emilio            2340 6.0 
10    Araque, Rafael          2310 6.0 
11    Beltrán, Carlos A.      2255 6.0 
12 IM Abreu, Arian            2427 5.5 
13    Castro, Oscar           2359 5.5 
14    Vittorino, Carlos       2300 5.5 
15    Contreras, Henry        2265 5.5 
16    Echavarría, Johann      2237 5.5 
17    IM Herrera, Irisberto   2487 5.0 
18    IM González, Renier     2426 5.0 
19    IM Szmetan, Jorge       2420 5.0 
20    Rentería, Jorge         2308 5.0 
21    Gutiérrez, José Antonio 2280 5.0 
22    Ruiz, Pablo Alexander   2109 5.0 
23 IM Perdomo, Carlos Andrés  2413 4.5 
24 IM Cabrera, Alexis         2407 4.5 
25    Cuartas, Jaime          2365 4.5 
26    Ramirez, Carlos         2324 4.5 
27    Ríos, Alejandro         2316 4.5 
28    Mosquera, Miguel        2315 4.5 
29 IM Cuartas, Carlos         2300 4.5 
30    García, Alvaro          2287 4.5 
31    Ruiz, Alciguel          2269 4.5 
32    Salazar, Jeyksson       1935 4.5 
33    Mateus, Marthaunr.           4.5 
34    Carvajal, Nolbertounr.       4.5 
60 players

12) Alekhine's Grave Damaged in a storm

Christophe Bouton reports: There was a hurricane in Paris on Dec 26th 1999 with great damage to the city. This includes the grave of Alekhine in Montparnasse Cimetery, in Paris (Lev Polugaevsky was also buried there). Alekhine was buried in Paris in a ceremony attended by the FIDE president, some vice presidents and Botvinnik. It took place on March 23, 1956. Officially the grave should be repaired by the family (according to French law) or by family insurance. It is reported that Alekhine's son lives in the US. Photo

Further details at: http://www.europe-echecs.com

13) Cadaqués computer tournament

The Cadaqués computer tournament is being held in Spain and is hosted by Prof. Enrique Irazoqui and CSS. Computers are runniing on two PIII-500 with 256 MB RAM. Time controls are 40 moves in 40 minutes, each participants play 20 game matches against all other participants, total 420 games. Competitors: Rebel Century (Ed Schröder Rebel B.v.), Fritz 6a (Frans Morsch ChessBase), Hiarcs 7.32 (Mark Uniacke ChessBase), Junior 6 (Amir Ban ChessBase), Nimzo 7.32 (Chrilly Donninger ChessBase), Rebel Tiger (Christophe Théron Rebel B.v.) and Shredder 4 (Stefan Meyer-Kahlen Millennium). Event runs January 3rd - February 10th 2000.

Internet coverage at: http://www.computerschach.de/tourn/

14) Forthcoming Events and Links

New York Open

Michael Atkins reports: The New York Open is back!! Long, the strongest Open tournament in the U.S., the NY Open is scheduled over the period of May 6-14, 2000. The Two Weekend schedule will start May 6-7, and the main Open section will play May 8-14. The class sections will play May 10-14. Playing at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, the same site as the last two NYO's, the Open section will feature $50,000 in prizes which is about $10,000 more than in the open section in 1998. All other details will be announced in late January. For more details contact tournament organizer Mr. Jose Cuchi later in the month Stay tuned for upcoming announcements and full details in late January on the New York Open website http://w-w-w.com/nyopen/

First Saturday February

The First Saturday GM, IM and FM closed tournaments for February take place in Budapest, 5th-17th February. Contact: Nagy Laszlo, firstsat@elender.hu if you wish to play as there are some vacancies.

The participants registered so far:

FIRST SATURDAY GM-tournament: IGM VOLZHIN, A. (RUS), IGM HORVATH, Csaba (HUN), IGM CSOM, Istvan (HUN), JAKAB, Attila (HUN), SZABO, Zsolt, Jozsef (HUN), IM FOGARASI, Tibor (HUN), RIBSHTEIN, Nati (ISR), IM NGUYEN, Anh Dung (VIE), WGM HOANG, Th, Trang (VIE), IM WANG Rui (CHN), FM NI, Hua (CHN), IM LI, Wenliang (CHN), IM YU, Shao Teng (CHN), ZHANG, Pengxiang (CHN). Reserves: IM GINSBURG, Mark (USA), IM VILLAMAYOR, Bong (PHI), IM BURNETT, Ronald (USA), IM VAJDA, Levente (ROM), IM VAJDA, Albert (ROM).

2000 FIRST SATURDAY IM-tournament: IM KAPOSZTAS, Miklos (HUN), IM ZIMMERMAN, Yuri (RUS), IM SINKOVICS, Peter (HUN), IM KAHN, Evarth (HUN), IM SERES, Lajos,(HUN), IM EPERJESI, Laszlo (HUN), JUNGER, Kai (GER), MARXEN, Peter (GER), WOOLRIDGE, Leon (ENG), FM BELOTELOV, Dmitri (RUS), RESIKA, Nathan, (USA), DEMBO, Yelena (ISR), WIM GARA, Anita (HUN), SZEBERENYI, Adam (HUN), WONG, Zi Ling (MAS), ANTAL, Gergely (HUN), IM NEMETH, Zoltan (HUN), GOCZO, Melinda (HUN), WGM VAJDA, Szidonia (ROM) FM PARKANYI, Attila (HUN), COOKE, Eric (USA), YU, Ming Yuan (CHN), FM MURZIN, Lenar (RUS), IM NEMETH. Zoltan (HUN). Reserves: BOGNAR, Csaba (HUN), BALOGH, Csaba (HUN). Planned 2 groups... (10-14 participants each...)

9th Aurec Rapid tournament

The 9th Aurec Rapid tournament takes place Feb 26th - 27th in Aurec, France. There are 2 tournaments 7 rounds/ 20mins per game. More than FF 45 000 in prizes Invitations for GMs and IMs. Further info: Olivier Deville - Côtevière - F-43110 Aurec Tél. : 0033 4 77 35 41 21 Fax : 0033 4 77 35 23 76 E-mail : odeville@netcourrier.com

12 Hour Brussels Blitz

The 12 Hour Brussels Blitz takes place Feb 26th 2000. Salle Sippelberg Avenue Sippelberg, 3 (Metro Osseghem) 70.000 frs in prizes, 1st prize 15.000 frs. Entry: Senior - 400frs, Junior<18 - 250frs Timerate: 5 minutes. Info: B Asman tel 512.48.43 e-mail: asmanbenny@skynet.be M. Grede tel 538.35.75 Chess Club Anderlecht Caïssa Woluwé C.R.E.B. Les Fous du Roy

Politiken Cup 2000

The Politiken Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark takes place 17th-28th July 2000. There is a new venue at the Nørrebrohallen with room for 500-700 players.

Further information: http://www.kbhsu.dk

13th Ciudad de León Tournament

The 13th Ciudad de León Tournament will again use the "advanced chess" format (players will be allowed to use a computer for databases and a playing program). The competitors will be Anand, Shirov, Judith Polgar and Illescas. The event will run June 1st-5th 2000 (playing days: June 2nd Shirov-Illescas 2 game match, June 3rd Anand-Polgar 2 game match, June 3rd, final. The venue is the Junta de León” building, with the opening ceremony in the Conde Luna Hotel and the closing ceremony and Judit Polgar simul at the University.

19th Reykjavik International Open

The 19th Reykjavik International Chess Tournament takes place in the Reykjavík City Hall 5th-13th April 2000.

Minimum Prize fund: USD 15.000 1. prize USD 5.000 2. prize USD 3.000 3. prize USD 2.000 4. prize USD 1.500 5. prize USD 1.000 Under 2450 .USD 1.500 Under 2300 .USD 1.000.

9 rounds, Swiss System, Time Limit: 40 moves in 2 hours, 20 moves in 1 hour, and 30 minutes for the rest of the game.

Registration: Please contact the ICELANDIC CHESS FEDERATION, P.O. Box 8354, 128 Reykjavík, Iceland, before Feb. 1st 2000. Tel.: 354 568 9141 Fax: 354 568 9116 Email: siks@itn.is Conditions for titled players please contact ICF office. Eligible: All players rated 2000 or more (FIDE rating list). No entrance fee for foreign players.

Coverage at:http://www.simnet.is/hellir/Reykopen00.htm

Budapest Spring Festival

The 16th Budapest Spring Festival is a 9 round Swiss Open chess tournament, the event runs 17th-25th of March 2000, Budapest. The planned maximum is 100 participants, 1-3 GM-s, 6-8 IM-s, more, than 50 % ELO-rated, min. 20 % foreigners. Info: Nagy, Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@elender.hu www.elender.hu/~firstsat Tel-fax: (361)-263-28-59 Mobile: (36)-30-230-1914 ICQ # 44805877.

XVIth Cappelle la Grande Open

The XVIth Cappelle la Grande Open takes place in the "Palais des Arts et des Loisir" 19th-26th February 2000.

Website: http://cappelle.free.fr/

Entries: by cheque or money order to "l’Echiquier Cappellois" to:

M. Michel GOUVART 2, Place de Flandre 59180 CAPPELLE LA GRANDE - FRANCE Tél./Fax : 33/ 03 28 64 94 98

Adults : 220 F Juniors and over 60s: 110 F

Dates: Opening ceremony and round 1 19th February 2000 Closing ceremony 26th Feb 2000.

Prizefund: 80 000 F minimum. 1st prize: 10 000 F / 2e: 5000 F / 3e: 4000F / 4e: 3000F / 5e: 2000F / 6e: 1500F / 7e à 10e : 1000F Other prize categories for Elo, Jeunes, Féminins, Vétérans