THE WEEK IN CHESS 489 22nd March 2004 by Mark Crowther

TWIC Home | The London Chess Center | | Shop

Sponsored by the London Chess Center

Contact The Week in Chess
Mark Crowther
E-Mail mdcrowth@netcomuk.co.uk

Tel or fax 01274 882143 [Bradford England]
Mobile 07971 920016
http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html

Contents

1) Introduction
2) Reykjavik Rapid 2004
3) 13th Amber Tournament
4) 5th Karpov Tournament
5) 21st Reykjavik Open
6) Tigran Petrosian Memorial
7) Miskolc 2004
8) First Saturday March
9) Dutch Championships Semi-Finals
10) New York Masters
11) Israeli Teams
12) Austrian Teams
13) Belgian Teams
14) Swedish Teams
15) Finnish Teams
16) German Cup Finals
17) 1st Chiuso International
18) V Dos Hermanas Internet Tournament
19) European Women's Championships
20) 2nd Parsvnath Open
21) Vietnam Championships
22) Belorus Championships
23) Copa ENTEL 2004
24) Degrémont Grand Prix
25) 20th Budapest Spring Festival
26) New US Championship Dates
27) Forthcoming Events and Links


TWIC CD

Contact the London Chess Center

Contact the London Chess Center email: info@chess.co.uk Call 1-561-714-0828 in the USA or Canada Call +44 (0) 207 388 2404 or Fax +44 (0) 207 388 2407 in the UK and ROW

Great New Software: Order from: http://www.chesscenter.com/software2003.html

Join Chess Express and receive all the latest chess news straight into your inbox. Simply click here to start receiving chess express

Have you seen our Special of the Week? Check this link regularly for great discounts on books and software. Savings of 50-75%! http://www.chess.co.uk/specialweek.html

Garry Kasparov on my Great Predecessors, Part 1 Garry Kasparov £25/$ $35 The first part of Garry Kasparov's history of the World Chess Championships. http://www.chesscenter.com/kasparovgreats.html. Part 2 can now be ordered also. http://www.chess.co.uk/kasparovgreatsvol2.html

E-Bay Auctions

Bid for these books on E-Bay. 200 Open Games - David Bronstein and A Contemporary Approach to the Middle Game - Aleksei Suetin

Tiger 15.0 Is Here! £39.95 / $49.50 Chess Tiger 15.0 runs under the original Fritz interface. There are plenty of functions for beginners, club players and grandmasters: blitz and tournament chess, handicap levels, analysis. It also includes free one-year access to the chess server Playchess.com, one of the largest and most attractive Internet chess clubs in the world. http://www.chesscenter.com/software2003.html

Fritz 8 £39.95 $49.95. Offer details: http://www.chess.co.uk/fritz.html

Chess Endgame Training Chess Assistant. £24.95/$30

A program designed to teach you different endgame methods. Includes: More than 2450 endgame exercises • A built-in playing program to analyze or train with • While solving exercises, you are shown refutations of wrong moves as well as numerous hints to help and find the correct answer • The program also keeps track of your rating and adjusts it after each exercise • No additional software required Also new from Chess Assistant: Botvinnik World Champion, Chess School for Networks, Mikhail Tal, and Total Chess Training.

For these and other products check out the Chess Assistant Shophttp://www.chesscenter.com/chessassistant

Red Letters by Harding & Grodzensky – Unknown classics of Soviet correspondence chess, the games and stories. CD-ROM included!

Play 1.d4! by Palliser – A practical guide to the main lines after 1.d4 2.c4. The Indian Defenses, Benoni/Benko, QGD and QGA.

Gambit Play by Dunnington – An in-depth look at the gambits of the modern era. Plenty of examples and recommendations

Winning Chess Strategies by Seirawan Back in print! The fantastic "Winning.." series is now available in low-priced new editions.

New Books: Order from: http://www.chess.co.uk/books2003.html

Games section

Reykjavik Rapid 2004                32 games
13th Amber Tournament               36 games
5th Karpov Tournament               26 games
21st Reykjavik Open                 77 games
Tigran Petrosian Memorial           10 games
Miskolc 2004                        20 games
First Saturday March                66 games
Dutch Championships Semi-Finals     19 games
New York Masters                     4 games
Austrian Teams                     140 games
Belgian Teams                       48 games
Swedish Teams                       73 games
Finnish Teams                      360 games
German Cup Finals                   23 games
1st Chiuso International             6 games
V Dos Hermanas Internet             60 games
Vietnam Championships              117 games
Belorus Championships               66 games
Copa ENTEL 2004                      6 games
Degrémont Grand Prix                 3 games
1192 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Mikhail Golubev, Emil Sutovsky, Zsuzsa Veroci, Bartin Borriss, Roman M. Parparov, Thomas Henrich, Wojtek Bartelski, Rafael Llanos, Harald Grafenhofer, Holger Sahrhage, Laszlo Nagy, Ómar Óskarsson, Evgeny Atarov, Gabor Pali, Ingvar Þ. Jóhannesson, Rod McShane, Eric Birmingham, David Cohen, Steve Laios, John Fernandez, Vincenzo Soretti, Michael Rahal, Stewart Reuben, Axel Fritz, Henri Koskinen and everyone else who helped with the issue.

A huge week of chess with almost all the top players in the world competing. Garry Kasparov won the Reykjavik rapid after surviving a scare in game one against Magnus Carlsen of their round 1 clash, he defeated Nigel Short in the final. The Amber tournament is taking place in Monaco with Kramnik and Anand and many others. The 5th Karpov tournament is taking place in the small village of Poikovsky. A nice event which has taken over the village, it is in the old Russian traditions and even has official songs to commemorate the event.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Reykjavik Rapid 2004

Garry Kasparov beat Nigel Short in the final of the Reykjavik Rapid tournament which took place 17th-21st March 2004. Time rate 25mins+5 seconds. Rapid playoff games 5 mins+3 seconds per move. Short looked to have good winning chances in game one but seemed Kasparov turned it round to win. Game two was drawn.

The format of the tournament was rather unusual. The 16 players played a blitz tournament, 5 3 on the 17th of March. The result determined the seeding. An idea taken from Formula 1. The first round started on the 18th, The 1st seeded player played nr. 16, nr. 2 avs. 15 etc. Time allotted is 25 5. In case of a tie there was a sudden death game. All rapid games available. Sadly almost all the blitz games seem to be lost.

The main sponsor of the Reyjavik rapid 2004 was Atlantsal.

Internet coverage: http://www.ruv.is/skak

Round 1 (March 18, 2004)

Top Half

Olafsson, Helgi        - * Aronian, Levon         0-1 0-1  
Short, Nigel D       * -   Kristjansson, Stefan   1/2 1-0  
Petursson, Margeir     - * Dreev, Alexey          0-1 1/2  
Stefansson, Hannes     - * Karpov, Anatoly        1-0 0-1 Playoff 0-1 

Bottom Half

Carlsen, Magnus        - * Kasparov, Garry        1/2 0-1  
Hjartarson, Johann     - * Timman, Jan H          0-1 1/2  
Nataf, Igor-Alexandre  - * Sutovsky, Emil         0-1 0-1 
Epishin, Vladimir      - * Nielsen, Peter Heine   0-1 0-1  

Round 2 (March 19, 2004)

Short, Nigel D       * -   Aronian, Levon         1/2 1-0
Karpov, Anatoly        - * Dreev, Alexey          0-1 1/2  
Timman, Jan H          - * Kasparov, Garry        1/2 0-1  
Nielsen, Peter Heine * -   Sutovsky, Emil         1-0 1/2  

Round 3 (March 20, 2004)

Kasparov, Garry      * -   Nielsen, Peter Heine   1/2 1/2 Playoff 1-0
Dreev, Alexey          - * Short, Nigel D         1/2 0-1

Round 4 (March 21, 2004)

Short, Nigel D         -  Kasparov, Garry        0-1 1/2

Day 1 Blitz Standings
 1 Levon Aronian,        2648 13   94.25 11
 2 Garry Kasparov,       2831 12   79.25 10
 3 Emil Sutovsky,        2666 10   69.25 8
 4 Alexey Dreev,         2682  9.5 63.00 6
 5 Anatoly Karpov,       2682  9.5 61.25 7
 6 Peter Heine Nielsen,  2638  9   52.00 7
 7 Jan H. Timman,        2578  8   55.00 4
 8 Nigel Short,          2702  7.5 44.25 6
 9 Stefan Kristjansson,  2404  7   39.50 6
10 Johann Hjartarson,    2640  6   41.25 5
11 Vladimir Epishin,     2633  6   36.25 4
12 Hannes H. Stefansson, 2572  5.5 33.25 4
13 Margeir Petursson,    2540  5.5 28.50 5
14 Igor-Alaxander Nataf, 2569  4   32.50 2
15 Magnus Carlsen,       2484  4   29.25 3
16 Helgi Olafsson,       2504  3.5 20.75 2

3) 13th Amber Tournament

13th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament takes place in the Monte Carlo Grand Hotel in Monaco March 20th - April 1st 2004. It is sponsored by creator of the event Mr. J.J. van Oosterom. Prize-fund is Euro 193,250.

Every day the grandmasters play one Rapid game and one Blindfold game, of around one hour per game. The Blindfold games they play on a computer. For the players only an empty chess board is visible on the screen. With the mouse or the keyboard they can make a move, which will then appear on the screens of both players. After they have confirmed their move, the players see the move disappear and the clock of the opponent starts running. Various monitors in the playing room show the course of the game, which is perfectly visible for the arbiter and the audience, but not for the grandmasters. Free days: 24 March and 29 March. Play takes place 1.30-8.00 pm.

Official site : http://www.alldata.nl/amber

Amber Blindfold Results

Round 1 (March 20, 2004)

Morozevich, Alexander    -  Ivanchuk, Vassily        1-0   41  B31  Sicilian Rossolimo
Kramnik, Vladimir        -  Gelfand, Boris           1-0   49  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Anand, Viswanathan       -  Svidler, Peter           1/2   80  B80  Sicilian Scheveningen
Shirov, Alexei           -  Leko, Peter              1/2   47  E12  Queens Indian Petrosian
Van Wely, Loek           -  Topalov, Veselin         1/2   46  A67  Benoni Three Pawns System
Vallejo Pons, Francisco  -  Bareev, Evgeny           0-1   38  C10  French Rubinstein

Round 2 (March 21, 2004)

Leko, Peter              -  Morozevich, Alexander    1-0   53  C61  Ruy Lopez Bird's Defence
Bareev, Evgeny           -  Svidler, Peter           0-1   53  A48  King's Indian Defence /c2-c4
Topalov, Veselin         -  Anand, Viswanathan       1-0   61  B48  Sicilian Paulsen
Ivanchuk, Vassily        -  Kramnik, Vladimir        1/2   69  B92  Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Vallejo Pons, Francisco  -  Van Wely, Loek           1/2   40  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Gelfand, Boris           -  Shirov, Alexei           0-1   23  D45  Anti-Meran Variations

Round 3 (March 22, 2004)

Svidler, Peter           -  Topalov, Veselin         1-0   31  C42  Petroff's Defence
Morozevich, Alexander    -  Shirov, Alexei           1-0   29  C77  Ruy Lopez Anderssen
Kramnik, Vladimir        -  Leko, Peter              1/2   63  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Anand, Viswanathan       -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1-0   31  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Ivanchuk, Vassily        -  Gelfand, Boris           1-0   40  E05  Catalan
Van Wely, Loek           -  Bareev, Evgeny           0-1   49  D19  Slav Defence

Amber Blindfold Monte Carlo MNC (MNC), 20 iii-1 iv 2004   cat. XIX (2720)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Svidler, Peter           g RUS 2747 * . . . 1 1 = . . . . .  2.5  3011
 2 Leko, Peter              g HUN 2722 . * 1 = . . . = . . . .  2.0  2873
 3 Morozevich, Alexander    g RUS 2732 . 0 * . . . . 1 1 . . .  2.0  2849
 4 Kramnik, Vladimir        g RUS 2777 . = . * . . . . = . . 1  2.0  2840
 5 Bareev, Evgeny           g RUS 2714 0 . . . * . . . . 1 1 .  2.0  2800
 6 Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2735 0 . . . . * 1 . . = . .  1.5  2710
 7 Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2766 = . . . . 0 * . . . 1 .  1.5  2715
 8 Shirov, Alexei           g ESP 2736 . = 0 . . . . * . . . 1  1.5  2721
 9 Ivanchuk, Vassily        g UKR 2716 . . 0 = . . . . * . . 1  1.5  2739
10 Van Wely, Loek           g NED 2617 . . . . 0 = . . . * = .  1.0  2579
11 Vallejo Pons, Francisco  g ESP 2663 . . . . 0 . 0 . . = * .  0.5  2426
12 Gelfand, Boris           g ISR 2709 . . . 0 . . . 0 0 . . *  0.0      
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amber Rapid Results

Round 1 (March 20, 2004)

Bareev, Evgeny           -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1-0   60  E35  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Leko, Peter              -  Shirov, Alexei           1-0   37  B32  Sicilian Labourdonnais
Svidler, Peter           -  Anand, Viswanathan       1/2   21  B48  Sicilian Paulsen
Topalov, Veselin         -  Van Wely, Loek           1/2   48  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Ivanchuk, Vassily        -  Morozevich, Alexander    0-1   26  D11  Slav Defence
Gelfand, Boris           -  Kramnik, Vladimir        0-1   60  E12  Queens Indian Petrosian

Round 2 (March 21, 2004)

Kramnik, Vladimir        -  Ivanchuk, Vassily        1-0   26  C67  Ruy Lopez Berlin
Anand, Viswanathan       -  Topalov, Veselin         1-0   67  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Shirov, Alexei           -  Gelfand, Boris           1-0   28  B84  Sicilian Scheveningen
Svidler, Peter           -  Bareev, Evgeny           1/2   64  C10  French Rubinstein
Morozevich, Alexander    -  Leko, Peter              1/2   67  B30  Sicilian Rossolimo
Van Wely, Loek           -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1-0   45  D43  Anti-Meran Gambit

Round 3 (March 22, 2004)

Bareev, Evgeny           -  Van Wely, Loek           1-0   47  A43  Old Benoni
Leko, Peter              -  Kramnik, Vladimir        1/2   35  B30  Sicilian Rossolimo
Shirov, Alexei           -  Morozevich, Alexander    1-0   40  C11  French Defence
Topalov, Veselin         -  Svidler, Peter           1/2   35  B81  Sicilian Keres Attack
Vallejo Pons, Francisco  -  Anand, Viswanathan       0-1   69  B80  Sicilian Scheveningen
Gelfand, Boris           -  Ivanchuk, Vassily        0-1   47  A30  English Symmetrical

Amber Rapid Monte Carlo MNC (MNC), 20 iii-1 iv 2004       cat. XIX (2720)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Bareev, Evgeny           g RUS 2714 * . . . . = . 1 . . 1 .  2.5  2948
 2 Kramnik, Vladimir        g RUS 2777 . * . = . . . . . 1 . 1  2.5  2988
 3 Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2766 . . * . . = . . 1 . 1 .  2.5  2988
 4 Leko, Peter              g HUN 2722 . = . * 1 . = . . . . .  2.0  2873
 5 Shirov, Alexei           g ESP 2736 . . . 0 * . 1 . . . . 1  2.0  2846
 6 Svidler, Peter           g RUS 2747 = . = . . * . . = . . .  1.5  2738
 7 Morozevich, Alexander    g RUS 2732 . . . = 0 . * . . 1 . .  1.5  2724
 8 Van Wely, Loek           g NED 2617 0 . . . . . . * = . 1 .  1.5  2704
 9 Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2735 . . 0 . . = . = * . . .  1.0  2585
10 Ivanchuk, Vassily        g UKR 2716 . 0 . . . . 0 . . * . 1  1.0  2614
11 Vallejo Pons, Francisco  g ESP 2663 0 . 0 . . . . 0 . . * .  0.0      
12 Gelfand, Boris           g ISR 2709 . 0 . . 0 . . . . 0 . *  0.0      
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amber Combined Monte Carlo MNC (MNC), 20 iii-1 iv 2004                cat. XIX (2720)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Bareev, Evgeny           g RUS 2714 ** .. .. 0= .. .. .. .. 11 .. 11 ..  4.5  2868
 2 Kramnik, Vladimir        g RUS 2777 .. ** == .. .. .. .. .. .. =1 .. 11  4.5  2908
 3 Leko, Peter              g HUN 2722 .. == ** .. .. 1= =1 .. .. .. .. ..  4.0  2873
 4 Svidler, Peter           g RUS 2747 1= .. .. ** == .. .. 1= .. .. .. ..  4.0  2863
 5 Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2766 .. .. .. == ** .. .. 01 .. .. 11 ..  4.0  2840
 6 Morozevich, Alexander    g RUS 2732 .. .. 0= .. .. ** 10 .. .. 11 .. ..  3.5  2781
 7 Shirov, Alexei           g ESP 2736 .. .. =0 .. .. 01 ** .. .. .. .. 11  3.5  2778
 8 Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2735 .. .. .. 0= 10 .. .. ** == .. .. ..  2.5  2653
 9 Van Wely, Loek           g NED 2617 00 .. .. .. .. .. .. == ** .. =1 ..  2.5  2647
10 Ivanchuk, Vassily        g UKR 2716 .. =0 .. .. .. 00 .. .. .. ** .. 11  2.5  2682
11 Vallejo Pons, Francisco  g ESP 2663 00 .. .. .. 00 .. .. .. =0 .. ** ..  0.5  2298
12 Gelfand, Boris           g ISR 2709 .. 00 .. .. .. .. 00 .. .. 00 .. **  0.0      
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) 5th Karpov Tournament

The 5th Karpov Tournament takes place in Poikovsky 17th-26th of March 2004. Poikovsky is a village Poikovsky in the Nefteyugansky region, the west of Siberia. The event will be the strongest robin tournament in Russia this year. It carries the name Anatoly Karpov and its power approaches the Linares, Dortmund and Wijk-aan-Zee events. This year the average rating of the participants is 2676 (category XVIII), and the organisers promise that next year the event will be stronger. Rest day 21st March but Aleksandrov-Sokolov (9) was played on that day as Ivan Sokolov has to leave early.

News Eugeny Atarov.

Official site: http://www.admoil.ru/chess2004/index_chess.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------
5th Karpov Poikovsky RUS (RUS), 17-26 iii 2004      cat. XVIII (2676)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Grischuk, Alexander    g RUS 2719  * . 1 = 0 . 1 . . 1  3.5  2827 
 2. Rublevsky, Sergei      g RUS 2655  . * = = . . . = 1 1  3.5  2824 
 3. Sokolov, Ivan          g NED 2706  0 = * . . = . 1 1 =  3.5  2735 
 4. Onischuk, Alexander    g USA 2652  = = . * . = = 1 . .  3.0  2748 
 5. Bologan, Viktor        g MDA 2679  1 . . . * = . 0 1 =  3.0  2754 
 6. Lautier, Joel          g FRA 2676  . . = = = * = = . .  2.5  2674 
 7. Zvjaginsev, Vadim      g RUS 2654  0 . . = . = * 1 = .  2.5  2673 
 8. Aleksandrov, Aleksej   g BLR 2679  . = 0 0 1 = 0 * . .  2.0  2545 
 9. Zhang Zhong            g CHN 2639  . 0 0 . 0 . = . * 1  1.5  2529 
10. Malakhov, Vladimir     g RUS 2700  0 0 = . = . . . 0 *  1.0  2439 
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 1 (March 17, 2004)

Sokolov, Ivan         -  Lautier, Joel         1/2   21  D47  Queens Gambit Meran
Bologan, Viktor       -  Aleksandrov, Aleksej  0-1   57  C67  Ruy Lopez Berlin
Zvjaginsev, Vadim     -  Onischuk, Alexander   1/2   29  D37  QGD 5.Bf4
Zhang Zhong           -  Rublevsky, Sergei     0-1   84  A04  Dutch System
Malakhov, Vladimir    -  Grischuk, Alexander   0-1   60  D15  Slav Defence

Round 2 (March 18, 2004)

Grischuk, Alexander   -  Sokolov, Ivan         1-0   30  C96  Ruy Lopez
Rublevsky, Sergei     -  Onischuk, Alexander   1/2   15  C45  Scotch Game
Lautier, Joel         -  Bologan, Viktor       1/2   65  E32  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Aleksandrov, Aleksej  -  Zvjaginsev, Vadim     0-1   48  D37  QGD 5.Bf4
Zhang Zhong           -  Malakhov, Vladimir    1-0   43  B35  Sicilian Defence

Round 3 (March 19, 2004)

Sokolov, Ivan         -  Zhang Zhong           1-0   78  E12  Queens Indian Petrosian
Onischuk, Alexander   -  Aleksandrov, Aleksej  1-0   59  D38  QGD Ragozin
Bologan, Viktor       -  Grischuk, Alexander   1-0   44  D45  Anti-Meran Variations
Zvjaginsev, Vadim     -  Lautier, Joel         1/2   17  D10  Slav Defence
Malakhov, Vladimir    -  Rublevsky, Sergei     0-1   48  B83  Sicilian Scheveningen

Round 4 (March 20, 2004)

Grischuk, Alexander   -  Zvjaginsev, Vadim     1-0   34  B35  Sicilian Defence
Rublevsky, Sergei     -  Aleksandrov, Aleksej  1/2   20  C45  Scotch Game
Lautier, Joel         -  Onischuk, Alexander   1/2   23  C78  Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Zhang Zhong           -  Bologan, Viktor       0-1   84  B10  Caro Kann
Malakhov, Vladimir    -  Sokolov, Ivan         1/2   72  D10  Slav Defence

Round 9 (March 21, 2004)

Aleksandrov, Aleksej  -  Sokolov, Ivan         0-1   32  D11  Slav Defence

Round 5 (March 22, 2004)

Sokolov, Ivan         -  Rublevsky, Sergei     1/2   29  D20  QGA
Onischuk, Alexander   -  Grischuk, Alexander   1/2   25  E32  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Bologan, Viktor       -  Malakhov, Vladimir    1/2   49  B22  Sicilian Alapin
Zvjaginsev, Vadim     -  Zhang Zhong           1/2   24  D31  Semi-Slav Defence
Aleksandrov, Aleksej  -  Lautier, Joel         1/2   34  D45  Anti-Meran Variations

5) 21st Reykjavik Open

The 21st Reykjavik Open took place in The Reykjavik City Hall March 7th - March 16th 2004. Alexei Dreev, Vladimir Epishin, Emil Sutovsky, Jan Timman, Levon Aronian, Igor Alexandre Nataf and leading Icelandic finisher Helgi Olafsson all went on to play the rapid event.

Official site: http://www.chess.is/reykjavikopen/english.html

Leading Official Final Standings
  1   Dreev, Alexey                RUS   2682     gm    6.5      43.5
  2   Epishin, Vladimir            RUS   2633     gm    6.5      42.5
  3   Sutovsky, Emil               ISR   2666     gm    6.5      41.5
  4   Timman, Jan H                NED   2578     gm    6.5      41.0
  5   Aronian, Levon               GER   2648     gm    6.5      40.5
  6   Nataf, Igor-Alexandre        FRA   2569     gm    6.5      37.0
  7   Ehlvest, Jaan                EST   2599     gm    6.5      35.5
  8   Markus, Robert               SCG   2527     im    6.5      35.0
  9   Korneev, Oleg                RUS   2566     gm    6        40.0
 10   Erenburg, Sergey             ISR   2523     gm    6        39.5
 11   Hillarp Persson, Tiger       SWE   2530     gm    6        37.5

Crosstable
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21st Open Reykjavik ISL (ISL), 7-16 iii 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Dreev, Alexey                 g  RUS 2682  +51 +20 =16 + 5 = 9 +11 = 3 = 4 = 2  6.5  2726 
 2. Epishin, Vladimir             g  RUS 2633  +42 =37 =18 +19 =10 + 8 = 5 +11 = 1  6.5  2686 
 3. Sutovsky, Emil                g  ISR 2666  +36 =18 =29 +48 = 8 +21 = 1 +10 = 4  6.5  2706 
 4. Aronian, Levon                g  GER 2648  +50 =22 +38 =34 +16 = 5 +14 = 1 = 3  6.5  2717 
 5. Timman, Jan H                 g  NED 2578  +49 +35 +33 - 1 +17 = 4 = 2 = 9 +14  6.5  2707 
 6. Ehlvest, Jaan                 g  EST 2602  =58 -44 +61 +51 +18 =10 =24 +17 +12  6.5  2608 
 7. Markus, Robert                m  SCG 2527  +40 =26 =58 =33 =36 +46 +16 =15 +13  6.5  2595 
 8. Nataf, Igor-Alexandre         g  FRA 2569  +61 =38 =28 +35 = 3 - 2 +48 +33 +15  6.5  2666 
 9. Erenburg, Sergey              g  ISR 2523  +63 =47 +30 +23 = 1 =14 =15 = 5 =16  6.0  2616 
10. Korneev, Oleg                 g  RUS 2566  +52 +45 =13 =15 = 2 = 6 +35 - 3 +25  6.0  2655 
11. Hillarp Persson, Tiger        g  SWE 2530  +66 -33 +50 +28 +13 - 1 +36 - 2 +23  6.0  2603 
12. Atalik, Suat                  g  BIH 2554  +41 =28 +26 =13 =15 =16 =33 +19 - 6  5.5  2566 
13. Rogers, Ian                   g  AUS 2582  +43 +27 =10 =12 -11 =48 +31 +20 - 7  5.5  2569 
14. Krasenkow, Michal             g  POL 2609  =44 +46 +22 =17 +34 = 9 - 4 +24 - 5  5.5  2588 
15. Bu Xiangzhi                   g  CHN 2606  +77 +31 =23 =10 =12 +20 = 9 = 7 - 8  5.5  2595 
16. Luther, Thomas                g  GER 2572  +75 +48 = 1 +25 - 4 =12 - 7 +27 = 9  5.5  2568 
17. Romanishin, Oleg M            g  UKR 2537  +32 =30 +47 =14 - 5 +45 =27 - 6 +38  5.5  2517 
18. Votava, Jan                   g  CZE 2505  +64 = 3 = 2 +58 - 6 =26 -19 +46 +41  5.5  2510 
19. Zatonskih, Anna               wg USA 2436  +69 -23 +40 - 2 +39 =22 +18 -12 +37  5.5  2500 
20. Miezis, Normunds              g  LAT 2525  +60 - 1 +52 =45 +31 -15 +26 -13 +33  5.5  2531 
21. Stefansson, Hannes            g  ISL 2572  =39 -58 +67 +44 +38 - 3 =28 +35 =22  5.5  2484 
22. Olafsson, Helgi               g  ISL 2504  +62 = 4 -14 +77 =45 =19 =23 +36 =21  5.5  2533 
23. Nakamura, Hikaru              g  USA 2571  +59 +19 =15 - 9 =33 =24 =22 +44 -11  5.0  2508 
24. Schmaltz, Roland              g  GER 2527  -47 +60 =59 +30 +37 =23 = 6 -14 =27  5.0  2465 
25. Sedlak, Nikola                g  SCG 2539  =46 +39 +44 -16 =26 -35 +51 +28 -10  5.0  2471 
26. Kristjansson, Stefan          m  ISL 2404  +74 = 7 -12 +47 =25 =18 -20 +59 =31  5.0  2447 
27. Maze, Sebastien               m  FRA 2462  +65 -13 =41 =39 +58 +34 =17 -16 =24  5.0  2455 
28. Handke, Florian               g  GER 2459  +70 =12 = 8 -11 =55 +59 =21 -25 +50  5.0  2444 
29. Pedersen, Nicolai Vesterbaek  m  DEN 2510  =56 +54 = 3 =36 =46 -33 -44 +61 +58  5.0  2400 
30. Gunnarsson, Jon Viktor        m  ISL 2376  +73 =17 - 9 -24 +41 =38 =34 =48 +44  5.0  2449 
31. Galego, Luis                  g  POR 2479  +67 -15 =49 +41 -20 +64 -13 +40 =26  5.0  2400 
32. Arngrimsson, Dagur               ISL 2239  -17 +57 -35 =53 =44 +58 =46 =49 +48  5.0  2372 
33. Pogorelov, Ruslan             g  UKR 2451  +68 +11 - 5 = 7 =23 +29 =12 - 8 -20  4.5  2488 
34. Pavlovic, Milos               g  SCG 2548  =54 +56 +37 = 4 -14 -27 =30 =43 =36  4.5  2410 
35. Carlsen, Magnus               m  NOR 2484  +55 - 5 +32 - 8 +50 +25 -10 -21 =42  4.5  2433 
36. Kononenko, Tatiana            wg UKR 2353  - 3 +64 +65 =29 = 7 +37 -11 -22 =34  4.5  2447 
37. Charbonneau, Pascal           m  CAN 2485  +53 = 2 -34 +49 -24 -36 +66 +39 -19  4.5  2386 
38. Krush, Irina                  m  USA 2465  +71 = 8 - 4 +59 -21 =30 =43 +52 -17  4.5  2408 
39. Sigfusson, Sigurdur           f  ISL 2285  =21 -25 +70 =27 -19 +47 =45 -37 +63  4.5  2376 
40. Ptacnikova, Lenka             wg CZE 2214  - 7 +75 -19 +43 -48 +42 =50 -31 +59  4.5  2351 
41. Kjartansson, David            f  ISL 2267  -12 +68 =27 -31 -30 +62 +63 +45 -18  4.5  2354 
42. Bjornsson, Sigurbjorn         f  ISL 2337  - 2 -53 =72 +65 =60 -40 +64 +51 =35  4.5  2263 
43. Hardarson, Robert             f  ISL 2307  -13 -65 +68 -40 +69 +53 =38 =34 =45  4.5  2279 
44. Vidarsson, Jon G              m  ISL 2333  =14 + 6 -25 -21 =32 +54 +29 -23 -30  4.0  2431 
45. Pokorna, Regina               wg SVK 2390  +57 -10 +53 =20 =22 -17 =39 -41 =43  4.0  2307 
46. Thorfinnsson, Bragi           m  ISL 2380  =25 -14 +54 +63 =29 - 7 =32 -18 =47  4.0  2358 
47. Steindorsson, Sigurdur P         ISL 2218  +24 = 9 -17 -26 =49 -39 +65 =66 =46  4.0  2320 
48. Thorhallsson, Throstur        g  ISL 2459  +72 -16 +66 - 3 +40 =13 - 8 =30 -32  4.0  2346 
49. Johannesson, Ingvar Thor         ISL 2302  - 5 +71 =31 -37 =47 =63 =55 =32 =52  4.0  2263 
50. Thorfinnsson, Bjorn           f  ISL 2340  - 4 +55 -11 +71 -35 =66 =40 +57 -28  4.0  2273 
51. Bromann, Thorbjorn            f  DEN 2371  - 1 +62 =63 - 6 =54 +55 -25 -42 +65  4.0  2295 
52. Bergsson, Snorri              f  ISL 2270  -10 +69 -20 =64 =53 =60 +56 -38 =49  4.0  2248 
53. Kjartansson, Gudmundur           ISL 2162  -37 +42 -45 =32 =52 -43 -61 +71 +67  4.0  2242 
54. Bjornsson, Tomas              f  ISL 2256  =34 -29 -46 +72 =51 -44 =67 +64 =56  4.0  2257 
55. Halldorsson, Halldor             ISL 2159  -35 -50 +73 +66 =28 -51 =49 =58 =60  4.0  2256 
56. Hagesaether, Ellen               NOR 2194  =29 -34 -77 +57 -59 +70 -52 +68 =54  4.0  2212 
57. Sigurdsson, Johann Helgi         ISL 2002  -45 -32 =62 -56 +72 =67 +70 -50 +66  4.0  2160 
58. Ardaman, Miles                f  USA 2307  = 6 +21 = 7 -18 -27 -32 +71 =55 -29  3.5  2330 
59. Thorsteinsson, Thorsteinn     f  ISL 2278  -23 +72 =24 -38 +56 -28 +60 -26 -40  3.5  2262 
60. Halldorsson, Jon Arni            ISL 2200  -20 -24 =69 +70 =42 =52 -59 =62 =55  3.5  2184 
61. Thorarinsson, Pall A             ISL 2278  - 8 =70 - 6 =67 =63 =68 +53 -29 =62  3.5  2195 
62. Maack, Kjartan                   ISL 2176  -22 -51 =57 =69 +65 -41 =68 =60 =61  3.5  2117 
63. Halldorsson, Bragi               ISL 2211  - 9 +73 =51 -46 =61 =49 -41 +67 -39  3.5  2202 
64. Fridjonsson, Julius              ISL 2176  -18 -36 +74 =52 +77 -31 -42 -54 +68  3.5  2206 
65. Johnsen, Sylvia               wf NOR 2083  -27 +43 -36 -42 -62 +73 -47 +72 -51  3.0  2127 
66. Lehikoinen, Pertti Ilari         FIN 2234  -11 +74 -48 -55 +71 =50 -37 =47 -57  3.0  2134 
67. Thorsteinsson, Erlingur          ISL 2138  -31 =77 -21 =61 =68 =57 =54 -63 -53  2.5  2092 
68. Bergsson, Stefan                 ISL 2036  -33 -41 -43 +73 =67 =61 =62 -56 -64  2.5  2054 
69. Kjartansson, Olafur              ISL 2034  -19 -52 =60 =62 -43 -71 =73 =75 =70  2.5  2009 
70. Gretarsdottir, Lilja             ISL 2071  -28 =61 -39 -60 +75 -56 -57 =74 =69  2.5  1997 
71. Ragnarsson, Johann               ISL 2122  -38 -49 +75 -50 -66 +69 -58 -53 =74  2.5  2040 
72. Ingolfsdottir, Harpa             ISL 2051  -48 -59 =42 -54 -57 =74 =75 -65 +76  2.5  1995 
73. Thorkelsson,Sigurjon                 ----  -30 -63 -55 -68 +74 -65 =69 =76 =75  2.5  1938 
74. Gunnarsson, Runar                ISL 2016  -26 -66 -64 =75 -73 =72 =76 =70 =71  2.5  1953 
75. Ingibergsson,Valgard                 ----  -16 -40 -71 =74 -70 =76 =72 =69 =73  2.5  1956 
76. Palsson, Halldor                 ISL 2021   .   .   .   .   .  =75 =74 =73 -72  1.5  1929 
77. Bjarnason, Saevar             m  ISL 2329  -15 =67 +56 -22 -64  .   .   .   .   1.5  2174 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6) Tigran Petrosian Memorial

Tigran Petrosian Memorial Tournament 2004 took place in Stepanakert, Karabakh March 8th-18th 2004. Total prize fund was US$12,100, with a first prize $4000. The event celebrated what would have been Petrosian 75th birthday. The winner was Karen Asrian. Esam Ghaem Maghami - Karen Asrian round 8 was 0-1 default and turned out to be pretty key in determining the final winner.

The event was very diplomatically controversial. Karabakh's status is under dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It will be up to FIDE to decide whether to rate the event and that seems unlikely.

I've gone with Azerbaijan as the country in the PGN section simply as this seems to be the official FIDE line.

Official site: http://www.karabakh2004.com.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Petrosian Mem Stepanakert AZE (AZE), 9-18 iii 2004   cat. XIII (2572)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Asrian, Karen          g ARM 2599  * = 0 = 1 = = 1 1 1  6.0  2694 
 2. Macieja, Bartlomiej    g POL 2653  = * = = = 1 1 0 = 1  5.5  2643 
 3. Sargissian, Gabriel    g ARM 2618  1 = * = = = = 0 1 =  5.0  2610 
 4. Anastasian, Ashot      g ARM 2587  = = = * = = = 1 0 1  5.0  2613 
 5. Kobalia, Mikhail       g RUS 2643  0 = = = * 0 1 1 1 =  5.0  2607 
 6. Petrosian, Tigran L    m ARM 2477  = 0 = = 1 * 0 = 1 =  4.5  2582 
 7. Sveshnikov, Evgeny     g LAT 2557  = 0 = = 0 1 * = 1 =  4.5  2573 
 8. Pashikian, Arman         ARM 2451  0 1 1 0 0 = = * 0 =  3.5  2505 
 9. Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan   g IRI 2549  0 = 0 1 0 0 0 1 * =  3.0  2449 
10. Pelletier, Yannick     g SUI 2587  0 0 = 0 = = = = = *  3.0  2445 
---------------------------------------------------------------------

7) Miskolc 2004

Miskolc the biggest city in Northern Hungary hosted a Category XII GM tournament Tha Miskolc 2004 "Talent and Courage" GM tournament took place in Miskolc City Hall March 10th - March 19th 2004. Zoltan Varga won the event with 6/9. Prusikin made a third GM norm, he is a new german grandmaster. My thanks to Zsuzsa Veroci.

Official site of the tournament: http://www.borsodchess.hu/ additional news: http://origo.hu/sport/sakk/20040312varga.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
It Miskolc HUN (HUN), 10-19 iii 2004                     cat. XII (2528)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Varga, Zoltan             g HUN 2564  * = 1 = 1 = 1 = = =  6.0  2648 
 2. Prusikin, Michael         m GER 2519  = * = = 0 1 1 = = 1  5.5  2608 
 3. Goloshchapov, Alexander   g UKR 2572  0 = * = = = = 1 1 1  5.5  2602 
 4. Gyimesi, Zoltan           g HUN 2553  = = = * 1 0 0 = 1 1  5.0  2567 
 5. Portisch, Lajos           g HUN 2573  0 1 = 0 * = = 1 = =  4.5  2522 
 6. Balogh, Csaba             m HUN 2456  = 0 = 1 = * = = = 0  4.0  2492 
 7. Erdos, Viktor             m HUN 2468  0 0 = 1 = = * = = =  4.0  2491 
 8. Antal, Gergely            m HUN 2498  = = 0 = 0 = = * = 1  4.0  2488 
 9. Nevednichy, Vladislav     g ROM 2548  = = 0 0 = = = = * =  3.5  2445 
10. Firman, Nazar             m UKR 2526  = 0 0 0 = 1 = 0 = *  3.0  2402 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

8) First Saturday March

The First Saturday events took place 6th-18th of March 2004. The main event was a Category 8 event won by GM Levente Vajda, 14 year old Nguyen Ngoc Truongson finished half a point behind and made his first GM norm. Sofya Zigangirova (KAZ) made a WGM-norm in the IM group which was won by Evarth Kahn. There were FSFM events with 10-14 participants. Organised by Laszlo Nagy.

Internet coverage: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSGM March Budapest HUN (HUN), 6-18 iii 2004                cat. VIII (2435)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Vajda, Levente          g ROM 2482  * = = 1 1 = = 1 = 1 1 1 1  9.5  2661 
 2. Nguyen Ngoc Truongson   f VIE 2436  = * 1 1 = = = 1 1 = 1 = 1  9.0  2628 
 3. Szeberenyi, Adam        m HUN 2450  = 0 * = = 1 = = = = = = 1  6.5  2462 
 4. Grafl, Florian          m GER 2408  0 0 = * 1 = = = = 1 = = 1  6.5  2466 
 5. Pataki, Gyozo             HUN 2374  0 = = 0 * = 1 = = = = 1 1  6.5  2469 
 6. Fogarasi, Tibor         g HUN 2477  = = 0 = = * = = = = = = 1  6.0  2431 
 7. Flumbort, Andras        m HUN 2481  = = = = 0 = * 0 = 1 0 1 1  6.0  2431 
 8. Hoang Thanh Trang       m VIE 2447  0 0 = = = = 1 * = = = = 1  6.0  2434 
 9. Seres, Lajos            g HUN 2496  = 0 = = = = = = * = = 1 0  5.5  2401 
10. Mahesh Chandran, P      m IND 2437  0 = = 0 = = 0 = = * 1 1 =  5.5  2406 
11. Drabke, Lorenz          m GER 2439  0 0 = = = = 1 = = 0 * = =  5.0  2377 
12. Paschall, William M     m USA 2401  0 = = = 0 = 0 = 0 0 = * =  3.5  2280 
13. Krivoborodov, Egor        RUS 2329  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 = = = *  2.5  2214 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------
FSIM March Budapest HUN (HUN), 6-18 iii 2004          cat. II (2279)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Kahn, Evarth         m HUN 2292  * 1 1 = = = 1 = = 1  6.5  2443 
 2. Berczes, David       f HUN 2305  0 * 1 1 = 0 1 1 = 1  6.0  2400 
 3. Zigangirova, Sofya  wm KAZ 2205  0 0 * 1 = 1 = 1 1 1  6.0  2411 
 4. Gara, Anita         wg HUN 2377  = 0 0 * = 1 = 1 1 1  5.5  2347 
 5. Eperjesi, Laszlo     m HUN 2322  = = = = * = 1 0 = 1  5.0  2316 
 6. Farago, Sandor       m HUN 2299  = 1 0 0 = * 0 = 1 1  4.5  2276 
 7. Cernousek, Lukas       CZE 2375  0 0 = = 0 1 * = 1 1  4.5  2267 
 8. Werner, Dimo         m GER 2349  = 0 0 0 1 = = * 1 =  4.0  2227 
 9. Czibulka, Zoltan       HUN 2197  = = 0 0 = 0 0 0 * 1  2.5  2121 
10. Stadt, Hans            GER 2065  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 *  0.5  1858 
--------------------------------------------------------------------

9) Dutch Championships Semi-Finals

The third round of the Semi Finals of the Dutch Championships took place March 15th-16th 2004. News: Koos Stolk

Further info: http://www.schaakbond.nl/

Semi Final Round 2 13th-14th March 2004
Jeroen Bosch        - * Erik van den Doel           1-0 0-1 ½-1½
Jan Smeets          - * Yge Visser                  ½-½ ½-½ 2-3
Manuel Bosboom    * -   Ruud Janssen                ½-½ ½-½ 1½-½
Maarten Solleveld * -   Stefan van Blitterswijk     1-0 1-0
Marcel Peek         - * Erwin l'Ami                 0-1 ½-½ 
Sipke Ernst       * -   Arthur van de Oudeweetering 1-0 1-0
Babak Tondivar    * -   Jop Delemarre               ½-½ 1-0
Dennis de Vreugt  * -   Mark Thiele                 1-0 1-0

Semi Final Women Round 2 13th-14th March 2004

Maartje de Jonge      - * Bianca Muhren         0-1 1-0 0-2
Arlette van Weersel * -   Yvette Nagel-Seirawan 1-0 1-0
Pauline van Nies      - * Marlies Bensdorp      0-1 ½-½ 
Colleen Otten       * -   Laura Boszhard        1-0 1-0

10) New York Masters

Alex Stripunsky won the 95th New York Masters on 16th March 2004 on 3.5/4. News John Fernandez.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
95th New York Masters Action USA (USA), 16 iii 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1   2   3   4   Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------
   1. Stripunsky, Alex    g USA 2553 + 8 +12 + 3 = 2   3.5  ($350)
   2. Yudasin, Leonid     g ISR 2568 =11 +13 + 4 = 1   3.0  ($ 67)
   3. Becerra, Julio      g USA 2569 +14 + 5 - 1 + 6   3.0  ($ 67)
   4. Vovsha, Eli         m ISR 2441 +15 + 9 - 2 + 7   3.0  ($ 67)
   5. Benen, Samson       f USA 2303 +10 - 3 = 9 +13   2.5  ($ 90)
   6. Cela, Altin         m ALB 2482 -12 +11 + 8 - 3   2.0
   7. Bonin, Jay          m USA 2330 - 9 +15 +10 - 4   2.0
   8. Wolrich, Charles      FRA 2241 - 1 +14 - 6 +     2.0
   9. Arnold, Marc Tyler    USA 1996 + 7 - 4 = 5 =11   2.0
  10. Agaian, Sarkis        USA 2169 - 5 +   - 7 +14   2.0
  11. Hoffmann, Asa       f USA 2290 = 2 - 6 =13 = 9   1.5
  12. Caruana, Fabiano    f USA 2122 + 6 - 1 --- =     1.5
  13. Zenyuk, Irina         USA 2168 +   - 2 =11 - 5   1.5
  14. Privman, Boris      f USA 2241 - 3 - 8 +15 -10   1.0
  15. Furdzik, Rafal        USA 2251 - 4 - 7 -14 =     0.5


PRIZES

1ST   - $350
2ND   - $150
3RD   - $ 51
U2400 - $ 90

11) Israeli Teams

Roman M. Parparov sends the results and standings after round 6 of the Israeli Team Championships. Games may follow.

Israel Team Ch. Round VI:
CC Beer-Sheva I         - Elitzur Kiryat-Shmuel   4.5:2.5
Moadon Ashdod           - "Porat Mathematics"     3.0:3.0
CC Beer-Sheva II        - Hapoel Holon            5.5:1.5
Feldklein RLZ           - CC Hertzeliya           4.5:2.5
Hapoel Kfar-Saba        - "Ironi Cherniak" TA     4.5:2.5
ASA "Shlomo Har-Zvi" TA - Elitzur Jerusalem       5.5:1.5

Israeli Team Ch. (After Round VI)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team                           1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12   Pts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chess Club Beer-Sheva I       XXX     4.5     4.5         5.0 5.5     5.0 4.5  29
"Moadon Illit" Ashdod             XXX             2.5 3.0     4.5 5.5 2.5 6.5  24.5
Chess Club Beer-Sheva II      2.5     XXX 5.0 3.0         4.5 2.5     5.5      23
"Feldklein" Rishon Le-Zion            2.0 XXX     4.5         4.5 2.0 5.5 4.5  23
"Hapoel" Kfar-Saba            2.5     3.0     XXX 5.5 4.5     4.5 2.5          22.5
Chess Club Hertzeliya             4.5     2.5 1.5 XXX 5.0         3.0     5.0  21.5
"Porat Mathematics" Rehovot       3.0         2.5 2.0 XXX         5.0 2.5 5.5  20.5
ASA "Shlomo Har-Zvi" Tel-Aviv 2.0     2.5                 XXX 2.5 5.5 5.0 3.0  20.5
"Ironi Cherniak" Tel-Aviv     1.5 2.5 4.5 2.5 2.5         4.5 XXX              18
"Elitzur" Jerusalem               1.5     5.0 4.5 3.0 2.0 1.5     XXX          17.5
"Hapoel" Holon                2.0 4.5 1.5 1.5         4.5 2.0         XXX      16
"Elitzur" Kiryat-Shmuel       2.5 0.5     2.5     2.0 1.5 3.0             XXX  12
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six boards. For winning a match, the winning team gets a bonus point. (Thus,
when winning 3.5:2.5, the final score is 4.5:2.5)

12) Austrian Teams

The Austrian Team Championships finished with rounds 8-11 in Jenbach 18th-21st March 2004. These follow rounds in Graz (1-3) 28th-30th November 2003; Velden (4-7) 22nd-25th January 2004. The clear winners were the team SK Hohenems (Jan Gustafsson, Valery Atlas and Alexander Naumann.

Internet coverage: http://schach.wienerzeitung.at/asp/turniere.htm?tnr=1344&lan=1

Rk. Team                            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12   TB1 TB2
  1 SK Hohenems                     * 3½ 4½ 3½  4  4  3  3 3½  4  3  5  41.0  27
  2 SC Admiral Sparkasse Fürstenfe 2½  *  3  3  5 2½ 3½ 2½ 3½ 4½ 4½  4  38.5  20
  3 Union Ansfelden                1½  3  * 3½  3  3  4  3  3  3  4  5  36.0  18
  4 SV NÖ Melk-Wachau              2½  3 2½  * 2½  3 3½  4  3 2½  5  4  35.5  15
  5 SV United Chocolates Tschatura  2  1  3 3½  *  3 3½ 3½  4 3½ 3½  4  34.5  23
  6 SC Die Klagenfurter             2 3½  3  3  3  *  3  3  4 4½ 2½  3  34.5  15
  7 SV Frohnleiten                  3 2½  2 2½ 2½  3  *  3 4½ 2½ 3½ 3½  32.5  12
  8 SK Sparkasse Jenbach            3 3½  3  2 2½  3  3  * 2½  4 2½ 2½  31.5  10
  9 SK Sparkasse Gleisdorf         2½ 2½  3  3  2  2 1½ 3½  * 2½  4  4  30.5  11
 10 Sparkasse Schwarzach            2 1½  3 3½ 2½ 1½ 3½  2 3½  *  3 3½  29.5  14
 11 ESV Austria Graz                3 1½  2  1 2½ 3½ 2½ 3½  2  3  *  3  27.5   9
 12 1. Wr. Neustädter SV            1  2  1  2  2  3 2½ 3½  2 2½  3  *  24.5   5

13) Belgian Teams

The Belgian Teams 2003-2004 reached round 10. Steve Laios sends results and games. There is just one round to go. SK47 Eynatten 1 need only 2/8 points to be champions ( with better M.P.) Boitsfort have already been relegated and Hoboken, Liège and Leuven are all still fighting against relegation.

Round 10: 07.03.2004
1. Temse           - K Gent SRL  : 5.5-2.5 
2. Hoboken         - LV Leuven   : 2.5-5.5 
3. SK Rochade      - CRE Liège   : 3.5-4.5
4. SK47.Eynatten 2 - Boitsfort   : 6.5-1.5 
5. SK47.Eynatten 1 - Borgerhout  : 7.5-0.5 
6. Charleroi       - K Brugge SK : 4.5-3.5 
(round complete : 48 games)

Standings after Round 10
                       Pts  M/P   Pl
 1.KSK47-Eynatten 1    59.5 10    10
 2.Temse 1             53.5  8    10
 3.SK Rochade 1        46    6    10
 4.KSK47-Eynatten 2    44.5  5.5  10
 5.K Brugge SK 1       40    5    10
 6.Charleroi 1         39    5.5  10
 7.K Gent SRL 1        36.5  4    10
 8.Borgerhout 1        35.5  4.5  10
 9.LV Leuven Fortis 1  35    3    10
10.CRE Liège 1         33    4.5  10
11.Hoboken 1           33    3.5  10
12.Boitsfort 1         24.5  0,5  10

14) Swedish Teams

The final three rounds of the Swedish Team Championships took place 12th-14th March 2004. The winner was SK Rockaden who fielded Vassily Ivanchuk, Peter Heine Nielsen and Ulf Andersson over the final rounds. They edged out SK Limhamns (Stellen Brynell, Ivan Sokolov, Jonny Hector etc) on board count after the two teams drew in the final round. Missing games from the final two rounds now available.

Official site: http://schack.anywhere.nu/elitserien/

Final Standings:
 1. SK Rockaden      21 63 0  
 2. Limhamns SK      21 58 0  
 3. Sollentuna SK    16 56.5 0
 4. Skara SS         16 50 0  
 5. LASK             11 46.5 0
 6. Södra/SASS       11 43.5 0
 7. SK Kamraterna     9 38 0  
 8. Farsta SK         8 38 0  
 9. SK Passanten      7 38.5 0
10. Schack 08         7 37 0  
11. SS Manhem         4 36.5 0
12. Solna SS          1 22.5 0

15) Finnish Teams

Gaia from Helsinki overtook Matinkylä's lead in a thrilling final in Espoo. The winning team includes GM:s Rytshagov, Kallio, Yrjölä and Westerinen. Matinkylä had to settle for silver, defending champion Jyväskylä was third. Games now in TWIC.

All games on the website: http://www.shakki.net/pelaaminen/turnaukset/liiga.html.

Final results
 1. Gaia, Helsinki  16/18 
 2. MatSK, Espoo    15 
 3. JyS, Jyväskylä  13 
 4. HSK, Helsinki   11 
 5. JoeSK, Joensuu   8
 6. Taraus, Tampere  8 
 7. EtVaS, Vantaa    8 
 8. TuTS, Turku      7 
 9. MatSK II, Espoo  3 
--------------------
10.VammSK, Vammala 1 

16) German Cup Finals

The Deutsches Pokalfinale (Cup Final) took place in Erfurt 19th-21st March 2004. German Individual Champion: Dr. Joachim Asendorf (SV Werder Bremen) and German Team Cup Champions : SG Porz.

Live games + Info: http://www.schach.com/pokal/

Results

German Individual Champion:  Dr. Joachim Asendorf (SV Werder Bremen)  
German Team Cup Champions :  SG Porz  


Sunday 21st March 2004 09:00 Hrs
Finale (Individual)
Dr. Joachim Asendorf, FM 2274 - Olaf Heinzel, FM 2359 ½ - ½ (2 - 0) 

Finale (Team)
SG Porz                2637      - SC Baden-Oos           2583 3 - 1   
Graf,Alexander      GM 2629      - Dautov,Rustem       GM 2616 1 - 0   
Beliavsky,Alexander GM 2667      - Hübner,Robert,Dr.   GM 2604 ½ - ½   
Gurevich,Mikhail    GM 2656      - Krasenkow,Michal    GM 2609 1 - 0   
Lutz,Christopher    GM 2597      - Keitlinghaus,Ludger GM 2503 ½ - ½   

3rd-4th Playoff (Team)
Hamburger SK   2378 - Erfurter SK   2416 3 - 1   
Heinemann,Thies IM 2426 - Brüggemann,Joachim FM 2423 1 - 0   
Sebastian,Dirk   2378 - Enders,Peter GM 2478 1 - 0   
Sievers,Stefan FM 2358 - Troyke,Christian IM 2354 ½ - ½   
Lindinger,Markus FM 2348 - Machelett,Heiko IM 2409 ½ - ½   

Saturday 20th March 2004 14:00 Hrs
Semi-Final (Individual)
Harald Darius    2161 - Dr. Joachim Asendorf, FM 2274 0 - 1 
Olaf Heinzel, FM 2359 - Robert Schnicke          2274 1 - 0 

Semi-Finals (Team)
Erfurter SK            2428 - SG Porz                2637 1½ - 2½   
Casper,Thomas       IM 2401 - Graf,Alexander      GM 2629 1 - 0   
Brüggemann,Joachim  FM 2423 - Lutz,Christopher    GM 2597 0 - 1   
Machelett,Heiko     IM 2409 - Gurevich,Mikhail    GM 2656 ½ - ½   
Enders,Peter        GM 2478 - Beliavsky,Alexander GM 2667 0 - 1   
  
SC Baden-Oos           2583 - Hamburger SK           2378 3 - 1   
Dautov,Rustem       GM 2616 - Heinemann,Thies     IM 2426 ½ - ½   
Hübner,Robert,Dr.   GM 2604 - Sebastian,Dirk         2378 1 - 0   
Krasenkov,Michal    GM 2609 - Sievers,Stefan      FM 2358 1 - 0   
Keitlinghaus,Ludger GM 2503 - Lindinger,Markus    FM 2348 ½ - ½   

Friday 19th March 2004 18:00 Hrs
Quarter Finals (Individual)

Bernd Steinhagen         2222  -  Robert Schnicke    2274  ½ - ½ (1 - 2)  
(SSV Rotation Berlin)             (TV Winnweiler)

Dr. Joachim Asendorf, FM 2274  -  Marcus Ramlow      2179  ½ - ½ (2 - 0)  
(SV Werder Bremen)                (Sfr. Friedberg)  

Olaf Heinzel,         FM 2359  -  Holger Hebbinghaus 2300  ½ - ½ (2 - 0)  
(FC Bayern München)               (SK Marmstorf)  

Frerik Janz              2372  -  Harald Darius      2161  0 - 1  
(SV Fortuna Regensburg)           (SV Schachdorf Ströbeck)

17) 1st Chiuso International

The 1st Chiuso International took place in Rome 8th-15th March 2004. Lexy Ortega leads won the event with 9/11 undefeated.

Internet coverage: http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/bombelli/roma.htm

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Chiuso It Rome ITA (ITA), 8-15 iii 2004              cat. II (2277)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Ortega, Lexy         g ITA 2454  * = = = = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  9.0  2522 
 2. Piscopo, Pierluigi   f ITA 2318  = * = = = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1  8.0  2448 
 3. Sibilio, Mario       f ITA 2361  = = * = = = 1 1 1 = 1 =  7.5  2402 
 4. Jones, Gawain C        ENG 2387  = = = * = = = 1 = 1 1 1  7.5  2399 
 5. Naumkin, Igor        g RUS 2416  = = = = * = = = 1 1 1 1  7.5  2397 
 6. Corvi, Marco         f ITA 2295  0 0 = = = * = 1 = 1 1 1  6.5  2340 
 7. Tomescu, Vlad        m ROM 2419  0 = 0 = = = * 0 1 1 1 1  6.0  2299 
 8. Tribuiani, Renato      ITA 2099  0 0 0 0 = 0 1 * 1 0 1 1  4.5  2227 
 9. Marzano, Carlo         ITA 2228  0 = 0 = 0 = 0 0 * = 1 1  4.0  2179 
10. Fayard, Alain          FRA 2256  0 0 = 0 0 0 0 1 = * 1 1  4.0  2176 
11. Cavatorta, Fosco       ITA 2088  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 1  1.0  1910 
12. Russo,Carmelo          ITA ----  0 0 = 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *  0.5  1831 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

18) V Dos Hermanas Internet Tournament

The V Internet Chess Tournament "Ciudad de Dos Hermanas" took place on Internet Chess Club (ICC), 6th-14th March, 2004. IM Michael Rahal (EDAMI, Barcelona) reports:

As last year, the playing system was as follows: twelve 9-round Swiss qualifiers using the Fischer System playing rate: 8 minutes + 2 seconds. Qualifiers were held twice a day (from March 6th to 11th). March 12th was a rest day, and the finals were held on March 13th-14th. The 12 qualifier winners plus the 20 best scores qualified to the 32 KO final. The event was held on the Internet Chess Club (www.chessclub.com) has held the annual Internet Chess Tournament “Ciudad de Dos Hermanas” (Spain). This event has consolidated as the most important Internet tournament in the world, both in number and strength of players.

The final statistics were overwhelming: Registrations: 2.921 players from 93 countries (1.627 playing at least one qualifier) including 74 GM, 5 WGM, 126 IM, 8 WIM, 82 FM y 1 WFM.

Twelve Swiss qualifiers were held, with around 350 players in each one. The best 32 best qualified to the KO finals, including 18 first order GM and 13 IM. Application of Clause V, section a), third paragraph of the Tournament rules has resulted in the disqualification of some players, including the initial winner and runner-up. The co-winners took 1.350 euros each.

Curiously the participant "Phileas" played none less than 87 rounds (each qualifier had 9 rounds, so he participated in 9,5 qualifiers!!, nearly all the week playing chess).

Complete standings, game file, PGN game files and other interesting information can be found at the Dos Hermanas web site http://www.doshermanas.net

Final standings and prizes

1º-2º GM Daniel Fridman (LVA 2588), GM Jan Gustafsson (DEU 2572) --> 1350 euros each

3º-4º GM Kiril Georgiev (BLG 2637), GM Arthur Kogan (ISR 2543) --> 600 euros each

5º-8º GM Vitali Golod (ISR 2544), GM Zhang Zhong (CHN 2644), GM Sergei Movsesian (SVK 2639), IM Radoslaw Jedynak (POL 2428) --> 250 euros each

9º-16º GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili (GEO 2679), GM Sergey Shipov (RUS 2593), , IM Salvador Alonso (ARG 2477), GM Krishnan Sasikiran (IND 2654), , GM Alex Wojtkiewicz (USA 2564), GM Sergey Volkov (RUS 2630), IM Boaz Emanuel Berg (SWE 2495), IM Diego Flores (ARG 2446) --> 150 euros each

Standings qualifiers 1-10 (in black qualified players)
Section 06A, Saturday March 6, 1:00pm EST (553 players, 9 rounds)
1. "A-Riazantsev", GM Alexander Riazantsev, RUS, 8.5 
2. "zevs", IM Dmitry Fingerov, UKR, 8.0 (opponents averaged 2330) 
3. "Vanych", GM Viktor Komliakov, RUS, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2491) 
4. "Tavria", GM Sergey Karjakin, UKR, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2368) 
5. "mdrasko", GM Milan Drasko, YUG, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2306) 
6. "Lobo", IM Cristian Michel Yunis, CHL, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2199) 
 
Section 06B, Saturday March 6, 8:00pm EST (307 players, 9 rounds)
1. "zhong", GM Zhang Zhong, CHN, 8.0 (opponents 54.5 averaged 2434) 
2. "BERTA", GM Ulf Andersson, SWE, 8.0 (opponents 52.0 averaged 2355) 
3. "icclover", GM Julio Becerra Rivero, USA, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2360) 
4. "ZARNICKI", GM Pablo Zarnicki, ARG, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2511) 
5. "inmortal", FM Gustavo Mahia, ARG, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2252) 
 
Section 07A, Sunday March 7, 1:00pm EST (464 players, 9 rounds)
1. "chaozz", GM Sergei Movsesian, SVK, 8.0 (opponents 54.5 averaged 2634) 
2. "lorenzo", GM Henrique Costa Mecking, BRA, 8.0 (opponents 54.5 averaged 2512) 
3. "Crest", GM Sergey Shipov, RUS, 8.0 (opponents 53.5 averaged 2639) 
4. "Oficer", IM Farid Abbasov, AZE, 8.0 (opponents 50.5 averaged 2515) 
5. "Volkov", GM Sergey Volkov, RUS, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2726) 
6. "Moonspell", IM Radoslaw Jedynak, POL, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2691) 
7. "babloo", GM Krishnan Sasikiran, IND, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2594) 
8. "Huitag", Lars Andreassen, NOR, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2648) 
 
Section 07B, Sunday March 7, 8:00pm EST (321 players, 9 rounds)
1. "ZARNICKI", GM Pablo Zarnicki, ARG, 8.5 
2. "Boaz", IM Boaz Emanuel Berg, SWE, 8.0 (opponents averaged 2602) 
3. "norival", GM Ni Hua, CHN, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2559) 
4. "ninguno", IM Renier Gonzalez, USA, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2590) 
5. "YuST", IM Yu Shaoteng, CHN, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2504) 
6. "Jin", IM Imre Fancsy, HUN, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2358) 
 
Section 08A, Monday March 8, 1:00pm EST (357 players, 9 rounds)
1. "D-Fridman", GM Daniel Fridman, LVA, 8.0 (opponents 53.5)
2. "Azmaiparashvili", GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili, RUS, 8.0 (opponents 53.0 averaged 2651)
3. "Moonspell", IM Radoslaw Jedynak, POL, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2721)
4. "M-Ezat", IM Mohamed Ezat, EGY, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2352)
5. "vagizovich", GM Ramil Hasangatin, RUS, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2444)
6. "Gahraman", IM Rasul Ibrahimov, AZE, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2600)
7. "Bandurista", IM Sasha Belzky, UKR 7.5 (opponents averaged 2563)
 
Section 08B, Monday March 8, 8:00pm EST (292 players, 9 rounds)
1. "Bingcoy", IM Luis Chiong, PHL, 8.5 
2. "Chessbolo", IM Vladimir Grebionkin, RUS, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2431) 
3. "szmetan", IM Jorge Szmetan, ARG, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2455) 
4. "carlitox", IM Diego Flores, ARG, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2470) 
 
Section 09A, Tuesday March 9, 1:00pm EST (335 players, 9 rounds)
1. "C-Liang", IM Liang Chong, CHN, 8.0 (opponents 54.0)
2. "babloo", GM Krishnan Sasikiran, IND, 8.0 (opponents 52.0 averaged 2450)
3. "icclover", GM Julio Becerra Rivero, USA, 8.0 (opponents 51.5 averaged 2535)
4. "Desant", IM Rauf Mamedov, AZE, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2491)
5. "gorato", GM Goran M Todorovic, YUG, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2437)
6. "Crest", GM Sergey Shipov, RUS, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2445)
 
Section 09B, Tuesday March 9, 8:00pm EST (280 players, 9 rounds)
1. "carlitox", IM Diego Flores, ARG, 8.0 (opponents 55.0)
2. "norival", GM Ni Hua, CHN, 8.0 (opponents 52.0 averaged 2498)
3. "FrozenShade", GM Tomi Nyback, FIN, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2548)
4. "BJL", IM Blas Lugo, USA, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2622)
5. "Kastor", GM Rodrigo Rafael Vasquez Schroder, CHL, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2508)
 
Section 10A, Wednesday March 10, 1:00pm EST (334 players, 9 rounds) 
1. "babloo", GM Krishnan Sasikiran, IND, 8.0
2. "GodGusti", GM Jan Gustafsson, DEU, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2637)
3. "K-Georgiev", GM Kiril Georgiev, BGR, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2611)
4. "Desant", IM Rauf Mamedov, AZE, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2538)
5. "Kosteniuk", WGM Alexandra Kosteniuk, RUS, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2360)
6. "happensreels", GM Alex Wojtkiewicz, USA, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2383)
 
Section 10B, Wednesday March 10, 8:00pm EST (290 players, 9 rounds) 
1. "K-Georgiev", GM Kiril Georgiev, BGR, 8.0 (opponents 55.0 averaged 2580)
2. "gaizca", IM Salvador Alonso, ARG, 8.0 (opponents 54.5 averaged 2711)
3. "Jin", IM Imre Fancsy, HUN, 8.0 (opponents 52.0 averaged 2610)
4. "BobSapp", GM Rustemov Alexander, RUS, 8.0 (opponents 48.5 averaged 2463)
5. "aik", GM Atanas Ivanov Kolev, BGR, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2428)
6. "YaacovN", Yaacov Norowitz, USA, 7.5 (opponents averaged 2408)

19) European Women's Championships

The European Women's Championships takes place 21st March - 2nd April 2004. The event is a 12 round Swiss.

Leading Players: 1. Cramling, Pia WGM 2488 SWE 2. Stefanova, Antoaneta WGM 2478 BUL 3. Kosteniuk, Alexandra WGM 2469 RUS 4. Zhukova, Nataliya WGM 2462 UKR 5. Dzagnidze, Nana WGM 2459 GEO 6. Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina WGM 2451 RUS 7. Kosintseva, Tatiana WGM 2447 RUS 8. Radziewicz, Iweta WGM 2442 POL 9. Peptan, Corina-Isabela WGM 2439 ROM 10. Alexandrova, Olga WGM 2437 UKR 107 players.

Internet coverage: http://www.eurochess-dresden.org

20) 2nd Parsvnath Open

2nd Parsvnath took place in New Delhi that has 271 participants including 10 GMs. Prominent names are Pavel Kotsur, Saidali Iuldachev, Georgy Timoshenko, Dibyendu Barua, S S Ganguly, R B Ramesh, Sandipan Chanda and Koenru Humpy.

Saidali Iuldachev, Pavel Kotsur and Surya Shekhar Ganguly finished on 9/11. Games not available.

Results: http://www.delhichess.com

Final Round 11 Standings: 
 1 Iuldachev, Saidali      UZB 2559 9,0 58.5 
 2 Kotsur, Pavel           KAZ 2569 9,0 58.5 
 3 Ganguly, Surya Shekhar  IND 2541 9,0 51.0 
 4 Jha, Sriram             IND 2450 8,5 53.0 
 5 Chanda, Sandipan        IND 2522 8,5 50.5 
 6 Timoshenko, Georgy      UKR 2564 8,5 49.0 
 7 Temirbaev, Serik        KAZ 2459 8,0 55.0 
 8 Gokhale, C S            IND 2372 8,0 53.5 
 9 Balasubramanium, R      IND 2408 8,0 52.0 
10 Shukhrat, Safin         UZB 2528 8,0 51.0 
11 Chakravarthy, Deepan    IND 2388 8,0 48.5 
12 Saravanan, V            IND 2376 8,0 45.5 
13 Sharma, Dinesh Kumar    IND 2373 8,0 44.5 
14 Ramesh, R B             IND 2506 7,5 52.0 
15 Barua, Dibyendu         IND 2549 7,5 50.0 
16 Laxman, R R             IND 2335 7,5 50.0 
17 Roy Chowdhury,Saptarshi IND 2400 7,5 49.5 
18 Bakre, Tejas            IND 2446 7,5 49.5 
19 Venkatesh, M R          IND 2392 7,5 49.0 
20 Babu, N Sudhakar        IND 2339 7,5 49.0 
21 Ravi, T S               IND 2353 7,5 48.0 
22 Saha, Suvrajit          IND 2351 7,5 48.0 
23 Sengupta, Deep          IND 2349 7,5 47.5 
24 Humpy, Koneru           IND 2498 7,5 47.0 
25 Sharma, Himanshu        IND 2380 7,5 46.5 
26 Praveen Kumar, C        IND 2232 7,5 46.0 
27 Das, Neelotpal          IND 2461 7,5 46.0 
   Rakib, Abdulla-Al       BAN 2417 7,5 46.0 
29 Shetty, Rahul           IND 2382 7,5 45.5 
30 Srinivasa Rao, M        IND 2335 7,5 45.0 
31 Das, Arghyadip          IND 2334 7,5 44.5 
32 Kamble, Vikramaditya    IND 2335 7,5 44.0 
33 Parag, Mehdi Hasan      BAN 2224 7,5 42.0 
34 Prasad, D V             IND 2395 7,0 51.0 
35 Ramaswamy, Aarthie      IND 2280 7,0 49.0 
36 Lahiri, Atanu           IND 2325 7,0 48.0 
37 Mishra, Neeraj Kumar    IND 2355 7,0 47.5 
38 Satyapragyan, S         IND 2369 7,0 47.5 
39 Deshmukh, Anup          IND 2340 7,0 47.5 
40 Islam, Kh. Aminul       BAN 2256 7,0 47.5 
41 Chokshi, Manthan J      IND 2248 7,0 47.5 
42 Javed, Md.              BAN 2150 7,0 46.5 
43 Ibraev, Nurlan          KAZ 2427 7,0 46.5 
44 Wajih, Nassir           IND 2330 7,0 46.0 
45 Konguvel, P             IND 2366 7,0 46.0 
46 Singh, Gurpreet Pal     IND 2360 7,0 45.5 
47 Sharma, R Preetham      IND 2279 7,0 44.0 
48 Visweswaran, K          IND 2325 7,0 44.0 
49 Medda, Amit Kumar       IND 2198 7,0 43.5 
50 Rathnakaran, K          IND 2309 7,0 43.5 
51 Shakil, Abu Sufian      BAN 2292 7,0 43.5 
52 Hossain, Enamul         BAN 2446 7,0 43.0 
53 Phoobalan, P            IND 2242 7,0 41.5 
54 Balaji, G               IND 2266 7,0 41.5 
55 Chatterjee, Devraj      BAN 2175 7,0 41.0 
56 Y., Sandeep             IND 2115 7,0 41.0 
57 Hamid, Rani             BAN 2101 7,0 38.0 
58 Chatterjee, Bishwajeet  IND 2150 7,0 36.0 
277 players

21) Vietnam Championships

The Championships of Vietnam takes place 12th-23rd March 2004. There was an 11 round Swiss an now there are playoffs for the final positions. Games from the first 9 rounds of the men's championships are in the games section. Dao Thien Hai plays Nguyen Anh Dung for the title.

Further details: http://www.vietnamchess.com/Tournament/Nat/2004/Chess1st.htm

22) Belorus Championships

The 48th Women's Belorus Championships took place 20th February - 1st March 2004. Rakhil Eidelson won with 8.5/11. The 70th Men's Championships took place 4th-14th March 2004. Andrej Maljush won the event with 8/11. Games from the men's event have not been made available.

Internet coverage: http://bychess.narod.ru

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
70th ch-BLR Minsk BLR (BLR), 4 iv-14 iv 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Maljush, Andrej                BLR  2344  * = = 1 = 0 1 1 1 1 = 1  8.0
 2 Dydyshko, Viacheslav       g   BLR  2574  = * 0 = = 1 1 1 1 1 0 1  7.5
 3 Zhigalko, Andrey           m   BLR  2491  = 1 * = = = 1 0 = = 1 1  7.0
 4 Azarov, Sergei             g   BLR  2551  0 = = * 0 = 1 1 = = 1 1  6.5
 5 Kupreichik, Viktor D       g   BLR  2464  = = = 1 * = 0 = = 1 1 =  6.5
 6 Tihonov, Jurij             m   BLR  2443  1 0 = = = * = 0 1 1 = =  6.0
 7 Zhigalko, Sergei           f   BLR  2493  0 0 0 0 1 = * 1 = 1 1 =  5.5
 8 Teterev, Vitaly                BLR  2460  0 0 1 0 = 1 0 * 0 = = 1  4.5
 9 Kolesnik, Eduard           m   BLR  2406  0 0 = = = 0 = 1 * 0 = 1  4.5
10 Lavretzkij, Roman              BLR  2390  0 0 = = 0 0 0 = 1 * = =  3.5
11 Gorovets, Andrey               BLR  2393  = 1 0 0 0 = 0 = = = * 0  3.5
12 Novitzkij, Dmitrij         m   BLR  2408  0 0 0 0 = = = 0 0 = 1 *  3.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
48th ch-BLR w Minsk BLR (BLR), 20 ii-1 iii 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Eidelson, Rakhil      wg BLR 2279  * 1 1 1 = = = = 1 1 1 =  8.5  2392 
 2. Polivoda, N              BLR 2187  0 * = 1 1 = 1 1 = 1 = 1  8.0  2365 
 3. Lagvilava, Genrieta   wg BLR 2302  0 = * 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1  7.5  2312 
 4. Popova, Natalija      wm BLR 2287  0 0 0 * 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 1  7.5  2313 
 5. Sharevich, Anna       wm BLR 2236  = 0 1 0 * = 1 1 = = 1 1  7.0  2287 
 6. Martynuk, Tatiana        BLR 2187  = = 1 0 = * 0 0 0 1 1 1  5.5  2190 
 7. Savushkina, Evgenia      BLR 2053  = 0 0 0 0 1 * 1 1 = = 1  5.5  2202 
 8. Volchek, Nastia          BLR 2192  = 0 0 0 0 1 0 * 1 1 1 =  5.0  2153 
 9. Bondar, Tana          wf BLR 2129  0 = 0 = = 1 0 0 * = = 0  3.5  2062 
10. Zagorskaya, Tatiana      BLR 2199  0 0 0 0 = 0 = 0 = * 1 1  3.5  2055 
11. Khomiakova,Ekaterina     BLR ----  0 = 0 0 0 0 = 0 = 0 * 1  2.5  1996 
12. Gerasimovitch, Olga      BLR 2226  = 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 1 0 0 *  2.0  1924 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

23) Copa ENTEL 2004

The Copa ENTEL 2004 takes place 21st-28th March 2004 in Santiago, Chile.

Players: GM Julio Granda Zúñiga Perú 2581 GM Rafael Leitao Brasil 2566 GM Rodrigo Vasquez Chile 2523 GM Andrés Rodríguez Uruguay 2485 GM Oscar Panno Argentina 2470 IM Osvaldo Zambrana Bolivia 2463 IM Luis Valenzuela Chile 2418 IM Luis Rojas Chile 2408 Eduardo Arancibia Chile 2405 IM José Cubas Paraguay 2394 FM Marcelo Llorens Chile 2384 FM César Velásquez Chile 2359

Official site: http://partidas.123.cl/index.php

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copa ENTEL Santiago CHI (CHI), 22-29 iii 2004            cat. IX (2469)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Granda Zuniga, Julio E   g PER 2581  * . . . . . . 1 . .  1.0       
 2. Leitao, Rafael           g BRA 2566  . * . . . . . . 1 .  1.0       
 3. Vasquez, Rodrigo         m CHI 2523  . . * . . . . . . 1  1.0       
 4. Arencibia, Walter        g CUB 2508  . . . * . = . . . .  0.5  2384 
 5. Cubas, Jose Fernando     m PAR 2394  . . . . * . = . . .  0.5  2485 
 6. Llorens, Marcelo         f CHI 2384  . . . = . * . . . .  0.5  2508 
 7. Panno, Oscar             g ARG 2485  . . . . = . * . . .  0.5  2394 
 8. Rodriguez, Andres        g URU 2485  0 . . . . . . * . .  0.0       
 9. Rojas, Luis              m CHI 2408  . 0 . . . . . . * .  0.0       
10. Velasquez, Cesar         f CHI 2359  . . 0 . . . . . . *  0.0       
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

24) Degrémont Grand Prix

The Degrémont Grand Prix was played in Clichy. The blitz games between Relange and Collas are now available. Christian Bauer won the final against Alberto David. My thanks to Eric Birmingham for the missing games.

25) 20th Budapest Spring Festival

The 20th Budapest Spring Festival is a 9 round Swiss Open chess tournament taking place 18th-27th of March. 83 players from 6 countries compete. News: Laszlo Nagy.

Round 3 Standings
  1. Jakab Attila          2411  3.0 
     Berczes Csaba         2302  3.0 
     Horvath Andras        2284  3.0 
     Nagy Bence            2275  3.0 
     Pesztericz Laszlo     2257  3.0 
  6. Galyas Miklos         2436  2.5 
     Kerek Csaba           2347  2.5 
     Kerek Krisztian       2343  2.5 
     Bognar Csaba          2279  2.5 
     Dombai Istvan         2217  2.5 
     Koczo Kristof         2173  2.5 
83 players

Official site: http://www.clichy-echecs.org

26) New US Championship Dates

The 2004 US Championships will take place November 25th - December 5th at the Hilton Torrey Pines, La Jolla San Diego, California.

America’s Foundation for Chess (AF4C) and their co-sponsor the NTC Foundation expect to maintain its $250,000 prize fund along with corporate sponsor Chessmaster®.

Already half of the 64-player field has been seeded directly into the championship as the nation’s top players on the February 2004 United States Chess Federation Rating List, or have won through by qualifying from the 2003 cycle of major U.S. tournaments. Next month sees the start of the 2004 qualifying cycle with a further 32-players looking to do battle over the chessboard in the coming months for the honor of completing the line-up. Further details of who has qualified so far and which events make-up the 2004 cycle can be found at http://www.af4c.org/events.asp.

The event Offers Something for Chess Fans and Non-Chess Players alike. During this year’s Kids Simul event, more than 400 children will be given an opportunity to play against America’s finest chess players, with one grand master playing against 25 children at one time. Other events will range from chess demonstrations, opportunities to meet the masters and a fund-raising party.

Further details: http://www.af4c.org

27) Forthcoming Events and Links

8th Voronezh International Chess Festival

The 8th Voronezh International Chess Festival takes place June 10th-21st 2004.

Internet coverage: http://www.relex.ru/~xuser/voronezh_open/index_e.htm

Olimp Base

One of the huge reference gaps in online chess literature is a list of games and results from the Olympiads. There is a new site which is designed to fill that gap.

Site: http://www.olimpbase.org

Mikhail Golubev Ukraine

Mikhail Golubev chronicled Ukrainian Chess news over a number of years on his Chess-Sector website. He no longer updates the site but there is an archive at: http://members.lycos.co.uk/csarchive/. His personal pages are at: http://www.geocities.com/mikhail_golubev/

Other websites of Ukrainian news: http://www.ukrchess.org.ua, http://www.chesspage.kiev.ua, http://www.kaissa.com.ua and http://www.ladja.com.ua

Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Congress

The Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Congress takes place 25th September - 3rd October 2004. The open has 9 rounds and the 2 subsidiary events 7, the latter starting on the 27th. A number of very strong grandmasters are likely to compete as in previous years. Total prize fund £16500. The first World Senior Team Championship will take place 5th - 12th October also in the same Ocean Castle Hotel. This is for teams of 4 + one optional reserve. Male players have to be at least 60 on 1 January 2004 and female players at least 50. Further details on both events Stewartreuben@aol.com

Canadian Events

A calendar of Canadian events can be found at the Chess Federation of Canada's web site - http://www.chess.ca - Listed are the major Canadian events for the summer tourist season in order of date, with links that can be pasted into a web browser. Please note their FIDE Zone 2.2 Championships: 11th Canadian Women's Ch - April 9-11 77th Canadian Closed Ch - August 20-29.

Canadian Schedule 2004: http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~bw998/schedule.html

19th North Sea Cup

North Sea Cup, Esbjerg, Denmark. After 18 round-robins the Esbjerg Chess Union has decided to change the format of their renowned North Sea Cup. The organizers have always felt indebted to the participants of the amateur section who year after year have made the NSC a little chess festival. So now any chess devotee is offered the ( at least theoretical) possibility of facing even a GM - the NSC transforms at least for one year into the Open format.

The 19th North Sea Cup will be played July 3-10 2004, 9 rounds Swiss (two rounds on the 4th), the three top prizes DKK 15.000 - DKK 10.000 - DKK 5.000. The first 4 GMs who sign up will be offered free accommodation. Last entry June 27. Entry fee DKK 200, GM-IM-WGM and WIM for free. More info: Brian Isaksen brisak@esenet.dk

Further info: http://www.northseacup.dk

3rd Condom Chess Open

3rd Condom Chess Open 2004 (south-west of France)

The tournament takes place 10-17 july 2004 9 rounds swiss system 40 moves/2h + 1h KO FIDE homogation total prize : 8000 â?¬ - 1st 1200 â?¬ E-Mail: echecs.condom@free.fr

Further details: http://echecs.condom.free.fr

Australian Open Chess Championship

The Australian Open Chess Championship is being held 29 December 2004 to 10 January 2005 in the Mercure Grand Chalet Hotel at Mount Buller, just 2.5 hours drive North East from Melbourne, Australia. Over A$20,000 of prize money is on offer, with first prize expected to be approximately A$3500. It is anticipated that six GMs and ten IMs will participate in the event. This event features a luxurious venue, strong international competitors, and excellent prize money. Participating GMs who participate in all rounds of the tournament are currently being offered A$1500 appearance money and free accommodation at the tournament venue for the duration of the event. Participating IMs are being offered A$200 appearance money and shared accommodation at the tournament venue during the event. Titled players will be required to occasionally attend after-game press conferences to provide commentary and analysis.

Further details will be made available via the web site http://www.chesskids.com.au/mindsports/chess/. This offer is limited and will be extended on a first come, first served basis. Please contact Gary Bekker, gbekker@mira.net, to express your interest in playing in the event.

Zhukova vs "All Sport" and "Chess in Ukraine"

Natalia Zhukova takes on the newspaper "All Sport" and the web-site "Chess in Ukraine". Voting seems to be via E-Mail.

Moves so far: Zhukova vs. "All Sport" and "Chess in Ukraine" 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 Bd7 9.f3 Be7 10.h4 b5 11.Nxc6 Bxc6 12.Ne2 0-0 13.Nd4 Rc8 14.g4 Bb7 15.Be3 Qc7 16.h5 continues.

Further details: http://www.chesspage.kiev.ua/

Dortmund Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 2004

Dortmund has changed its format to that used by the event when it acted as a Candidates tournament in 2002. There will be preliminary groups followed by semifinal and final matches.

The event takes place in the Dortmund Theatre 22nd July - 1st August 2004.

Players not yet announced by the organisers but they're expecting the event to be very strong.

Pula Open 2004

The Pula Open 2004 takes place 19th-26th June 2004 in Pula, Croatia.

Further details: http://skpula.hr

1st Coventry International

The 1st Coventry International takes place April 16th-18th 2004 at King Henry VIII School, Coventry. FIDE Rated BCF Grand Prix (Elite Status). PRIZE FUND: £1300+ 1st Prize=£500 2nd Prize=£200 3rd Prize=£100 Tournament Director: Mark Hogarth. Chief Controller: John Robinson (FIDE Arbiter) Controller: Roy Woodcock

This event allows players to improve/obtain their international FIDE rating without taking a week off from studies/work. It is anticipated that several GMs and IMs will take part. Entry fees: GM, IM, WGM, WIM FREE (If before 5th April 2004) FM & WFM £16 (If before 5th April 2004) Non-Titled Players £24. A late entry fee of £5 will be charged on entries post marked after 12th April 2004

Further info: Mark Hogarth mark.hogarth@btinternet.com or Roy Woodcock chessroy@tinyworld.co.uk

Pobeskydi Tournament

The Pobeskydi tournament takes place 8th-12th April 2004. It has two parts, firstly closed IM, WGM and WIM tournaments, secondly a FIDE open.

Further details: http://www.chessfm.cz

Calcutta International Open

The Alekhine Chess Club will be holding the CALCUTTA INTERNATIONAL OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT, 2004, from now takes place 20th-27th March, 2004. Previously the event was known as the GOODRICKE INTERNATIONAL OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT, CALCUTTA. The event was cancelled.

Further details: http://www.chessindia.org

14th Asian Cities

The 14th Asian Cities Chess Team championship will be held March 20-28, at the International Convention Center in Tagaytay City, Philippines where over 35 countries are expected to vie for the prestigious Dubai Cup. No official website available yet. Latest News: http://www.cdsea.org

1st Riviera del Corallo Open

1st 'Riviera del Corallo' International open tournament in Alghero (Sardegna- Italy) takes place 8th-12th April 7 round Swiss.

Further details: http://www.algherovacanze.com

Brno Events

The Duras Chess Club in Brno is organising Closed GM and IM events and the Duras international open 3rd-11th July 2004.

Details: http://www.volny.cz/skduras/indexe.htm

TWIC Messageboard

With the Linares tournament about to start it seems a good time to launch a new discussion forum. Vote on your prediction of the winner of Linares. The TWIC message board. You need to register to post and vote. Address: http://www.chesscenter.com/messageboard

Dos Hermanas

The IV Dos Hermanas international open tournament takes place 25th March - 2nd April 2004.

Players: 
 1  Vladimir Epishin         GM  2633  RUS
 2  Vadim Milov              GM  2632  SUI
 3  Miguel Illescas Córdoba  GM  2616  ESP
 4  Oleg Korneev             GM  2566  RUS
 5  Sergey Karjakin          GM  2566  UKR
 6  Mladen Palac             GM  2566  CRO
 7  Izer Mirzoev             GM  2551  AZE
 8  Ivan Cheparinov          GM  2550  BUL
 9  Kevin Spraggett          GM  2536  CAN
10  Daniel Cámpora           GM  2530  ARG
11  Javier Moreno            GM  2525  ESP
12  Alekxa Strikovic         GM  2524  SCG
13  Zenón Franco             GM  2524  PAR
14  Mihai Suba               GM  2522  ROM
15  Bogdan Lalic             GM  2518  ENG
16  Dragan Paunovic          IM  2517  SCG
17  Roberto Cifuentes        GM  2505  ESP
18  Gabriel del Río          GM  2504  ESP
19  Karen Movsziszian        GM  2497  ARM
20  Carlos Matamoros         GM  2490  ECU
21  José Luis Fernández      GM  2478  ESP
22  Alexander Veingold       IM  2460  EST
23  Rodney Pérez             IM  2458  CUB
24  Ibrahim Khamrakulov      IM  2452  UZB
25  Ruslan Pogorelov         GM  2451  UKR
26  Davor Komljenovic        GM  2441  CRO
27  Mohamed Tissir           IM  2436  MAR
28  José Candela             IM  2435  ESP
29  Ernesto Fernández        IM  2425  ESP
30  Jordan Ivanov            IM  2406  BUL
31  Enrique Rodríguez        IM  2391  ESP
32  Ismael Terán             IM  2382  ESP
33  Javier Sanz              IM  2379  ESP
34  Carlos Barrero           FM  2339  ESP
35  Alexander Razmyslov      FM  2337  UKR
36  Adalberto Villavicencio  FM  2331  ESP
37  Joaquín Durao            IM  2200  POR

Oslo Easter Chess Festival 2004

The Oslo Easter Chess Festival 2004 takes place 3rd-11th April 2004.

The main events are The Open Norwegian Championships 3rd-11th April (Swiss tournament with chances for IM norms) and Oslo Young Masters 3rd-9th April (international junior tournament).

Side events are rapid tournament 8th-9th April, blitz tournament 10th April and team blitz tournament 4th April.

Further details: http://home.online.no/~vichan/paske04/eng/indexa.html

Or contact: Victor Hansen email victorh@online.no, phone 0047 957 99 891.

Czech Tour 2004-2005

4th International Chess Festivals Series

15.-23.5. 2004 4th OPEN ZNOJMO (FIDE open, Open Women Championship of the Czech Republic in active chess ?Znojemska kralovna ? The Znojmo Queen?, tournament for girls up to 14 years of age, active chess tournament)

15.7.-1.8. 2004 15th CZECH OPEN ? Pardubice (5 FIDE opens, one of them with GM and IM norm, Open European Amateurs Championship, Open Championship of the Czech Republic of 4-member team tournament, in active chess, blitz tournament, bughouse and Fischerandom chess, 14 tournaments altogether)

4.-12.8. 2004 7th OLOMOUC CHESS SUMMER (FIDE open, closed GM and IM tournaments, Open Seniors Championship of the Czech Republic, open tournament of youngsters)

18.-26.9. 2004 1st OPEN HIGHLANDS ? Havlickuv Brod (Men Championship of the Czech Republic - semifinals, FIDE open)

23.-30.10. 2004 5th OPEN LIBEREC (FIDE open)

14.-21.1. 2005 4th OPEN PRAHA (2 FIDE opens, one of them with IM norm)

22.-30.1. 2005 4th OPEN MARIANSKE LAZNE (FIDE open and 1-2 closed IM tournaments)

More details e-mail: j.mazuch@avekont.cz and http:/www.czechtour.net

20th Budapest Spring Festival

The 20th Budapest Spring Festival is a 9 rounds Swiss Open Chess Tournament 18th-27th March 2004. Organizer: Laszlo Nagy e-mail:firstsat@hu.inter.net

Further details: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

Brussels 12 Hours

Brussels 12 Hours a 5 minute blitz tournament takes place on 27 March 2004. 1st prize 300 Euros and prizes for all categories.

Entry fees: 10 Euros. GMs/IMs Free, Under 16 years old 5 Euros.

Venue: CREB, Palais du Midi Rue Roger Vander Weyden,3 1000 Brussels

Entry: 09.30 - 10.30 - Tournament start 11h00 Prize ceremony 23h30 Information: Benny Åsman 02/512.48.43 e-mail: bennyasman@skynet.be Joachim Demoulin 0475/33.22.87 jo.demoulin@wanadoo.be

Organised by Caïssa Woluwé, Chess Club Anderlecht, Fous du Roy et CREB

3rd Saturday Tournament

A 3rd Saturday Tournament will take place in Novi Sad, 20th-27th March 2004. Improved Elo ratings, IM and maybe GM norms (depending on interest), Semi Open. More info in few days on www.drazic.co.yu. Venue NSK, the oldest club in all of the former Yugoslavia, center of Novi Sad, Serbia, no visa needed now for European and USA citizens.

Cogas Energy Timman vs Van Wely Match

The Cogas Energy Match will take place 8th-10th April 2004. The 4 game match will be between Jan Timman and Loek Van Wely. Alongside the match will be a 6 round Swiss Grandmaster tournament with a prizefund of several 1000 Euro.

More information Albert Vasse +31 (0)6 53871200 or e-mail schaken@cogas.nl

The event will be broadcast live at http://www.cogas.nl

CFC Cup

Correspondence Chess server of Chessfriend.com has a new free competition. The CFC Cup 2004 allows interested players to test the server without entry fees by playing a real tournament where ELO and titles are available.

More details: http://www.chessfriend.com

IM Silman vs The Rest of the World

IM Silman vs The Rest of the World ChessWorld.net hosting a "Rest of the World" match against IM Jeremy Silman. This is a voting game where the "Rest of the World" (ROW) votes for the moves against Silman, and the highest voted move played after five days. Kasparov played a ROW game a few years back. IM Jeremy Silman is the author of the one chess book that everyone raves about, How to ReAssess Your Chess.

The match has inspired the largest ROW team ever at ChessWorld, well over 300 players at last count. IM Silman opened the game with 1. d4 and the voting is underway. You can get in on the game at http://www.chessworld.net - head for Play!..World team games after logging in.

The up to date position is also available on the TWIC front page.

17th Ciudad de Leon 2004

The 17th Ciudad de Leon 2004 will again be a knockout event taking place June 3rd-7th 2004 in Leon, Spain.

Players: Alexei Shirov (Spain), Peter Svidler (Russia), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbajan) and Francisco Vallejo (Spain).

Official site: http://www.advancedchessleon.com and http://www.elajedrezdelfuturo.com

Lenk Chess Festival

Lenk International Chess Festival is a Swiss Chess Tour event 2004. The 16th "Kreuz-Open" takes place April 8th-12th 2004.

The Hosts will be the Hotel "Kreuz", "Grande" Open, Swiss system, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end).

Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 900, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200 and 150 SF. From 11.- 20. places natural prizes. Special prizes for best Lady, senior (1944), junior(1984-87), schoolboy (1988) and best local player. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 10 SF more, GMs and IMs free.

Time table: Round 1st 18.30-22.30 April 8,; Rounds 2/3 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 April 9,; Round 4 13.30-18.30 April 10,; Rounds 5/6 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 April 11,; Round 7 10.00-15.00 April 12. Closing ceremony April 12 at 16.00.

Info: Beochess +41+34+424-01-06 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch or site http://www.beochess.ch for more details.

5th Annual MILLENNIUM CHESS FESTIVAL

APRIL 2 - 4, 2004 (the weekend before Foxwoods!) is the date for the next Millennium Chess Festival. Come play chess on the beach!...

PRIZES: $18,000 in 5 sections. Open Section prizes are guaranteed -- $2500-1200-800-600-400-300-200 U2400/Unr: $500-200 U2200: $500-200 Upset Prize: $150. Class Sections have large prize funds based on 55 per section.

HOTEL: Ramada Plaza Beach Oceanfront Hotel, Virginia Beach, USA. COMPS: GM, WGM, and IM Comps are available.

Our popular GM "Dinner/Exhbition" Match again scheduled for Saturday Night. (Details soon.)

WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/millenniumchessfestival/
QUESTIONS: eschlich@aol.com

Shirov's New Website

Alexei Shirov has a new webpage which includes an online school project (together with GM Alfonso Romero and IM Javier Sanz both from Spain) and a personal page within. The address is http://www.shirovonline.com, at the moment everything is in Spanish although the English version should follow soon.

IX Cesenatico International Open

The IX Cesenatico International Chess Open takes place in Cesenatico (Italy) 4th-12th September 2004.Open A 9 rounds. Open B 8 rounds.

Organiser Jean Christophe Pirini email info@antiquascom.it Fax +39547681217 # mobile phone +39335.6615956.

Further details: http://www.antiquascom.it/scacchi.htm

IV Savaria Summer Open

IV Savaria Summer International Chess Open takes place in Szombathely, Hungary 19th-26th July 2004. 9 round Swiss 90 minutes + 30 seconds/move.

Further Information:

KORPICS Zsolt H-9700 Szombathely, Rohonci 13. +(36)-30/951-0063 korpicschess@axelero.hu

PERGEL László H-9700 Szombathely, Tátra 2. +(36)-30/530-4904 a_mester@freemail.hu

Hungarian chess tournaments March-August 2004

1.FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 6th-18th of March, org. NL. , Organizer: Nagy Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net Webpage: http://www.firstsaturday.hu Internet Chess Club nickname: MrFirstSaturday ICQ#: 44805877 Cell phone: +(36)-30-2301914 Tel-fax: +(36-1)-2632859

2. SAVARIA-IM-1 closed tournament, Szombathely /250 km West from Budapest/, 22nd March-1st of April, organizer: FM Korpics,Zsolt, e-mail: korpicschess@axelero.hu

3. 20th BUDAPEST SPRING FESTIVAL, 9 rounds Swiss Open, 18th-27th of March, Org.Nagy Laszlo

4. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 3rd-16th of April, org.NL.

5. SAVARIA-IM-2 closed, Szombathely, 19th-29th of April, org: Korpics Zsolt;

6. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 1st-13th of May,

7. ELEKES memorial, Budapest GM-IM round robin, 15th-25th of May, organizer: IM Zsinka, Laszlo, +(36)-20-9219197 e-mail: zsinkala@axelero.hu or: zsinka@budapest.hu

8. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 5th-17th of June, Budapest, org.Nagy L.

9. BALATON OPEN and GM-IM closed about 20th-30th of June, org: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@axelero.hu /150 km West from Budapest/,

10. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 3rd-16th of July, Org: Nagy Laszlo,

11. Open EGER 9 rounds Swiss, 17th-25th of July /100 km North-East from Budapest/ and GM-IM closed tmt, organizer: Rauch Ferenc, cell phone: +(36)-30-326-3692, e-mail: rauch@freemail.hu, other organizer: Vajda, Albert Sr. e-mail: avajda@udv.topnet.ro More info: Nagy Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net

12. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 7th-19th of August 2004, org: NL.

13. Cat.XI. GM-closed, 10 participants, Budapest, 18th-27th of Aug. Org: PALI, Gabor, e-mail: gaborpali@freemail.hu Mobile: +/36/-20-470-50-37

14. TALENTUM CUP Open 19th-27th of Aug. BALATONZAMARDI /200 km West from Budapest/, organizer: MR VALIS, Janos e-mail: husi-sc@hu.inter.net

15. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 4th-16th of September, Org: NL.

2nd Annual Western Pacific Open

2nd Annual Western Pacific Open. Burbank, CA, April 2-4, 2004. 5-SS. $10,000 based on 200 players, $6000 guaranteed. Top section FIDE rated.

Further details: http://www.westernchess.com

Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic

The Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic 2004. Glendale, CA, May 29-31, 2004. 6-SS. $20,000 based on 300 players, $10,000 guaranteed. Top section FIDE rated.

Further details: http://www.westernchess.com

65th Square Website

There is a new Turkish website: http://www.65thsquare.org (note the change of address). I have given an interview to the webmaster Alper Efe Ataman.

Swiss Chess Tour 2004

The Swiss Chess Tour starts in Basle in the New Year (1.-4.1.2004.). The 6th Hilton Open features with Vlastimil Hort, Yannick Pelletier, Andrei Sokolov and Florian Jenni. They will play each other, one game on classic time control and the other in rapid. Timetable of the 6th Hilton Open: 1.1.2004. registration 10.00-12.00; 1.01.2004. Blitz open 21.00-23.00; 9 rounds, 5 minutes. 1.-4.1.2004. Fujitcu Siemens – Junior’s Open; 7 rounds, 4 hours. 1.-4.1.2004. Hilton Open; 7 rounds, 5 hours (40 moves-120 minutes, 30 minutes till the end.) 1.-4.1.2004. Baloise Open; 7 rounds, 4 hours (30 moves-90 minutes, 30 minutes till the and.) 1.-4.1.2004. Senior Open; same as Baloise Open. 1.-2.1.2004. ITAG Tele-Rapid; with Hort, Pelletier, Sokolov, Jenni; 15 minutes per game. 1.-4.1.2004. ITAG Masters (Hort, Pelletier, Sokolov, Jenni); classic time control, 6 hours. 2.1.2004. Fujitsu Siemens PC-Challenge (men&computer) 20.00-22.00. 4.1.2004. Closing ceremony 16.30-17.00.

Prizes: Hilton Open: 2000/1500/1200/800/600/500/2x400/2x300/2x200 Fr. Special prizes (200 Fr. each): Best Lady, Senior (1944), Basler, Junior (1984-87), Pupil (1988). Entry fee: 130 Fr. (FM & Juniors) GM & IM free. At the door 10 Fr. Baloise Open: 500/400/2x300/2x200/4x150 Fr. Entry fee: 110 Fr. (Juniors 50 Fr.) At the door 10. Senior Open: 400/300/200 Fr. + natural prizes Entry fee: 60 Fr. At the door 10 Fr. Fujitsu Siemens-Junior Open: 400/300/200 + natural prizes for all participants. Entry fee: 50 Fr. At the door 10 Fr. Blitz Open: 300/200/150/2x100/2x50 Fr. Entry fee: 20 Fr. (Junior 5 Fr.) Venue Hotel Hilton Basle. More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+34+424-01-06, fax +41+34+424-01-07 E-mail info@beochess.ch

Further information: http://www.beochess.ch

33rd International Rapid Chess Tournament Herford

Herford, 19th-20th June 2004 33rd International Rapid Chess Tournament 2004. Grand-Prix of Sparkasse Herford. Qualification tournament for the German Rapid Championships. 11 Rounds. Guaranteed Prize fund: € 1.500. 1st Prize € 500.-, Info: http://www.schach.com/herford/turnier/2004/herford2004ausschreibung.htm Homepage: http://www.schach.com/herford/

Western Canadian Open

The Western Canadian Open takes place July 9th-18th, 2004. The FIDE rated event is organised by the British Columbia Chess Federation.

Further details: http://www.chessbc.com

Narender Nath Memorial Chess Tournament

The 3rd Annual Narender Nath Memorial Chess Tournament commemorating a man who died in the World Trade Center on September 11th 2001 is underway. The event raises money for charity.

Details: http://www.nathchesstournament.com/

28th Kings Head Rapidplay

The 28th Kings Head Rapidplay will take place on Saturday 13 March 2004,

6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £650, entry fee £17

Further info: http://www.khcc.org.uk

Chess Exhibition in Cleveland Ohio

The Worlds of Chess Champions exhibition contains items including Egyptian chess pieces, commemorative stamps, autographed material, rare books and original manuscripts.

The event is in Cleveland OH. The Cleveland Public Library’s John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection is currently exhibiting an installation titled, Worlds of Chess Champions. This temporary exhibition is located in the third floor exhibition hall of the Main Building, 325 Superior Ave., N.E. The Library exhibition is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available on Rockwell, one block north of Superior Ave.

Worlds of Chess Champions puts chess into context through the lives of chess experts, authors, and champions. This exhibition sets the historical stage of chess champions from the 19th Century to the present. To illustrate the context of chess in the world, the earliest items displayed feature chess pieces from Egypt dating back to 1300 B.C. Other early items on display from the John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection include original manuscripts from the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Other rare and interesting items include a death mask photograph of an early 19th-century player, commemorative chess stamps, hand-written letters by and about world-famous chess champions, autographed material, and published books by chess champions.

Some of the materials in Worlds of Chess Champions have never before been exhibited. The John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection is the world’s largest and most comprehensive chess collection. The collection contains chess sets and pieces as well as material related to chess. Many stamps commemorating chess champions are in the exhibition. Newspaper and magazine clippings, chess championship programs, score sheets from games, and other rare items will be on display through June 12, 2004.

New York Masters

Regular competition for players in New York Rated 2200 and above.

Further details: http://www.newyorkmasters.com/