THE WEEK IN CHESS 491 5th April 2004 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) FIDE April Rating List
3) 13th Amber Tournament
4) 3rd Pinamar International
5) European Women's Championship
6) Copa ENTEL 2004
7) Dos Hermanas
8) Icelandic Championship
9) Bangladesh Championship
10) 1st Savaria IM
11) First Saturday April
12) 10th Schloss Open
13) New York Masters
14) Czech Team Extraleague
15) Belgian Teams
16) Latvian Team Championship
17) Danish Championships
18) 5th Karpov Tournament
19) 3rd Amplico Aig Life International
20) 14th Massachusetts g/60 Championship
21) V Millennium Chess Festival
22) Professional World Chess Ranking
23) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

13th Amber Tournament        36 games
3rd Pinamar International    30 games
European Women's Champs     230 games
Copa ENTEL 2004               6 games
Dos Hermanas                197 games
Icelandic Championship       16 games
Bangladesh Championship      49 games
1st Savaria IM               45 games
First Saturday April          6 games
10th Schloss Open            30 games
New York Masters              4 games
Czech Team Extraleague      528 games
Belgian Teams                50 games
5th Karpov Tournament         4 games
3rd Amplico Aig Life         23 games
V Millennium Chess Festival  31 games
1285 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jakub Fuksik, Michael Rahal, Brian Schyberg, Stefan Pfannkuch, Leonid Galperin, John Fernandez, Michal Krasenkow, Kaspars Migla, Brian Jørgensen, Haroonor Rashid, Sandor Videki, Miklos Orso, Laszlo Nagy, Steve Laios, David Cordover, Zsolt Korpics, Antonio Rami, George Mirijanian, Vladimir Dvorkovich, Hassan Khaled, Michael Atkins and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The Amber tournament had a thrilling finish with Alexander Morozevich pulling out a win in the final rapid game to tie with Vladimir Kramnik in the overall standings. Morozevich also won the blindfold event. Viswanathan Anand won the Rapid event in the week that he overtook Vladimir Kramnik to go back to World Number 2. There is a case to be made that Anand is the strongest chess player at the moment. He believes that the ELO list isn't designed to measure the current strongest player as ratings can take a long time to move. He also believes other time-rates should be included. (see the post-Wijk aan Zee interview at: http://www.rediff.com/sports/2004/jan/14inter.htm). This is not to say Kasparov is finished quite yet. The past year has seen him largely inactive, and its surely possible he will play more chess this year.

FIDE have also release their list of qualifiers for their World Championships 18th June - July 13th 2004 in Tripoli, Libya. Included are players such as Leko and Kramnik who surely will not play, its also possible to imagine Ponomariov not playing and some others also. It will be interesting to see who signs up.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) FIDE April Rating List

The main story is Anand's return to number two in the rating list above Vladimir Kramnik. He gained 8 rating points whilst Kramnik lost 13. Kasparov also lost 14 points. Anand's truimph and Kramnik failure at Wijk aan Zee are reasons for this as is Kasparov's poor performance at Linares. Kramnik won Linares but didn't gain enough points to make a difference. In fourth again is Peter Leko up from tenth. He's almost back to the rating he had a year ago. Topalov is up one place and only two rating points to 5th. This reflects lost rating point by other around him. Peter Svidler has dropped a couple of places after reaching a career high of 4th in the last rating list. Michael Adams rises from 11th to 8th. Alexei Shirov ends a stable period in the top 10 by dropping from 5th to 14th and losing 23 points.

Vadim Milov is up from 62 to 24. Teimour Radjabov continues his progress by gaining 14 rating points. Viktor Bologan drops from 23 to 32 in the World. Alexander Graf continues a recent yo-yo effect in his rating with a rise this time from 64 to 41. Another up and down player is Van Wely who rises from 79 to 46. Giovanni Vescovi up from 61 to 48 mostly I imagine as a result of his victory in Bermuda. Valerij Filippov rises from 92 to 53, Vaganian 74 to 54. Zdenko Kozul returns to the top 100 at 69 after missing out by a single rating point last time. Bu Xiangzhi is back in at 76. Alexei Fedorov back in at 84. Igor Miladinovic at 88. Ferenc Berkes back in at 90. Semen Dvoirys back in at 91 and Lenier Dominguez at 92. Vladimir Epishin loses 23 points to go from 59 to 95 he also was the most active player with 47 rated games. Vasilios Kotronias back in at 99 and Evgeniy Najer at 100.

The highest rated player to drop out of the top 100 is Aleksander Delchev who was 69 in the January list. Also dropping out are Evgenij Agrest, Dusko Pavasovic, Igor Khenkin, Pavel Smirnov, Josif Dorfman, Andrei Kharlov, Alexander Galkin and Ernesto Inarkiev.

As in the last list 2606 is the lowest rating in the top 100. Levon Aronian has changed from Armenian to German Nationality.

Source: http://www.fide.com which also has the list of qualifiers for the FIDE World Championships.

List of qualifiers for FIDE Championships

I. 1. Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) 2. Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) 3. Anand, Visvanathan (IND) 4. Svidler, Peter (RUS)

II. 1. Aronian, Levon (GER)

III. 1. Zvjaginsev, Vadim (RUS) 2. Kramnik, Vladimir (RUS) 3. Topalov, Vesselin (BUL) 4. Adams, Michael (ENG) 5. Leko, Peter (HUN) 6. Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) 7. Shirov, Aleksey (ESP) 8. Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) 9. Gelfand, Boris (ISR) 10. Morozevich, Alexander (RUS) 11. Khalifman, Alexander (RUS) 12. Akopian, Vladimir (ARM) 13. Polgar, Judit (HUN) 14. Karpov, Anatoly (RUS) 15. Short, Nigel (ENG) 16. Dreev, Aleksey (RUS) 17. Sokolov, Ivan (NED) 18. Ye, Jiangchuan (CHN) 19. Azmaiparashvili, Zurab (GEO) 20. Almasi, Zoltan (HUN)

IV. European Qualifiers (46 players)

Qualified from Batumi 2002 (5) 1. Macieja, Bartlomiej (POL) 2. Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL) 3. Volkov, Sergey (RUS) 4. Gagunashvili, Merab (GEO) 5. Sargissian, Gabriel (ARM)

Qualified from Silivri 2003 (37) 6. Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) 7. Graf, Alexander (GER) 8. Georgiev, Kiril (MKD) 9. Kharlov, Andrei (RUS) 10. Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS) 11. Iordachescu, Viorel (MDA) 12. Kobalia, Mukhail (RUS) 13. Sulskis, Sarunas (RUS) 14. Sutovsky, Emil (ISR) 15. Galkin, Alexander (RUS) 16. Moisseenko, Alexander (UKR) 17. Van Wely, Loek (NED) 18. Aleksandrov, Aleksej (BLR) 19. Dautov, Rustem (GER) 20. Agrest, Evgenij (SWE) 21. Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (ROM) 22. Nielsen, Peter Heine (DEN) 23. Guseinov, Kadir (AZE) 24. Kritz, Leonid (GER) 25. Kotronias, Vasilios (CYP) 26. Neverov, Valery (UKR) 27. Tkachiev, Vladislav (FRA) 28. Mc.Shane, Luke (ENG) 29. Filippov, Valerij (RUS) 30. Milov, Vadim (SUI) 31. Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) 32. Anastasian, Ashot (ARM) 33. Smirnov, Pavel (RUS) 34. Kozul, Zdenko (CRO) 35. Kacheishvili, Giorgi (GEO) 36. Dolmatov, Sergey (RUS) 37. Nikolic, Predrag (BIH) 38. Lputian, Smbat (ARM) 39. Lastin, Alexander (RUS) 40. Asrian, Karen (ARM) 41. Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) 42. Motylev, Alexander (RUS)

Instead of 2 tie-break places from Silivri 43. Bartel, Mateusz (POL) 44. Deltschev, Aleksander (BUL) 2 nominees by Continental President for Europe Mr. Boris Kutin

45. Haznedaroglu, Kivanc (TUR) 46. Baadur, Jobava (GEO)

Americas Qualifiers (19 players) 1. Goldin, Alexander (USA) 2. Vescovi, Giovanni (BRA) 3. Morovic, Ivan (CHI) 4. Nakamura, Hikaru (USA) 5. Bruzon, Lazaro (CUB) 6. Onischuk, Alex (USA) 7. Shulman, Yuri (USA) 8. Shabalov, Alexander (USA) (Zone 2.1) 9. Kaidanov, Gregory (USA) (Zone 2.1) 10. Gulko, Boris (USA) (Zone 2.1) 11. Benjamin, Joel (USA) (Zone 2.1) 12. Stripunsky, Alexander (USA) (Zone 2.1) 13. Charbonneau, Pascal (CAN) (Zone 2.2) 14. Dominguez, Lernier (CUB) (Zone 2.3) 15. Ramirez, Alejandro (CRC) (Zone 2.3) 16. Leitao, Rafael (BRA) (Zone 2.4) 17. Lima, Darcy (BRA) (Zone 2.4) 18. Felgaer, Rueben (ARG) (Zone 2.5) 19. Campora, Daniel (ARG) (Zone 2.5)

Asian Qualifiers (19 players) 1. Mahjoob, Morteza (IRI) 2. Ganguly, S.S. (IND) 3. Dableo, Ronald (PHI) 4. Paragua, Mark (PHI) 5. Johansen, Darryl (AUS) 6. Bu, Xiangzhi (CHN) 7. Ni, Hua (CHN) 8. Kostur, Pavel (KAZ) 9. Sasikiran, Krishnan (IND) 10. Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan (IRI) 11. Barsov, Alexei (UZB) 12. Sadvakasov, Darmen (KAZ) 13. Dao, Thien Hai (VIE) 14. Al-Modiahki, Mohamad (QAT) 15. Kadhi, Hameed Mansour Ali (YEM) 16. Adianto, Utut (INA) 17. Neelotpal, Das (IND) 18. Barua, Dibyendu (IND) 19. Vladimirov, Evgeny (KAZ)

African Qualifiers (6 players) 1. El Gindy, Essam (EGY) 2. Adly, Ahmed (EGY) 3. Simutowe, Amon (ZAM) 4. Solomon, Kenneth (RSA) 5. Adlane, Arab (ALG) 6. Tissir, Mohamed (MAR)

V. Qualifiers nominated by the President (8 players) 1. Acs, Peter (HUN) - World Junior Champion 2001 2. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (AZE) - World Junior Champion 2003 3. Radjabov, Teimour (AZE) - top junior player 4. Inarkiev, Ernesto (RUS) - Champion of Kalmykia 5. Harikrishna, Pentala (IND) - top junior player 6. Karjakin, Sergey (UKR) - top junior player 7. Bologan, Viktor (MDA) 8. Korchnoi, Viktor (SUI)

VI. Qualifiers nominated by the Organisers (5 players) 1. Abulhul, Tarik (LBA) 2. Asabri, Hussien (LBA) 3. Elarbi, Abobker (LBA) 4. Hamdouchi, Hichem (MAR) 5. Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios (GRE) - winner of MCA Junior 2003

VII. Reserve List (12 players) 1. Smirin, Ilia (ISR) 2. Lautier, Joel (FRA) 3. Vaganian, Rafael (ARM) 4. Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (UZB) 5. Movsesian, Sergey (SVK) 6. Beljavski, Alexander (SLO) 7. Krasenkow, Michal (POL) 8. Lutz, Christopher (GER) 9. Piket, Jeroen (NED) 10. F. Vallejo, Pons (ESP) 11. Xu, Jun (CHN) 12. Landa, Konstantin (RUS)

FIDE Rating List April 2004
No. Name                              t  NAT oc02 ja03 ap03 ju03 oc03 ja04 ap04 Gms
  1 Kasparov, Garry.................  g  RUS 2838 2847 2830 2830 2830 2831 2817  12
  2 Anand, Viswanathan..............  g  IND 2755 2753 2764 2774 2766 2766 2774  13
  3 Kramnik, Vladimir...............  g  RUS 2807 2807 2789 2785 2777 2777 2764  25
  4 Leko, Peter.....................  g  HUN 2743 2736 2746 2739 2722 2722 2741  25
  5 Topalov, Veselin................  g  BUL 2743 2743 2735 2735 2735 2735 2737  25
  6 Svidler, Peter..................  g  RUS 2690 2693 2713 2723 2723 2747 2733  13
  7 Morozevich, Alexander...........  g  RUS 2707 2678 2678 2679 2702 2732 2732   0 
  8 Adams, Michael..................  g  ENG 2745 2734 2723 2719 2725 2720 2731  13
  9 Polgar, Judit (GM) w ...........  g  HUN 2685 2700 2715 2718 2722 2728 2728   0 
 10 Ponomariov, Ruslan..............  g  UKR 2743 2734 2718 2718 2718 2722 2722   0 
 11 Grischuk, Alexander.............  g  RUS 2702 2712 2701 2732 2732 2719 2719   0 
 12 Ivanchuk, Vassily...............  g  UKR 2709 2699 2704 2710 2710 2716 2716   0 
 13 Gelfand, Boris..................  g  ISR 2704 2700 2700 2695 2703 2709 2714  10
 14 Shirov, Alexei..................  g  ESP 2699 2723 2735 2732 2737 2736 2713  25
 15 Short, Nigel D..................  g  ENG 2684 2690 2686 2701 2701 2702 2712  19
 16 Bareev, Evgeny..................  g  RUS 2737 2729 2734 2721 2739 2714 2711  13
 17 Malakhov, Vladimir..............  g  RUS 2670 2677 2672 2696 2696 2700 2695   9 
 18 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter.........  g  ROM 2613 2592 2606 2666 2675 2678 2692  28
 19 Sokolov, Ivan...................  g  NED 2684 2688 2677 2693 2695 2706 2690  13
 20 Dreev, Alexey...................  g  RUS 2673 2690 2695 2698 2705 2682 2689  19
 21 Akopian, Vladimir...............  g  ARM 2689 2703 2703 2703 2684 2693 2689  13
 22 Karpov, Anatoly.................  g  RUS 2688 2688 2686 2693 2693 2682 2682   0 
 23 Ye, Jiangchuan..................  g  CHN 2667 2682 2684 2683 2681 2681 2681   0 
 24 Milov, Vadim....................  g  SUI 2620 2592 2574 2595 2574 2632 2680  34
 25 Lautier, Joel...................  g  FRA 2665 2670 2666 2677 2666 2676 2680   9 
 26 Azmaiparashvili, Zurab..........  g  GEO 2666 2678 2678 2702 2693 2678 2679   0 
 27 Bacrot, Etienne.................  g  FRA 2653 2671 2654 2645 2664 2664 2675  16
 28 Smirin, Ilia....................  g  ISR 2683 2664 2662 2656 2670 2670 2675  11
 29 Gurevich, Mikhail...............  g  BEL 2634 2634 2635 2644 2656 2656 2672  19
 30 Rublevsky, Sergei...............  g  RUS 2664 2644 2670 2672 2672 2655 2671   9 
 31 Radjabov, Teimour...............  g  AZE 2628 2624 2644 2648 2650 2656 2670  12
 32 Khalifman, Alexander............  g  RUS 2690 2702 2702 2678 2678 2674 2668   9 
 33 Aleksandrov, Aleksej............  g  BLR 2621 2633 2650 2659 2664 2679 2668   7 
 34 Beliavsky, Alexander G..........  g  SLO 2650 2649 2649 2668 2667 2667 2667   0 
 35 Vallejo Pons, Francisco.........  g  ESP 2635 2629 2645 2662 2662 2663 2666  12
 36 Bologan, Viktor.................  g  MDA 2627 2630 2663 2650 2673 2679 2665  28
 37 Sakaev, Konstantin..............  g  RUS 2647 2645 2664 2655 2657 2656 2665   9 
 38 Sutovsky, Emil..................  g  ISR 2657 2651 2652 2639 2646 2666 2661  16
 39 Sasikiran, Krishnan.............  g  IND 2670 2664 2658 2654 2679 2654 2659  18
 40 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz..........  g  AZE 2580 2596 2607 2585 2595 2646 2657   9 
 41 Graf, Alexander.................  g  GER 2635 2630 2630 2643 2646 2629 2656  18
 42 McShane, Luke J.................  g  ENG 2546 2568 2592 2619 2649 2651 2656   7 
 43 Zvjaginsev, Vadim...............  g  RUS 2680 2671 2664 2653 2653 2654 2654   0 
 44 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam............  g  UZB 2653 2676 2680 2664 2668 2652 2652   0 
 45 Onischuk, Alexander.............  g  USA 2649 2658 2647 2657 2661 2652 2652   0 
 46 Van Wely, Loek..................  g  NED 2681 2668 2675 2661 2654 2617 2651  22
 47 Motylev, Alexander..............  g  RUS 2634 2640 2634 2634 2634 2640 2649   9 
 48 Vescovi, Giovanni...............  g  BRA 2614 2592 2615 2618 2633 2633 2648  19
 49 Nikolic, Predrag................  g  BIH 2661 2638 2643 2649 2647 2648 2648   0 
 50 Movsesian, Sergei...............  g  SVK 2651 2663 2659 2647 2645 2639 2647  23
 51 Aronian, Levon..................  g  GER 2581 2610 2606 2649 2649 2648 2645   9 
 52 Hjartarson, Johann .............  g  ISL 2634 2634 2634 2640 2640 2640 2640   0 
 53 Filippov, Valerij...............  g  RUS 2615 2616 2627 2630 2630 2609 2639  15
 54 Vaganian, Rafael A..............  g  ARM 2667 2667 2653 2623 2623 2623 2639   9 
 55 Fressinet, Laurent..............  g  FRA 2619 2593 2595 2640 2654 2636 2638  23
 56 Georgiev, Kiril.................  g  MKD 2658 2654 2647 2637 2651 2637 2637   0 
 57 Tregubov, Pavel V...............  g  RUS 2594 2612 2632 2635 2635 2628 2636  19
 58 Tkachiev, Vladislav.............  g  FRA 2632 2642 2643 2654 2645 2642 2635   9 
 59 Hansen, Curt....................  g  DEN 2610 2610 2610 2618 2616 2635 2635   0 
 60 Lputian, Smbat G................  g  ARM 2627 2638 2638 2623 2630 2634 2634   0 
 61 Zhang, Zhong....................  g  CHN 2620 2624 2666 2658 2639 2644 2633  22
 62 Macieja, Bartlomiej.............  g  POL 2615 2629 2634 2627 2635 2653 2633  12
 63 Moiseenko, Alexander............  g  UKR 2570 2597 2627 2618 2618 2623 2631  28
 64 Almasi, Zoltan..................  g  HUN 2672 2676 2676 2655 2631 2633 2631   9 
 65 Kobalia, Mikhail................  g  RUS 2625 2635 2639 2656 2656 2643 2630   7 
 66 Volkov, Sergey..................  g  RUS 2642 2624 2634 2620 2620 2630 2629   9 
 67 Nielsen, Peter Heine............  g  DEN 2620 2620 2625 2636 2626 2638 2628   9 
 68 Iordachescu, Viorel.............  g  MDA 2567 2550 2550 2606 2611 2634 2627  28
 69 Kozul, Zdenko...................  g  CRO 2565 2587 2601 2596 2597 2605 2627  18
 70 Sadvakasov, Darmen..............  g  KAZ 2538 2523 2577 2600 2595 2611 2626   9 
 71 Sadler, Matthew.................  g  ENG 2624 2624 2624 2626 2626 2626 2626   0 
 72 Shabalov, Alexander.............  g  USA 2621 2613 2592 2575 2597 2623 2624  33
 73 Piket, Jeroen...................  g  NED 2646 2646 2646 2632 2624 2624 2624   0 
 74 Illescas Cordoba, Miguel........  g  ESP 2585 2595 2599 2602 2602 2616 2623  10
 75 Lastin, Alexander...............  g  RUS 2625 2636 2632 2634 2634 2625 2622   8 
 76 Bu, Xiangzhi....................  g  CHN 2601 2569 2588 2588 2606 ---- 2621  33
 77 Kaidanov, Gregory S.............  g  USA 2646 2629 2640 2638 2624 2623 2621  15
 78 Seirawan, Yasser................  g  USA 2629 2636 2626 2626 2621 2621 2621   0 
 79 Vladimirov, Evgeny..............  g  KAZ 2597 2597 2597 2606 2614 2621 2621   0 
 80 Avrukh, Boris...................  g  ISR 2595 2584 2586 2557 2609 2620 2620   0 
 81 Rozentalis, Eduardas............  g  LTU 2563 2585 2586 2616 2633 2625 2619   9 
 82 Nunn, John D.M..................  g  ENG 2611 2611 2611 2617 2617 2617 2617   0 
 83 Alekseev, Evgeny................  g  RUS 2593 2614 2607 2613 2613 2609 2616  27
 84 Fedorov, Alexei.................  g  BLR 2564 2579 2604 2595 2595 2601 2616   9 
 85 Dautov, Rustem..................  g  GER 2617 2604 2611 2610 2610 2616 2616   0 
 86 Jobava, Baadur..................  g  GEO 2570 2559 2566 2596 2605 2616 2616   0 
 87 Baklan, Vladimir................  g  UKR 2607 2605 2606 2598 2600 2606 2615  36
 88 Miladinovic, Igor...............  g  GRE 2518 2526 2533 2609 2599 2602 2614  20
 89 Sargissian, Gabriel.............  g  ARM 2568 2577 2572 2600 2614 2618 2614   9 
 90 Berkes, Ferenc..................  g  HUN 2545 2570 2578 2590 2616 2602 2613  18
 91 Dvoirys, Semen I................  g  RUS 2567 2562 2552 2555 2569 2594 2612  18
 92 Dominguez, Lenier...............  g  CUB 2608 2602 2603 2610 2607 2605 2612  16
 93 Giorgadze, Giorgi...............  g  GEO 2601 2601 2593 2612 2612 2612 2612   0 
 94 Goldin, Alexander...............  g  USA 2630 2621 2611 2608 2629 2616 2611   6 
 95 Epishin, Vladimir...............  g  RUS 2628 2626 2628 2642 2658 2633 2610  47
 96 Hodgson, Julian M...............  g  ENG 2608 2608 2608 2609 2609 2609 2609   0 
 97 Krasenkow, Michal...............  g  POL 2651 2633 2609 2585 2597 2609 2609   0 
 98 Xu, Jun.........................  g  CHN 2643 2626 2628 2626 2608 2608 2608   0 
 99 Kotronias, Vasilios.............  g  CYP 2561 2573 2597 2602 2626 2598 2607  18
100 Najer, Evgeniy..................  g  RUS 2579 2585 2606 2608 2608 2602 2606  15

3) 13th Amber Tournament

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

Morozevich won the blindfold event part of the event after both he and close rival Kramnik both drew in the final round. Anand took clear first in the rapid section. Morozevich and Kramnik shared 1st in the overall standings after both won their final rapid games.

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

Blindfold Results
-----------------

Round 9 (March 30, 2004)

Anand, Viswanathan       -  Shirov, Alexei           1/2   21  C88  Ruy Lopez Closed
Svidler, Peter           -  Leko, Peter              1/2   24  B31  Sicilian Rossolimo
Bareev, Evgeny           -  Kramnik, Vladimir        0-1   34  A14  Reti Opening
Topalov, Veselin         -  Morozevich, Alexander    0-1   39  D17  Slav Defence
Van Wely, Loek           -  Ivanchuk, Vassily        1/2   50  E32  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Vallejo Pons, Francisco  -  Gelfand, Boris           1/2   49  D00  Queen's Pawn Game

Round 10 (March 31, 2004)

Morozevich, Alexander    -  Bareev, Evgeny           1-0   45  B12  Caro Kann Advanced
Kramnik, Vladimir        -  Svidler, Peter           1-0   43  B41  Sicilian Paulsen
Ivanchuk, Vassily        -  Anand, Viswanathan       0-1   61  C88  Ruy Lopez Closed
Leko, Peter              -  Topalov, Veselin         1/2   29  C78  Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Shirov, Alexei           -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1-0   36  C10  French Rubinstein
Gelfand, Boris           -  Van Wely, Loek           1-0   38  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov

Round 11 (April 1, 2004)

Anand, Viswanathan       -  Gelfand, Boris           1-0   55  C42  Petroff's Defence
Svidler, Peter           -  Morozevich, Alexander    1/2   25  C10  French Rubinstein
Bareev, Evgeny           -  Leko, Peter              1/2   23  B25  Sicilian Closed
Topalov, Veselin         -  Kramnik, Vladimir        1/2   41  E15  Queens Indian
Van Wely, Loek           -  Shirov, Alexei           0-1   39  D44  Anti-Meran Gambit
Vallejo Pons, Francisco  -  Ivanchuk, Vassily        0-1   42  C77  Ruy Lopez Anderssen


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 Morozevich, Alexander    g RUS 2732 * = 1 0 1 1 = 1 1 = 1 1  8.5  2929
 2 Kramnik, Vladimir        g RUS 2777 = * = = = = 1 1 = 1 1 1  8.0  2889
 3 Ivanchuk, Vassily        g UKR 2716 0 = * 1 0 = 1 = 1 = 1 1  7.0  2821
 4 Leko, Peter              g HUN 2722 1 = 0 * = = = = = = 1 1  6.5  2784
 5 Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2766 0 = 1 = * = = = 0 = 1 1  6.0  2751
 6 Shirov, Alexei           g ESP 2736 0 = = = = * = 0 = 1 1 1  6.0  2754
 7 Svidler, Peter           g RUS 2747 = 0 0 = = = * 1 1 = = =  5.5  2717
 8 Bareev, Evgeny           g RUS 2714 0 0 = = = 1 0 * = 1 = 1  5.5  2720
 9 Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2735 0 = 0 = 1 = 0 = * = = =  4.5  2653
10 Van Wely, Loek           g NED 2617 = 0 = = = 0 = 0 = * 0 =  3.5  2595
11 Gelfand, Boris           g ISR 2709 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = = 1 * =  3.0  2545
12 Vallejo Pons, Francisco  g ESP 2663 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 = = = *  2.0  2462
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rapid Results
-------------

Round 9 (March 30, 2004)

Kramnik, Vladimir        -  Bareev, Evgeny           0-1   77  C10  French Rubinstein
Morozevich, Alexander    -  Topalov, Veselin         1-0   32  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Leko, Peter              -  Svidler, Peter           1/2   36  C41  Philidor's Defence
Ivanchuk, Vassily        -  Van Wely, Loek           1-0   38  B80  Sicilian Scheveningen
Gelfand, Boris           -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1-0   41  D47  Queens Gambit Meran
Shirov, Alexei           -  Anand, Viswanathan       1/2   38  C88  Ruy Lopez Closed

Round 10 (March 31, 2004)

Anand, Viswanathan       -  Ivanchuk, Vassily        1-0   47  C10  French Rubinstein
Bareev, Evgeny           -  Morozevich, Alexander    1-0   53  D11  Slav Defence
Svidler, Peter           -  Kramnik, Vladimir        1-0   61  C65  Ruy Lopez Berlin
Topalov, Veselin         -  Leko, Peter              1-0   50  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Van Wely, Loek           -  Gelfand, Boris           0-1   64  E34  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Vallejo Pons, Francisco  -  Shirov, Alexei           0-1   45  D35  QGD Exchange

Round 11 (April 1, 2004)

Kramnik, Vladimir        -  Topalov, Veselin         1-0   30  C78  Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Morozevich, Alexander    -  Svidler, Peter           1-0   44  B31  Sicilian Rossolimo
Leko, Peter              -  Bareev, Evgeny           1/2   18  C10  French Rubinstein
Ivanchuk, Vassily        -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1-0   96  C11  French Defence
Gelfand, Boris           -  Anand, Viswanathan       1/2   29  E05  Catalan
Shirov, Alexei           -  Van Wely, Loek           0-1   49  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov

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 Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2766 * = 1 = 0 = 1 1 = = 1 1  7.5  2848
 2 Bareev, Evgeny           g RUS 2714 = * 1 = 1 = 0 0 = 1 1 1  7.0  2822
 3 Kramnik, Vladimir        g RUS 2777 0 0 * 0 = = 1 1 1 = 1 1  6.5  2779
 4 Svidler, Peter           g RUS 2747 = = 1 * 0 = 1 = 1 = = 0  6.0  2753
 5 Morozevich, Alexander    g RUS 2732 1 0 = 1 * = 1 1 0 0 0 1  6.0  2754
 6 Leko, Peter              g HUN 2722 = = = = = * 0 0 = 1 1 1  6.0  2755
 7 Ivanchuk, Vassily        g UKR 2716 0 1 0 0 0 1 * 0 1 1 1 1  6.0  2755
 8 Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2735 0 1 0 = 0 1 1 * 0 1 = =  5.5  2718
 9 Gelfand, Boris           g ISR 2709 = = 0 0 1 = 0 1 * 0 1 1  5.5  2720
10 Shirov, Alexei           g ESP 2736 = 0 = = 1 0 0 0 1 * 0 1  4.5  2653
11 Van Wely, Loek           g NED 2617 0 0 0 = 1 0 0 = 0 1 * 1  4.0  2626
12 Vallejo Pons, Francisco  g ESP 2663 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 *  1.5  2415
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Morozevich, Alexander    g RUS 2732 ** == 11 11 0= 10 =1 10 11 10 =0 11  14.5  2835
 2 Kramnik, Vladimir        g RUS 2777 == ** =0 =1 == 10 10 == =1 11 11 11  14.5  2831
 3 Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2766 00 =1 ** 11 == == == == 01 1= =1 11  13.5  2795
 4 Ivanchuk, Vassily        g UKR 2716 00 =0 00 ** 11 =1 10 =1 10 11 =1 11  13.0  2784
 5 Leko, Peter              g HUN 2722 1= == == 00 ** == == =1 =0 1= =1 11  12.5  2769
 6 Bareev, Evgeny           g RUS 2714 01 01 == =0 == ** 0= 11 =0 == 11 11  12.5  2770
 7 Svidler, Peter           g RUS 2747 =0 01 == 01 == 1= ** == 1= =1 == =0  11.5  2731
 8 Shirov, Alexei           g ESP 2736 01 == == =0 =0 00 == ** =0 11 10 11  10.5  2704
 9 Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2735 00 =0 10 01 =1 =1 0= =1 ** =0 == ==  10.0  2682
10 Gelfand, Boris           g ISR 2709 01 00 0= 00 0= == =0 00 =1 ** 11 =1   8.5  2640
11 Van Wely, Loek           g NED 2617 =1 00 =0 =0 =0 00 == 01 == 00 ** =1   7.5  2611
12 Vallejo Pons, Francisco  g ESP 2663 00 00 00 00 00 00 =1 00 == =0 =0 **   3.5  2440
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) 3rd Pinamar International

The 3rd Pinamar International took place in Argentina 24th March -1st April 2004. Johan Hellsten and Pablo Lafuente finished on 8.5/11. Former candidate Bent Larsen finished in joint 5th on 5.5/11 a great improvement over the last place two years ago.

Website: http://www.utopiasdepinamar.com.ar/magistral/index_en.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd It Pinamar ARG (ARG), 24 iii-1 iv 2004                  cat. VII (2421)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Hellsten, Johan          m SWE 2548  * 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 = = 1 =  8.5  2620 
 2. Lafuente, Pablo          f ARG 2424  0 * = 1 1 1 = 1 1 = 1 1  8.5  2631 
 3. Ricardi, Pablo           g ARG 2540  = = * = = = 1 = = = 1 1  7.0  2512 
 4. Giardelli, Sergio C      m ARG 2445  0 0 = * = 1 1 = 0 1 = 1  6.0  2454 
 5. Tempone, Marcelo         m ARG 2438  = 0 = = * 0 1 = = = = 1  5.5  2419 
 6. Larsen, Bent             g DEN 2470  0 0 = 0 1 * 0 1 1 1 0 1  5.5  2416 
 7. Lopez Silva, Hugo          CHI 2353  0 = 0 0 0 1 * = = = 1 1  5.0  2391 
 8. Soppe, Guillermo         m ARG 2435  0 0 = = = 0 = * = 1 = 1  5.0  2383 
 9. Szmetan, Ricardo         f BAR 2311  = 0 = 1 = 0 = = * = = 0  4.5  2366 
10. Marques, Vinicius        m BRA 2403  = = = 0 = 0 = 0 = * 1 0  4.0  2320 
11. Garcia Palermo, Carlos   g ARG 2443  0 0 0 = = 1 0 = = 0 * 1  4.0  2317 
12. Rodi, Luis Ernesto         ARG 2243  = 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 *  2.5  2226 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

5) European Women's Championship

The European Women's Championship took place 21st March - 2nd April 2004. The event was a 12 round Swiss. Alexandra Kosteniuk beat Peng Zhaoqin 1.5-0.5 to take the title in a playoff after they tied on 9.5/12. Antoaneta Stefanova won a playoff final against Natalia Zhukova after they beat Nana Dzagnidze and Irina Slavina in a first round to take the bronze medal. Tatiana Kosintseva and Jovanka Houska won playoffs to qualify for the women's world championships.

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

----------------------------------------------------
5th ch-EURw Playoffs Dresden GER (GER), 3 iv 2004 
----------------------------------------------------
 1. Kosteniuk, Alexandra   m RUS 2469  
 2. Peng Zhaoqin           m NED 2419  
 3. Stefanova, Antoaneta   g BUL 2478  
 4. Zhukova, Natalia      wg UKR 2462  
 5. Dzagnidze, Nana       wg GEO 2459  
 6. Slavina, Irina         m RUS 2413  

1st-2nd Playoff 

Peng Zhaoqin           - * Kosteniuk, Alexandra  0-1 1/2

3rd-6th Playoff

Dzagnidze, Nana        - * Stefanova, Antoaneta  0-1 1/2
Slavina, Irina         - * Zhukova, Natalia      0-1 1/2

3rd-4th Playoff

Stefanova, Antoaneta * -   Zhukova, Natalia      1-0 1-0

5th-6th Playoff

Slavina, Irina         - * Dzagnidze, Nana       0-1 1/2

Playoff for final places for World Women's Championships

Kosintseva, Tatiana *  -   Khurtsidze, Nino      1-0 1/2
Zimina, Olga           - * Houska, Jovanka       1/2 0-1

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5th ch-EURw Dresden GER (GER), 21 iii-2 iv 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10   11   12 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1. Peng Zhaoqin              m  NED 2419  + 69 + 30 + 48 + 15 + 17 =  9 +  8 =  3 =  5 =  4 =  2 +  7  9.5  2625 
  2. Kosteniuk, Alexandra      m  RUS 2469  + 22 + 51 - 15 + 48 = 36 + 29 + 23 = 18 + 19 +  3 =  1 + 10  9.5  2624 
  3. Stefanova, Antoaneta      g  BUL 2478  + 52 + 28 - 23 = 38 + 41 +  7 + 16 =  1 + 18 -  2 =  4 + 17  8.5  2546 
  4. Zhukova, Natalia          wg UKR 2462  + 42 - 37 = 67 = 75 + 22 + 41 + 35 + 24 +  8 =  1 =  3 =  5  8.5  2500 
  5. Slavina, Irina            m  RUS 2413  - 75 + 93 + 63 + 67 + 20 + 10 = 19 +  9 =  1 = 11 =  7 =  4  8.5  2504 
  6. Dzagnidze, Nana           wg GEO 2459  + 71 - 48 + 68 = 51 + 38 + 17 = 24 = 15 - 16 + 44 + 11 + 18  8.5  2514 
  7. Foisor, Cristina Adela    m  ROM 2404  - 55 = 39 + 73 + 22 + 44 -  3 + 51 + 26 + 21 + 19 =  5 -  1  8.0  2452 
  8. Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan  m  GEO 2435  + 57 + 80 = 37 = 35 + 13 + 15 -  1 + 36 -  4 = 24 = 20 + 31  8.0  2483 
  9. Cramling, Pia             g  SWE 2488  + 72 = 66 + 70 + 29 = 23 =  1 + 34 -  5 - 11 + 36 = 16 + 15  8.0  2504 
 10. Kosintseva, Tatiana       wg RUS 2447  + 68 + 45 - 36 + 76 + 50 -  5 = 66 + 29 = 15 + 16 + 13 -  2  8.0  2496 
 11. Socko, Monika             m  POL 2415  + 91 - 31 + 83 = 49 + 47 + 28 - 18 + 35 +  9 =  5 -  6 + 24  8.0  2469 
 12. Zimina, Olga              wg RUS 2408  + 74 - 70 - 43 + 88 + 63 + 30 + 20 - 19 + 23 - 18 + 28 + 32  8.0  2425 
 13. Houska, Jovanka           wg ENG 2370  = 88 + 60 = 49 + 43 -  8 + 79 = 21 + 50 = 34 + 14 - 10 + 25  8.0  2447 
 14. Khurtsidze, Nino          m  GEO 2411  + 79 = 61 = 40 - 30 = 69 + 55 = 37 + 31 + 38 - 13 + 48 + 26  8.0  2413 
 15. Sedina, Elena             m  ITA 2393  + 93 + 75 +  2 -  1 + 27 -  8 + 39 =  6 = 10 + 34 = 18 -  9  7.5  2454 
 16. Zielinska, Marta          wg POL 2414  - 46 + 53 + 57 + 40 + 30 = 35 -  3 + 66 +  6 - 10 =  9 = 20  7.5  2431 
 17. Paehtz, Elisabeth         wg GER 2399  + 33 + 47 + 27 = 23 -  1 -  6 + 58 = 21 = 54 + 49 + 19 -  3  7.5  2445 
 18. Peptan, Corina-Isabela    wg ROM 2439  + 56 + 76 - 35 + 80 + 66 = 24 + 11 =  2 -  3 + 12 = 15 -  6  7.5  2477 
 19. Danielian, Elina          m  ARM 2428  + 90 = 40 + 61 + 44 = 24 + 36 =  5 + 12 -  2 -  7 - 17 + 43  7.5  2438 
 20. Zaiatz, Elena             wg RUS 2333  = 81 +102 = 25 + 26 -  5 + 31 - 12 = 30 + 56 + 29 =  8 = 16  7.5  2419 
 21. Alexandrova, Olga         m  UKR 2437  + 83 = 41 = 38 - 27 + 57 + 37 = 13 = 17 -  7 = 22 + 72 + 42  7.5  2396 
 22. Richards, Heather         wm ENG 2236  -  2 + 65 +104 -  7 -  4 + 85 + 82 - 38 + 96 = 21 + 36 + 40  7.5  2352 
 23. Mkrtchian, Lilit          m  ARM 2395  + 53 + 55 +  3 = 17 =  9 = 34 -  2 = 25 - 12 + 45 - 26 + 56  7.0  2419 
 24. Lomineishvili, Maia       m  GEO 2401  + 85 + 46 + 31 = 36 = 19 = 18 =  6 -  4 + 52 =  8 = 25 - 11  7.0  2415 
 25. Gaponenko, Inna           m  UKR 2430  + 63 = 49 = 20 + 58 = 28 = 52 = 27 = 23 = 36 + 54 = 24 - 13  7.0  2382 
 26. Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina   wg RUS 2451  + 62 - 44 + 64 - 20 + 42 = 58 + 49 -  7 + 41 = 28 + 23 - 14  7.0  2373 
 27. Sudakova, Irina           wm RUS 2310  + 94 + 32 - 17 + 21 - 15 + 61 = 25 - 34 = 53 = 43 + 59 = 30  7.0  2352 
 28. Dworakowska, Joanna       m  POL 2370  + 82 -  3 + 46 + 72 = 25 - 11 = 45 = 40 + 30 = 26 - 12 + 55  7.0  2368 
 29. Sebag, Marie              m  FRA 2404  = 60 + 88 + 54 -  9 + 56 -  2 + 44 - 10 + 42 - 20 = 47 + 52  7.0  2353 
 30. Malysheva, Polina         wf RUS 2281  + 87 -  1 + 97 + 14 - 16 - 12 + 55 = 20 - 28 + 79 + 54 = 27  7.0  2334 
 31. Chasovnikova, Eugenia     wm RUS 2277  +104 + 11 - 24 - 50 + 60 - 20 + 91 - 14 + 75 + 39 + 34 -  8  7.0  2333 
 32. Radziewicz, Iweta         m  POL 2442  + 64 - 27 + 62 - 41 - 68 - 60 + 94 + 84 + 71 + 52 + 35 - 12  7.0  2295 
 33. Muhren, Bianca               NED 2135  - 17 +105 - 80 + 62 - 58 = 76 = 67 + 63 + 61 = 40 = 45 + 48  7.0  2322 
 34. Kosintseva, Nadezhda      wg RUS 2425  + 43 + 58 = 44 + 37 = 35 = 23 -  9 + 27 = 13 - 15 - 31 = 47  6.5  2364 
 35. Pogonina, Natalija        wm RUS 2382  + 59 + 77 + 18 =  8 = 34 = 16 -  4 - 11 = 40 + 53 - 32 = 45  6.5  2362 
 36. Bojkovic, Natasa          wg SCG 2391  + 39 +100 + 10 = 24 =  2 - 19 + 52 -  8 = 25 -  9 - 22 + 70  6.5  2360 
 37. Muzychuk, Anna            wm UKR 2367  + 73 +  4 =  8 - 34 + 49 - 21 = 14 - 52 = 39 - 56 + 79 + 71  6.5  2322 
 38. Djingarova, Emilia        wg BUL 2344  =102 + 81 = 21 =  3 -  6 = 47 + 68 + 22 - 14 = 42 = 56 = 46  6.5  2301 
 39. Bashkite, Viktoria           EST 2131  - 36 =  7 + 78 = 61 + 72 + 48 - 15 = 45 = 37 - 31 + 67 = 50  6.5  2336 
 40. Calotescu, Ana-Cristina   wm ROM 2290  + 95 = 19 = 14 - 16 - 79 + 89 + 43 = 28 = 35 = 33 + 68 - 22  6.5  2278 
 41. Lagvilava, Genrieta       wg BLR 2302  + 99 = 21 = 66 + 32 -  3 -  4 = 69 + 61 - 26 - 59 + 74 + 72  6.5  2330 
 42. Sharevich, Anna           wm BLR 2236  -  4 = 73 +102 + 45 - 26 + 80 = 50 + 48 - 29 = 38 + 44 - 21  6.5  2358 
 43. Aginian, Nelly            wm ARM 2189  - 34 + 98 + 12 - 13 - 48 + 78 - 40 + 82 + 76 = 27 + 49 - 19  6.5  2306 
 44. Bosboom-Lanchava, Tea     wg NED 2323  + 89 + 26 = 34 - 19 -  7 + 75 - 29 + 90 + 47 -  6 - 42 + 68  6.5  2337 
 45. Olarasu, Gabriela         wg ROM 2311  + 96 - 10 = 75 - 42 + 88 + 90 = 28 = 39 + 68 - 23 = 33 = 35  6.5  2264 
 46. Melnikova, Yana           wm RUS 2171  + 16 - 24 - 28 - 96 - 78 + 99 + 89 + 77 - 48 + 85 + 76 = 38  6.5  2248 
 47. Nill, Jessica             wm GER 2246  +105 - 17 = 85 + 77 - 11 = 38 = 53 + 88 - 44 + 73 = 29 = 34  6.5  2271 
 48. Mamedjarova, Zeinab       wg AZE 2341  + 97 +  6 -  1 -  2 + 43 - 39 + 71 - 42 + 46 + 57 - 14 - 33  6.0  2261 
 49. Calzetta, Monica          wg ESP 2291  + 98 = 25 = 13 = 11 - 37 + 56 - 26 + 69 + 66 - 17 - 43 = 59  6.0  2293 
 50. Ciuksyte, Dagne           wg LTU 2392  - 77 + 59 + 69 + 31 - 10 = 68 = 42 - 13 - 57 = 75 + 90 = 39  6.0  2221 
 51. Ovod, Evgenija            m  RUS 2357  + 65 -  2 + 91 =  6 - 52 + 70 -  7 - 68 + 69 = 55 = 57 = 62  6.0  2258 
 52. Zakurdjaeva, Irina        wg RUS 2244  -  3 + 82 = 77 + 85 + 51 = 25 - 36 + 37 - 24 - 32 + 64 - 29  6.0  2322 
 53. Shmirina, Evgenija           GER 2135  - 23 - 16 + 99 + 64 = 70 = 67 = 47 + 58 = 27 - 35 = 71 = 54  6.0  2280 
 54. Shaidullina, Sandugach    wg RUS 2316  = 92 +101 - 29 - 56 + 59 = 69 + 63 + 72 = 17 - 25 - 30 = 53  6.0  2213 
 55. Czaeczine, Anne              GER 2153  +  7 - 23 - 58 +104 + 67 - 14 - 30 + 83 = 72 = 51 + 61 - 28  6.0  2280 
 56. Makka, Ioulia             wm GRE 2205  - 18 = 78 +100 + 54 - 29 - 49 + 97 + 70 - 20 + 37 = 38 - 23  6.0  2273 
 57. Mietzner, Tina            wm GER 2201  -  8 +103 - 16 + 65 - 21 - 82 + 92 + 60 + 50 - 48 = 51 = 66  6.0  2265 
 58. Dragomirescu, Angela      wm ROM 2288  +106 - 34 + 55 - 25 + 33 = 26 - 17 - 53 - 59 = 81 + 88 + 85  6.0  2212 
 59. Yildiz, Betul Cemre       wf TUR 2118  - 35 - 50 +103 + 83 - 54 = 62 - 70 + 97 + 58 + 41 - 27 = 49  6.0  2256 
 60. Vogel, Heike              wf GER 2152  = 29 - 13 = 81 +100 - 31 + 32 - 76 - 57 +104 - 67 + 89 + 80  6.0  2218 
 61. Papadopoulou, Vera           GRE 2247  +107 = 14 - 19 = 39 + 96 - 27 + 74 - 41 - 33 + 89 - 55 + 75  6.0  2193 
 62. Mamedjarova, Turkan       wm AZE 2229  - 26 + 89 - 32 - 33 + 97 = 59 - 88 =102 + 87 = 77 + 73 = 51  6.0  2169 
 63. Andersson, Christin          SWE 2196  - 25 + 99 -  5 + 82 - 12 + 92 - 54 - 33 - 89 +103 + 96 + 76  6.0  2195 
 64. Roessler, Ulrike          wm GER 2221  - 32 + 86 - 26 - 53 - 89 - 87 +107 + 99 + 93 + 96 - 52 + 84  6.0  2140 
 65. Skibbe, Diana                GER 2094  - 51 - 22 +108 - 57 =100 - 98 +101 - 87 = 95 +104 + 91 + 90  6.0  2058 
 66. Stepovaia, Tatiana        wg RUS 2374  + 84 =  9 = 41 + 70 - 18 + 91 = 10 - 16 - 49 - 68 = 75 = 57  5.5  2264 
 67. Smokina, Karolina         wm MDA 2278  =101 + 92 =  4 -  5 - 55 = 53 = 33 = 79 = 84 + 60 - 39 = 69  5.5  2137 
 68. Jelica, Mara              wm CRO 2222  - 10 + 96 -  6 + 84 + 32 = 50 - 38 + 51 - 45 + 66 - 40 - 44  5.5  2296 
 69. Hamelink, Desiree         wm NED 2185  -  1 + 87 - 50 + 89 = 14 = 54 = 41 - 49 - 51 = 80 + 82 = 67  5.5  2238 
 70. Tsiganova, Monika         wm EST 2269  +108 + 12 -  9 - 66 = 53 - 51 + 59 - 56 - 88 + 78 + 77 - 36  5.5  2183 
 71. Partac, Elena             wg MDA 2230  -  6 - 97 =101 +102 = 85 + 77 - 48 + 74 - 32 + 82 = 53 - 37  5.5  2166 
 72. Makropoulou, Marina       wg GRE 2244  -  9 + 84 + 95 - 28 - 39 + 96 + 79 - 54 = 55 + 88 - 21 - 41  5.5  2188 
 73. Fuchs, Antje                 GER 2099  - 37 = 42 -  7 = 78 - 95 =104 +103 + 94 + 90 - 47 - 62 + 93  5.5  2118 
 74. Jiretorn, Eva                SWE 2154  - 12 +108 - 76 =101 = 77 + 95 - 61 - 71 = 78 + 83 - 41 + 88  5.5  2107 
 75. Bensdorp, Marlies            NED 2161  +  5 - 15 = 45 =  4 = 80 - 44 + 87 = 76 - 31 = 50 = 66 - 61  5.0  2255 
 76. Levushkina, E             wm GER 2303  + 78 - 18 + 74 - 10 - 91 = 33 + 60 = 75 - 43 + 84 - 46 - 63  5.0  2140 
 77. Shmirina, Galina             GER 2120  + 50 - 35 = 52 - 47 = 74 - 71 + 95 - 46 + 83 = 62 - 70 = 79  5.0  2163 
 78. Apanaviciute, Kristina       LTU 2041  - 76 = 56 - 39 = 73 + 46 - 43 + 93 - 80 = 74 - 70 = 99 +102  5.0  2115 
 79. Vasiliev, Olga               ISR 2156  - 14 -104 + 94 + 95 + 40 - 13 - 72 = 67 + 80 - 30 - 37 = 77  5.0  2157 
 80. Krivec, Jana              wm SLO 2301  +103 -  8 + 33 - 18 = 75 - 42 - 84 + 78 - 79 = 69 + 97 - 60  5.0  2122 
 81. Schulz, Stefanie             GER 2079  = 20 - 38 = 60 - 91 = 87 = 93 - 83 = 95 + 94 = 58 - 84 + 99  5.0  2088 
 82. Dimovski, Aleksandra         BIH 2111  - 28 - 52 + 87 - 63 +103 + 57 - 22 - 43 + 91 - 71 - 69 + 96  5.0  2113 
 83. Chilingirova, Pavlina     wm BUL 2201  - 21 + 94 - 11 - 59 - 92 + 86 + 81 - 55 - 77 - 74 +100 + 98  5.0  2081 
 84. Lopatin, Olga             wf GER 2116  - 66 - 72 +106 - 68 = 98 +101 + 80 - 32 = 67 - 76 + 81 - 64  5.0  2138 
 85. Meissner, Claudia         wf GER 2146  - 24 +107 = 47 - 52 = 71 - 22 - 96 + 98 +102 - 46 + 95 - 58  5.0  2105 
 86. Hafenstein, Andrea           GER 2051  -100 - 64 - 90 - 87 +107 - 83 - 99 -105 +108 +106 +104 + 97  5.0  1971 
 87. Ozturk, Kubra                TUR 1957  - 30 - 69 - 82 + 86 = 81 + 64 - 75 + 65 - 62 - 90 - 93 + 95  4.5  2055 
 88. Mammadova, Nargiz            AZE 2104  = 13 - 29 + 92 - 12 - 45 +108 + 62 - 47 + 70 - 72 - 58 - 74  4.5  2146 
 89. Seps, Monika                 SUI 2078  - 44 - 62 +107 - 69 + 64 - 40 - 46 +100 + 63 - 61 - 60 = 94  4.5  2085 
 90. Hitzgerova, Gabriela      wm CZE 2190  - 19 - 95 + 86 = 97 +101 - 45 + 98 - 44 - 73 + 87 - 50 - 65  4.5  2048 
 91. Lauterbach, Ingrid        wm ENG 2171  - 11 +106 - 51 + 81 + 76 - 66 - 31 - 96 - 82 + 98 - 65 = 92  4.5  2089 
 92. Von Herman, Brigitte         GER 2066  = 54 - 67 - 88 = 93 + 83 - 63 - 57 -104 +106 - 97 +105 = 91  4.5  2041 
 93. Karahaliou, Elia             GRE 2132  - 15 -  5 = 98 = 92 =108 = 81 - 78 +106 - 64 = 99 + 87 - 73  4.5  2003 
 94. Horn, Emilia                 SWE 2051  - 27 - 83 - 79 = 98 +106 +102 - 32 - 73 - 81 =100 +101 = 89  4.5  2024 
 95. Grossmann, Susan             GER 1977  - 40 + 90 - 72 - 79 + 73 - 74 - 77 = 81 = 65 +102 - 85 - 87  4.0  2010 
 96. Topel, Zehra              wf TUR 2056  - 45 - 68 +105 + 46 - 61 - 72 + 85 + 91 - 22 - 64 - 63 - 82  4.0  2064 
 97. Bakalarz, Grazyna         wf LUX 2082  - 48 + 71 - 30 = 90 - 62 +100 - 56 - 59 = 98 + 92 - 80 - 86  4.0  2043 
 98. Winnicki, Alice              GER 2013  - 49 - 43 = 93 = 94 = 84 + 65 - 90 - 85 = 97 - 91 +107 - 83  4.0  2013 
 99. Roelli, Corinne              SUI 2020  - 41 - 63 - 53 -108 +105 - 46 + 86 - 64 +101 = 93 = 78 - 81  4.0  1961 
100. Winkelmann,Elena             GER ----  + 86 - 36 - 56 - 60 = 65 - 97 =104 - 89 =105 = 94 - 83 +106  4.0  1972 
101. Bayrak, Asli                 TUR 1898  = 67 - 54 = 71 = 74 - 90 - 84 - 65 =103 - 99 +107 - 94 +105  4.0  1996 
102. Cinar, Nilufer            wm TUR 2092  = 38 - 20 - 42 - 71 +104 - 94 +108 = 62 - 85 - 95 +103 - 78  4.0  1983 
103. Cavusoglu, Yildiz            TUR 2013  - 80 - 57 - 59 +105 - 82 =106 - 73 =101 +107 - 63 -102 =108  3.5  1908 
104. Acar, Gizem                  TUR 1888  - 31 + 79 - 22 - 55 -102 = 73 =100 + 92 - 60 - 65 - 86 -107  3.0  1921 
105. Reissmann,Jeannine           GER ----  - 47 - 33 - 96 -103 - 99 =107 -106 + 86 =100 +108 - 92 -101  3.0  1829 
106. Hielscher, Ursula            GER 1974  - 58 - 91 - 84 =107 - 94 =103 +105 - 93 - 92 - 86 +108 -100  3.0  1865 
107. MacGilchrist,Siegrun         SCO ----  - 61 - 85 - 89 =106 - 86 =105 - 64 +108 -103 -101 - 98 +104  3.0  1835 
108. Oney, Fatmanur               TUR 1809  - 70 - 74 - 65 + 99 = 93 - 88 -102 -107 - 86 -105 -106 =103  2.0  1802 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6) Copa ENTEL 2004

The Copa ENTEL 2004 took place 21st-28th March 2004 in Santiago, Chile. Julio Granda Zuniga took first by a point and a half with an undefeated TPR of almost 2750.

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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copa ENTEL Santiago CHI (CHI), 22-29 iii 2004                     cat. IX (2451)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Granda Zuniga, Julio E        g PER 2581  * 1 = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 1 1  9.5  2748 
 2. Leitao, Rafael                g BRA 2566  0 * 1 = 1 1 1 0 1 = 1 1  8.0  2615 
 3. Vasquez, Rodrigo              g CHI 2523  = 0 * = = 1 1 = 1 1 = 1  7.5  2577 
 4. Rodriguez, Andres             g URU 2485  0 = = * 1 = 1 = 1 = 1 1  7.5  2580 
 5. Zambrana, Oswaldo             f BOL 2404  = 0 = 0 * = 0 1 1 1 1 1  6.5  2520 
 6. Cubas, Jose Fernando          m PAR 2394  0 0 0 = = * = 1 1 = = 1  5.5  2456 
 7. Panno, Oscar                  g ARG 2485  = 0 0 0 1 = * = = 1 1 0  5.0  2411 
 8. Valenzuela Fuentealba, Luis   m CHI 2418  0 1 = = 0 0 = * 0 = = 1  4.5  2389 
 9. Rojas, Luis                   m CHI 2408  0 0 0 0 0 0 = 1 * 1 1 1  4.5  2389 
10. Llorens, Marcelo              f CHI 2384  0 = 0 = 0 = 0 = 0 * = =  3.0  2282 
11. Arancibia, Eduardo              CHI 2405  0 0 = 0 0 = 0 = 0 = * =  2.5  2244 
12. Velasquez, Cesar              f CHI 2359  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 = = *  2.0  2197 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) Dos Hermanas

The IV Dos Hermanas international open tournament took place 25th March - 2nd April 2004. Vadim Milov took clear first on 8/9 a point clera of four players including rising star Sergey Karjakin. My thanks to Michael Rahal.

Internet coverage: http://www.doshermanas.net

Leading Final (Round 9) Standings 
-------------------------------------------------------------
IV Open Dos Hermanas ESP (ESP), 25 iii-2 iv 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Milov, Vadim                      g  SUI 2632  8    56.5
 2. Karjakin, Sergey                  g  UKR 2566  7    54.0
 3. Matamoros Franco, Carlos S        g  ECU 2490  7    53.5
 4. Paunovic, Dragan                  m  SCG 2517  7    53.0
 5. Fernandez Romero, Ernesto         m  ESP 2425  7    48.0
 6. Epishin, Vladimir                 g  RUS 2633  6.5  55.5
 7. Borovikov, Vladislav              g  UKR 2578  6.5  54.0
 8. Cheparinov, Ivan                  m  BUL 2550  6.5  52.0
 9. Palac, Mladen                     g  CRO 2566  6.5  52.0
10. Cifuentes Parada, Roberto         g  ESP 2505  6.5  51.5
11. Teran Alvarez, Ismael             m  ESP 2382  6.5  49.5
12. Franco Ocampos, Zenon             g  PAR 2524  6.5  49.0
13. Del Rio Angelis, Salvador G       g  ESP 2504  6.5  48.0
14. Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel      m  ESP 2440  6.5  46.5
15. Movsziszian, Karen                g  ARM 2497  6    50.5
16. Strikovic, Aleksa                 g  SCG 2524  6    50.5
17. Moreno Carnero, Javier            g  ESP 2525  6    50.5
18. Illescas Cordoba, Miguel          g  ESP 2616  6    50.0
19. Komljenovic, Davor                g  CRO 2441  6    50.0
20. Lalic, Bogdan                     g  ENG 2518  6    50.0
21. Fernandez Garcia, Jose Luis       g  ESP 2478  6    50.0
22. Barrientos, Sergio                f  COL 2425  6    48.0
23. Candela Perez, Jose               m  ESP 2435  6    47.5
24. Veingold, Aleksandr               m  EST 2478  6    46.5
25. Campora, Daniel H                 g  ARG 2503  6    46.0
26. Tissir, Mohamed                   m  MAR 2436  6    45.0
27. Villavicencio, Adalberto          f  ESP 2331  6    45.0
28. Pogorelov, Ruslan                 g  UKR 2451  5.5  50.0
29. Khamrakulov, Ibragim S            m  UZB 2452  5.5  49.5
30. Ivanov, Jordan                    m  BUL 2406  5.5  49.0
31. Suba, Mihai                       g  ROM 2522  5.5  48.5
32. Sanz Alonso, Francisco J          m  ESP 2379  5.5  48.0
33. Recuero Guerra, David                ESP 2225  5.5  45.5
34. Palma Macias, Jose Alberto           ESP 2149  5.5  44.5
35. Razmyslov, Alexander                 UKR 2337  5.5  43.5
36. Carrabeo Garcia, Manuel              ESP 2105  5.5  42.5
37. Ortega Valle, Jose R                 ESP 2274  5.5  42.0
38. Romero Garcia, Mariano               ESP 2167  5.5  41.0
39. Troncoso Gutierrez, Adrian           ESP ----  5.5  41.0
40. Castillo Gallego, Sergio             ESP 2233  5.5  39.0
41. Robles Garcia, Claudia               ESP 1917  5.5  37.5
42. Korneev, Oleg                     g  RUS 2566  5    50.0
43. Rodriguez Guerrero, Enrique       m  ESP 2391  5    46.5
153 players

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

8) Icelandic Championship

The Icelandic Championship takes place in Orkuveitan, Reykjavik April 1st-12th 2004.

The event is a knockout. Players: 1. Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson 2600 2. Helgi Áss Grétarsson 2525 3. Þröstur Þórhallsson 2470 4. Bragi Þorfinnsson 2420 5. Stefán Kristjánsson 2410 6. Jón Garðar Viðarsson 2375 7. Sævar Bjarnason 2345 8. Björn Þorfinnsson 2340 9. Sigurður Daði Sigfússon 2330 10. Sigurbjörn Björnsson 2315 11. Ingvar Þór Jóhannesson 2290 12. Ingvar Ásmundsson 2280 13. Davíð Kjartansson 2275 14. Snorri G. Bergsson 2275 15. Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson 2255 16. Kristján Eðvarðsson 2230

Official site: http://www.chess.is/ice04/index.html

Round 1 (April 1-2, 2004)

Stefansson, Hannes        * -   Sigfusson, Sigurdur        1-0 1-0
Gretarsson, Helgi Ass     * -   Bjornsson, Sigurbjorn      1-0 1-0
Johannesson, Ingvar Thor    - * Thorhallsson, Throstur     0-1 1/2
Thorfinnsson, Bragi       * -   Asmundsson, Ingvar         1-0 1/2
Kristjansson, Stefan      * -   Kjartansson, David         1-0 1-0
Bergsson, Snorri            - * Vidarsson, Jon G           1/2 1/2 0-1 0-1 
Thorsteinsson, Thorsteinn * -   Bjarnason, Saevar          1-0 0-1 0-1 1-0 1-0 
Edvardsson, Kristjan        - * Thorfinnsson, Bjorn        0-1 0-1

Round 2 (April 3-4, 2004)

Kristjansson, Stefan        - * Stefansson, Hannes         0-1 1/2
Vidarsson, Jon G            - * Gretarsson, Helgi Ass      0-1 1/2
Thorsteinsson, Thorsteinn   - * Thorhallsson, Throstur     1/2 0-1
Thorfinnsson, Bjorn         - * Thorfinnsson, Bragi        0-1 1/2

9) Bangladesh Championship

The Singer 30th National Bangladesh Chess Championship takes place 28th March - 10th April in Dhaka, Bangldesh. 14 players participate including 2 GM's, 3 IM's 1 FM. There are a couple of corrections to the names of players from last week.

Internet coverage: http://www.bcs-online.org

News Haroonor Rashid.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30th ch-BAN Dhaka BAN (BAN), 28 iii-10 iv 2004                     cat. II (2298)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Rahman, Ziaur              g BAN 2492  * . = . = 1 . 1 1 . . 1 1 1  7.0  2594 
 2. Murshed, Niaz              g BAN 2436  . * . 1 . = 0 . . 1 1 1 1 1  6.5  2518 
 3. Abdulla, Al-Rakib          m BAN 2417  = . * = 1 1 . 1 1 . . . 0 1  6.0  2495 
 4. Hossain, Enamul            m BAN 2446  . 0 = * . . 1 = 1 1 1 1 . .  6.0  2463 
 5. Ahmed, Sk. Nasir           f BAN 2280  = . 0 . * 0 . = 1 . 1 1 . 1  5.0  2389 
 6. Reefat, Bin-Sattar         m BAN 2459  0 = 0 . 1 * 0 1 . 1 1 . . .  4.5  2369 
 7. Hasan, Mehdi                 BAN 2224  . 1 . 0 . 1 * 1 0 0 0 = . .  3.5  2260 
 8. Hossain, Pollab Sawkat H     BAN 2258  0 . 0 = = 0 0 * . . . . 1 1  3.0  2244 
 9. Mohammad, Javed              BAN 2150  0 . 0 0 0 . 1 . * = . . 1 =  3.0  2218 
10. Abdul, Maleq                 BAN 2250  . 0 . 0 . 0 1 . = * = 0 = .  2.5  2149 
11. Uddin, Saif                  BAN 2254  . 0 . 0 0 0 1 . . = * . 1 0  2.5  2162 
12. Chatterjee, Devraz           BAN 2175  0 0 . 0 0 . = . . 1 . * = =  2.5  2166 
13. Alam, Md. Monjur             BAN 2182  0 0 1 . . . . 0 0 = 0 = * .  2.0  2111 
14. Islam, Aminul Polash         BAN 2149  0 0 0 . 0 . . 0 = . 1 = . *  2.0  2114 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10) 1st Savaria IM

The 1st Savaria IM tournament took place in Szombathely 22nd-30th March 2004. Vladimir Petrienko won the event with 6.5/9 undefeated. My thanks to Zsolt Korpics for the news.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Savaria IM Szombathely HUN (HUN), 22-30 iii 2004      cat. III (2307)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Petrienko, Vladimir       m RUS 2425  * = = = = = 1 1 1 1  6.5  2459 
 2. Meshcheriakova, Evgenia  wm RUS 2211  = * = 1 = 1 1 = = =  6.0  2442 
 3. Kiss, Attila              m HUN 2393  = = * = = = = = 1 1  5.5  2377 
 4. Bokros, Albert            m HUN 2484  = 0 = * = = = 1 1 1  5.5  2366 
 5. Pergel, Laszlo            f HUN 2343  = = = = * = = = = =  4.5  2302 
 6. Nemeth, Miklos            f HUN 2366  = 0 = = = * = 0 1 1  4.5  2300 
 7. Csonka, Attila            f HUN 2349  0 0 = = = = * 1 = =  4.0  2258 
 8. Srebrnic, Ana            wf SLO 2206  0 = = 0 = 1 0 * = =  3.5  2237 
 9. Gerencer, Jozef           f SLO 2165  0 = 0 0 = 0 = = * =  2.5  2156 
10. Remete, Eszter              HUN 2124  0 = 0 0 = 0 = = = *  2.5  2160 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

11) First Saturday April

The First Saturday events take place 3rd-15th of April 2004. The main event is a Category 7 event. There are four groups of different levels. 46 players from 14 countries. Organised by Laszlo Nagy.

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSGM April Budapest HUN (HUN), 3-15 iv 2004                    cat. VII (2417)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Blauert, Joerg          m GER 2370  * . . . . . . . . . . . 1 .  1.0       
 2. Breder, Dennis          m GER 2473  . * . . . . . . . . . 1 . .  1.0       
 3. Groetz, Harald          f AUT 2359  . . * . . . . . . . . . . 1  1.0       
 4. Horvath, Peter1         m HUN 2464  . . . * . . = . . . . . . .  0.5  2496 
 5. Muir, Andrew J          m SCO 2303  . . . . * = . . . . . . . .  0.5  2436 
 6. Nguyen Ngoc Truongson   f VIE 2436  . . . . = * . . . . . . . .  0.5  2303 
 7. Seres, Lajos            g HUN 2496  . . . = . . * . . . . . . .  0.5  2464 
 8. Vajda, Albert           m ROM 2427  . . . . . . . * = . . . . .  0.5  2482 
 9. Vajda, Levente          g ROM 2482  . . . . . . . = * . . . . .  0.5  2427 
10. Jakab, Attila           m HUN 2411  . . . . . . . . . * . . . .  0.0       
11. Kustar, Sandor          m HUN 2351  . . . . . . . . . . * . . .  0.0       
12. Czebe, Attila           g HUN 2487  . 0 . . . . . . . . . * . .  0.0       
13. Paschall, William M     m USA 2401  0 . . . . . . . . . . . * .  0.0       
14. Pataki, Gyozo             HUN 2374  . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . *  0.0       
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12) 10th Schloss Open

The 10th Schloss Open took place in Werther 2nd-4th April 2004. GM Tamaz Gelashvili took first place with 4,5/5 due to a better progressive score compared to Vitaly Braun (ELO 2209) who beat IM Kunin (ELO 2450) and IM Shengelia (2502). In 3rd was GM Svetushkin, then GM Malakhatko, GM Baklan, IM Drabke and IM Kasparov, all on 4 points. News Stefan Pfannkuch.

Official site: http://www.schloss-open.skwerther.de and live coverage: http://www.schach.com/werther/2004/

Leading Final (Round 5) Standings
-------------------------------------------------------
10th Schloss Open Werther GER (GER), 2-4 iv 2004
-------------------------------------------------------
 1. Gelashvili, Tamaz       g  GEO 2535 4.5 14.5 15.5
 2. Braun, Vitali              GER 2209 4.5 12.5 10.0
 3. Svetushkin, Dmitry      g  MDA 2553 4.0 13.5 16.5
 4. Malakhatko, Vadim       g  UKR 2543 4.0 13.0 18.0
 5. Baklan, Vladimir        g  UKR 2606 4.0 12.5 16.0
 6. Drabke, Lorenz          m  GER 2439 4.0 12.0 15.0
 7. Kasparov, Sergey        m  BLR 2486 4.0 12.0 14.0
 8. Shengelia, Davit        m  GEO 2496 3.5 12.5 15.5
 9. Meijers, Viesturs       m  LAT 2499 3.5 12.5 15.0
10. Brendel, Oliver         m  GER 2294 3.5 11.0 13.5
11. Kasparova, Tatiana         BLR 2192 3.5 10.0 12.5
12. Kniest,Oliver           f  GER 2297 3.5  9.5 13.0
13. Kiese, Matthias            GER 2252 3.5  9.5 12.5
14. Brosig, Boris              GER 2192 3.5  9.5 11.5
62 players

13) New York Masters

Aleks Wojtkiewicz and Leonid Yudasin won the 97th New York Masters on 30th March 2004 on 3.5/4. News John Fernandez.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
97th New York Masters Action USA (USA), 30 iii 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1   2   3   4   Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------
   1. Wojtkiewicz, Aleks    g USA 2559 +10 + 9 = 2 + 7   3.5  ($270)
   2. Yudasin, Leonid       g ISR 2553 + 8 + 4 = 1 + 3   3.5  ($270)
   3. Ehlvest, Jaan         g EST 2596 +11 + 6 + 5 - 2   3.0  ($ 25)
   4. Becerra, Julio        g USA 2547 +15 - 2 +11 +10   3.0  ($ 25)
   5. Kacheishvili, Giorgi  g GEO 2600 +20 =14 - 3 +15   2.5
   6. Bonin, Jay            m USA 2341 +18 - 3 +12 = 8   2.5
   7. Ippolito, Dean        m USA 2381 +13 =12 +14 - 1   2.5  ($ 75)
   8. Pruess, David         f USA 2376 - 2 +17 + 9 = 6   2.5  ($ 75)
   9. Lapshun, Yury         m USA 2447 +16 - 1 - 8 +14   2.0
  10. Sarkar, Justin        m USA 2375 - 1 +19 +13 - 4   2.0
  11. Stein, Alan           f USA 2316 - 3 +16 - 4 +18   2.0
  12. Fierro, Martha       wg ECU 2327 =   = 7 - 6 +16   2.0
  13. Patay, Travis           USA ---- - 7 +20 -10 +19   2.0
  14. Scekic, Milos         m SCG 2405 +17 = 5 - 7 - 9   1.5
  15. Shevelev, Danny       f ISR 2310 - 4 =18 +19 - 5   1.5
  16. Privman, Boris        f USA 2268 - 9 -11 +21 -12   1.0
  17. Furdzik, Rafal          USA 2253 -14 - 8 =18 =     1.0
  18. Zenyuk, Iryna           USA 2168 - 6 =15 =17 -11   1.0
  19. Gottehrer, Jonathan     USA ---- =   -10 -15 -13   0.5
  20. Hoffmann, Asa         f USA 2290 - 5 -13 --- ---   0.0
  21. Rona, Jonathan          AUS ---- --- --- -16 ---   0.0

PRIZES
1ST   - $380
2ND   - $160
3RD   - $ 50
U2400 - $150

14) Czech Team Extraleague

Jakub Fuksik sends news of the Czech Team Extraleague 2003-4. Hagemann Opava took first place.

Web coverage: http://extraliga.chess.cz and http://www.chess.cz

Final table:
 1.Hagemann Opava    11  9 1 1 57.0 19
 2.SK Mahrla Praha   11  9 0 2 58.5 18 
 3.Sokol Plzen Ingem 11  6 2 3 45.5 14 
 4.Bauset Pardubice  11  6 1 4 45.0 13 
 5.TZ Trinec         11  4 5 2 44.0 13 
 6.SK SK Trinom Zlin 11  3 4 4 45.5 10 
 7.IPM Color Ostrava 11  4 2 5 44.0 10
 8.SC A64 Grygov     11  4 1 6 40.5  9
 9.Sokol Kolin       11  3 3 5 39.0  9
10.Visus Vysehrad    11  3 2 6 39.5  8
11.TJ Jakl Karvina   11  2 1 8 36.0  5
12.Slavia Hr.Kralove 11  1 2 8 33.5  4

Team champion: Hagemann Opava (GM Hracek, GM Macieja, GM Oral, GM
Dydyshko, GM Socko, GM Blatny, GM Polak, IM Matlak, IM Antoniewski, IM
Cvek, IM Veselovski, IM Kalod, IM Michenka)  Downgrade: TJ Jakl Karvina,
Slavia Hr.Kralove

Best individual results (performance)
 1.Zezulkin J    Visus Vysehrad 2543F  11  8  3  0  9.5  86.4 2435   2749
 2.Movsesian S   Bauset Pardubi 2645F  11  6  5  0  8.5  77.3 2509   2722
 3.Jansa V       SK Mahrla Prah 2477F   9  5  4  0  7.0  77.8 2410   2628
 4.Macieja B     Hagemann Opava 2635F   6  2  4  0  4.0  66.7 2503   2625
 5.Dydyshko V    Hagemann Opava 2556F  11  6  5  0  8.5  77.3 2409   2623
 6.Hracek Z      Hagemann Opava 2578F  11  3  8  0  7.0  63.6 2515   2614
 7.Haba P        SK SK Trinom Z 2524F   9  2  7  0  5.5  61.1 2526   2607
 8.Babula V      SC A64 Grygov  2567F   9  2  7  0  5.5  61.1 2524   2605
 9.Civin T       SK Mahrla Prah 2367F  10  7  2  1  8.0  80.0 2334   2574
10.Jakubiec A    IPM Color Ostr 2538F   9  3  4  2  5.0  55.6 2530   2570
11.Kovalev A     Bauset Pardubi 2572F   8  2  5  1  4.5  56.2 2506   2551
12.Oral T        Hagemann Opava 2550F   9  3  5  1  5.5  61.1 2466   2547

15) Belgian Teams

The Belgian Teams 2003-2004 have concluded. SK47 Eynatten 1 duly took the title with an 8/8 win against relegated Boitsfort. The along with Temse 1 and SK Rochade 1 qualified for the the European Club Championships. Boitsfort along with Hoboken were relegated. Steve Laios sends results and games from round 11 plus a couple of earlier missing games.

Round 11 : 21.03.2004
1. K Gent SRL  - Charleroi        : 6.0-2.0 
2. LV Leuven   - Temse            : 4.0-4.0 
3. CRE Liège   - Hoboken          : 4.0-4.0 
4. Boitsfort   - SK47.Eynatten 1  : 0.0-8.0 
5. Borgerhout  - Rochade          : 2.5-5.5 
6. K Brugge SK - SK47.Eynatten 2  : 2.5-5.5 

Final Standing after round 11.
                            Pts   M/P Pl
 1. KSK47-Eynatten 1        67.5  11   11  * Qualified for
 2. Temse 1                 57.5  8.5  11  * European Club
 3. SK Rochade 1            51.5  7    11  * Championship
 4. KSK47-Eynatten 2        50    6.5  11
 5. K Brugge SK 1           42.5  5    11
 5. K Gent SRL 1            42.5  5    11
 7. Charleroi 1             41    5.5  11
 8. LV Leuven Fortis 1      39    3.5  11
 8. Borgerhout 1            38    4.5  11
10. CRE Liège 1             37    5    11
11. Hoboken 1               37    4    11  * Relegated
12. Boitsfort 1             24.5  0,5  11  * to Division 2

Winners of the Division 2
Division 2A : Jean-Jaurès (Ghent)
Division 2B : Temse 3

16) Latvian Team Championship

Kaspars Migla sends news of the Latvian Team Championship 2004.

"Daugavpils Latgalie¹u biedrïba" won the event and like last year, 28 points was enough in the 16 team event. The top four boards were occupied by men and the fifth a women. Seven rounds.

1. "Daugavpils Latgalie¹u biedrïba" (DLB) - 28 points of total 35 2. Amatnieks/"Transporta un sakaru institþta sporta klubs" (A/TSISK) - 25,5 points 3. Transporta un sakaru institþts (TSI) - 20 points 4. RTU - 19 points 5.-6. Amatnieks Juniors - 18,5 points 5.-6. Rïgas ¹ahs skola NL - 18,5 points

Best board performances: 1. board: 1. GM Edvins Kengis (DLB) - 5,5, 2. H.Asauskas (BT) - 5, 3. GM Evgeny Sveshnikov (A/TSISK) - 4,5 4. Vadims Daskevics (TSI) - 4,5. 2. board: IM Oleg Krivonosov (A/TSISK) - 6, GM Aloizas Kveinys (DLB) - 5. 3. board: FM Arnolds Luckàns (DLB) - 6 4. board: I.Smarodinskis - 5,5 (TSI) 5. board: WIM Laura Rogule (DLB), WIM Tatjana Voronova (Venspils ¹aha klubs) - 5,5.

The Latvian championship follows in May, Liepjas rokade 2004 in July and Riga 2004 August.

17) Danish Championships

The Danish Championships take place April 4th-12th in Koege, Denmark. The event is a 16 player knockout. My thanks to Brian Joergensen.

Official site: http://www.skak-dm.dk/2004/

 1 Palo, Davor             m DEN 2505
 2 Pedersen, Nicolai V.    m DEN 2510
 3 Rasmussen, Karsten      m DEN 2468
 4 Mortensen, Erling       m DEN 2450
 5 Pedersen, Steffen       m DEN 2417
 6 El-Kher, Henrik           DEN 2404
 7 Fries Nielsen, Jens O.  m DEN 2425
 8 Berg, Klaus             m DEN 2436
 9 Soerensen, Jan          m DEN 2402
10 Fries Nielsen, Niels J    DEN 2380
11 Nilssen, John Arni        DEN 2426
12 Boe, Mads                 DEN 2362
13 Borbjerggaard, Lars     m DEN 2376
14 Pilgaard, Kim           m DEN 2398
15 Skytte, Rasmus          m DEN 2401
16 Pedersen, Daniel V.       DEN 2366

18) 5th Karpov Tournament

The 5th Karpov Tournament took place in Poikovsky 17th-26th of March 2004. Poikovsky is a village Poikovsky in the Nefteyugansky region, the west of Siberia. This year the average rating of the participants was 2676 (category XVIII), and the organisers promise that next year the event will be stronger.

As reported last week Alexander Grischuk took first on tie-break from Sergei Rublevsky after beating Zhang Zhong. Grischuk started fast with three wins in the first four rounds. He then drew the next four including what looked like a missed chance against Joel Lautier in round 7. Games from round 9 played on the final day are now available. News Eugeny Atarov.

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

19) 3rd Amplico Aig Life International

As I reported in TWIC477 the 3rd Amplico Aig Life International Chess Tournament which was also the 22nd Memorial of Stanislaw Gawlikowski took place in Warsaw, December 20th-21st December 2003. Top seed Ivanchuk Vassily beat Akopian Vladimir 1,5-0,5 in the final of this rapid event.

John Fernandez competed and has 23 games from the event which seem to be the only record of the event. He notes: Both games of the Ivanchuk-Akopian final complete. The second game of the Aronian-Aleksandrov 3rd place match, complete. The first game (won by Aronian) is missing. 1 game from the Quarterfinal Gp 1 (Urban-Korobov). The other 11 games are lost. 4 games from Quarterfinal group 2 (Akopian-Rustemov, Glek-Akopian, Rustemov-Jaracz, Jaracz-Akopian). The other 8 games are lost. 1 game from the Quarterfinal group 3 (Aleksandrov - Moiseenko). The other 11 games are lost. 2 games from the Quarterfinal group 4 (Zezulkin - Socko & Sakaev). The other 10 games are lost. 1 game from the Aleksandrov - Akopian semifinal. Both games were won by Akopian, I only have the 2nd. All three games of the Aronian-Ivanchuk final are lost. 11 games from the Swiss tournament. 3 are missing round numbers, but were played on the first day. There is 1 game submitted by Mateusz Bartel, and another by Bartek Macieja. The other 6 are the 6 games I played vs. FIDE rated players, games are complete. I kept score in all the games, but it's a bit silly to have the other games included.

Preliminary Tournament 13 Rounds
 1 Asrian, Karen            ARM 2601 10   91.0 
 2 Malaniuk, Vladimir       UKR 2525 10   89.5 
 3 Baklan, Vladimir         UKR 2600 9.5  96.0 
 4 Eljanov, Pavel           UKR 2597 9.5  94.0 
 5 Korchnoi, Viktor         SUI 2580 9.5  92.0 
 6 Bartel, Mateusz          POL 2452 9.5  92.0 
 7 Cyborowski, Lukasz       POL 2575 9.5  88.0 
 8 Szymanski, Marcin        POL 2426 9.5  87.0 
 9 Gdanski, Jacek           POL 2522 9    93.5 
10 Rozentalis, Eduardas     LTU 2633 9    92.0 
11 Dziuba, Marcin           POL 2447 9    91.5 
12 Volokitin, Andrei        UKR 2594 9    91.0 
13 Neverov, Valeriy         UKR 2550 9    90.0 
14 Nielsen, Peter Heine     DEN 2626 9    90.0 
15 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw      POL 2461 9    89.5 
16 Tseshkovsky, Vitaly      RUS 2543 9    88.5 
17 Brodsky, Michail         UKR 2559 9    87.5 
18 Zhigalko, Sergei         BLR 2460 9    87.0 
19 Goloshchapov, Alexander  UKR 2574 8.5  93.5 
20 Malakhatko, Vadim        UKR 2529 8.5  92.5 
21 Mista, Aleksander        POL 2511 8.5  91.5 
22 Fedorov, Alexei          BLR 2595 8.5  91.0 
23 Markowski, Tomasz        POL 2610 8.5  89.5 
24 Grabarczyk, Miroslaw     POL 2509 8.5  89.5 
25 Gajewski, Grzegorz       POL 2462 8.5  89.0 
26 Murdzia, Piotr           POL 2446 8.5  89.0 
27 Jakubiec, Artur          POL 2538 8.5  88.0 
28 Jedynak, Radoslaw        POL 2448 8.5  88.0 
29 Zhigalko, Andrey         BLR 2478 8.5  88.0 
30 Tazbir, Marcin           POL 2303 8.5  87.5 
31 Dworakowska, Joanna      POL 2379 8.5  87.0 
32 Novitzkij, Dmitrij       BLR 2398 8.5  87.0 
33 Heberla, Bartlomiej      POL 2420 8.5  85.0 
34 Schmidt, Wlodzimierz     POL 2428 8.5  84.5 
35 Kuraszkiewicz, Michael   GER 2304 8.5  84.5 
36 Szelag, Marcin           POL 2390 8.5  83.5 
37 Staniszewski, Piotr      POL 2433 8.5  82.0 
38 Lada, Marek              POL 2220 8.5  82.0 
39 Stoma, Pawel             POL 2246 8.5  81.0 
40 Kuziola, Mateusz         POL 2285 8.5  76.0 
41 Luch, Michal             POL 2268 8.5  75.5 
340 players

Groups

Group 1               1   2   3   4  Pkt Msc 
1. Ivanchuk Vassily  x x 1 1 = 1 1 1 5,5 1 
2. Krasenkow Michal  0 0 x x 1 = 0 0 1,5 4 
3. Korobov Anton     = 0 0 = x x = 1 2,5 2 
4. Urban Klaudiusz   0 0 1 1 = 0 x x 2,5 3 

Group 2                1   2   3   4  Pkt Msc 
1. Akopian Vladimir   x x = = = = 1 = 3,5 1 
2. Rustemov Alexander = = x x 1 = = = 3,5 2 
3. Glek Igor          = = 0 = x x = 0 2 4 
4. Jaracz Pawel       0 = = = = 1 x x 3 3 

Group 3                 1   2   3   4  Pkt Msc 
1. Aleksandrov Aleksej x x 1 = = 1 1 1 5 1 
2. Moiseenko Alexander 0 = x x = 1 = 0 2,5 2 
3. Ruck Robert         = 0 = 0 x x = = 2 4 
4. Azarov Sergei       0 0 = 1 = = x x 2,5 3 

Group 4                 1   2   3   4  Pkt Msc 
1. Sakaev Konstantin   x x = = 0 1 1 1 4 2 
2. Aronian Levon       = = x x 1 = 1 1 4,5 1 
3. Socko Bartosz       1 0 0 = x x 1 1 3,5 3 
4. Zezulkin Jurij      0 0 0 0 0 0 x x 0 4 

Places 5-8             1 2 3 4 Pkt Msc 
1. Sakaev Konstantin   x = = = 1,5 7 
2. Korobov Anton       = x = 1 2 5 
3. Moiseenko Alexander = = x 1 2 6 
4. Rustemov Alexander  = 0 0 x = 8 

Places 9-12            1 2 3 4 Pkt Msc 
1. Urban Klaudiusz     x 0 1 0 1 11 
2. Socko Bartosz       1 x 0 1 2 9 
3. Jaracz Pawel        0 1 x 1 2 10 
4. Azarov Sergei       1 0 0 x 1 12 

Places 13-16           1 2 3 4 Pkt Msc 
1. Ruck Robert         x 1 1 = 2,5 13 
2. Krasenkow Michal    0 x 1 = 1,5 14 
3. Glek Igor           0 0 x 1 1   15 
4. Zezulkin Jurij      = = 0 x 1   16 

Semi-Final

Ivanchuk Vassily - Aronian Levon 2-1 (1-0,0-1,1-0)
Akopian Vladimir - Aleksander Aleksej 2-0 (1-0,1-0)

3rd-4th Place

Aronian Levon - Aleksander Aleksej 1,5-0,5 (1-0,1/2)

Final 

Ivanchuk Vassily - Akopian Vladimir 1,5-0,5 (1-0,1/2)

Internet coverage: http://www.pzszach.org.pl/amplico/wyniki.htm

20) V Millennium Chess Festival

Michael Atkins reports: The Millennium Chess Festival V saw 267 players come to Virginia Beach, Virginia over the weekend of April 2-4. Played at the Ramada Oceanfront Plaza Resort , another fun weekend at the Beach was had by all. Organizer Tom Braunlich did another great job pulling together all the little pieces and this year joined the TS staff of Ernie Schlich and Michael Atkins.

This year five sections were offered instead of the previous 4; Open, U2000, U1800, U1600 and U1300. Full coverage will be at http://www.geocities.com/millenniumchessfestival/

The Open section ended in a tie at 4 ½ among GM?s Hikaru Nakamura and Ildar Ibragimov. Nakamura won his first 4 games and drew with GM Alex Wojtkiewicz in the final round. Ibragimov won his first three games, drew with Wojtkiewicz in the 4th round and then defeated FM Boris Privman in the final round. The Nakamura - Becerra 4th round game was critical to the final standings.

GM Julio Becerra gave up a pawn in a game that had Black playing in a Benko Gambit style position and Nakamura held the pawn to go into an ending 3 vs 2 kingside pawn ending with rook and minor piece. Around move 68, Becerra made an Insufficient Losing Chances Claim which resulted in a Time Delay clock being placed on the board. Nakamura now had about 14 minutes and Becerra had 57 seconds. Becerra used too much time maneuvering his pieces and then did not have enough time at the crucial final position. His flag fell when Nakamura forced him to think about capturing a pawn which would have been a draw in a position where Becerra?s rook would harass a King unable to capture it due to either stalemate or a sole rook vs rook ending.

Third-sixth and U2400 group at 4-1 were GM?s Wojtkiewicz, Fedorwicz, IM John Donaldson and FMs Alexander Stamnov and Boris Zisman. The U2000 section was won by Larry Larkins with 4 ½, U1800 section was won at 5-0 by Walter Key, the U1600 was won by Michael Spargo with 4 ½, and the U1300 section was won by Tan Dang with 5-0.

GM Hikaru Nakamura took clear first. 9 ½ - ½ in a 50 player rated Blitz tournament on Saturday night. Four GMs and another 8 masters competed in the strong tournament. It was pretty clear of complaints and players willingly played until 12:30 AM knowing that their clocks were getting set ahead an hour at 2AM and they were going to lose an hour?s sleep. Chess players will sacrifice almost anything for the love of the game.

Nakamura and GM Julio Becerra went into the 5th round both tied with 8-0 and Nakamura took clear first by scoring a point and a half from the two games. Becerra finished second with 8 ½ . Tied for 3rd - 4th were GM Jaan Ehlvest and ?A? player Brian Salomon. Brian has played in all of the MCF blitz events and I think he has won money each year. He had a 2337 performance and won every match except for a split against former Virginia State Champion Joseph Feygelson.

Top U2200 was Alex Barnett with 7 ½ , who recently won the Oscar Shapiro Blitz in DC, clear first over several Grandmasters. Top U1800 was split among Patrick Ray and James Fuller, each with 5 ½ . Gerald Battaglia took U1500 honors with 3 ½ points.

The annual exhibition game took place between GM John Fedorowicz and GM Hikaru Nakamura on Saturday night. Chessplayers ate a buffet dinner while watching the match, which was played from two different rooms. The two players talked about their thought processes during the game so average folks could see how the GMs think. Kotov might have like this format! The game ended in a draw, but was far from a typical Grandmaster Draw. The full transcript of the game, with player?s thoughts and comments will appear on TWIC in the near future.

Next week starting Wednesday is the Foxwoods Open. Internet coverage will follow at: http://www.foxwoodsopen.com

21) 14th Massachusetts g/60 Championship

George Mirijanian reports: The 14th annual Massachusetts Game/60 Championship took place 28 March 2004 at the Greater Lowell Boys and Girls Club in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. Senior master Joshua Friedel of New Hampshire finished first with a score of 3 1/2 - 1/2. GM Alexander Ivanov, who lost to Friedel in the final round, tied for 2nd-3rd place with national master Avraam Pismennyy at 3-1. FM John Curdo captured fourth place with a score of 2 1/2 - 1 1/2. A total of 61 players competed in four sections of the tournament, which was sponsored by the Massachusetts Chess Association and directed by U.S. Chess Federation-certified senior TD Robert Messenger. Complete crosstables are available at http://www.masschess.org

22) Professional World Chess Ranking

The Professional World Chess Ranking for players rated 2500 and higher for March 1st 2004 has been released. Produced by Ken Thomson, San Jose and calculated by Vladimir Dvorkovich, Moscow.

NN Name                     NAT Rat  Var
 1 Kasparov,Garry           RUS 2764 137
 2 Anand,Viswanathan        IND 2729 157
 3 Kramnik,Vladimir         RUS 2704 134
 4 Topalov,Veselin          BUL 2694 158
 5 Leko,Peter               HUN 2690 146
 6 Polgar,Judit             HUN 2690 161
 7 Svidler,Peter            RUS 2680 136
 8 Adams,Michael            ENG 2677 137
 9 Morozevich,Alexander     RUS 2677 179
10 Grischuk,Alexander       RUS 2675 157
11 Short,Nigel D            ENG 2670 149
12 Ponomariov,Ruslan        UKR 2669 171
13 Gelfand,Boris            ISR 2660 146
14 Azmaiparashvili,Zurab    GEO 2655 151
15 Shirov,Alexei            ESP 2655 159
16 Ivanchuk,Vassily         UKR 2654 146
17 Bareev,Evgeny            RUS 2649 194
18 Sokolov,Ivan             NED 2647 151
19 Nisipeanu,Liviu-Dieter   ROM 2637 143
20 Radjabov,Teimour         AZE 2636 160
21 Rublevsky,Sergei         RUS 2635 179
22 McShane,Luke James       ENG 2628 187
23 Ye Jiangchuan            CHN 2627 162
24 Akopian,Vladimir         ARM 2626 172
25 Bologan,Viorel           MDA 2624 201
26 Vallejo Pons,Francisco   ESP 2622 151
27 Gurevich,Mikhail         BEL 2622 160
28 Karpov,Anatoli           RUS 2620 137
29 Sutovsky,Emil            ISR 2620 191
30 Graf-Nenashev,Alexander  GER 2618 157
31 Beliavsky,Alexander G    SLO 2615 164
32 Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar    AZE 2614 150
33 Dreev,Alexey             RUS 2614 160
34 Lautier,Joel             FRA 2613 159
35 Bacrot,Etienne           FRA 2610 154
36 Sakaev,Konstantin        RUS 2603 143
37 Nikolic,Predrag          BIH 2603 166
38 Aronian,Levon            ARM 2602 170
39 Malakhov,Vladimir        RUS 2601 176
40 Khalifman,Alexander      RUS 2598 129
41 Georgiev,Kiril           BUL 2598 159
42 Zvjaginsev,Vadim         RUS 2597 147
43 Nielsen,Peter-Heine      DEN 2597 168
44 Van Wely,Loek            NED 2595 167
45 Onischuk,Alexander       USA 2592 192
46 Aleksandrov,Aleksej      BLR 2591 149
47 Hansen,Curt              DEN 2589 161
48 Vescovi,Giovanni         BRA 2589 186
49 Filippov,Valerij         RUS 2588 181
50 Dautov,Rustem            GER 2583 173

23) Forthcoming Events and Links

36th Chess Olympiad

The 36th Chess Olympiad takes place in Calvià (Majorca), 14th-31st October 2004. There is now a website with lots of information on the event.

Official site: http://www.36chessolympiad.com

Polish Championships

The Polish Men's Championship takes place April 24th-May 7th in Warsaw. The event is a 14 player round-robin. Each round starts at 16:00 (except the last round, which starts at 13:00). May 2nd is the day-off. The time control is 90 minutes for the whole game with a 30-second increment per move ("FIDE time control"). The Women's Championship takes place alongside April 26th-May 7th.

Coverage should be at http://www.zagraj.pl and there is certain to be a link from the Polish Chess Federation site: http://www.pzszach.org.pl

Here is the line-up:

 1 Macieja, Bartlomiej    g  2633
 2 Krasenkow, Michal      g  2609
 3 Markowski, Tomasz      g  2605
 4 Kempinski, Robert      g  2586
 5 Socko, Bartosz         g  2579
 6 Cyborowski, Lukasz     g  2565
 7 Miton, Kamil           g  2563
 8 Jaracz, Pawel          g  2539
 9 Jakubiec, Artur        g  2532
10 Gdanski, Jacek         g  2529
12 Mista, Aleksander      g  2517
16 Jakubowski, Krzysztof  f  2492
22 Murdzia, Piotr         m  2455
36 Lagowski, Patryk       m  2425
Average rating 2545, category 12

Alushta Tournaments

Leonid Galperin the Vice-President of the Chess Federation of the Ukraine sends news of future events in Alushta.

Official site: http://www.kaissa.com.ua/

1. GM norm events (11-13-15 rounds, circular system, VIII-IX category) 22.05-2.06 5.06-15.06 17.06-27.06 27.08-7.09 10.09-20.09 23.09-3.10

2. IM norm events (11-13 rounds, circular system, II-III category) 22.05-2.06 5.06-15.06 17.06-27.06 27.08-7.09 10.09-20.09 23.09-3.10

3. Festival "Alushta's summer-2004" The tournaments with the GM and IM norm (11-13 rounds, circular system) 05.06 - 15.06 17.06. - 27.07 Rating tournament (11-13 rounds, circular system) 17.06-27.06 Open tournament (under 16 years). First prize - 200 $. (9 rounds, swiss system ) 8.06-16.06 Blitz tournament (9 rounds, swiss system) 28.06 "Rapid chess" (open) (9 rounds, swiss system) 29.06-30.06 Open tournament (main tournament of festival)(9 rounds, swiss system) First prize 1000 $. First prize (woman) 500$. 1.07-10.07

Australian Open Championship update

The Australian Open Chess Championships take place December 28th, 2004 to January 9th, 2005. It will be played at Mount Buller, a tourist destination just a few hours from Melbourne, Australia. The organisers can arrange free transfer from Melbourne to Mt Buller.

Confirmed entries include:

GM Shabalov, Alex          (2636 - USA)                         
GM Ehlvehst, Jaan          (2599 - EST)  
GM Mikhalevski, Victor     (2568 - ISR) 
GM Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander (2564 - USA)
GM Kengis, Edvins          (2555 - LAT)
GM Golod, Vitali           (2544 - ISR)
GM Kosten, Tony            (2507 - FRA)

The organisers are looking for other GM or IM players interested in participating. Contact cordover@chessworld.com.au for details of conditions for players.

Prizes for the tournament are $3500, $2500, $1700, $1100, $900 . down to 8th place. There is a good chance the first prize will be increased to $10,000.

Further details: http://www.mindsports.com.au

Paks Tournaments

II. Marx György Memorial Paks, Hungary 5-15 June 2004 with Portisch, Korchnoi, Beliavsky, Ács, Berkes GM Tournament (10 rounds, 6 invited players) & 5-15 June IM group, 5-11 June FM group, 12-15 June Open Tournaments

VIII. Paks Cup 21-31 August 2004 GM-IM Tournaments 23-29 August 2004 FM Tournament

Further information: Videki Sandor Tel: 0036-75421225, 304012866 email: videkis2001@yahoo.com

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

Dutch Championships

The Dutch Championships take place June 28th - July 10th 2004.

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

Essent Dutch Championship
Name                Title Qualified 
Loek van Wely       GM    Essent NC 2003
Sergei Tiviakov     GM    Essent NC 2003
Daniel Stellwagen   IM    Essent NC 2003
John van der Wiel   GM    Essent NC 2003
Friso Nijboer       GM    Dutch Open
Ivan Sokolov        GM    wildcard
Erik van den Doel   GM    Semi Finals
Dennis de Vreugt    GM    Semi Finals
Yge Visser          IM    Semi Finals
Manuel Bosboom      IM    Semi Finals

Essent Dutch Championship for Women
Name                Title Qualified
Zhaoqin Peng        WGM   Essent NC
Tea lanchava        WGM   Essent NC 2003
Petra Schuurman      FM   Essent NC 2003
Désiree Hamelink    WIM   Dutch Open
Bianca Muhren             Semi Finals
Arlette van Weersel       Semi Finals

Golden Cleopatra

The 8th Golden Cleopatra Open 2004 will be held after the Dubai Open 30th April - 9th May 2004 at the Eastern Company Club about 5km from the Pyramids, Cairo. 10 Round Swiss Sytem Time Control (90 minutes for all the game + 30 seconds per move)

Arrival 29th April, Closing Ceremony 9th May 7 p.m. then departure.

Special conditions for limited no. of GMs and IMs over 2400. Note: Organizers needs only one invited player from each country. Last day for registering is 24 April 2004 .

E-mail is ecf@idsc.net.eg and haskh@yahoo.com Hassan Khaled General Director Egyptian Chess Federation

Phone is +20-2-3378987 and Mobile:+20-10-5003063; Eastern Company Club Fax : +20-2-5620931 Egyptian Chess Federation : Phone and Fax : +20-2-2604285

ACP Inaugural Internet Tournament

The ACP Inaugural Internet Tournament sponsored by ChinaCom and hosted by playchess.com will take place from April 12th-17th 2004. Players can register at http://www.chessbase.com/events/acp . The entry deadline is April 8th. This is the first of many the ACP hope to organise and they expect a massive participation as they hope to promote the ACP and attract sponsors for over-the-board tournaments.

ACP site: http://www.chess-players.org

European Individual Championships

The European Individual Championships take place in Antalya/Turkey 14 May (arrival) to 31 May 2004 (departure).

In addition the European Senior Championship takes place Arvier, Aosta Valley (Italy) from 8th-16th September 2004.

Further info at: http://www.eurochess.org

Uruguay Championships

The Preliminary tournament for the Uruguay Championships are taking place in Montevideo.

Internet coverage: http://nuestroajedrez.tripod.com

US Championships

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Hungarian chess tournaments April-August 2004

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

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

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

4. 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

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

6. 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/,

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

8. 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

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

10. 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

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

12. 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/