THE WEEK IN CHESS 526 6th December 2004 by Mark Crowther

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Mark Crowther
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Contents

1) Introduction
2) 2005 Chessmaster US Championships
3) World Juniors
4) Petrosian Memorial European Rapid
5) 75th Anniversary of the Catalan Opening
6) Prague Exhibition Matches
7) 17th Belgrade Trophy
8) Lushki tournaments in Serpukhov
9) Romanian Championships
10) Slovenian Teams
11) Porec Open
12) Vietnam Championships
13) 42nd National 'A' Chess Championship
14) 35th National Chess Congress
15) Grand Prix d'Echecs 2004
16) First Saturday December
17) Moscow blitz tournament
18) Professional World Chess Ranking
19) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

2005 Chessmaster US Championships          164 games
World Juniors                               19 games
Petrosian Memorial European Rapid           33 games
75th Anniversary of the Catalan Opening     15 games
Prague Exhibition Matches                    4 games
17th Belgrade Trophy                       177 games
Lushki tournaments in Serpukhov            258 games
Romanian Championships                      32 games
Slovenian Teams                            270 games
Porec Open                                 140 games
Vietnam Championships                       81 games
35th National Chess Congress                42 games
1235 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Argiris Kotsis, Yochanan Afek, Thomas Henrich, Alik Gershon, John Henderson, Radu-Catalin Chirila, Stéphane Laborde, Vladimir Dvorkovich, Eugeny Atarov, Gary Suffield, Vladica Andrejic, Toni Ayza, Albert Silver, Michael Atkins and everyone else who helped with the issue.

16 year old Hikaru Nakamura won the US Championship to become its second youngest winner after Bobby Fischer. Nakamura beat Fischer's record as the US's youngest GM when he became one at the age of 15 years, 1 month 27 days against Fischer's 15 years, 6 months, 1 day (although the GM title is not as elite at it was in Fischer's day) but Fischer's record of winning at 14 is probably going to survive a long time yet. Nakamura's broke into the top 100 in the last rating list and his next target should be to break into the top 50.

Elsewhere Kasparov's match in Dubai against FIDE Champion Kasimdzhanov looks in extreme doubt with the final deadline being yesterday. Its possible it may take place in Turkey but everything is up in the air again. If the funds have proved not to be available it was extremely irresponsible to put such an offer on the table as it stopped Kasparov playing in Wijk aan Zee for the 3rd year running.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) 2005 Chessmaster US Championships

The 2005 Chessmaster US Championships took place November 23rd - December 5th 2004 in San Diego, California. Hikaru Nakamura defeated Alex Stripunsky 2-0 in playoffs consisting of two games at G/25 plus 10 seconds per move. Rusudan Goletiani defeated Tatev Abrahamyan to take the women's title. Gata Kamsky returned to rated chess for the first time in a number of years and was undefeated but struggled to win games.

Norms: IM norm: Salvijus Bercys, Josh Friedel, Dmitry Zilberstein, Lev Milman WGM norm: Tsagaan Battsetseg WIM norm: Tatev Abrahamyan

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

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ch-USA San Diego USA (USA), 6 xi-4 xii 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Nakamura, Hikaru         g  USA 2620  +128   7.0  41     50     36 
 2. Stripunsky, Alexander    g  USA 2533  +219   7.0  41     50.5   36.5 
 3. Kaidanov, Gregory S      g  USA 2611   +31   6.0  42     51     31 
 4. Kudrin, Sergey           g  USA 2528  +136   6.0  42     50     34 
 5. Shulman, Yuri            g  USA 2549   +85   6.0  41     47.5   32 
 6. Benjamin, Joel           g  USA 2554   +58   6.0  37     44     29.5 
 7. Serper, Grigory          g  USA 2542   -67   6.0  36.5   42.5   32 
 8. Onischuk, Alexander      g  USA 2653   -45   6.0  35.5   43     28.5 
 9. Goldin, Alexander        g  USA 2620   +38   5.5  40     48     29 
10. Ibragimov, Ildar         g  USA 2585   -7    5.5  39     47     30.5 
11. Gulko, Boris F           g  USA 2600   -6    5.5  38.5   47.5   29.5 
12. Becerra Rivero, Julio    g  USA 2537   +75   5.5  38.5   46.5   28.5 
13. Fishbein, Alexander      g  USA 2505   +85   5.5  38.5   46     29 
14. Kamsky, Gata             g  USA 2717  -159   5.5  36.5   44     26.5 
15. Akobian, Varuzhan        g  USA 2571   -30   5.5  35.5   44     28.5 
16. Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  g  USA 2539   +13   5.5  35.5   43.5   28.5 
17. Yermolinsky, Alex        g  USA 2568   -65   5.5  33     40     26 
18. Gonzalez, Renier         m  USA 2428  +133   5.0  38.5   46.5   28 
19. Bercys, Salvijus            USA 2356  +131   5.0  37.5   43.5   24.5 
20. Novikov, Igor A          g  USA 2588   -63   5.0  37     44.5   27 
21. Milman, Lev              f  USA 2434   +40   5.0  37     44.5   23.5 
22. Gurevich, Dmitry         g  USA 2499   +35   5.0  37     44     27 
23. Shabalov, Alexander      g  USA 2608  -135   5.0  36.5   42.5   26 
24. De Firmian, Nick E       g  USA 2550   -32   5.0  36     43.5   27 
25. Altounian, Levon         m  USA 2456   +62   5.0  36     42     25.5 
26. Perelshteyn, Eugene      m  USA 2505   -84   5.0  35     41     26 
27. Christiansen, Larry M    g  USA 2531   -69   5.0  33.5   41.5   26.5 
28. Lapshun, Yury            m  USA 2461   +12   5.0  33.5   39     23.5 
29. Lakdawala, Cyrus         m  USA 2422   +45   5.0  33.5   37     24.5 
30. Finegold, Benjamin       m  USA 2531   -84   5.0  31     39     24 
31. Ivanov, Alexander        g  USA 2582  -170   5.0  28     34.5   22 
32. Schneider, Dmitry        m  USA 2453   +44   4.5  26.5   46     26.5 
33. Lugo, Blas               m  USA 2399  +119   4.5  25.5   43.5   26 
34. Browne, Walter S         g  USA 2455   -34   4.5  23     40.5   23.5 
35. Goletiani, Rusudan       wg USA 2336   +85   4.5  22     39     21.5   w
36. Kriventsov, Stanislav G  m  USA 2414   -36   4.5  21.5   40     23 
37. Burnett, Ronald          m  USA 2444   -80   4.5  21.5   35.5   19.5 
38. Casella, Michael         f  USA 2259   +62   4.5  18.5   34     16.5 
39. Abrahamyan, Tatev        wf USA 2238   +52   4.5  17.5   33     16     w
40. Zilberstein, Dmitry      f  USA 2379  +120   4.0  35.5   47     25 
41. Friedel, Joshua E        f  USA 2436   +27   4.0  32.5   44     21 
42. Battsetseg, Tsagaan      wm USA 2243   -83   4.0  30     41.5   20     w
43. Krush, Irina             m  USA 2464  +179   4.0  30.5   41     20.5   w
44. Martinez, Marcel         f  USA 2383   +64   4.0  29     40     20 
45. Hoekstra, Matthew        f  USA 2369   -62   4.0  25.5   35.5   18.5 
46. Muhammad, Stephen A      f  USA 2387   -58   4.0  23     35     19 
47. Enhbat, Tegshsuren       f  USA 2406  -125   4.0  22     32.5   16 
48. Zatonskih, Anna          wg USA 2440   +6    3.5  34.5   46.5   23     w
49. Adamson, Robby           f  USA 2373   -41   3.5  30.5   42     19.5 
50. Kraai, Jesse             m  USA 2425   -49   3.5  30.5   41.5   19 
51. Lopez, Bruci             f  USA 2403  -134   3.5  25.5   37     16.5 
52. Lein, Anatoly            g  USA 2387  -101   3.5  25.5   36.5   16.5 
53. Zenyuk, Iryna               USA 2153   +35   3.5  22.5   32     12.5   w
54. Airapetian, Chouchanik      USA 2149   +16   3.5  18.5   28.5   10     w
55. La Rota, Fabio           f  COL 2333   -48   3.0  26.5   37.5   17 
56. Ross, Laura R            wf USA 2117   +98   3.0  26.5   36.5   14     w
57. Shahade, Jennifer        wm USA 2361  -149   3.0  24     35     14     w
58. Hahn, Anna               wm USA 2235   +13   3.0  23.5   34.5   13.5   w
59. Levina, Anna V           wf USA 2082   +76   3.0  21     30     11.5   w
60. Vayserberg, Tatia           USA 1973  +115   3.0  19.5   28.5   10.5   w
61. Kleiman, Jake               USA 2217   -93   2.5  25     35.5   14 
62. West, Vanessa A             USA 2107   -8    2.5  22     32     12     w
63. Epstein, Esther          wm USA 2188   -82   2.5  20.5   30.5   12     w
64. Sagalchik, Olga          wf USA 2132  -401   0.5  22.5   32     1.5    w
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first tiebreak formula was a "modified median" which is based on the scores of the players' opponents, dropping the two lowest scores. Second was "Solkoff," the opponent's scores including the lowest. These systems are based on rewarding players for playing more successful opponents. Third is cumulative scoring, in which you add up number of points the players had in each round. This rewards early success, since in this tournament format players who have higher scores earlier almost always face stronger competition.

3) World Juniors

The World Junior Championships took place in the Hotel Casino, Cochin, India 18th November - 1st December 2004. The 13 Round Swiss was won by Pentala Harikrishna, he drew his final round game. Tigran Petrosian finished 2nd whilst Zhao Jun who started the round level on points was defeated by Radoslaw Wojtaszek and finished 3rd. The girls event was won by Ekaterina Korbut of Russia.

Official site: http://www.worldjunior.chessindia.org/index.asp

----------------------------------------------------------
XLIII WJun Kochin IND (IND), 20-30 xi 2004
----------------------------------------------------------
Rank SNo.    Name                     FED Rtg  Pts RtgSum
1    2    Harikrishna P             g IND 2612 10  30111
2    4    Petrosian Tigran L.       g ARM 2539 9½  30001
3    12   Zhao Jun                    CHN 2511 9½  29709
4    5    Wojtaszek Radoslaw        m POL 2536 9   29462
5    3    Alekseev Evgeny V.        g RUS 2604 8½  29925
6    1    Berkes Ferenc             g HUN 2630 8½  29569
7    19   Jianu Vlad-Cristian       m ROM 2444 8½  29477
8    13   Drozdovsky Yuri           g UKR 2510 8½  29455
9    24   Deep Sengupta               IND 2359 8½  29423
10   14   Koneru Humpy              g IND 2503 8½  29399
11   18   Moradiabadi Elshan        m IRI 2445 8½  28609
12   27   Zhe Quan                  f CAN 2345 8   29754
13   29   Tikkanen Hans               SWE 2338 8   28915
14   15   Bartel Mateusz            m POL 2481 8   28744
15   11   Quezada Perez Yunieski    m CUB 2513 7½  29387
16   22   Deepan Chakravarthy       m IND 2396 7½  29247
17   9    l'Ami Erwin               m NED 2516 7½  29031
18   6    Paragua Mark              m PHI 2534 7½  28936
19   36   Barbosa Oliver              PHI 2311 7½  28714
20   8    Iljin Artem               m RUS 2522 7½  28322
21   10   Smeets Jan                g NED 2515 7½  28309
22   7    Timur Gareyev             g UZB 2525 7   28888
23   26   Das Arghyadip               IND 2353 7   28746
24   20   Smerdon David             m AUS 2425 7   28645
25   23   Poobesh Anand             m IND 2367 7   28450
26   45   Sai Srinivas D.             IND 2237 7   28397
27   30   Nadj Hadjesi Balind         SCG 2337 7   28317
28   44   Hasan Mehdi                 BAN 2251 7   28156
29   25   D'Costa Lorin A.R.        f ENG 2358 7   28008
30   21   Gupta Abhijeet            f IND 2412 7   28005
31   31   Grigorov Grigor             BUL 2321 7   27839
32   16   Lafuente Pablo            m ARG 2473 7   27622
33   49   Mandizha Farai            f ZIM 2200 7   27479
34   35   Perdomo Leandro           f ARG 2312 6½  29020
35   40   Rohit G                     IND 2281 6½  28279
36   17   Venkatesh M.R.            m IND 2450 6½  28006
37   37   Cifka Stanislav             CZE 2310 6½  27731
38   61   Sandeep Y.                  IND 2138 6½  27327
39   53   Vaidya Chaitanya N.         IND 2184 6½  27158
40   33   Johannes Manyedi M.       m RSA 2316 6½  26902
41   34   Bucchicchio Giampaolo       ITA 2315 6½  26676
42   32   Tiwari Arjun                IND 2319 6½  25735
43   54   Braschi Giancarlo           ITA 2172 6½  25343
44   28   Geir Sune Tallaksen       f NOR 2343 6   28231
45   39   Olsson Linus                SWE 2289 6   28151
46   50   Bhatti Ranveer Singh        IND 2195 6   27334
47   48   Puneet Jaiswal              IND 2212 6   27238
48   58   Arun R. Karthik             IND 2152 6   27095
49   64   Ashwath R.                  IND 2124 6   26906
50   42   Mihailidis Anastasios       GRE 2278 6   26829
51   57   Ryosuke Nanjo               JPN 2154 6   24564
52   46   Tomba Ivan                  ITA 2235 6   24112
53   47   Patwardhan Omkar            IND 2212 5½  27253
54   68   Artels Lieven               BEL 2084 5½  27175
55   62   Karthikeyan P.              IND 2131 5½  27095
56   60   Soumitra Mujumdar           IND 2148 5½  26620
57   69   Navin T.U.Kanna             IND 2058 5½  26412
58   41   Gopal G.N.                  IND 2278 5   27394
59   65   Cereijo Nicolas             ARG 2120 5   26932
60   43   Ruijgrok Dennis             NED 2255 5   26871
61   52   Louw Daniel Johannes        RSA 2187 5   24777
62   38   Mishra Soumyaranjan         IND 2299 5   24658
63   71   Raghuram C. V. Balaji       IND 2043 5   24388
64   63   Phadke Sohan                IND 2125 5   24202
65   56   Aswin Jayaram               IND 2160 4½  27646
66   55   Swaraj Palit                IND 2172 4½  27131
67   66   Nitin S.                    IND 2119 4½  24651
68   70   Soon Wai Cheong             MAS 2048 4½  24515
69   59   Venkat S. Sundaram          IND 2152 4½  24247
70   67   Prasanna K.                 IND 2096 4½  24050
71   72   Phanikanth J.S.S.           IND 1985 1½  23933
72   51   Anis Bari                   IND 2194 0   0
--------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------
XXI WJun Women Kochin IND (IND), 20-30 xi 2004
----------------------------------------------------------
 Rank SNo.     Name                   FED Rtg  Pts RtgSum
 1    1    Korbut Ekaterina        wg RUS 2400 10½ 26849
 2    2    Paehtz Elisabeth        wg GER 2398 9½  27115
 3    6    Eesha Karavade          wi IND 2307 9½  27089
 4    16   Nadig Kruttika             IND 2182 8½  26897
 5    4    Ushenina Anna           wg UKR 2370 8   26994
 6    10   Vinuthna N.             wf IND 2229 8   26872
 7    13   Bensdorp Marties        wi NED 2214 8   25859
 8    25   Sivasankari P.             IND 2112 8   23500
 9    7    Zhang Jilin                CHN 2287 7½  27105
 10   18   Siti Zulaikha           wf MAS 2162 7½  26759
 11   9    Sachdev Tania           wi IND 2256 7½  26554
 12   27   Ramya Krishna I.           IND 2096 7½  25902
 13   12   Majdan Joanna              POL 2219 7   26803
 14   5    Motoc Alina             wf ROM 2359 7   26549
 15   15   Van Weersel Arlette        NED 2184 7   25562
 16   17   Perez R. Jennifer       wf CUB 2162 7   25216
 17   20   Saheli Nath                IND 2130 6½  27242
 18   28   Kavitha J.E.               IND 2088 6½  26325
 19   34   Delphin C.                 IND 1998 6½  25917
 20   8    Gutsko Anastasiya       wi UKR 2272 6½  25776
 21   26   Koneru Chandra Hawsa       IND 2107 6½  25592
 22   29   Iswarya Shobana L.         IND 2082 6½  23319
 23   23   Raghavi N.                 IND 2117 6   26274
 24   11   Aketayeva Dana          wi KAZ 2223 6   26127
 25   33   Ghader Pour Shaesteh    wi IRI 2025 6   26012
 26   21   Gutierrez C. Paloma     wf ESP 2119 6   23774
 27   31   Nimmy George               IND 2063 6   23590
 28   30   Anuprita Patil             IND 2081 6   23541
 29   24   Sandhya N.                 IND 2113 6   22748
 30   14   Stiri Alexandra            GRE 2201 6   22735
 31   36   Meenu Rajendran            IND 1979 5½  25793
 32   22   Hodova Lucie               CZE 2118 5   25651
 33   19   Mijovic Aleksandra      wf SCG 2152 5   23051
 34   35   Brekke Jorunn              NOR 1988 5   22825
 35   38   Colautti Marcela           ARG 0    4½  23130
 36   37   Matta Francesca            ITA 1857 4   23191
 37   32   Elappen Jenine          wf RSA 2031 3   23027
 38   3    Dronavalli Harika       wg IND 2391 0   0
 ---------------------------------------------------------

4) Petrosian Memorial European Rapid

A tournament celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the birth of the 9th World Champion Tigran Petrosian took place in Yerevan (Armenia), November 18-30, 2004. As reported last week the Open Tournament took place November 18th-27th 2004 and was won by Pavel Smirnov won the event with 7.5/9 half a point clear of Vassily Ivanchuk. This was followed by the European Rapid Chess Championship which took place November 28-30 2004. The 11 Round Swiss was won by Vassily Ivanchuk with 9/11.

Official site: http://www.armchess.am

European Rapid Final Round 11 Standings:
-------------------------------------------------
Ch-Euro Rapid Yerevan ARM (ARM), 28-29 xi 2004
-------------------------------------------------
 1  Ivanchuk, Vassily      g  UKR  9,0 2705 77,5
 2  Izoria, Zviad          g  GEO  8,5 2600 79
 3  Galstian, Beniamin     -  ARM  8,0 2386 75,5
 4  Iljushin, Alexei       g  RUS  8,0 2534 75,5
 5  Chibukhchian, Artur    m  ARM  8,0 2402 74,5
 6  Areshchenko, Alexander g  UKR  8,0 2580 74
 7  Minasian, Ara          g  ARM  8,0 2524 69
 8  Asrian, Karen          g  ARM  7,5 2591 76,5
 9  Evdokimov, Alexander   m  RUS  7,5 2455 75
10  Andriasian, Zaven      -  ARM  7,5 2366 70
11  Mchedlishvili, Mikheil g  GEO  7,5 2504 68,5
12  Kekelidze, Mikheil     g  GEO  7,5 2486 68
13  Skatchkov, Pavel       m  RUS  7,5 2516 67
14  Frolyanov, Dmitry      m  RUS  7,0 2486 76
15  Pantsulaia, Levan      m  GEO  7,0 2490 75,5
16  Sargissian, Gabriel    g  ARM  7,0 2611 69,5
17  Minasian, Artashes     g  ARM  7,0 2584 68
18  Makarov, Marat         g  RUS  7,0 2525 64,5
19  Kotanjian, Tigran      m  ARM  7,0 2472 62,5
20  Sulskis, Sarunas       g  LIT  6,5 2555 73,5
21  Shanava, Konstantine   m  GEO  6,5 2456 71,5
22  Movsisian, Vardan      -  ARM  6,5 2243 68
23  Iskusnyh, Sergei       g  RUS  6,5 2502 68
24  Yegiazarian, Arsen     g  ARM  6,5 2519 67,5
25  Nadanian, Ashot        m  ARM  6,5 2392 67
26  Arutinian, David       m  GEO  6,5 2451 66,5
27  Sanikidze, Tornike     f  GEO  6,5 2364 66,5
28  Geller, Jakov          m  RUS  6,5 2489 65,5
29  Petrosian, Davit G.    m  ARM  6,5 2395 64
30  Anastasian, Ashot      g  ARM  6,5 2579 62
31  Alaverdyan, Gevorg     -  ARM  6,5 ---- 60,5
32  Magalashvili, Davit    f  GEO  6,5 2389 58,5
96 players

5) 75th Anniversary of the Catalan Opening

The 75th anniversary of the Catalan opening sees a tournament with Victor Korchnoi, Rubén Felgaer, Mihail Marin, Lluís Comas, Víktor Moskalenko and Manel Granados. The event, sponsored by the Catalan Chess Federation takes place November 29th to December 3rd, 2004. The games all start with the 3 moves leading to the Catalan opening (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6).

Official site: http://www.fcde.org/circulars04/circula_40.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------
75th Ann Catalan Barcelona ESP (ESP), 29 xi-3 xii 2004cat. XII (2528)
--------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. Felgaer, Ruben           g ARG 2569  * = = = 1 1  3.5  2668 
2. Korchnoi, Viktor         g SUI 2601  = * = = 1 =  3.0  2585 
3. Marin, Mihail            g ROM 2511  = = * = = 1  3.0  2603 
4. Comas Fabrego, Lluis     g ESP 2509  = = = * = 1  3.0  2603 
5. Moskalenko, Viktor       g UKR 2551  0 0 = = * 1  2.0  2451 
6. Granados Gomez, Manuel   m ESP 2425  0 = 0 0 0 *  0.5  2182 
--------------------------------------------------------------

6) Prague Exhibition Matches

There were exhibition matches between Alexei Shirov vs. David Navara and Jan Timman vs Kaido Kulaots in Prague 3rd-4th December 2004. Last year Victor Korchnoi played David Navara.

Shirov 1.5-0.5 Navara and Timman 1-1 Kulaots.

Live coverage: http://www.promopro.cz/

7) 17th Belgrade Trophy

The 17th Belgrade Trophy (or International Belgrade Open Chess Championship) took place at Obrenovac (near Belgrade), Serbia and Montenegro, 22nd-30th of November 2004. Prize fund 5250 euros (1st Place 1000 euros). The promoter of the 17th Belgrade Trophy was 10th World Chess Champion, Boris Spassky who was in Belgrade until November 24th. There was a five way tie on 7/9 with Bogomil Andonov taking first on tie-break. News: Vladica Andrejic.

Two sites coverage this event Belgrade Chess Federation (http://www.beochess.org.yu) Serbia and Montenegro Chess Federation (http://www.scgchess.org)

Final Round 9 Standings:
--------------------------------------------------------
17th Belgrade Trophy Obrenovac SCG (SCG), 22-30 xi 2004
--------------------------------------------------------
  1. Andonov, Bogomil         m BUL 2331  7     53.0    
  2. Tadic, Branko            m SCG 2474  7     52.5    
  3. Djukic, Nikola           m SCG 2462  7     52.0    
  4. Nestorovic, D. Nikola      SCG 2239  7     48.5    
  5. Mateuta, Gabriel         m ROM 2472  7     46.0    
  6. Savic, Miodrag R.        g SCG 2503  6.5   56.0    
  7. Predojevic, Borki        m BIH 2509  6.5   53.5    
  8. Stojanovic, Mihajlo      m SCG 2504  6.5   53.0    
  9. Lajthajm, Borko          f SCG 2466  6.5   52.0    
 10. Rmus, Anto                 SCG 2359  6.5   51.0    
 11. Ardelean, George Catalin m ROM 2461  6.5   51.0    
 12. Guidarelli, Laurent      m FRA 2422  6.5   49.0    
 13. Milanovic, Danilo        m SCG 2434  6.5   49.0    
 14. Vojinovic, Goran         m SCG 2447  6.5   48.0    
 15. Cvetkovic, Srdjan        m SCG 2433  6.5   47.0    
 16. Abramovic, Bosko         g SCG 2471  6.5   46.5    
 17. Arsovic, Goran           m SCG 2414  6.5   44.0    
 18. Tosic, Miroslav          g SCG 2489  6     50.5    
 19. Stojanovic, Dalibor      f SCG 2442  6     50.5    
 20. Arsovic, Zoran           m SCG 2453  6     50.5    
 21. Popovic, Dusan           m SCG 2447  6     50.0    
 22. Marcetic, Nikola           SCG 2401  6     50.0    
 23. Abergel, Thal            m FRA 2428  6     46.0    
 24. Pavlovic, Milos          f SCG 2454  6     46.0    
 25. Kiroski, Toni            m MKD 2377  6     45.5    
 26. Pushkov, Nikolai         g RUS 2434  6     45.0    
 27. Popovic, Aleksandar M.     SCG 2268  6     45.0    
 28. Todorovic, Jovan           SCG 2408  6     44.0    
 29. Muratovic, Alija         m SCG 2376  6     44.0    
 30. Mihajlovic, Veselin      f SCG 2359  6     43.0    
 31. Nanu, Ciprian-Costica    m ROM 2459  5.5   52.0    
 32. Vukanovic, Sasa          m SCG 2343  5.5   50.5    
 33. Prelevic, Dusko          f SCG 2289  5.5   50.0    
 34. Brenjo, Slavisa          m SCG 2476  5.5   50.0    
 35. Todorovic, Goran M       g SCG 2540  5.5   49.5    
 36. Dancevski, Orce          m MKD 2437  5.5   48.5    
 37. Radovanovic, Dusan         SCG 2370  5.5   48.0    
 38. Irizanin, Radoje           SCG 2240  5.5   47.5    
 39. Nestorovic, Dejan        m SCG 2416  5.5   47.5    
 40. Rajkovic, Dusan          g SCG 2430  5.5   47.0    
 41. Kizov, Atanas            f MKD 2355  5.5   46.0    
 42. Raicevic, Vladimir       g SCG 2461  5.5   46.0    
 43. Dumpor, Atif             f BIH 2382  5.5   45.5    
 44. Andrijevic, Milan        m SCG 2402  5.5   44.5    
 45. Savic, Marijana         wm SCG 2170  5.5   44.5    
 46. Skaric, Djuro              SCG 2147  5.5   44.0    
 47. Bogosavljevic, Boban       SCG 2254  5.5   43.5    
 48. Zivkovic, Sava           f SCG 2324  5.5   43.5    
 49. Vujacic, Borivoj         f SCG 2400  5.5   43.0    
 50. Brujic, Bozidar            SCG 2228  5.5   42.0    
 51. Mihic, Bojan               SCG 2349  5.5   41.0    
 52. Spiric, Igor             f SCG 2293  5.5   40.5    
 53. Stanojevic, Branko       m SCG 2332  5.5   40.5    
 54. Tasic, Zoran               SCG       5.5   39.0    
 55. Paulic, Branko           f SCG 2239  5.5   38.0    
189 players

8) Lushki tournaments in Serpukhov

There were two Lushki tournaments in Serpukhov, Russia, 19th-30th November 2004. Ukrainian Alexander Zubarev won the A event. The B event was won by Sergei Khamitskiy. Khamitskiy's result against Tatiana Kostiuk is not totally clear. In the official table Khamitskiy is given a win and Kostiuk a draw. The PGN gives it as a draw and so I stick with that (the game ended with the nonsensical 17.Na3 which surely should be 17.Ra3 which is what I go with but I'm open to correction).

Official site: http://www.volgachess.ru/f/SERP2004NOVAB.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lushki A Serpukhov RUS (RUS), 19-30 xi 2004                       cat. VII (2409)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Zubarev, Alexander      g UKR 2505  * = 1 = = 1 1 = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 11.0  2632 
 2. Tomashevsky, Evgeny     m RUS 2523  = * = 1 = = 1 = = 1 = 1 = = 1  9.5  2533 
 3. Zaitsev, Vladimir2      f RUS 2392  0 = * 1 = = = = = 1 0 = 1 1 1  8.5  2490 
 4. Khismatullin, Denis     g RUS 2552  = 0 0 * 0 1 1 1 0 1 = 1 1 = 1  8.5  2478 
 5. Komliakov, Viktor       g MDA 2434  = = = 1 * 0 = = = = = = = 1 1  8.0  2457 
 6. Papin, Vasily           f RUS 2411  0 = = 0 1 * = = 1 1 0 = 1 = 1  8.0  2458 
 7. Chebotarev, Oleg          RUS 2486  0 0 = 0 = = * = 1 = 1 1 = 1 1  8.0  2453 
 8. Nechepurenko, Roman V   f RUS 2353  = = = 0 = = = * = 1 0 1 0 = 1  7.0  2412 
 9. Moskalenko, Alexander   f RUS 2319  0 = = 1 = 0 0 = * 0 1 = 1 = 1  7.0  2415 
10. Gasanov, Eldar          m UKR 2445  = 0 0 0 = 0 = 0 1 * 1 = 1 1 1  7.0  2406 
11. Isajevsky, Anton        f RUS 2432  0 = 1 = = 1 0 1 0 0 * 0 0 1 1  6.5  2378 
12. Ostrovskiy, Andrey        UKR 2297  = 0 = 0 = = 0 0 = = 1 * = 0 1  5.5  2336 
13. Palekha, Alexey         m UKR 2400  0 = 0 0 = 0 = 1 0 0 1 = * = 1  5.5  2329 
14. Dudukin, Ilya           f RUS 2431  0 = 0 = 0 = 0 = = 0 0 1 = * 1  5.0  2305 
15. Shabanov, Denis           BLR 2153  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *  0.0       
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lushki B Serpukhov RUS (RUS), 19-30 xi 2004                               cat. I (2253)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Khamitskiy, Sergei       BLR 2230  * 1 = 0 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 = 1 0 = 1 1 13.0  2456 
 2. Halyavskiy, Nikita     f RUS 2300  0 * 1 0 0 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 = 1 12.0  2408 
 3. Goltsov, Denis         f RUS 2296  = 0 * = 0 = 1 1 = 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 11.0  2360 
 4. Rodchenkov, Sergey D     RUS 2382  1 1 = * 0 = = = = = 0 0 1 = 1 1 1 1 10.5  2332 
 5. Kostiuk, Tatiana      wm UKR 2316  = 1 1 1 * = = = = = 0 = 0 0 = 1 1 1 10.0  2314 
 6. Simantsev, Mikhail     m UKR 2402  0 0 = = = * = = 0 1 = 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 10.0  2309 
 7. Papenin, Nikolai       m UKR 2391  0 0 0 = = = * = 1 1 0 1 = = 1 1 1 0  9.0  2265 
 8. Vorontsov, Nickolay    m KAZ 2347  0 = 0 = = = = * = 1 0 1 = 0 1 1 = 1  9.0  2268 
 9. Nebolsina, Vera       wf RUS 2218  0 0 = = = 1 0 = * 0 1 = 1 = = 1 = 1  9.0  2275 
10. Melnikova, Yana       wm RUS 2223  0 0 1 = = 0 0 0 1 * 1 = 0 1 = 1 1 1  9.0  2275 
11. Khudaverdieva, Afag      AZE 2086  0 0 0 1 1 = 1 1 0 0 * 0 1 0 1 = 1 =  8.5  2262 
12. Kleiman, B               RUS 2316  0 0 0 1 = 0 0 0 = = 1 * 0 1 1 1 1 1  8.5  2249 
13. Golovchenko, Gleb        RUS 2353  = 0 0 0 1 0 = = 0 1 0 1 * = = 0 1 1  7.5  2203 
14. Duisenova, Madina     wf KAZ 2186  0 0 0 = 1 0 = 1 = 0 1 0 = * 1 = 0 =  7.0  2191 
15. Sobyanin, Viktor       f RUS 2277  1 0 1 0 = 0 0 0 = = 0 0 = 0 * 1 1 1  7.0  2186 
16. Masyagutova, Leisan      RUS 2026  = 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 = 0 1 = 0 * 0 0  4.5  2082 
17. Tkachenko, Evgeny D      RUS 2107  0 = 0 0 0 0 0 = = 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 * 1  4.5  2077 
18. Kulago, Alexander        RUS 2095  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 = 0 0 = 0 1 0 *  3.0  2000 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9) Romanian Championships

The Romanian Championships for men and women' took place in Brasov, Romania. The events were knockouts and the time limit was 40 moves in 90’ + 30” after each move then all moves in 30’ + 30” after each move. Alin Berescu won the men's event (games to follow) and Corina-Isabela Peptan the women's. News: Radu-Catalin Chirila.

Men's Championship
------------------

Final ranking
pl  Name                     Elo   pts    perf
 1. Berescu, Alin            2424  7.0/10 2496
 2. Vajda, Albert            2423  5.5/10 2483
 3. Nevednichy, Vladislav    2552  6.5/10 2496
 4. Danilov, Ilie Vladimir   2348  4.0/10 2317
 5. Grunberg, Mihai-Lucian   2432  4.0/6  2430
 6. Moldovan, Daniel         2427  3.5/6  2396
 7. Badea, Bela              2506  3.0/6  2372
 8. Manolache, Marius        2463  3.0/6  2353
 9. Chirila, Ioan-Cristian   2207  2.5/4  2481
10. Lupulescu, Constantin    2560  2.5/4  2472
11. Florescu, Codrut         2361  2.5/4  2430
12. Sofronie, Iulian         2452  2.5/4  2401
13. Negulescu, Adrian        2422  2.0/4  2381
14. Burnoiu, Nicolae-Costel  2411  2.0/4  2357
15. Malanca, Adrian          2309  1.5/4  2394
16. Zaim, Marian             2209  1.5/4  2334
17. Demeny, Miklos-Nicolae   2282  1.0/2  2506
18. Burlacu, Bogdan          2259  1.0/2  2432
19. Toma, Alin               2255  1.0/2  2427
20. Domanyek, Ernest         2208  1.0/2  2411
21. Epure, Catalin Alexandru 2084  1.0/2  2348
22. Vasiesiu, Dan            2414  1.0/2  2209
23. Manea, Alexandru         2330  0.5/2  2367
24. Grunberg, Sergiu-Florin  2310  0.5/2  2359
25. Valeanu, Eduard-Andrei   2274  0.5/2  2270
26. Dobre, Claudiu           2264  0.5/2  2259
27. Barbu, Iulian            2235  0.5/2  2230
28. Baciu, Stefan            2210  0.5/2  2229
29. Voiteanu, Gabriel        2207  0.5/2  2168
30. Rogozenko, Dorian        2530  0.5/2  2116
31. Moraru, Marius           2348  0.5/2  2014
32. Suciu, Dinu-Simi         2250  0.0/2  1425

Women's Championships
---------------------

ch-ROM w KO Brasov ROM  2004

Final
-----

Olarasu,G 0.5
Peptan,C 1.5

3rd-4th
-------

Ionica,I 1.0
Vasiesiu,C 1.0

Semifinal
---------

Vasiesiu,C 0.5
Olarasu,G 1.5

Peptan,C 1.0
Ionica,I 1.0

Quarterfinal
------------

Vasiesiu,C 1.5
Calotescu,A 0.5

Olarasu,G 1.5
Rendi,E 0.5

Dragomirescu,An 0.5
Peptan,C 1.5

Ionica,I 1.5
Padurariu,I 0.5

Round 1
-------

Bogza,A 0.5
Vasiesiu,C 1.5

Ciubara,V 1.0
Calotescu,A 1.0

Marin,Ir 1.0
Olarasu,G 1.0

Teodorescu,A 1.0
Rendi,E 1.0

Dragomirescu,An 1.0
Traistaru,T 1.0

Peptan,C 2.0
Apostoaie Lacramioara,L 0.0

Istrati,V 0.0
Ionica,I 2.0

Sasu Ducsoara,An 0.5
Padurariu,I 1.5

Final ranking
pl  Name                           Elo   pts   perf
 1. Peptan, Corina-Isabela         2429  6.0/8 2439
 2. Olarasu, Gabriela              2325  4.5/8 2288
 3. Ionica, Iulia-Ionela           2240  5.5/8 2357 
 4. Vasiesiu, Cristina-Valeria     2171  4.5/8 2331 
 5. Padurariu, Ioana-Smaranda      2133  2.0/4 2242
 6. Dragomirescu, Angela           2232  1.5/4 2169
 7. Rendi, Eva                     2194  1.5/4 2113
 8. Calotescu, Ana-Cristina        2294  1.5/4 2068
 9. Marin, Irina Luiza             2185  1.0/2 2325
10. Ciubara, Vladlena              2139  1.0/2 2294
11. Traistaru, Teodora             2082  1.0/2 2232
12. Teodorescu, Anca               2074  1.0/2 2194
13. Bogza, Adina-Maria             2294  0.5/2 1978
14. Sasu-Ducsoara, Andreea-Teodora 2244  0.5/2 1940
15. Apostoaie, Lacramioara-Liliana 2188  0.0/2 1430
16. Istrati, Viorica               2131  0.0/2 1241

10) Slovenian Teams

The Slovenian Team Championship took place in Celje 29th November - 5th December 2004. LŠK Metalka Trgovina (Beliavsky, Naiditsch, Pavasovic, Sveshnikov etc took the title.

Official site: http://www.sah-zveza.si/rez/0411/si04lgdm/

Final Standings: 
                                  MT  T  MTB
  1. LŠK Metalka Trgovina        16  36.5 233.5
  2. ŽŠK Maribor LANCom          15  33.5 236.5
  3. ŠK Triglav Krško            10  27.5 242.5
  4. ŠD dr. Milan Vidmar LJ       9    27 243.0
  5. ŠD Sinfonika Vrhnika         8    27 243.0
  6. ŠK Nova Gorica               8    26 244.0
  7. ŠD Ptuj Veplas Velenje       8    26 244.0
  8. ŠK ZM Branik Maribor         8    25 245.0
  9. ŠD Radenska Pomgrad          5  22.5 247.5
 10. ŠK Griže                     3    19 251.0

11) Porec Open

The Porec Open took place 2nd-5th December 2004. Dean Zecevic won with 6/7.

Further details: http://free-pu.htnet.hr/porec2002/openPorec2004.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Open Porec HUN (HUN), 2-5 xii 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Zecevic, Dean              CRO 2395   6.0 24.0  33.5  25.5 2594 
 2. Fercec, Nenad           m  CRO 2477   5.5 22.5  30.5  24.0 2516 
 3. Zufic, Miroslav         m  CRO 2370   5.0 24.0  33.0  24.0 2473 
 4. Grbac, Boris               CRO 2230   5.0 22.5  31.0  21.5 2418 
 5. Loncar, Robert          m  CRO 2385   5.0 20.0  29.0  21.0 2385 
 6. Sikanjic, Bojan            CRO 2153   5.0 18.0  25.5  17.0 2282 
 7. Doric, Nenad            m  CRO 2369   4.5 20.5  29.0  20.0 2326 
 8. Franic, Milan           m  CRO 2414   4.5 20.5  29.0  19.5 2301 
 9. Doric, Darko            f  CRO 2324   4.5 19.5  28.0  19.5 2283 
10. Muslija, Idris             CRO 2204   4.5 18.0  26.5  18.5 2282 
11. Ikica, Ante                CRO 2100   4.5 18.0  25.5  17.5 2264 
12. Grguric, Dragan            CRO 2139   4.5 16.0  22.5  16.0 2203 
13. Fucak, Emilijo          f  CRO 2318   4.0 22.5  32.0  19.5 2246 
14. Cherin, Diego              ITA 2272   4.0 19.5  27.0  19.5 2232 
15. Licardo, Renato            CRO 2115   4.0 17.5  23.5  16.0 2191 
16. Pahor, Andrea              CRO 2063   4.0 16.5  24.0  13.0 2128 
17. Juras, Zvonko              CRO 2062   4.0 16.0  23.5  13.0 2116 
18. Jakovljevski, Radivoje     CRO 2090   4.0 16.0  23.0  15.0 2148 
19. Paljusaj, Edmond           CRO 2216   3.5 21.0  28.5  17.5 2200 
20. Vukovic, Nikola            CRO 2172   3.5 19.0  26.0  16.0 2148 
21. Trtanj, Tina            wm CRO 2112   3.5 18.5  26.0  16.0 2150 
22. Ghersinich, Giuseppe       CRO 2007   3.5 17.5  23.0  14.0 2119 
23. Ugulin, Silvano            CRO 2151   3.0 19.5  26.5  14.0 2073 
24. Mrdjen, David              CRO 2014   3.0 19.5  26.5  13.0 2079 
25. Pelic, Stjepan             CRO 2013   3.0 18.5  25.5  11.0 2031 
26. Cigala, Janez              CRO 2029   3.0 17.5  24.0  13.0 2087 
27. Konic, Zlatko              CRO 2061   3.0 14.5  21.5  10.0 2020 
28. Grbac, Ivica               CRO 1864   3.0 14.0  19.5  10.0 2006 
29. Garic,Mario                CRO ----   3.0 13.5  19.0   8.0 1940 
30. Senjic, Pero               CRO 1965   2.5 17.5  24.5  10.5 1975 
31. Popovic, Mirko             CRO 1934   2.5 15.5  22.0   9.5 1964 
32. Saric, Husnija             CRO 1921   2.5 14.0  19.5   8.0 1930 
33. Gavrilovic,Matija          CRO ----   2.5 13.0  18.5   7.5 1892 
34. Mehmeti,Tahir              CRO ----   2.5 13.0  18.5   7.0 1898 
35. Fattorich, Igor            CRO 2068   2.0 16.5  24.5  11.0 1955 
36. Nikolic, Andjelko          CRO 1856   2.0 13.5  18.0   6.5 1849 
37. Volejnik, Robertino        CRO 1883   2.0 10.5  14.5   4.0 1845 
38. Krsnik,Ivan                CRO ----   1.5 14.0  21.0   5.5 1763 
39. Jukic,Mihovil              CRO ----   1.5 13.0  18.5   5.0 1746 
40. Milasincic,Stefan          CRO ----   1.0 13.0  18.5   3.0 1651 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

12) Vietnam Championships

The Vietnam Championships took place in Ha Long city, Quang Ninh November 25th - December 5th 2004. Tran Ngoc Thach won the men's event. I can't be 100% sure of the names and ratings as the official site doesn't give any ratings to check against.

Official site: http://www.vietnamchess.com/Tournament/Nat/2004/chessmaster2004.htm

-----------------------------------------------------------------
ch-VIE Ha Long City VIE (VIE), 26 xi-5 xii 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Tran Ngoc Thach      VIE 2182  * = 1 1 = 1 1 1 = =  7.0  2348 
 2. Duong The Anh        VIE 2288  = * = = 1 = = 1 1 1  6.5  2282 
 3. Bui Vinh           m VIE 2467  0 = * 1 0 1 1 = 1 1  6.0  2221 
 4. Nguyen Van Huy       VIE 2325  0 = 0 * 1 1 = 1 1 1  6.0  2237 
 5. Nguyen Hoai Nam      VIE 2073  = 0 1 0 * 0 = 1 1 1  5.0  2183 
 6. To Ngoc Minh         VIE ----  0 = 0 0 1 * 1 0 1 1  4.5  2148 
 7. Nguyen Hoang Nam     VIE ----  0 = 0 = = 0 * 0 1 1  3.5  2068 
 8. Tran Manh Tien       VIE ----  0 0 = 0 0 1 1 * 0 1  3.5  2068 
 9. Tong Thai Hung       VIE ----  = 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * 1  2.5  1982 
10. Vu Minh Hoang        VIE ----  = 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *  0.5  1704 
-----------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------
ch-VIE w Ha Long City VIE (VIE), 26 xi-5 xii 2004
------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 
------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Hoang Thi Bao Tram   wf VIE 2217  * = = = = 1 1 1 1  6.0  2302 
2. Nguyen Thi Thanh An  wm VIE 2345  = * = 0 1 = 1 1 1  5.5  2234 
3. Tran Thi Kim Loan    wf VIE 2159  = = * 1 1 = 0 1 =  5.0  2211 
4. Le Thi Phuong Lien   wf VIE 2249  = 1 0 * 0 = 1 1 1  5.0  2200 
5. Luong Huyen Ngoc        VIE ----  = 0 0 1 * = 1 = 0  3.5  2093 
6. Pham Ngoc Tanh       wf VIE 2119  0 = = = = * 0 = 1  3.5  2078 
7. Do T Diem Thuy          VIE ----  0 0 1 0 0 1 * 0 1  3.0  2049 
8. Ngo T Kim Tuyen         VIE ----  0 0 0 0 = = 1 * 1  3.0  2049 
9. Le Thi Ha               VIE ----  0 0 = 0 1 0 0 0 *  1.5  1885 
------------------------------------------------------------------

13) 42nd National 'A' Chess Championship

The 42nd National 'A' Chess Championship started December 4th in Visakhapatnam. Round 4 saw Saptarshi Roy Choudhary beat Humpy Koneru. Defending champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly and former champ Dibyendu Barua of West Bengal beat Deepan Chakravarthy and Rahul Sheety respectively. Sandipan Chanda was held to a draw by WGM Dronavalli Harika and Tejas Bakre drew against Sriram Jha. The 19-player event sees Ganguly, Barua and Neelotpal Das share the lead with 2.5/4. No internet coverage at the moment. I would expect it to be at: http://www.chessindia.org

14) 35th National Chess Congress

The 35th National Chess Congress took place November 26th-28th at the Adams Mark Hotel, Philadelphia. Jaan Ehlvest and Leonid Yudasin topped the field with 5/6. The event was weaker than in recent years due to its coincidence with the US Championships. Some games now available.

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

Final Round 6 Standings:
 1 Jaan Ehlvest          2709 EST  5
 2 Leonid G Yudasin      2691 ISR  5
 3 Petr Kiriakov         2629 RUS  4½
 4 Pascal Charbonneau    2517 CAN  4½
 5 Michael A Rohde       2496 USA  4½
 6 Daniel Fernandez      2380 USA  4½
 7 Igor Schneider        2317 USA  4½
 8 Thomas J Bartell      2304 USA  4½
 9 Alex Lenderman        2283 USA  4½
10 Ryan G Thurlow        2058 USA  4½
11 Ilye Figler           2386 USA  4
12 Edward W Formanek     2335 USA  4
13 Max Enkin             2148 USA  4
14 Milos Scekic          2513 USA  3½
15 Peter Vavrak          2487 SVK  3½
16 Jay R Bonin           2380 USA  3½
17 Bryan G Smith         2344 USA  3½
18 Mackenzie Molner      2300 USA  3½
19 Dylan Mc Clain        2284 USA  3½
20 Daniel E Shapiro      2274 USA  3½
21 A J Steigman          2262 USA  3½
22 James E Lewis         2253 USA  3½
23 Michael S Katz        2251 USA  3½
24 Boris Privman         2245 USA  3½
25 Peter Minear          2144 USA  3½

15) Grand Prix d'Echecs 2004

The qualifier for the Grand Prix d'Echecs d'Aix en Provence tournament took place on 28th November 2004 Murtas Kazgaleyev (2607) Andrei Istratescu (2611) Namig Gouliev (2509) and Glenn Flear (2487) qualified. Grand Prix d'Echecs d'Aix en Provence takes place 8th-11th December. Round 1: Karpov vs Flear, Kosteniuk vs Kazgaleyev, Lautier vs Gouliev and Stefanova vs Istratescu

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

16) First Saturday December

The First Saturday December tournaments take place 4th-17th of December 2004.

Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu/

GM Group Round 1 Standings:
  1   Horvath, Andras        HUN   2339 1    
 2-5  Paschall, William M    USA   2394 0.5  
      Berczes, David         HUN   2321 0.5  
      Fogarasi, Tibor        HUN   2425 0.5  
      Nguyen, Tgoc Truongson VIE   2527 0.5  
6-12  Gonda, Laszlo          HUN   2400 0    
      Farago, Ivan           HUN   2455 0    
      Boros, Denes           HUN   2414 0    
      Karatorossian, David   ARM   2384 0    
      Szabo, Krisztian       HUN   2394 0    
      Ilincic, Zlatko        SCG   2522 0    
      Starostits, Ilmars     LAT   2460 0    

IM Group Round 1 Standings:
 1-2  Howell, David       ENG   2340 1    
      Issakainen, Ari     FIN   2230 1    
 3-6  Brustkern, Juergen  GER   2236 0.5  
      Zaragatski, Ilja    GER   2334 0.5  
      Szeberenyi, Adam    HUN   2366 0.5  
      Eperjesi, Laszlo    HUN   2283 0.5  
7-12  Werner, Dimo        GER   2301 0    
      Fodor, Tamas        HUN   2169 0    
      Lengyel, Bela       HUN   2335 0    
      Schneider, Veronika HUN   2263 0    
      Pap, Gyula          HUN   2359 0    
      Solomons, Deon      RSA   2249 0 

17) Moscow blitz tournament

The "Moscow blitz tournament" took place on December 4th 2004 the event is a 22 rounds, The 11 player double round robin was won by Vladislav Tkachiev who blasted through the second half of the event with 9.5/11 to take first by half a point from Morozevich and Kobalia. Sergei Rublevsky led with 8/11 at the half way point but only garnerd 5/11 in the second half. No games available.

News: http://www.chesspro.ru/blitz/blitz04.shtml

Rk Name                   Rad    1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   0   1   2   1st  Final
 1 Tkachiev, Vladislav    2609   ##  =1  01  ==  =1  0=  01  01  11  =1  ==  11  4.5  14.0 
 2 Morozevich, Alexander  2758   =0  ##  11  =1  00  ==  1=  01  11  01  1=  1=  6.5  13.5 
   Kobalia, Mikhail       2621   10  00  ##  01  =1  00  11  1=  11  11  1=  01  6.5  13.5 
 4 Rublevsky, Sergei      2649   ==  =0  10  ##  10  00  1=  11  =1  10  11  =1  8.0  13.0 
 5 Grischuk, Alexander    2704   =0  11  =0  01  ##  10  1=  =1  10  11  0=  10  7.5  12.5 
   Amonatov, Farrukh      2600   1=  ==  11  11  01  ##  1=  00  01  01  10  0=  5.5  12.5 
 7 Korotylev, Alexey      2596   10  0=  00  0=  0=  0=  ##  1=  ==  11  11  =1  5.0  11.0 
 8 Dreev,Alexey           2698   10  10  0=  00  =0  11  0=  ##  =0  01  10  ==  5.5   9.0
 9 Riazantsev, Alexander  2596   00  00  00  =0  01  10  ==  =1  ##  10  =1  ==  4.5   8.5 
   Belov, Vladimir        2552   =0  10  00  01  00  10  00  10  01  ##  10  11  5.5   8.5 
11 Jakovenko, Dmitry      2596   ==  0=  0=  00  1=  01  00  01  =0  01  ##  ==  2.5   8.0 
   Shipov, Sergei         2588   00  0=  10  =0  01  1=  =0  ==  ==  00  ==  ##  4.5   8.0 

18) Professional World Chess Ranking

The Professional World Chess Ranking for players rated 2500 and higher for December 2004 has been released and incorporates the FIDE Olympiad. Below is the top 50. Produced by Ken Thomson, San Jose and calculated by Vladimir Dvorkovich, Moscow.

NN           Name            Birthday  Country Rating Variance
 1  Kasparov,Garry          13.04.1963   RUS    2745    146
 2  Anand,Viswanathan       11.12.1969   IND    2740    137
 3  Morozevich,Alexander    18.07.1977   RUS    2715    171
 4  Topalov,Veselin         15.03.1975   BUL    2714    153
 5  Adams,Michael           17.11.1971   ENG    2695    131
 6  Polgar,Judit            23.07.1976   HUN    2690    161
 7  Kramnik,Vladimir        25.06.1975   RUS    2685    125
 8  Leko,Peter              08.09.1979   HUN    2680    130
 9  Svidler,Peter           17.06.1976   RUS    2680    150
10  Gelfand,Boris           24.06.1968   ISR    2665    137
11  Kasimdzhanov,Rustam     05.12.1979   UZB    2653    169
12  Grischuk,Alexander      31.10.1983   RUS    2646    164
13  Ivanchuk,Vassily        18.03.1969   UKR    2644    164
14  Shirov,Alexei           04.07.1972   ESP    2643    159
15  Vallejo Pons,Francisco  21.08.1982   ESP    2643    166
16  Bareev,Evgeny           21.11.1966   RUS    2642    170
17  Sokolov,Ivan            13.06.1968   NED    2640    162
18  Dreev,Alexey            30.01.1969   RUS    2639    147
19  Aronian,Levon           06.10.1982   ARM    2636    142
20  Nisipeanu,Liviu-Dieter  01.08.1976   ROM    2636    147
21  Akopian,Vladimir        07.12.1971   ARM    2635    157
22  Bacrot,Etienne          22.01.1983   FRA    2632    153
23  Ponomariov,Ruslan       11.10.1983   UKR    2630    183
24  Lautier,Joel            12.04.1973   FRA    2628    142
25  Azmaiparashvili,Zurab   16.03.1960   GEO    2627    174
26  Gurevich,Mikhail        22.02.1959   BEL    2622    144
27  Georgiev,Kiril          28.11.1965   BUL    2622    159
28  Dominguez,Lenier        23.09.1983   CUB    2621    164
29  Karpov,Anatoli          23.05.1951   RUS    2620    137
30  Rublevsky,Sergei        15.10.1974   RUS    2620    182
31  Van Wely,Loek           07.10.1972   NED    2619    155
32  Sakaev,Konstantin       13.04.1974   RUS    2619    161
33  Radjabov,Teimour        12.03.1987   AZE    2617    136
34  Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar   12.04.1985   AZE    2615    147
35  Motylev,Alexander       17.06.1979   RUS    2613    186
36  Volokitin,Andrei        11.06.1986   UKR    2610    157
37  Onischuk,Alexander      03.09.1975   USA    2607    170
38  Smirnov,Pavel           27.04.1982   RUS    2605    180
39  Hansen,Curt             18.09.1964   DEN    2604    161
40  Movsesian,Sergei        03.11.1978   SVK    2603    146
41  Nielsen,Peter-Heine     24.05.1973   DEN    2602    160
42  Short,Nigel D           01.06.1965   ENG    2601    178
43  Sutovsky,Emil           19.09.1977   ISR    2600    181
44  Nikolic,Predrag         11.09.1960   BIH    2598    169
45  Navara,David            27.03.1985   CZE    2598    185
46  Bologan,Viorel          14.12.1971   MDA    2595    177
47  Graf-Nenashev,Alexander 25.08.1962   GER    2594    182
48  Krasenkow,Mikhail       14.11.1963   POL    2590    169
49  Filippov,Valerij        28.11.1975   RUS    2587    166
50  Malakhov,Vladimir       27.11.1980   RUS    2587    175

19) Forthcoming Events and Links

Greek Championships

The Greek Championships take place 4th-12th December 2004, in Athens - Greece. Men: Kotronias V., Banikas H., Halkias S., Mastrovasilis D., Skembris S., Nikolaidis I. (all GM) Mastrovasilis A., Moutousis K., Kapnisis S. (all IM) and Tsanas A

Women: Botsari A.M., Makropoulou (WGM), Fakhiridou A., Makka I., Papadopoulou V., (WIM) and Sperdokli E., Stiri A., Stefanidi M., Makka E., Petraki M.

Web coverage: http://www.blackqueen.net or http://www.chessfed.gr (both in Greek) Live Games in: http://www.chessworld.info/live/grchamps04.html @17:00 local time

2nd Ashdod Chess Festival

The 2nd Ashdod Chess Festival takes place 9th-15th December 2004. The main event is a Category 16 tournament with Israelis Boris Gelfand, Emil Sutovsky, Ilya Smirin and Boris Avrukh. They are joined by Gregory Kaidanov of the USA and Eduardas Rozentalis from Lithuania.

Official site: http://www.chess.org.il/Ashdod2004/En/Main.htm

Cairnhill Chess Festival 2004

The Cairnhill Chess Festival 2004 take place 4th-12th of December 2004 in Singapore. This year's events include the 22nd Cairnhill International Open Chess Championship ‘The Cairnhill’s Cup’ as well as other side events such as Blitz and Rapidplay tournaments.

Website: http://openchess.netfirms.com/

21st Cappelle la Grande Open

21st INTERNATIONAL CHESS OPEN - CAPPELLE LA GRANDE - FRANCE 12th-19th February 2005. 9 Round Accelerated Swiss System Tournament, registered with FIDE Rate of play : 2 hours for 40 moves followed by a one hour quickplay finish. Playing hall : COMPLEXE SPORTIF ROGER GOUVART IGM's INVITATIONS - Possibility of norms. Prizes (minimum 600 players) : 15000 EUROS - 1st prize : 1500 EUROS Rating, Junior, Women's and Veterans' Prizes. Entry fee : adults : 45 euros - Juniors and veterans : 22,50 euros. Registration by templeurjcs@club-internet.fr

Further details: http://www.cappelle-chess.com

Singapore International Chess Convention

The Singapore Chess Federation and Asean Chess Academy organise the Singapore International Chess Convention 11th-17th December 2004. The events include: 1) Asian Youth Championships 2) Singapore Masters and Challengers International Open 3) Seminar for Coaches 4) Arbiters Training Seminar.

Official site: http://www.asiayouth2004.com

Gibtele.com Masters International

The Gibtele.com Masters International takes place 25th January - 3rd February 2005. Many sections for different strengths of player.

Full details: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com

Hastings Chess Congress

Entries so far include: Barsov, Cherniaev, Efimenko, C Flear, Kiriakov, Hebden, Kotronias, Lalic, McNab, Mirzoeva, Pavlovic, N Pert, B Socko, M Socko, S Williams, The Hastings Chess Congress takes place 28 December 2004 to 9 January 2005 and has a new format. The Hastings Premier and Challengers are combined into one knockout tournament. Let us imagine 120 players enter for the event which finishes 6 January. Then 60 players go forward from the first round, with 4 lucky losers. These 64 players play a second round of knockout. The 56 losers play in the Challengers Swiss. The 64 players continue in one game knockouts until there are 8 players left. These 8 play in the Premier of 2 game knockouts. All players knocked out will be contracted to play in the Swiss Challengers, except for the losing finalist. Players when knocked out will carry forward their score in the standard play games. Of course White would have been a big advantage. There was an error earlier. The games will be played with White having 70 minutes and Black 90 in which to make the first 40 moves. Then each player will receive an extra 20 minutes for all the moves. There will be an addition of one minute per move cumulatively from the first. Where games are drawn, ties will be resolved first by blitz games, failing that an Armageddon play-off. Players will be able to gain title results from either event. The event will be part of the Association of Chess Professionals GP and the BCF GP. The weekend tournament takes place 7-9 January. Full details from Con Power _conpowr@aol.com_ (mailto:conpowr@aol.com) Players seeking conditions should contact _Stewartreuben@aol.com_ (mailto:Stewartreuben@aol.com) website

Official site: http://www.hastingschess.org.uk

International Chess Tournament for Women

International Chess Tournament for Women of the City Of Hyeres (South of France) 26th-30th December 2004.

Further details: http://www.latourhyeroise.com e-mail: bernard.ramazzotti@wanadoo.fr

Hungarian chess tournaments December 2004 - August 2005

1. 25th of Nov.-3rd of Dec., HARKANY, Open Swiss, /250 West from Budapest/, Org: Fulop Csaba, e-mail: fulopcsa@axelero.hu Phone: +(36)- 30-9276900

2. 4th-17th of December, FIRST SATURDAY /FS/ GM-IM-FM round robins, 9-13 games, norm possibilities, in Budapest, Hungarian Chess Federation, Falk Miksa Str.10. 2nd floor. Organisation: Nagy Laszlo, FIDE International Chess Organizer /NL/, E-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu Other website: http://home.hu.inter.net/~firstsat Phone-fax: (361)-2632859, cellphone: (36)-30-230-1914 /From 12:00 a.m. until midnight - Central European Time - GMT+1 hour/

3. 7th-15th of January 2005, "TAPOLCA" Open, 9 rounds Swiss, Budapest, organizer: Paréj József, home, calling from abroad: +(36)-87-321-950, E-mail for info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

4. 5th-18th of February 2005, FS GM-IM-FM closed, Budapest, Org.NL.

5. 5th-18th of March 2005, FS GM-IM-FM closed, Budapest, Org. : NL,

6. 18th- 26th of March, "SPRING FESTIVAL" 9 rounds Swiss Open, Budapest, Org.: NL

7. 2nd-15th of April , FS GM-IM-FM closed, Budapest, Org: NL:

8. 7th-19th of May, FS GM-IM-FM closed, Budapest, org.: NL

9. 20th-28th of May, ZALAKAROS Open, 9 rounds Swiss, (250 km West from Budapest), org: IM Horvath, Tamas, phone: +(36)-20-9777003

10. 21st-31st of May, ELEKES Memorial, GM-IM closed, Budapest, org.IM Zsinka, phone: +(36)-20-921-91-97

11. 4th-16th of June, FS GM-IM-FM, Budapest, Org: NL

12. 18th-26th of June, BALATONLELLE Open + GM-IM closed, 120 km West from Budapest, organizer: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@axelero.hu

13. 2nd-14th of July, FS GM-IM-FM Budapest, org. NL.

14. 23rd- 31st of July, Agria Open /EGER, 100 km North-East from Budapest/, organizer: Rauch Ferenc, e-mail: rauch@freemail.hu

15. 6th-18th of August, FS GM-IM-FM Budapest org.:NL

Dutch Open Blitzchess Championship

The Dutch Open Blitzchess Championship takes place on February 5th 2005 in the Mercure Hotel Dordrecht, The Netherlands. 17 double rounds with 5 minutes per player per game, Swiss system in one group. Prizefund Euro 8.500. First Euro 1.750, Second Euro 1.250, third Euro 1.000. Also several grading prizes. Contact: info@blitzchess.nl

Further details: http://www.blitzchess.nl

8th Afro-Asian Correspondence Championship

All players from Africa and Asia (including Japan , Hong-Kong, Singapore, New Zealand , Australia, Turkey, ...) may apply for the 8th Afro-Asian Correspondence championship (Zonal Championship) . The preliminary stage will start on 15.01.2005 and will be played by ICCF webserver .There is no entry fees required .The number of sections will depend upon the entries number . The application should be sent to : msamraoui@iccf.com not late than 31.12.2004. (supplied by the ICCF zonal director Med Samraoui)

ICCF website is http://www.iccf.com and for ICCFwebchess http://www.iccf-webchess.com

25th Bethune Chess Open

TThe Bethune chess club is celebrating its 25th International Open, venue Olof Palme, Commercial centre La Rotonde, Bethune, France (Pas-de-Calais) 26th-30th December 2004. 7 rounds, the tournament is divided in 2 tournaments : - Tournament A for players whose Elo rating is above or equal to 1600, 1st price : 1500 euros, Fischer pace 1h40+30s/move/40moves then 40min+30s/move to finish the game. - Tournament B for players strictly below 1800, 1st price : 300 euros, pace : 40 moves in 2 hours then 1 hour KO. Minimum 5500 euros of prices (8300 euros given in 2003), prices for Elo categories in both tournaments. Inscription fee : 40 euros (adults), 20 euros (youngsters under 20), free for IM, GM and FIDE Masters. Special conditions for IM and GM, contact the organisers at open@bethunechess.com

Further info: http://www.bethunechess.com

Chess Today 4th Anniversary

Chess Today was 4 on 7th November. Sample: http://www.chesstoday.net/sample_issues.html

Iranian Chess

http://www.rokhdarrokh.com launched on 6th September 2004. This website contains articles, news, etc in Persian and English on Iranian Chess.

Czech Tour 2004-2005

4th International Chess Festivals Series

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

7th United Insurance GM

The 7th United Insurance & United Leasing Grandmasters Chess Tournament takes place 2nd-13th February 2005 in the Conference-Room of the National Sports Council 62/3 Purana Paltan Dhaka-1000. Organised by the Bangladesh Chess Federation. 11 round Swiss System with around 40. Total Prize Money US $5000.00 Accommodation & Food : Free for all GM’s & IM’s, only accommodation 2350+ Appearance Money : GM 2500+ US $ 500.00, Some pocket money will given to IM’s Last Date of Entries on or before 5th January to Contact: Syed Shujauddin Ahmed, General Secretary Bangladesh Chess Federation, 2nd Floor, 62/3 Purana Paltan, Dhaka-1000, Fax + Phone: 88 (02) 7169336 , E-mail: bcf@bdonline.com

Frank Quisinsky Chess Calendar

Frank Quisinsky has updated his computer chess calendar. Recent events include: Dutch-Open 2004, Diep won France-ch 2004, ChessTiger won Polish-ch 2004, Rzeznik won Australasian NCC-ch 2004, Warp won

Address: http://www.playwitharena.com the CC-Calendar is a selection of Arena Chess GUI webpage

CC-Calendar: http://www.playwitharena.com/directory/calendar.htm

Rilton Cup 2004-5

The Rilton Cup takes place 27th December 2004 – 5th January 2005. 22,000 in Euros worth of prizes.

Official site: http://www.stockholmschack.nu/

Drammen Chess Festival

The Drammen Chess Festival took place 27th December 2004 - 5th January 2005. Participants include: GM Alexei Shirov ESP 2726 GM Aleksander Khalifman RUS 2669 GM Peter Heine Nielsen DEN 2663 GM Viktor Kortchnoi SUI 2601 GM Simen Agdestein NOR 2589 GM Magnus Carlsen NOR 2581 GM Leif E. Johannessen NOR 2519 GM Antoaneta Stefanova BUL 2523.

Details: http://www.buskerudsjakk.org

Czech Chess Christmas

Czech Chess Christmas 2004 Litomysl (CZE) 26.12.2004-2.1.2005 6th christmas chess FIDE tournament, swiss system of 9 round, rate of game 2 x 1,5h + 30s/move, prize fund 75.000 CZK (1st prize 20.000 CZK = 640 EUR), special conditions for IM, WGM and GM, New Year’s Eve programme. Contact: Agentura 64, Jaroslav Fuksik, 783 73 Grygov 337, tel. +420 585 393 327, fax: +420 585 222 977, mobil: +420 608 364 664, e-mail: a64@proclient.cz, web: http://www.proclient.cz/a64

The Staunton Society Website

The Staunton Society Website is up and running. It features varied material on Staunton, the Staunton Society, the Memorial tournaments, and links to other Staunton related sites.

Site: http://www.howardstaunton.com/

Kings Head Rapidplay

The 29th Kings Head Rapidplay will take place on Saturday 12 March 2005, 6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £650, entry fee £17 > The Porchester Hall Porchester Road Bayswater London W2

Contact: Colin Mackenzie 9 Allan Way Acton London W3 0PW 020 8992 1949 colin.mackenzie@atosorigin.com

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

Miroslav Radojcic Book

Miroslav ("Miro") Radojcic who died in 2000 was one of Yugoslavia's most renowned political journalists for their paper Politika. During the 1960s he worked out of the UN in New York as Politika's foreign correspondent to the US, and later in the 1970s he was assigned the same post for London. But he was also a popular figure in the chess arena, both as a player (he was a Yugoslav National Master) and writer on chess, including a long- running column in the American magazine Chess Review titled,

Bruce Monson bamonson@pcisys.net is writing a book with Yugoslav author Dimitry Bjelica on a book commemorating Radojcic's life and hopes that people who knew Miro will read about this effort on TWIC and contact him with information they may have about him, particularly unusual or funny stories, witty quotes, or other interesting anecdotes.

All those who have something to offer will receive mention in the credits, and those who have substantive material to offer (e.g., extended or multiple narrative accounts, scans of photos and other Radojcic-related memorabilia, etc.) will receive a free copy of the book.

1st ICCF Webchess Open Tournament

The ICCF have announced the 1st WebChess Open Tournament and invites every player worldwide to participate in the event. The event is to be played on the ICCF dedicated Webserver http://www.iccf-webchess.com. This tournament is open to all correspondence chess players worldwide, also for those without any previous ICCF experience. Multiple entries are allowed. The tournament will be played in three stages - preliminaries, semifinal and final.

Details: http://www.iccf-webchess.com/Message.aspx?message=19

Technology for the disabled and Chess

Duif Calvin especially known for being the webmaster of the USCF website for many years writes about chess and disabled life.

Article: http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1934

4th AMPLICO AIG LIFE Tournament

The 4th AMPLICO AIG LIFE Rapid Tournament takes place in Warsaw (Poland) played during the 23rd Memorial of Stanislaw Gawlikowski. The tournament is a part of the ACP Tour and will take place on Saturday, December 18th, 2003 and Sunday, December 19th, 2004 in the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. The prize fund is 15.000 USD. There is a lot of special prizes (for best women, seniors, juniors in different age, players in many rating groups). Among participants we expect many super stars, led by Vassily Ivanchuk.

Further details: http://www.amplicolife.pl/chess or an e-mail to the Tournament Director: Maria Macieja janmac@mg.gov.pl or kspolonia@poczta.pop.pl

HB Global Chess Challenge

The HB Foundation has posted $500,000 prize fund for the HB Global Chess Challenge, a Maurice Ashley-led event expects to bring more than 4,000 participants to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The event takes place May 18th-22nd 2005 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. First place in the Open section has a cash prize of $50,000, and that overall more than 50 others will receive cash prizes. Many other side events.

Official sites: http://www.hbfoundation.org and http://www.generationchess.com

Swiss Chess Tour 2004

The "Swiss Chess Tour 2004" will finish in Interlaken, one of the most attractive tourist towns in Switzerland. The 4th "Casino Open" December 26th-30th 2004. 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. The natural prizes till 20th place. 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. Venue: Hotel "Chalet Oberland" New event - Blitz tournament, Swiss system, 9 double rounds. Time table for "Chalet Oberland-Open Interlaken": December 26. The last registration 11.00-12.15. Open ceremony and apero reception from 12.15-12.30. Round 1st 14.00-19.00. December 27. Round 2nd 9.30-14.30 Round 3rd 15.30-20.30 December 28.: Round 4th 14.00-19.00. December 29. Round 5th 9.30-14.30. Round 6th 15.30-20.30 December 30. Round 7th 10.00-15.00 Closing ceremonies 15.30. Special chess rates in Hotel "Charlet Oberland". Main sponsor "RAPP" company. More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+34+424-01-06, fax +41+34+424-01-07 E-mail info@beochess.ch or Ervin Tellenbach tel. +41+79+311-23-53 or Hotel "Charlet Oberland" tel. +41+33+827-87-87.

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

Swiss Chess Tour 2005

The Swiss Chess Tour starts in Basle in the New Year (1.-8.1.2005.). New event is European ITAG Masters & Rapid Championship will be 1-2.1.2005. 11 Round, 30 minutes each, guarantee prizes. Prizes: 2500/2000/1500/1000/800/700/600/500/ 2x400/2x300/4x250/4x200 CHF; Special prizes: 400/300/200 CHF for Ladys, seniors (1945), juniors (1985 and younger), amateur under 2200 (FIDE or national), under 1800. Enter fee 30.00 CHF Hilton Open (2-8.1.2005.) 7 Rounds, 6 hours (2 hours for 40 moves + 60 minutes for complete the game. Prizes: 2000/1500/1200/800/600/500/2x400/2x300/5x200 CHF. Special prizes 200 CHF for best Lady, Senior (1945), junior (1985-88), schoolboy (1989). Enter fee: 130 CHF (FM and juniors 60 CHF) GM & IM free. At the door 10 CHF. Basle amateur (2-8.1.2005.) 7 Rounds, 4 hours (90 minutes 30 moves + 30 minutes to complete the game). Players under 1900 rating (FIDE or national). Enter fee: 10 CHF (juniors 50 CHF). At the door 10 CHF. Prizes: 500/400/2x300/2x200/4x150 CHF. Basle juniors (2.1.2005.) 7 Rounds, 15 minutes for the game. Juniors 1985 and younger. Enter fee 5 CHF. Natural prizes for all players. NSV Senior Open (1-4.1.2005.) 7 Rounds, 4 hours (90 minutes for 30 moves + 30 minutes for complete the game) Seniors 1945. Prizes: 400/300/200 CHF + natural prizes. Enter fee: 60 CHF. At the door 10 CHF. ITAG - Tele-Rapid (3-5.1.2005.) European Rapid Champion, Andrei Sokolov, last year winner and two others. 15 minutes for the game. All games will be on TV Tele-Basel in live. BaZ Lighting Chess (8.1.2005. from 19.00 to 22.00) 9 Rounds, 5 minutes. Enter fee: 20 CHF (juniors 5 CHF). Prizes 300/200/150/2x100/2x50 CHF natural prizes for everybody 50% and more points. ITAG Simultan (9.1.2005.) with European Rapid Champion 2005

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

Kramnik and Kasparov Websites

Kramnik's official website has become active: http://www.kramnik.com/ in time for his World Championship match in September / October. Garry Kasparov also has a newish website in part promoting his book ‘My Great Predecessors’ at: http://www.chesschamps.com

3rd Parsvnath International Open

The 3rd Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament takes place in New Delhi, 2nd-11th January 2005. Prizes : Total Cash Prizes: Rs.600,000/-

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

Jersey International Chess Festival 2005

The Jersey International Chess Festival takes place 13th-19th February 2005 inclusive. 7 rounds, three sections; OPEN (FIDE rated), MAJOR Under 160 / 1880 ELO and MINOR Under 130 / 1640 ELO. There is a total of £7,000 in prizes and is part of the British Chess Federation Grand Prix.

Details: http://www.geocities.com/adamraoof/jersey.htm

Russia vs ROW Correspondence

The Russian Chess Federation is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is using this occasion to challenge the rest of the world to a match over 64 boards with 2 games for each and the start is 15.02 2004. Players include Joop van Oosterom

http://www.mychessweb.com/Tables/Internationale/Play/russia-world.htm

Australian Open

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.

There are $18,500AU in prizes with a top prize of $4500. The organisers are looking for any players interested in participating in this event.

Contact George Howard on georgeshoward@hotmail.com for details or queries.

Website: http://www.mtbullerchess.com will have full details of the event shortly.

2005 European Union Championship

The 2005 European Union Championship whic his part of the programme of events celebrating Cork City's status as European Capital of Culture for 2005. The event takes place 21st March - 3rd April 2005 in the Ballroom Suite Gresham Metropole Hotel MacCurtain Street Cork Ireland. Prize Fund - 7,750 Euros. A FIDE rated ten round Swiss Open for players registered with FIDE as a player in the European Union or a citizen of a European Union member state 1st prize 2,000 Euros plus numerous place prizes and other awards including a British Championship Qualifying Place.

In addition the 13th Annual Cork Congress takes place 1st-3rd April 2005 with a Prize Fund 5,000 Euros an ICU rated six round Swiss with three rated sections. 1st prize 750 Euros plus numerous place prizes and other awards

Full details, special offers to a limited number of IMs and GMs and entry forms are available from Michael Burniston Tournament Director Ladybird House Glengarriff County Cork Ireland. phone 00 353 27 63113 e mail jemcreations@eircom.net

Website: http://www.corkchess.com

2nd Riva del Garda International Open

2nd Riva del Garda International Open Chess Tournament takes place 26th-30th December 2004. Open A >1700 - Open B <1800 – Seniores 7 Rounds - 2h x 40 + 1/2h quick play finish Info: tel. +39 0464 576657 - fax:+39 0464 521222 astoria@rivadelgarda.com

Further details; http://www.relaxhotels.com/Scacchi/

Olomouc Chess Summer

7th International Chess Festival Olomouc Chess Summer 2004 takes place in Olomouc (Czech Republic) on 4-12.8. 2004. Round-robin GM and IM tournaments, Open Championship of the Olomouc region (FIDE open), Open Seniors Championship of the Czech Republic, Open Championship of the Olomouc region forYoungsters up to 15 years of age and open tournament in active chess are part of the festival.

Detailed information http://www.czechtour.net

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

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

New York Masters

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

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