THE WEEK IN CHESS 691 4th February 2008 by Mark Crowther

TWIC Home | The London Chess Center | | Shop

Sponsored by the London Chess Center

Contact The Week in Chess
Mark Crowther
E-Mail mdcrowth@btinternet.com
Mobile 07971 920016
http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html

Contents

1) Introduction
2) Gibraltar Gibtelecom Chess Festival
3) Moscow Open
4) 13th HIT Open
5) Croatian Chess Championship
6) FINEC St Petersburg
7) Kyiv Championships
8) 6th ch-PriFO Kazan
9) Noteboom Memorial
10) Belgrade Winter Open
11) Kots Memorial
12) Marienbad International Festival
13) First Saturday
14) Cuban Championship
15) Azerbaijan Championship
16) 24th Geneve International Festival
17) Raul Humberto Monroy Viscarra Memorial
18) 13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf
19) Gonzaga Chess Classic
20) FIDE Grand Prix Events
21) Forthcoming Events and Links

Contact the London Chess Center

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

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

Links:

New Shop: http://www.chess.co.uk/shop


Alternatively download PDF version here


Order Fritz 11


Games Section
Gibraltar Gibtelecom Festival 397 games
Moscow Open 15 games
13th HIT Open 135 games
Croatian Chess Championship 6 games
FINEC St Petersburg 135 games
Kyiv Championships 229 games
6th ch-PriFO Kazan 468 games
Noteboom Memorial 76 games
Belgrade Winter Open 574 games
Kots Memorial 91 games
Marienbad International Festival 94 games
First Saturday 26 games
2276 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Miklos Orso, Frits Agterdenbos, John Saunders, Laszlo Nagy, Eirik T. Gullaksen, David Frey, Dusan Rusjan, Otto Gutdeutsch, Jan Mazuch, Anthony Fox and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Opens are on the agenda this week with the Gibraltar Chess Festival just concluding with Hikaru Nakamura beating Bu Xiangzhi in a playoff to take the title after both scored 8/10, on now is the Moscow Open which almost servers as a warm up to the Aeroflot Open that follows it. FIDE have announced events in their Grand Prix but it seems to me there are a number of questions hanging over the series not least who is going to play (as opposed to who is entitled to play) and if these events are going ahead, why are there reserve venues? No doubt all will become clear in due course.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Gibraltar Gibtelecom Chess Festival

The 6th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival took place 22nd-31st January 2008 at the Caleta Hotel, one of Gibraltar's best hotels. Hikaru Nakamura beat Bu Xiangzhi in a playoff 2-0 to win the event after both players finished on 8/10. Zhao Zong Yuan became Australia's youngest ever GM at the age of 21 with a 6.5/10 finish (actually achieved with 6/9 to achieve his final norm). My thanks to John Saunders for all his help.

Offical site: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/ and http://www.monroi.com

Also the winner Hikaru Nakamura has a website: http://www.hikarunakamura.com

Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival 22nd-31st January 2008
Leading Final Round 10 standings:
Rank Name Ti Fed. Rating Score BH SB TPR
1 Bu, Xiangzhi GM CHN 2691 8.0 67.5 53.25 2834
2 Nakamura, Hikaru GM USA 2670 8.0 63.5 50.75 2747
3 Areshchenko, Alexander GM UKR 2645 7.5 61.5 45.5 2663
4 Bologan, Viktor GM MDA 2663 7.5 62.0 43.75 2680
5 Efimenko, Zahar GM UKR 2638 7.5 64.5 47.5 2687
6 Gopal, G.N. GM IND 2528 7.5 61.5 44.0 2703
7 Gurevich, Mikhail GM TUR 2607 7.5 58.0 42.75 2635
8 Ni, Hua GM CHN 2680 7.5 64.0 46.25 2742
9 Wang, Hao GM CHN 2665 7.5 60.5 43.75 2728
10 Akobian, Varuzhan GM USA 2599 7.0 58.5 38.0 2605
11 Banikas, Hristos GM GRE 2592 7.0 64.0 43.25 2691
12 Beliavsky, Alexander G GM SLO 2638 7.0 63.0 42.5 2636
13 Berg, Emanuel GM SWE 2583 7.0 63.5 42.5 2668
14 Georgiev, Kiril GM BUL 2662 7.0 64.5 44.0 2684
15 Kritz, Leonid GM GER 2592 7.0 60.5 40.25 2583
16 Petrosian, Tigran L. GM ARM 2606 7.0 60.5 41.0 2615
17 Sandipan, Chanda GM IND 2593 7.0 58.0 38.5 2565
18 Szabo, Krisztian IM HUN 2500 7.0 55.0 35.75 2505
19 Thomassen, Joachim FM NOR 2308 7.0 54.5 37.25 2517
20 Wang, Yue GM CHN 2698 7.0 60.0 41.75 2653
21 Al Sayed, Mohamad N. IM QAT 2486 6.5 52.0 32.0 2424
22 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan IM GEO 2457 6.5 55.5 34.5 2422
23 Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel GM ESP 2455 6.5 49.5 31.0 2344
24 Butnorius, Algimantas GM LTU 2441 6.5 57.5 34.75 2455
25 Cmilyte, Viktorija IM LTU 2475 6.5 58.5 34.0 2578
26 Devereaux, Maxim L FM ENG 2348 6.5 55.0 33.75 2491
27 Harika, Dronavalli IM IND 2455 6.5 60.0 36.0 2472
28 Kuzubov, Yuriy GM UKR 2606 6.5 60.5 35.0 2545
29 Malakhatko, Vadim GM BEL 2600 6.5 62.0 38.25 2593
30 Papadopoulos, Ioannis IM GRE 2444 6.5 52.5 33.25 2398
31 Quillan, Gary   ENG 2362 6.5 52.5 30.75 2354
32 Socko, Bartosz GM POL 2635 6.5 65.0 39.25 2620
33 Speelman, Jon S GM ENG 2491 6.5 67.5 42.25 2690
34 Stefanova, Antoaneta GM BUL 2464 6.5 68.0 40.25 2690
35 Sulskis, Sarunas GM LTU 2553 6.5 60.0 36.5 2573
36 Zhao, Zong-Yuan IM AUS 2487 6.5 66.0 42.25 2642
37 Al-Modiahki, Mohamad GM QAT 2569 6.0 63.0 36.75 2519
203 players

3) Moscow Open

The 4th International Chess Festival Moscow Open 2008 takes place 2nd-10th February 2008. At this early stage there are no standings on the official site. Below are the round 3 pairings with scores and the top results from the transmitted games. Only a 15 games per round from the live boards are currently available.

Official site: http://moscowchessopen.ru/eng/index.shtml

4th Open Moscow (RUS), 2-10 ii 2008
Leading Round 3 Pairings:
Bd Ti Name Pts Res. Pts Ti Name
1 GM Novikov Stanislav 2 ½-½ 2 GM Timofeev Artyom
2 GM Khairullin Ildar 2 ½-½ 2 GM Tiviakov Sergei
3 GM Miroshnichenko Evgenij 2 ½-½ 2 GM Gasanov Eldar
4 GM Andriasian Zaven 2 ½-½ 2 GM Jobava Baadur
5 GM Efimenko Zahar 2 1-0 2 IM Hossain Enamul
6 IM Yudin Sergei 2 ½-½ 2 GM Naiditsch Arkadij
7 IM Geller Jakov 2 0-1 2 GM Riazantsev Alexander
8 GM Dzhakaev Dzhakay 2 0-1 2 GM Volkov Sergey
9 GM Burmakin Vladimir 2 ½-½ 2 IM Nikolenko Oleg
10 GM Abdulla Al-Rakib 2 ½-½ 2 GM Kuzubov Yuriy
11 GM Sveshnikov Evgeny 2 ½-½ 2 GM Smirnov Pavel
12 GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2 ½-½ 2 FM Gubajdullin Alexei
13 FM Dvalishvili Pavel S 2 ½-½ 2 GM Savchenko Boris
14 GM Andreikin Dmitry 2 0-1 2 GM Naumkin Igor
15 Ivanov Oleg V 2 ½-½ 2 GM Kharitonov Andrei V
16 GM Kim Alexey 2 2 GM Svetushkin Dmitry
17 IM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2 2 GM Khismatullin Denis
18 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2 2 Pustov Pavel
19 GM Akopian Vladimir GM Chernyshov Konstantin
20 GM Zvjaginsev Vadim GM Kunin Vitaly
21 GM Amonatov Farrukh GM Kharitonov Alexandr
22 GM Bryzgalin Kirill GM Areshchenko Alexander
23 GM Motylev Alexander IM Maslak Konstantin
24 GM Moiseenko Alexander IM Ivanov Victor L
25 GM Kosyrev Vladimir GM Sutovsky Emil
26 GM Najer Evgeniy GM Safin Shukhrat
27 GM Asrian Karen IM Ponkratov Pavel
28 IM Melkumyan Hrant GM Aleksandrov Aleksej
29 GM Guseinov Gadir IM Gabrielian Artur
30 GM Krapivin Alexander GM Potkin Vladimir
31 IM Danin Alexandre GM Fedorov Alexei
32 GM Korotylev Alexey IM Chadaev Nikolai
33 GM Kaidanov Gregory S GM Gutov Andrey
34 GM Bocharov Dmitry Mozharov Mikhail
35 GM Popov Ivan FM Yatsenko Alexey
36 Looshnikov Nikolai GM Yakovich Yuri
37 FM Lavrik Dmitry GM Lysyj Igor
38 GM Oleksienko Mikhailo Tarasov Oleg
39 GM Iordachescu Viorel Borisenko Andrei
40 IM Appolonov Sergey GM Belov Vladimir
41 FM Kachko Alexander GM Kurnosov Igor
42 FM Nyzhnyk Illya GM Korobov Anton
43 GM Shomoev Anton FM Bukavshin Ivan
44 IM Kalashnikov Konstantin GM Rychagov Andrey
45 GM Iljushin Alexei Venevtsev Andrey

4) 13th HIT Open

The 13th HIT Open took place in Nova Gorica, Slovenia 26th January - 1st February 2008. Borki Predojevic took clear first with 6.5/9. News: Dušan Rusjan.

Official site: http://www.sah-zveza.si/rez/0801/hitopen/

13th HIT Open A Nova Gorica (SLO), 26 i-1 ii 2008
Leading Final Round 9 standings:
Pl. Name Ti Fed ELO T MBuch
1 Predojevic,Borki GM BIH 2641 6.5 35.5
2 Lenic,Luka GM SLO 2568 6 38.0
3 Erdos,Viktor GM HUN 2575 5.5 37.5
4 Pavasovic,Duško GM SLO 2601 5.5 36.5
5 Perunovic,Milos GM SRB 2570 5.5 36.5
6 Gonda,Laszlo IM HUN 2507 5.5 35.5
7 Milanovic,Danilo IM SRB 2510 5.5 34.5
8 Saric,Ante GM CRO 2438 5.5 34.0
9 Markuš,Robert GM SRB 2575 5.5 33.5
10 Sedlak,Nikola GM SRB 2568 5.5 33.0
11 Cebalo,Miso GM CRO 2547 5.5 32.5
12 Fercec,Nenad GM CRO 2473 5 35.0
13 Škoberne,Jure IM SLO 2484 5 30.5
14 Krivec,Jana WGM SLO 2345 5 29.0
15 Hera,Imre Jr. GM HUN 2526 4.5 35.0
16 Šebenik,Matej IM SLO 2479 4.5 31.5
17 Starostits,Ilmars IM LAT 2500 4.5 30.5
18 Jovanic,Ognjen GM CRO 2491 4 34.5
19 Drazic,Sinisa GM SRB 2489 4 32.5
20 Tonon,Alessandro   ITA 2198 4 31.5
21 Srebrnic,Marko FM SLO 2321 4 28.5
22 Peredy,Ferenc IM HUN 2261 4 28.5
23 Brumen,Dinko IM CRO 2400 4 27.5
24 Bontempi,Piero FM ITA 2375 3.5 34.0
25 Tomazini,Aljoša I SLO 2151 3.5 25.5
26 Kokol,Peter MK SLO 2254 3.5 24.5
27 Krumpacnik,Domen IM SLO 2411 3 30.5
28 Srebrnic,Ana WGM SLO 2314 2.5 26.5
29 Srebrnic,Vojko MK SLO 2218 2.5 24.5
30 Kragelj,Igor FM SLO 2228 2 25.0

5) Croatian Chess Championship

The Croatian chess championship took place in Split, 16th-29th January 2008. Hrvoje Stevic won the event with 8/12 a point clear of Robert Zelcic. Elo favourite Zdenko Kozul trailed in 11th with only 5 points.

Official site: http://www.a1split.hr/prvenstvo/prvenstvo.html

ch-CRO Split (CRO), 16-29 i 2008 cat. XII (2538)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
1. Stevic, Hrvoje g CRO 2531 * 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 8 2663
2. Zelcic, Robert g CRO 2587 0 * ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 7 2591
3. Kurajica, Bojan g CRO 2556 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 2565
4. Hulak, Krunoslav g CRO 2552 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 2566
5. Jankovic, Alojzije g CRO 2541 0 1 ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 2566
6. Jovanovic, Zoran g CRO 2525 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 2568
7. Saric, Ivan m CRO 2482 1 0 ½ ½ 1 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 2542
8. Cvitan, Ognjen g CRO 2535 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 2538
9. Palac, Mladen g CRO 2575 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 2506
10. Dizdar, Goran g CRO 2564 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 2507
11. Kozul, Zdenko g CRO 2600 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 5 2476
12. Rezan, Sasa m CRO 2390 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 2463
13. Brkic, Ante g CRO 2558 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 * 2449

6) FINEC St Petersburg

The FINEC tournament took place in St Petersburg 24th January - 1st February 2008. Stanislav Savchenko and Eduard Gorovykh finished on 6/9 in the top category X event.

Official site: http://www.totalchess.spb.ru/kalend/2008/finec_gma.html - http://www.totalchess.spb.ru/kalend/2008/finec_gmb.html and http://www.totalchess.spb.ru/kalend/2008/finec_wgm.html

FINEC GMA St Petersburg (RUS), 24 i-1 ii 2008 cat. X (2479)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Savchenko, Stanislav g UKR 2558 * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6 2595
2. Gorovykh, Eduard m RUS 2402 ½ * 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 6 2612
3. Lintchevski, Daniil m RUS 2440 ½ 1 * ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 5 2526
4. Sjugirov, Sanan m RUS 2491 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 5 2520
5. Shimanov, Aleksandr m RUS 2441 0 0 1 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 5 2526
6. Mihajlovskij, Sergei BLR 2466 ½ 0 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 1 2480
7. Brodsky, Michail g UKR 2572 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 4 2425
8. Kveinys, Aloyzas g LTU 2521 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * ½ ½ 2394
9. Matlakov, Maxim m RUS 2441 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ * 0 3 2358
10. Lanin, Alexsej m RUS 2456 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * 3 2356

FINEC GMB St Petersburg (RUS), 24 i-1 ii 2008 cat. VII (2417)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Vysochin, Spartak g UKR 2519 * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6 2531
2. Levin, Evgeny A m RUS 2440 ½ * 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 6 2539
3. Tihonov, Jurij g BLR 2497 0 0 * 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2533
4. Shishkin, Vadim UKR g UKR 2493 ½ 0 0 * 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 6 2533
5. Klimov, Sergey m RUS 2483 0 1 0 0 * ½ 1 1 1 1 2490
6. Goganov, Aleksey RUS 2358 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 1 0 ½ 2423
7. Ginzburg, Mikhail f BLR 2262 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 * ½ 0 1 3 2309
8. Sudakova, Irina wg RUS 2333 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ * 1 ½ 3 2301
9. Khakimov, Timur m RUS 2380 ½ 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 * 0 2255
10. Zacurdajev, Mikhail f RUS 2408 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 * 2252

FINEC WGM St Petersburg (RUS), 24 i-1 ii 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Gromova, Iulia wm RUS 2219 * ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 2328
2. Molchanova, Tatjana wm RUS 2365 ½ * 1 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 2312
3. Petrenko, Svetlana m MDA 2282 ½ 0 * ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ 1 2321
4. Eidelson, Rakhil wg BLR 2184 0 1 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 5 2295
5. Doluhanova, Evgeniya wg UKR 2223 1 ½ 0 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 5 2291
6. Kuzevanova, Evgenia RUS 2167 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 2254
7. Solovjova, Valentina wm RUS 2221 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ 0 4 2205
8. Matseyko, Katerina wg UKR 2301 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 * 1 1 4 2196
9. Kirillova, Varvara wm RUS 2271 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ 2162
10. Lupik, Marina RUS 2222 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ * 2082

7) Kyiv Championships

The Championships of Kyiv, Ukraine took place 19th-31st January 2008. Sergey Pavlov won with 8/11 half a point clear of Viktor Ianov.

Official site: http://www.ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/t144.html

ch-Kyiv Men Kyiv (UKR), 19-31 i 2008
Final Round 11 Standings
1 Pavlov, Sergey UKR 2418 8.0 73.0 52.75 51.5 2471 +0.65
2 Ianov, Viktor m UKR 2363 7.5 72.5 44.50 43.0 2410 +0.68
3 Shumilov, Illya UKR 2208 7.5 68.5 45.00 46.5 2447 +3.58
4 Baryshpolets, Andrey f UKR 2389 7.0 76.0 47.75 49.0 2388 -0.01
5 Golubka, Petr UKR 2270 7.0 70.5 42.00 44.5 2398 +1.73
6 Popovkin,Petro UKR ---- 7.0 70.5 41.50 42.0 2367 +1.00
7 Kruglyakov, Pavlo UKR 2356 7.0 70.0 41.75 45.0 2361 +0.10
8 Sidorchuk, Dmitry UKR 2234 7.0 69.5 40.50 43.5 2381 +2.15
9 Grinev, Valeriy UKR 2266 7.0 65.5 38.75 39.0 2432 +1.99
10 Kernazhitsky, Leonid m UKR 2338 7.0 63.5 37.75 39.0 2359 +0.30
11 Stratulat, Sergey UKR 2252 6.5 68.5 37.75 43.0 2305 +0.84
12 Perun, Sergey m UKR 2352 6.5 67.5 39.00 40.5 2321 -0.37
13 Karnaukh, Anatolij UKR 2246 6.5 66.0 36.25 39.0 2346 +1.56
14 Vdovichenko, Vladislav UKR 2208 6.0 69.5 35.75 40.5 2326 +1.73
15 Burdalev, Kirill UKR 2157 6.0 64.5 32.50 36.5 2340 +2.62
16 Panchenko, Alexandar G m UKR 2327 6.0 63.5 33.50 37.5 2211 -1.46
17 Chichkin, Vasily UKR 2286 6.0 62.5 31.25 36.0 2209 -0.95
18 Vusatiuk, Andrey UKR 2305 6.0 62.0 30.25 35.0 2245 -0.92
19 Zakharchenko, Arnold m UKR 2309 6.0 61.5 29.50 35.5 2291 -0.20
20 Romanov, Vladimir1 UKR 2258 6.0 55.5 24.75 33.0 2192 -0.88
21 Baklanova, Tatiana wm UKR 2257 5.5 65.0 30.75 38.5 2143 -1.40
22 Dobrzhanskaya, Irina UKR 2087 5.5 58.5 22.50 30.5 2175 +1.13
23 Gerber, Vladimir UKR 2130 5.0 64.0 26.75 34.0 2266 +1.78
24 Zsiltzova-Lisenko, Lubov wm UKR 2294 5.0 59.0 21.75 34.0 2164 -1.92
25 Chernozem, Sergey UKR 2080 5.0 56.5 23.75 31.0 2192 +1.45
26 Tchoubar, Vladimir m UKR 2238 5.0 56.0 18.75 25.5 2056 -2.11
27 Bidkova, Viktoria UKR 2028 5.0 54.5 19.00 28.0 2109 +0.86
28 Kalinkin, Boris UKR 2223 5.0 53.5 22.00 28.5 2147 -1.01
29 Matorin, Evgeny m RUS 2286 5.0 53.0 19.00 24.5 2080 -2.77
30 Malienko, Alexander UKR 2209 5.0 52.5 19.00 28.0 2110 -1.36
31 Bidkov, Anton UKR 2187 5.0 52.0 21.00 28.0 2144 -0.53
32 Goncharov, Oleh UKR 2240 4.5 52.0 19.00 28.5 2121 -1.61
33 Anatskiy,Alexey UKR ---- 4.5 51.0 19.75 26.5 2124 2124
34 Kovalenko, Vladimir N UKR 2185 4.5 49.0 14.75 23.5 2083 -1.22
35 Ianovsky, Alexander UKR 2193 4.0 55.0 16.75 24.5 2161 -0.44
36 Ignatenko, Vladimir UKR 2143 4.0 51.0 13.75 22.5 2097 -0.55
37 Ovcharov, Taras UKR 1880 4.0 50.0 14.75 25.0 2034 +1.52
38 Ivchenko, Anatoly UKR 2078 4.0 48.5 13.75 24.5 2045 -0.47
39 Stavroyany, Sergey UKR 2217 3.5 67.0 36.50 31.5 2363 +1.24
40 Leshchenko, Vasilij UKR 2167 3.0 48.0 9.25 12.0 1798 -3.66
41 Moiseev, Igor UKR 2243 2.0 62.5 32.00 20.0 2216 -0.01
42 Kraschenko, Alexandr UKR 2052 1.5 50.5 13.75 12.5 1894 -0.68
43 Tytynnik, Artem UKR 2341 0.0 52.0 20.25 0.0 1466 -1.38

8) 6th ch-PriFO Kazan

The 6th ch-PriFO took place in Kazan 23rd-31st January 2008. Denis Khismatullin won on tie-break. I'm afraid I couldn't establish what this was, it may indeed be the national championships or of the Volga Region.

Official site: http://volgachess.ru

6th ch-PriFO Men Kazan (RUS), 23-31 i 2008
Final Round 9 Standings
1 Khismatullin, Denis GM 2564 7.0 52.0 39.25 2647 +0.92
2 Kokarev, Dmitry GM 2574 7.0 51.5 38.5 2646 +0.86
3 Shaposhnikov, Evgeny GM 2537 7.0 51.0 39.25 2620 +0.93
4 Kalegin, Evgenij IM 2480 6.5 53.0 37.0 2579 +1.25
5 Tunik, Gennady GM 2473 6.5 50.5 34.5 2534 +0.76
6 Kuporosov, Viktor IM 2439 6.5 48.0 33.5 2505 +0.94
7 Novgorodskij, Vladimir IM 2370 6.5 47.0 30.75 2474 +1.36
8 Sharafiev, Azat   2332 6.5 44.0 29.75 2507 +2.17
9 Geller, Jakov IM 2511 6.5 43.5 30.5 2467 -0.30
10 Voitsekhovsky, Stanislav GM 2493 6.0 55.0 34.75 2529 +0.48
11 Varavin, Viktor GM 2427 6.0 48.0 29.75 2461 +0.51
12 Ponfilenok, Vladimir   2427 6.0 47.5 28.75 2468 +0.54
13 Skomorokhin, Roman IM 2378 6.0 47.0 27.75 2444 +0.76
14 Borisenko, Andrei   2420 6.0 46.5 29.5 2462 +0.48
15 Terekhin, Anatoly FM 2314 6.0 43.5 29.25 2432 +1.46
16 Lushenkov, Mikhail IM 2458 6.0 43.0 27.25 2415 -0.46
17 Alavkin, Arseny IM 2429 6.0 43.0 28.25 2410 -0.21
18 Kharlov, Andrei GM 2538 5.5 50.5 28.75 2446 -0.93
19 Isajevsky, Anton FM 2469 5.5 47.5 27.5 2362 -1.14
20 Triapkin, Pavel   2350 5.5 47.5 25.75 2418 +0.91
21 Mokshanov, Alexey   2135 5.5 47.0 27.25 2419 +3.33
22 Bukavshin, Ivan FM 2255 5.5 46.0 26.75 2449 +2.33
23 Sokolov, Sergei FM 2356 5.5 44.5 25.25 2377 +0.37
24 Gabdrakhmanov, Rafail IM 2413 5.5 43.0 24.5 2315 -1.05
25 Mustakayev, Artur   2326 5.5 41.0 22.75 2290 -0.37
26 Iliushkin, Evgen   2314 5.5 40.5 22.25 2378 +0.73
27 Kamov, Igor   2196 5.5 40.0 21.5 2363 +1.96
104 players

9) Noteboom Memorial

The Noteboom tournament took place in Leiden, Netherlands 1st-3rd February 2008. Predrag Nikolic edged out John Van der Wiel for the cup on Buchholz tie-break after both finished on 5.5/6.

Official site: http://lsg-leiden.nl/noteboom/2008/noteboom2008.html. Frits Agterdenbos photo report: http://www.chessvista.com/ccms.5039.ChessVista.Dani%EBl-Noteboom-Tournament-2008.html

Noteboom Mem A Leiden (NED), 1-3 ii 2008.
Leading Final Round 6 Standings:
Pl. Name Ti. NAT ELO Sc # Bhlz SB
1 Nikolic, Predrag g BIH 2665 5.5 6 25.0 22.50
2 Van der Wiel, John g NED 2490 5.5 6 21.0 19.00
3 Li Shilong g CHN 2502 5.0 6 25.0 19.50
4 Roobol, Martin f NED 2288 5.0 5 23.0 18.50
5 Dgebuadze, Alexandre g BEL 2512 5.0 6 23.0 18.25
6 Lalic, Bogdan g CRO 2507 5.0 6 21.5 17.50
7 Wantola, Ivo NED 2229 4.5 5 24.0 16.75
8 Van den Doel, Erik g NED 2593 4.5 6 24.0 16.25
9 Nijboer, Friso g NED 2578 4.5 6 22.0 15.25
10 Plukkel, Sjoerd NED 2196 4.5 5 22.0 14.25
11 Lahaye, Rick NED 2377 4.5 6 21.5 14.00
12 Van Ketel, Raoul f NED 2339 4.5 6 20.0 14.25
13 Miedema, Roi f NED 2287 4.5 6 19.5 12.50
14 Pel, Bonno f NED 2299 4.5 5 19.5 12.25
15 Burg, Twan f NED 2262 4.0 6 25.5 15.50
16 Kuipers, Stefan NED 2302 4.0 6 22.5 13.75
17 Van Dongen, Cor NED 2315 4.0 5 22.5 13.00
18 Gorter, Yme NED 2084 4.0 5 22.0 13.00
19 Van Kampen, Robin NED 2243 4.0 6 22.0 12.50
20 Hagendijk, Klaas NED ---- 4.0 5 21.5 12.75
144 players

10) Belgrade Winter Open

The Belgrade Winter (Zimski) Open took place 22nd-30th January 2008. IM Milos Pavlovic won with 7.5/9 (note there is a different, very active, player who is a GM).

Official site: http://www.beochess.org.yu/2008/zimski_open2008/zimski08.htm

Winter Open Belgrade (SRB), 22-30 i 2008
Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Pl Name FED Rtg Pts BK. BK. SB.
1 Pavlovic Milos M IM SRB 2457 48½ 52 39.75
2 Velickovic Sasa IM SRB 2401 7 49 53½ 38.50
3 Govedarica Radovan IM SRB 2382 7 48 51½ 39.50
4 Abramovic Bosko GM SRB 2499 7 48 51½ 36.25
5 Chelushkina Irina WGM SRB 2357 7 47 51 36.50
6 Rajkovic Dusan GM SRB 2494 7 46½ 51½ 35.50
7 Nestorovic Dejan IM SRB 2417 7 46½ 49 37.75
8 Brenjo Slavisa IM SRB 2486 49½ 54 37.50
9 Ostojic Nikola IM SRB 2423 46 50 33.50
10 Benderac Ana WGM SRB 2324 42 46 28.25
11 Masic Predrag IM SRB 2369 41½ 45½ 31.75
12 Bojovic Dusan MK SRB 2230 40 41 25.00
13 Todorovic Goran M GM SRB 2470 6 48 52½ 32.25
14 Nestorovic Nikola MK SRB 2421 6 44½ 49 31.25
15 Markovic Milan D FM SRB 2350 6 44 47½ 29.00
16 Maric Dragan FM SRB 2300 6 41½ 46 27.75
17 Jovanovic Zoran Z FM SRB 2343 6 40½ 44½ 25.50
18 Vujacic Borivoje FM SRB 2326 6 39½ 43½ 27.75
19 Scepanovic Rade MK SRB 2284 6 39½ 43½ 25.25
20 Bulatovic Nikola I SRB 2026 6 38½ 42 26.00
21 Mihajlovic Miodrag FM SRB 2220 6 37 40 24.25
22 Bozic Milan MK SRB 2436 48 53 30.50
23 Certic Branimir IM SRB 2377 46 50 28.50
24 Sarenac Ivan MK SRB 2271 44½ 46½ 22.75
25 Mihic Bojan MK SRB 2404 44 47½ 28.25
26 Popovic Aleksandar M MK SRB 2251 43½ 47½ 27.00
27 Petrovic Petar FM SRB 2110 43 46½ 24.25
28 Popovic Nenad MK SRB 2277 42½ 45½ 23.50
29 Andrejic Vladica MK SRB 2269 42½ 45 24.25
30 Kojovic Dragan FM SRB 2444 39 43 23.00
31 Marinkovic Zoran FM SRB 2271 39 42 20.75
32 Urosevic Marija WFM SRB 2079 38½ 41½ 20.25
33 Skare Goran FM SRB 2315 38 41½ 24.00
34 Baralic Nebojsa MK SRB 2253 38 41 23.50
35 Damjanovic Lazar MK SRB 2129 37½ 40½ 20.00
36 Jakovljevic Zivota FM SRB 2138 36½ 40 22.25
37 Carnic Dejan MK SRB 2162 36½ 39½ 21.75
132 players

11) Kots Memorial

The Kots Memorial took place in Donetsk 18th-30th January 2008. Timofey Iljin won the event with 9/13.

The event was in memory of Isaac Kots 1933-2001 who had a couple of very respectible mid-table finishes in the Soviet Championships of 1961 and 1962.

Official site: http://www.ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/t143.html

Kots Mem Donetsk (UKR), 18-30 i 2008 cat. I (2253)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Iljin, Timofey UKR 2442 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 9 2379
2. Demkovich, Anatoliy m UKR 2381 ½ * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 2353
3. Shilin, Denis m UKR 2407 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 2351
4. Polivanov, Anatoliy m UKR 2391 ½ ½ 0 * 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 8 2329
5. Kutsyj,Alexander UKR ---- ½ 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 2329
6. Kuchkin, Maksjm UKR 2086 1 1 0 1 0 * ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 1 7 2295
7. Prihotko, Alexander UKR 2340 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 2246
8. Kononenko, Dmitry2 UKR 2199 0 0 1 0 1 ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 1 1 0 2257
9. Volovikov, Anton UKR 2234 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 * 1 0 1 1 1 2254
10. Sysoenko, Aleksey UKR 2256 0 1 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ 2195
11. Solovyev, Artem UKR 2059 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 * 0 1 0 5 2181
12. Serik, Maxim UKR 2282 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 * ½ 1 5 2163
13. Aridov, Vladimir UKR 2174 ½ 0 0 1 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ * 0 4 2118
14. Kamenets, Anatolij m UKR 2293 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 ½ 1 0 1 * 2075

12) Marienbad International Festival

The Marienbad International Chess Festival took place in Marianske Lazne 19th-27th January 2008. Allan Stig Rasmussen won the GMA1 event and Stefan Kristjansson the GMA2 tournament. In addition there were two IM events and an open. All games now available my thanks to Otto Gutdeutsch and Jan Mazuch.

Official site: http://www.czechtour.net/marienbad-open/results-and-games/

GMA1 Marianske Lazne (CZE), 19-27 i 2008 cat. VIII (2434)
Rk. Name Ti FED RtgI Pts. TB1 Rp rtg+/-
1 Rasmussen Allan Stig FM DEN 2468 8,5 42,50 2642 36,9
2 Sergeev Vladimir GM UKR 2502 7,0 38,75 2530 3,9
3 Jansa Vlastimil GM CZE 2486 7,0 35,75 2505 2,6
4 Swiercz Dariusz FM POL 2315 7,0 34,00 2547 51,2
5 Meduna Eduard GM CZE 2431 6,0 29,00 2470 5,6
6 Vavrak Peter IM SVK 2472 5,0 27,50 2362 -15,3
7 Thorfinnsson Bragi IM ISL 2406 5,0 25,00 2369 -5,2
8 Brener Ilja IM GER 2394 5,0 24,25 2526 21,0
9 Talla Vladimir IM CZE 2419 5,0 23,00 2399 -2,5
10 Cerveny Petr   CZE 2403 4,0 19,25 2335 -14,7
11 Hermansson Emil IM SWE 2472 3,5 15,50 2297 -26,4
12 Rajlich Iweta IM POL 2437 3,0 19,00 2258 -25,6

GMA2 Marianske Lazne (CZE), 19-27 i 2008 cat. VIII (2429)
Rk. Name Ti FED RtgI Pts. TB1 Rp rtg+/-
1 Kristjansson Stefan IM ISL 2476 7,0 32,25 2554 8,0
2 Meister Yakov IM GER 2491 7,0 30,50 2586 12,5
3 Simacek Pavel IM CZE 2463 6,5 28,25 2529 8,3
4 Sveshnikov Evgeny GM LAT 2506 6,0 27,25 2443 -6,9
5 Smith Axel   SWE 2458 5,5 24,25 2450 -1,4
6 Shytaj Luca IM ITA 2471 5,0 23,75 2439 -4,4
7 Vokac Marek GM CZE 2435 5,0 22,75 2443 1,1
8 Hedman Erik FM SWE 2396 4,5 20,75 2410 2,8
9 Voloshin Leonid GM CZE 2451 4,0 17,25 2391 -7,1
10 Krejci Jan FM CZE 2357 2,5 12,75 2281 -13,4
11 Serafimov Tervel   BUL 2356 2,0 7,25 2309 -3,6
12 Natsidis Christoph   GER 2284 0,0 0,00 0 0,0

IMB1 Marianske Lazne (CZE), 19-27 i 2008 cat. III (2324)
Rk. Name Ti FED RtgI Pts. TB1 Rp rtg+/-
1 Vojta Tomas FM CZE 2361 7,5 38,25 2454 21,5
2 Sveshnikov Vladimir FM LAT 2392 7,5 37,75 2451 14,3
3 Krupa Monika WIM POL 2266 7,0 36,25 2431 36,8
4 Kozhuharov Spas IM BUL 2456 6,5 34,75 2377 -10,3
5 Thorfinnsson Bjorn FM ISL 2364 6,0 28,50 2357 -1,5
6 Babula Milan IM CZE 2328 5,5 30,50 2324 -0,6
7 Semcesen Daniel FM SWE 2349 5,5 26,50 2322 -5,4
8 Lagerman Robert FM ISL 2348 5,5 25,50 2322 -5,4
9 Plischki Sebastian IM GER 2358 5,0 23,75 2285 -15,3
10 Bejtovic Jasmin FM BIH 2353 5,0 23,00 2286 -23,3
11 Butuc Maria WFM RUS 2098 3,5 16,50 2212 19,5
12 Vokoun Jan FM CZE 2217 1,5 9,75 2025 -34,3

IMB2 Marianske Lazne (CZE), 19-27 i 2008 cat. III (2308)
Rk. Name Ti FED RtgI Pts. TB1 Rp rtg+/-
1 Arngrimsson Dagur FM ISL 2359 8,5 41,50 2504 27,6
2 Biolek Richard IM CZE 2422 7,0 36,25 2399 -3,2
3 Jedlicka Ales   CZE 2318 6,5 33,50 2372 12,8
4 Fejzullahu Afrim FM SRB 2323 6,5 32,00 2371 11,4
5 Marholev Dimitar IM BUL 2401 6,0 32,50 2335 -10,0
6 Schneider Veronika WIM HUN 2250 6,0 30,00 2349 21,5
7 Paci Cedric FM FRA 2301 5,5 30,00 2308 1,6
8 Zemerov Vladimir IM RUS 2341 5,0 21,75 2269 -10,5
9 Rudolf Anna WIM HUN 2242 4,5 24,75 2249 0,9
10 Braun Peter FM GER 2309 4,5 21,50 2243 -15,3
11 Nilsson Sebastian   SWE 2201 3,5 17,25 2185 -4,1
12 Bartos Jan FM CZE 2227 2,5 13,00 2118 -20,9

Open Marianske Lazne (CZE), 19-26 i 2008
Final Round 9 Standings
Rk. Name Ti FED RtgI Pts. TB1 Rp rtg+/-
1 Turner Jan   CZE 2347 7,5 52,0 2463 19,5
2 Kulicov Oleg IM RUS 2405 7,0 55,5 2414 2,6
3 Hansen Torbjorn Ringdal FM NOR 2354 7,0 51,5 2399 9,1
4 Bae Torstein IM NOR 2386 6,5 54,5 2387 3,8
5 Volodin Viktor IM RUS 2233 6,5 54,0 2343 13,7
6 Urkedal Frode   NOR 2264 6,5 50,5 2318 10,9
7 Kryukova Irina WGM RUS 2249 6,5 50,0 2294 9,0
8 Wieczorek Oskar   POL 2204 6,5 49,0 2260 12,0
9 Kozak Milos FM CZE 2181 6,5 48,0 2269 16,0
10 Golcman Evgeny   RUS 2273 6,5 47,5 2258 -0,9
11 Snorek Milan   CZE 2098 6,5 47,0 2201 26,4
12 Neoral Antonin   CZE 2142 6,5 43,0 2240 30,3
13 Baum Bernd Dr FM GER 2204 6,0 49,5 2229 4,8
14 Antipov Mikhail Al CM RUS 2114 6,0 49,5 2259 43,8
15 Osmanovic Faruk   GER 2138 6,0 48,0 2202 5,8
16 Rzoska Kamil   POL 2172 6,0 47,0 2137 -3,5
17 Ondrejat Miroslav   CZE 2074 6,0 46,0 2152 19,8
18 Meschke Andreas   GER 2153 6,0 46,0 2134 -2,0
19 Haug Marianne Wold   NOR 1753 6,0 45,5 2152 0,0
20 De Verdier Michael   SWE 2147 6,0 45,5 2179 12,5
21 Jiruse Josef   CZE 2159 6,0 44,5 2139 -1,5
22 Hastik Svatopluk   CZE 2116 6,0 44,0 2167 10,4
23 Musil Vitezslav Ing.   CZE 2066 6,0 42,5 2066 9,8
144 players

13) First Saturday

The First Saturday February GM-IM-FM closed tournaments take place in Budapest 2nd-14th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

FSGM February Budapest (HUN), 2-14 ii 2008 cat. VIII (2435)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
1. Prohaszka, Peter2 m HUN 2495 * . . . . . 1 1 . . . . . 2
2. Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas m CAN 2442 . * . ½ . . . . . . . . 1 2567
3. Rajlich, Iweta m POL 2437 . . * . . 1 . . . . . . . 1
4. Kristjansson, Stefan m ISL 2476 . ½ . * ½ . . . . . . . . 1 2476
5. Kosic, Dragan g MNE 2511 . . . ½ * . . . ½ . . . . 1 2475
6. Ilincic, Zlatko g SRB 2561 . . 0 . . * . . . 1 . . . 1 2398
7. Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy f VIE 2398 0 . . . . . * . . . 1 . . 1 2445
8. Bui Vinh m VIE 2482 0 . . . . . . * . . . 1 . 1 2423
9. Farag('o), Ivan g HUN 2475 . . . . ½ . . . * . . . . ½ 2511
10. Arngrimsson, Dagur f ISL 2359 . . . . . 0 . . . * ½ . . ½ 2285
11. Leviczki, Tibor f HUN 2396 . . . . . . 0 . . ½ * . . ½ 2185
12. Mihok, Oliver f HUN 2351 . . . . . . . 0 . . . * . 0
13. Porat, Ido f ISR 2272 . 0 . . . . . . . . . . * 0

FSIMA February Budapest (HUN), 2-12 ii 2008 cat. II (2278)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
1. Duong The Anh f VIE 2381 * . . . 1 . ½ . . . . 2486
2. Eperjesi, Laszlo m HUN 2285 . * ½ ½ . . . . . . . 1 2306
3. Gara, Ticia wg HUN 2319 . ½ * . . . . . . ½ . 1 2267
4. Werner, Dimo m GER 2293 . ½ . * . . . . . . ½ 1 2235
5. Lengyel, Bela m HUN 2261 0 . . . * . . . . . 1 1 2283
6. Steel, Henry Robert RSA 2241 . . . . . * . ½ ½ . . 1 2257
7. Kahn, Evarth m HUN 2326 ½ . . . . . * . . . . ½ 2381
8. Gara, Anita wg HUN 2325 . . . . . ½ . * . . . ½ 2241
9. Porat, Maya ISR 2190 . . . . . ½ . . * . . ½ 2241
10. Schneider, Veronika wm HUN 2250 . . ½ . . . . . . * . ½ 2319
11. Burghardt, Jozsef HUN 2185 . . . ½ 0 . . . . . * ½ 2084

FSIMB February Budapest (HUN), 2-11 ii 2008 cat. I (2266)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Adams, Nick A USA 2245 * * . . . . 1 . 1 . . . 2
2. Galyas, Miklos m HUN 2432 . . * * 1 . ½ . . . . . 2385
3. Perez Aleman, Pedro Tomas ESP 2141 . . 0 . * * . . . . 1 . 1 2358
4. Barbalat, Alex USA 2243 0 . ½ . . . * * . . . . ½ 2145
5. Farago, Sandor m HUN 2247 0 . . . . . . . * * ½ . ½ 2072
6. Vegh, Endre m HUN 2285 . . . . 0 . . . ½ . * * ½ 2001

14) Cuban Championship

Chess Today (http://www.chesstoday.net/) reports that the Cuban Chess Championships were won by Yuniesky Quesada. There were a number of phases with a 22 player open event being won by Frank de la Paz. Then a round robin event followed finally by a four player knockout where FM Lelys Martinez defeated defending champion Lazaro Bruzon and Quesada beat GM Holden Hernandez. Yuniesky Quesada then best Martinez in the final. Last year the games did eventually turn up and I'm hopeful they will this time too.

15) Azerbaijan Championship

The Championship of Azerbaijan took place in Baku 19th-28th January 2008. The all-play-all event was won by Rauf Mamedov with 7/9 a point clear of Nidjat Mamedov and Rasul Ibrahimov. I couldn't find a website with the games.

Results on the FIDE site: http://www.fide.com/ratings/view_source.phtml?code=11932

ch-AZE Baku AZE 19-28 i 2008
1 Mamedov, Rauf g AZE 2583 7
2 Mamedov, Nidjat g AZE 2574 6
  Ibrahimov, Rasul g AZE 2527 6
4 Abbasov, Farid g AZE 2519 5
  Babaev, Rashad g AZE 2468 5
  Gasimov, Ragim m AZE 2394 5
7 Guliyev, Namig g AZE 2570 4.5
8 Guliev, Logman m AZE 2438 4
9 Durarbeyli, Vasif m AZE 2392 2
10 Akhmedov, Fariz AZE 2246 1

16) 24th Geneve International Festival

The 24th Geneve International Chess Festival took place 19th-27th January 2008. Hichem Hamdouchi took clear first with 7.5/9. No games available.

Official site: http://www.genevachess.ch/2008/Open_International/index.php

24th Geneve International Chess Festival 19-27 i 2008
Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Pl Name Ti FED Rtg Pts BH
1 Hamdouchi Hichem GM MAR 2575 50
2 Sokolov Andrei GM FRA 2594 7 50
3 Cherniaev Alexander GM RUS 2491 7 47
4 Cornette Matthieu IM FRA 2491 48½
5 Raetsky Alexander GM RUS 2424 47
6 Huss Andreas IM SUI 2377 45½
7 Daverio Edoardo SUI 2055 45½
8 Peric Slavisa IM SRB 2258 41½
9 Gerber Richard IM SUI 2374 6 50
10 Bagri Jaspaul SUI 2232 6 46
11 Astengo Corrado ITA 2130 6 43½
12 Jagstaidt Patrick SUI 2029 6 41
13 Matsuo Tomohiko JPN 2216 47
14 Liepins Oliver LAT 2094 46½
15 Ruiz José SUI 2063 45½
16 Benkovic Petar IM SRB 2448 45
17 Verheyden Frédéric SUI 2074 45
18 Valenti Giuseppe FM ITA 2219 44½
19 Duport Nicolas SUI 2058 44½
20 Schmid Pablo SUI 2072 43½
21 Gurtner Daniel SUI 2147 43
22 De La Rosa Damian SUI 2064 43
23 Noyer Oliver SUI 2093 42½
24 Paladini Jean-Michel SUI 2110 41
25 Diotallevi Maurizio ITA 2092 40½
26 Mafé-Coll Lorenzo SUI 1873 39½
27 Rychener Henri SUI 2056 39½
28 Jodidio Nicholas FRA 1988 39
29 Bahi Abdelaziz SUI 2002 36½
91 players

17) Raul Humberto Monroy Viscarra Memorial

The Raul Humberto Monroy Viscarra Memorial takes place in Santa Cruz 31st January - 4th February 2008. No games available.

Details: http://www.ajedrezbolivia.com/ - http://chess-results.com/tnr10075.aspx?tnr=10075&art=4&lan=1&turdet=YES&datatyp=2&mm=-1&m=-1

Raul Humberto Monroy Viscarra Mem Santa Cruz BOL 31 i - 4 ii 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Pts. S/B
1 Campero Ronald 2262 BOL * 1 1 1   0 ½ 1   1 5,5 17,50
2 Pacheco Daniel 2318 Arg 0 *     1 ½ 1   1 1 4,5 12,00
3 Zambrana Oswaldo 2492 BOL 0   * 1   1   0 1 1 4,0 10,50
4 Quiñonez Cesar 2240 Per 0   0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½   3,5 10,75
5 Vera Kelver 2271 Per   0   ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 1 3,5 8,75
6 Condori Edwin 2200 Per 1 ½ 0 0 1 *   0 ½   3,0 12,75
7 Lopez Mario Iver 2279 BOL ½ 0   ½ ½   * 1 0 ½ 3,0 9,75
8 Ferrufino Boris 2199 BOL 0   1 0 ½ 1 0 *   ½ 3,0 9,25
9 Monroy Carrizo Javier 2242 BOL   0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1   * 1 3,0 7,25
10 Andrade Marco 2196 BOL 0 0 0   0   ½ ½ 0 * 1,0 3,00

18) 13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf

The 13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf (Germany) takes place 3rd-7th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.scoberland.de/

13th Euro Chessweek Leutersdorf GER 3-7 ii 2008
Top 10 of 38 entries
No Name Ti NAT ELO
1. Starostits,Ilmars IM LAT 2500
2. Ivanov,Michail GM RUS 2453
3, Pähtz,Thomas GM GER 2444
4. Gutman,Lev GM GER 2420
5. Ksieski,Zbigniew IM POL 2407
6. Spirin,Oleg FM RUS 2404
7. Bogdanovich,Grigori IM RUS 2356
8. Natsidis,Christoph   GER 2284
9. Hoffmann,Hendrik FM GER 2283
10. Mahn,Franko   GER 2133

19) Gonzaga Chess Classic

The Gonzaga Chess Classic took place at Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin 2nd-4th February 2008. Local pupil Gordon Freeman won with 5/6. No games available.

Official site: http://www.gonzagaclassic.tk/ - Final results at: http://www.icu.ie

Gonzaga Chess Classic Ranelagh, Dublin 2-4 ii 2008
Final Round 6 Standings
No Name Loc Total
1 Gordon Freeman 1999 5
2 Semyon Mkrtchyan 2030 4.5
3 David B. Murray 1989 4
4 Rory Delaney 1752 4
5 Tom Fitzpatrick 1604 4
6 Peter Cafolla 1980 3.5
7 Danny Mallaghan 1858 3.5
8 John Crowley 1646 3.5
9 Steven Hanly 1754 3
10 John Healy 1650 3
11 Mark A. Collins 1715 2.5
12 John Loughran 1655 2.5
13 Raino Soikkeli 1553 2.5
14 Peter D. Jackson 1739 2.5
15 Nick Larter 1786 2
16 Oisin P. Benson 1702 2
17 Patrick Launders 1512 1
18 Javier Gomes 1800 0

20) FIDE Grand Prix Events

FIDE have announced their Grand Prix Circuit (http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1588). The winner of the Grand Prix will play with the winner of the 2009 World Cup for the right to challenge the World Champion in 2010. Each Tournament will be a 14 player all play all. 14 players have the right to compete in the circuit and they have to play 4 of the 6 events (there will be local players too), these will be allocated to them. Below are the details as announced. It will be interesting to see who signs up for this event, my bet is that a number of the top players won't. This was supposed to be a held on different continents but the majority are being held in Europe. Secondly the presence of reserve cities suggests that some of these venues are not certain. Of course there is a certain chicken and egg situation, getting sponsors for the events without the players having signed up will be hard (they could end up with a distinct 2nd string) and the players won't sign up without venues being in place. Things will no doubt be easier if they do get this first series off the ground. They'll be nice events if they take place, I'm a big fan of all-play-alls but I've become quite cynical about announcements such as these.

FIDE Grand Prix 2008-9
Baku AZE April 20th - May 6th 2008
Krasnoyarsk * RUS July 30th - August 15th 2008
Doha QAT December 13th - 29th, 2008
Montreux SUI April 14th - 28th, 2009
Elista RUS August 1st - 17th, 2009
Karlovy Vary CZE December 7th - 23rd, 2009
* or other Russian city.
Reserve cities are Istanbul and Teheran.

Grand Prix 2008-9 Qualified Players
No Name NAT YroB Ja08
1 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 1975 2799
2 Anand, Viswanathan IND 1969 2799
3 Topalov, Veselin BUL 1975 2780
4 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 1977 2765
5 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz AZE 1985 2760
6 Shirov, Alexei ESP 1972 2755
7 Leko, Peter HUN 1979 2753
8 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 1969 2751
9 Aronian, Levon ARM 1982 2739
10 Gelfand, Boris ISR 1968 2737
11 Radjabov, Teimour AZE 1987 2735
12 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 1990 2733
13 Karjakin, Sergey UKR 1990 2732
14 Kamsky, Gata USA 1974 2726
Reserves
1 Adams, Michael ENG 1971 2726
2 Svidler, Peter RUS 1976 2763
3 Polgar, Judit HUN 1976 2707
4 Grischuk, Alexander RUS 1983 2711

Grand Prix 2008-9 Prizes Each Event
Place EUR Points
1 30,000 140 + 40 bonus
2 22,500 130 + 20
3 20,000 120 + 10
4 15,000 110
5 12,500 100
6 11,000 90
7 10,000 80
8 8,500 70
9 7,500 60
10 6,000 50
11 5,500 40
12 5,000 30
13 4,500 20
14 4,000 10

Grand Prix 2008-9
Prizes for Final Standings
(Best three events)
Pl Prize (Euros)
1st 75,000
2nd 50,000
3rd 40,000
4th 30,000
5th 25,000
6th 20,000
7th 18,000
8th 16,000
9th 14,000
10th 12,000

21) Forthcoming Events and Links

Aeroflot Open

The Aeroflot Open takes place 14th-22nd February 2008. This is usually regarded as the strongest open of the year with $30,000 US first place and $100,000 US total prizes in the top group (and good prizes in the lower groups).

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

24th Cappelle la Grande Open

The 24th Cappelle la Grande Open takes place 16th-23rd February 2008.

Official site: http://www.cappelle-chess.com/

Four Nations Chess Challenge

The Four Nations Chess Challenge between Norway, Sweden, England and Latvia takes place in Oslo - Norway, 15th-17th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.bergensjakk.no/four_nations_2008/ additional coverage: http://previews.chessdom.com/four-nations-chess-challenge

Four Nations Chess Challenge Oslo NOR 15-17 ii 2008
  Norway (2308) Sweden (2393)
1 GM Kjetil A. Lie 2556 GM Emanuel Berg 2593
2 GM Leif Erlend Johannessen 2521 GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson 2567
3 GM Berge Østenstad 2482 GM Evgenij Agrest 2541
4 GM Rune Djurhuus 2452 GM Jonny Hector 2520
5 IM Espen Lie 2428 GM Pontus Carlsson 2481
  Average 2488   Average 2540
6 WIM Sheila B. Sahl 2227 GM Pia Cramling 2531
7 WIM Ellen Hagesæther 2234 WIM Svetlana Agrest 2255
8 WFM Silje Bjerke 2162 WIM Christin Andersson 2209
9   Torill Skytte 1971   Inna Agrest 2121
10   Yerazik Khachatourian 2044   Ellinor Frisk 2109
  Average 2128   Average 2245
  England (2316) Latvia (2360)
1 GM Gawain Jones 2562 GM Normunds Miezis 2553
2 GM David Howell 2528 GM Maris Krakops 2525
3 GM Peter Wells 2520 GM Evgeny Sveshnikov 2506
4 IM Stephen Gordon 2501 IM Arturs Neiksans 2470
5 GM Stewart Haslinger 2495   Vitalijs Samolins 2444
  Average 2521   Average 2500
6 WGM Harriet Hunt 2457 WGM Dana Reizniece 2309
7 WFM Sabrina Chevannes 2074 WIM Ilze Berzina 2281
8   Kanwal Bhatia 2054 WIM Tatjana Voronova 2242
9   Sarah Hegarty 1974 WFM Viktorija Ni 2132
10   Amisha Parmar 1995 WFM Renate Praude 2131
  Average 2111   Average 2219

Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament  2008

The 17th Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament takes place March 14th-28th, 2008 at the Hotel Palais de la Mediterranée on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Twelve grandmasters from ten different countries will take part and the total prize-fund is 216,000 Euro.

Amber Rapid and Blindfold 14-28 iii 2008
No Name NAT YroB ja08 Gms Wrnk
1 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 1975 2799 9 1
2 Anand, Viswanathan IND 1969 2799 3 2
3 Topalov, Veselin BUL 1975 2780 14 3
4 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 1977 2765 12 4
5 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz AZE 1985 2760 35 6
6 Leko, Peter HUN 1979 2753 9 8
7 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 1969 2751 30 9
8 Aronian, Levon ARM 1982 2739 16 10
9 Gelfand, Boris ISR 1968 2737 9 11
10 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 1990 2733 37 13
11 Karjakin, Sergey UKR 1990 2732 36 14
12 Van Wely, Loek NED 1972 2681 16 35

Bermuda Open

The Bermuda Open takes place 7th-11th February, 2008. Details can be got from Nick Faulks at armadillo@northrock.bm or Nigel Freeman at cadilly@northrock.bm

31st San Sebastian City Open

The 31st San Sebastian City Open takes place 16th-23rd of March 2008.

Details: http://www.fgajedrez.org/open/open.htm

Hévíz GM, IM and Open Tournaments 2008

The Palace Hotel International Chess Tournament Hévíz (Hungary) 18th-28th March 2008. There are GM, IM and Open sections.

Further details: http://www.lellechess.tar.hu/

The Battle of Senta 1697 Chess Festival 2008

12th International Chess Festival "The Battle of Senta 1697" will be held 18th-25th. July 2008. in Senta (the Vojvodina /Serbia).

Further details: http://www.chess-senta.org.yu and in English: http://www.chess-senta.org.yu/select.php?lang=3&xid=2

XXVI  International Chess Open of Andorra

The XXVI  International Chess Open of Andorra takes place 19th-27th July 2008. Contact: open@escacsandorra.com FEVA - Tel/Fax: 00.376.824465  

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

Austrian Bundesliga

The second round of games from the Austrian Bundesliga took place in Jenbach 10th-13th January 2008. The final round of games (rounds 8-11) take place13th-16th Match 2008 in Graz (Novapark).

Official site: http://www.chess.at/

4th Cappelle la Grande International Chess Open

4th Cappelle la Grande International Chess Open will take place 16th-23rd February 2008 at the Palais des Arts et des Loisirs. Every player play the same open, with 600 players. Like every years more of 70 im and more of 90 igm but this year : more of 70 countries ! The entry form, the list of invited players and the list of the registered players are online and it will be published and updated until Thursday 14 February 2008 20 first boards online.

Details : http://www.cappelle-chess.com/

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008, 1.5. - 4.5.2008, in Ditzingen, South-Germany. 7 Rounds, Swiss System, A/B/C-tournament, over 7000 € prizes.

Further Details: http://www.stuttgarter-stadtmeisterschaft.de

Alushta Diary 2008

GM Norm events: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 – 6.10, IM Norm: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 – 6.10, Rating tournament: 4.06 - 12.06, 22.06 – 27.06, Open tournament (under 16 years) First prize - 200$ 3.06 – 11.06, 13.06 - 21.06, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament First prize - 1000$ First prize (woman) - 500$ 28.06 - 6.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 7.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 8.07 – 9.07, Alushta Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 21.06 – 27.06 Individual and group studying. phone +38 (06560)5-05-32,

Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua

20th Lenk International Chess Festival

The great jubilee, 20th Lenk International Chess Festival part of the "Swiss Chess Tour 2008" continues in Lenk March 20th-24th 2008. The venue is 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). The Main Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 800, 600 and 400 SF. Special prizes: Ladies senior (1947), junior(1988-91), schoolboy (1992) and amateur (under 2000) for all: 200/150/100 CHF. Golden prizes for the players who play more then 10 times: 300/200/150 CHF. Silver prizes for the players who play MORE THEN 5 TIMES 200/150/100 CHF. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 20 SF more, GMs and IMs free. The teams competition, with 4 members; 3 prizes: 4x100/4x75/4x50 SF; entry fee 10 SF. Venue: Hotel "Kreuz". Time table: Round 1st 18.00-23.00 March 20,; Rounds 2/3 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 21,; Round 4 13.30-18.30 March 22,; Rounds 5/6 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 23,; Round 7 9.30-14.30 March 24. Closing ceremony March 24 at 16.00. Gala jubilee dinner March 22 from 19-22 at Hotel “Kreuz”. Info: Beochess +41+62+965-46-50 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch or site http://www.beochess.ch for more details.  

Nancy Chess Festival

There is a Category XII tournament (average 2528) in Nancy from 18th-24th February 2008.

It Nancy 18-24 ii 2008
Landa, Konstantin g 2641 RUS
Bauer, Christian g 2614 FRA
Miladinovic, Igor g 2604 SRB
Guliyev, Namig g 2570 AZE
Sikula, V m 2550 UKR
Gozzoli, Yannick m 2510 FRA
Riff, Jean-Noël m 2474 FRA
Marzolo, Cyril m 2474 FRA
Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas m 2442 CAN
Nezar, Mustafa m 2404 FRA
Category XII (Average 2528)

Also the 6th international Festival in Nancy will see about 150 players : 15 groups of 10 players each. Also group B for IM-norms, group C for women, group D, E, F ...

Official site: http://echecs54.free.fr/

M-Tel Masters

M-Tel Masters takes place 7th-18th May 2008 in the Central Military Club in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The event is a 10 round double round robin with a 5 hour time control. In case of a draw at the top there will be a tie break for determining the winner. Like in the previous three editions of M-Tel Masters the rule for the draws introduced in Sofia will be valid. According to it the players do not have the right to agree a draw. This can be decided only by the chef arbiter of the tournament.

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

M-Tel Masters Sofia BUL 7-18 v 2008
Veselin Topalov BUL 2780
Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2751
Levon Aronian ARM 2739
Teimour Radjabov AZE 2735
Ivan Cheparinov BUL 2713
Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2691
Average rating: 2735 Category: 20

Chess Classic Mainz 2008

The schedule for Chess Classic Mainz 2008 is now available. The event takes place 28th July - 3rd August 2008 in Mainz/Germany (a week later than originally advertised).

In addition there is a Chess Classic Calendar for the next year, which will be available in the first week of December. It is a big format (420 x 594 mm) and shows the stars and the biggest moments of the 14 years tournament history. The copies are limited to 200 (39,- Euro plus delivery) plus 64 with an autograph of World Champion Vishy Anand (48,- Euro plus delivery). Contact for order: juergen.wienecke@chesstigers.de

Further details: http://www.chesstigers.de

4NCL

The 3rd weekend of the 4NCL took place 12th-13th January 2008. Next rounds 1st-2nd April 2008. My thanks to Malcolm Armstrong for the games.

Note that I have just noticed I got the dates for the first two rounds of the 4NCL wrong in the games section at that time. They took place 15th-16th September 2007 not in November as stated.

IX European Individual Chess Championship 2008

The IX European Individual Chess Championship takes place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria 20th April (day of arrival) - 4th May (day of departure) 2008.

Official site: http://www.eicc2008.com

Pula Open 2008

The Pula Open 2008 takes place 21st-28th June 2008 in Pula, Croatia. Contact e-mail: pulaopen@globalnet.hr

Further details: http://www.skpula.hr

echiquier-nicois Website

Thierry Foissez's echiquier-nicois website reports on news and events in French daily.

http://www.echiquier-nicois.org

Hungarian Chess Tournaments January - June 2008

1. 11th-19th of January 2008 Open in Budapest, Season opening, org: IA FAZEKAS, György, e-mail: srcolonel@freemail.hu http://www.chess.hu/download/hirek/mssz_evadnyito_nk_nyilt_20070827_141136.doc More info: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

2. 19th-28th of January 2008 KECSKEMET, IM Berger tmt, org: Dr.Erdelyi, Tamas, e-mail: postmaster@caissa.t-online.hu Website: http://www.caissachessbooks.hu Usually also in the second half of the month IM tmt-s in Kecskemet. 100 km South-East from Budapest.

3. 2nd-14th of February FIRST SATURDAY Budapest GM-IM-FM, GM-IM-FM round robins (BERGER), 9…13 games, GM-IM norm possibilities in Budapest, venue: 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 Phone-fax: +(361)-2632859, cellphone: +(36)-30-230-1914 /From 12:00 a.m. until midnight - Central European Time = GMT+1/

4. 16th-25th of February - IM tmt Kecskemet, org. Erdelyi

5. 1st-14th of March - First Saturday Budapest, org: Nagy L.

6. 21st-29th of March - Budapest Spring Festival 9 rounds Swiss Open, org.: Nagy Laszlo

7. 5th-18th of April First Saturday Budapest, org.NL,

8. 19th-28th of April, KECSKEMET, CAISSA IM tmt, org. Erdelyi

9. 3rd-15th of May First Saturday Budapest, org. NL,

11. 22nd-30th of May, ZALAKAROS Open, 9 rounds Swiss, 1st prize 500,000 Ft (brutto 2 thousand EURO), org: IM Horvath, Tamas, e-mail: mssz@zalaszam.hu Mobile: 36-20-9777003

12. 7th-19th of June First Saturday, Budapest, org: NL.,

13. 13th-21st of June, Balatonlelle Open, GM-IM round robin, org: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@t-online.hu

Anand - Kramnik World Championship Match

A Press release from UEP Promotions announces that Viswanathan Anand will defend his World title against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany October 11th–30th October, 2008. Main sponsor Evonik Industries AG and prizemoney 1,5 Million Euro. The match will be 12 games followed by playoffs if required. The contract was signed by both players 18th December 2007.

Website: http://www.uep-worldchess.com/

Morelia Linares 2008

The field has been announced for the Morelia - Linares tournament, with only Alexei Shirov not playing at Wijk aan Zee the event is a category stronger than that event but with far fewer players and also missing Vladimir Kramnik who will probably be world number 2 when the event takes place. As usual the first half is in Morelia, Mexico and the second half in Linares, Spain.

Official site:http://www.ajedrezmorelialinares.com.mx/

Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP 15-23 ii + 28 ii - 7 iii 2008
Name Year of birth Rating W rnk
GM Viswanathan Anand 1969 2801 1
GM Vassily Ivanchuk 1969 2787 2
GM Veselin Topalov 1975 2769 4
GM Peter Leko 1979 2755 5
GM Teymour Radjabov 1987 2742 8
GM Levon Aronian 1982 2741 9
GM Alexei Shirov 1972 2739 10
GM Magnus Carlsen 1990 2714 17
Category: 21

Mindsports

The World Mindsports games takes place in Beijing, China after the Olympics 3rd –18th October 2008.

Details: http://www.worldbridge.org/competitions/Calendar/files/WorldMindSportsGames2007.pdf.

Dutch Team Championship

The Dutch Team Championships take place 15th September 2007 - 17th May 2008.

Links: Dutch Chess Federation: http://www.schaakbond.nl/ - Meesterklasse Games side bar at: http://www.schakers.info/

Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga for 2007-8 takes place 19th October 2007 - 20th April 2008. The first games were on Friday 19th October as part of the special round 7 - fixtures from this round are played before various weekend programs. Most of Rounds 3 and 4 took place 24th-25th November 2007 but the fixtures at Baden Baden take place on 15th-16th December. Rounds 5 and 6 took place 8th-9th December 2007 but there was also an extensive round 7 program on the Friday. The next games take place 8th-10th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.schachbundesliga.de/ further coverage: http://www.schach.com and also at the national Federation site at: http://www.schachbund.de/SchachBL/index.php and statistics also at: http://www.godesbergersk.de/bundesliga-statistik/. Games from Baden Baden at: http://www.rochade.de/live.htm

Stockholm Ladies Open

The Stockholm Ladies Open tournament takes place 20th-25th March 2008. The prize money is over 100 000 Skr

The Invitation are in english, Dutch and Russian http://www.scandinavian-chess.se/

25th Bled Chess Festival

The 25th Chess Festival BLED takes place 23rd February - 2nd March 2008 (the main event finishes 1st March which allows participation in other events around that time).

Details: http://www.sah-zveza.si/bled/2008/

XXI Benidorm Open

The XXI Open Internacional de Ajedrez Villa de Benidorm 2008 Benidorm organised an international tournament 1977 till 1995 now it has returned second year. The event takes place 25nd April - 4st May 2008 (10 rounds). 35.000 Euros in prizes. Information: Mr. Alfonso Vilches Tel: +34 695 91 56 78. E-mail: open@chessbenidorm.com

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

Icelandic Rapid Championships

The Icelandic Rapid Championships took place 18th-20th October 2007. Bragi and Björn Þorfinnsson will meet in the final in December which be on TV in Iceland.

Official site: http://www.skaksamband.is/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5661&Itemid=387

Games Festival Halkidiki 2008

Games Festival is a mass event organized for the third year in Halkidiki, Greece 28th April - 6th May 2008. The festival includes series of tournaments & exhibitions in prestigious sports like, chess, billiards, bridge, darts, streetbasketball and popular table games like scrabble, strategic games, pc games etc.

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

Halkidiki Chess Festival 2008

The Halkidiki Chess Festival takes place in Kallithea, 28th April - 5 May 2008.

The Organizing Committee of the Halkdiki Chess Festival 2008. Tel/fax: +30 2310 865778 - e-mail: teotsorb@otenet.gr V.Olgas 285, Thessaloniki, Greece.

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

Etienne Bacrot's Website

Etienne Bacrot has a website at: http://www.chess22.fr/ giving news about himself, some comments on recent events including the World Championships in Mexico City etc. Worth check out.

32nd Kings Head Rapidplay

The 32nd Kings Head Rapidplay takes place Saturday 5 April 2008 start time 11:00, details below: 6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £700

The Porchester Hall Porchester Road Bayswater London W2 5HS

Contact: Colin Mackenzie 9 Allan Way Acton London W3 0PW 020 8992 1849 colin.mackenzie@atosorigin.com

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

10th European Senior Team-Championship

10th European Senior Team-Championship take place 11th-19th February 2008 in RAMADA-Hotel in Dresden.

Further info contact: ZMD Schachfestival Dresden e.V., Oskar-Mai-Straße 6, D-01159 Dresden, Fon +49 (0)351 416 16 29, Fax: +49 (0)351 416 16 39 Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, Hepkestraße 131, D-01277 Dresden, Fon +49 (0)351 251 34 20, E-Mail: gerhard.schmidt@schachfestival.de

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site allows predictions for current chess tournaments. http://e4e6.com/toto

Sydney International Open 2008

The 2008 Sydney International Open takes place at Parramatta Town Hall 25th-29th March 2008. Free accommodation and modest conditions are offered to GMs. All enquiries to the Tournament Organiser, FM Brian Jones, at info@chessaustralia.com.au

Details: http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/

ICC and FICS client for mobile phones

Mats Luthman has written a program that connects to ICC and FICS, compatable with many modern mobile phones. I've been looking for something like this for a while for watching live tournaments if I'm out and about. Its a nice free solution, you can also play but I haven't tried that.

Website: http://www.luthman.nu/Mobi/Mobi.html