THE WEEK IN CHESS 693 18th February 2008 by Mark Crowther

1) Introduction

My thanks to Sinisa Joksic, Axel Fritz, Thomas Henrich, Alexander Baburin, Paco Hernanz, Philip Feeley, David Korn, Claudio Negrini, David Llada, Eirik T. Gullaksen, Valery Maes, Nigel Freeman, Miklos Orso, Robert Fontaine, Laszlo Nagy, Patricia Claros Aguilar and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The Morelia half of the Linares tournament is on its first rest day with Veselin Topalov leading on 2.5/3 a welcome return to form for him after a poor Wijk aan Zee. World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand is half a point behind and it could have been better as he seemed to be doing well against Levon Aronian in round 2 until a rather sudden reverse happened. The games have been interesting, if patchy in quality so far but they're just getting warmed up. I have more detailed round by round summaries on the website. Elsewhere there is a lot of chess, the Aeroflot Open, Cappelle La Grande and much other interesting material are contained in this issue.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Morelia - Linares Tournament

The Morelia - Linares tournament takes place 15th-23rd February (Mexican half) and then 28th February - 7th March 2008 (Spanish half).

Alongside was an Open tournament for which they promise games and results later. Now the Iberoamericano Championship starts (see details below)

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

XXV SuperGM Morelia/Linares (MEX/ESP), 15 ii-7 iii 2008																	cat. XXI (2756)
					1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8
1.	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2780	*	*	.	.	1	.	1	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	2½	3014
2.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2799	.	.	*	*	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	1	.	2	2867
3.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2739	0	.	1	.	*	*	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2771
4.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2751	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	*	1	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	1½	2755
5.	Lékó, Peter	g	HUN	2753	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	.	*	*	1	.	.	.	½	.	1½	2747
6.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2735	½	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	0	.	*	*	.	.	.	.	1	2632
7.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2733	.	.	0	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	*	*	½	.	1	2643
8.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2755	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	.	*	*	1	2636

Round 1 (February 15, 2008)
Topalov, Veselin	- Aronian, Levon	1-0	37	E20	Nimzo Indian
Lékó, Peter	- Radjabov, Teimour	1-0	37	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Carlsen, Magnus	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	½-½	39	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Shirov, Alexei	- Anand, Viswanathan	0-1	30	B96	Sicilian Najdorf
Round 2 (February 16, 2008)
Anand, Viswanathan	- Aronian, Levon	0-1	34	C89	Ruy Lopez Marshall
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Lékó, Peter	1-0	43	C88	Ruy Lopez Closed
Radjabov, Teimour	- Topalov, Veselin	½-½	41	C67	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Shirov, Alexei	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	39	B42	Sicilian Paulsen
Round 3 (February 17, 2008)
Topalov, Veselin	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	1-0	46	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Aronian, Levon	- Radjabov, Teimour	½-½	24	E61	King's Indian Defence
Lékó, Peter	- Shirov, Alexei	½-½	37	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Carlsen, Magnus	- Anand, Viswanathan	0-1	59	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit

3) 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). Maxim Rodshtein and Ian Nepomniachtchi have both started with the amazing 4.5/5.

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

Aeroflot Open Moscow (RUS), 14-22 ii 2008 Leading Round 5 Standings:
Rk	Name	Ti	NAT	Elo	Score	TPR
1	Rodshtein, Maxim	GM	ISR	2614	4.5	2932
2	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	GM	RUS	2600	4.5	2954
3	Timofeev, Artyom	GM	RUS	2664	4.0	2820
4	Dreev, Alexey	GM	RUS	2633	4.0	2814
5	Volokitin, Andrei	GM	UKR	2674	3.5	2702
6	Motylev, Alexander	GM	RUS	2644	3.5	2741
7	Jobava, Baadur	GM	GEO	2643	3.5	2716
8	Asrian, Karen	GM	ARM	2621	3.5	2697
9	Guseinov, Gadir	GM	AZE	2617	3.5	2728
10	Grachev, Boris	GM	RUS	2601	3.5	2720
11	Bologan, Viktor	GM	MDA	2663	3.0	2640
12	Amonatov, Farrukh	GM	TJK	2649	3.0	2648
13	Sutovsky, Emil	GM	ISR	2642	3.0	2645
14	Predojevic, Borki	GM	BIH	2641	3.0	2627
15	Najer, Evgeniy	GM	RUS	2634	3.0	2646
16	Bocharov, Dmitry	GM	RUS	2600	3.0	2647
17	Grigoriants, Sergey	GM	RUS	2583	3.0	2680
18	Mamedov, Rauf	GM	AZE	2583	3.0	2707
19	Khismatullin, Denis	GM	RUS	2564	3.0	2690
20	Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son	GM	VIE	2551	3.0	2701
21	Romanov, Evgeny	GM	RUS	2543	3.0	2691
22	Le, Quang Liem	GM	VIE	2540	3.0	2662
23	Safarli, Eltaj	IM	AZE	2496	3.0	2611
24	Akopian, Vladimir	GM	ARM	2700	2.5	2570
25	Khalifman, Alexander	GM	RUS	2638	2.5	2555
26	Naiditsch, Arkadij	GM	GER	2638	2.5	2564
27	Riazantsev, Alexander	GM	RUS	2628	2.5	2541
28	Aleksandrov, Aleksej	GM	BLR	2618	2.5	2578
29	Azarov, Sergei	GM	BLR	2594	2.5	2525
30	Lysyj, Igor	GM	RUS	2593	2.5	2520
31	Iordachescu, Viorel	GM	MDA	2586	2.5	2591
32	Jussupow, Artur	GM	GER	2585	2.5	2594
33	Minasian, Artashes	GM	ARM	2578	2.5	2594
34	Parligras, Mircea	GM	ROU	2574	2.5	2581
35	Maletin, Pavel	GM	RUS	2573	2.5	2623
36	Evdokimov, Alexander A.	GM	RUS	2569	2.5	2630
37	Shomoev, Anton	GM	RUS	2562	2.5	2635
38	Zhou, Jianchao	GM	CHN	2551	2.5	2635
39	Frolyanov, Dmitry	GM	RUS	2544	2.5	2623
40	Hou, Yifan	WGM	CHN	2527	2.5	2603
41	Feller, Sebastien	GM	FRA	2522	2.5	2618
42	Pavlovic, Milos	GM	SRB	2522	2.5	2598
43	Sebag, Marie	IM	FRA	2510	2.5	2607
44	Bindrich, Falko	GM	GER	2497	2.5	2589
45	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	GM	FRA	2637	2.0	2483
46	Volkov, Sergey	GM	RUS	2623	2.0	2477
47	Smirnov, Pavel	GM	RUS	2599	2.0	2460
48	Caruana, Fabiano	GM	ITA	2598	2.0	2465
49	Laznicka, Viktor	GM	CZE	2595	2.0	2465
50	Dyachkov, Sergej	GM	RUS	2559	2.0	2533
51	Brkic, Ante	GM	CRO	2558	2.0	2540
52	Zhigalko, Sergei	GM	BLR	2558	2.0	2555
53	Khairullin, Ildar	GM	RUS	2544	2.0	2542
54	Olafsson, Helgi	GM	ISL	2531	2.0	2523
66 players

4) 24th Cappelle La Grande Open

The 24th Cappelle La Grande Open takes place 16th-23rd February 2008. The standings only become truely meaningful after round 5 but players such as Vugar Gashimov, Sergey Fedorchuk, Evgenij Miroshnichenko and Alexander Moiseenko are competing.

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

5) Dutch Team Championship

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

The 6th round was on February 9th with the results ESGOO-Schrijvers Rotterdam 4-6; HWP Sas van Gent-HSG 3-7; Utrecht-LSG 5-5; Homburg Apeldoorn-LSG 2 7-3; Hotels.nl-HMC Calder 4½-5½. Full report at http://www.schakers.info/ and also at chessvista.com.

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

Dutch League Round 6 Results 9th February 2008
ESGOO	4	-	6	Schrijvers Rotterdam
HWP Sas van Gent	3	-	7	HSG
Utrecht	5	-	5	LSG 1
Homburg Apeldoorn	7	-	3	LSG 2
Hotels.nl	4½	-	5½	HMC Calder

Dutch League Round 6 Standings
Pl.	Team	Mp	Bp	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1.	HSG	12	43½	x	.	6	7	.	7½	6	.	7	10
2.	Hotels.nl	9	33½	.	x	5	4½	7	5½	.	6	5½	.
3.	Schrijvers Rotterdam	8	33	4	5	x	.	5	6	7½	5½	.	.
4.	HMC Calder	8	32	3	5½	.	x	6½	4½	.	5½	7	.
5.	Utrecht	6	30	.	3	5	3½	x	.	5	5½	.	8
6.	ESGOO	6	29½	2½	4½	4	5½	.	x	5½	.	.	7½
7.	LSG 1	5	30	4	.	2½	.	5	4½	x	.	6½	7½
8.	Homburg Apeldoorn	4	32	.	4	4½	4½	4½	.	.	x	7½	7
9.	HWP Sas van Gent	2	23½	3	4½	.	3	.	.	3½	2½	x	7
10.	LSG 2	0	13	0	.	.	.	2	2½	2½	3	3	x

6) First Saturday

The First Saturday February GM-IM-FM closed tournaments took place in Budapest 2nd-14th February 2008. 16 year old Hungarian IM, Peter Prohaszka made an 11 round GM norm on the way to winning the main category XIII GM group.

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, Peter	m	HUN	2495	*	0	1	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	½	9	2623
2.	Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas	m	CAN	2442	1	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	7½	2529
3.	Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy	f	VIE	2398	0	½	*	½	1	1	½	0	1	½	1	½	1	7½	2533
4.	Kosic, Dragan	g	MNE	2511	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	7	2485
5.	Ilincic, Zlatko	g	SRB	2561	½	½	0	½	*	½	0	½	½	1	1	1	½	6½	2453
6.	Kristjansson, Stefan	m	ISL	2476	0	½	0	½	½	*	1	½	1	½	½	½	1	6½	2460
7.	Rajlich, Iweta	m	POL	2437	0	½	½	½	1	0	*	0	½	½	1	1	½	6	2434
8.	Porat, Ido	f	ISR	2272	0	0	1	0	½	½	1	*	½	½	½	1	0	5½	2419
9.	Farag('o), Ivan	g	HUN	2475	0	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	*	1	½	½	1	5½	2402
10.	Arngrimsson, Dagur	f	ISL	2359	0	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	0	*	½	1	½	5	2384
11.	Mihok, Oliver	f	HUN	2351	½	½	0	½	0	½	0	½	½	½	*	0	½	4	2317
12.	Bui Vinh	m	VIE	2482	0	½	½	½	0	½	0	0	½	0	1	*	½	4	2306
13.	Leviczki, Tibor	f	HUN	2396	½	0	0	0	½	0	½	1	0	½	½	½	*	4	2313

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	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	½	1	7½	2460
2.	Steel, Henry Robert		RSA	2241	½	*	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	½	1	6½	2391
3.	Gara, Anita	wg	HUN	2325	½	½	*	½	½	0	½	1	1	1	1	6½	2383
4.	Werner, Dimo	m	GER	2293	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	6	2348
5.	Kahn, Evarth	m	HUN	2326	½	½	½	½	*	1	½	½	0	1	1	6	2345
6.	Eperjesi, Laszlo	m	HUN	2285	0	0	1	½	0	*	½	½	1	1	½	5	2277
7.	Gara, Ticia	wg	HUN	2319	0	0	½	½	½	½	*	1	½	0	1	4½	2237
8.	Lengyel, Bela	m	HUN	2261	0	½	0	½	½	½	0	*	½	1	1	4½	2243
9.	Schneider, Veronika	wm	HUN	2250	0	½	0	0	1	0	½	½	*	½	1	4	2208
10.	Porat, Maya		ISR	2190	½	½	0	0	0	0	1	0	½	*	½	3	2137
11.	Burghardt, Jozsef		HUN	2185	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	0	0	½	*	1½	1991

FSIMB February Budapest (HUN), 2-11 ii 2008 cat. I (2266)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Galyas, Miklos	m	HUN	2432	*	*	1	1	½	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	8	2472
2.	Perez Aleman, Pedro Tomas		ESP	2141	0	0	*	*	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	7½	2483
3.	Vegh, Endre	m	HUN	2285	½	½	0	0	*	*	½	½	½	1	1	1	5½	2297
4.	Farago, Sandor	m	HUN	2247	½	0	0	½	½	½	*	*	0	1	1	1	5	2269
5.	Adams, Nick A		USA	2245	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	0	*	*	1	½	3	2120
6.	Barbalat, Alex		USA	2243	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	*	*	1	1904

7) 1st Pfalz Open

The 1st Pfalz Open takes place in Neustadt a.d. Weinstraße 15th-23rd February 2008.

Official site: http://www.pfalzopen.de/ - Live coverage at: http://www.schach.com/neustadt

1st Pfalz Open Neustadt a.d. Weinstrasse (GER), 16-23 ii 2008 Round 3 Standings
Pl	Player	Ti	Rat	NAT	Pts	Buchh
1	Markowski,Tomasz	GM	2585	POL	3	4
1	Greenfeld,Alon	GM	2559	ISR	3	4
3	Manolache,Marius	GM	2530	ROU	3	4
3	Kekelidze,Michail	GM	2454	GEO	3	4
3	Morawietz,Dieter		2424	GER	3	4
6	Tiviakov,Sergei	GM	2649	NED	3	4
7	Milov,Leonid	IM	2482	GER	3	4
7	Djuric,Stefan	GM	2448	SRB	3	4
9	Kopylov,Michael	IM	2457	UKR	3	3.5
10	Haba,Petr	GM	2536	CZE	3	3.5
11	Dgebuadze,Alexand	GM	2512	BEL	3	3.5
12	Graf,Alexander	GM	2586	GER	3	3
12	Mäurer,Christoph,	FM	2266	GER	3	3
14	Khenkin,Igor	GM	2602	GER	3	3
15	Dittmar,Peter	FM	2329	GER	2.5	4.5
16	Moldovan,Daniel	IM	2446	ROU	2.5	4.5
17	Kempinski,Robert	GM	2590	GER	2.5	4.5
17	Epishin,Vladimir	GM	2577	RUS	2.5	4.5
17	Drozdovskyy,Yuriy	GM	2574	UKR	2.5	4.5
17	Schulze,Ulrich	IM	2316	GER	2.5	4.5
21	Esterluss,Johanne		2126	GER	2.5	4
22	Brener,Ilja	IM	2394	GER	2.5	4
23	Sorm,Daniel	FM	2330	FID	2.5	3.5
24	Degenhardt,Horst	FM	2286	GER	2.5	3.5
25	Helbig,Mark	FM	2343	GER	2.5	3.5
26	Borovikov,Vladisl	GM	2583	UKR	2.5	3
27	Postny,Evgeny	GM	2627	ISR	2.5	3
28	Wind,Lutz		2174	GER	2.5	3

8) Four Nations Chess Challenge

The Four Nations Chess Challenge between Norway, Sweden, England and Latvia took place in Oslo - Norway, 15th-17th February 2008. Sweden took clear first winning all their matches, England came in second place.

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 Individual player results
Board	Sweden					England					Latvia					Norway
1	g	E. Berg	1	½	0	g	G. Jones	0	0	½	g	N. Miezis	½	1	1	g	K. Lie	½	½	½
2	g	T.H. Persson	0	0	1	g	D. Howell	1	1	0	g	M. Krakops	0	0	0	g	L.E. Johannessen	1	1	1
3	g	E. Agrest	½	1	1	m	S. Williams	½	1	½	g	E. Sveshnikov	0	0	0	g	B. Østenstad	1	0	½
4	g	J. Hector	1	½	1	m	S. Gordon	0	1	½	m	A. Neiksans	0	0	0	g	R. Djurhuus	1	½	½
5	g	P. Carlsson	½	1	1	g	S. Haslinger	½	1	½		V. Daskevics	1	0	0	m	E. Lie	0	0	½
6	g	P. Cramling	1	1	1	m	H. Hunt	0	1	1	wg	D. Reizniece	1	0	0	wm	S.B. Sahl	0	0	0
7	wm	S. Agrest	1	½	0	wf	S. Chevannes	0	0	½	wm	I. Berzina	½	1	1	wm	E. Hagesæther	½	½	½
8	wm	C. Andersson	½	0	½		K. Bathia	½	½	1	wm	T. Voronova	½	½	½	wf	S. Bjerke	½	1	0
9		I. Agrest	1	1	0		S. Hegarty	0	0	1	wf	V. Ni	½	1	1		T. Skytte	½	0	0
10	wf	E. Frisk	1	1	½		A. Parmar	0	0	½	wf	R. Praude	1	1	½		Y. Khachatourian	0	0	½

Four Nations Chess Challenge Oslo (NOR) 15-17 ii 2008 Team Results
Team	Pl	+	=	-	Ind Pts	Mpts
1. Sweden	3	3	0	0	20.0	6
2. England	3	2	0	1	14.0	4
3. Latvia	3	0	1	2	13.5	1
4. Norway	3	0	1	2	12.5	1

9) Indian Championship

The Indian Championship (Velammal 45th National A Chess Championship) took place in the TNCA Club, Chennai, 3rd-15th February 2008. Surya Shekhar Ganguly took first place on tie-break from K Rathnakaran after both scored 9/11.

Official site: http://www.tamilchess.com/ and detailed results at: http://chess-results.com/tnr10196.aspx

Velammal 45th National A ch-IND Chennai (IND), 3-15 ii 2008
Rk.	Name	Ti	FED	Rtg	Pts.	AvRaOp
1	Ganguly Surya Shekhar	GM	IND	2579	9,0	2458
2	Rathnakaran K	IM	IND	2437	9,0	2434
3	Gopal G N	GM	IND	2528	8,5	2446
4	Arun Prasad S	IM	IND	2423	8,5	2445
5	Venkatesh M R	IM	IND	2444	8,5	2434
6	Kunte Abhijit	GM	IND	2550	8,0	2447
7	Sethuraman S P	IM	IND	2424	7,5	2449
8	Barua Dibyendu	GM	IND	2491	7,5	2435
9	Deepan Chakkravarthy J	GM	IND	2491	7,5	2430
	Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi	IM	IND	2418	7,5	2430
11	Negi Parimarjan	GM	IND	2526	7,5	2416
12	Thipsay Praveen M	GM	IND	2473	7,5	2361
13	Bakre Tejas	GM	IND	2459	7,0	2429
14	Adhiban B		IND	2401	7,0	2422
15	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	FM	IND	2319	7,0	2418
16	Neelotpal Das	GM	IND	2486	7,0	2386
	Prathamesh Sunil Mokal	IM	IND	2371	7,0	2386
18	Saptarshi Roy	IM	IND	2404	7,0	2378
19	Sundararajan Kidambi	IM	IND	2442	7,0	2360
20	Ashwin Jayaram	IM	IND	2478	7,0	2341
21	Babu N Sudhakar	IM	IND	2333	6,5	2444
22	Roktim Bandyopadhyay	IM	IND	2373	6,5	2429
23	Sanjay N		IND	2354	6,5	2390
24	Sriram Jha	IM	IND	2457	6,5	2353
	Sharma R Preetham		IND	2314	6,5	2353
26	Thejkumar M S		IND	2382	6,0	2467
27	Suvrajit Saha	IM	IND	2363	6,0	2437
28	Satyapragyan Swayangsu	IM	IND	2406	6,0	2428
29	Karthikeyan P		IND	2327	6,0	2411
30	Shashikant Kutwal		IND	2316	6,0	2401
31	Konguvel Ponnuswamy	IM	IND	2394	6,0	2385
32	Mohota Nisha	WGM	IND	2409	6,0	2369
33	Ramesh R B	GM	IND	2473	5,5	2388
34	Vishnu Prasanna		IND	2340	5,5	2386
35	Shetty Rahul	IM	IND	2320	5,5	2370
36	Akshat Khamparia		IND	2307	5,5	2357
37	Ravi Thandalam Shanmugam	IM	IND	2339	5,5	2266
38	Mehar Chinna Reddy C H		IND	2199	5,5	2262
39	Mishra Neeraj-Kumar	IM	IND	2349	5,0	2370
40	Lalith Babu M R		IND	2299	5,0	2363
41	Ashwath R		IND	2332	5,0	2345
42	Arun Karthik R		IND	2313	4,5	2339
43	Imocha Laishram		IND	2240	4,0	2250
44	Shivananda B S		IND	2373	2,5	2333

10) 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. Games now available.

Source of games: Ulvi Bajarani's Website. Results on the FIDE site: http://www.fide.com/ratings/view_source.phtml?code=11932

ch-AZE Baku AZE (AZE), 19-28 i 2008										cat. IX (2471)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Mamedov, Rauf	g	AZE	2583	*	½	1	½	1	½	1	½	1	1	7	2678
2.	Ibrahimov, Rasul	g	AZE	2527	½	*	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	1	6	2589
3.	Mamedov, Nidjat	g	AZE	2574	0	½	*	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	6	2584
4.	Gasimov, Ragim	m	AZE	2394	½	½	½	*	0	1	1	½	1	0	5	2522
5.	Babaev, Rashad	g	AZE	2468	0	½	½	1	*	½	0	½	1	1	5	2514
6.	Abbasov, Farid	g	AZE	2519	½	0	½	0	½	*	½	1	1	1	5	2508
7.	Guliyev, Namig	g	AZE	2570	0	0	0	0	1	½	*	1	1	1	4½	2460
8.	Guliev, Logman	m	AZE	2438	½	½	0	½	½	0	0	*	1	1	4	2431
9.	Durarbeyli, Vasif	m	AZE	2392	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	*	1	1½	2206
10.	Akhmedov, Fariz		AZE	2246	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	*	1	2145

11) Petrovskaya Ladya in Peterhof

There were GM and IM groups in the Petrovskaya Ladya tournament in Peterhof, Russia that took place 3rd-10th January 2008. Aleksandr Shimanov won the top GM group.

Official site: http://www.petergofchess.ru and the results are reported at: http://www.fide.com/ratings/view_source.phtml?code=11546 and http://www.fide.com/ratings/view_source.phtml?code=11545

Petrovskaya Ladya GM Peterhof (RUS), 3-10 i 2008										cat. VII (2411)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1
1.	Shimanov, Aleksandr	m	RUS	2441	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	7½	2601
2.	Khruschiov, Alexey	g	MDA	2504	½	*	½	1	1	0	½	1	1	½	1	7	2550
3.	Matlakov, Maxim	m	RUS	2441	½	½	*	½	0	1	1	1	½	1	1	7	2557
4.	Yevseev, Denis	g	RUS	2499	½	0	½	*	1	½	½	½	1	1	1	6½	2512
5.	Khuseinkhodzhaev, Muhammad		TJK	2397	½	0	1	0	*	1	½	1	0	½	1	5½	2448
6.	Gorovykh, Eduard	m	RUS	2402	0	1	0	½	0	*	1	½	1	1	0	5	2412
7.	Vedmediuc, Serghei	m	MDA	2410	0	½	0	½	½	0	*	1	1	½	½	4½	2375
8.	Levin, Evgeny A	m	RUS	2440	½	0	0	½	0	½	0	*	1	1	1	4½	2372
9.	Malinin, Vasily B	g	RUS	2346	0	0	½	0	1	0	0	0	*	½	½	2½	2224
10.	Fazulyanov, Sergey	f	RUS	2354	0	½	0	0	½	0	½	0	½	*	½	2½	2223
11.	Pogosian, Vladimir		ARM	2289	0	0	0	0	0	1	½	0	½	½	*	2½	2230

Petrovskaya Ladya IM Peterhof (RUS), 3-10 i 2008										cat. II (2278)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1
1.	Kosov, Ivan	f	RUS	2365	*	½	1	1	1	1	½	½	1	½	1	8	2509
2.	Rozum, Ivan		RUS	2410	½	*	1	1	½	0	1	½	1	1	1	7½	2457
3.	Timofeev, Andrei		RUS	2242	0	0	*	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	7½	2474
4.	Borisova, Elizaveta		RUS	2305	0	0	0	*	0	1	1	1	½	1	1	5½	2311
5.	Grebenshikov, V	m	KAZ	2286	0	½	0	1	*	0	1	1	0	½	1	5	2277
6.	Fedoseev, Vladimir3		RUS	2247	0	1	0	0	1	*	0	0	1	1	1	5	2280
7.	Kashlinskaya, Alina	wm	RUS	2276	½	0	0	0	0	1	*	1	½	1	1	5	2278
8.	Khamitskiy, Sergei	m	BLR	2367	½	½	0	0	0	1	0	*	½	½	1	4	2196
9.	Duzhakov, Ilya		RUS	2143	0	0	0	½	1	0	½	½	*	1	½	4	2219
10.	Skurygin, Anton	m	KAZ	2283	½	0	0	0	½	0	0	½	0	*	½	2	2037
11.	Ni, Viktorija	wf	LAT	2132	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	*	1½	1996

12) Orsha 2008

There was an IM tournament in Orsha, Belarus 22nd-27th January 2008. Vladimir Fedoseev won the event with 8/11. I took the results from the FIDE site. An interesting thing is that although the results are correctly reported Daniel Shkuran's points total is wrong, and this isn't the first time I've seen this today on that site.

Official site: http://www.petergofchess.ru and the results are reported at: http://www.fide.com/ratings/view_source.phtml?code=11938

IM Orsha (BLR), 22-27 i 2008										cat. II (2276)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS	2247	*	½	1	½	1	½	1	1	½	½	½	1	8	2453
2.	Shkuran, Daniil	m	UKR	2437	½	*	0	1	1	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	8	2436
3.	Nozdrachev, Vladislav	f	RUS	2328	0	1	*	1	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	7	2373
4.	Kosov, Ivan	f	RUS	2365	½	0	0	*	1	1	1	1	½	0	1	1	7	2370
5.	Nozdrachev, Leonid		RUS	2202	0	0	½	0	*	1	0	½	1	1	1	1	6	2319
6.	Bulanov, Dmitri		BLR	2260	½	½	½	0	0	*	½	½	1	½	1	½	5½	2277
7.	Aliavdin, Nikolai	m	BLR	2398	0	½	½	0	1	½	*	0	½	1	1	½	5½	2265
8.	Drugov, Pavel	m	RUS	2406	0	½	½	0	½	½	1	*	½	½	½	½	5	2228
9.	Volkov, Sergei		RUS	2284	½	0	0	½	0	0	½	½	*	1	½	1	4½	2210
10.	Kovalev, Vladislav		BLR	2184	½	0	½	1	0	½	0	½	0	*	½	½	4	2182
11.	Tsyhanchuk, Stanislav		BLR	2072	½	0	½	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	*	½	3	2119
12.	Ni, Viktorija	wf	LAT	2132	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	0	½	½	*	2½	2078

13) Ibero-Americano Championship

The II Ibero-Americano Championship takes place in Morelia, Mexico 14th-19th February and then moves to Linares, Spain 28th February - 8th March 2008.

Official sites: http://www.fibda.com/ and http://www.ajedrezmorelialinares.com.mx/

14) 16th Fajr Open

The 16th Fajr Open took place in Urmia, Iran 3rd-9th February 2008. Ehsan Ghaem Maghami took clear first with 9.5/11.

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr10206.aspx?lan=1 - Source of games: Ulvi Bajarani's Website

16th FAJR Open Urmia (IRI), 3-9 ii 2008 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rk.	Name		FED	Rtg	Pts.	BH
1	Ghaem Maghami Ehsan	GM	IRI	2589	9,5	74,0
2	Grigoryan Avetik	IM	ARM	2509	9,0	77,0
3	Magalashvili Davit	IM	GEO	2449	8,5	76,0
4	Shanava Konstantine	GM	GEO	2521	8,5	73,0
5	Malaniuk Vladimir P	GM	UKR	2498	8,5	73,0
6	Pantsulaia Levan	GM	GEO	2629	8,5	67,0
7	Mirumian Vigen	IM	CZE	2525	8,5	67,0
8	Girinath P D S	IM	IND	2430	8,0	75,0
9	Mas Hafizulhelmi	IM	MAS	2382	8,0	72,0
10	Sulashvili Malkhaz	IM	GEO	2482	8,0	72,0
11	Kasparov Sergey	GM	BLR	2458	8,0	71,5
12	Sadatnajafi M		IRI	2256	8,0	71,0
13	Morchiashvili Bachana	IM	GEO	2434	8,0	69,0
14	Babujian Levon	IM	ARM	2439	8,0	67,5
15	Ghorbani Mohsen	IM	IRI	2347	8,0	66,0
16	Mallahi Amir	IM	IRI	2397	8,0	63,5
17	Hosseinzadeh Nima		IRI	2001	8,0	62,5
18	Moosavian S Hamed	FM	IRI	2349	7,5	78,0
19	Simonian Hrair	IM	ARM	2435	7,5	72,0
20	Sharbaf Mohsen	FM	IRI	2407	7,5	71,0
21	Noroozi Omid		IRI	2222	7,5	70,5
22	Alizadeh Gholamreza		IRI	2177	7,5	70,5
23	Khalesi Vahid		IRI	2188	7,5	70,0
24	Zeynalov Farid		AZE	2269	7,5	70,0
25	Sanikidze Tornike	IM	GEO	2461	7,5	67,5
26	Roghani Arash	FM	IRI	2362	7,5	67,5
27	Darban Morteza	IM	IRI	2401	7,5	67,0
28	Saravanan V	IM	IND	2379	7,5	67,0
29	Kuparadze Giga		GEO	2407	7,5	66,5
30	Shamsi Mohammadhossein		IRI	2145	7,5	65,5
247 players

15) Belgian Interteams

The Belgian Interteams takes place 30th September 2007 - 6th March 2008.

Bredene is entering the final stretch of the competition with a seemingly comfortable lead. Much could depend on Namur. Will they face the leader with their strongest line-up? This looks unlikely as they have an easy program for the remaining few rounds, practically assuring a problem-free seasons end. Rochade remains a tough challenger for the title. In the penultimate round they will play against Bredene at home in Eupen, where they would love to achieve a prestigious victory to celebrate their 50th anniversary. For relegation, things are looking grim for Eynatten 2 and Temse. Report: Valery Maes.

Websites with further information: http://users.pandora.be/vmaes/interclub/ and also the http://www.frbe-kbsb.be/Interclubsnationaux.php

Belgian League Round 8 Results
Rochade - KGSRL	18 - 14
CREC - Namur	21 - 11
CRELEL - KBSK	16 - 16
Eynatten 1 - Brussels	19 - 13
Eynatten 2 - Temse	16 - 16
Bredene - Borgerhout	20 - 12

Belgian League Round 8 Standings
Pl	Team	BP	MP
1	Bredene	153	7
2	CREC	144	6,5
3	SK Rochade	142	7
4	Eynatten 1	136	5
5	CRELEL	132	4
6	KGSRL	128	4
7	KBSK	126	4,5
8	Namur	119	4
9	Brussels	118	2
10	Borgerhout	112	2,5
11	Eynatten 2	112	1
12	Boey Temse	106	0,5

16) Bermuda Open

The Bermuda Open took place 7th-11th February, 2008. Alexander Ivanov won the trophy and the return trip in a play-off against Nick DeFirmian (all the games were drawn, but Nick was white in the Armageddon) in the blitz play-ff. They did not meet in the Open and Moses Mufandaedza met neither (his loss was to Lawrence Coper, who was the only one to play both GMs, but not Dean Ippolito. News: Nigel P B Freeman.

Carol Jarecki article on the USCF site

Bermuda Open (BLR), 7-11 ii 2008 Final Round 5 Standings:
Pl.	Name	Title	NAT	Elo	Score
1-2	Nick De Firmian	GM	USA	2539	4.5
	Alexander Ivanov	GM	USA	2554	4.5
3	Moses Mufandzaedza		BER	1920	4
4-7	Lawrence Cooper	IM	ENG	2306	3.5
	Dean Ippolito	IM	USA	2417	3.5
	Paul Mac Intyre	FM	USA	2299	3.5
	Denis Strenzwilk		USA	2121	3.5
8-12	Conrad Ho		CAN	2053	3
	Esther Epstein	WIM	USA	2719	3
	Michael Radford		BER		3
	Gordon Ritchie		CAN		3
	Doug Pacchiana		USA		3
13-18	Boris Iriate		BER		2.5
	Dale Sharp		USA	2059	2.5
	Andrei Moffat		CAN	2152	2.5
	Philip Chan		CAN		2.5
	Louis Gal		BER		2.5
	Gary Cooper		BER	1865	2.5
19-24	Nick Faulks	CM	BER	2105	2
	James Dill		BER	2177	2
	Kumi Bradshaw		BER	1714	2
	Ed Westing		USA		2
	Nigel Freeman		BER	1783	2
	Larry Ebbin		BER	1669	2
25-26	Alexander Reis		USA		1.5
	Nyasha Dhitima		BER		1.5
27-29	Ayo Johnson		BER		1
	Carlos Tavares		BER		1
	Maria Shiela Cancino		BER		1
30	Kennedy Simmons		BER	1530	0

17) Moscow Open

The 4th International Chess Festival Moscow Open 2008 takes place 2nd-10th February 2008. Artyom Timofeev took first alone place after winning a marathon game against the leader Ernesto Inarkiev (who had just won 7 in a row). A much bigger selection of games from round 8 now available, still no bulletin for round 9.

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

4th Open A Moscow (RUS), 2-10 ii 2008 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rank	Ti	Name	Rtg	FED	Pts	T/B
1	GM	Timofeev Artyom	RUS	2664	7,5	38,0
2	GM	Riazantsev Alexander	RUS	2628	7,0	37,5
3	GM	Volkov Sergey	RUS	2623	7,0	37,5
4	GM	Efimenko Zahar	UKR	2638	7,0	37,0
5	GM	Lastin Alexander	RUS	2604	7,0	37,0
6	GM	Jobava Baadur	GEO	2643	7,0	36,5
7	GM	Inarkiev Ernesto	RUS	2681	7,0	35,0
8	GM	Kazhgaleyev Murtas	KAZ	2594	7,0	34,5
9	GM	Moiseenko Alexander	UKR	2643	7,0	34,5
10	GM	Kurnosov Igor	RUS	2577	7,0	32,5
11	GM	Motylev Alexander	RUS	2644	6,5	34,5
12	GM	Naiditsch Arkadij	GER	2638	6,5	34,0
13	GM	Kobalia Mikhail	RUS	2623	6,5	33,5
14	GM	Korobov Anton	UKR	2573	6,5	33,5
15	GM	Potkin Vladimir	RUS	2609	6,5	33,5
16	GM	Khairullin Ildar	RUS	2544	6,5	32,0
17	FM	Zabotin Alexander	RUS	2495	6,5	32,0
18	GM	Malakhov Vladimir	RUS	2689	6,5	31,5
19	GM	Areshchenko Alexander	UKR	2645	6,5	31,0
20	GM	Aleksandrov Aleksej	BLR	2618	6,5	30,5
21	GM	Rodshtein Maxim	ISR	2614	6,5	27,5
303 players

4th Open C (Women's) Moscow (RUS), 2-10 ii 2008 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1
1	IM	Muzychuk Anna	SLO	2460	8,0	41,0
2	IM	Ushenina Anna	UKR	2484	7,5	39,5
3	WGM	Zhukova Natalia	UKR	2443	7,0	36,0
4	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2455	7,0	35,5
5	GM	Lahno Kateryna	UKR	2475	7,0	34,5
6	IM	Tairova Elena	RUS	2386	6,5	37,5
7	WFM	Girya Olga	RUS	2342	6,5	35,5
8	WGM	Melia Salome	GEO	2362	6,5	33,5
9	IM	Turova Irina	RUS	2377	6,5	33,5
10	IM	Danielian Elina	ARM	2480	6,5	33,0
11	WFM	Ambartsumova Karina	RUS	2228	6,5	27,5
136 players

18) Forthcoming Events and Links

The 8th European Senior Championship

The "Swiss Chess Tour 2008" will present the 7th Chess Summer Festival in Davos from August 9th to 17th, 2008. The main event will be the 8th European Individual Senior Championship. The second tournament will be traditional, 7th Davos Open.

8th European Individual Senior Championship, August 9th to 17th 2008. "Sunstar Park Hotel" (4 stars) will be host festival in Congress Center. Swiss system, 9 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 6 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 60 minutes till the end). Valid for FIDE titles and rating: FIDE, Swiss (SSB) and German (DWZ). Seniors: men born 1947 and earlier; women born 1957 and earlier. Prize (men): 2.500/1.700/1.000/700/600/500/2x400/2x300 CHF. 3-4 group rating prize (200/150/100 CHF). Women: 400/300/3x200 CHF; Entry fee 80 CHF; at the door 20 CHF more. Time table: Rounds 1 15.00-21.00 August 9th; Round 2/8 9.30-15.30 August 10th-16th; Round 9 9.30-15.30 August 17th.

7th Davos Open, 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: 1.000 SF, 800, 600, 400, 300, 200, 2x150 CHF. Natural prizes for 4 and more points. Entry fee 130 CHF, FMs and juniors 60 CHF, GMs and IMs free; juniors lodging at Sunstar Park Hotel free; at the door 20 CHF more. Time table: Rounds 1 15.00-21.00 August 10th; Round 2/7 16.00-22.00 August 10th-16th. Venue: "Sunstar Park Hotel" Congress Center. Closing ceremony August 17th, 4 p.m. Info Beochess: +41+62+9654-650 (Robert Spoerri) Email beochess@bluewin.ch or read the website: http://www.beochess.ch

Bologne Easter tournament

There is an Easter international tournament in Bologna 20th-24th March 2008. IM norms will be available.

Details: http://www.accademiascacchistica.it/labacheca/torneo_internazionale_di_pasqua.html

Bologne Easter tournament 20-24 iii 2008 Players:
Player	NAT	Ti	Rating
Laketic Gojko	SRB	IM	2443
Martinez Rolly	PHI	IM	2447
Berzinsh Roland	LAT	IM	2417
Ronchetti Niccolo’	ITA	FM	2431
Scalcione Michelangelo	ITA	FM	2431
Rombaldoni Axel	ITA	FM	2394
Tomba Ivan	ITA	MF*	2301
Vancini Edoardo	ITA	FM	2277
Barillaro Luca	ITA	M	2180
Gilevich Artem	UKR	CM	2069

VII Benidorm International Chess Festival 2008

The VII Benidorm International Chess Festival takes place 28th November - 8th December 2008. For information contact: E-Mail: eventosdeajedrez@yahoo.es festivaldebenidorm@gmail.com News: Patricia Claros Aguilar.

Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga for 2007-8 takes place 19th October 2007 - 20th April 2008. Rounds 10 and 11 take place 8th-9th March 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.phpand statistics also at: http://www.godesbergersk.de/bundesliga-statistik/.

Yerevan Open Rapid Chess Tournament 2008

The Chess Federation of Armenia is organizing an International Open Rapid Chess Tournament which takes place June 12th-15th, 2008, in Yerevan, Armenia. The event is organized simultaneously with the tournament "Chess Giants Yerevan 2008" with the participation of the world's top grandmasters.

The total prize fund of the open rapid tournament is 33000 USD with the following breakdown.

Breakdown of the Prize Fund
1st place	6 000 USD
2nd place	4 000 USD
3rd place	3 500 USD
4th place	2 500 USD
5th place	2 000 USD
6th place	1 800 USD
7th place	1 600 USD
8th place	1 500 USD
9th place	1 400 USD
10th place	1 300 USD
11th-20th	800 USD

For further information please contact: Mr. Gaguik Oganessian General Secretary, Armenian Chess Federation President, FIDE Zone 1,5
Tel.: (374)10-554923
Fax: (374)10-570758
E-Mail armchess@arminco.com

3rd Kolkata Open

The 3rd Kolkata Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament takes place 24th March - 2nd April 2008.

Venue: Gorky Sadan, 3 Gorky Terrace, Kolkata 700017 (near Minto Park) Tournament Schedule Arrival 23rd March 2008. Inauguration 24th March 2008 at 1.00pm Players' meeting 23rd March 2008 at 7pm. Prize Distribution ceremony : 2nd April 08 at 17.00 hrs at Gorky Sadan. It is compulsory for all players to attend the Prize Distribution Ceremony. Prizes : Total Cash Prizes: Rs. 9,00,000/- ( 1 U.S.$ = Rs.41 approx.)

Contact: Alekhine Chess Club Gorky Sadan, 3 Gorky Terrace Kolkata 700017, West Bengal, India Tele fax:- 0091 33 22832746, Tel : 0091 33 22803957/3858 Email: alekhine_chess@rediffmail.com OR alekhinechessclub@hotmail.com

Web site: http://www.alekhinechessclub.com

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.

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

Bunratty Chess Festival

The Bunratty Chess Festival takes place 22nd-24th February 2008. Peter Svidler will be competing.

Official site: http://members.aol.com/bunrattychess/

Paleochora International Open 2008

The Paleochora (southern Crete) International Open takes place 21st-28th July 2008.

Further details: http://www.chaniachess.gr

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

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.yuand 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 place 13th-16th March 2008 in Graz (Novapark).

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

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008, 1st-4th May 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.chfor 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.

Official site: http://www.4ncl.co.uk/

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. 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/

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.

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 - 4th 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/ with his analysis and news. Very worth while, especially when he's playing.

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